Is baptism a form of exorcism, or is that just a Hollywood myth?
Upvote:2
If you look at the Biblical account, baptism has always accompanied entry into the church. It is offered "for the forgiveness of your sins" (Ac 2:38 or to "wash your sins away." (Ac 22:16) It frequently precedes/accompanies the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and is never far behind. If committing your life to Jesus and being baptized puts you under God's immediate protection, then perhaps baptism (as an act that frequently accompanies conversion) could be thought of as some measure of (preventative) protection from evil spirits.
I have never read or heard about it being used as therapy for demonic possession (which is what an exorcism is), though. Whoever coined this expression was using a fair amount of poetic license or doesn't really understand Christian baptism. Based on my experience with typical Hollywood movies, I would guess the latter.
Upvote:4
The answer to this would really depend on what tradition you come from. Some traditions teach that it is baptism in water that brings salvation. Thus, it could be argued that baptism, bringing salvation to an individual, would be the inception of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This, then, would, in fact, be a sort of protection.
However, for traditions that believe water baptism is a physical representation of a spiritual reality that has already occurred, water baptism is just one of many acts of obedience, and would, therefore, not really provide any additional protection.
However, this is probably mostly Hollywood fantasy, as there are very few people in Hollywood who have ever read the Bible or have any idea what is in it. :)
More post
- 📝 How do proponents of Sola Scriptura defend the doctrine without scripture being canonized until after the proof texts were written?
- 📝 What's the biblical basis for the belief that God truly judges our hearts behind our actions and not the actions themselves?
- 📝 Under what conditions can a re-married Catholic couple receive the sacrament of the eucharist?
- 📝 Bible phrase from the Gospel of Matthew
- 📝 Why did Mormons stop practicing polygamy?
- 📝 What would be the best version of the bible for me?
- 📝 Was Judas a partaker of the feet washing by Jesus?
- 📝 What is the average width of the Via Dolorosa?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for singing in church?
- 📝 Does God's knowledge increase in time?
- 📝 Are modern Amish much more dissimilar from society than the original generations of Amish?
- 📝 Good Samaritan - Chronology, Geography
- 📝 How does Catholic doctrine differ from LDS doctrine concerning God the Father?
- 📝 What is Lordship Salvation?
- 📝 Catholicism - Is the TULIP Formula more or less true? (Semantics)
- 📝 Sola Scriptura and the Biblical Canon
- 📝 How do people in Hell survive?
- 📝 Have different Popes ever contradicted each other?
- 📝 What is the New Testament basis for the idea the God is a God of judgment and vengeance?
- 📝 What were the common exonyms of the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox churches leading up to and after the Great Schism (1054)?
- 📝 Particular judgment, general judgment, God's foreknowledge and free will
- 📝 According to the Church of God (Cleveland), are children sin-free?
- 📝 The unicorn as a Christological figure
- 📝 Is there a good alternative word to “performance” to describe an evangelical worship team's actions?
- 📝 In Catholicism, why is heresy a mortal sin?
- 📝 What is the Biblical argument against Limited Atonement?
- 📝 Is it OK to pray any five decades of the Rosary or do they have to be in the specific set of mysteries?
- 📝 Why do Catholics have to go to regular confession to have their sins forgiven if they pray The Lord's Prayer and ask for forgiveness daily?
- 📝 Why did God come down so hard on Job?
- 📝 Is Paul making an oath in Galatians 1?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Is baptism a form of exorcism, or is that just a Hollywood myth?
- 📝 What is the basis that some Protestants teach the non-necessity of baptism for salvation?
- 📝 Is man born in God's image, or was that just Adam?
- 📝 Does any church follow the Apostolic Tradition of Baptism ‘in the nude’, or was that never the tradition?
- 📝 Where in the Bible does Jesus refute that He is just a prophet?
- 📝 What does it mean that baptism "erases original sin"?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis that Noah died just before the birth of Abraham?
- 📝 Where does Augustine say that Adam and Eve were in Eden for just six hours before sinning?
- 📝 Does Catholicism teach that there is a just interest rate?
- 📝 Is there any tradition that argues for prophetical succession under the Old Testament just like some argue for Apostolic succession?
- 📝 Do Reformed paedobaptists call for the baptism of household servants, just as Abraham's servants were circumcised?
- 📝 What is the biblical argument against the claim that Jesus is just "a god", but not "God Almighty"?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for the Catholic teaching that infant baptism cleanses from original sin?
- 📝 Can a Catholic priest conduct a Catholic baptism upon the request of non-Catholic parents, assuming that they will raise the child Catholic?
- 📝 What did the early Church Fathers (pre-Nicea A.D. 325) have to say about faith, baptism and if it is the act of baptism that saves?
- 📝 Why did John the Baptist preach repentance through water baptism and specifically how is that different than repentance through ashes and sackcloth?
- 📝 Why does John the Baptist decide upon water and baptism as the form of repentance (Catholic viewpoint)?
- 📝 Is song a critical component of worship or something that we've just borrowed from example?
- 📝 Can demons manifest in bodily form in the physical, just like angels do in the Bible?
- 📝 For LDS, what does it mean that baptism is "essential" for "salvation"?
- 📝 Is this true that before the Quinisext Council it was not allowed to draw Jesus on icons in the form of a man?
- 📝 How is it just that Jesus, an innocent, would be punished for our sins?
- 📝 How and when was the belief that a baptism late in life increases our chances of being saved determined to be false?
- 📝 Does the Catholic Church believe that we become just souls after we die?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for the notion that the wicked are resurrected in immortal bodies just like the righteous?
- 📝 Where does the idea that faith must be a condition for baptism originate from?
- 📝 In what way does the author of Hebrews argue that every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution?
- 📝 Why does the Holy Spirit not take the form of a human being just like Jesus did?
- 📝 Which denominations teach that Christ received the Holy Spirit at His Baptism by John?
- 📝 How do Calvinists argue that limited atonement is just and merciful?