However, from ancient times it has also been able to be conferred by pouring the water three times over the candidate's head. For Methodists, the Holiness Conference of North America in particular the act of baptism represents the death of one's sin and a rebirth into the Christian way of life. Catholics baptize infants because of their interpretation of who should be baptized states that "Every person not yet baptized and only such a person is able to be baptized." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraph 1246) This differs from the Methodist way, which believes one can only be baptized when they are able to willingly make a choice to be baptized.
The sacrament of confirmation is a sacrament only found in the Roman Catholic Church. It is another step in the initiation of a new believer into the Roman Catholic Church. It signifies a spiritual seal being placed upon a person, "By this anointing the confirmand receives the "mark," the seal of the Holy Spirit. A seal is a symbol of a person, a sign of personal authority, or ownership of an object." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraph 1295) In the Methodist church there is no need for an initiation in which a spiritual seal is placed upon a person, because it is the belief of the Methodist church that the Holy Spirit enters a person's body after baptism and it is the Holy Spirit that lives within us which separates us from non-Christians.
Other than baptism, the Eucharist is the only sacrament shared by both the Methodist and Catholic churches. This is because Christ specifically instructed his followers to "Do this in remembrance of me" (Luke 22: 7 - 23). However interpretation still differs on this ritual, to the Catholics "The holy Eucharist completes Christian initiation. Those who have been raised to the dignity of the royal priesthood by Baptism and configured more deeply to Christ by Confirmation participate with the whole community in the Lord's own sacrifice by means of the Eucharist.
Baptism: A Comparison of the Biblical Tradition with Modern Denominational Practices. One of the main reasons for the different denominations is their core, or fundamental, difference of belief concerning baptism. I hope to show ...