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Those too large to be entirely included In one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams Illustrate the method: Un des symboles sulvants apparaTtra sur la dernlAre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole — ► signifie "A SUIVRE ". le symbole V signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre film6s A des taux de reduction diff^rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul cliche, il est film6 A partir de I'angle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche d droits, et de haut en bas. en prenant le nombre d'images n6cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. t 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 L, c. 1 LAURA CLARENCE: A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. BT REV. D. McNAUGHTON, M.A., AYLWIN, QUEBEC. TORONTO : C. BLACKETT ROBINSON, PRINTER, 6 JORDAN STREET. 1882. 228070 DEDICATED TO MY EHTEEMED FRIEND, Mtn. m^ Kiii. M.:m., KANSAS CITY. \ thai whe so n is t( I the tob man full I ha men man as f obje that hav< restf cont frat< ignc plac plac INTRODUCTORY. When a new book is offered to the public, it is expected that the author will give some reason for offering it; and when one is offered on such a subject as Baptism, on which so much has been written, it may well be asked what end is to be answered by the one here offered ? I would simply say, that many of the books which treat the subject in the most satisfactory way are too expensive to be within the reach of the masses. On the other hand, many of those got up in a cheap style are not sufficiently full to give anything like an intelligent view of the subject. I have endeavoured to present the principal classical argu- ments to be found in the larger works in as concise a manner as possible, with some additional arguments which, as far as I know, are not elsewhere to be found. One object which I have kept continually in view is to shew that the responsibility for all the unhappy divisions which have taken place in the Christian Church on this subject rests with the immersionists. Paedo-Baptists of every name continually hold out the olive leaf, and are ready to fraternize ; but they are invariably repelled, their baptism ignored, and all who are unwilling to be immersed are placed beyond the pale of the Church, and by many of them placed beyond the hope of heaven. It may be said those VI. INTRODUCTORY. are extremists, and that all Baptists do not hold such views. But those extremists are the only consistent! Baptists; if they would take the same moderate ground! with respect to immersion which Predo-Baptists take witli respect to sprinkling, they need not be Baptists at all. The form which I have chosen was simply to make the book more attractive to the young, and at the same time to illustrate Western manners and customs. Many of the peculiar phrases to be found are given with that object. Some of the most unusual phrases are quoted verhatiht et literatim from a popular Baptist work called '* Theodosia." They are given to shew the styles of expression in which some of those writers indulge. With these few explanations, I offer this little work to the public, asking for it a candid perusal, and hoping that, by the blessing of God, it may be instrumental to some extent in promoting the cause of truth. INDEX- Chapter I. PAOE ronversation between Laura Clarence and Mr. Joneu— Believe and be Baptized —Infant Membership — Baptiitm and the Lord's Supi)er— The Clarence Family— An Immersion De8cribeeen baptized. He is ready and willing to be baptized ; you are not ready to baptize him. Of whom would his soul be required ? " Mr. Cleghorn answered, " I have no time to answer such silly questions," and dismissed the meeting. A few evenings after this, Mr. Jones entered Mr. Clarence's parlour, and he had scarcely sat down when he introduced the subject by saying: ** I am surprised at those statements which we found when I was last here in ' Theodosia.' I have always heard this book spoken of in the highest terms, and greatly praised for its fairness." •' The statements are not mine," said Mr. Clarence ; " they are in the books before you, and you may examine all the Lexicons in the world on the subject, and you will find no material ditference. The author of ' Theodosia ' has simply taken those meanings which suited him, and given them ; he has left out all those which did not suit him." " But has he not given the primary meanings ? I have always understood that the primary meanings were the most important, and that those given towards the last were of very little importance." " That is a mistake into which the author of * Theodosia ' has fallen, and many others as well as he have fallen into the same error. The meanings of the words are not given in the order of their importance, but in the order of their antiquity. The most ancient meanings are given first — A TREATI8K ON BAITISM. 23 not the most important. If you consult the preface to Lidilell and Scott'.s Greek and Kii«^iiHh Lexicon you will see that the principle on which it is written is to make each article a history of the word treatiMl of. To investigate the subject in anything like an intelligent way, it is neces- sary to divide the history of Greek literature into three eras — viz., the Classic, or most ancient, used by Homer and his contem{)oraries ; the middle, in which the Attic flour- ished, and was used by Xenophon and his contemporaries. The third is called the Alexandrian. This dialect pre- vailed from the time of Alexander the Great until the Christian era. This is the dialect in which the New Testa- ment is written. When we observe the great changes which have taken place in the English language since the time of Queen Elizabeth — how many words used at that time are obsolete, how others have completely changed their meanings — we will understand to some extent the groat change which must have taken place in the Greek language from the time of Homer till the Christian era, which was three times as long as the period between Queen Elizabeth and our own time. Such a change as I have suggested has taken |)lace in the meaning of the Greek word ' baptizo.' Its meaning in the time of Homer ' ditfered widely from its meaning ' at the time in which the New Testament was written. Many respectable Pfedo-Baptist ministers are willing to admit that the classic meaning of the word * baptizo ' is to inunerse, and yield up that point to the Baptists, believing that the classic meaning is of very little importance in the discussion of the question, I do not, however, agree with this opinion, for reasons which I will give hereafter. But as the position of the immersionist is that baptism must be performed by immersion only, immersion and no other way but immersion, our task is easy ; for we have only to show that some other act will fulfil the conditions of the word ' baptize,' and our task is done. We do not deny that immersion is a mode of baptism. We only deny that it is the only mode." " Oh," said Mr. Jones, " I always thought that the question was one between immersion and sprinkling." u LAURA CLARENCE. " Not at all," said Mr. Clarence. " As we admit that immersion is baptism, if you would admit that sprinkling is likewise baptism, there would be no issue between us. The mode would be a mere matter of opinion. You might all be either Presbyterians, Methodists or Episcopalians, and con- tinue to immerse and violate no rule of either of those churches ; but you deny that sprinkling or pouring is bap- tism at all, and you unchurch nine-tenths of the professing Christians in the worVi because they do not agree with you. Immersionists have chosen their ground. If it is narrow, it is their own business. We have only to show that sprinkling is a mode of baptism ; not the only mode. We have seen that Liddell and Scott give thirteen meanings ; the last :'s to baptise, or to administer the ordinance of baptism, showing that baptism may mean either or none of the former twelve. The Lexicons give no clue as to which of them is the mode in which the ordinance is to be ad- ministered." " The Lexicons appear to leave the subject in a very con- fused, unsatisfactory way," said Mr. Jones. " It may be unsatisf^ictory to Baptists, who have chosen such a narrow bed ; but we must keep in view that the lexicographers had not the mode of administering the or- dinances of baptism in their minds at all. They have simply given a history of the word, tracing it through all the eras of Greek literature, extending over a period of one thousand years, and given the various uses to which it has been applied. The same sources of information are open to us as to the lexicographers. We can have access to all the Greek authors which they have quoted, and judge from the circumstances the ideas which the writers intended to convey." "That would be no easy task,'' said Mr. Jones, " That cannot be helped ; there is no royal road to learn- ing. But is it not strange that the mode of administering an ordinance so important, that it is the door of admit- tance into the Church, should be left so much in the dark ? If we take the New Testament for our guide — for ex- A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. 25 ample, our Saviour's baptism — it is difficult for me to under- stand how it could have been by any other mode than immersion." " We are not yet through with the meaning of the word ' baptize.' When we are through with that, we may take up your question. Let us now note some of the ideas intended to be conveyed by some of the Greek authors by the word 'baptize' Homer, one of the most ancient of the Greek authors, in one of his poems, called 'The Battle of the Frogs and Mice,' speaks of a pond being baptized with the blood of a mouse. Now, it is left to the reader to determine the mode of baptism in this case — whether the pond was immersed in the mouse's blood, or the mouse's blood was applied to the pond. The idea which the author intends to convey is simply that the water was stained with the blood. This brings us to notice a point which is generally overlooked in the consideration of this question, viz.: The word 'baptize' or baptism, is not specific in its meaning; it is generic; it describes an effect, not a mode of producing an effect. For example, the word ' wash ' describes an effect. That effect may be produced either by plunging the body into water, or by applying water to the body. It is the same with the word ' baptize.' In the New Testament the word 'baptizo' is frequently trans- lated by the word ' wash.' But to return to the classic mean- ing. Homer in another place speaks of a mountain being baptized by the blood of a stag. It is simply the effect which is described. The mountain was stained. It is immaterial whether the mountain was immersed in the stag's blood, or the blood was sprinkled or poured on the mountain. We will now give an example of its use in the Alexandrian Greek, viz., the dialect in which the New Testament and the Septuagint, or Greek version of the Old Testament, is written. This Septuagint, or Greek version of the Old Testa- ment, was translated by seventy of the most learned men of Greece, who were appointed by Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt, to translate the Old Testament Scriptures from Hebrew to Greek." . 26 LAURA CLARENCE. I "But I have heard it said that the Septuagint was not good authority," said Mr. Jones. " It is true," replied Mr. Clarence, " that it is not con- sidered good authority in theological questions. But the question now before us is simply the meaning of a Greek word, and those seventy learned men must surely be compe- tent authority as to the meaning of a word in their own language, and it is reasonable to believe that they would use the word which would best convey their meaning. In Daniel iv. 33, where it is said in our own English version that Nebuchadnezzar was wet with the dews of heaven, in the Greek version it is said he was baptized. Now, the idea intended to be conveyed was simply that he was wet with the dew, or the effect produced by the dew. We are left to judge whether he was plunged into the dew, or the dew settled down upon him as it does upon the grass." " That is very strange," said Mr. Jones ; " I cannot under- stand how that can be." " Well," said Mr. Clarence, "it is in the book before us in black and white. I think we have this difficulty met in ' Theodosia.' The author says it is common for poets to speak of being dipped in dew. I am aware that poets are allowed what is called poetical license, and in drawing their fanciful sketches they sometimes use words in a sense far different from the ordinary. But it is with fact, not fancy, we are now dealing. And unless the author of ' Theodosia ' denies the truth of the story as given to us by Daniel, and calls it all a fanciful sketch, I cannot see how this plea will help his case." " But is it not the word ' baptizo * which is always used in the New Testament, and not bapto ? What then has the passage in Daniel to do with the case ? The verb hapto is the root. A derivation is never of greater force th' j. the word from which it is derived, and it is generally of less force ; hence, as it is the root word which is used, it only makes the case against immersion stronger. It shows that a less application of water than might be made with the dews of heaven would comply with all the conditions of the A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. 27 word 'baptizo,' as our English word * baptize' comes from the word baptizo. Is it not a great pity that the translators of what is called King James' version did not translate the word * baptizo,' and not leave it in such an indefinite way ? They could find no word on which they could all agree ; hence they wisely, as I think, decided to leave it as it is. But Baptist writers are far from being agreed as to what would be an equivalent for the word 'baptize.' Some give 'immerse,' others give 'dip' — neither of them conveys the idea. Nor do they properly describe the mode of adminis- tering the ordinance by baptism. The word ' merse ' con- veys the idea much better than 'immerse.' By prefixing the preposition ' in ' to the word ' merse,' we give the word a locative meaning, which ' baptize ' does not possess. The word ' immerse ' only expresses the act of putting a body under water, but not of taking it out again. The word ' emerse ' is required to express the act of taking the body out of the water. Hence, when you administer the ordi- nance in your way, you both immerse and emerse. If you should cease when you immerse the body, you would leave it under the water." "But what has all this to do with the case ? " said Mr. Jones. " Only this," replied Mr. Clarence, " that as you claim that baptism must be a well-defined act, it behoves you to find some definite word to describe it. The word 'immerse' does not describe the act which either you or we call baptism. But," continued Mr. Clarence, "it is extremely unfortunate for your cause that the word 'immerse' was ever chosen to de- scribe the act which you call baptism." " Why so?" said Mr. Jones. "Because neither in the Vulgate or Latin translation of the New Testament, nor in the works of the early Chris- tian fathers, which were written in Latin, do we find the word ' baptise ' translated by immergo. Now, it is reasonable to believe that if the word immergo had conveyed the mean- ing of the word 'baptise,' they would have used it, and not have taken a Greek word, Latinised it as we have Angli- cised it, and incorporated it into their own language. Peo- 28 LAURA CLARENCE. pie are not likely to borrow a word from another language, to express an idea, if they have a word in their own which will answer the purpose. The modern Baptists have taken up a Latin word which the Latins themselves rejected more than eighteen centuries ago, and use it to describe their mode of administering the ordinance of baptism. Our beat Latin-English Lexicons give, as the Latin equivalent for * baptize,' not immergo, but baptizo ; and for ' baptism,' not immersio, but baptisma levatio sacra, or sacred washing. If you examine the Vulgate or Latin version of the New Testa- ment, you will find that baptizo and baptisma are invariably used as the equivalents for * baptize ' and ' baptism ' — never immergo nor irriTnersio. The word ' immerse ' is not found in the English Scriptures at all." '* But," said Mr. Jones, " did not King James forbid the translators of the Scriptures to translate the word ' baptize V Is not that the reason why the word ' immerse ' is not used ?" " So far from King James preventing an agreement in favour of immersion, he was the means of preventing a division on that question. Nearly one-half oi the translators were in favour of adopting sprinkling, or pouring, as the only mode of baptism, and excluding immersion altogether. James, though a weak monarch, was a ripe scholar. He knew that the word baptizo was not a specific word, but a generic one. He knew that neither ' sprinkle,' nor ' pour,' nor * dip,' would convey the idea intended to be conveyed by the word bap- tizo ; hence he recommended that the word baptizo should be Anglicised by having its termination changed. The mode was thus left an open question. Nearly nine-te-^ths of the Christian world at the present day endorse King James's opinion : thev practise sprinkling, or pouring, but admit that immersion is valid baptism. But surely you will not say that King James was responsible for the translators of the Vulgate, in the first century, passing over the word immergo and using the untranslated word baptizo. It is surely reason- able to believe that the word immergo did not express the idea, or they would have used it rather than to have taken a foreign word and incorporated it into their language. A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. 29 King James only induced the translators to follow the course adopted by the Vulgate, and Anglicise what they had Latinised. We will now consider the claims of the word ' dip.' This word much better describes the Anabap- tists' mode of administering the ordinance of baptism than the word 'immerse.' The word 'dip' is as much a Greek word as ' baptize.' It is simply the Greek word dupto Anglicised, as the word baptizo has been. Now, it is fair to give the inspired writers credit for knowing what they meant — and if they had meant 'dip' they would have said 'dip.' John the Baptist would have said dupto eis udata if he had meant dipping ; but the fact that he used the language baptizo en udati, showed that he meant something else than ' dip.' " " That is all new to me," said Mr. Jones. " It is none the less true for all that. I simply give you the words used by the inspired writers, and the meanings given in the best Greek and English Lexicons. But there is one thought more in connection with this to which I would like to call your attention before we go any further. The Greek preposition en is always followed by the dative case, and always means motion or rest in a place. It never means motion into a place. Motion into a place always takes the accusative after it ; and if there is a preposition used, it is always eia, which means 'to,' or 'into.' The lan- guage which was used by John altogether precludes the idea of plunging the body into the water. Consult all the Greek authors in the world, and you will not find one who describes such an act as you perform when you administer the ordinance of baptism, in the language in which John describes his work. John said he baptized into repentance, not into water — it was luith water. But it is a little re- markable that we never read of being baptized into water ; it is into repentance — into Jesus Christ, into His death (Romans vi. 3), into Moses (1 Corinthians x. 2). But not into water. We never read of baptizing into water. There is only one apparent exception to this rule ; it is in Mark i. 9. It is said that ' Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, ftnd was baptized b^ John in Jordan.' The wprd ' Jordan ' is 30 LAURA CLARENCE. I.'!?'' $ •'I'll here in the accusative case. But in the former verse John says, * I baptize you eii udati' or with water, the water be- ing in the dative case ; and in the parallel passage in Mat- thew iii. 6, we have the word * Jordan ' in the dative case, preceded by the preposition en. The passage in Matthew precludes the idea of immersion. The parallel passage in Mark makes it possible." " How do you reconcile the two ?" said Mr. Jones ; "is not the one in Mark as good authority as the one in Matthew ?" "It is the word ' come,' followed by the preposition eis, which puts the word * Jordan ' in the accusative case. The preposition eis is frequently translated by 'at,' when the idea of motion towards a place is included. You will see that this idea is included in this passage — hence, eis would be pro- perly translated by ' at.' The celebrated German scholar Greisbach gives this passage as an example of this use of the preposition eis. In Mark i. 9, therefore, the word * bap- tized' could be translated by either 'immersed' or 'sprinkled' without violating any rule in grammar. In the preceding verse, and in the parallel passage (Matthew iii. 6), it could not be construed to mean * immerse,' * dip ' or ' plunge,' with- out violating rules laid down by all grammarians worthy of the name in the world." "But," said Mr. Jones, " I have read in 'Theodosia' that where we have * I baptize you with water,' we have in Greek 'I baptize you in water;' that the translators of the English Scriptures have changed the Greek preposition en to * with,' to support their own view. How do you explain that ? " "Simply that your author misrepresents the case — whether ignorantly or wilfully is not for me to say. We have seen thF.t -^r GiGek preposition en is never translated by ' into.' '^ 0' . \n ><■ baptize in your way without putting the sub- • «•( m' > th? water. The only preposition which would con- vey ^'•0 r f-iea would be eis; en precludes the idea of putting the siiojoco into the water. But if the translators are wrong here, they are wrong in other places as well. In Re- velation xiii. 10, where we read, 'He that killeth with the A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. 31 sword must be killed with the sword,' should be, * He that killeth in the sword must be killed in the sword.' It is the preposition en which is used here, and if it should be trans- lated by in in the one place, why should it not be so trans- lated in the other ? " " I must confess," said Mr. Jones, " that it would be awk- ward." " It certainly would, and, what is worse, it would not give the meaning of the inspired writers. Cause, manner, and in- strument are put in the dative case in Greek, with or without the preposition en. The sword was the instrument with which the killing was done ; the water was the instrument w^th which the baptizing was done. You have no more authority for saying the subjects were dipped into the water, than that they were dipped into the sword. If it was allowable to translate the preposition eti by 'with' in the one case, it was equally so in the other." " Can it be possible," said Mr. Jones, " that the statements which are made in ' Theodosia ' are so unreliable 1 I have always heard it spoken of as a book which gave both sides fairly." " It is not only possible, but certain. The book is full of just such misrepresentations. As for its fairness, it is very much like that of a good old Scotchman I once knew. The best place for holding a series of meetings was being dis- cussed. He advocated the claims of a .school-house in his neighbourhood. It was urged that another point would be more central. He answered, * I think the skill-hoos wud be the maist central for the folk on this side.' Your author looks for arguments which will be fair for his own side." " I suppose," said Mr. Jones, " that people have all a bias, less or more, towards those opinions which they have been taught in their childhood ? " " It is not opinions I am dealing with at the present time," replied Mr. Clarence, " I am giving you facts. I am simply giving you the words used in the original by the inspired writers, and the connections in which they are used, with rules given by grammarians, altogether irrespective of the 32 LAURA CLARENCE. question which we are discussing. But I would like, for your own satisfaction, if you would show these words and rules to some good scholar, and get his opinion from a purely literary standpoint, without any reference to the subject of baptism at all." " Thank you ; I may have an opportunity of so doing at some time." " It may be well to observe," said Mr. Clarence, " that in the Syriac version of the New Testament the word baptizo is translated by a word which signifies * to stand up.' This gives significance to the words used by Ananias to Paul, * Arise and be baptized.' It would appear that ordinance was administered while the subject was in a standing pos- ture. This view accords with the meaning and intention of the ordinance of baptism. This text, which all your people are so fond of quoiing, Mark xvi. 16, would be more signifi- cant — ' He that beJieveth and is baptized,' i.e., ' He who ac- cepts Christ, and makes a profession of his faith or takes his stand as a Christian, by submitting to the ordinance of bap- tism,' shall be saved. That is what you, as well as we, un- derstand by baptism, taking our stand before the world as Christians." " But," said Mr. Jones, " is not that a roundabout way of coming at the meaning of a word, to go to the Syriac for it ?" " Your favourite author does so when it suits his purpose. And it is the proper way to learn the meanings of words, to ascertain the ideas which those using them intend to convey. It is surely interesting and important to know the meaning which the translators of the Syriac version attached to the word at that early age. But perhaps we have spent enough of time on the classical meaning of the word. It may be more interesting to consider the various scriptural passages in which reference is made to the subject." Mr. Jones now looked at his watch, and finding it was half-past ten o'clock, said it was time for him to take his leave. Mr. Clarence, seeing he was quite interested in the subject, invited him to return another evening. Mr, Jones readily accepted the invitation. A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. 33 Mr. Jones was on hand punctually at the a])pointed time. " Where shall we begin ?" said Mr. Clarence. " I am not quite satisfied yet," said Mr. Jones, " with our investigation into the meaning and use of the word 'dip.' I have been consulting some authors on the subject since I was here. I learn that the wore" dip ' in Luke xvi. 24 is translated from the word bapto. And likewise in Revela- tions xix. 13." " Perfectly true," said Mr. Clarence, " but that does not help your case any." " Why," said Mr. Jones, " I thought the question we were discussing was whether * dip ' was a proper translation of the original word baptizo, or bdpto." " Not at all," said Mr. Clarence. " We may admit, and we do admit, that the word baptizo and baj^to may be pro- perly translated by * dip ; ' but that does not in the slightest degree affect the case." " Why not ? " said Mr. Jones. " The point at issue between us is not whether the ordinance of baptism may be properly administered by dipping or not, but whether it must be done in that way and no other. We have only to show that it may be done in some other way. We will proceed to the consideration of the texts to which you refer. We will again remind you that the words bapto and baptizo describe an effect. In Luke xvi. 24, the finger of Laza- rus was to be wet with the water. Bapto was the word used by the inspired writer. The English translators have trans- lated it by the word ' dip,' because dipping would be a con- venient mode of wetting the finger. Any other word which would have conveyed the idea of wetting would have answered the purpose equally well, or better. In Revela- tion xix. 13, our Lord Jesus Christ is represented as a King riding forth as a warrior at the head of his army, and in the battle in which He is engaged His vesture is stained or dyed with blood. A warrior's garments may be stained either with his own blood or with that of his enemies, or both. Now, Mr. Jones, did you ever hear of a warrior bein^ 34 LAURA. CLARENCE. II i plunged into a pool of blood in the manner in which you administer the ordinance of baptism ? In what way would you suppose that a warrior's clothes would get stained with blood ? I suppose the most likely way would be that they would get bespattered with the blood either of his enemies, or from wounds received in his own person ; but in either case the word ' wet," dyed ' or ' smeared ' would have conveyed the idea much better than 'dipped.' 'Sprinkled * would have conveyed the idea better than the word 'dipped.' You will see that in both of those passages to which you have referred it is an effect which is described. The finger was to be wet with water. The finger would be most conveniently put into the water. In the case of the vesture, the blood would be sprinkled on it. But the word bapto is never used in the New Testament to describe the ordinance of baptism ; it is always baptizo. And though in Luke xvi. 24 the sur- rounding circumstances show that the word bapto is pro- perly translated by ' dip/ no such case can be shown in which, from the surrounding circumstances, dipping or im- mersion must necessarily have been the mode in which the ordinance was administered. And in many cases the sur- rounding circumstances are such that it is extremely impro- bable, if not impossible, that such could be the mode." "Let us leave that part of the subject now," said Mr. Jones, " and turn to some of the passages in the New Testa- ment in which baptism is referred to, and see if there is not something in the surrounding circumstances which favours the idea of immersion. Where shall we begin ? I would like to hear a little more about our Saviour's baptism ; for it is said He was baptized in Jordan. And after all that has been said, it appears strange that He should go into the water for any other purpose than to be immersed." " We have already seen," said Mr. Clarence, " that the pre- position which is used precludes the idea of putting the body into the water. But it is not clear that they went into the water at all. The word translated in Matthew iii. 6 by * in,' is translated in Romans viii. 34 by ' at.' Christ is said to be at the right hand of God. Now, suppose we translate A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. 35 by ' in,' and read in the right hand of God, would we make any improvement ?" " 1 think not," said Mr. Jones. " This is only one of the many cases in which the word is translated by 'at.* In Luke xiv. 81, the same word is translated by ' with.' * Consulteth whether he be able with twenty thousand men ' would read, in twenty thousand men. This would certainly be no improvement. Now, you see, we have examples of the same word being translated by 'in,' 'at,' and 'with.' Suppose it had been translated by * at ' in Matthew iii. 6, it would have conveyed the idea quite as well. The text then simply means that John was carrying on his work of preaching at or near Jordan. The word used does not inform us whether he was in Jordan or not. But suppose he was in the water, it would not follow that he was immersed. He might be sprinkled, or have the water poured upon him ; and if the language used precludes the idea of immersion, as we have already seen, we are shut up to some other mode which will agree with the meaning of the language used. We will now proceed to show that sprinkling conveys that idea ; and we will give four distinct reasons for believing that Christ was sprinkled, and not immersed." " But before you proceed to this," said Mr. Jones, " would you be kind enough to explain why it is said in Matthew iii. 16, that 'Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straight- way out of the water.' Now, could He go up out of the water if He had not gone down into it ? " " Youappearto forget thatHe mightbe in the waterwithout being under it. The word translated ' went up ' is compounded of two words — the one means * up ;' the other, ' to go.' It is the word always used to express the idea of going upward, or away from the sea coast or any large body of water. The history which Xenophon wrote of the expedition undertaken by Cyrus against his brother Artaxerxes, was called the Anabasis, or the 'going up,' simply because it was inland, or away from the sea coast. The word 'went up' simply means that he went away from the water. The words ' out I' ^ 36 LAUHA CLARENCE. of are translated from the Greek word apo. Now, the prim- ary meaning of the word apo is ' from.* In all the Greek grammars in which the word is given, the meaning given is 'from away from.' In Liddell and Scott, 'out of is not given, unless in very rare cases. Ek is the word which is the equivalent of * out of,' and which would have been necessary to convey the idea of the Anabaptist in relation to this ordinance. Why the translators have translated the word apo by ' out of, ' in this place, is not known, but the translation is a very unusual one. The obvious meaning of the passage is simply that they went away from the water. It is no evidence either for or afjainst immersion." " But why," said Mr. Jones, ''* are there so many ways of translating one word ? It is very confusing to have half a dozen meanings for one word. Why cannot we have an English equivalent for every Greek word ? When so many meanings are given, every man who knows a little Greek feels at liberty to take whichever meaning suits him best." " There is no help for that," replied Mr. Clarence. " But the paucity of words in all languages is the cause. It is rare that one word can be found in one language which is an ex- act equivalent for a word in another language. One word must generally be used to convey several ideas, if those ideas are in any way nearly connected with each other. And again, when new ideas are introduced, new words are neces- sary to express those new ideas, or old words must be used with new meanings. With the introduction of Christianity into the world there was a great demand for new words to convej'^ those new ideas which were introduced with Christi- anity. And as the idea of Christian baptism was a new one to both the Latins and English, a new word was necessary to convey this new idea; and as neither of them had a word in their own language which conveyed the idea, the Latins took the Greek word and Latinised it, and the English Anglicised it. But as we have treated of this before, we will dismiss it and proceed to the reasons for believ- ing that Christ was sprinkled, or h*d the water poured A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. 37 upon Him, rather than that He was immersed. Christ was a priest. The priests were dedicated to their office at the age of thirty years by having oil solemnly poured upon their heads. We are expressly informed (Luke iii. 23) that Christ began to be about thirty years of age, or that He had arrived at the proper age. As He was of the tribe of Judah, and the regular priests were of the tribe of Levi, none of them would be likely to induct Him into the office. John was raised up to prepare the way for Him. One part of the preparation was inducting Him into the office of the priesthood. John was a priest by hereditary descent. His father, Zachariah, was an officiating priest at the time of his birth. His mother was of the daughters of Aaron. He was legally qualified to induct Christ into that office. Christ resembled Melchizedek in this, that he was not a priest by hereditary descent. He had neither father nor mother in the priest's office. Hence he was a priest after the order of Melchisedek. When John hesitated about baptizing Him, He said, ' For thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.* That righteousness was fulfilled in waiting till He was thirty, as well as being inducted into the office. If He was not dedicated to the office at this time, when, where, and how was He inducted ? And what is the meaning of all that the Apostle has written in the book of Hebrews about Christ's priesthood ? 2nd. His name — Christ — means * the anointed one.' When He sat down to teach in the synagogue in Capernaum, in the manner of the priests — the first time He took the position of a teacher there — He began His dis- course by applying these words of the prophet Isaiah to Himself, * The spirit of the Lord is upon me, for He hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor.' You will bear in mind that this was immediately after His baptism. When and where was He anointed, if not at this time ? 3rd. ' The spirit of God descended upon Him.' This was in fulfilment of Isaiah xlii. 1 : 'I will put My Spirit upon Him,' or as it is expressed, ' I will pour out My Spirit upon Him.' Oil, in the Jewish dispensation, was an emblem of the Spirit of God. The pouring out of the Spirit on the day I 38 LAURA CLARENCE. I h of Pentecost was called * the baptism of the Spirit.' The water baptism is symbolical of the baptism by the Spirit. When the baptism by the Spirit was by pouring, it is surely reasonable to believe that the baptism by water would be by pouring. His baptism with water will lose much of its significance if we separate it from its antitype, the baptism with the Spirit." " There appears to be considerable force in your argu- ment," said Mr. Jones. " But as it is all new to me, I would like to take time to consider it further before giving my opinion on it." " 4tli. In six different ancient drawings of this scene, which were taken from the second to the sevenlih century, Christ and John are represented as standing together in the water, and John in the act of pouring water on His head from a shell. This shows the view which was taken of the mode of baptism at that time, which was not more than one generation after the time of the Apostles." " I have been informed," said Mr. Jones, " that Psedo-Bap- tist writers generally agree that John's baptism was per- formed by immersion." " That is an assertion without proof," replied Mr. Clarence. " I may notice at another time the unfair way in which many Pasdo-Baptist writers are quoted. But if you will curef ully read the book of Leviticus, you will see that nearly all the various ceremonial washings or cleansings were done by sprinkling. By turning to Leviticus xiv. 5-7, you will see that the ceremony for cleansing a leper was to take a living bird and tie it to a cedar branch, and dip it into the blood of a bird which had been killed in an earthen vessel over running water, and sprinkle the leper with the blood and water. Now, this leprosy is conceded by all Christians to be a type of sin. This blood and water with which the leper was sprinkled represents the cleansing blood of Christ and the Holy Spirit, by which the sinner is cleansed from the leprosy of sin. You will see that the washing, the cleansing, or the baptism — for they are interchangeable terms — was done by sprinkling. If you will turn to Hebrews A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. 39 ix. 10-22, you will find a more concise account of those washings or baptisms." " Do you mean to say," said Mr. Jones, " that the word * washing ' is a translation of ' baptism' ? " "It is the word which is translated 'washings' in He- brews ix. 10, and * baptisms ' in Hebrews vi. 2 : * Which stood in meats, and drinks, and divers washings (or baptisms), and carnal ordinances, imposed on them till the time of reformation. But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, not of this building ; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having ob- tained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the un- clean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who, through the Eternal Spirit, offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God ? And for this cause He is the Mediator of the New Testament, that by means of death for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there also must of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead : otherwise it is of no strength while the testator liveth. Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated with- out blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, saying. This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. Moreover, he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. And almost all things are by the law purged with blood ; and without shedding of blood there is no remission.' You see that the divers washings or baptisms referred to in the 10th verse are described minutely in the 13th verse. It was by 40 LAURA CLARENCE. sprinkling the unclean with the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer, mixed with water. It surely cannot be now denied that baptism may be performed by sprinkling." " Not if the word * washing ' in the original is * baptism.' But that is all new to me. You appear to find references to ba[)tism where I never dreamed that they were to be found." " I could not find them if they were not there. I have simply pointed them out to you. John the Baptist was the son of a priest. He must have frequently seen his father perform those rites of cleansing, or baptism. Those whom he was addressing must likewise have been familiar with them. When he invited them to be baptized, they would naturally expect him to baptize in the way in which they had always seen it done. Had he begun to practise immer- sion, it would have been a strange, meaningless rite to them." " Well," said Mr. Jones, " your reasoning appears to be at least plausible." He then looked at his watch, and finding that it was nearl} eleven o'clock, he rose to take his leave. Mr. Clarence, seeing that he was deeply interested in the subject, invited him to return on the following evening : and knowing that there was a younger brother of Mr. Jones, who was attending a Collegiate Institute, then on a visit, he in- vited him to bring him along. He then handed him the Greek Testament, and suggested to him that he might get his brother to examine some of the passages which they had been considering. Mr. Jones thanked him, and promised to do so. -, u ^ A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. 41 CHAPTER IV. MR. JONES and his brother spent the principal part of the following day in perusing the Greek Testament. James Jones (for that was the brother's name) had begun to read Xenophon, and had little difficulty in reading the passages to which they had been referring. He had a small edition of LidJell and Scott's Greek Lexicon. They likewise examined a number of other works to which reference had been made in the discussion. Mr. Jones heard simply a repetition of those definitions which he had heard from Mr. Clarence. His faith was now beginning to be shaken in his favourite author. They were again at Mr. Clarence's in the evening, and were soon at woi'k. " Have you had an opportunity of looking at those pas- sajres to which we referred ?" said Mr. Clarence. " We have examined them carefully," replied Mr. Jones, " and I am quite satisfied. But where it is said that John was baptizing in ^Enon, near to Salim, it is added, * because there was much water there.' What would this 'much water' be used for if not to immerse ?" Mr. Clarence then turned to James Jones and said, " Will you be kind enough to turn to the Gospel of John, iii. 23, and tell me the Greek word which you have for * much ?' " It is 'poUa,' " said James. "And how would you translate 'polla' ? " " By * many.' The passage would then read, many waters or streams — simply meaning that it was a well- watered country." " But did you see the advertisement of a camp- meeting which the Methodists are to hold at Sugar Creek on the 15th of next month ?" " I did," replied Mr. Jones. " Why do you suppose that they have selected the neigh- bourhood of Sugar Creek for their camp ground ?" ' ■li 42 LAURA CLAHENCE. i ty " I presume that as many of them will be coming long distances, they will require water for themselves and their horses and mules." "You do not sup])()se that the water is sought for the purpose of baptizing ?" said Mr. Clarence. " We know that the Methodists do not practise immersion, except in rare cases, at the request of the subject. If one of those adver- tisements should be unearthed a few centuries hence, it might be as fairly argued that the Methodists practised immersion because they selected their camp ground near Sugar Creek. It was as necessary for those who came to hear John to have water for themselves and horses, as it was for the Methodists. When the site of our church was selected, it was on the ground that it was near a beautiful spring. If some of our discussions should be produced at some future time, and used in the same way, they would prove us all to be Anabaptists." "That's so," said Mr. Jones; "we must understand by John's baptizing, in this passage, his preaching, his exhorta- tion, and all the other work of his ministry." It was now decided to take all the passages which treat of the subject in their regular order. They then passed on to the baptism of the three thousand on the day of Pentecost. " It will be necessary to bear in niind," said Mr. Clarence, " that there is a double baptism spoken of here." " What are they?" asked the Mt'^srs. Jones, speaking to- gether. " The baptism by water and baptism by the Spirit." " I can see nothing about baptism by the Spirit," said Mr. Jones, " in the passage." "If you will turn to Acts i. 5, you will find: 'John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.' " " When do you suppose this promise was fulfilled ?" " I cannot say," replied Mr. Jones ; " that has escaped my attention." " It is generally understood to have been on the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit descended upon them." A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. 43 " Can you suggest any other fulfilment of this promise ?" '• I cannot. We are satisfied to take the one which you have given. If you will now read carefully from the begin- ning of the chapter to the 18th verse, it will be plain to you that what now occurred was a fulfilment of the prophecy of Joel, recorded in Joel ii. 28 : "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh ; and your sons and your flaughters shall pro- phesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams, and on my servants and on my handmaidens will I pour out in those days my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.' " Mr. Clarence then, turning to James Jones, said, " Will you kindly turn to this passage in the Greek Testament, and give us the Greek for ' pour out V " He soon found it to be "elc keo." " Will you now find this word in the Lexicon and see how it is translated ?" He soon found " pour out " to be the meaning. '* You are now satisfied, I presume, that the word is pro- perly translated in our English version ?" " Entirely so." " Is it not plain, then, that the baptism of the Spirit was by pouring ?" " Well, if that was the baptism by the Holy Ghost, spoken of by the Evangelist, I suppose it must be so. James Jones then remarked : "It does appear to be strange that this point has been altogether overlooked by our people, but I do not see how it can be got round. As we have learned the mode in which one of the baptizing elements was applied, what authority have we for applying the other in a different way ? If a change is made in a rite which ,you consider of such great importance, it is surely not asking too much to ask for some reason." Neither of them answered a word. Willie Clarence was present, and seeing their confusion said : " Father, I hope you will not baptize them by asking them too many questions." 44 LAURA CLARENCE. .■I 1 ii '■ i ri • " Hush/' said Mr. Clarence. " Well," said Willie, " I was looking in the Lexicon the other day, and I saw that given as one of the meanings of • baptize.' " " Well, that will do now," said Mr. Clarence. " But," said James .Tones, " if that is one of the lueanings of 'baptize,' T w I like to know it. Or is the boy only trying to hoax us '' ' " You have only to look for yourselves. The Lexicon is there before you." James soon foui^i fl « word, and saw that it was even sc "I am surpriLM , .-. said, "that our own writers pass these things over wiiiii' . notice." " They have doubtless toe -r own reason for it," said Mr. Clarence. "But It an n-, .turn to the question, and examine if we can iJnd b.'^f " :, that the Apostles bap- tized with the water in a diiibrent way from that in which God baptized with His Spirit. It would appear that Peter's pungent sermon on that occasion produced a wonderful effect. No less than three thousand made a profession of their faith in Christ, and were received into the Christian Church by the ordinance of baptism. How it was adminis- tered we are not informed ; but it is reasonable to believe that the Apostles would apply the water in the way in which they had seen the Spirit." " Is not a Spirit invisible ?" " It would be well for you to follow the advice which you yourselves so frequently give — ' Stick to the law and the testimony.' We are simply informed that ' there appeared unto them cloven tongues as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and spake with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.' The Spirit assumed the likeness of a tongue of fire, as he appeared in the likeness of a dove at our Saviour's baptism. But this is a digression. We have not a word as to how or where they were baptized. We are simply in- formed that they were baptized. Let us compare this plain account of this baptism with the accounts given by Baptist A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. 45 writers of their baptisms. What a minute account we have of the baptism of Theodosia in your book I But here we have not one word of the three thousand leaving the place where they were converted, to find a stream or pond in which they could be immersed. Most writers deny that there was any stream or body of water in which they could have been immersed, in or near Jerusalem. We will not, however, urge this point at present. Again, the length of time which would have been required to baptize by immer- sion would be a serious difficulty. We read that Peter, standing up with the eleven, addressed the people. And from the fact that Peter was so careful to have the blank which was made by the defection of Judas filled by another who was to be chosen expressly to take a part of the min- istry in the place of Judas, it is fair to infer that only the twelve took a part in the ministry that day. Now, this would be two hundred and fifty subjects to each Apostle. How long time, do you suppose, it should take one man to baptize two hundred and fifty ? " " I do not know," said Mr. Jones ; " I never baptized so many at once." " I have heard it said that from one hundred to one hun- dred and fifty would be as many as an able-bodied man would be able, with justice to himself, to baptize in a day." " I think," said Mr, Jones " that a man may baptize two Imndred and fifty in a day. I would not see any great difficulty in the Apostles baptizing them all." " We must remember that it was about the third hour, or nine o'clock, when Peter began his address. Considerable time must have been taken up with his address and exhor- tation, so that the day must have been pretty well advanced before the baptism commenced. Now, if all those three thousand had been marched off, according to your custom, to be immersed, is it credible that there should be no mention made of it?" " Scripture stories are generally brief, and few particulars are given," said Mr. Jones. hi 46 LAURA CLARENCE. m i"» 'f " It is true they are brief, but when an incident is related it is oenerally done minutely. For example, when our Lord's ministry is described, we are told at one time that He taught in a house, at another time by the seaside, at another time in a ship, at another time on a mountain. The same with His Apostles. We read of them, on one occasion, going to the river side to hold a prayer meeting, but never to baptize. We have only one case recorded of any one being taken from the place where he was converted to be baptized." " What case is that, pray ?" " It is the case of the Eunuch. He left his chariot. But we need not go far for a reason, for, of course, they had no water in the chariot." " Can you find in your records of baptisms performed in connection with your ministry, a number of cases equal to those recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, and find no men- tion made of repairing to a stream, or to some body of water which would be suitable for the purpose ?" " I had not thought of it. I do not know that I could. It never struck me in that light before. And there is some force in the argument. But as you have made a reference to the baptism of the Eunuch, I would like to hear that explained, for surely the description which is given of that baptism looks very much like immersion." " All right," said Mr. Clarence ; and turning to James Jones, he said : " Will you be kind enough to find the pas- sage in the Greek Testament, and tell me the word given for ' went down ? " " Katahaino," replied Mr. Jones. " You have begun to read in the 'Anabasis,' have you not?" " We had just got through the first book when our Insti- tute closed." " Can you tell me the derivation of the word 'Anabasis * ?" " Ana, upwards ; and haino, I go." " And why is the book called the 'Anabasis ' ?" " Because it describes a journey inland, or away from the sea coast. It was therefore a going up." A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. «i " Could you tell us what word would be used to describe aix expedition towards the sea coast ?" " It would be a 'katabasia,' or a ' going down.' You will see, then, that the word used by the Evangelist was the one which was always used in impressing the idea of downwards, or towards a body of water. We aie simply told, then, that Philip and the Eunuch went towards the water. What word have you for ' into ' ?" "Eis" replied James Jones. " Will you please turn to the Lexicon and give us the meaning of 'eis' ?" '' 'They are,' 'to,' 'unto,' " etc., etc. " That will do," said Mr. Clarence. " Now turn to John XX. 3. By what word is the coming of the disciples to the sepulchre expressed ?" "By'm."' " Now you will see that 'eis' in this passage, is properly translated by 'to,' for in the next verse we read : 'yet went they not in.' When we read in the passage under consid- eration that Philip and the Eunuch went down to the water, it might as well have been added, * yet went they not in.' " Both the Messrs. Jones cried out at once : " Oh, you have no right to add anything ! Take the simple text as it is." " True," said Mr. Clarence, " we have no right to add nor to diminish. And if we have no right to add * yet went they not in,' you have just as little right to add * and they went in.' The text simply brings us to the water. There is nothing added to inform us whether they went into the water or not, but we read that they both went down. Whatever length the one went, the other went also. All that is added is, * he baptized him.' We are not told how. For aught we are informed in the passage, it might have been either the one way or the other." "That's so," said James Jones. "'What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.' That Greek is knocking our immersion all endways like ; but, never mind, let us hear what it does say. But does not the word 'ek' mean 'out of?' How could they come out of the water if they were not in it?" It It! i^i : 48 LAURA CLARENCE. " Will you kindly find the word in Liddell and Scott ?" said Mr. Clarence. He found it and read : "Fiom, out of, away from a place." " You will see that if we applied your rule, and confined ourselves to the primary meaning, we would be shut down to 'from.' We will not, however, take advantage of that. It is enough simply to say that 'ek' is opposed to 'eis.' We need not follow it any further." "Well," said IVIr. Jones, with an evident feeling of dis- appointment, " it appears, after all, that it is left an open question. If there is no evidence that immersion was the mode, there is none in favour of sprinkling." " To leave it an open question is to decide it against you," said Mr. Clarence ; " for your position is immersion, and nothing but immersion." " Well," said Mr. Jones, " we may go on to something else." " Not yet," said Mr. Clarence ; " we are not yet done with this passage. We wish to see if there is anything in it which appears to favour sprinkling." And turning to Willie, he said : " Get your Bible, and find Isaiah, chapter liii. and verse 5." He found it and read : " He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers," etc. " I presume you recognize this as the passage which the Eunuch was reading when Philip met him." " Certainly," said Mr. Jones. " There can be no doubt as to that." " Philip then asks him if he understands what he is read- ing. He confesses his ignorance, and invites Philip to take a. seat beside him in the chariot. He then asks Philip the question, 'Of whom speaketh the Prophet — of himself or of some other man ?' That Philip then opened his mouth and preached Christ, ie., that that wonderful person of whom he had been reading was Christ, the Messiah." "But," said Mr. Jones, "Philip must have preached to him about baptism, or why would he have asked to be bap- tized as soon as he saw the water ? He must have got the idea of baptism in some way." A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. 40 " Quite true," said Mr. Clarence ; " but we must keep in view the Bible was not then divided into chapters and verses as it is now. The books were written from begin- ning to end without break or division. It is only reason- able to believe that the Eunuch began at the beginning of the book, and had got as far as the passage quoted in the Acts of the Apostles. Now, Willie, go back eight verses and read." Willie counted back and found that it brought him to the 13th verse of chapter lii. He then read • " Behold my ser- vant shall deal prudently; he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonished at thee ; his visage was so marred more than any man. So shall he immerse many nations," etc. " Well," said Mr. Jones, " I never saw that before ; but surely that is conclusive for immersion. What has become of all your explanations, now, in favour of sprinkling ?" " But are you sure," said Willie Clarence, " that this applies to Christ ?" " Certainly," said Mr. Jones. " Those verses which you have now read describe His humiliation as plainly as those quoted in the Acts of the Apostles, and Philip declares plainly that it was Christ he w\as preaching." " Willie," said Mr. Clarence, " will you please read that passage correctly ?" Willie read it, and put " sprinkle " instead of " immerse." " Let me see that," said Mr. Jones. Willie pointed out the place, and Mr. Jones read it for himself. A cloud appeared to pass over his countenance, and he laid down the book and made no reply. " The old story of the lawyer and the ox," said Willie. Mr. Clarence continued : " When we consider that the Eunuch was a Jewish proselyte, and knew that all the ceremonial cleansings under the law were by sprinkling, and as Philip preached to him Christ, and doubtless referred to the commission which he had received with the other dis- ciples to go and preach the Gospel to every creature, bap- tizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and M so LAURA CLARENCE. 'I li ! ( of the Holy Ghost ; and that he, as one of Clirist's servants or apostles, wa* now, in obedience to that command and under that commission, preaching the Gospel to him as a representative of those nations who were referred to by Christ in the commission. Now, observe, the prophet says : ' He, that is Christ, shall sprinkle many nations. Christ had come, and begun to baptize those nations through His dis- ciples.' In the one case the word * sprinkle ' is used, in the other * baptize ;* but it is evident that one and the same thing is meant. Hence there was nothing more natural than that the Eunuch should ask to be baptized, and that the baptism should have been by sprinkling. It is extremely improbable that immersion should have entered into the minds of either, as it would have been utterly void of sig- nificance to both. But, with the Jewish modes of purifica- tion, they must have both been familiar. These rites were all performed by sprinkling." " But is it perfectly clear that all the ceremonial rites under the law were performed by sprinkling?" said Mr. Jones. " Read Numbers xix. carefully. You have there an account of the preparation and use of the water of separa- tion. This was to be sprinkled on, for every kind of sin and uncleanness. What is baptism but a rite of separa- tion ? You understand it in that way as well as we. When you baptize a person on profession of his faith in Christ, it is understood that by this act he professes to be sepa- rated from the world, and to be united to Christ as one of His disciples. In Ezekiel xxxvi. 25, it is said : * I will sprinkle clean water (or cleansing water) upon you, and ye shall be clean ; from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you ' (or separate you). The great ques- tion for fallen man is how to be just with God. What he wants to be placed in a state of justification is the cleansing by the blood of Christ, and the renewing by the Holy Spirit ; or, as the Apostle expresses it, * the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost.' The sprinkling of Ezekiel was symbolical of that washing or renewing. As A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. n the blood of Christ has been already shed, it was unneces- sary that the blood and the ashes of the heifer, representing Christ's blood, should be mingled with the water. Hence, simple water is now used in the ordinance of baptism to represent this cleansing." ' Well, that is all new to me," said Mr. Jones ; " I must consider it more, at my leisure." " If you are satisfied with this, we will now briefly con- sider Philip's work in Samaria. We read, Acts viii. 5, that Philip preached Christ to them, and as the result many were baptized, both men and women. We are not informed how they were baptized. But as Samaria was built on the summit of a high mountain, water was scarce. If this had not been so, the woman of Samaria would not have been obliged to go out to Jacob's well with her watering pot to bring water into the city. It would have b< i;n a difficult ^ask to get water to baptize by immersion. If Philip had ken them away to a stream to immerse them, it would ive been mentioned." " Not necessarily so," said Mr. Jones. "Well, the burden of proof will lie with you to prove that they really went to a stream for that purpose." " The next case to which we come is the baptism of Paul. Will you please read Acts ix. 17-19 inclusive : 'And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house ; and putting his hands on him said. Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been great scales : and he received sight foHhwith, and rose and was baptized. And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.' Let us observe that he arose and was baptized. This looks very much as if he was baptized while in a standing posture. The word by which 'baptize' was translated into the Syriac, means *to stand.' If he had been required to leave the house to be baptized in a stream or pond by immersion, would not a small degree of ; V 52 LAURA CLARENCE. I ' ft>-' common sense have suggested to Ananias the propriety ot* giving him food to strengthen him before submitting his nervous system to such a shock as it must have received from being suddenly plunged into cold water ? Reflect how absurd it would be to take a man out of bed who had been sick and blind for three days, and had not tasted food during that time, to a pool of water, and, while in that weak condition, plunge him into the water without giving him a morsel of food before starting out. If he had been taken from the house, they surely would have given him the food f»rst ; but it was not till after he was baptized that he received the food. It is incredible that he should have been taken from the house under such circumstances, and no mention made of it. A popular Baptist writer draws a graphic picture of Saul in his feeble state going forth, leaning on the arm of the pious Ananias for support, to the river, and there being immersed. But the Scriptures are silent on this, and we have no right to add anything to the Scripture record. The next case which we will notice' is that of the Centurion. The account given by the Evangelist is as follows : ' While Peter spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles likewise was poured out tne gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and glorify God. Then Peter said : Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we ? And he commanded them to be baptized.' When Peter was rehearsing this event afterwards (Acts xi. 15), he says : ' And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the begin- ning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord Jesus, that He said, John indeed baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as He did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ ; who was I, that I should withstand God ?' 'Who can forbid water ?' — i.e., who can prevent water or keep it back ? Why talk of keeping back A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. 68 The the water from the subject, if the subject must be brought to the water? How do you explain this, Brother Jones ?" Mr. Jones replied: "There is a difficulty here which I had not observed before." "Again, Peter expressly declares that it was when he saw Cornelius and his family baptized with the Holy Ghost that the words of the Lord Jesus, connecting the water baptism with the baptism by the Spirit, recurred to him, suggesting the idea of the water baptism, that he commanded them to be baptized with the water, as he had seen them baptized with the Spirit. Now, this simple question arises : In the case of a baptism with two different elements, the one ele- mp.at is poured upon the subject — would that suggest the r>lunging of the subject into the other element ? God's (Qode was pouring. He poured His Spirit upon them. Is it not presumptuous in us to use a mode so widely different as immersion ? Are we at liberty to use the one eleme at in a different way from that in which God uses the other, when the action is described by the same word ? If God Himself, when baptizing with His own Spirit, chose the mode of pouring or sprinkling, who are we that we should with- stand God, and choose another mode which has not been appointed in His word ?" " Well, that is coming down heavy on our side," said James Jones. " Well, I must confess," said Mr. Jones, " that I have not examined that subject so carefully as I should have done. I had been satisfied with the account of our Saviour s bap- tism, and that of the Eunuch, and had let this pass with too slight an examination." *' We will briefly notice the baptism of Lydia," said Mr. Clarence. " She was baptized at the river, near Philippi. But the Apostles did not go to the river to baptize. We are told that they went to hold a prayer- meeting ; that they spent a part of the time in speaking to the * women who resorted thither;' that the Lord opened the heart of Lydia, so that she attended to the things which were spoken of Paul, and that she was baptized then and there. Nothing is said 54 LAURA CLARENCE. about the mode in which the water was applied. We now come to the baptism of the Philippian jailor (Acts xvi, 24- 40). It appears that the Apostles had been put into the inner prison ; their feet made fast in the stocks ; the prison was shaken with an earthquake ; the jailor was frightened and was near committing suicide, knowing that if the pris- oners escaped he must pay the penalty with his life ; he is barely prevented by Paul's word ; he then rushes into the inner ward, where Paul is, trembling, and in a state of the greatest excitement throws himself at Paul's feet, and cries out, * What must I do to be saved ?' Paul explains to him the way of salvation. He then took water and washed their stripes and was baptized, he and all his. Not a word of taking them away to a river, but it was done straight- way. Let us notice the order of the events. He brought them out of the inner prison, where they lay bound, into the court of the prison. It was then that Paul preached to him and to all that were in his house, and that he washed their stripes and was baptized — doubtless with the water which had been brought to wash their stripes. He then took them into his own house and set meat before them. Now, I would ask if it is at all probable that Paul should have asked that jailor to take his prisoners out of that prison at the midnight hour — a thing which he could only do at the risk of his life — and take them to a river some considerable distance outside of the city limits and there baptize them, and return to the court of the prison ; and after all this that he should have taken them into his own house and set meat before them ? Is is probable, is it even possible, that an in- cident so striking and so important should have occurred, and that such a graphic and accurate historian as Luke should make no mention of it ? Is it credible that this man, now rejoicing in the new-found pearl of great price, should have permitted those outraged prisoners, whom he had now dis- covered to be the servants of the Most High God, mangled and bruised by the forty stripes, save one, which they had received on the previous day, their limbs cramped by being fa^t W the stocks, and famished with long fasting, to under- A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. (6 take this labour, even if the rules of the prison had permitted him, without first giving them refreshments ? We find that he gave them refreshments immediately after the baptism. If they had to be taken away to a river to be immersed, might we not expect that any man of common sense, ai^d possessing the ordinary feelings of humanity, would have j^iven them their refreshments first ?" " That reasoning does appear plausible," said Mr. Jones ; " but we must not go by mere probabilities. We must to the law and the testimony." " Very well," replied Mr. Clarence, " let that be the stan- dard of appeal, by all means. We can find within the limits of the law and the testimony evidence that they had suffi- cient water on hand to baptize by sprinkling. The water which was brought to wash or baptize their bruised limbs — for washing and baptizing are interchangeable terms — would be sufficient to sprinkle them. You must go beyond the law and the testimony to find water to baptize by immersion. Where did they find the water? Information is here wanted." " That's a poser," said James Jones. Mr. Jones, senior, said : " They may have found water in some cistern." " But," said Mr. Clarence, " we cannot take maybe's. We want proof. We have found the water — where do you find it?" Mr. Jones possessed the prudence to say nothing where nothing could be said. He at length said : " If you will turn to Romans vi. 3, you will find something which means immersion, if words have any meaning." " Well," said Mr. Clarence, " let us examine the passage carefully." Then turning to Willie, he said : " Will you please read from the beginning of the 3rd verse to the end of the 14th verse — ' Know ye not, that so many of you as were immersed into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death ? Therefore we are buried with Him by immersion into death : that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even we also should walk 56 LAURA CLARENCE. in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.' " " Willift." said Mr. Clarence, with an attempt at sternness, " please read that as it is in the book." " Well," replied Willie, " I was out hearing Elder Bump the other evening, and he proved very much to his own satisfaction that the word ' baptize ' should always be ' immerse,' so I thought I would read it that way, that we might hear how it would sound." " That will do, Willie," said Mr. Clarence. " Let us pro- ceed with the question. The apostle says, ' We are buried.' Now, whatever condition is meant by ' being buried,' it is evident that the apostle, and they to whom he wrote, were in it at that time. Now, how were they buried ?" " I presume in the usual way," replied Mr. Jones. " I thiuk if you read the next clause you will find that it was by baptism." *' There is no getting round that," said James Jones. " Well, we require to know now how this baptism was performed." " Oh, I see how it is !" said Willie ; *' they have made a slight mistake. They have simply taken the door to unlock the key, instead of taking the key to unlock the door. They have taken the burial to explain the baptism, and have not noticed that the baptism explains the burial. A slight mis- take — a very slight mistake." " That will do, Willie," said Mr. Clarence ; " you had bet- ter, for the present, leave the discussion to older heads. Still there is a point in what he says. The next question is into what was he baptized ? It was into Jesus Christ — into death — not into water. We have no reference in the Eassage to anything resembling immersion in water. We ave the word ' baptism ' and the word * burial ' mentioned in the same passage. Let us see what relation they bear to each other. First let us consider what kind of a burial it is that is spoken of here; whether is it a real burial or a figurative one?" A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. mis- ist- We )ned ir to lor a 1 presume Jones : " £( 67 ne," replied tn.' Hence, been in it must have been a figurative it is said, * we are buried with I whatever that condition was, they must hav when the Apostle wrote." " Very well," said Mr. Clarence, " as figurative or sym- bolical burials were common among both the Greeks and Romans, let us see how they were conducted. The Romans, to whom Paul was now writing, must have been familiar with figurative burials." Then turning to James Jones, he said : " I presume you have read in Horace." " I have read the first book," replied Mr. Jones. "You probably remember the twenty-eighth Ode,addressed to Archytes ? " Quite distinctly." " I presume you remember," continued Mr. Clarence, " the superstitious belief on which this custom was founded. The souls of those to whom funeral rites were denied were des- tined to wander round in the neighbourhood of the body for one hundred years before they could be admitted into their Elysium. Hence, anyone who, by accident, found a dead body, or any part of it, over which the funeral rites had not been performed, was liable to a severe punishment from the gods if he did not perform those rites. The figura- tive burial consisted in sprinkling the remains three times with a small quantity of earth. As soon as this simple ceremony was performed, the soul was supposed to be set free. Have you ever read Sophocles' Antigone ?" " No, I have never read that." " Well, no matter. If you can procure a good English translation — and such can now be easily had — you will see that the ceremony was precisely the same among the Greeks. Now, as figurative burials were by sprinkling, just as figura- tive washings or baptisms were by sprinkling, it is clear that if this text refers to the mode of baptism at all, it points to sprinkling as the mode. The Jews did not bury their dead under the earth, as we are in the habit of doing. They buried in sepulchres which were not generally below the sur- face of the earth. They were entered just as rooms are en- 5 58 LAURA CLARENCE. 'U i , tered with us. The bodies were laid on shelves, and the door tightly closed. The modes of burial, in none of those coun- tries, had the slightest resemblance to immersion. But into what were those Roman Christians said to have been baptized, or immersed ? Not into water, but into Christ, into His death, etc. It is evident the Apostle's remarks have no bearing whatever on the mode of baptism. He compares baptism into Christ to a burial with Him, to being planted with Him, to being crucified with Him. Hence, the mode of burying a dead body has no more to do with the mode of baptism than to the mode of planting a tree, or making a cross, or cruci- fying a victim. The Apostle says, * We are buried,' ' We are planted,' ' We are crucified.' The baptism refers to the one as much as to the other. What does the Apostle teach them in this passage ? He simply teaches that when we are baptized into Christ, we are incorporated with Him ; that we are a part of His body; that we have put off the old man, and put on the new ; that we are now as dead to our former life of sin as if we had been dead and buried and had risen again; that we are planted with Christ as a part of His body; that our old man — that is, our carnal lusts have been cru- cified ; that we are now new creatures in Christ Jesus." " Well," said Mr. Jones, " that exposition is altogether new to me. I would like to reflect on it a little more. Perhaps we might as well pass on to some other passage." " There is another point or two yet which I wculd like to notice in connection with this passage before I leave it." " Oh !" said Willie, " father reminds me of a lawyer I was reading of not long ago. He was defending a client in a case of damages, said to have been inflicted by his dog on his neighbour's cow. The legal gentleman undertook to prove : (1) That the wounds were of such a nature that they could not have been caused by a dog's teeth ; (2) The only dog his client ever owned had no teeth ; (3) That at the time the injury was done his client had no dog. Perhaps father thinks he has only proved two of his points. He now wishes to prove the third." Thougn Mr. Jones' face had been rather grave, it now re- laxed into a smile. A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. 59 bhe ips )W re- Mr. Clarence reminded Willie that he never could keep his tongue quiet. He then said, " We will now pass on to 1st Corinthians x. 1." Willie then read : " Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all bap- tized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea." " Now, while in this condition, under the cloud, or, as it is in the second verse, in the cloud, and in the sea, they were all baptized, or shall w^e say immersed .? Now, into what were they immersed ? Not into the cloud, not into the sea, but into Moses." " But it is not * into ' Moses, but ' unto ' Moses, as it reads here," said Mr. Jones. " No matter," said Mr. Clarence ; " it is all the same in Greek;" and turning to James Jones, he said: "Will you find the passage in the Greek Testament and read it ?" James Jones found the passage and read it, and said : " True enough, it is the same word we have in Acts viii. 38, where it is said they went down into the water." " Now, they were enveloped in the cloud, walking in the trough of the sea. In that position they were baptized, not into the water, but into Moses. How they could be im- mersed into Moses is for you to say." " There is a difficulty there," said Mr. Jones. "The difficulty is all with the word 'immerse.' If we stick to thi; text there is no difficulty. The children of Israel professed their faith in Moses as their leader, march- ing dowm into the sea under his leadership. They accepted Moses as their leader, just as the Christian accepts Christ as his leader. They are said to be baptized into Mosos, just as the believer is said to be baptized into Christ. The mode in which the baptism was administered is described in the 77th Psalm, verses Ifith to 20th: 'The waters saw Thee, O God, the waters saw Thee ; they were afraid : the depths also were troubled. The clouds poured out water ; the skieH sent out a sound ; Thine arrows also went abroad. The voice of Thy thunder was in the heaven ; the lightnings lightened; iih 60 LAURA CLARENCE. f"' iM? It m I- Ir' the earth trembled and shook. Thy way is in the sea, Thy path is in the great waters, and Thy footsteps are not known. Thou leddest Thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.' It is evident that they were baptized by the water being poured upon them from the cloud. Now, is it not worthy of notice that we have two cases recorded in which the ordinance of baptism was administered by Gods own hand — the one with water, as here recorded, the other with the Spirit on the day of Pentecost ? In both cases the baptism was by pouring." " But," said Willie, " we have just as strong evidence of immersion in this case as o^ sprinkling or pouring." " How do 3^ou make that out ?" said Mr. Clarence. ** The Egyptians were immersed." " Quite true," replied Mr. Clarence ; " but they were not emersed, they were drowned. There are two points clearly proved in this passage. The children of Israel were bap- tized by sprinkling, and infants were the subjects of it as well as adults. If not, they were all selected out of the camp of Israel and left to the tender mercies of the Egyp- tians ; for all who passed through the sea were baptized." " But," said Mr. Jones, " that belongs to another dispensa- tion. It is Christian baptism we are discussing now." " You appear to forget," said Mr. Clarence, " that it is the language of the Apostle Paul we are considering now, and the Apostle said he would not have them ignorant of it ; and if you read the passage carefully, you will see that Paul explains the whole to refer to the spiritual union which exists between Christ and His believing children — explains the bread and water which they ate and drank to be Christ. They drank of that spiritual rock, and that rock was Christ. Egypt represents the kingdom of sin and Satan. This deliverance by passing through the sea, being baptized while in the sea by the water being poured upon them from the cloud — their journeying through the wilderness, being supported by God's bounty, is simply a comprehensive parable describing the deliverance of God's people from the bondage of sin and Satan by being bap- A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. 61 tized into Christ — as the children of Israel were baptized into Moses — and being led by His Spirit and fed by liis bounty, during our pilgrimage through this world. Now, let us observe, that the children were sharers in the bap- tism, and in all the other benefits which flowed from their covenant relation to God. The Apostle connects those two things together. By what authority do you separate them, and cut oflf the children ?" The Messrs. Jones then took their leave. r I i CHAPTER V. to kt in ON the day following, the Clarence family were very agreeably surprised by a visit from an old friend and college companion of Mr. Clarence s, named CahuUan. Mr. CahuUan was a clergyman of the old school. The cut ot* his coat, and his style of tying his cravat, belonged to the last century. In all his deportment he appeared to be im- pressed with the importance of magnifying his office. His motto was, " Let all things be done decently and in order." Every word he spoke, either in the pulpit or out of it, and every action, down to sneezing and using his pocket-handker- chief, were done with due deliberation, and with a due sense of clerical dignity. He was tall, and, though past his three score years and ten, erect, and of commanding presence. He had much of the manner and bearing of the ancient Highland chieftain. But beneath his rigid exterior he pos- sessed much of the genial humour and urbanity for which his countrymen are noted. To know him was to love him. He was a universal favourite with both old and young. In his younger days he was in the habit of making extensive missionary tours through the newest and most sparsely settled parts of the country, preaching in log cabins, barns, and school- houses, and wherever he could get a few people together to hear the Word of Life. Though on the Sabbath day he would scarcely smile without atoning for it with a m 62 LAURA CLARENCE. m if { sigh, it was no unusual thing for him, at his week-day ap- pointments, to throw off' his coat, after the services were over, and beat all the young men on the ground at throwing the sledge hammer and shoulder stone, and other athletic games. Though some of the elders, at times, shook their heads gravely at what they called his "unminister-like" con- duct, they could not deny that his influence among the young was great, and that it was increasing. As he was now a widower, and on the list of retired ministers, and his family were all settled down in life, he was at leisure to make a lengthened visit. Mr. Clarence had, therefore, little diflS- culty in prevailing on him to spend the winter with him. On the day following, the Messrs. Jones and Elder Bump, the pastor of a Disciple or Campbellite Church in the neigh- bourhood, called on some school business, as Mr. Clarence was superintendent of the schools in that county. As it was near noon when they got through with their business, Mr. Clarence invited them to remain and dine with him. They were taken into the parlour, and introduced to Mrs. Clarence, and Laura, and Mr. CahuUan. They were all quite well, except Elder Bump, and he was " right smart." He then gazed at Mr. Cahullan with one of those belligerent expressions of countenance with which he was in the habit of trying to intimidate his opponents in his ecclesiastical combats, for, like most of his brethren, he was quite an ecclesiastical gladiator as well as an invetera^te joker. He now considered that it behoved him to perpetrate a joke of some kind ; and not seeing in Mr. Cahullan a suitable sub- ject, he glanced his eye at Mrs. Clarence, and then at Mr. Clarence, and said, " How young your wife looks ! Why, bless my soul, you look a'most old enough to be her pa!" And as he always made it a rule to laugh at his own jokes, this sally was followed by an explosive burst of laughter, in which none joined except himself. After an interval of silence, Mr. Cahullan said, "Appear- ances are deceitful." Elder Bump turned suddenly round and said, " How, bro- ther Chadband ? " n A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. 03 He had once had an opportunity of reading some of Dickens' works, and he had got hold of that name, and he was in the habit of using it to all clergymen indiscrimi- nately when he wished to b»- witty. Mr. CahuUan, seeing that both Mr. Clarence and Mrs. Clarence felt annoyed, caliidy said, " Oh, never mind ; our friend wishes to make a joke, und that is the best he has. Let us take the will for the deed, and, in the language of his hero, Chadband, with whom he appears to be so familiar, ' Let us be joyful, for it might have been worse.' " Laura then informed them that dinner was ready, and they all adjourned to the dining-room. There was a little negro in the village, named Mike. This lad had an interesting history. ()n the 1st of January, 1 case in which a subject might feel it to be his duty to bapti/e himself, being unable to find any brother to do it for him. Would his baptism be valid ?" ** Certainly not," said Elder Bump. " Suppose he should do part of it himself, and the minis- ter should complete the operation ?" presui "I r the simpb part whole of a the ^ shoulc first water A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. 71 m i^ man- so. 1 of all )he way ptismal is only none of palians, Papists. lieve in ich you impbell are not neither can de- >ur ex- m, you eration )iritual abol of The ;s, hold d who ied by ion, is inued : like to lubject unable Ism be minis- " I never heard of such a case," said Elder Bump ; " but I presume not." "I think you see it every time you see a subject im- mersed," said Mr. Cahullan. " The subject walks out into the water and immerses his feet and legs. The minister simply completes the operation by putting the remaining part of the body under water. In order to baptize the whole body, you would require to raise the subject, by means of a windlass or some other mechanical contrivance, above the water, and let him down into it till the whole body should be immersed. When the practice of immersion was first begun, when the subject went or was put into the water up to the neck, the minister then baptized him by pouring or sprinkling water on his head. The immersion was then no part of the baptism." Elder Bump then said, " If that is the way in which you treat a serious and important subject, it is time to give up the discussion." " I beg pardon," said Mr. Cahullan, " I have not the least intention of treating the subject in any other than the most respectful manner. I claim to speak the words of tiuth and soberness. I have simply shewn that in your mode of bap- tism you do not perform the act which you profess to ])erform. I now go further. You are all very fond of des- cribing the ordinance of infant baptism as the invention of the mother of harlots. I will now proceed to shew that your immersion, as a substitute for baptism, is neither more nor less than an invention of that same scarlet- attired lady to whom you are so fond of referring." " Oh ! oh !" said Elder Bump ; but as ho made no remark, Mr. Cahullan continued : " Shortly after the time of the apostles, innovations were introduced into the ordinance of the Lord's Supper. In- stead of being celebrated as a feast to commemorate the (lying love of Christ, it began to be regarded as a real sacri- fice iu which the real body and blood of Christ were pre- sent. The ordinance of baptism was tampered with in the same way. The simple application of water in the name of I sQH^ ,1 ■ 72 LAURA CLARENCE. I ■ ' Hi m\ \^m the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, was not sufficiently specious and impressive to please the carnal eye. Hence at an early period in the Christian Church the prac- tice was introduced of taking candidates for baptism into an anteroom, stripping them of their clothing, and when in a nude state washing them by dipping them three times in water. Sometimes oil, salt, or honey were mixed with the water, and various exorcisms were used. They were then clothed in white raiments, taken into the church, and baptized by sprinkling. The dippings or immersions were not at first looked upon as baptism, but simply a prepara- tion for it ; but in time it gradually took, to a greater extent, the place of baptism. Now, let us observe, the dipping must be done three times. To dip once was the same as not to dip at all. The first distinct mention which we have of dipping in connection with baptism is by Ter- tullian, who lived at the beginning of the third century, and he acknowledges (' De Corona Militis,' chaps, iii. and iv.) that those dippings, with all the accompanying ceremonies, were based simply on tradition, and were destitute of all scriptural authority. Exclusive immersion, as you practise it, was unknown till the beginning of the seventeenth cen- tury.* But during all that time sprinkling was practised, and its validity was never denied. The true meaning of the ordinance of baptism was gradually lost sight of. The outward form was exalted, and the spiritual meaning was in a great measure lost. Instead of using it to represent the cleansing from sin by the application of the blood of Christ and the Holy Spirit, immersionists make it to repre- sent a burial. It would be strange, indeed, when Christ instituted only two ordinances, that they should both shew forth the same thing. The ordinance of the Lord's Supper shews forth his death. To make the ordinance of baptism represent simply his burial, makes it meaningless. The notice of a burial is of no importance further than that it is an evidence of the death. And then you add to the absurd- of th or< cal thi cl( an CI See McKay's Treatise on Baptism. A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. 73 ity by placing the ordinance representing the burial before the one representing the death. If your mode had been of God's appointment, it would surely have been free from this absurdity. But take the Paedo-Baptist view of the ordinance — how plain, simple and consistent it is. The candidate makes a profession of his faith in Christ. He then receives the ordinance of baptism representing the cleansing from sin by the application of the blood of Christ and the Holy Spirit. By this act he takes his stand as a Christian, as it is expressed in the Syriac version of the Scriptures, and is introduced into the family of Christ, and he is now entitled to come to His table and eat and drink in His presence." " Well," said Elder Bump, " you have a strange way of mixing things up." But he now remembered that he had another engagement for that afternoon, and all his time would be required to meet it, so he took his leave, and the Messrs. Jones accompanied him. i-.l CHAPTER VI. A FEW evenings after, the Messrs. Jones returned to Mr. Clarence's, partly, as they said, to apologize for what they called Elder Bump's eccentricities, but it was evident that they were interested in the question and would like to discuss it further. Mr. Clarence invited them into his study, and Mr. Cahullan accompanied them. Mr. Jones said that as he failed to find a single command or example for in- fant baptism in the Scriptures, he was at a loss to under- stand the grounds on which Psedo-Baptists based their doc- trine. At this point Mr. Cleghorn came in. He had come to see Mr. Jones, and not finding him at home, he had followed him to Mr. Clarence's. Mr. Clarence informed him of the point they were discussing. Mr. Cleghorn said, " That is a point very easily decided. Just find one plain command in 6 74 LAURA CLARENCE. ii: the Scriptures for baby sprinkUng, or any example of Christ or His apostles practising it, and the case is decided in your favour. If you fail to find such, the case must be decided against you. That is surely a fair way of putting it. Let us to the law and the testimony." " By all means," said Mr. Clarence ; " but I would like to ask you one question : Do you admit women to the Lord's Supper ? " " Certainly," said Mr. Cleghorn ; " but what has that to do with the case ? " " Simply this," said Mr. Clarence : " I would like to know where you find your command or example for it." " Well," said Mr. Cleghorn, " I cannot at once lay my hand on one, but I am sure there are plenty to be found." " I would like," said Mr. Clarence, " if you would find one, for hitherto I have failed in the attempt ; but we will not press you for the Scripture proof at present. I would just ask you on what grounds you admit women to the com- munion ?" " I find," said Mr. Cleghorn, " that women as well as men believed and were baptized, and if they were in this way admitted as disciples, they were eligible to partake of the Lord's Supper." " Precisely so," said Mr. Clarence. " You infer from cer- tain data that they should be admitted, hence you admit them. We infer from certain data, which is to us satis- factory, that children should be admitted into the Church as disciples, hence we admit them. So fai* we are agreed. But it is now time to enter fairly into the consideration of this subject. We find in all God's dealings with the human family a great importance attached to the family relation. When God had determined to destroy the human family with the flood, it was with Noah and his family that He entered into a covenant to save them by means of the ark. Ham gave little or no evidence of piety ; yet he was saved because he belonged to the family of Noah. God entered into a covenant with Noah to save him and his family. When the human family were a second time wandering from God, and He had determined to establish a Church to be a receptacle of His 01 oil 01 A TREATISE OK BAPTISM. 75 name and knowledge, this Church was not composed of a tew pious individuals, though such could at that time have been easily found. There were Melchisedec and Job and his friends, who must have lived near that time ; and there were in all probability many more besides who were worshippers of the true God. A Church could have been easily formed on the model of the Baptist Churches, but God's ways are not our ways, neither are His thoughts our thoughts. He chose Abraham from among all those who lived in the world at that time. He entered into a covenant with him, not only on his own behalf, but on behalf of his family. Abraham's family were placed in a covenant relation to God, as well as the family of Noah. You will see that in both of those cases the faith of the parents was the ground on which they were chosen. God said of Noah, 'Thee only have I found righteous in my sight.' That grace which Noah found was the means of saving the whole family. He said, ' Come thou and all thy house into the ark.' The Apostle teaches that this salvation from the deluge is a type of the salvation from sin by our Lord Jesus Christ. It is so used in 1st Peter iii. 20 : * Which sometime were disobedient, when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.' The like figure whereunto even baptism doth save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience towards God) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Noah and his family were saved by water, it is said in our English version. How could they be saved by water, or the flood, when all the rest of the human family were drowned by the same flood ? Our English translation is sadly at fault. The primary meaning of the word translated ' by ' in this place is * through/ and it should have been so translated in this place. The apostle means that they were saved or preserved through or during the continuance of the water of the flood. The ark carried or preserved Noah and his family through that deluge, just as Christ carries His elect through the deluge of sin, sorrow and suffering which is overwhelming the world. In order to be saved, Noah and his family must 76 LAURA CLARENCE. If-! I. enter the ark and abide in it. If we will be saved, we must enter Christ and abide in Him. * If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch and is withered.* How do we enter Christ? By being baptized into Him. ' Know ye not that as many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death.' We are l:)aptized (or shall we say immersed ?) into Jesus Christ, not into water. We must not put the water in the place of Christ. The baptism is simply the door of entrance, and whether it is by sprinkling, pouring or immersion is of little importance provided that it is the answer of a good conscience toward God. Now, Noah was commanded to take his family with him into the ark. And suppose there had been any infant grandchildren there, would he have left them out ? What do you think, brother Cleghorn ?" " Oh, I don't suppose he would have done that." " Now, as this is a figure of our salvation by Christ, are we at liberty to leave out our children ? Are we not exhorted, we may say commanded, to bring them in ? ' The promises aro to you and to your children,' said Peter. There are few of the snares of Satan more dangerous than a doctrine which teaches parents to ignore their responsibility for their children. It is well known that the rules of the Baptist Church strictly prohibit its members from indulging in the practice of dancing ; yet I knew a mother, who was a member of that communion, who was in the habit of encouraging her daughter to attend balls and parties where dancing was the principal amusement. This mother would have been expelled from the Church if she persisted in going to such places herself ; yet she had no hesitation in assisting her daughter to dress and prepare her toilet for such occasions. No parent possessed of an ordinary share of natural affection would expose his child to physical dangers to which he was unwilling to expose himself. Why should he be willing to imperil his soul by exposing him to temptations to which he would be unwil- ling to expose himself? If I could see that your baby sprinkling was any protection against sin, I would be willing to adopt it ; but I fail to see the point." A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. 77 st, are e not 'The Peter, than bility les of from |other, the and This f she no jpare )f an Ichild :pose il by iwil- )aby be *' I do not like that term, baby sprinkling," said Mr. Jones. " We have no reason to doubt that they who follow that practice are as sincere in it as we are in ours ; and I think, when speaking on religious subjects, we should treat each other's opinions with respect." " Oh," said Mr. Cahullan, " he is not responsible for that phrase ; he found it in one of your text books all ready to his hand, and such phrases are very convenient when a man falls short of arguments. I fear, brother Jones, you are getting a little shaky when you do not relish them." Mr. Clarence then proceeded : " When Abraham was called and separated from the world, the seal of the cove- nant — viz., circumcision — was placed upon him. This rite was called by the apostle the seal of the righteousness which is by faith. How ready we would be to conclude that faith must be a pre-requisite of circumcision if we were not informed that Isaac was circumcised when eight days old, and that this was the age prescribed for the adminis- tration of this ordinance. It was the seal of the righteous- ness which is by faith. Of what faith ? Can you tell me, brother Cleghorn ? Was it by the faith of the child, or whose faith was it ?" Brother Cleghorn made no answer. " It must have been Abraham's faith. Abrahan^ believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness. The Jewish child was admitted into the Church by the faith of the parent. He was initiated into the Church by the same rite as the parent had been initiated. Why should the want of faith be any barrier in the way of the Christian child being received into the Christian Church ? Why should it not be received on the profession of the faith of the parent?" " Oh," said Mr. Cleghorn, " we do not admit that baptism has come in the room of circumcision." " It makes no great difference whether you admit it in words or not. You agree with us that circumcision was the door of entrance into the Jewish Church. Baptism is the door of entrance into the Christian Church. The one stands precisely in the same place as the other, whether it has 78 LAURA CLARENCE. come in the room or not. As far as you use baptism at all, you use it in the room of circumcision. You take upon yourselves the responsibility of excluding the lambs from the fold." " Well," said Mr. Cleghorn, " you really have made out a better case for baby sprinkling — excuse me, I meant infant baptism — than I expected." Mr. Clarence continued : " By a careful examination of the Old Testament Scriptures it will be seen that the children held a prominent place in the Church throughout the whole Jewish economy; that the parents were held responsible for the religious instruction of their children as well as providing for their temporal wants. Moses, in Deuteronomy vi. 7, charges the children of Israel to be diligent in teaching Gods ordinances to their children: * And thou shalt talk of them when thou walkest by the way, and when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and upon thy gates.' This passage shews the grave responsibility which rester' i^pon parents. They were to teach their children constantly, both by precept and example. The house and its surroundings was to have a religious aspect, and constantly to remind them of their religious duties. The children were to live in an atmosphere imbued as it it were with religion. We may see the light in which Joshua viewed the responsibility which rested on him toward his family from Joshua xxiv. 15: ' Choose you this day whom ye will serve ; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye now dwell : but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.' Joshua could promise for his family as well as for himself." " But perhaps you forget," said Mr. Cleghorn, " that we live under the Gospel dispensation, and that we are freed from the bondage of the law." " I do not forget," said Mr. Clarence, " that with an A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. 79 increase of freedom there is an increase of responsibility. We are only freed from the bondage of the law that we may serve Christ; and in this freer and more liberal dispensation under which we are placed, our responsibilities to our children, with all our other responsibilities, are increased." " You have a strange way of bringing us always back to Old Testament times; it is with the New that we are chiefly concerned," said Mr. Cleghorn. " I shall now proceed to shew," said Mr. Clarence, " that we are more interested in the ancient dispensation than you appear to suppose, and it is the Church of tne Old dispensation which exists to-day, and of which we are members if we are Christians." " Oh, we are all Jews, then, eh ?" said Mr. Cleghorn. Mr. Clarence then proceeded, without noticing his remark : "This may be seen from Romans xi., 15-25 : ' For if the casting away of them* — that is, the Jews — * be the recon- ciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life irom the dead ? For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy : and if the loot be holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree ; boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then. The branches were broken off, that 1 might be graffed in. Well ; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear.' Now, what is the olive tree if it was not the Jewish Church, or rather the Church of God under the Jewish dispensation ? What were the branches which were broken off, if not the unbelieving Jews? What were the wild olive branches, it not the Gentiles who were brought to Christ ? Into what root were these wild olive branches graffed, if not into the covenant made with Abraham ? If this is not the true meaning of those figures, will you be kind enough to tell me what they do mean?" H an ■■■M 80 LAURA CLARENCE. W ;'.!■: e I "i IV 1 St " Well, that will require some consideration," said Mr. Jones. "I see/' said Mr. Cleghorn, "we cannot get you away from the Jewish dispensation and the Old Testament times." *• Oh," said Mr. Cahullan, " he wants to hold on to the root. It is well to see always that we have the root of the matter in us." " Well," said Mr. Clarence, " I do not want to get away from either the Old dispensation or the Old Testament Scriptures when I remember how frequently Christ quoted them in all His discourses, and that He declared that He came not to destroy the law and the prophets but to fulfil them, and thput heaven and earth should pass away before one jot or tittle of the law should pass away till all should be fulfilled. I only regret that I do not love and prize those Scriptures more highly, Paul's caution may be applicable to some of us : ' Boast not against the branches, for thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.' " " Oh," said Mr. Cleghorn, " that covenant of which you have so ixiuch to say relates merely to temporal blessings. I fail to see what it has to do with the case." " I think," said Mr. Clarence, " if you will turn to Hebrews vi., 13-20 verses, you will see clearly that it refers to spiritual blessings : * For when God made promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no greater. He sware by Himself, saying. Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently end a red, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater : and an oath for confirmation is to them an <^nd of all strife. Wnerein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immuta- bility of Hi3 counsel, confirmed it by an oath : That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, to lay hold upon the hope set before us : which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both su- e and .sceadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil ; whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made a high priest forever after the A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. 81 to to order of Melchisedec' See how close the apostle makes the connection between that c venant made with Abraham and that salvation which is by Christ. It is evident from the 18th verse that the source of that strong consolation spoken of as being enjoyed by those who have fled for refuge to the hope set before them, and which was said to be an anchor to the soul, both sure and steadfast and which had entered into that within the veil, whither Jesus the forerunner hath for us entered, was traced to this covenant made with Abraham. Can anything more clearly shew that the blessings promised to Abraham and his seed under that covenant were spiritual — that the temporal blessings enjoyed were only secondary — that the ground of their hope and of our hope as Christians reaches back to that covenant made with Abraham which was fulfilled in Christ — that the Jewish Church and its polity have the same relation to the spiritual as the outw;.rd and visible Church of Christ in our time ? Both may lose their power while preserving their outward form. The Jewish Church did so before the coming of Christ. The Christian Church had done so to a great extent before the Reformation. And it is so in many countries of the world at the present day, both Roman Catholic and professedly Protestart. While the form is preserved, there is little of the power left." "This," said Mr. Jones, "is rather a new view of the ca>3e." " But," said Mr. Cleghorn, " would it not be necessary, in order to carry out the views of Paedo-Baptists, to have the Church connected with the State ? " " Such a connection is not at all necessary. But if the State could be placed in the same relation to the Church as it was under the Old Testament dispensation, there could be no objection. The Church did not recognize the right of unbelievers to remain within it, as taught in most of your books. But the soul that sinned was to be cut off from God's people (Exodus iii. 14). Its discipline was strict, and strictly carried out The State did not regulate the Church, but the Church regulated the Statu. The Church 82 LAURA CLARENCE. ••M' r:\ ■li ,'* il was formed of Abraham and his pious descendants. Those who were not pious, as was the case with Ishmael, and Abraham's sons by Keturah and their descendants, and Esau and his descendants, were cut off, though they had been circumcised.** " But it is with the New Testament dispensation we have to do," said Mr. Cle^hom. " Why did not Christ establish His Church in connection with the State ?" "That is easily answered," said Mr. Clarence. "The Jewish State rejected Christ. If Herod, who heard John the Baptist gladly, and did many things because of him, had repented and received the Gospel, and the mass of the Jewish people with him, there is no doubt but the Church and the State would have remained in the same relation to each other as they had hitherto been." '" " But why did the connection which took place between Church and State in the time of Constantir 9 prove so dis- astrous to the spirituality of the Church ?" " The Christian religion became popular when Constantine connected himself with it. Many united themselves with the Church who knew nothing of the Christian religion except the name. When Christianity was despised, none were willing to embrace it except those who did so from conviction. When it became the religion of the State, many were ready to embrace it for the sake of its mere temporal advantages. Across our northern boundary in Canada, where the Church has as little connection with the State as it has in this country, the most popular Church is the Episcopalian ; and those who unite with a Church for the sake of gaining popularity choose that Church, while the same class in this country generally choose the Methodist Church. Neither the doctrine nor discipline of the Church, its connection with the State nor separation from the State, has anything to do with the case. Connec- tion with the State does not necessarily make a Church corrupt, nor does separation from the State make it pure. This is det(>rmined altogether by other causes. When all the different States in the world have become so thoroughly A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. 83 leavened with Christianity that their governmenis are administered in accordance with the spirit of the Gospel, and rulers generally are under its influence, the most extreme voluntary in the world need not object to such a connection. If all connection between Church and State were so wrong and so ruinous to the interests of true religion as you appear to suppose, why did God place the Old Testament Church which He Himself organized in connection with the State / How can the prophecy be I'vilfilled, that kings shall be fathers and queens nursing mothe/s to the Church if all connection between Church and State is to be condemned T' "T can see no good reason for objecting to such a connection as that," said Mr. Jones. " But the facts are against you," said Mx*. Cleghorn. " It is to this cause that we must trace the formality and want of spirituality in the State Churches of Europe. The babies ar U sprinkled, and by that simple act they are made r.Oiijltrs of the Church, and good orthodox Christians, no ma-tww what their future lives may be. We have examples of orthodox Christian popes excommunicating and hurling their anathemas at other equally orthodox Christian popes, who had been made Christians in precisely the same ortho- dox way. We have one nation of orthodox Christians cut- ting the throats of other Christians equally orthodox with themselves. How can we account for such a state of things if we do not trace it to that profane, sacrilegious and anti- Christian mode of admitting members into the Church ? The command of Christ was, * Believe and be baptized.' They have neither obeyed the one nor the other." " We have already discussed the relation of faith to baptism," said Mr. Jones ; " and as for the term ' baby sprinkling,' I regret that you should persist in using it. The use of offensive terms like that can never thrjw light on any subject." " Oh," said Mr. CahuUan, " he is using those terms with which he is best acquainted ; and if th«: been converted after they had arrived at years of maturity, to encourage their children to wait till they had likewise arrived at maturity, and expect to be converted in the same way. The Baptist sect was organized especially to teach that the Church was composed of believers only. They ex- cluded all who were incapable of exercising faith. This new departure, led by the Baptists and followed to some extent, in practice if not in theory, by nearly all the Non- conformist bodies, was caused by the failure of parents to discharge the vows taken upon them at the administration of the ordinance of baptism. But the failure to discharge a duty is surely no good reason for rejecting it altogether. When a more thorough revival of religion takes place, such as was prophesied by Malachi, was inaugurated by John the Baptist, and carried on by Christ and His apostles, we may expect a revival of parental fidelity and domestic piety as well as of personal religion. Malachi, the last of the Old Testament prophets, closed his prophecy by a promise that God would send Elijah the prophet, who would turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers. The angel Gabriel, four centuries after this time, took up the note just where the earthly prophet left off, and informed Zacharias that his son, John the Baptist, was to be the prophet who, under the name of Elias or Elijah, should begin this great revival. This work to be done upon fathers and children was to be much more than a removal of domestic alienations, though doubtless this was included. It was to embrace a great revival of parental and filial piety. We may see signs of such a re- vival at the present time in the more general recognition of the claims of the children of the Church, and in the increas- ing interest of all the different branches of the Christian Church in Sabbath school work. It is to be hoped that the time is not far distant when Christian parents will not only acknowledge their duties to their children by dedicating them to God in the ordinance of baptism, but seek to dis- charge those duties in His fear and in His love." i, . . A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. 91 " For my part," said Mr. Cleghorn, " I cannot see what good you do a child by throwing a little water in its face." Mr. CahuUan then cleared his throat with great energy and deliberation, and said : " I will tell you, if )''ou can tell nie what good it does to a man or a woman to be plunged under water." " Oh, that is a religious ordinance," said Mr. Cleghorn. " On what authority do you decide that the one act is a religious ordinance and the other is not ?" " That is a fair question," said Mr. Jones, junior. " We have no reason to doubt that the Ptjedo-Bai)tists are as sin- cere in their opinions as we are in ours ; and it always appears to me unbecoming to speak slightingly of the reli- gious opinions of any denomination." " I was about to proceed," said Mr. Clarence, " to discuss the object of Christian baptism." " That is what we want to hear," said Mr. Jones. " God most graciously condescended to enter into a cove- nant with Abraham, and to confirm it by an oath. His descendants were embraced in that covenant on the con- dition that they would all subscribe to it on behalf of their children by the rite of circumcision. His spiritual descen- dants subscribed to it on behalf of their descendants by the ordinance of baptism. When a Christian parent presents his child to God in the ordinance of baptism, he simply enters into a covenant with God. He promises on his part that, in humble dependence on God's grace, he will endeavour to train it in the fear and love of God, trusting that God will, according to His promise, baptize it with His Spirit. The application of the water is simply the outward act by which we subscribe to the bargain or covenant. It stands in the place of the seal attached to a document. The seal is of no value in itself — it is simply the sign or witness that a bargain has been made. The application of the water holds the same place in our covenant or bargain with God. In the lancruage of our Catechism, it sifjnities and seals our engrafting into Christ, and partaking of the benefits of the covenant of grace, and our engagement to be the Lord's." IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1^ |28 140 IIIII2.0 112.2 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 ^ 6" — ► V] <^ "% /}. 6> %. '^J^ % ^y '/ Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET "^ WEBSTER, NY 14580 (716) 872-4503 ^ >> 02 LAURA CLARENCE. iif^i " Does not that sound very much like bapticmal regen- eration ?" said Mr. Jones. " Perhaps it does," said Mr. Clarence ; "but is there not as much of the doctrine of baptismal regeneration in your way as in ou*^ ? When you baptize a subject, do you not teach that by that act he is made a Christian ? Do you mean that the water washes away his sins ?" " No," said Mr. Jones, " his baptism is an act of obedience to Christ. It is his faith in Christ which saves him." "But are there not many of your preachers who teach that salvation is inseparably connected with baptism ?" " These are my views exactly," said Mr. Cleghorn. Mr. Cahullan cleared his throat more vigorously than usual, and said: "Well, your small creed of two articles embraces a great variety of faith and opinion. Here is bro- ther Jones — he would pass for Evangelical anywhere ; while brother Cleghorn's views on baptismal regeneration would satisfy any Romanist or Ritualist in Christendom. But per- haps he holds his views as matters of opinion, not as articles of faith." Mr. Clarence then proceeded : " Was not John the Baptist and Samuel filled with the Holy Ghost from their mothers* womb ? Was it not in answer to the prayers of their pious mothers that these children were thus early sanctified, cleansed, or baptized by God's Spirit ? What authority have we for denying that God will answer the prayers of other parents as well as those ? Is it absurd to expect that God will, in answer to the prayers of believing parents at the present time, regenerate the hearts of their children at the time or prior to the time of their baptism ? A want of faith in God is too frequently called piety and humility. A fear of what is called the dogma of baptismal regeneration causes many to cherish a want of faith in God's promises. If there was more faith in baptismal regeneration — not by water baptism but by spiritual baptism — there would not be so many young people growing up outside of the fold of Christ. You believe that there is a responsibility resting upon you to train your children in the right way. If you A TREATISK ON BAl»TISM. 93 'I believe this, how can it be wrong to acknowledge your duty publicly? This is simply what is done in baptism, and that is the way you understand it when applied to adults. If it is right to acknowledge our duty, is it not right to pray to God for grace to enable us to perfoiin it ? If it is right to pray for any blessing which God has promised, is it wrong to expect that God will fulfil His promise ? Have we not as good grounds for expecting that God will answer our prayers for our children as for ourselves ? Peter said, * The promise is to you and to your children.' This faith, that God will, in answer to our prayers, regenerate the hearts of our children, or in other words baptize them with His Spirit, appears to me to be the true doctrine of baptismal regeneration. With the views of Ritualists and Romanists on that subject we are not now concerned." " There is much force in what you say," said Mr. Jones. " I must examine this subject further." " You bid fair," said Mr. Cleghorn, " to convert brother Jones into a Presbyterian. But I think it is now time to close our discussion for to-night. It is now past ten o'clock." . ,i •• 1 They then took their leave. , { ; '. u 1 1 H . I ■ •> J ' t'\< • |.» CHAPTER VII. IN the week following, Elder Bump accompanied the Messrs. Jones to Mr. Clarence's. They were all shown into Mr. Clarence's study. Elder Bump gazed at the li- brary for a short time, and said : " Law me ! What a slew o' books ! When will you be able to read them all through ?" " I do not expect to read them through in a hurry. My library is my dictionary. I consult my books and refer to them in the same way as I do to my dictionary." " I have Buck's Theological Dictionary and Daniel Web- ster's Dictionary. Those tell me the meanin' of all the i 94 LAURA CLARENCE. I words I want to know, and I don't care about buyin' more books than I have time to read." Mr. Jones then suggested that they should enter upon the discussion of the subject which they had met to con- sider, and said : " The question we were considering when we were last together was the relation of children to the Church of God." " That is not hard to decide," said Elder Bump. " They are outsiders. No one can be a Church member till he is old enough to believe and be baptized. That is so plain that it needs no discussion." "Neither of the Church below nor the Church above?" said Mr. Cahullan; "all infants are then excluded from heaven." " I did not say that," said Elder Bump. " Well, do you think they are fit for members of the Gen- eral Assembly of the Church of the First-born written in heaven, and not fit for the Church on earth ? Where do you find anything about your Church in heaven? Mr Cahullan turned to Hebrews xii. 23, handed the book to him, and said : " Read for yourself." Elder Bump read it, laid down the book, put on one of his most pugnacious expressions of countenance, then gazed at Mr. Cahullan for a short time, and said : " Well, we will let that go for the present. That passage had escaped my memory. But I would like to know why you do not admit children to the communion if you look on them as Church members ?" "Well," said Mr. Clarence, "I was just coming to that point. The children hold the same relation to the Church as minors to the State. A minor enjoys the protection of the State, but not the right of suffrage. Before the right of suffrage can be enjoyed, a certain well-defined position in relation to the State must be obtained. In this country any native- born citizen, twenty-one years of age, has that right ; an alien must go through a certain legal process. In nearly all other countries, in addition to those qualifications, some property qualification is necessary ; but citizens of all A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. 05 i»> all classes, including minors, enjoy alike the protection of the State, and the State stands pledged to protect them to the full extent of its power. Gi-eat Britain made war on Abys- sinia a few years ago, and spent millions of money, to vin- dicate the rights of one of her subjects ; yet that subject, on returning to England, might not have enjoyed the right of suffrage. The Government did not wait to inquire into the civil status of the subject. Children stand in precisely the same relation to the Church. It is the duty of the Church to see that parents discharge their duty towards their chil- dren in giving them a proper religious training, and to supplement the work of the parents by providing instruc- tion for them, both in the Sabbath school and the sanctuary. Pastors, parents, and Sabbath school teachers should keep the fact continually before children, that it is their duty, as soon as they have arrived at a suitable age, and have a sufficient amount of religious knowledge and experience, to make a public profession of their faith in Christ by coming to the Lord's table. If children were thus faithfully dealt with, there is little doubt but the opinion expressed by the pious Richard Baxter would be found to be correct, viz., that the names of nineteen-twentieths of the children of the Church would be found on the communion roll as soon as they had arrived at a suitable age. It is one of the most dangerous devices of Satan to teach parents to ignore their responsibility to their children, and to trust that at some future time they will be brought in by some revivalist, at some protracted meeting, as brands plucked from the burn- ing." " But," said Elder Bump, " I do not see what all this has I to do with the question. What do the Scriptures say ? Let us to the law and the testimony. If j'ou can find one * Thus saith the Lord ' for your practice, I will give up at once.' " " You appear," said Mr. Clarence, " to misunderstand the case. It is with you that the burden of proof lies." " How is that ? ' said Elder Bump in great astonishment. " Because infant membership is an ordinance of God, in- stituted by God Himself. It was the universal practice in ^i^ M 96 LAURA CLARENCE. God's Church from the very beginning up to the coming of Christ. God alone has the right to annul any of His own ordinances. It devolves on you to shew when, where, and how He annulled this ordinance." " The Old Testament dispensation was ended at the coming of Christ," said Elder Bump. " I think not," said Mr. Clarence. " Christ declared that He came not to destroy the law and the prophets, but to fulfil them ; and He said further : ' Until heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle of the law shall not pass away until all be fulfilled. Give us chapter and verse where this ordinance was annulled." "Oh!" said Mr. Jones, "we have had that over already. Let us pass on to something else." " But there is one difficulty in the way of putting baptism in the room of circumcision which I think you cannot get over very easily. The males only were circumcised; the females were not. Why do you baptize females ?" "That is easily explained," said Mr. Clarence. "You receive baptism in the room of circumcision, as far as you receive it at all. Circumcision was the -^oor of entrance into the Church in the Jewish dispensation ; baptism is the door of entrance under the Christian dispensation. You have extended the ordinance to female adults on good scriptural authority. You infer, we think justly, that those female adults should be admitted to the Lord's table ; we infer, in addition to this, that their children should be admitted into the Church by the ordinance of baptism." " That sounds at least plausible," said Mr. Jones, junior. Elder Bump treated Mr. Jones to one of his most pugna- cious frowns, but said nothing. Mr. Clarence continued: "There are good and special reasons why the rite of admission to Church membership should be applied to females in the Christian dispensation. Under the Jewish dispensation the Church was in connection with the State. Membership in the Jewish Church included civil rights as well as religious. The rights of women, both civil and religious, were comprehended in those of their A TREATISK ON BAI»TISM. J7 husbands. This is the way in which the law of England deals with the civil rights of women at the present day." " I do not know," said Elder Bump, " what we have to do with the law of England. You appear to have forgotten that our Declaration of Independence, issued on the fourth of July, one thousand seven hundred and seventy six (177G), declares that 'these colonies are and shall be forever separated from Great Britain.* Did we not then free ourselves from English laws and institutions ? I repeat, what has English law to do with us ?" There was a general outburst of laughter, to which Elder Bump replied with another of his most pugnacious frowns; and Mr. Cahullan, without going through the formality of clearing his throat, said : " Elder Bump has been more fortunate than most of us. It is evident he has never had occasion to be in any of our law courts, or he would have heard English law and precedents quoted every hour of the day ; and if his case did not happen to be a good one, he might find that he had lost it through some application of Englisn law." Mr. Clarence then proceeded : " This same principle is recognized in our naturalization laws. When a man takes the oath of allegiance, and goes through the necessary process to become a citizen of the United States, his wife and family are included in the transaction. By the act of the man, his wife and all the minors of the family enjoy all the rights and privileges of citizens of the United States. The rite of circumcision did the same for females in the Jewish dispensation. Under the Christian dispensation the Church was separated from the State, because the State rejected Christ. It was necessary, in this new state of things, that the status of women in the Church should be recognized separate from their husbands. Under the Gos}>el dispensation Zion was to be enlarged ; her cords were to be lengthened, her stakes strengthened. The little stream which was to make glad the city of God had hitherto been confined to the land of Israel. It was to be deepened and widened so that its healing waters should extend to all ■T 98 LAURA CLARENCE. It nations. From this fuller, freer, larger and more liberal dispensation, it w^ould be strange indeed if the children were excluded. Would it not oe strange, indeed, if that Gospel net which was first spread at the gate of Eden, with this one promise that ' the seed of the woman should bruise the head of the serpent, whose folds have been ever since extending and becoming wider and farther-reaching, should at the introduction of Christianity, the time of its greatest stretch, so greatly and so suddenly contract, that it would no longer contain the lambs of the flock which had been embraced within its folds for the previous two thousand years ? Scripture and analogy are alike favourable to such a conclusion. We wiil examine some scriptural passages which appear to have a bearing on the question." " That is what I have been waiting for," said Elder Bump. * To the law and to the testimony.* " "In Mark x. 13, we read that they brought young children to Christ, that He should touch them: and His disciples rebuked those that brought them. And when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said, ' Suffer little children to come unto Me, ana forbid them not : for of such is the kingdom of Ood. Verily I say unto you. Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And He took them up in His arms, put His hands upon them and blessed them.'" "Oh," cried Elder Bump, "I knew you would soon get caught when you went into the Scriptures. Christ put His hands on them and blessed them, but He did not baptize. Why do you go farther than the example which Christ set you, and baptize them ? We read, John iv. 2, ' that Jesus Himself baptized not, but His disciples.' He baptized neither infants nor adults. So if you apply your rule, you must throw baptism overboard altogether, and baptize neither infants nor adults. Why do you quote the passage then?" " You shall hear presently. But will you be kind enough to tell me what you understand by ' the kingdom of God* in this passage ?" 12] A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. 99 ret " I understand it to mean the saints in heaven," said Mr. Jones. " I understand it to mean the Qospel Church, made up of all true believers," said Elder Bump. " A narrow creed and a broad church," said Mr. Cahullan. " If we take the definition of Elder Bump, the children are not only meml)ers, but model members ; for Christ says, * Of such are the kingdom of heaven, and whosoever receiveth not the kingdom of Qod as a little child, he shall not enter therein.' If they are fit to be Church members, should they not be received in the same way as adults, viz., by baptism ? and if we take the definition of Mr. Jones, we must surely admit that if they are fit to be members of the Church above, they are fit to be members of the Church on earth." "You have caught them both," said Mr. Jones, junior; " but I would like to hear the reason you give for Christ not baptizing those children if they were fit to be members of His Church, both in earth and heaven." * " Christ had not then given His commission to His dis- ciples — ' Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, baptizing them into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.' This ' preach the Gospel,' as it is in Mark, and 'teach,' as it is in Matthew, means to make disciples of. They were to make disciples of every creature, both high and low, rich and poor, civilized and barbarous, old and young. Let us now take Peter's speech on the day of Pentecost. Let us remember that Peter was a Jew, speaking to Jews. His address produced a profound im- pression. They that heard were pricked to the heart, and cried out, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?' His answer was, ' Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Christ, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, for the promise is to you and to your children.' What promise ? The baptism of the Holy Ghost. Now, those Jews to whom Peter spoke would naturally have understood that their children would be heirs of the same promise with themselves, even if Peter had omitted to men- tion them ; but, lest they should be left in any doubt on the 100 LAURA (JLAREN(;K. subject, he specially mentions the children as heirs of the promises of the Gospel, and that they stood in precisely the same relation to the Church under the new dispensation as the old." " You appear to foi^et," said Elder Bump, " that we live in a new dispensation which has nothing to do with chil- dren. We are not under the law, but under grace." A loud wheezing sound from Mr. Cahullan's throat ap- prised the company that he was about to spread out his sentiments, and all eyes were turned on him, and he pro- ceeded in slow and measured tones to say : " You appear, rather, never to have learned that while the apostles were commanded to preach the Gospel to all nations, they were commanded to oegin at Jerusalem. And they did begin at Jerusalem. While that city stood it was the centre of their mission, and they were loath to go beyond it. Peter re- quired a special revelation to convince him that the Gentiles were heirs of the promises of the Gospel at all. The Jews were so largely in the majority, that they made an attempt to force all the Gentile members to keep the whole law of Moses. When the Council was held in Jerusalem to settle the matter — as recorded in Acts xv. — it required all the eloquence of Peter and Barnabas and Paul, and the prudence and address of James, who appears to have presided on that occasion, to prevent them from carrying out their obgect. The decision was that the Gentile members should only be required to abstain from meats offered to idols, from things strangled, and from blood and from fornication ; while the Jewish members were at liberty to practise circumcision, and to keep the law of Moses, but they were not to force it on others. They were strict in their observance of the Jewish law, and they attached so much importance to cir- cumcision that Paul, on his last visit to Jerusalem, in order to please them, circumcised Timothy, who was a Greek. This circumcision was the badge of infant membership. Infant membership was as much the inile in the Christian Church in the time of the apostles, as it was in the Jewish . i- :U'i A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. 101 Church in the days of David. Will you be kind enough to tell U8 when infant membership ceased ?" Elder Bump was silent for a few moments, and then said, " I cannot see where you find your authority for putting baptism in the room of circumcision." "You appear to have forgotten," said Mr. Jones, "that we ourselves use baptism in the room of circumcision, as far as we use it at all. If they can establish infant member- .«hip, infant baptism must go with it." Mr. Clarence then proceeded : " If you will be kind enough to turn to Colossians ii. 10, you will see clearly that baptism and circumcision hold precisely the same place in the scheme of salvation, and represent exactly the same thing. 'And ye are complete in Him who is the head of all principality and power, in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ : having been buried with Him in baptism, wherein ye were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.' What could the circumcision without hands mean but regeneration ? The Colossian Christians were circumcised in that way, and it is evident that it consisted in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, or by Christ putting away their sins. And now the apostle changes the figure slightly, but it is evident he is speaking of the same thing — ' Having been buried with Him in baptism, wherein ye were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.' The great topic which the apostle is discussing is the removing of our sinful nature, and our union with Christ. He uses two figures. By the one, sin is cut off; by the other, it is washed away." As Elder Bump made no reply, Mr. Clarence said: "I presume we are now ready to examine some of the New Testament evidence." " By all means," said Elder Bump, " that is what I have been long looking for." "We find. Acts xvi. 15, that 'the Lord opened the heart 'I 102 LAURA CLAREN()E. ffi of Lydia that she attended to the things which were spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized, she and her household, she besought us, saying. If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there.' You see Lydia's household was baptized as well as herself." " Oh," said Elder Bump, " I can prove that Lydia's eldest daughter was married on the following Lord's aay." " Where will you find your evidence ?" said James Jones. " In the verse following the one in which you prove that Lydia had any infants baptized." " We read," said Mr. Clarence, " that both Lydia and her household were baptized ; but there is no mention of any one except Lydia making a profession of faith. We prove the baptism of the household — it remains with you to prove that they, or any of them, made a profession of their faith, or were capable of making such a profession. The burden of proof rests with you." " That's so," said Mr. Jones, junior. " Well," said Elder Bump, " Lydia was a woman in a re- spectable position, and she probably had a number of ser- vants. Her household may have been made up of those servants." "You are not willing to accept probabilities from us," said Mr. Clarence ; " you demand evidence. Be kind enough to furnish some proof that they, or any of them, were capable of exercising faith. We prove that they were baptized ; you prove that they were believers." "Well," said Mr. Jones, junior, "you may as well yield that point, or you may be called upon to prove the marriage you spoke of." " Well," said Mr. Clarence, " we will pass on to the case of the jailor's family. We are simply told that Paul, in answer to the question, ' What shall we do ?' said, * Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, and thy house,' and that all the household were baptized. As in the former case, it remains for you to prove the profession of faith. Paul, in 1st Corinthians i. 14, gives a list of the bap- A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. ion tisms which he performed in Corinth. There were only three cases, and two out of the three were households. Paul did not know whether he had baptized any more or not. It is evident he did not attach the same importance to the ordinance as you do, or he would never have thanked God that he had brought so few over the last step towards being Christians. But can you cite an example of any Baptist missionary baptizing two entire households out of tnree cases in which he administered the ordinance of baptism ?" Elder Bump was silent. " We read in 1st Corinthians vii. 14 : ' For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the belie ^.g wife ; else were your children unclean, but now are they holy.* We surely can- not understand 'holy' in this place to mean free from sin, or that one parent making a profession of Christianity could give to the other parent and children ourity or freedom from sin. 'Holy' has in this place the meaning which it generally has in the Scriptures, i.e., separate from or set apart for a particular object. These children were holy in the sense in which their parents were. They had been separated from the world by becoming Christians. The public act by which those parents had been separated from the world was baptism. Their children had been separated also, and how, if not by baptism ? The teaching is simply this — that if one parent is a professor of religion, the children have a right to be baptized." " But the word * unclean,' in this passage, means illegiti- mate, and the teim ' holy ' simply means legitimate," said Elder Bump. " I know that is the teaching of your text book, * Theo- dosia.' But you will see the absurdity of this theory when you reflect that a profession of Christianity at that time gave a person no right under Roman law, except to suffer martyrdom. The ApDstle Paul himself, a short time after this, was beheaded for his profession of Christianity. In- stead of Christianity giving to its professors a civil status, it deprived them of what they already possessed and im- perilled thfeir lives." 104 LAURA CLARENCE. k it "Is that statement really to be found in 'Theodosia?'** said Mr. Jones, junior. Mr. Clarence rose and took the book, found the place and handed it to him. Mr. Jones read the passage aloud, and then said : " I never thought much of the book on account of its wholesale abuse of other denominations; but I am done with it now." He then closed the book and threw it from him in disgust. Elder Bump then rose and looked at his watch, and said it was eleven^o'clock, and high time they were on their way home. ■ " ' ' . . '_'" , Mr. Jones apologized for the lateness of the hour to which the discussion had been protracted, and said that he had been so interested that he had not observed the flight of time. Mr. Clarence replied: "That is exactly my own failing. I take no note of the flight of time when I get started at a discussion." Mrs. Clarence, with her keen womanly insight, saw that Elder Bump was considerably crestfallen, and she invited them all to return on the following evening to tea. The two Messrs. Jones at once accepted the invitation, but Elder Bump said : " I'd like ter, but I've dun promised to go to see Mr. Cleghorn to-morrow evenin'." "Well, can't you come on the next evening?" said Mrs. Clarence. "Well, I've dun promised to go to town with brother Cleghorn, an' I mightn't be back in time." " Well," said Mrs. Clarence, " can't you come on the fol- lowing evening ?" And he " dun " consented to come, and they then took their leave. ' . ' . ^. ,-1 ''■..< . ■ ' •(> . , _ . I . .. . ",' ) '' ''' r fftil' '\ rV''\ f- I /n f >\\ 1 • °'f ' ' '■ 1 1 ■t„ KT A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. 106 CHAPTER VIII. SISTER STREETYARN was a single lady of uncertain age, and more uncertain memory. She had great diffi- culty in remembering events which dated back more than twenty years ; while some of her schoolmates, who claimed to be younger than she, could distinctly remember events which had transpired more than thirty years back. She had about the usual proportions of oil and vinegar in her composition ; but they were indifferently mixed. She had, before she was out of her teens, been quite a belle. She had, to use the language of the poet Campbell, " been courted and jilted," and from that time the vinegar had always appeared more prominently on the surface. This was especially the case when courtship or marriage hap- pened to be the topic of conversation. But to be brought in contact with sorrow and suffering always brought all the oil in her nature prominently to the surface. She would in such cases, when her sympathy was fairly enlisted, be willing to go on her hands and knees any distance if neces- sary, to relieve distress, and many poor, destitute, motherless children had cause to rise up and call her blessed. It was rumoured that she had several times aspired to the position of step-mother in some of those destitute families, but the evidence was never altogether satisfactory. It was observed, however, that as soon as one of those vacancies was filled she discovered that her mission there was ended, and she rarely, if ever, afterwards entered that dwelling. She had sufficient means to maintain her comfortably with economy, and she lived retired. Her only companion was a niece, the daughter of an only sister, who had died when she gave birth to this her only child. Sister Streetyarn had adopted this child with the full consent of its father ; and as he married again in about a year after his wife's death, there was an impassable gulf between him and his child. Sister Streetyarn could never forgive him for his 106 LAURA CLARENCE. Ik? f |M haste in marrying ; hence they were completely estranged from each other. Sister Streetyarn had the child all to herself, and lavished on her all the love that was in her nature, which the child was beginning to repay by attempt- ing, with an encouraging degree of success, to regulate both her own conduct and that of her aunt according to her own sweet will. Sister Streetyarn dearly loved news, and as there was no newspaper in the town, she was the medium for the circulation of all the news. She was always fully posted, and ready and willing to post any one who applied to her for information. When Elder Bump paid his next visit there, he proved to be a perfect mine of information. She soon drew from him a full account of the discussion which had been going on at Mr. Clarence's. She pumped him dry before she let him go ; and when she got through, she was fully loaded and primed. Whatever was lacking in Elder Bump's narrative, her imagination supplied. Next day Sister Streetyarn just thought of it, that she wanted a " dress pattern " that Sister Clemens had " bor'rerd," and guessed she'd "jest go down an' git it." She spent a couple of hours with Sister Clemens, looking at the patterns and discussing the news of the neighbourhood. She then " guessed it was time to be a-goin'." Sister Clemens then invited her to stay to tea. She consented ; but she first learned that " Elder Jones was to hum " — for it was there that Mr. Jones boarded. They were scarcely seated round the table, when Sister Streetyarn asked if they were all well "down to ole man Clar'ns'?" ' "If you mean," said Mr. Jones, "the Eeverend Mr. Cla- rence, they were all quite well when I was there last." " I 'low it's not so long since you were there ; but hear him wi' his Mister an' Rev'rint an' all that high style. I reckon you'll soon be too high fur us plain folks. I've been a-hearin' that you're a-puttin' in for that 'ere gal o' the par- son's mighty strong, an' arter a-spendin' so many nights in their grand parlour, an* hearin' her a-ding-dongin' on her pianner, it's no wonder ye talk mighty grand." " Well," said Sister Clemens, " if he should be a-puttin' in A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. 107 Cla- tin' in for both the gal an* the pianner, where's the harm ? I 'low brother Jones hes jest as good a right to lead roun' a sister or a wife as any other brother. That's what Paul says, mind ye." "I 'low," said Sister Streetyarn, "the most o' our preachers these times would a mighty site ruther lead roun' a wife nor M sister ; and if they do take roun' a sister, it's some other man's sister, you bet." " Wal, I reckon that's kin' o nat'ral," said Sister Clemens. " Fur more o' natur' than grace among the preachers these times, sez I," retorted Sister Streetyarn, and heaved a deep sigh to relieve her burdened heart. She then proceeded: " I 'low ole man Clar'ns 'ill soon hev' you turned over to be a baby sprinkler." " I would take it as a great favour," said Mr. Jones, " if you would not talk in that slighting way of a man who never speaks disrespectfully of any other person." " Oh, yes, yer a-gettin' quite brotherly over it, after pre- tendin' yer a 'scussin', as ye call it ; but Elder Bump told me that nather you nur yer brother helped him one dogon bit, an' when any o' ye did put in a word, it was to help the parson. Elder Bump had the whole three o' ye to fight — I may say the four o' ye, for that ole wheezin' Scotchman, Coo'lan, or whatever ye call him, was a-pilin' in, an' was the wurst o' the hul' kit. Oh, it was jest orful the way he talked." She then gave a deep sigh, and went on ; " Oh, jest like as not ye'll be a-jinin* the Presbyterians, or the 'Piscopalians (I think that's what Elder Bump calls 'em). Their preachers wear long white nightgowns. Jest like as not we'll see you wi' a big white choker an' a long white nightgown on, holdin' a baby in your arms, an it' a'mulin' and pukin' all over yer dress, while yer a sprinkling the water ont' it.* Oh, I think I see ye !" She then gave a deep sigh, and rested her head on her right hand, as if over- come with emotion. Elder Jones succeeded in containing himself while Sister Streetyarn was spinning her yarn, but he now broke out * This expression is quoted verbatim from " Theodosia." 108 LAURA CLARENCE. and said : " I am disgusted with the abusive way in which some persons calling themselves Christians speak of people who shew more of the spirit of the Master than they do themselves. I must say that I feel bound to give the pre- ference to those professing Christians who shew the most love for their Master, even if they have not been baptized by immersion. And I would say, as Alexander Campbell said, * If I should do otherwise, I would be a bigot among believers, and a Pharisee among Christians.' " "Oh," said sister Streetyarn, "as for Campbell, he was raised a Presbyterian himself, an' he never was as good a Christian as Stone. Gie me Stone ; he can cum down on the baby sprinklers in a way that makes me feel good. But ye needn't get so riled about it. I'm sure what I said is all for your good, an' if ye are so much takin' up wi' that ar* gal, I'm sure I wish ye much luck in her ; but if ye are so mighty saut on gittin' a wife, ye'd jest orter put in for Elder Bump's daughter, an* git her, an' ye'll have a wife what 'ill be a wife, an' I'm sure it 'ud be 'nuff site better to have a wife 'at could cook a good meal of vittals, than one that 'ud be good for nuthin' but a ding-dongin' on the planner and readin' big books and talking about Greek, Ye can't live on pianners nor Greek, no how." During the time that sister Streetyarn was delivering those sentiments, Mr. Jones was sidling off towards the door, and at this point he bade them good night and disappeared. Sister Streetyarn soon saw that sister Clemens did not quite endorse all she had been saying, so she soon " guessed she'd be a-goin*." Mr. Jone^ returned between nine and ten o'clock, and with candle in hand was proceeding to his bed-room, when sister Clemens said : " Well, I was jest rde mad at sister Streetyarn to-night. When she does get saut agin any- body, she's jest as bitter as wormwood.' And then laying her hand on his arm, she put her face within ten inches of his, and proceeded in a low confidential tone to say : " Wal, if ye have takin' a likin' to the parson's gal, that hain't her fault ; and if she's takin' a likin' fur you, that hain't your A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. 109 which people ley do le pre- e most iptized mpbell among he was ^ood a wn on [ good. I 1 said 71* that ye are in for a wife jtter to an one on the Greek. ivering e door, peared. id not ;uessed k, and when i sister any- laying ches of "Wal, n't her t your 1 fault ; and if you have hoth takin' a likin' for one another, that hain't no business o' sister Streetyarn's." Mr. Jones was sidling off towards his room, but sister Clemens squeezed his arm more tightly, put her head a little closer, and spoke more confidentially, and said : " Wal, now, I think you'd do rale well to git that gal o' the parson's. I hearn folks say she kin cook jest as good a meal o' vittals as any gal in this town, an' you'd have the pianner in the bargain. Tell ye what, IVe a likin' for music. Ye see 1 was brought up in Massachusetts, an' I used to go down to Bosting now and agin wi' my pa, when I was a bit o' a gal, and when I'd hear them 'ere pianners, it used to make me feel good, you bet. One night last week, I was passin' Clar'ns', an his gal was a-playin' a tune I us't to hear down to Bosting, an' I stopped to listen, an' the fust thing I know'd my eyes were a-sloppin' over. It made me think o' the time when I us't to go down to Bosting, when I was a bit of a gal. That's what's the matter. An' ye mout be the means o' turnin' olr man Clar'ns to be a Christian. An' I tell ye he's one o' the splendidest men in this 'ere town, if it wam't for that 'ere baby sprinklin' ; so put in for the gal, sez I." Mr. Jones had by this time reached the door of his rooni, and by a determined effort he succeeded in making his escape. The next evening found Elder Bump and the Messrs. Jones in Mr. Clarence's parlour. " I think," said Mr. Jones, " that as we have spent a con- siderable time on the Scripture arguments, it is now time to enquire what the practice of the Church from the time of the apostles downwards was." " I do not see," said Elder Bump, " how any one can de- fend infant baptism from the practice cf the early Church. It is well known that the custom did not exist in the time of the apostles, and that it was neither known nor practised for more than seven hundred years after that time." " I have read that statement in 'Theodosia,'" said Mr. Cla- rence ; "but though it may be neither known to you nor to 110 LAURA CLARENCE. the author in whom you trust, it is well known to all who have taken the pains to investigate the question, that it was the practice of the Church from the time of the apostles downwards." " We want something more than mere assertion — we want proof," said Elder Bump. "The proof is at hand," said Mr. Clarence. "Justin Martyr, born near the close of the first century, observes, when speaking of those who were members of the Church, that a part of them were sixty or seventy years old, who were made disciples in infancy. The scriptural mode of making disciples, as you have already admitted, is by baptizing (Matthew xxviii. 20) : ' Go and teach all nations, baptizing them,' etc. To ' teach ' is to make disciples of ; and if you know of any other way of making disciples that was ever practised than baptism, will you be kind enough to inform me?" " I am afraid the information will be hard to find," said Mr. Jones. " But the word * infants* at that time was a more general term than it is with us. It sometimes meant adults up to the age of twenty-five. I would have no objection to baptizing any number of infants of that kind." " The evidence of Irenjeus, who was born about the year 97, will settle that point. He was a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of the Apostle John. He says Christ came to save all persons who by Him are born again unto God : infants, and little ones, and children, and youths, and elder persons. The historian begins with the lowest or youngest, and gives four periods of age before he reaches the elder persons, or adults." " Oh, do give up the infants of twenty-five," said Mr. Jones, junior. " But he does not say that they were baptized — simply that they were ' born again,'" said Elder Bump. " He explains in another place," said Mr. Clarence, " that by being ' born again ' he meant baptism. If you could have proved that the infants spoken of were twenty-five, you would not have raised the question as to whether being ' born A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. Ill again ' meant baptism or not. Clemens Alexandrin* 3, bom about the middle of the second century, when reproving the Christians for the URe of idolatrous and indecent engravings, exhorts them to use only those that were becoming and useful, and particularly exhorts fishermen to choose the image of an apostle baptizing infants. Tertullian, bom about the year 97, says, * The delay of baptism is more use- ful, according to every person's disposition, but especially with regard to children.* The reason which he gives for this delay is that their faith was not entire or complete. As Tertullian only urges delay, it is obvious that the rule of the Church was to baptize infants, for he would have had no occasion to urge delay if the practice had never existed. Origen, bom about the year 184, and a man of more information than any other of his time, says, ' Infants are baptized for remission of sins. The Church hath received the tradition from the apostles, that baptism ought to be administered to infants.' Cyprian, who was contemporary with Origen, says that * Sixty-six bishops, being convened in a Council at Carthage, having the question referred to them whether infants might be baptized before they were eight days old, decided unanimously that no infant is to be prohibited from the benefit of baptism, although but just born.' Now, the question was not whether infants should be baptized or not. This question had never been raised ; but if the baptism should be delayed till the child was eight days old, the unanimous decision was that delay was not necessary, but that children might be baptized as soon as bom. Gregory Nazianzen, born in the early part of the fourth century, exhorts parents to offer their children to God in baptism. St. Augustin, bom in the middle of the fourth century, says, 'The whole Church practises infant baptism ; it was not instituted by Councils, but was in use from the beginning.' He also says that he did not remem- ber ever to have read of any person, whether Catholic or heretic, who maintained that baptism ought to be denied to infants. This, he says, the Church has always maintained. Pelagius, a contemporary with St. Augustin, declares that he 112 LAUBA CLARENCE. had never heard even any impious heretic who asserted that infants are not to be baptized. Pelagius is a witness of high authority. He was ^m in Britain, and travelled through France, Italy, Africa proper, and Egypt to Jeru- salem. If such a practice had existed in his time, it seems impossible that he should not have heard of it. A person who employed himself extensively in examining this sub- ject gives the following as the result of his enquiries : First, during the first four hundred years from the formation of the Christian Church, TertuUian only urged the delay of baptism to infants, and that only in some cases, but neither any society of men, nor any individual, denied the lawful- ness of baptizing infants. Secondly, in the next seven hundred years, there was not a society nor individual who even pleaded for this delay, much less any who denied the right or the duty of infant baptism. Thirdly, in the year 1120, one sect of the Waldenses declared againat infant baptism becaus* they supposed children incapable of salva- tion. And that appears to be the only consistent ground on which baptism can be denied to infants." " I think not," said Elder Bump ; " infant damnation is a horrible doctrine, and I have never heard of any who held it only Presbyterians." " Well, on what ground do you deny the right of baptism to infants?" " Of course, on the ground that they cannot believe." " Well, * he that believeth not shall be damned ' — a child believeth not, hence it must be damned." " You are too fast," said Elder Bump. " He is not faster than the Scripture passage which he quotes," said Mr. Jones, junior. " If the child is excluded from baptism for want of faith, it must be excluded from heaven for want of faith. Hence it must be damned." " I think Mr. Clarence has about made a convert of you," said Elder Bump. Mr. Clarence then continued : "The main body of that people rejected the opinion as heretical, and the rest which held it soon came to nothing. The next appearance of this A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. lis opinion was in 1522. This was the date of the origin of the Anabaptist sect." "I don't know about those authorities," said Elder Bump. " The authors are all reliable," said Mr. Jones, junior. " But if we had not any of the evidence which we have quoted — and let us suppose that the practice of infant baptism was unknown to the apostles and the early Church — might we not reasonably expect that we would have some account of its introduction ? We can get an account of the introduction of all the errors and corruptions which have ever found their way into the Christian Church ; we can give the date of the introduction of the dogmas of Tranaubstantiation, the Immaculate Conception, and Papal Infallibility; we can find the names of the authors, the Councils which sanctioned them and their dates ; but who can tell us anything about the introduction of this dogma of Infant Baptism ? Who was its author ? What Council sanctioned it ? What Pope decreed it ? Surely a dogma which requires thj performance of an act so sinful and of such high-handed rebellion against God, so impious and so sacrilegious,* could not have been clandestinely smuggled into the Church. Can you give any account of its origin, its authors or promoters ? You tell us it is a Popish rite ; if so, what Pope introduced it ? Information is wanted on that subject." "Come, Elder," said Mr. Jones, junior, "if you can give us any information, let's have it." Elder Bump made no reply. " Well," said Mr. Jones, junior, " the case appears to stand about so : Mr. Clarence has shown clearly (to my mind at least) that the covenant made with Abraham embraces all his spiritual seed in the Christian dispensation as well as the Jewish; that the children are embraced in that covenant, and stand in the same relation to the Church in the new dispensation as in the old. We are challenged to give any evidence that God ever annulled the ordinance by * "Theodosia Ernest," page 323. 114 LAURA CLARENCE. which children are members of the visible Church. We fail to give any. When we come to the New Testament Scrip- tures, we tind at least one case of the administration of infant baptism on a rather extensive scale ; and a number of household baptisms, in which it appeal's to be next to impossible that there should have been no infants. When we come to the evidence of the Christian fathers, they are unanimously in favour of infant baptism. And we are asked when the practice was introduced — if it was not the practice of the early Church — and we can give no answer." Elder Bump treated Mr. Jones to one oi his most belli- gerent looks, but said nothing. Mr. Clarence then continued : " I now feel it to be my duty, though a painful one, to give a few examples of the way in which many Baptist writers misrepresent the authors whom they quote. I saw a pamphlet a few days ago, written by a Baptist doctor of divinity. He professed to prove his doctrine from Paedo-baptist authors. He represents Dr. Adam Clark as saying : ' In primitive times the manner of baptizing was by immersion, or dipping the whole body in water, and this manner was significant of the dying and rising referred to by Paul ' (Romans vi. 3). Will you be kind enough, Mr. Jones, to take the book and read the whole passage bearing on the question, and let us see what Dr. Clark does say ?" He took the book and read : " In primitive times the manner of baptism was probably by immersion, or dipping the whole body in water, and this manner of doing it was significant of the dying and rising referred to by Paul. I say it is probable the apostle alludes to the mode of baptism by immersion, but it is not absolutely certain that he does so, as some do imagine ; for in the next verse our being in- corporated into Christ by baptism is also denoted by our being planted or rather graffed together in the likeness of His death ; and Noah's ark floating upon the water, and sprinkled by the rain, is a figure corresponding to baptism (1 Peter iii. 20), but neither of these give the same idea of the outward form as burying. Further, we must be careful A TREATISE ON BAPTISM. 115 the )ping ) was 1. I tism does in- our 3S of and )tism ja of Ireful not to lay too great stress on such circumstances." " I am astonished," said Mr. Jones, laying down the book. " To profess," resumed Mr. Clarence, " to give the senti- ments of an author, and to leave out words and otherwise farble the passages which he professes to quote, is so dis- onest that I know not how to express myself. Albert Barnes is treated in the same way. The author quotes the part of the passage which suits him, and then stops without mentioning that Barnes adds : ' While it is admitted that the allusion is probably to the custom of immersion in baptism, yet the passage cannot be adduced as an argument that favours that mode as the vonly one, or that it is binding on Christians in all places and in all ages, for the following reasons : First, the scope or design of the apostle is not to discuss the mode of baptism, or to state any doctrine on the subject ; it is an incidental allusion to it in the course of an argument, without stating or implying that this was the universal mode even then, still less that it was the only possible mode. His main design was to state the obligation of Christians to be holy from the nature of their profession at baptism — an obligation just as impressive and as forcible from the application of water in any other way as by immersion. It arises from the fact of baptism, not the mode. It is just as true that they who are baptized by affusion or by sprinkling are baptized into His death, and become pro- fessedly dead to the world and sin, and are as much under obligations to live to God as those who are immersed.* We have in those extracts given the exact words of the author. Dr. Chalmers is another writer who is misq^joted and mis- represented in the same way." " Oh," said Mr. Jones, " I do not care about hearing any more; I am satisfied; and after the way in which the author of ' Theodosia ' quoted Liddell and Scott, I am not surprised. When I find a writer profess to give the precise words of an author, and give only three meanings out of twelve, to give the first of those incorrectly, and to give one which is not in the author at all, I am done with such an author. I find ' to pour upon ' one of the meanings of M 116 LAURA CLARENCE. !,. haptizo in Liddell and Scott. The author of * Theodosia ' does not give it. He gives ' immerse/ which Liddell and Scott do not give at all." " Well," said Mr. Clarence, " I have read the book, and I must say that I was quite amused with the assurance of the author. He puts forth as his champion for immersion a tutor employed in teaching the junior classes in a Presbyterian college. Though he does not profess to have gone through a college course himself, he confutes all the professors and the president of the college, and shows them to be com- pletely ignorant of the contents of the books on their own shelves. He shows D.]).'8, and especially Presbyterian D.D.'s, to be the greatest ignoramuses in the world. He is a teacher under them, and they are employed by the Faculty and considered competent to teach the higher classes, and he only the lower. Yet in this subject he proves them to bo the most ignorant and inconsistent class of men in the world. He shows that college-trained men are of all others the most hopelessly ignorant and inconsistent, yet he holds his position as a teacher in one of the very worst kind of colleges. The fact that nearly nine-tenths of the Christian world, comprising nearly all the learning of the schools, are on the opposite side, is not thought to be a matter worthy of consideration by this self-sufficient dominie." " Well," said Mr. Jones, junior, " I never did like that way of abusing other denominations in which so many of our people indulge ; and I had a little experience, when I was a chaplain in the army during the war, which cooled my ardour not a little." " And what was your experience ?" said Elder Bump with a frown. " The surgeon came and told me of a poor fellow who was given over to die, and wished to see a minister. He requested me to accompany him and see him. 1 went. The surgeon introduced me, and told him I had come to give him spiritual counsel, and left me with the wounded man. I asked him a few questions about his past life. He told me he had led a wild, reckless life, and had neglected A TRKATIHK ON BAPTISM. 117 to seek his houI's Halvation; 'an(1, now,' he said, 'I am about to appear before my Judge, in an unprepared state.* And turning his eyes upon me with an earnest, appealing look, he said, ' What shall I do to be saved V I was puzzled and confused. If he had been in health and strength 1 could have easily said, * Believe and be baptized,' but I knew that baptism was out of the question, and I simply said, ' Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shaft be saved,' and then left him. I had just reached the next ward when I met the surgeon. ' How is that poor fellow ?' he said. I answered, ' He's pretty sick.' ' I knew that,' he said, ' before I brought you to him ; but what of his spiritual condition ?' I could make no answer. The surgeon said, * That is just what I expectex c rker, till his sun sets in eternal night. When the curtain of death drops, the doom of both is unalter- ably fixed. That gulf which has been widening through life becomes impassable at death. As we are taught in the parable of '' ".-b man and Lazarus, they who would pass from the oue sr ^ to the other are not able. Were it otherwise — \v re /. io that they who inherit the doom of the wicked rould pass ovv^ end enjoy the state of the righteous, why maynoo ^iC '^rh > fad from their happy state and inherit the doom of Ui. wi ch' If the state of the wicked is not fixed and permanent, what security have we that the state of the righteous is unalterably fixed? If the state of probation extends beyond the grave, why will it not apply to the righteous as well as the wicked ? If Univer- salism removes the fears of the wicked, it likewise cuts off the hopes of the righteous. The very condition of proba- tion implies a possibility of failure. A failure to secure happiness is misery. An objection, therefore, against future punishment applies with equal force to the whole dispensation in which we are placed. But can we see no benevolent object in the infliction of pain in the natural world? If violations of the physical laws were attended with no pain ; if we could cut and mangle our flesh or frac- ture our limbs with impunity ; if we could labour incessantly without being warned by a feeling of pain and fatigue that our bodily strength is overtaxed, a large proportion of the human family would, during the inexperience ci childhood and the buoyancy of youth, break down or wear out their constitutions, and few, if any, would ever arrive at the age of maturity. The pain, remorse and unhappiness DISCOURSE ON UNIVERSALISM. 139 » well? V expe- »us and onver- of the lues to lile the grows When nalter- [irough in the id pass i^ere it of the liteous, Lte and wicked lat the stat<^ it not Fniver- !uts off proba- secure Lgainst whole see no atural ended r frac- santly that |)f the dhood i their at pmess e attendant on the indulgence of the malevolent passions, whether anger, envy or revenge, go far to deter from similar violations; and for aught we can see, the future pun- ishment of the wicked may have the same effect. The knowledge that a life of sin unrepented of will be followed by an eternity of suffering may, and doubtless will, be the means of deterring many from continuing in the broad road which leads to death, and of turning them into the paths of righteousness, and thus the aggregate amount of happiness in the universe may be largely increased by this apparent severity; so that the punishment of the wicked may be traced to the benevolence of God. The judicious parent who exercises a wholesome discipline in his family, and re- strains them by occasional severity from the ways of sin and folly, largely increases their happiness by this prudent conduct; while, on the other hand, an indulgent father, who, through a mistaken kindness neglects to exercise a proper discipline, and allows his children to follow the bent of their own inclinations, permits those seeds to grow which will bear a rich harvest of sorrow and suffering in after- life. It is doubtless the same in the jurisprudence of heaven. Though in the higher plane of Christian life love is the prevailing motive, yet few have ever been brought to repentance without being, to some extent at least, influenced by fear of punishment. We will now proceed to examine some of the argu- ments drawn from the Scriptures in favour of Universal- ism. The first to which our attention was directed was from the case of Cain. It was argued that because God did not punish Cain with death, but, on the contrary, hedged him about with His providence, and forbade all his fellow-men, under a severe penalty, from injuring him, therefore God is too benevolent to punish sin. Let us ex- amine the Divine record on the subject : " And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand ; when thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield to thee her strength ; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the 140 DISCOURSE ON UNIVERSALISM. m' I PI iili ■'I •j if earth. And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, Thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth ; and from Thy face shall I be hid ; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth ; and it shall come to pass, that everyone that findeth me shall slay me. And the Lord said unto him, There- fore whosoever shall slay Gain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him." Our Universalist friend said nothing about the curse pronounced against Cain. If he thinks it a trifling matter, Cain did not think so. He claimed that his punishment was greater than he could bear; that he was hidden from the face of God. As God is the author and fountain of happiness, to enjoy the presence of God — as Cain evidently did, to some extent at least, up to this time — is happiness. To be banished from God is misery. This was the curse inflicted upon Cain, and who can tell the extent of the curse of God ? The fact of God forbidding all his fellow-creatures from injuring him, simply shows that God took his case into His own hands. He said in Cain's case, " Vengeance is mine ; T will repay. Whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken upon him sevenfold."' If death is the greatest punishment which can be inflicted on a human b^ng, as Universalists argue, when and where is this punishment sevenfold greater than death to be inflicted? And let us observe, that this punish- ment seven times greater than death was to be inflicted for a crime which dwindles into insignificance compared with that of Cain. It is difficult to see how this can be explained in any other way than by admitting punishment after death. The next argument was from the expression of Jacob, "I will go down into the grave unto my son, mourn- ing. " As the Hebrew word Sheol is in other parts of the Bible translated " hell," the conclusion is at once arrived at that hell and the grave are synonymous terms. Hence, hell, as we understand it, has no existence. Our Universal- ist friend has correctly rendered the Hebrew word Sheol by the Greek word Hades. As a proof of the correctness of DISCOURSE ON UNIVERSALISM. 141 his interpretation, I would remark, that of the sixty-three cases in which the word is translated into the Septuagint, it is translated sixty times by the Greek word Hades, twice by the word which means death, once by a word which means a pit. As the two words are so nearly equivalent, I will dismiss the Hebrew word Sheol, and proceed at once to the consideration of the Greek word Hades. The word Hades is compounded of two Greek words, viz., Alpha privitive, signifying not, or against ; and Eido, I see. It means, therefore, not seeing ; or the land of darkness, or the invisible world. This is an idea not unfrequently attached to the state of the departed by ourselves. We speak fre- quently of the invisible world, of the chambers of the dead, of the house appointed for all living, of the world of spirits. These expressions correspond very nearly in meaning with the word Hades. When the whole man, both soul and body, was spoken of, the Greeks used the word Hades when speaking of his future state. When speaking of the soul and body separately, Hades was the word used to de- note the abode of the soul, but never of the body. There are two other words which were used when speaking of the receptacle of the body. The word used by Sophocles, Euripides, Homer and other Greek writers, when speaking of the final resting-place of the body, was Tumbos, the word from which our English word " tomb " is derived. The word used in the New Testament, when speaking of the grave of Lazarus and of our Saviour, was Mnaemion, the root of our English word " remember," — suggested, in all probability, by the pillar or headstone on which the inscription was writ- ten, called the stone of remembrance, but in no case do we find the word Hades used in this sense. It was invariably used in describing the abode of the soul. Homer, in his celebrated poem called the "Iliad," speaks of the souls of his heroes being in Hades, while their bodies were on the surface of the ground, a prey to dogs and unclean birds. This is a decisive proof that by the word Hades the Greeks did not mean grave. Hades was believed by the Greeks to be divided into two parts — Elysium, the abode of the ]42 DISCOURSE ON UNIVERSALISM. If |U--i Im blest ; and Tarteras, the abode of the wicked. In Revela- tion XX. 14, we read of death and hell, or Hades, being cast into the lake which bums with fire and brimstone. Our [Jniversalist friend quoted this text, and with an air of triumph asked, " Where is your hell now ? It is all burnt up." If this text proves anything, it proves too much for Universalists. As Hades comprises the Greek heaven as well as their hell, it proves the destruction of one as well as of the other. Bit why did he not explain what is meant by the lake which bumeth with fire and brimstone ? Why did he stop short at that point ? Could he be in the position of a gentleman I once heard engaged in a discus- sion? He read an extract from a certain author. When he stopped reading, his opponent asked him to read a little fur- ther in order to give the full meaning of the author. He answered, "I have read enough to suit my purpose; you may read the rest." Had our Universalist friend read enough to answer his purpose ? If he has read enough to answer his purpose, he has not read enough to answer the ends of truth The cause of truth demands that more be said. Hear the Apostle John on the subject : " But the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their portion in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone." — Rev. xxi. 8. When this dispensation is ended ; when this grand drama of which this world is the scene is brought to a close ; when the stage on which it is acted is taken down ; when all the furniture, drapery and embellishments, the necessary appendages of the estab- lishment, are folded up, and either destroyed or ap- plied to other uses ; when the time comes so eloquently described by the Apostle Peter (2 Peter iii. 10), "in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the ele- ments shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and all the works which are therein shall be burnt up;" when there are no more births, there will be no more deaths; hence there will be no more necessity for receptacles for the dead. Hades or hell, with all the appendages of this dis- DISCOURSE ON UNIVERSALISM. 143 pensation which are not necessary in the new dispensation, shall be destroyed by being cast into the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. The next argument to which our attention was directed was from the original meaning of the word "hell." He in- formed us that it is derived from the Saxon, and meant originally a covering or roof ; that the ancient Saxons some- times spoke of helling a house when they meant putting on a roof. Covering a grave was called helling it. At a later period it began to be used to mean the grave. Thus far he is right. But is he not aware that with the progress of ideas words change their meaning ? When new ideas are introduced, it is plain that new words must be introduced to be vehicles for the new ideas, or old words must be used with new meanings. With the influx of new ideas conse- quent upon the introduction of Christianity arose the necessity of meeting the demand for words to convey those new ideas. Many old words were used for this purpose, and in time their original meanings were lost. This was the case with the words Heaven and Hell, and to some extent with the word Hades. It is a little remarkable that Universalists should claim to be in advance of all other denominations, and at the same time go back to our bar- barous ancestors for the meaning of words in use at the present day. Because our pagan ancestors, who had never learned Christianity, attached a different meaning to the word Hell from that which Christianity has taught us to attach to it, are we to come to the conclusion that the teaching of Jesus with regard to future punishment is false ? Because the word Heaven is derived from a Saxon word which means the higher 7'egions of the air, are we to come to the conclusion that there is no heaven beyond the atmos- phere which surrounds this earth? Because the ancient Romans, by their word Ccelus, translated Heaven, meant the hollow vault or sky over our heads, must we believe that there is no heaven beyond the line which bounds our view? Because the Greeks derived their word which we usually translate Heaven from the same root as the word 144 DISCOUKSK ON UNIVERSALLSM. (ji: M "mountain," and believed Mount Olympus to be the residence of their gods, the throne of Jupiter, the king of their gods, occupying the loftiest peak, are we to believe that there is no heaven higher than Mount Olympus? These would be the legitimate results of the arguments laid before us. Again, in Matthew xvi. 2G : " For what shall it profit a man if he should gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" we are informed that the word "soul" should have been translated "life." The word Psucha, translated "soul," is derived from a word which means to " breathe." The word is a comment on Gen. ii. 7, "He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul." It means the vital principle, or soul, considered apart from the body. Losing the soul, or vital principle, means something widely different from what we mean by losing the life. In its general acceptation, losing the life means a separation of soul and body, and not the loss of the soul ; but, on the con- trary, in the case of the righteous, it is an immense gain to the soul. The change proposed by our Universalist friend would be simply to deny the existence of a future state. Wo come now to the consideration of the word Gehenna, which was treated at considerable length in the discourses to which we have listened. I have great pleasure in endorsing the definition given by our Universalist friend. He very correctly explained it to mean the Valley of the Son of Hinnom. The quotation which he read from the prophecy of Jeremiah, showing the fearful abominations wrought there, were very well selected and appropriate ; but he neglected to inform us that in a later stage of the history of that city and nation, that valley was used as a receptacle for all the filth, refuse and rubbish of the city. Fire was kept continually burning to consume all this rubbish. Everything which by its decay could injure the health of the city was brought here and consumed. The penalty of death was incurred by those who had charge of this fire, if they ever permitted it to go out. Now, as things on earth are figures of things in heaven, the earthly Canaan was a type of the heavenly. Jerusalem in DlRf'OURSE ON UNIVERSALISM. 145 iidence r j^ods, here is )uld be ore us. profit a lis own d have ioul," is e word rils the ans the body, widely In its ,tion of he con- gain to friend ^aLe. henna, courses jure in friend, of the 3m the lations 3riate ; of the ed as a city. Ill this injure sumed. 10 had o out. leaven, ilem in the land of Palestine was a type of the New Jerusalem which cometh down from God out of heaven ; and the Gehenna which was appended to the city of Jerusalem, into which was cast all the filth, refuse and everything which could be offensive or injurious to the inhabitants, is a type of the spiritual Gehenna into which is cast everything that hurts or offends, or can mar the peace, harmony and happiness of the New Jerusalem. As the object of the fires of Gehenna was to promote the health and happiness of the city by consuming that which would be offensive, so the spiritual has for its object to purge the New Jerusalem of everything which can mar the happiness of its inhabitants. It will be seen, therefore, that the future punishment of the wicked is prompted by benevolence on God's part. If the wicked, with all their unhallowed passions, were permitted to enter those blessed mansions, they \\ ould mar its peace ^ and happiness. It would cease to be heaven. As the fires of Gehenna were kept continually burning, and were of equal duration with the city of Jerusalem, so the spiritual Gehenna will be of equal durat on with the heavenly Jerusalem. If heaven is eternal, th(3refore hell must be likewise eternal. I now enter upon the second head of my discourse. The question hinges on the interpretation of the Greek word Aion. Universal ists claim that it is not correctly trans- lated in our Bible. It means duration of time ; a period of time ; sometimes it means worid, dispensation, generation. Age, or world, is the meaning given to it by Universalists. All lexicographers worthy of the name agree that it means duration as long as the surrounding circumstances permit. Unless limited by some circumstance by whicl it is con- nected, it means eternal. Universalists claim that unless some connected circumstance shows that it means eternal, it means limited duration. This is the point at issue between us. The only way to learn the meaning of words is to ascertain the ideas which those using them intended to convey. When the Greeks wished to convey the idea con- tained in our word " time," they used the word Chronos, from 11 146 DISCOURSE ON UNIVERSALISM. lii* which our word chronology is derived. For " age " they used the word iElikia ; for " world," Kosmos ; for " generation," Genea. When Aion was used for any of those words, it was used out of its ordinary acceptation. If the Greeks had any idea of eternal duration, it must have been in connection with their gods. The epithet applied by Homer to the gods, invariably translated " immortal " or " everlasting," is a derivative of Aion. The Scotch word "aye," found in Rouse's version of the Psalms, is likewise derived from this word. It invariably means " everlasting." Out of the ninety-four places in which Aion is used in the New Testament, sixty- six without doubt mean " endless duration." The remaining number are indefinite. The word Aionos, a derivative of Aion, is used sixty-four times in the New Testament. In fifty-one out of that number it is used in speaking of the happiness of the righteous, seven in describing the punish- ment of the wicked, and two in speaking of God and His glory. The remaining four are of a miscellaneous charac- ter. In the fifty-three cases in which it is used in speak- ing of God and His glory, and the happiness of the righteous, none will deny that it means " everlasting." Is there any good reason why we should give the word a different meaning when it is used in describing the pun- ishment of the wicked ? But Universalists argue that because punishment is necessarily finite, that this adjective, when used to qualify it, must mean finite duration. The question under discussion is the duration of punishment, and they assume it to be finite without proof. This mode of argument is called by logicians petitio principii, or begging the question. When speaking of the happiness of the righteous, they use the adjective to qualify the noun. When speaking of the punishment of the wicked, they use the noun to qualify the adjective. Their system of gram- mar, you will observe, is as flexible as their system of religion. The phrase "Eis tas aionas ton aionon," translated " for ever and ever," is used eighteen times in the New Testa- ment. Fifteen times out of that number it is used in DISCOURSE ON UNIVERSALISM. 147 describing the glories and perfections of God ; once in describing the happiness of the righteous ; once of the punishment of the devil, the beast and the false prophet; and once of the punishment of the finally impenitent, in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone. You will see that the evidence is eight times as strong that God and the happiness of His saints is not eternal, as that the punishment of the wicked is not eternal. Here I would remark that the phrase translated '' for ever and ever " is a very strong one. As I have already remarked, the Greeks used an adjective derived from Aion when speaking of the duration of their gods. Our Universalist friend very justly remarked that the derivative is never stronger and generally of less force than the word from which it is derived. Here we have not only the stronger term used, but put in the plural and squared when describing the punishment of the wicked. No stronger expression can be found in the Greek language, or, as far as I am aware, in any other language, than is here used to ex- press the duration of the punishment of the wicked. To what conclusions are we then brought from our brief considera- tion of this subject? If the punishment of the wicked is not eternal, the happiness of the righteous is not eternal. If Universalism be true, neither heaven, the throne of God, nor the great Jehovah can be eternal, as the same word is used in describing the duration of them all. If Universal- ism be true, justice ceases to be an attribute of Jehovah, as He ceases to make any distinction between the righteous and the wicked. It is said that when Romulus, the first king of Rome, had become so tyrannical and cruel that his subjects could no longer tolerate him, they put him to death, then deified him, believing that though too wicked to live on earth he was fit to reign in heaven. According to Universalist doctrines, the Divine administration would be similar. When men become too wicked to live on earth, He admits them into His presence to live with him forever in heaven. God is thus robbed of some of His essential attributes, and without those attributes His intelligent 148 DISCOURSE ON UNIVERSALISM. creatures cannot adore and worship as God. If we adopt such views, what barrier is there between us and Atheism ? We are far from believing that Universalists generally, or any great proportion of them, can be justly charged with holding Atheistical opinions; but many, indeed most minds are so constituted that they cannot adopt such opinions and stop short of the results we have pointed out. Universal- ism is the high road to Atheism. The system of Christian- ity has been well compared to an arch. If one stone be removed out of it the whole structure must fall. Remove this doctrine from the Christian system and it must fall. In conclusion, I would earnestly entreat this congregation, especially the young, to give the subject your earnest, prayerful consideration. Seek not, I beseech you, to make a league with death and a covenant with hell, " For, saith the Lord, your league with death shall not stand, and your covenant with hell shall be disannulled." Though Univer- salism can give no solid ground on which to build our hopes of salvation, let us rejoice that Christ has opened up a way of escape from that doom which, unless God is mock- ing us with empty threats, awaits the finally impenitent. Rejoice, therefore, to know that though the wicked shall go into everlasting punishment, the righteous, and each of you may be in that number, shall go into life eternal. e adopt theism ? rally, or ed with it minds ons and dversal- iristian- tone be Remove ust fall, egation, earnest, jO make ir, saith ttd your Univer- ild our ned up 3 mock- enitent. shall go of you