Question:
Question for churchgoers? What does Oil symbolize?
Nani78
2010-01-07 07:43:53 UTC
I have been to many evangelical churches, in this kind of denomination they dont baptize unitl the child is 10yrs and older. What i have seen done is the child is presented to the congregation a prayer is said and then Oil is put on their forehead. What does oil symbolize? What kind of oil do they use? Is it cooking oil, olive oil, anyone know?
Thirteen answers:
2010-01-07 07:48:49 UTC
The oil is for anointing and symbolizes God's protection, blessing, bounty, etc., being poured over that person. Back in the Biblical times, they would literally pour the oil over a person being anointed.



Most churches do use olive oil for that, some use almond oil or another fragrant oil. There are some forms of the oil that are solidified and they might use that for the anointing at times.



________________

With all due respect to my Christian brothers and sisters -- the oil can't be symbolic of just the Holy Spirit, since anointing with oil was present in the Old Testament, so to explain anointing with oil you must also use that context.



It is often performed at confirmation (related to receiving the Holy Spirit in some denominations), but it does not in itself represent the Holy Spirit, but rather, all the gifts and abundance of the Holy Spirit, being poured out on the individual.
?
2016-12-10 09:59:03 UTC
Symbolism Anointing Oil
Straightalk
2010-01-07 07:56:05 UTC
Anointing with Oil -

The anointing with oil in Christenings and Baptisms dates back to the early Christian Church and is still included in most Catholic ceremonies and many other Christian denominations.

Anointing with oil is found throughout the Old and New Testament. At Jesus birth, the Wise men brought 3 gifts - gold, incense and anointing oil. Jesus was both baptized and anointed with oil in the Bible.



In ancient times, fine oils were a symbol of wealth and also could be used in commerce the same as money. Only the wealthy could afford the finest of oils - pressed from various plants - used for many purposes: 1.) burned for light and producing a sweet, clean flame, 2.( as a perfume, 3.) to moisten their skin in the harsh sun, and 4.) for cooking.



The poor only had animal fats for such purposes and the impoverished had neither. Thus, to be "anointed" was a statement of prosperity.



In spiritual terms, anointing with oil is a declaration of spiritual wealth. With baptism/Christening, the person becoming a citizen of the Kingdom of God and Christendom in Baptism, that person now is wealthier than any worldly king - even if the person's life is of poverty and difficulty - as the person is assured of eternal life in heaven with a life in Paradise. The anointing with oil is after the baptism/christening in the ceremony for this reason. Most, but not all, parents also have anointing with oil in the Christening ceremony, but it is not required.
no1home2day
2010-01-07 07:50:52 UTC
The oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit.



Jesus told a parable about 10 virgins. Five wise virgins brought enough oil to keep their lamps lit, while five others were foolish because they did NOT bring enough oil to keep their lamps lit.



(Sorry, that's only an aside, and not directly related to the question, just an example in Scripture where oil is used to represent something more.)



Usually it is olive oil, but in all honesty, it is symbolic, so it really shouldn't matter, if it comes down to it.



The real issue is that of faith. You can pour all the oil in the world on a person, and if there is no faith, the person will simply be very slippery, with no other results or benefits.



I trust that this helps your understanding. Thanks for asking. :-)
John 3:16
2010-01-07 08:02:05 UTC
Oil is symbolic of all that is good in life, God's love and generosity to His children. The type of oil that is used is olive oil, the same oil which is used in Church.
CassandraofTroy Philosopher
2010-01-07 07:54:19 UTC
Certain oils herbs and stones summon angels. That is why they are used for blessings. The oil should be olive oil, probably mixed with myrrh. It doesn't symbolize anything, despite what some may tell you. It DOES something. That is why kings are anointed.
Jay Z
2010-01-07 07:49:40 UTC
The anointing of the Holy Spirit. In this case, consecration to Christian instruction.

Usually olive oil, with or without fragrance. Any oil can be used.
Pastor Art (((SFECU)))
2010-01-07 07:50:38 UTC
Oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit.



They probably use olive oil.
wefmeister
2010-01-07 07:47:26 UTC
The Holy Spirit.
?
2010-01-07 07:52:13 UTC
It symbolizes the anointing of God. The anointing is the power of God on you to give you the ability to do things that you could not do without it. It would be like afro-sheen. Black folks could put that on their hair and make it go straight.They could make their hair do thiongs it cannot do naturally.White folks use mouese.The anointing will bring healing, deliverence and it will break yokes of bondage and give freedom to people.Jesus was the " anointed" of God. He had that anointing on him and he healed the sick, raised the dead and preached the acceptable year of the Lord.
2014-07-19 22:48:11 UTC
the oil is for anointing and symbolises God's protection
Marty
2010-01-07 07:53:33 UTC
Protestants belief’s are anti-Biblical and Satanic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuUf3zYAZTU



Their churches didn’t start until 1500’ years after Christ

They express their imbecility with poorly trained Protestant Ministers making their own top ten list for salvation .And Preach the Gospel according to themselves. Which is fraudulent theology and errant preaching which becomes inane protestant rants and not scripture.. Which crafts their own versions of Faith and self exaltation. They are just charlatans plain and simple who believe the doctrine of easy believe-ism and a cosmic bellhop Jesus who is at their beck and call..



The lack of a definitive teaching authority in the fundie church makes many individual fundies think that they have a direct line to God, notwithstanding all of Christian Tradition and the history of biblical exegesis (a "Bible, Holy Spirit and me" mentality). Such people are generally under-educated theologically, unteachable, lack humility, and have no business making presumed "infallible" statements about the nature of Christianity.



Sola Scriptura cant be found in the bible. No Christian or Jew ever practiced it or dreamt it up.

Once saved always saved cant be found in the Bible. No Christian or Jew ever practiced it or dreamt it up.

Sola Scriptura cant be proved with the Bible Alone.

They commandeered the word Christian coined by a Catholic Bishop in the Books of Acts to Describe catholic belief. Then say Catholics aren’t Christian and stole their word (Christian ) to describe their satanic beliefs.

They Deleted Inspired books from the Bible and believe a Council of Jews Had the authority to set the Cannon of the Christian Bible. The Jews at the Council removed ever vestige of Christian teaching at the time to put down the Christian Faith . Which include most of the prophesy of the Messiah Jesus and John the Baptist ,contained in these books the first Christians were using. They even named a Jewish Messiah at this counsel Jamima.

They Changed the Listing and wording of the Ten Commandments written in the Bible.

They Believe the Bible to be the Inspired word of God . It says that no place in Scripture It is a catholic Teaching not a Jewish or protestant teaching.

They believe the Old Testament to be inspired It says that no place in Scripture.

They Lie every chance they get , The Bible was put together by Constantine, The Catholic Church was formed By Constantine, The Catholic Church was formed in 400 Ad. The Catholic Church added books to the Bible. The deutero- canonicals are not Biblical etc, which can all be proved false by a simple internet search.

They believe a few Lines of scripture Is all that you need to be saved in spite of numerous verses to the contrary.

They only believe in a few lines of scripture not the whole of the bible.

Their churches were all formed by the Opinion of one Man Martin Luther a deranged psychotic.

None of their churches teach the same doctrine or dogma.

They have Homo Pastors and priest’s

They have women Pastors and Priests

They have same sex marriages in their churches.

Some believe in Baptism some don’t contrary to Christ’s commands.

Their worship is nothing like the first Christian’s worship of God and Christ.

They believe you can sin as much as you like and be saved.

They preach a prosperity gospel and steal from their flock.

They sell trinkets to get your prayers answered.

They sell water to heal you.

They come up with strange practices like soaking ,Side hugs, words of wisdom, On demand prophesizing ,

Being pregnant with a miracle, Prayer towers, Altars to wave their hands over prayer requests, Untold heresy’s to get your money and get you on a mailing list..

Some require you to speak in tongues to prove your filled with the Holy Spirit and are a Christian.

Some give you a test before they will baptize you.

None preach the whole of the Gospel and teach bigotry and hate in their churches their service consists of a homily on one line of scripture. With a whole lot of trash spoken and self interpretation

They have no idea who coined the word Bible and will only give you their definition of it.

They have no Bishops as defined in the Bible or church hierarchy.

Most don’t have any requirements to become a pastor.

They have Diploma Mills to create Pastors in theology

Their worship service is for entertainment and not worship.

They constantly lie about other faiths even though they are proved wrong, they worship a Unity of Hate instead of Love.

They claim the word Catholic isn’t in the Bible so its not valid. I haven’t seen the word Trinity in the Bible nor Lutheran, Ana Baptist , Fundamentalist, Anglican, Episcopalian, Nor any of the 33,000 names they call themselves.

Evangelical/Baptist Christians defended and participated in the slave trade which was responsible for thousands of beatings, tortures and deaths on slave ships. They did this with Bible in hand.

Martin Luther, Calvin, the Church of Ethe Church of England, other Protestant Churches and their followers were quoting Scripture while burning witches throughout England, Scotland, America, Germany and elsewhere.

The reason that the Protestant reformers used vernacular languages was because a) most educated people did not take the reformers seriously and b) they used the masses to get power for their movement. The pamphlets published by Luther and Calvin were filled with all manner of crude and dirty language (lots of references to "shitting," "pissing," and "farting"), and this was done to capture the imagination of the common man and to create popular uprising against the social establishment.

They Claim the Catholics "burned people for reading the Bible," then the Protestants burned people for praying in Latin or hearing the Catholic Mass (something they unquestionably did in England, Geneva, and Scandinavia, etc.).

They Claim Catholics chained up their Bibles. Records have been compiled which show that there were 5,000 chained books in 11 Protestant and 2 Catholic libraries. The Reformers, likewise, chained their Bibles in their churches for at least 300 years. Therefore, Catholics were not alone in chaining Bibles. And what was the reason for it common sense.
Rockadayjohnny
2010-01-07 07:49:25 UTC
Love.


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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