# A question about full immersion baptism. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 17, 2016, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-full-immersion-baptism/760104 "2016-07-17T05:34:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-full-immersion-baptism/760104/21 "2016-07-18T00:22:10Z")
I’ll note that a Baptismal pool is not a good place to store moonshine in attempt to hide it from the revenuers! From the movie “What the deaf man heard”. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-full-immersion-baptism/760104/22 "2016-07-18T01:04:11Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Does anyone ever baptize using water from a garden hose? Depends. Is it holy water or unholy water? ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-full-immersion-baptism/760104/23 "2016-07-18T01:11:59Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > OP is an interesting question for comparative religion, and for the closest religion, comparitevely, Judaism. > … > Ultimately it winds up as a case of having your cake and eating it too: a pool (standing water) with the _idea_ and principle of running water–“running” water implicating refreshing, rejuvenating, and active participation of the forces of nature: Interesting. The 1904 Mikvay in Melbourne used normal tap water, “running” just a little way into the pool And – after being out of use for a while, it’s been renovated for “reform” use. [MIKVAH: The Mikvah at the Melbourne City Baths](http://mikvahdesign.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/the-mikvah-at-melbourne-baths-new.html) … absent which they were using the ocean (Port Philip Bay) Dunno what the orthodox have been doing. Baptist churchs have full-immersion pools if they can. The Anglican cathedral here has a full immersion font added in 1912. ( [http://www.weekendnotes.com/st-pauls-anglican-cathedral-melbourne/](http://www.weekendnotes.com/st-pauls-anglican-cathedral-melbourne/) ) Anyway, responding te the OP:… an independent (unaffiliated Baptist) church my family is associated with uses the school swimming pool. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-full-immersion-baptism/760104/24 "2016-07-18T01:31:33Z")
and just because it’s fun: [“A bush christening”, Banjo Paterson](http://www.poetrylibrary.edu.au/poets/paterson-a-b-banjo/a-bush-christening-0001043) ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-full-immersion-baptism/760104/25 "2016-07-18T06:08:07Z")
In 2011 We visited the site where John the Baptist did Jesus (of course, as asserted by locals in 1000AD or so to entertain visiting crusaders. The area had apparently recently re-opened, after John the Baptist had been relocated for many years further north on a less contested part of the Jordan River. ) Nevertheless, drive past a mile or two of signs warning about land mines if you stray off the road; down a narrow road between barbed wire fences, and you get to a parking lot and souvenir shop, then a spot where Jordan (the country) is maybe 30 feet away across the mighty deep and wide Jordan River. At the time we were there, there were maybe two dozen Russians, all taking turns being fully immersed in the Jordan River. However, I suspect this was less a first-time baptism for them, and more likely a repeat performance because of the location. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-full-immersion-baptism/760104/26 "2016-07-18T06:54:15Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Does anyone ever baptize using water from a garden hose? I don’t know about directly from the hose, but I know I’ve seen images of baptisms in portable swimming pools, which were probably filled with a garden hose. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-full-immersion-baptism/760104/27 "2016-07-18T08:21:10Z")
I’ve seen a baptism in a spa bath (no bubbles). Along the same lines, our old vicar recently built a portable coffin shaped baptistry for his congregation - on the principle that baptism is representative of dying to the old self, and being raised into new life. ---
**Author:** ![dhricenak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/47e85d/32.png) [@dhricenak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhricenak)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-full-immersion-baptism/760104/28 "2016-07-18T12:34:53Z")
Back in in the 80’s I attended a small country Baptist church that used a local farm pond. This was in rural northeastern Pennsylvania. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-full-immersion-baptism/760104/29 "2016-07-18T12:46:57Z")
In the Catholic church, there are only three requirements for a valid baptism: 1: It must use water. 2: It must be done in the names of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit 3: The person performing it must have the genuine intent to baptize. We’re not generally in the habit of using natural bodies of water, but if someone wants to do it that way, that’s fine, whether it’s running or standing. And while it’s usually preferred to have a bit more ceremony to it, it’s also possible to use a garden hose. There are also some rules for what it takes for a baptism to be licit (that is to say, one can do it otherwise, but one isn’t supposed to): For instance, a baptism ought to be performed by a priest. But those can be dispensed with in cases of necessity. And I don’t think any of them even address the details of the water source. Incidentally, it’s also the position of the Catholic church that a person can only be validly baptized once. So if you receive a valid-but-not-licit baptism, you can never receive a licit one. Converts to Catholicism from other branches of Christianity, then, are usually not re-baptized, because Catholics recognize the baptisms of most other sects as valid. ---
**Author:** ![SpeedwayRyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@SpeedwayRyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpeedwayRyan)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-full-immersion-baptism/760104/30 "2016-07-18T13:22:29Z")
I went to a Church of Christ as a kid that had a full-immersion pool (was never baptized, never bought into it, personally). It was behind the altar area, accessible from a back room, and the theater of them dimming the lights in the auditorium and swiftly pulling back the curtain to a well-lit baptismal was fairly impressive for a church that didn’t do much of the dramatic (no instrumental music, for instance). Anyway, there were stories of people being baptized in swimming pools and bathtubs and the like. Usually the story involved a person hearing the good news about how they could be saved and wanting to be baptized right away, or a person in some far-flung land where that was the only option. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-full-immersion-baptism/760104/31 "2016-07-18T13:45:00Z")
I believe it used to be the case that baptism always occurred in running water, because running water was considered living water. It was probably also cleaner - I doubt if that mattered as much. Nowadays most churches have baptismal fonts of varying sizes. My wife ordained a pastor last week, and the church he is now pastoring uses a lake nearby for baptisms. The story of the [baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+8:25-27&version=RSV) is similar to what **SpeedwayRyan** mentions, but it is not clear in the story if he was baptized in a river or a pond. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-full-immersion-baptism/760104/32 "2016-07-18T13:50:42Z")
> [@Nefario](#): > > I was baptized in a creek near my childhood country church in the mid-60’s. They installed a baptistry in the mid 90’s. Churches use the resources at hand. > > Full immersion is the process described as performed by Jesus in the Bible. Baptists think it’s appropriate to follow that example. That said, my minister has sprinkled a couple of people who were not in a physical condition to be taken into the water. He got advice from his friend the Methodist minister! 😃 > > Baptism is meant to be a sign to the world that one is a believer and may be a requirement to be a member of some churches. Well, no. The New Testament is pretty explicit that Jesus did NOT baptize with water. Both in John the Baptist’s preaching (I indeed baptize you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost - Mark 1:8) and in John 4:2 (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples did.) ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-full-immersion-baptism/760104/33 "2016-07-18T14:05:16Z")
I was [baptized](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=652984) in the Swimming pool at the YMCA. I’ve seen baptisms in lakes, oceans , other pools, etc. I even know someone who was baptized in a physical therapy tank. As others have said physical location doesn’t matter, as long as you are put fully under the water. ---
**Author:** ![MacLir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@MacLir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacLir)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-full-immersion-baptism/760104/34 "2016-07-18T14:33:39Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Lake Murray, San Diego? Hello neighbor; that’s one of my favorite walking trails! > > Does anyone ever baptize using water from a garden hose? What do you think they fill the baptistery with? A funnel on the roof and prayers for rain? 😉 Be about my luck someone will chime in with a church where they DO use rainwater. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![MacLir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@MacLir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacLir)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-full-immersion-baptism/760104/35 "2016-07-18T14:50:27Z")
I will throw in an anecdote from a church I attended. For whatever reason (The pastor being an avid fisherman leading the list) this church set up an open-air baptism in Meadow Lake, Idaho. [Meadow Lake](https://www.google.com/maps/@44.4326553,-113.3154884,15.46z) is at about 8000 feet, in a glacial cirque. To describe it as simply cold is an understatement. I was standing by as a safety wearing long underwear, jeans, and chest waders and was still cold. The “dunkees” were coming out blue. It was set up as a communal camping trip, which we didn’t stay for, and as we were leaving it started snowing. In (late) summer. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-full-immersion-baptism/760104/36 "2016-07-18T15:07:23Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **janis\_and\_c0** : > > As others have said physical location doesn’t matter, as long as you are put fully under the water. Comments like this are a lot less useful without specifying the sect. In some churches, being fully immersed doesn’t matter, either. There are probably others where the location does matter. We’ve already heard that the closest equivalent Jewish ritual does have requirements placed on the location, which are sometimes met with “a funnel on the roof and prayers for rain”. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-full-immersion-baptism/760104/37 "2016-07-18T18:03:23Z")
A dunk tank would be awesome for this purpose. Give the pastor three throws; if he or she misses them all, then to hell with you. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-full-immersion-baptism/760104/38 "2016-07-18T19:14:21Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > In the Catholic church, there are only three requirements for a valid baptism: > 1: It must use water. > 2: It must be done in the names of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit > 3: The person performing it must have the genuine intent to baptize. Seems like that’s missing something. Does not the participant have to desire to be baptized? If not, I could see a zealous believer exploiting such a loophole to try and save everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-full-immersion-baptism/760104/39 "2016-07-18T19:15:25Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > [This baptism](http://nypost.com/2014/03/31/man-swept-into-sea-after-during-ocean-baptism-ceremony/) in the ocean did not go well. I’d say it was just in time. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-full-immersion-baptism/760104/40 "2016-07-18T19:51:18Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Seems like that’s missing something. Does not the participant have to desire to be baptized? > > If not, I could see a zealous believer exploiting such a loophole to try and save everyone. No, we do infant baptism, which may include seconds-old baptism\*. BUT! There is a situation called “baptism by desire”: if someone who is old enough to have such a desire dies before he can be baptized formally, he counts as baptized. - I was baptized 3 days post-birth; for my nephew it was 2 months and a half; the mother of one of my favourite teachers died in childbirth and the father baptized the child then and there fearing he’d die as well before the priest could arrive. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-full-immersion-baptism/760104.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-full-immersion-baptism/760104.md?page=3)