Baptism is essentially a Christian tradition, and usually refers to water baptism. Water baptism is commanded By Jesus and it has a lot of significance for the Christian (Matthew 3:5-6, Matthew 3:11, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 1:4, Mark 16:16, Luke 7:30, Acts 2:38-39, Acts 8:35-37, Acts 10:47-48, Romans 6:4-6, Colossians 2:12). Jesus Himself was water baptized by John to "fulfill all righteousness" (Matt. 3:13-17). It is important that every Christian is water baptized when they become Christians and understand the importance of water baptism. You can read more about this by going to my page on water baptism.
There is also a "baptism of the Holy Spirit" and "baptism by fire" (Matthew 3:11, Luke 3:16). "Infant baptism" is a Catholic tradition. Catholics don't believe the Biblical reasons for baptism and mistakenly think it helps them get into heaven. According to the Bible and the verses above, belief must precede water baptism. Therefore they baptize newborn infants so it's been done before they die. "Baptism for the dead" is based on a single verse, 1 Corinthians 15:29, which speaks of baptism for the dead. As John MacArthur notes, “Admittedly this is a difficult verse to understand, and there are at least thirty possible interpretations offered to explain what it is saying.” "Baptism of blood" is a Roman Catholic term for belief that martyrdom was an equivalent of baptism for those who had not been previously baptized but who died for the Christian faith. It is only a sacrament by analogy, being “like” the sacrament of baptism.” “Baptism of desire" is a view of some Roman Catholic theologians that those who seek the highest elements of their own religions are perceived by God as receiving the equivalent of a water baptism. Such seeking is considered a substitute for baptism for adults of goodwill who never accept Christ as savior.” More information on different types of baptisms can be found on their respective pages by clicking on the related pages to the right.FOOTNOTES:
1. MacArthur, John. Charismatic Chaos. Pg. 371
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