Mode of baptism
- T04.1 Immersion (threefold) is the norm; pouring permitted (high)
- T04.2 Threefold administration is the Era I–II norm (Didache 7; Tertullian); Scripture gives no count (medium–high)
From the study it came from: Largely agree on what baptism does; the fathers add a settled practice (infants, threefold immersion) where Scripture gives no explicit command.
Two separate measures, shown side by side; neither is combined with the other (confidence-weighted, out of 4; counts show how many of this doctrine's 2 questions each rests on; ⚠ marks coverage more than 10 points below the median, a less certain rank). This doctrine is third-order (tier weight 1). How scoring works · Scripture and tradition · Glossary · Every score with its citation
Closeness to Scripture
Closeness to the fathers
Charts: closeness to the fathers by question, and timeline
- c. 100 Didache T04.1
- c. 100 Didache T04.2
- c. 205 Tertullian T04.2
- c. 350 Cyril of Jerusalem T04.1
- 1530 Augsburg Confession Lutheran
- 1547 Trent VII Catholic
- 1646 Westminster Confession Presbyterian
- 1672 Confession of Dositheus Orthodox
T4 · Mode of baptism
Immersion, pouring, sprinkling.
Tier: Third-order (scoring weight 1). How the tiers were set: theological triage. Site structure: structure.
Questions
Verdicts and trace
T04.1 · Mode
| Question | Verdict | Confidence | Reasoning | Key sources | Scripture (benchmark) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T04.1 | Immersion (threefold) is the norm; pouring permitted | High | T04.1.1 · T04.1.3 weighing | didache-bap-s1 · cyril-of-jerusalem-bap-s2 | T04.1.4: medium |
T04.2 · Must baptism be by triple immersion?
| Question | Verdict | Confidence | Reasoning | Key sources | Scripture (benchmark) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T04.2 | Threefold administration is the Era I–II norm (Didache 7; Tertullian); Scripture gives no count | Medium-high | T04.2.1 · T04.2.3 weighing | didache-t04x-s1 · tertullian-t04x-s1 | T04.2.4: low |
Post-750 development
Which of this doctrine’s questions each tradition stays closest to, or departs from. Each row links to the tradition’s notes.
| Tradition | Closest to the fathers on | Departs or sharpens on |
|---|---|---|
| Catholic | — | T04.1 (pouring normal) |
| Orthodox | T04.1 (immersion kept) | — |
| Oriental Orthodox | T04.1 | — |
| Lutheran | — | T04.1 practice |
| Anglican | T04.1 | — |
| Presbyterian | — | T04.1 |
| Reformed Baptist | partly T04.1 | — |
| General Baptist | partly T04.1 | — |
| Anabaptist | T04.1 | partly T04.1 |
Origin
Plan, overall verdict and verification status of the former baptism category (shared with the other doctrines that came from it)
Baptism
Method and conventions: docs/conventions.md. Reasoning: baptism reasoning.
1. Plan
Questions: B1 regeneration; B2 infants; B3 mode; B4 necessity. Sources: Didache 7; Justin, 1 Apol. 61; Irenaeus AH II.22.4; Tertullian, On Baptism; Cyprian Ep. 58; Cyril of Jerusalem, Cat. 3 and Myst. 2; Gregory Nazianzen Or. 40; Augustine, Merit and Forgiveness I and Ep. 98; John of Damascus IV.9. Planned but not yet read: Hippolytus, Apostolic Tradition 21; Origen, Comm. Rom. V.9 (infant baptism “from the apostles”); Basil, On the Holy Spirit 15. Scripture: John 3:5; Acts 2:38–39; 22:16; Rom 6:3–4; Col 2:11–12; Titus 3:5; 1 Pet 3:21; household baptisms. Terms: βαπτίζω, λουτρόν, παλιγγενεσία, ἄφεσις. Method: as in justification. Do not read later sign/thing distinctions into the fathers.
2. Verdicts and trace
Weighed under the source-proximity principle: Scripture first, then the father tiers T1–T4. Verdict changes are listed in docs/proximity-changes.md.
3. Post-750 development
4. Overall verdict
Orthodox closest on all four questions. Catholic and Lutheran are next; they differ from the fathers mainly in practice on mode. Presbyterian departs most on regeneration and necessity, though it keeps infant baptism. Confidence: high.
5. Verification status
- Verified: all entries above, plus the post-750 quotations (Trent VII, Dositheus 16, AC IX, WCF XXVIII).
- To verify: Hippolytus, Apostolic Tradition 21; Origen, Comm. Rom. V.9; Basil, On the Holy Spirit 15; Gregory Nazianzen Or. 40.28 (age three); the Latin of Irenaeus II.22.4 and AH III.17.1; the dating of Zwingli; the status of limbo; LSB English.