Baptism a Rite of Passage free essay sample

My Rite of Passage In life everyone experiences some type of rite of passage and many of us go through multiple including things such as religion, school, jobs, marriage and joining the armed forces. I went through a rite of passage known as a baptism when I was eighteen years old. This rite of passage changed dramatically the way that I was living. I went from a way of death and sinfulness into becoming born again and brought into a life with Jesus Christ. One of my first parts of my journey through this rite of passage was giving up my old life of sin. I stepped away from some of my old ways such as cussing, drinking in excess, feelings and actions of lust for the opposite sex. While going through this stage I also had to separate my self from many of my old friends who were corrupting me. We will write a custom essay sample on Baptism: a Rite of Passage or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I was to put to death my old way of living and become renewed through Jesus Christ. I had to speak with a member of the pastoral staff at the church I was attending to see if this was something I was ready for. I chose to speak with the youth pastor because he is the one I felt I knew best. Even though I was somewhat comfortable with the youth pastor I was nervous to explain why I was ready to become baptized. When I was being baptized they dunked me under water symbolizing the drowning or death of my old self. Before being baptized I had to memorize some answers that I had to say in front of the whole congregation. I was to begin sacrificing ten percent of my income towards the church for gods work. Reading was constantly assigned and I met up with the youth pastor on a weekly basis to make sure I was growing in my faith. People were set in place to keep me accountable for my actions. I was to also seek out someone at this time that could mentor me. Through mentorship I was going to be able to learn the sacra so to speak. Before I was to be baptized I was brought before the whole congregation and the pastor spoke of who I was before and what the meaning of this day was. He spoke of the ways in which god was going to use me and that this would change the way I would live for the rest of my life. In this moment I realized that I left all my old friends behind and that I was at a betwixt in my life because I wasn’t fully accepted into the church yet as an equal. Then the moment came when I was to be baptized and died to my old self at that moment I came out of the water cleansed and reborn into the family of the church/Christ. When I was born again at the moment I came out of the water I heard cheer and whistles of excitement. I was welcomed by a huge smiles and hugs from friends and family into the new life I was beginning. The following few hours were spent in a time of celebration and worship. On that day I truly began to call my self a Christian. The rite of passage of being baptized has changed me and I have grown through the experience from a teen into adulthood in some forms. There are many rituals that are now a part of my life that weren’t before this rite of passage. It changes the way I view the world and how the world views me. I am now in a