Both Uses of
baptism
in
The Mill on the Floss
- An occasional burst of fervor in Dissenting pulpits on the subject of infant baptism was the only symptom of a zeal unsuited to sober times when men had done with change.†
Chpt 1.12 *
- The religion of the Dodsons consisted in revering whatever was customary and respectable; it was necessary to be baptized, else one could not be buried in the church-yard, and to take the sacrament before death, as a security against more dimly understood perils; but it was of equal necessity to have the proper pall-bearers and well-cured hams at one's funeral, and to leave an unimpeachable will.†
Chpt 4.1
Definition:
-
(baptism) a Christian ceremony signifying spiritual cleansing and rebirth
or:
a challenging experience that initiates or purifieseditor's notes: Most churches baptize infants, but some require an adult to request baptism, and a few (such as the Quakers) require no baptism at all.
Typically, water is used as part of the ceremony, such as sprinkling a little water on a baby's head; though some churches use complete submersion in water.