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Possible definitions for baltis

ballista
Ancient missile launcher designed to hurl long arrows or heavy balls. The Greek version was basically a huge crossbow fastened to a mount. The Roman ballista was powered by torsion derived from two thick skeins of twisted cords through which were thrust two separate arms joined at their ends by the cord that propelled the missile. The largest could accurately hurl 60-lb (27-kg) weights up to about 500 yards (450 m).


baptism
In Christianity, the sacrament of admission to the church, symbolized by the pouring or sprinkling of water on the head or by immersion in water. The ceremony is usually accompanied by the words "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." In the doctrine originated by St. Paul, it signifies the wiping away of past sins and the rebirth of the individual into a new life. Judaism practiced ritual purification by immersion, and the Gospels report that John the Baptist baptized Jesus. Baptism was an important ritual in the early church by the 1st cent., and infant baptism appeared by the 3rd cent. Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and most Protestant churches practice infant baptism. The Anabaptist reformers insisted on adult baptism after a confession of faith; modern Baptists and the Disciples of Christ also practice adult baptism.


Baptist
Member of a group of Protestant Christians who hold that only adult believers should be baptized and that it must be done by immersion. During the 17th cent. two groups of Baptists emerged in England: General Baptists, who held that Christ's atonement applied to all persons, and Particular Baptists, who believed it was only for the elect. Baptist origins in the Amer. colonies can be traced to R. Williams, who established a Baptist church in Providence, R.I., in 1639. Baptist growth in the U.S. was spurred by the Great Awakening in the mid-18th cent. The 1814 General Convention showed divisions among U.S. Baptists over slavery; a formal split occurred when the Southern Baptist Convention was organized in 1845 and was confirmed when the Northern (Amer.) Baptist Convention was organized in 1907. African-Amer. Baptist churches provided leadership in the 1960s civil rights movement, notably through the work of M. L. King. Baptist belief emphasizes the authority of local congregations in matters of faith and practice; worship is characterized by extemporaneous prayer and hymn-singing as well as by the exposition of scripture in sermons.


Attis
Mythical consort of the Great Mother of the Gods and vegetation god worshiped in Phrygia and Asia Minor. His worship later spread to the Roman empire, where he became a solar deity in the 2nd cent. AD. The worship of Attis and the Great Mother included the celebration of mysteries at the beginning of spring.


Bali
Island (pop., 1995 est.: 2,900,000), Indonesia. Located in the Lesser Sunda Islands, off the E coast of Java, it ...

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