FROM HOLY WATER TO HOLY WATERS

摘要

For Christians the primary relationship with water is expressed in the initiation ceremony of baptism. Jesus, as a devout Jew, was baptized in the holy waters of the Jordan. Baptism is the primal initiation into new life in the Christian community, an instrument of spiritual birth. At the same time baptism is a purification, releasing the initiate from past sins: John the Baptizer when baptizing Jesus is described in the Gospel as "proclaiming a baptism of repentance." (John 7:37) Baptism is not only a symbolic link to Jesus' own immersion and rebirth as God's beloved servant, but also replaces circumcision in the Jewish tradition in becoming an adult in the faith.