/lit/ - Literature

even if christ was a mythical figure it would in no way invalidate christianity. whether something existed in the material world or not is completely irrelevant from the immaterial divine point of view

in the beginning of christianity it was primarily done by full immersion, which symbolizes the death and rebirth of the baptized. the efficacy of a rite depends on the symbols, and i don't really see any symbolization of death and rebirth in getting some water on your head. the symbolism of death lies in the actual act of submersion, not in the water (though the water might symbolize something else idk). is the efficacy of the rite still intact in the catholic church's way of doing it?