Imatges de pàgina
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which he is cited; but he says something from whence the other does draw it as a consequence; and then sets down that consequence, as if it were the author's own words: or,

5. Quotations absolutely false.

First, Out of such books as are now discovered to be no true works of the authors whose name they bear, but forgeries of later years.

So there are quotations for infant baptism, taken out of the decretal epistles, which have been set out under the name of the most ancient bishops of Rome [730]; but were, as I shewed before*, really forged long after that time. As for the spurious quotations that are of any tolerable credit for antiquity, I gave before some account of them f.

Secondly, Many that are produced are nothing to the purpose.

As when the Antipædobaptists do fill their collections of this nature with passages out of the ancient fathers, that relate to the baptizing of adult persons, -There is no Pædobaptist, but does grant that there are innumerable such places; for, in the first 300 or 400 years of Christianity (in which space of time it was that the greatest part of the Heathen world, being converted, came into the church) the baptisms of grown persons converted were more in number than the baptisms of the children of Christians; as it must needs be, since the apostles, at their death, left the world in such a state, as that there was probably a hundred Heathens left for one Christian, even in the Roman empire, where they spent most of their pains; but, at the end of 300 or 400 years, there were probably ten Christians for one Heathen. Now, in that space of time, there are recorded a great many sermons and other discourses, persuading people to come in and be baptized; and in those discourses they instruct them in what is necessary thereto, as that they must first understand and believe the principles of the Chris† Part 1, ch. 23.

* Part 1, ch. 1.

tian religion, and resolve to forsake their wicked courses and idolatrous worships; and commonly when they are upon this theme, they speak of baptism just as the Church of England does in the Catechism, →→ that there is required of persons to be baptized, repentance and faith. There are also extant many sermons made to the persons newly baptized, putting them in mind of their vow and covenant; and it is common for the Antipædobaptists to cite some pas sages out of such discourses, which, taken by themselves, look as if those authors were against infant baptism, and allowed it only to grown persons; but the contrary appears in that the same authors, in other places, when they speak of the case of infants, do shew their opinion and practice to have been otherwise; and that they looked upon that as a particular and excepted case; for this sort of quotations is often made out of Chrysostom, Gregory Nazianzen, and even St. Austin himself.

In short, they have in this matter dealt with those ancient authors just as they did lately with Mr. Baxter, who, being busy in writing something in defence of Infant Baptism, heard the hawkers cry under his window *Baxter's Arguments for Believers' Baptism; being a pamphlet of collections taken out of some of Mr. Baxter's Works, wherein he, speaking of the terms of the baptismal covenant, had shewn the necessity of a justifying faith in order to baptism, though, in the same books, he had declared he spoke in reference to adult persons only. On which occasion Mr. Baxter says, "The inen that cite authors at this rate, eite me against myself with the like confidence."

Indeed, Mr. Tombs wrote a piece against Mr. Baxter, called Felo de se, or The Self-Destroyer; in which he endeavoured to shew, that though Mr. Baxter intended these proofs of the necessity of faith, only in the case of adult persons, yet "his arguments prove more; and that the middle terms of his arguments do

* Baxter's More Proofs for Infant Baptism, page 414.

which he is cited; but he says something from whence the other does draw it as a consequence; and then sets down that consequence, as if it were the author's own words: or,

5. Quotations absolutely false.

First, Out of such books as are now discovered to be no true works of the authors whose name they bear, but forgeries of later years.

So there are quotations for infant baptism, taken out of the decretal epistles, which have been set out under the name of the most ancient bishops of Rome [730]; but were, as I shewed before*, really forged long after that time. As for the spurious quotations that are of any tolerable credit for antiquity, I gave before some account of them f.

Secondly, Many that are produced are nothing to the purpose.

As when the Autipædobaptists do fill their collections of this nature with passages out of the ancient fathers, that relate to the baptizing of adult persons, →→ There is no Pædobaptist, but does grant that there are innumerable such places; for, in the first 300 or 400 years of Christianity (in which space of time it was that the greatest part of the Heathen world, being converted, came into the church) the baptisms of grown persons converted were more in number than the baptisms of the children of Christians; as it must needs be, since the apostles, at their death, left the world in such a state, as that there was probably a hundred Heathens left for one Christian, even in the Roman empire, where they spent most of their pains; but, at the end of 300 or 400 years, there were probably ten Christians for one Heathen. Now, in that space of time, there are recorded a great many sermons and other discourses, persuading people to come in and be baptized; and in those discourses they instruct them in what is necessary thereto, as that they must first understand and believe the principles of the Chris+ Part 1, ch. 23.

* Part 1, ch. 1.

tian religion, and resolve to forsake their wicked courses and idolatrous worships; and commonly when they are upon this theme, they speak of baptism just as the Church of England does in the Catechism, that there is required of persons to be baptized, repentance and faith. There are also extant many sermons made to the persons newly baptized, putting them in mind of their vow and covenant; and it is common for the Antipædobaptists to cite some pas sages out of such discourses, which, taken by themselves, look as if those authors were against infant baptism, and allowed it only to grown persons; but the contrary appears in that the same authors, in other places, when they speak of the case of infants, do shew their opinion and practice to have been otherwise; and that they looked upon that as a particular and excepted case; for this sort of quotations is often made out of Chrysostom, Gregory Nazianzen, and even St. Austin himself.

In short, they have in this matter dealt with those ancient authors just as they did lately with Mr. Baxter, who, being busy in writing something in defence of Infant Baptism, heard the hawkers cry under his window *Baxter's Arguments for Believers' Baptism; being a pamphlet of collections taken out of some of Mr. Baxter's Works, wherein he, speaking of the terms of the baptismal covenant, had shewn the necessity of a justifying faith in order to baptism, though, in the same books, he had declared he spoke in reference to adult persons only. On which occasion Mr. Baxter says, "The inen that cite authors at this rate, eite me against myself with the like confidence."

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Indeed, Mr. Tombs wrote a piece against Mr. Baxter, called Felo de se, or The Self-Destroyer; in which he endeavoured to shew, that though Mr. Baxter intended these proofs of the necessity of faith, only in the case of adult persons, yet "his arguments prove more; and that the middle terms of his arguments do

* Baxter's More Proofs for Infant Baptism, page 414.

beat down his own tenet of infant baptism." If the Antipædobaptists had dealt only thus in their quotations out of the antients; and had declared their purpose to be, to improve these sayings of the fathers to confute the opinion and practice of the said fathers themselves, none could deny them the liberty of making their best of such a course; and they nay, if they think fit, indict the fathers of being felones de se; but it is common with them to cite such passages as evidences that the authors were against infant baptism; or that there was no baptism of infants practised in those ages or those churches, because they find such passages concerning the baptizing of grown persons, and concerning the qualifications required in them.

Such places as these I have left out, inasmuch as they only prove that there were frequent baptisms of adult persons in those times, which nobody denies ; → yet I shall here set down for instance two of them, which do in appearance, the most of any that I have met with, make for the purpose of the Antipædobaptists.

Basil, contra Eunomium, lib. 3. [270.] Πιστεῦσαι γὰρ δεῖ πρότερον· εἶτα τῷ βαπτίσματι ἐπισφρα γίσαθαι.

'For one must believe first, and then be sealed with baptism.'

Hieronym. in Matt. xxviii. [278.]

"Primùm docent omnes gentes, deinde doctas intinguunt aquâ ; non enim potest fieri ut corpus recipiat baptismi sacramentum, nisi antè anima susceperit fidei veritatem."

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They first teach all the nations, then when they are 'taught they baptize them with water; for it cannot be that the body should receive the sacrament of baptism, unless the soul have before received the true " faith.2

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