Facts for the Times

TESTIMONY OF MEN

Justin Martyr, about A. D. 140, says: FT 124.6

“Then we bring them to some place where there is water, and they are baptized by the same way of baptism by which we were baptized; for they are washed in the water in the name of God the Father, Lord of all things, and of our Saviour Jesus FT 124.7

Christ, and of the Holy Spirit.” Apology ii, sect. 79. FT 125.1

Tertullian, A. D. 204, says: FT 125.2

“The person is let down in the water, and with a few words said, is dipped.” FT 125.3

Again he says: FT 125.4

“There is no difference whether one is washed in the sea or in a pool, in a river or in a fountain; in a lake or in a channel; nor is there any difference between them whom John dipped in Jordan, and those whom Peter dipped in the Tiber.” He also uses the words, “In aqua mergimur”—we are immersed in the water. De Baptismo, cap. 2, 4, 7. FT 125.5

Gregory Nazianzen, A. D. 360, says: FT 125.6

“We are buried with Christ by baptism that we may also rise again with him; we descend with him that we may also be lifted up with him; we ascend with him that we may also be glorified with him.” Orat. 40. FT 125.7

Ambrose, A. D. 374, says: FT 125.8

“Thou saidst, I do believe, and wast immersed, that is, thou wast buried, (mersisti hoc est, sepultus es.)” De Sacram. L. ii, cap. 7. FT 125.9

CYRILL, of Jerusalem, A. D. 374. says: FT 125.10

“As he who is plunged in the water, and baptized, is encompassed by the water on every side; so they that are baptized by the Spirit, are also wholly covered.” Catechis. xvii, sec. 14. FT 125.11

Chrysostom, A. D. 398, says: FT 125.12

“To be baptized and plunged, and then to emerge or rise again, is a symbol of our descent into the grave, and our ascent out of it; and therefore Paul calls baptism a burial.”—Homil. xl, in 1 Corin. FT 125.13

The following three testimonies of Paedo-Baptist authors are to the point: FT 126.1

WITSIUS affirms: FT 126.2

“It is certain that both John the Baptist, and the disciples of Chris, ordinarily practised immersion; whose example was followed by the ancient church, as Vossius has shown, by producing many testimonies from the Greek and Latin writers.”—Econ. of the Cov. LIb. iv, cap. xvi, sec. 13. FT 126.3

MR. BOWER says: FT 126.4

“Baptism by immersion was undoubtedly the apostolical practice, and was never dispensed with by the church, except in case of sickness,” etc. Hist. of the Popes, Vol. ii, p. 110. FT 126.5

G. J. VOSSIUS says: FT 126.6

“That the apostles immersed whom they baptized, there is no doubt.... And that the ancient church followed their example is very clearly evinced by innumerable testimonies of the fathers.”—Disputat. de Bap. Disp. i, sec. 6. FT 126.7

MR. WHITBY, author of a Commentary on the New Testament, and more than forty other learned works, says: FT 126.8

“It being so expressly declared here, [Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12,] that we are buried with Christ in baptism, by being buried under water; and the argument to oblige us to a conformity to his death, by dying to sin, being taken hence; and this immersion being religiously observed by all Christians for thirteen centuries, and approved by our Church, and the change of it into sprinkling, even without any allowance from the author of this institution, or any license from any council of the church, being that which the Romanist still urges to justify his refusal of the cup to the laity; it were to be wished that this custom might be again of general use.” FT 126.9

BISHOP BOSSUET says: FT 127.1

“We are able to make it appear, by the acts of Councils, and by the ancient Rituals, that for thirteen hundred years, baptism was thus, (by immersion) administered throughout the whole church, as far as possible.”—Stennett’s Answer to Russen, p. 176. FT 127.2

STACKHOUSE says: FT 127.3

“Several authors have shown, and proved, that this immersion continued, as much as possible, to be used for thirteen hundred years after Christ.” Hist. of the Bible, P. 8, p. 1234. FT 127.4

ARCHBISHOP TILLOTSON says: FT 127.5

“Anciently, those who were baptized, were immersed and BURIED in the water, to represent their death to sin; and then did rise up out of the water, to signify their entrance upon a new life. And to these customs the Apostle alludes. Romans 6:4.”—Works, Vol. I, Serm. vii, p. 179. FT 127.6

BISHOP TAYLOR says: FT 127.7

“The custom of the ancient churches was not sprinkling, but immersion; in pursuance of the sense of the word in the commandment and the example of our blessed Saviour.” Paed. Exam. Vol. I, p. 199. FT 127.8

LIGHTFOOT and ADAM CLARKE say: FT 127.9

“That the baptism of John was by plunging the body (after the same manner as the washing unclean persons—was) seems to appear from those things which are related of him; namely, that he baptized in Jordan, that he baptized in Enon, because there was much water there, etc.-A. Clarke’s Commentary. FT 127.10

CALVIN says: FT 128.1

“From these words, [John 3:23,] it may be inferred, that baptism was administered, by John and Christ, by plunging the whole body under water.” Paed. Exam. Vol. 1, p. 194. FT 128.2

DODDRIDGE says: FT 128.3

“Buried with him in baptism. It seems the part of candor to confess, that here is an allusion to the manner of baptizing by immersion.”—Fam. Expos. Note on the place. FT 128.4

GEO. WHITFIELD says: FT 128.5

“It is certain that in the words of our text, [Romans 6:3, 4,] there is an allusion to the manner of baptism, which was by immersion, which is what our own church allows,” etc.—Eighteen Sermons, p. 297. FT 128.6

JOHN WESLEY says: FT 128.7

“Buried with him—alluding to the ancient manner of baptizing by immersion.”—Note on Romans 6, 4. FT 128.8

WHITBY says: FT 128.9

“Because there was much water there, in which their whole bodies might be dipped; for in this manner only was the Jewish baptism performed, by a descent into the water, [Acts 8:38,] and an ascent out of it, [verse 39,] and a burial in it. Rom. v1, 3, 4; Colossians 2:12.”—Annot. on the place. FT 128.10

PROF. STUART says: FT 128.11

“The mode of baptism by immersion, the Oriental church has always continued to preserve even down to the present time. Allatti de Eccles. Orient. et Occident, lib. iii, ch. 12, sec. 4. The members of this church are accustomed to call the members of the western churches sprinkled christians, by way of ridicule and contempt.” FT 128.12

W. WALL says: FT 129.1

“We should not know from these accounts whether the whole body of the baptized was put under water, head and all, were it not for two later proofs, which seem to me to put it out of question: one, that St. Paul does twice, in an allusive way of speaking, call baptism a burial; the other, the custom of the Christians, in the near succeeding times, which, being more largely and particularly delivered in books, is known to have been generally, or ordinarily, a total immersion.”—Def. of the Hist. of Inf. Bap. p. 131. FT 129.2

It is well known that the Waldenses “always practised immersion.” FT 129.3

The Congregational Journal, speaking of the Waldenses says: FT 129.4

“They preserved alive the teachings of the primitive church.” FT 129.5

PRES. EDWARDS says: FT 129.6

“Some of the Popish writers own that they (the Waldenses) never submitted to the church of Rome. One says. The heresy of the Waldenses is the oldest heresy in the world.”—Hist. of Redemp. P. iii, Pt. ii, 1. FT 129.7

BEZA says: FT 129.8

“As for the Waldenses, I may be permitted to call them the seed of the primitive and purer church.” FT 129.9

PRES. SHANNON, of the College of Louisiana, says: FT 130.1

“While I filled the Professorship of Ancient Languages in the University of Georgia I had occasion to compile a table of passages where the words, dip, pour, sprinkle, and wash, in their various modifications, occur in the English Bible, with the corresponding term used in the Greek of the New Testament and the Septuagint. FT 130.2

“Dip I found in twenty-one passages. In all of these except one, bapto or baptizo is found in the Greek. The one exception is in Genesis 37:31, where Joseph’s brethren took his coat and dipped (emolunan, smeared or daubed) it in the blood of a kid. Mark the great accuracy of the Greek here—the idea is that of smearing or of daubing, and the Septuagint so expressed it. FT 130.3

“Sprinkle, in some of the forms, I found in twenty-seven passages. In not a single instance is bapto or baptizo used in the Greek. FT 130.4

“Pour, I found in no less than one hundred and nineteen instances, but in not even one of them did I meet with bapto or baptizo used in the Greek. FT 130.5

“I found wash in thirty-two cases, where reference was made, not to the whole person, but to a part, as the eyes, the face, the hands, the feet. In none of these was bapto or baptizo found, but nipto, invariably.” FT 130.6