4 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does a washing with water mean for a soul—and for the community that welcomes it?
On the Baptism B explores baptism as early Christians understand it: a washing that marks entry into the Christian community. This short, anonymous writing belongs to a tradition of teaching and defense. Its questions are direct: why water, who may give the rite, and what does it mean for the believer?
Behind these questions lies a concern larger than personal cleansing. Early Christian teaching links baptism with forgiveness, divine grace, and the bonds between believers. Read this text as one voice within that tradition, where the meaning of water opens onto questions about belonging, shared practice, and life together in the church.
What you’ll discover
- Water beyond the body Explore how early Christian teaching connects washing with cleansing from sin and a new beginning.
- The meaning of grace Consider why baptismal teaching links an outward rite with what believers understand as God's gift.
- A community joined together See why baptism matters not only to individuals but also to the community they enter.
- Questions behind the rite Follow questions about how baptism should be given and who has authority to give it.
- An anonymous early voice Approach a short source whose language and ideas invite comparison with other early Christian writers.
Who will love it
For readers who enjoy early Christian voices outside the usual canon, the Nag Hammadi finds, and compact, image-rich writing that rewards careful rereading and gives a clear glimpse of how one community understood baptism.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A short text beside other rites
- Baptism is a crossing from world to God
- The change runs from bondage to belonging
- Christ gives the gift and perfects souls
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On the Baptism B
by Attributed to St. Augustine
A few lines from Nag Hammadi lead believers from the Jordan to the Pleroma, from servitude to sonship.
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In short
On the Baptism B is a brief text from the Nag Hammadi library, a find of thirteen ancient books made in Egypt in 1945. It stands in the eleventh codex, beside short pieces on anointing, baptism and the Eucharist.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A short text beside other rites
On the Baptism B comes from the Nag Hammadi library, a find of thirteen ancient books made in Egypt in 1945. It sits in the eleventh codex, which also holds a Valentinian Exposition and short pieces on anointing, baptism and the Eucharist. The Coptic pages date from about the fourth century, and scholars think they were made from a Greek original.
The piece is brief, and the passage that survives is short. Nothing in it names an author. Most scholars place it among Valentinian writings, the circle of Christians who followed the teacher Valentinus in the second century. Some details of date and setting remain open, so they are best taken as scholarly estimates.
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What is On the Baptism B about?
It is a brief text that pictures baptism as a passage from the world into God's presence, through paired images such as blindness to sight, servitude to sonship and the cold to the warm.
Where was On the Baptism B found?
It was found near Nag Hammadi in Egypt in 1945, among thirteen ancient books. It stands in the eleventh codex, beside short pieces on anointing, baptism and the Eucharist.
What language is On the Baptism B written in?
The copy that survives is in Coptic, the language of late ancient Egypt. Scholars think it was translated from a Greek original, which is usually placed in the second century.
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