Baptism

Baptism (from the Greek noun βάπτισμα baptisma; see below) is a Christian sacrament of admission and adoption, almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally. The canonical Gospels report that Jesus was baptized—a historical event to which a high degree of certainty can be assigned. Baptism has been called a sacrament and an ordinance of Jesus Christ. In some denominations, baptism is also called christening, but for others the word "christening" is reserved for the baptism of infants. Baptism has also given its name to the Baptist churches and denominations, they being called Baptism as a whole.

The usual form of baptism among the earliest Christians was for the candidate to be immersed, either totally (submerged completely under the water) or partially (standing or kneeling in water while water was poured on him or her). While John the Baptist's use of a deep river for his baptism suggests immersion, pictorial and archaeological evidence of Christian baptism from the 3rd century onward indicates that a normal form was to have the candidate stand in water while water was poured over the upper body. Other common forms of baptism now in use include pouring water three times on the forehead, a method called affusion.

Baptism (song)

"Baptism", also known as "Down with the Old Man (Up with the New)", is a song written by Mickey Cates, depicting a believer's baptism down an eastern Texas river.

In 1999, the song was recorded by Kenny Chesney and Randy Travis on the album Everywhere We Go and in 2000, Randy Travis recorded it on the album Inspirational Journey. The solo version was released as a single, peaking at 75th position at the country singles chart of the USA.

In 2001 the Randy Travis solo recording was awarded an GMA Dove Award in the "Country song of the year" category.

In 1999 the song was recorded by Susie Luchsinger on the album Raised on Faith.

Chart performance

Randy Travis solo version

References

External links

Baptism (Lenny Kravitz album)

Baptism is the seventh studio album by American rock musician Lenny Kravitz, released on May 17, 2004, by Virgin Records. It reached #14 on the Billboard 200 and #74 on the UK Albums Chart. As of March 2008, Baptism has sold 551,000 units in the U.S.

Album information

Production history

Lenny Kravitz originally intended this album to be a 1970s style funk album, simply titled The Funk Album. However, at the point of near completion of the record, he changed his mind when he picked up an acoustic guitar to write the songs for the album. Having stated that songs started pouring out of him, Kravitz decided that his special project could wait. Instead, Kravitz recorded a more straightforward rock album similar to his 1989 album Let Love Rule. The album was recorded at Hotel Edison studios in Miami, Florida and also features a contribution from rapper Jay-Z on the song "Storm". "Storm" was originally titled "(I Can't Make It) Another Day" and was originally recorded with superstar Michael Jackson. Kravitz had previously played guitar on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse. Kravitz had mentioned in an interview that at the time of the album's production, he was in dispute with his record label, who did not agree with his decisions to alter his project, saying that the album featured some darker material representing his stage of depression and other problems he was going through at that time.

Jackanory

Jackanory was a long-running BBC children's television series that was designed to stimulate an interest in reading. The show was first transmitted on 13 December 1965, the first story being the fairy-tale Cap-o'-Rushes read by Lee Montague. Jackanory continued to be broadcast until 1996, clocking up around 3,500 episodes in its 30-year run. The final story, The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne, was read by Alan Bennett and broadcast on 24 March 1996. The show was briefly revived on 27 November 2006 for two one-off stories.

The show's format, which varied little over the decades, involved an actor reading from children's novels or folk tales, usually while seated in an armchair. From time to time the scene being read would be illustrated by a specially commissioned still drawing, often by Quentin Blake. Usually a single book would occupy five daily fifteen-minute episodes, from Monday to Friday.

A spin-off series was Jackanory Playhouse (1972–85), which was a series of thirty-minute dramatisations. These included a dramatisation by Philip Glassborow of the comical A. A. Milne story "The Princess Who Couldn't Laugh".