Baptism... means to plunge something completely into the water, so that the water covers it... This usage is also demanded by the significance of the baptism itself. For baptism, as we shall hear, signifies that the old man and the sinful birth of flesh and blood are to be wholly drowned by the grace of God. We should therefore do justice to its meaning and make baptism a true and complete sign of the thing it signifies.
- Martin Luther, quoted in Tom Wells, Does Baptism Mean Immersion? A Friendly Inquiry into the Ongoing Debate
But whether the person being baptised should be wholly immersed, and whether thrice or once, whether he should only be sprinkled or poured with water - these details are of no importance, but ought to be optional to churches according to the diversity of the countries. Yet the word "baptise" means to immerse, and it is clear that the rite of immersion was observed in the ancient church.
- John Calvin, quoted in Tom Wells, Does Baptism Mean Immersion? A Friendly Inquiry into the Ongoing Debate
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