Apparent Contradictions in the Bible?
3. What type of baptism would this have been....immersion, pouring, sprinkling, dousing, dunking, what? On what evidence do you base your answer and how important is this?
Answer to question 3. Immersion is the only baptism spoken of or described in scripture. We base this on two facts. First the Greek root word transliterated (not translated) into the various forms of the word baptize is baptizo. This means to dip or immerse. They had another word for pour, ballo. And yet another word for sprinkle, Rhantizo. The only true example that may give inference to the form of baptism would be the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8: 38, 39. We see Philip and the eunuch go down into the water and come up out of the water. Now bear in mind that this is a desert road, and the treasurer of Ethiopia. I'm certain that the caravan was carrying enough water to administer a sprinkling if that were an option. Just a fine point, in vs. 35 Philip preaches unto him Jesus. Out of that topic, the eunuch discerned the need to be baptized. Jesus cannot be preached without preaching baptism. Also we see in John 3:23, John the Baptist is baptizing in Aenon near Salim, "because there much water there". It takes much water to immerse, and little to pour or sprinkle.
4. Was there anything special about being baptized in the Jordan River or doesn't that matter....water is water, in other words?
Answer to question 4. The river Jordan was special because as stated earlier, there was much water there. There's nothing special about the water other than you need enough to immerse.