« vW^^^i PRINCETON, N. J. 'J/. Presented by Mr. Samuel Agnew of Philadelphia, Pa. % PREFACE The Angel said to Daniel that, in the last days, "Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." This prophecy is especially being fulfilled as regards church history ; for a number of the ripest scholars of Europe and America are devoting their energies to this great work, with the prospect of much good as the result. It has ever been the policy of Rome to destroy, as far as possible, not only the true church itself, but every vestige of its history. This fell design has led Romish authors to make the effort to blacken the character of the Church of Christ, by accusing its mem- bers of almost every crime which Satanic malice could invent. And they have so far succeeded in their purpose, as to make the impres- sion on the multitude, that there is no church successmi independent of Rome, and that all other churches came out of the Catholic Church ! Baptists have with one voice denied any connection with the Romish apostacy, and claimed their origin as a church from Jesus Christ and the apostles. If this claim of the Baptists is true, they should ever be willing and able to furnish the evidence upon which they rest their claims to antiquity. But, owing to the scarcity and cost of old ecclesiastical histories and documents, the people are deprived of the means of knowing the facts of history which ought to be in the reach of every one. It is the design of this work to furnish, in a convenient shape, the leading facts of his- tory which every Christian should know. I can see no reason why any child of God should be indifferent as to the history of the "martyrs of Jesus," upon whose blood the Romish harlot was drunk for so many ages. I know that the full details of the cruel suffer- ings of these witnesses for Christ is preserved alone in the archives of heaven, and will there be preserved till that glorious day when every hidden thing shall be brought to light. Eager historians have ever been ready to rear monuments of fame to the memory of heroes and tyrants who ha^e drenched the earth iv (Preface. in human blood, and haA'e arisen to greatness tlirough treachery and crime; and the admiring multitudes are ready to shout the praises of these human butchers, that have shrouded nations in mourning and distress. But, how few are interested in the history of those men and women of whom the world is not worthy, who forsook all for the kingdom of God, and became pilgrims and strangers on the earth. They were often clad in sheep-skins and goat-skins, and wandered in deserts and mountains; they sometimes lived in caves and dens of the earth, or dragged out their wretched lives in filthy prison-dungeons ; and, at last,thousands of them sealed their testimony at the stake, where they sang and shouted the praises of God, amidst the flames which devoured their bodies. Is it pos- sible that God's children, who are more highly favored, feel no interest in the investigation of the history of the Bride of Jesus Christ, whose wanderings in the wilderness may be traced by her martyr blood, as seen in the gloomy light of the martyr fires? We have a number of valuable histories of the Baptists — such as those written by Crosby, Ivimey, Orchard, Benedict, Cramp, and others; but still there is a demand for the Hand-Booh of Baptist History, arranged for convenient reference. This work will be found espe- cially valuable to those who do not have access to historic libraries. Instead of being compelled to search for years through rare and musty volumes, the reader is here furnished with the facts, suitably arranged, to meet all ordinary demands. This collection has been prepared at great cost and labor, amidst the pressure of other cares and duties. The reader is left to judge for himself as to the merits of the present volume. It is my earnest desire to point sinners to Jesus Christ, as the only name given in heaven, or among men, whereby they can be saved. And I also wish to aid the people of God, by pointing them to the Church of Jesus Christ, which is the " pillar and ground of the truth." Praying that the blessings of God may rest upon this effort to promote His glory, I dedicate this work to the Churches of Jesus Christ. D. B. K. .^^A L^^^' m^ vS. 1 n 1 n Jlatt. 16 1 18. my church, and the gates oi hell shall not prevail against it.^^ I take this declaration of the Messiah as my first proof of the visibility of the church or kingdom. For if the Savior alluded to the reign of grace in the heart when he said, "I will build my church,^^ this would contradict facts ; for the reign of grace had already been built in the hearts of men from the time of Abel. Therefore, as that something which men are pleased to call the invisible kingdom, had been set up about four thousand years in the past, it is certain that Jesus Christ did not allude to the reign of grace in the heart when he said, " I will build my church.^^ And as the Scriptures teach that none but men and women, believers, are eligible to church membership, therefore it would be as appropriate to speak of invisible men and women on earth as to speak of an invisible church on earth composed of men and women 2. ^' And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffercth violence, and the violent tahe it by forceJ'^ ^yill it be said that violent men take the invisible king- dom by force ? This is too absurd. But how could an invisible king- dom suffer violence ? The kingdom of Christ, as a visi- 14 The Kingdom. ble body, has suffered violence from the days of John the Baptist even until now. 3. " Tlien shall the kingdom of heaven be Ulcened unto ten vb-qins which took their lamps and went Matt. 2b : l-l^. ^ , / wi i • i a ^^ ^ lortli to meet the bridegroom. And live oi them were wise and five were foolish/' etc. It is generally conceded that the foolish virgins repre- sent false professors in the kingdom. But if it refers to the invisible kingdom of grace in the heart, then the doc- trine of final apostacy is true. But the very fact that false professors, foolish virgins, are in the kingdom, shows that the kingdom must be a visible organization. 4. The Savior said, at the institution of the supper, " I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father ' ' hath appointed unto me ; That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom," etc. Here the Savior has fixed the Lord's table in the kingdom. Did he place the visible Communion in an invisible kingdom ? The very fact that he instituted the supper, a visible ordinance, in the kingdom, is positive proof that that kingdom is visible. Jesus Christ has but one kingdom on earth, and that is a visible organization, especially to those who have been born again. It has visi- ble subjects : those who have exercised repentance and faith, and have been buried with Christ in baptism, and are walking in the ordinances of the Lord's house. It has visible laws, which are contained in the Word of God. And it has visible ordinances: baptism and the Lord's Supper. Therefore, we conclude that the kingdom of Jesus Christ is a visible organization. Once more, it is certain that Jesus Christ set up a visible kingdom, from the fol- JNahire of the Succession. 15 lowing prediction of Daniel : " And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a king- dom, which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever." The reign of grace had been up in the hearts of men long before this prophecy was uttered ; but the kingdom to be set up was still future ; therefore, this prediction could not refer to the reign of grace in the hearts of men. It is admitted that the term church is applied in the Scriptures to denote all the saints in heaven and on earth ; and that many of the children of God on earth do not belong to his true church ; and it may be that the term kingdom is used in the same way. But, I contend that Avhen the term kingdom is used, in the New Testament, with reference to this earth alone, it always refers to what is known as the visible kingdom. Section IL — The nature of the succession. All well-informed Baptists are agreed in the belief that we, as a people, have continued from the time of Christ until the present. In other words, they hold and teach the perpetuity of the Church of Christ. They believe that the Baptist succession exists; that there has been no period of time since the death of Christ when Baptists have not existed. But Baptists do not claim " apostolic succession/' because they admit that the apos- tolic office expired with the death of John the beloved. Til ere was no more necessity for the apostolic office when Christianity was fully established and the canon of reve- lation completed. Neither do we claim Popish succes- 16 The Kingdofn. sion, for this is only the succession of Antichrist. But while some agree that the Baptist succession does exist, or that a succession of Baptists has continued from the time of Christ to the present, yet they, at the same time, deny that the succession can be proved. This is wholly inconsistent; for no one has the right to believe that which can not be proved. There can be no intelligent faith without evidence. If we have no evidence to prove a succession, it is out of the question to affirm that we be- lieve in the existence of such succession. It appears that the taunts of our opponents have caused some of us al- most to surrender our birthright. They tell us that this claim to succession is a "Popish principle,^' a "mark of the Beast,^^ etc. But shall we reject a Bible doctrine be- cause it has been perverted by the Church of Kome"? Shall we reject the divinity of Christ because this is held by the Church of Bome? Shall we reject the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper because these have been perverted by the Church of Home ? Or shall we give up our church organization because the Church of Home, pro- fessing to be the Church of Christ, has become the most cruel ecclesiastical despotism which has ever disgraced the name of Christianity? Shall we reject all currency because of the counterfeit? And shall we surrender the perpetuity or succession of the " everlasting kingdom " of Jesus Christ because the Catholics have inaugurated the Popish succession of Antichrist ? But again, we are told that there is no importance whatever attached to the doctrine of succession ; that it makes no difference whether we are in the succession or not, if we hold the Bible doctrine at the present time ! But no man can hold the Bible doctrine of church organ- Moiture of the Succession. 17 ization who denies the saccession. No man can be in the church or kingdom of Jesus Christ who is not in that kingdom which has the succession from the apostolic age. Is it not important to know that the words of Jesus Christ have been verified which are recorded in Matt, xvi: 18: "Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it '^ ? Is it not important to know that the Church of Christ, which is the " pillar and ground of the truth," has been " kept by the power of God " as the beacon-light of the world through the dark ages, while the masses of mankind were won- dering after the Beast? Is it not important to know that the more than fifty millions of martyred saints, whose blood has been poured forth like rivers, or whose bones have bleached upon the mountains and vales of Europe, and whose ashes have been scattered to the four winds of heaven, were members of the Church of Christ? Or shall we say, it makes no difference wdth us whether they fell as martyrs of Jesus Christ or died as members of Antichrist? It is no new doctrine among Baptists to claim the suc- cession of the churches of Jesus Christ. The author of the Religious Encyclopedia says : " They [Baptists] think that the Christian church, properly so „ , ^ called, was not visibly organized m the family of Abraham nor in the wilderness of Sinai, but by the ministry of Christ himself and of his apos- tles. ^ * * * ^11 this time there were Baptist churches. * j|i H« * ^ succession of the Novatians, or the true church, has continued down to the Reformation." Joseph Belcher says : " It will be seen that the Bap- tists claim the high antiquity of the com- -^^^ Dcnom in mencement of the Christian church. They E. & A., p. 53. 18 The Kingdom t>' can trace a succession of those who have believed the same doctrine and administered the same ordinances directly up to the apostolic age.'^ Mr. Benedict says: ^^The more I study the subject, the stroDger are my convictions, that if all the Ben Hist. BapL, ^^^^^ .^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^ 1^^ disclosed, a very p. 51. . J J good succession could be made out.'^ Dr. Howell says : " I assert that from the days of the apostles to the present time the true, legit- wff ^ I' i'inate Baptist Church has ever been a missionary bodyJ^ John L. Waller says : " Here we rest our cause ; the case is made out. The doctrine of re- Baptists not Pro- n • xi -r> i r^i. x. • f f /LA_zii loi'imiig the r^apal Church is unwar- ranted by Scripture and unsupported by history. The Church of Christ w^as persecuted, but never over- thrown ; cast down, but not destroyed. It was built upon a rock, against which neither the powers of darkness nor the seductions of Satan, transformed into an angel of light, could prevail. Poor, persecuted, obscure, and despised, still the true friends of the Redeemer maintained the great truths of our holy religion, unterrified by opposi- tion and unseduced by corruption. And the honor of be- ing the w^itnesses for the truth and the w^ord of God, when the civilized nations of the earth had bowed in blind and servile obedience to the authority of the Roman Pontiff, in sustaining in undiminished radiance and splendor the allar-fires of our holy religion during the long and drearv darkness of the w^orld's midnight, belongs to the Bajj- tists. This is confessed by their enemies; and thus in them is fuliilled the predictions of the prophets, and illus- (Baptist (Peculiarities. 19 traterl that promise of the Savior, ' that the gates of hell should not prevail against his church/ '^ The succession was also maintained by the Baptist mar- tyrs of past ages. One important object in pointing out our denominational history is to stimulate the zeal of mod- ern Baptists by the heroic examples of our ancient breth- ren and sisters, who sealed their testimony with their blood, by showing that they suffered the loss of all things earthly for the same principles which distinguish us as a denomination. In other words, our principles have been handed down to us at the cost of the lives of millions of our brethren and sisters who loved the Church of Christ more than life itself. Like Abel, being dead, they yet speak to us of the glorious things concerning the king- dom of Christ, and still continue to bear witness against every form of Antichrist. Section III. — Baptist peculiarities. Before following up our line of succession it becomes necessary to lay down some characteristic features which have distinguished Baptists from all others through the past ages. It is said by Solomon that Wisdom hath built her house ; she hath hewn out her seven pillars ; and I will here present seven pillars or peculiarities which distin- guish Baptists from all others. 1. The Baptists y as a church or kingdom, recognize Jesua Christ alone as their founder and head. 2. The Baptisis regard the Bible alone as their rule of faith and practice, 3. The Baptists perpetuate the Bible order of the com- 20 The Kingdom. mandments ; they teach repentance, faith, baptism, and the Lord's Supper. 4. Baptists immerse, or bury with Christ in baptism, only those who profess to be dead to, or freed from, sin. 5. Baptists recognize equal rights or privileges in the execution of the laws of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. 6. Baptists observe the Lord's Supper at his table in his kingdom. 7. Baptists have never persecuted others ; but have them- selves always been peculiarly persecuted and every-where spoken against. There is no denomination in all Christendom, except the Baptists, which holds any one of these seven peculiar- ities. They are, therefore. Baptist peculiarities. All Christians who hold and practice these principles may be regarded as belonging to the Baptist family, whether they are called Missionary, Old School, or Seventh-day Bap- tists. We are not contending for the succession of the name " Baptist,'^ but for the perpetuity of the Church of Christ, which is now called " The Baptist Church." Bap- tists have never been sticklers about their name. They have been called by a multitude of names by their ene- mies. Even the name Baptist was not assumed by them. On this point Joseph Belcher remarks : '^ The name of p Baptist originated, not wdth the party so-called, but wdth their opponents. Formerly they were called Anabaptists, or i?e-baptizers, which they rejected as involving what they deemed a mis- representation ; because, in their view, none are baptized but the parties mentioned in the Scriptural law relating to the subject, and to whom it is administered in the only prescribed mode.'^ But as the name Baptist is not a mis- (Baptist (Peculiarities. 21 representation, we raise no objection to it. The first ad- ministrator of baptism was called the Baptist by inspira- tion; and as Baptist churches administer the same ordi- nance through their ministers, therefore it is not unscrip- tural to call them Baptist churches. The Baptist denomination of America numbers over a million members, and is the most influential and aggress- ive church on the continent. Our enemies are as much divided in their testimony in regard to our origin as were the witnesses who testified against Jesus. Some say that we sprang from the " Hard-Shell ^^ or Anti-Mission Bap- tists ; 'others, that we originated with Roger Williams, or the Munster riot; while all are agreed in saying, "Away with them." 22 Missionary and Old School ^Baptists. CHAPTEH II. THE " MISSION APwY" AND ''OLD SCHOOL" BAPTISTS. 1. The Regulah Baptists, who are also called "Missiojf- ary" or "Uxited" Baptists, a.^j) the Anti-Mission Baptists, were associated together as One People. 2. In the separation, the Hard-Shell, or Anti-Mission Baptists, were the seceding party, which with- drew FROM the EeGULAR BAPTISTS. 3. "Fro^i tpie Days of the Apostles to the Present Time, the True, Legitimate Baptist. Church has ever BEEN A Missionary Body." 4. The Churches founded by Christ and the Apostles WERE Missionary Churches. 5. The Ancient Regular Baptists were in favor of Min- isterial Education. Section 1. — The regular baptists and the anti- mission BAPTISTS WERE ONCE ASSOCIATED TO- GETHER AS ONE PEOPLE. It is a fact worthy of note, that no well informed his- torian has ever attempted to locate the time, place, and manner of the origin of the Baptist denomination this side of Christ and the apostles. But all historians can tell the year, the country, and the manner of the rise of all other denominations. They can name the several founders of these sects, but they can not tell the origin of the Baptists. They arc by them as the Pharisees were by John's baptism, " they can not tell.'' But of late some of less information, or candor, contend that the ^^ Missionary Baptists " broke olf from Once One (People. 23 the "Old School/' or "Hard-Sheir^ Baptists, about thirty or forty years ago. And the Anti-Mission brethren even I'all the missionaries the "New School Baptists.'^ And some even tell us that they can remember very well when the " Missionaries '^ started! Now, all that is necessary in order to settle this question of the priority of the Mis- sionary or Anti-IIissionary parties among Baptists, is to appeal to historic facts and documents. It may surprise some when they are informed, that no party among Baptists were ever called "Old School'^ until after the separation, about the year 1832, when the Anti-Mission brethren assumed the name — " Old School Baptists.'' The Regular Baptists and the Anti-Mission Baptists were once together as one peoptle; and, therefore, their history up to the separation was the same. The opposi- tion of our Anti-Mission brethren to the mission work, and kindred objects, is a new feature among Baptists. There are some of the so-called " Old Baptists," who have lapsed into Two-seedism and Non-resurrectionism ; and have thereby denied the faith; but there are others of them who still possess, in their church organization, the peculiar features of true Baptists. It is, therefore, evident that such of the Hard-Shell churches as have not denied the peculiarities of the de- nomination, are still to be regarded as a part of the great Baptist family. Though it is equally evident that the most of them have impaired their usefulness by speculat- ing on the decrees and purposes of God to the neglect of faithful ])rcacliing to sinners. There is now a growing disposition on the part of many of these good brethren, to recede from some extremes in their manner of preaching. 24 Missionary and Old Scliool (Baptists, and co-operate with us again in the spread of the Gospel. And we fondly hope that the day is not distant, when f^H prejudice of each party will be buried, and all true Bap« tists will stand together in the army of our Master, as iu times past. But in following up the Baptist succession, justice requires the correction of those false impressions which locate the origin of the " Missionary ^' Baptists with those who call themselves " Old Baptists." Section II. — In the separation, the " hard shell" OR ANTI-MISSION BAPTISTS WERE THE SECEDING PARTY, WHICH WITHDREW FROM THE REGULAR BAPTISTS. This secession, upon the part of our Anti-Mission brethren, occurred at different times in different parts of the country. In Virginia, the separation took place in the year, 1832. Elder S. Trott, an ^^Old School Baptist" of distinction, says of the separation : ^' This brought brethren, churches and associations that had been Rel. Derwm. in U. • i x i i i /> i ^ n dC B 87 gi'O^ii^i^g under the burdens oi human inventions and impositions in religion, to separate themselves, some sooner and some later, from the whole mass of the popular religion and religionists, and to take a stand as a distinct people, upon the Old Baptist standard. The holding of the Scriptures as the only and a perfect rule of faith and practice, and Christ as the Foundation, the Head, and the Life of the Church, the only source and medium of Salvation. This separa- tion occasioned the splitting of several associations, and many churches. We took, as a distinguishing appellation, the name, ^ Old School Baptists.' " Here is the candid Hard=S hells Secede. confession of a leaaptists in America, for the Newport church was founded, unquestionably, eight years before ; and so far from Roger \Yilliams being its founder and first pastor, he was in England when it was founded ; and thirteen years before, he had ceased to be a Baptist. It also follows, that the time when Roger Williams was baptized, has nothing to do in determining the age of the present church.'^ Thus, it is shown that the present Providence church, which was organized in 1652, by Wickenden, Dexter, and Browne, has taken, instead of her own date, the date of the Roger Williams Society. But what became of the old Olney five-principle church. Mr. Adlam says: "A melancholy interest invests the last no- FirstBapt.Ch.in ,• i v r\ ' • x i ^ t. . ^ -^ -_ tice we nave oi this ancient church, it continued till early in the last century, when it became extinct, leaving no records, and but few events in its history behind. The fullest information of it I have found, is in a note by Callender, on the 115th page of his Discourse. Speaking of this church, he adds below: ^This last continued till about twenty years ago, when, becoming destitute of an elder, the members were united with other churches ; ^ and further adds, ^ At present there is some prospect of their re-establishment in church order.' This was written in 1738. The church had then been extinct about twenty years; that is, it lost ils visibility about 1718. Morgan Edwards says, that the church under Olney continued till 1715: so that it continued, after the division in 1652, for more than First Church in America. 55 sixty years^ when, discouraged, tliey scattered, never to be united again. And thus passed away the original church, and the waves of time have almost obliterated its remembrance from the minds of men. Callender indeed thought, when he w^rote, that it might be re-established, and in this he would have rejoiced, as it would have afforded him a church that would hold communion with him and with the people under his care; but he was dis- appointed, and for more than one hundred and thirty years the old church in Providence is among the things that were.'^ From the foregoing facts and dates, it is fully settled that the present Providence first church, Avhich was the third organization in that place, was not organized prior to the year sixteen hundred and fifty-two. It can not, therefore, be the first church in America, from the fact that all historians agree that the Newport church was organized as early as 1644. And granting this to be the true date of the Newport church — which I will show to be a mistake — it makes the Newport church eight years older than the present Providence church. Our earliest writers ascribe this priority to the Newport church. Mr. Adlam quotes John Comer as follows : " Comer, the first, and, for the early history of our denomination, the most reliable of writers, /'^ . '^^ ' ^'J^ ■'. / America, p. 19. ascribes, distinctly and repeatedly, this priority to the Newport church. He had formed the de- sign, more than a hundred and twenty years ago, of writing the history of the American Baptists ; and in that work, which he only lived to commence — but which em- braces an account of this church — he says in one place, * that it is the first of the Baptist denomination.^ And, 56 American (Baptists. closing his history of it, says, ' Thus I have briefly given some account of the settlement and progress of the first Baptist church of Rhode Island, in New England, and the first in America/ ^' What right have v/e to invalidate the emphatic state- ment of John Comer, the first Baptist historian of Amer- ica, upon the " confused ^^ evidence of Mr. Benedict, who confesses that he gets all his information from the Church Records, which have been shown to be incorrect? And more — later developments have established the fact, that the Newport church is not only the first church in Amer- ica, but that it was established in 1638, one year before the Roger Williams church was formed. This is clearly made out from a note in the Minutes of the Philadelphia Association, as follows: "When the first church in New- port, Rhode Island, was one hundred years PlillBaptAsso., ^^^ .^ ^^3g ^^ j^^^^^ Callender, their p. 455. . . / . ' minister, delivered and published a sermon on the occasion.^^ Yes ; in the year seventeen hundred and thirty-eight, the first church in Newport was one hundred years old. This gives us sixteen hundred and thirty-eight as the true date of the organization of the Newport church. This date is also confirmed by the inscription on the tomb- stone of Dr. John Clark, who organized this church. As this inscription contains important facts and dates, which should be preserved, I give it entire, as follows : First Church in America. 57 "to the memoey of DOCTOR JOHN CLAEKE, One of the original purchasers and proprietors of this Island, and one of the founders of the ^^''^f -^«i^^' First Baptist Church in Newport, ^ '^^ "'"' its first pastor and munificent benefactor : He was a native of Bedfordshire, England, and a practitioner of physic in London. He, with his associates, came to this Island from Mass., in March, 1638, O. S., and on the 24th of the same month obtained a deed thereof from the Indians. He shortly after gathered the Church aforesaid, and became its pastor. In 1651, he, with Eoger Williams, was sent to England, by the people of Ehode Island Colony, to negotiate the business of the Colony with the British ministry : Mr. Clarke was instrumental in obtaining the Charter of 1663 from Charles II : which secured to the people of the States free and full enjoyment of judgment and conscience in matters of religion. He remained in England to watch over the interest of the Colony until 1664, and then returned to Newport and resumed the pastoral care of his Church. Mr. Clarke and Mr. Williams, two fathers of the Colony, strenuously and fearlessly maintained that . none but Jesus Christ had authority over the affairs of conscience. He died April 20, 1676, in the 66th year of his age, and is here interred." There is no higher historic authority concerning the im- portant dates and acts of a man's life, than the epitaph npon his tomb. This inscription upon the tombstone of Dr. John Clarke, must have been prepared under the di- rection of those Avho were personally cognizant of the facts 58 American (Baptists. stated. And it is emphatically stated, and graven in the rock, tliat Dr, John Clarke came to this Island in March, 1638, and that ^' he shortly after gathered the church afore- said, and became its pastor J' As he gathered the church shortly after he came to Rhode Island, it must have been gathered in the year six- teen hundred and thirty-eight — one year before the "thing like a church,^' formed by Roger AYilliams., was born. On this point Mr. Adlam says : " After all the investigations I have made, I have come to the conclu- lis ap . I. g.^^ ^1^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ j^^^ ^£ ^1^^ JS'ewport m Amer., p. 4o. . ^ church is 1638, and that any other is alto- gether arbitrary. My reasons for these views are the fol- lowing: We know that in the year 1638, a church was formed on the Island, and Dr. Clarke became its pastor ; and we have no information that that church ever became extinct. On the Island, there is no allusion to such an event in any record ; nor does tradition ever speak of our church but as the original church on the Island : other churches came out from us — we from no other." We consider it a point now fully made out, that the Newport, and not the Providence church, is the oldest Baptist church in America. Section III. — No present baptist church oh min- ister HAS baptism, by SUCCESSION, FROM ROGER W^ILLIAMS. It can not be shown that any present Baptist church or minister has received baptism by succession from Roger Williams. — Our adversaries seem to think, that if they can prove that the Roger Williams Society was the first JNo Succession from Williams. 59 Baptist church established in America, they have estab- lished the position that all the Baptists of America have descended from Roger Williams. They point to Roger Williams with an air of triumph, and say : " Here your chain of succession is broken.^^ But if it could be shown, which is not the case, that the Roger Williams Society was the first Baptist church in America, this would have no more to do with the genealogy of Baptist churches in America than the discovery of America by Columbus has to do with the origin or genealogy of the citizens of this country. Suppose some political logician should draw the conclusion, that because Columbus was the first discoverer of America, therefore all the inhabitants of America are the descendants of Columbus! What would be thought of such reasoning? No man of common sense would re- ceive such teaching. But thousands who are influenced more by prejudice than reason or revelation, are ready to say with one voice, that " the Baptists of America sprang from Roger Williams, because he was the founder of the first Baptist church on this continent ! " • Such persons exhibit the disposition of the animal in the manger, which could not eat hay himself and was de- termined that the ox should not. They have no succes- sion themselves except the Romish, and they are determ- ined to cut off the Baptist succession. But we are asked, "Does- not Mr. Benedict say, that the old Providsnce church was the prolific mother of many Baptist communities?*^ But this was not ^^rq ^^' ^^ '^ said concerning the Roger Williams church, which, as already shown, came to nothing in a few months after its formation; nor of the Olney church, which also, after a series of years, became extinct; but it GO American (Baptists, was said concerning the church established about 1652, under Dexter, Wickenden and Browne, neither of whom received their baptism from Roger Williams. And Greg- ory Dexter was a Baptist preacher in London before he came to Providence, in 1644. So that even the Provi- dence church was organized by a minister whose succes- sion extends to the English Baptists. On this point, Mr. Graves says : "It can not be shown that any Baptist church sprang from Wil- the baptism of any Baptist minister came from Williams' hands. The oldest Baptist church in America is the one now existing, with her original articles of faith, in Newport, R. I. ; and she was planted by Dr. John Clarke, before AYilliams was baptized. He received his baptism in Elder StillwelPs church, in London, and that church received hers from the Dutch Baptists of Holland — sending over a minister to be baptized by them. These Baptists descended from the Waldenses, whose historical line reaches far back, and connects with the Dpnatists, and theirs, to the apostolical churches. A writer in the Christian Review condenses the facts of history into the following eleven statements, which can be confidently relied upon : '1. Roger Williams was baptized by Ezekiel Holli- man, March, 1639; and immediately after, he baptized Mr. Holliman and ten others. ' 2. These formed a church, or society, of which Roger Williams was the pastor. [3.] ' Four months after his baptism — that is, in July J\^o Siiccession from Williams. 61 following — Williams left the churchy and never afterward returned to it. As his doubts respecting baptism and the perpetuity of the church, which led to this step, must have commenced soon after his baptism, it is not likely that he baptized any others. ^ 4. The church which Williams formed, came to noth- ing, or was dissolved soon after he left it. ^5. It was re-organized, or another was formed, a few days afterward, under Mr. Thomas Olney as its pastor, who was one of the eleven baptized by Roger Williams. Olney continued to be pastor of this church until his death, in 1682, somewhat over thirty years. '6. In 1653 or 1654, which w^as a few years after the formation of Olney's church, there was a division in that church on the question of ^ laying on of hands ^ in the re- ception of members; and a separate church w^as formed for the maintenance of this ceremony, under the pastor- ship of Chad. Browme, Wickenden, and Dexter. This church was perpetuated, having, in 1808, given up its original faith as to the ^laying on of hands,^ and is no^v the First Baptist Church in Providence. ^ 7. The parent church, under Olney, gradually dwin- dled away, and became extinct about the year 1718, some seventy years from its origin. ' 8. No church was formed from Olney's, after the di- vision already mentioned, and no ministers are known to have gone out from it. Olney's baptism, whether valid or invalid, w^as not propagated. ' 9. Nearly a century passed before the church formed from Olney 's began to colonize, in 1730. ^ 10. None of its ministers, or the ministers of the churches formed from it, received their baptism from 62 American (Baptists. Williams, or from any one whose baptisms descended from his. ^11. The Baptist churches of America, then, could not have descended from Eoger AVilliams, or from the tem- porary society which he formed. Their true descent is from the Baptist churches of Wales and Piedmont, ex- tending back to the apostles' times.' '' The items set forth in this quotation are fully sustained by the facts of history. It is both offensive and invidious, for those who ought to know better, to persist in the cir- culation of the false representation that Roger Williams was the founder of the American Baptists. Those who make this charge are wholly inexcusable ; for, if they are ignorant of Baptist history, they should not affirm con- cerning that about which they are not informed ; butj if they know the facts in the case, and still persist in the charge, they are evidently dishonest and unworthy of re- spect. Who will undertake to trace the succession of any living Baptist to Williams ? If our enemies — for enemies they are who make such charges — will make no attempt to sustain their allegations, let them be regarded with •that compassion which is due from us toward the false accusers of the servants of Jesus Christ. Section IV. — Baptist ministers from Europe WHO AIDED IN PLANTING THE EARLY AMERICAN CHURCHES. It has already been fully shown that the Baptists of America have not descended from Roger Williams. And it now becomes a matter of great interest to know where they came from. Ministers from Europe. 63 The Baptists of America number over a million meir- bers, and Baptist cliurclies are numbered by thousands, whose ministers are proclaiming their heaven-born doc- trine to the remotest corners of the world. These churches must have been planted by, the agency of some person or persons. I now proceed to give a list of the names of some of our brethren who were regularly baptized and ordained in Europe ; and who, having fled to the American wilds for an asylum which was denied them, aided in the plant- ing of the early Baptist churches from which, as flowing streams, the denomination has come down to us. At the head of this bright catalogue of names, I place the im- perishable name of Dr. John Claeke, who received his baptism anf^ ordination in London, in a church whose succession extends in a regular line back to the apostolic age. John Clarke was a man of uncommon eloquence and learning, and possessed with a burning zeal for the cause of his Master, which caused him to preach the cross of Christ in Massachusetts in spite of the laws to the con- trary ; and which, after his imprisonment, caused him to accept a challenge from the Governor (John Endicot), to debate with the learned dignitaries of the established church, in defense of Baptist doctrine. But, after giving the challenge, these renowned theologians backed out from the proposed controversy with this unconquercd prisoner. 1. John Clarke was born in Bedfordshire, Eno^land. in 1609. He came to this country, as a Baptist minister, from London. He settled, at first, in Massachusetts; but fled from persecution, and arrived in Rhode Island in March, 1638 ; and in the same year established the first 64 American (Baptists. Baptist cliurcli on the coDtinent of America, in New- j)ort, E. I. Tins cliurcli is standing yet, with its original constitu- tion, as a monument of the truth for which its founder suffered. John Clarke, by his influence Avith the king of England (Charles II.), secured the charter granting civil and religious liberty to the colony of Rhode Island, which afterward was extended over the Avhole country. The Newport first church has, from time to time, sent out numerous branches to form other churches. This church, as already seen, was formed in 1638, one year prior to the informal baptism of Williams ; and yet, it would not be proper to call John Clarke the founder of the American Baptists. He was only one of many who aided in the or- ganization of churches. John Callender, the historian of Rhode Island, says of John Clarke: "He was a faithful and useful minister,. courteous in all the relations of life, and Cramp's Hist. i. x i • c - i x xi_ B f A"?, ^^ ornament to his proiession and to the several offices which he sustained. His memory is deserving of lasting honor, for his efforts to- ward establishing the first government in the world which gave to all equal civil and religious liberty. To no man is Rhode Island more indebted than to him. He was one of the original projectors of the settlement of the Island, and one of its ablest legislators. No character in New England is of purer fame than John Clarke.'^ 2. Thomas Griffith, from South Wales, emigrated with the church of which he was pastor, in the year 1701. They settled, at first, near Pennepek, in Pennsylvania, where they remained two years, and finally settled at Welsh Tract, in Pennsylvania (now Delaware), in 1703. Ministers fro^n Europe, 65 This church was organized in AValeS; in 1701, on sixteen members. They sailed, in church capacity, on board the ship James and Mary. Here we have a whole church, with their pastor, emigrating to this country ; they kept up their regular church meetings while crossing the billows of the Atlantic Odean. And after its settlement at Welsh Tract, it sent forth quite a number of able min- isters, who aided in planting our American churches. Among these may be mentioned the names of Elislia Thomas, Enoch Morgan, Jenkin Jones, Owen Thomas, Abel jNIorgan, and David Davis. The editor of the Min- utes of the Philadelphia Association remarks : *^ That this church appears to be very singular in its first settlement, and hath been the best ^^ 1 ^^ * ^^^"^ . . P- 1^' supplied with ministers of any church be- longing to this association.'^ And this old Welsh Tract Church sent off branches, as swarms from a parent hive, to form 1 1 A 1 i-o^7 J.1' Davis' Hist. Welsh new churches. As early as 1/37, this „ ^ .^r , ^ Bapt., p. 125. church lettered off thirty members, who settled and formed a church at Welsh Neck, on the Pedee Kiver, in South Carolina. Will our friends affirm that the Welsh Tract Church, with its numerous ministers and branches, originated with the Koger Williams affair? This church, we learn, has taken sides with the Anti- Mission party, and has thereby impaired its usefulness. 3. John Miles, with several Baptists, came from Sw^insea, Wales, in 1663, and organized a church in Massachusetts, which was also ■^^'^^^' ^*^^- ^"^^^^^ called Sw^ansea, which is the oldest Bap- j^J^kus p 93 ' tist church in the State. Elder Miles was one of those faithful ministers of Jesus Christ whc 66 American baptists. suffered persecution under Charles II., and also in Mas- sachusetts. So we find that the first church in the Bay State was regularly organized by a Baptist preacher from Europe. 4. RoBEET NoRDiN was ordained as a Baptist minis-, ter in London, in 1714, and immediately sailed for Vir- ginia; and on his arrival he organized a Ben. His. Bapt., church at Burley, in the Isle of Wight S / " ' CI H'^t county, which was the first Baptist church p. 229. organized in the State of Virginia. And members emigrating from this church spread the cause of truth in North Carolina, and in a short time sixteen churches were organized. Thus we find that the first church in Virginia was regularly or- ganized by a missionary who received his baptism and ordination in England; and that from this church many of the early churches in North Carolina derived their origin. Will any one dare to affirm that the Virginia and North Carolina Baptists sprang from the Roger Wil- liams affair ? Nothing except bitter prejudice or ignorance could have originated the mistake that Williams w^as the founder of the Baptists in America. It is high time that professed Christian men had confined themselves within the bounds of truth. 5. Morgan Edwards, who was born in Wales, 1722, and educated in Bristol College, which is Davis^ His. Welsh -o --x- x-xx* • t-i i i Bavt DD 77-79 ^ Baptist institution, m England, com- menced preaching in his sixteenth year. And by the urgent request of Dr. Gill and other London ministers, he took passage and arrived in America in the year 1761, and became the pastor of the church afThila- delphia. Mr. Edwards was a man of learning and en- Ministers from Europe. ergy. He wrote extensively. Among his productions may be mentioned his "Materials toward a History of the Baptists in Pennsylvania.'^ This is said to be a valuable collection. It may be found in the library at Newport. 6. Samuel Jones, of South Wales, with a number of other Baptists, emigrated to America in the year 1686: and settled on the banks ^ / ^'„ •^ ' . . Bapt, p. 67. of the Pennepek, in Pennsylvania, and went into church organization at that place. 7. Abel Morgan, of Wales, who was an influential Baptist minister and pastor in his native , 1 . -, . . . -1 -7-1 1 Davis' His. Yielsh country , and arrived in America, 1711, ,, ^^ and took the care of the church in Phila- delphia. He was a man of learning. He compiled a folio Concordance to the Welsh Bible, which was printed in Philadelphia in 1730. It is a popular error to suppose that all the early Baptist ministers of this country were uneducated men. 8. William Davis came to Pennsylvania from Wales as a Baptist minister. 9. Hugh Davis, with eight other members of Swan- sea church, of South Wales, received a letter of dismission and emigrated to Penn- ^^^'^^' ^^^^- ^^ ^^^^^ , . . ^r'-if\ TT -r» ,• , • i?(7w/!.,p. 90; also, eylvania in 1 i 10. He was a Baptist mm- p^^^^ Asso.,]). li ister in Wales, and became the founder and first pastor of the church at Great Valley, Chester county, Pennsylvania. While one church emigrated in church capacity, in other cases members were lettered off in order to enter into church organization as soon as they should arrive in this country. 10. David Evans, from Wales, came to America as a GS American (Baptists. Baptist preacher, ^ye do not possess the Davis' His. Welsh j.-i i?j.iii r ^^ n j^ -n . ^^. details 01 the labors oi all these men of Ba2-)t., p. 101. ^11 God who planted the standard of truth in America. 11. Nathaniel Jenkins. This eminent Baptist minister, of Wales, emigrated to America ,, ^ ' , at an early day, about 1701. Pie became Bapt., p. 114. '' '' ^ pastor of the church at Cape May, "West Jersey. It would be interesting to have the details of these pioneer Baptists. 12. Griffith Jones, who w^as the able pastor of Hen- goed church, in Wales, emigrated to Davis' His. Welsh * . . ^ - , ^^ -, , , p ^^^ America m i74y, and became a member of the Welsh Tract Church and associate pastor with David Davis. It will be borne in mind that the majority of these standard-bearers labored in the pas- toral work on both sides of the Atlantic ocean. They were truly pilgrims and strangers on the earth. 13. Caleb Evans was born in South Wales, educated at Bristol College, came to America as a ^ * o Baptist minister, and settled at Charles- ton, South Carolina, about 1778. It has already been noted that the early Baptists of South Caro- lina were of Welsh origin. Some of their ministers came directly from Wales, while others came from the Welsh church in Rhode Island. ^ 14. John Burrows came from the west of England a? a Baptist minister in 1711, and labored n-a BapLAsso., ^^^^^ .^^ Philadelphia, then removed to p. 12. ^ ' Middletown, in 1713. We are not in the possession of the details of this Baptist preacher, more than that he was an acceptable minister of Jesus. Ministers from Europe. 69 15. RiciiAED JoNES; a Baptist preacher from England, settled in Virginia in 1727, where he labored thirty years in the ministry. He qa^ ^ ' ' labored in the field previously occupied by Robert Nordin, who preceded him as the pioneer Bap- tist of the Old Dominion. The succession of. the Vir- ginia Baptists is back to England. 16. Casper Mintz came from England and settled in Viririnia, 1727. He spent about thirty ^ . ,1 • • . XT ±.\ Ben. His. Bapt. years m the mmistry. He was the asso- ^ ,^ ^ ' ciate of Richard Jones ; they both arrived in Virginia two years after the death of Robert Nordin. 17. John Emblem, from England, became the co- pastor with Mr. Hull, in Boston, in 1684. The Baptists of Boston were sorely per- t^^'^ ^ 47T ' secuted and harrassed by the standing or- der in the early part of their history. 18. Elisha Thomas came from Wales as an original member of the Welsh Tract Church. He reached this country in 1701. Though he was ordained in this coun- try, he was baptized in AVales. He received his ordina- tion from the old Welsh Tract Church. 19. Enoch Morgan also came as one of the original members of the Welsh Tract Church. He was also or- dained in this country. Other names could be given of ministers whose succession was directly from Europe, but we close this list with one name more. 20. Gregory Dexter was a Baptist preacher in Lon- don, who came over to Providence, Rhode Island, in 1644. He was associated with Wickenden and Browne, as one of the founders of the present Providence first church. He was the first who taught the art of printing in New Eng- 70^ . American (Baptists. land. He was a man of remarkable piety; and lived a devoted minister to the advanced age of ninety years. Thus we see, after all the smoke and noise raised about the Baptists of America descending from Eoger Williams, that it turns out that even the Providence first church has a regular succession, through her founders, back to England. It can not be i:troved that any Baptist now living in America, or elsewhere, has received baptism, by succession, from Roger Williams. Those few Baptists among us who have been received among Baptists on their " alien '^ im- mersions, are nearer to the Roger Williams succession than any others. Here are the names of a score of the many Baptist ministers who received their baptism regularly in Europe, and emigrated to this country in early times ; they aided in bearing the Baptist standard, and planting Baptist churches throughout the colonies of America. These self- sacrificing Baptist ministers toiled amidst dangers, perse- cutions, stripes, and imprisonments, to the end of their lives, in extending Baptist principles, and organizing Baptist churches on this continent. But, after all, shall the whole honor of these mighty labors be ascribed to one who only partially embraced Baptist principles for four months, was never regularly baptized, never belonged to a true Baptist church, was never ordained to the minis- try, and repudiated all baptism and church organization during the remainder of a life of forty-three years? True, Williams was a firm advocate of religious liberty ; but this was nothing new to Baptists, for they had con- tended for this, as a fundamental principle, through the dark ages of Poj^ish tyranny from the apostolic times. Ministers from Europe. 71 The peculiar circumstances which surrounded Roger Wil- liams, have inscribed his name high on the rolls of fame as a great benefactor of the human race. But, long be- fore the time of Williams, multiplied thousands of un- 1 inching Baptists patiently suffered, and poured forth their blood in maintenance of the same boon of heaven — religious liberty. And why is it that the illustrious names of these mighty hosts of Baptist martyrs who perished in filthy dungeons, wandered in lonely exile amidst mountain snows and des- erts wild, or embraced the martyr's stake amidst the curl- ing flames which consumed their bodies, are left to moulder in the dark tomb of forgetfulness, Avhile the name of Y/il- iiams, one of the founders, not of the Baptists, but of Rhode Island colony, is exalted to the highest pinnacle of denominational fame ? Why, I ask, is his name held up as the founder of the Ba})tist denomination in America? Is it because he embraced the Baptist doctrine of ''soul liberty f '' So did George Washington, with many of our revolutionary sires, who were not Baptists. And as well might it be claimed that Washington w^as the founder of the Baptist denomination in America ! Especially, if he had received baptism from Gen. Green, Gates, or some one else having no connection with the Baptists, then this JN^ould have constituted him the father and founder of the Baptist denomination in America ! The illustrious Patrick Henry was the friend and de- fender of persecuted Baptists of Virginia ; and he, as fully as Roger Williams, embraced the doctrine of "soul lib- erty*'; why not constitute him the founder of the Baptist denomination in Virginia? No : there is a purpose to serve in thus exalting Roger i'l America:: ^Baptists. Williams. It is to make the impression on the minds of the multitude that Williams was the founder of the Bap- tist denomination in this country, and thereby bring the Baptists on a par with the denominations, or societies, which have an admitted human origin and founder. We have grouped together the names of twenty Baptist nunisters, who crossed the Atlantic ocean and planted the standard of the Cross in the American deserts, so that the wilderness has been made to blossom as the rose. They organized Baptist churches in Rhode Island, Mas- sachusetts, Pennsylvania, Delaw^are, Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas; and from these, like flowing streams, the denomination has spread over the mighty West. I am thoroughly satisfied that the most obscure of these early ministers named has as good claim to be canonized as the founder of the Baptists in America, as Roger Wil- liams. Our connection with the European churches is so strongly developed that, besides the multitude of ministers who emigrated, vast numbers of private members were lettered off, and emigrated to this country, and formed an important element in the organization of our early churches. And, as we have already seen, one church, now the Welsh Tract, emigrated from Yv^ales to this country in her organized capacity. This church is now located in the State of Delaware. She became the ^^ prolific mother,^' that sent out many ministers and colonies to form churches. The Welsh-Neck church, in South Carolina, was formed of members of this old mother church. Benedict himself, so far from teaching that Roger Williams was the founder of the Baptist denomination in America, upon the ques- tion of our origin, says : ^^ The Welsh Baptists began to emigrate to this country in very early times, and by them I i Ministers frojn Europe. 73 some of our oldest and well organized churclies were planted; order, intelligence, and stabil- ity.marked their operations; and the num- " * ^ '' ber of Baptist communities which have branched out from these V/elsh foundations — the number of ministers and members who have sprung from Cambro- British ancestors, and the sound, salutary, and efficient principles which by them have been diffused among the Baptist population in this country, \s beyond the concep- tion of most of our people. We shall see, when w^e come to the history of the American Baptists, that settlements were formed in very early times by this people, which became the center of Baptist operations in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Vir- ginia, and South Carolina.'^ We have now seen from all the light on this subject, that the Baptist Church succession is not interrupted or broken off by the Roger Williams affair; but that the Baptist churches of America have descended regularly from the Welsh and English Baptists, whose history, as we shall see, extends through the German Baptists and Waldenses to the apostolic times. Instead of Roger Williams having anything to do with the origin of the Baptists of this country, it turns out that he never became a Baptist, onl}^ in part; and that no Baptist in the world is known to have received baptism by succession from him. The foregoing facts show that the Baptists of Rhode Island had their origin from the English and Welsh Baptists, through the ministry of John Clarke, Thomas Griffith, Gregory Dexter, and others ; that the early Baptists of Massachusetts had their origin, also. 74 ■ American ^Baptists. from the Welsh and English Baptists, through the min- istry of John Miles, John Emblem, and others; that the Pennsylvania Baptists had their origin from AVales and England, through the ministry of Morgan Edwards, Samuel Jones, Abel Morgan, Hugh Davis, and others; that the Virginia Baptists had their origin mainly from the English Baptists, through the ministry of Robert Xor- din, Kichard Jones, Casper Mintz, and others ; and that the North and South Carolina Baptists had their origin from the English and Welsh Baptists, through the minis- try of Caleb Evans, from Wales, and missionaries from the Philadelphia Association, with emigrants from the Virginia Baptists. From these early centers of Baptist operations in the Atlantic States, the tide of Baptist emi- gration has flowed westward, till the voice of the Baptist hiinistry is heard among the savages of the jar West, and even on the shores of the Pacific ocean. Especially, in Kentucky, do we find the descendants of the Virginia Baptists. Of these pioneers, might be men- tioned the names of the Craigs, the Wallers, and others, who had the honor to preach Jesus Christ through the iron bars of their prisons in Virginia. No Baptist need be ashamed of his denominational ancestors who, in the infancy of the American colonies, came from England and Wales, and some from other countries, and planted the tree of civil and religious liberty in the New World, where they finally succeeded in enstamping these cher- ished principles on the American Government, and have thereby been the means of giving religious liberty to a continent. It Avill be well for Baptists to be ever mind- ful of the cost at which soul-liberty has been purchased American (Baptists. to this country ; and while this boon of heaven remains ours, we shoukl improve the goklen opportunity of fixing the same principles in the hearts of the masses of man- kind. AYe should work while it is called to-day. 70 English (Baptists. CHAPTEH IV. ENGLISH BAPTISTS. 1. The English Baptists did not oeiginate with John Smith. 2. The English Baptists ake descended feom the Ger^ian Baptists. Section I. — The English baptists did not orig- inate WITH JOHN SMITH. At the outset we found the Baptists of America dis- tinguished from all other denominations by certain lead- ing peculiarities^ numbering between one and two millions of members ; and pushing the victories of the Cross from Maine to Western Texas ; from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean ; from the Eastern States to the far AYestern States and Territories of the Pacific slope. They are the most intensely aggressive and powerful denomination on the continent. We found them untram- meled by fines, and unfettered by imprisonments, with no ecclesiastical task-masters over them to apply the cruel scourge, or to consume them to ashes for their supposed heresies. Notwithstanding, the Baptist doctrine of soul-liberty has so completely permeated every department of society (whether civil or religious), that Baptists are now allowed to worship God under their own vine and fig-tree, and none dares, legally, to molest or make them afraid ; yet, the very name Baptist, is odious to a large number of re- English (Baptists not from John Sn^ith. 77 ligionists, who seem to feel fully authorized to pour out their vials of wrath upon Baptists, in denunciations, mis- representing their doctrine, and perverting their history. And in the Baptists is verified the prediction of our Sa- vior : " Ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake/' In following up the Baptist succession, it has been fully shown that their historic chain has neither been disturbed by the secession of the ^^ Hard-Shell " Baptists, nor the apostacy of the Campbellites ; and it has been abundantly shown that the Roger Williams affair has not even pro- duced a ripple upon the flowing stream of Baptist suc- cession. The Atlantic Cable of succession connecting the Bap- tists of Europe" and America, is composed of numerous cords in the persons of Baptist ministers, members, and even churches, which emigrated to this country. How grand and poetic the . occurrence of a Baptist church leaving their native homes in Wales, with all the endear- ing ties of kindred and friends, to undertake the danger- ous experiment of a voyage across the Atlantic ocean to the then wilderness of America, to plant the standard of a pure Christianity among the savages of the New World. Poets and statesmen have united to swell the sounding praises of the May Flower and its cargo of Pilgrims, who only fled from persecution to become themselves the bitter persecutors of the hated Baptists and Quakers- But^ what bard, historian, or statesman, is kind enough to give the name, mark the course, and record the incidents of the voyage of that favored vessel, which conveyed the Welsh Tract church from the shores of Europe across the briny deep, to find a home in the deep, tangled forests 78 English ^aptisti of America, where tliey might unfurl the banner of reli- gious liberty, which should never be stained by the foul blot of persecution? Or, who can furnish the history of ihat ship which bore the heroic John Clarke from London to the American shores? Must it be left to ocean winds and waves to sing the praises of these pioneers of the Bap- tist denomination in America? Perchance these favored vessels were guarded in their perilous voyages by angelic legions, who have treasured up in the archives of heaven the details of the adventures and sufferings of the mem- bers of the ^^ sect ^^ which is every-where spoken against. AVe find the name of the vessel in which the Welsh Tract church sailed, preserved by Davis in his History of the Welsh Baptists. Mr. Davis says: "In the year 1701, he (Thomas Griffiths) and fifteen of the mem- avis IS. esi -^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ church went to America in the JJapt., p. /2. same vessel. They formed themselves into a church at Milford, in the county of Pembroke, South Wales, and Thomas Griffiths became their pastor in the month of June, 1701. They embarked on board the ship James and 3fary, and on the 8th day of Septem- ber following, they landed at Philadelphia. The brethren there treated them courteously, and advised them to settle about Penejoeck. Thither they went, and there continued about a year and half. During that time twenty-one per- sons joined them, but finding it inconvenient to abide there, they purchased land in the county of Newcastle, and gave it the name of Welsh Tract, where they built a loeet- ing-house, and Thomas Griffiths labored among th^sm as their pastor till he died, on the 25th of July, 1725, aged eighty years.^' How deeply interesting must have been the church meetings of this Baptist church when they galliered English baptists not from John Smith. 70 for the worship of God, from time to time, as they sailed on the bosom of the mighty deep, and rode the boisterous waves of the stormy ocean. And when first they met in church meetings in the wilds of Pennepeck and Welsh Tract, sur- rounded by savage beasts and still more savage Indians, how solemn must have been their devotions. In ascending the stream of Baptist succession, we have passed from the scenes of persecution, fines, imprisonments, and stripes, in Virginia and Massachusetts, up to the planting the first American churches ; and from thence across the broad Atlantic back to the mountain fastnesses of Wales, and the Baptist churches of England. But where did the English Bap- tists originate? We are told by some, who profess to be our friends, that the English -Baptists originated with one John Smith, who baptized himself and others; and thus originated the Baptists of England. And here, they tell us that the Baptist chain of succession is broken. Mr. Thomas Wall shows his aversion of Baptists by the following statement: "One John Smith, being more desperately wicked than others, baptized himself, and then he baptized others, and ' os y s is. ng. 1 . ^ ^ - . . , ^ . Bapt, vol. I, p. 9o. from this man the English Anabaptists have successively received their new administration of baptism on men and women only.^^ Is it a fact, that the Baptists of England originated, as charged, from John Smith the Sebaptist? Instead of this, it will be seen that John Smith was never an English Baptist in his life. As to the dispute, whether John Smith baptized himself or not, this has no bearing on the question of the rise of the English Baptists. The English Baptists have been fearfully misrepresented by their adver- saries, who have delight-ed, it appears, to dip their i>ens 80 English (Baptists. in the "juice of gall" when writing concerning the hated Anabaptists. Crosby, the historian, remarks on this point : "Notwithstanding so much which has Crosby's His. Eng. \^qq^^ g^id^ and much more which might jjj p 43 ' * have been said, in favor of the English BaptistSj yet there is hardly any party or denomination of Christians that have been so basely mis- represented, and unkindly treated in the world, as they. Whenever there has been any persecution, they, if any in those countries, have been sure to feel the hottest part of it. The books written against them are not only very nu- merous, but commonly filled with foolish and scandalous stories, to render them odious; and the histories of this people, that are yet extant, are, for the most part, such as have been published by their greatest adversaries." And from all the developments in the case, the se-baptism of John Smith is one of those silly stories circulated by the enemies of Baptists. Mr. Ivimey says, on this question : " There is no doubt but this silly charge Ivimey s His. Eng. ^^^g fabricated by his enemies ; and it is j^^- *' * an astonishing instance of credulity, that writers of eminent talents have contrib- uted to perpetuate the slander." It is now pretty well settled that John Smith received his baptism like Roger Williams; viz: he and one of his companions are sup- posed to have baptized each other, and then the rest of the company. With us it is of little consequence whether Smith was baptized by himself or one of his unbap- tized company; for in neither case could his baptism be valid. I have gathered the following facts in regard to John Smith and his company : — First. John Smith was a minister of the -established Church of England. Second. English (Baptists not from John Smith. 81 About tlie year 1606, Mr. Smith led a company of ex- iles — Sejoaratists or Brownists — from England to Am- sterdam, in Holland. Third. He here united with the English church of Brownists, under the pastorship of Mr. Ainsworth. Fourth. A difficulty occurred in Mr. Ains- worth^s church, on account of John Smithes opposition to infant baptism, which resulted in the exclusion of Smith and his party from said church. Fifth. John Smith and his party proceeded to administer baptism, and to the for- mation of a church. There is no evidence that Smith baptized himself, but it is probable that one of his- com- pany baptized him. Sixth. John Smith and a part of his company soon became dissatisfied with their rash pro- ceedings, upon w^hich a difficulty arose between them and the majority of the church, on account of which Smith and his party were excluded. Thus, it appears that John Smith was excluded from this " Baptist church ^' of which he was the founder. Of this, Mr. Evans, the historian, says : '' It is admitted, on all hands, that, c xi xi 1 1- Evans^ Early Enq. irom some cause or other, the church over „ ^ 7 7 oao ^ Baj)t.,voL I, -p, 20s. which Smith and Helwys presided was divided, but the cause of division is not so manifest. Smith, with some twenty-four persons, was excluded from the church, and these sought communion with one of the Mennonite churches in the city.^^ Seventh. Mr. Smith repudiated his own baptism and church organization as invalid, and, with his party, sought admission into one of the Mennonite churches at Amster- dam, and was received after making the following confes- sion ] " The names of the English who ^ ° , Evans Larhj Ln. confess this their error, and repent of it, Bapt, vol. I, p. viz : that they undertook to baptize them- 209 ; also, p. 244. 82 English (Baptists. selves, contrary to the order appointed by Christ, and who now desire, on this account, to be brought baciv to the true Church of Christ as quickly as may be suffered. We unanimously desire that this, our wish, should be signified to the church. NAMES OF MEN. Hugh Bromhead, Jarvase Neville, JoHx Smyth, Thomas Caxadyne, Edward Hankin, Johx Hardy, Thomas Pygott, Francis Pygott, Robert Stanley, Alexander Fleming, Alexander Hodgkins, John Grindall, Solomon Thompson, Samuel Halton, Thomas Dolphin. NAMES OF ATOMEN. Ann Bromhead, Jane South worth, Mary Smyth, Joan Halton, Alis Arnfield, Isabel Thomson, Margaret Stanley, Mary Grindall, Mother Pygott, Alis Pygott, Margaret Pygott, Betteris Dickinson, Mary Dickinson, Ellyn Paynter, Alis Parsons, Joane Briggs, Jane Argan." The above confession may also be found in Latin, on page 2-44 of Evans' Early Eng. Bap. His., Vol. I. Eighth. After Mr. Smith and his party were "cast out '^ from his own church, and confessed Evans' Early Enq . .n . • .<• ^ xi ^ B t • I I "^m *^^^^^* error m setting up lor themselves, on their humble petition, they were re- ceived into a Mennonite church, whose "mode of bap- tism was by sprinkling or affusion." Ninth. Not long after this, 1610, John Smith died in Holland. He never returned to England. He never English (Baptists not from Jolin Smith. 83 belonged to any English Baptist cliurcli; neither did he ever belong to a legitimate Baptist church at all. Tenth. Mr. Hehvys, the early companion of Smith, returned to England with a few of the remnant of Mr. Smith's company, in 1611 or 1612. This was the second diyision in the John Smith church, which had excluded its founder. Eleventh. The remnant of the John Smith church left in Amsterdam, united wdth the Mehnonite church in 1615, and thus became extinct. Twelfth. After the return of Helwys to London, he formed a church, w^hich is claimed as the first General Baptist church in England. ^'''^'fi'-^Jl^- Mis labors, noweyer, were not attended with yery great success. And admitting it to be true that this Helwys church was the first church in England called General Baptists, this does not proye that the Gen- eral Baptists of England originated with this church. His- tory deyelops the fact that eyen the General Baptists of England did not, as a class, receiye their succession and baptism either from John Smith or Mr. Helwys. How strange that the mania of prejudice should haye ever conceiyed the idea of constituting John Smith the founder of the English Baptists ! This unfortunate man desired to know and practice the truth. In his flight from Babylon, he left the Episco- palians and joined the Brownists, who excluded him for opposing their traditions. He then proceeded to admin- ister baptism and organize his society, which some histo- rians call a Baptist church, from which he was also soon excluded. And he, with his party, denied his baptism and church organization, professed repentance, sought ad- 84 English (Baptists. mission, and was received into a Mennonite church, which, according to Mr. Evans, was not a Baptist church at all. And yet our adversaries will point to John Smith as the founder of the Ei^glish Baptists ! I now close this section on the Smith affair, with the testimony of Mr. Crosby, the historian, as follows: "If he (John Smith) were guilty of what they I y s i^. iig. (.]-^^p™g j^^j^-^ with, ^tis no blemish on the BapL, vol. I, p. 99. ° ' English Baptists; who neither approved of any such method, nor did they receive their baptism from him.^^ Here is the testimony of the English Baptist historian, who affirms that the English Baptists did not receive their baptism from Smith. ' The English Baptists are certainly as well qualified to tell their own origin as any others. Section II. — The English baptists aee descended from the geeman baptists. We now come to the direct question — " Where did the English Baptists originate?'^ Historians admit that per- sons holding Baptist views, have existed in various parts of England and Wales from very early times. This may be seen from the proclamations and edicts of kings against the hated "Anabaptists.'^ The same is shown by Davis, in his History of the Welsh Baptists; and by Crosby, Orchard, and Evans, in their histories of English Baptists. It is an egregious mistake to suppose that the English Baptists had their rise since the Reformation of the six- teenth century. But, owing to the fierce and continued persecutions waged against them, they were accustomed, as much as. possible, to conceal themselves from public English (Baptists from Germany. 85 view. They frequently met in private houses, or barns, and even in the thick forest in the dead of night, for the worship of God ; but whenever they Avere detected by the vigilance of Papal spies, they were seized and delivered over to the vengeance of the secular arm. And from the fact that all their books and records were diligently sought and burned by their enemies, we have but little material for history, except the prejudiced statements and edicts of their enemies. We are, however, able to furnish many instances of the emigration of German Baptists to England in these early times. Many of the early Baptists of Eng- land were called Lollards. Mr. Crosby, the historian, says : " In the tmie of King Edward the Second, about the year 1315, Walter Lollard, a German preacher, a man ^'^osby's His. Eng. p , xi TTr 7 7 Baptists, vol. II, 01 great renown among the Watdenses, ,^|. ^^ came into England ; he spread their doc- trines very much in these parts, so that afterward they went by the name of LollardsJ' That these Lollards were Baptists, who had their de- scent through the German Baptists, from the ancient Waldenses, is shown by Mr. Orchard's Eng. '' Bavt., p. 118. Orchard. " The Lollards' Tower,'' in ^ ^ which these witnesses for Christ suffered, still stands in. London, as a monument of Papal cruelty toward these ancient English Baptists. Of the Baptists of England, " Bishop jBitrne^ says: ^ At this time (Anno 1549) there were many Anabaptists in several parts of England. Thev were 2:enerally Ger- '^j ^' \^o' ' 1 ^1 ' w ^111 P^^^-' P- ^^• mans, whom the revolutions there had forced to change their seats.' " In this we have the testi- mony of Burnet, that the early English Baptists, called SQ English (Baptists. Anabaptists, were from Germany, and were numerous, long before the John Smith affair, in Holland. In tho year 1538, King Henry YIII., issued a proclamation against the Anabaptists (Baptists) and others; and in the same year. Archbishop Cranmer received a commis- sion "to inquire after Anabaptists, to proceed against them, to restore the penitent, to burn 7 OS y, vo . , their books, and to deliver the obstinate to the secular arm/^ And of this time, " Mr. Fuller tells us, ^ that in this year, a match being made by the Lord CromwelFs contriv- 1 osy, vo . , r^jice, between King Henry and the Lady Anne of Cleve, Dutchmen flocked faster than formerly into England, and soon after began to broach their strange opinions, being branded with the general name of Anabaptists. These Anabaptists,' he adds, ^for the main, are but DonatistSj new dipt; and this year their name first appears in our English Chroni- cles. I read,' says he, ^ that four Anabaptists, three men and one woman, all Dutch, bare faggots at PauVs cross ; and three days after, a man and a woman of their sect, were burnt in Smithfield.' '' This is the testimony of Thomas Fuller, a historian of the Church of England, that Dutch Baptists (Anabap- tists) flocked into England in the year 1538, in the reign of Henry YIIL, long before the time of John Smith. But we have still more direct testimony concerning the succession of the more modern English Baptists, from whom the Baptists of America descended. In the year 1633 a large number of Pedobaptists, belonging to the Independents, became convinced of the correctness of Bap- tist principles. They were puzzled at first as to the best English (Baptists from Germany. 87 method of obtaining valid baptism. They appointed one of their number, Richard Blunt, to visit Holland and there receive baptism from a church which was known to be in the regular succession from the ancient A7aldenses. Mr. Crosby introduces the testimony of William Kiffin as follows : " This agrees with an account given of the mat- ter in an ancient manuscript, said to be written by Mr, William Kiffin, who lived f ';^%;^-«^- ^> PP- -' , -^ -^ 101-102; see also, in those times, and was a leader among Tvimey vol. I p. those of that persuasion. 143; NeaVs His. This relates, that several sober and ^^''-j ^^^-^ ^^y P- 11 . X xi 361 ; Orchard, pious persons belonging to the congrega- ^ , '„ ^^^^ ' tions of the dissenters about London, were convinced that believers were the only proper subjects of baptism, and that it ought to be administered by immer- sion or dipjmig the whole body into the water, in resem- blance of a burial ixnd 7^esurrection, accordmg to Colos. ii: 12, and Rom. vi: 4. That they often met together to pray and confer about this matter, and consult what methods they should take to enjoy this ordinance in its primitive purity : That they could not be satisfied about any administrator in England to begin this practice; be- cause, though some in this nation rejected the baptism of infants, yet they had not, as they knew of, revived the ancient custom of immersion. But, hearing that some in the NetJierlands practiced it, they agreed to send over one Mr. Richard Blunt, who understood the Dutch laiiOTaw: That he went accordingly, carrying letters of recommend- ation with him, and was kindly received both by the church there, and Mr. John Batte, their teacher : That upon his return he baptized Mr. Samuel Blacldock, a minister, and these two baptized the rest of their com- 88 English (Baptists. pany, whose names are in the manuscript to the number of fifty-three. So that those who followed this scheme did not receive their baj)Usm from the aforesaid Mr. Smithy or his congre- gation at Amsterdam., it being an ancient congregation of foreign Baptists in the low countries to whom they sent.^' Here we have the undisputed historic fact, that the Baptists of London were so careful to obtain valid bap- tism that they delegated Richard Blunt, formerly a Pedo- baptist minister, to visit a regular Baptist church, at Amsterdam, in Holland, which belonged to the old Wal- densean succession. And after the baptism of Richard Blunt by John Batte, by the authority of said church, he returned to London and baptized Samuel Blacklock, and they baptized the rest of the company, to the number of fifty-three members ; and thus was formed a Baptist church, which was afterward recognized as a Particular Baptist church. And from this influential church has flown the stream of succession down to the present time. We have now seen that the English Baptists, instead of originating with John Smith, have descended from the Dutch and German Baptists, who descended from the ancient Waldenses. In following up the succession of Baptists, we have found them in England, suffering almost incredible hardships and persecutions under the bloody reigns of James and his father, Charles 11. In these fear- ful times it was no light matter to become a Baptist. It involved the renunciation of the grandeur and honors ol the world, and to become the objects of Papal and Pro- testant cruelties. They were the faithful martyrs who were hunted down by the blood-hounds, in human form, of the established Church, as though they had been wild English (Baptists from Germany. 89 beasts. And about this time many of them, fleeing from persecution, emigrated to America. And, also, -we have seen that, in the time of Henry VIII., and in more remote periods, the Dutch Baptists bore witness for Christ in ]^]n gland at the sacrifice of their lives. And it has been shown that companies of Dutch Baptists flocked into England, from time to time, and propagated their prin- ciples long before the London Dissenters embraced Bap- tist principles, and sent Richard Blunt to the continent to receive baptism. But it is not our purpose to attempt to follow up all the chains of succession which connect the English Baptists with the old Waldensean Bai3tists of Germany. At the present, J am only tracing the most direct line which connects the English with the German Baptists. And for the present we take our leave of the English Baptists ; and from the British Isles, cross the North Sea to the Netherlands. And here we find the Baptists, with the same heaven-born principles, amidst the frowning monarchies and despotisms of continental Europe, bearing the same unflinching testimony for religious liberty which they have borne in England and America. It will be re- membered that in the term German BaptistSj we include the Dutch Baptists also. As already intimated, many of the German Baptists had, from time to time, emigrated to England; but they were so sorely persecuted that they were sometimes driven to other countries, or compelled to secrete themselves from the view of the public. For long years, it was the policy of the English Baptists to avoid, as much as possible, the notice of the authoritips of government; and in order to this, they studiously avoided any communications with the Pedobaptists of all 90 English baptists. classes ; because the Protestants were almost as bitter in their persecutions against the English Baptists as were the Catholics. Taking this view of the condition of the Bap- tists of England at this time^ it is no wonder that these Pedobaptists were not well posted in the affairs of the Bap- tists of England. Their want of knowledge on this point, is no evidence that there were no true Baptists in England at this time. Though some of the English Baptist histo- rians were of opinion that the sending to the continent to get valid baptism was unnecessary, yet it was their duty to do this, if they knew of no Scriptural administrator nearer. No one can plead the authority of the Scriptures for " alien ^^ baptisms. It is certainly much safer to be guided by the example of Jesus Christ and the apostles, in tJiis as all other matters of religious duty. (Bat'tist Succession. 91 CHAPTER V. . GERMAN BAPTISTS. 1. The Geeman Baptists did kot Grigiitate with the Mun-- STER ElOT. 2. The Germain Baptists Descexded from the Ancient Wal- denses. Section I. — The German baptists did not origin- ate WITH THE MUNSTER RIOT. It appears that in every age, from the time of Christ, the Baptist denomination has been made the scape-goat to bear the sins of the world. Almost every crime knoAvn to earth, has been laid to their charge. They are consid- ered the enemies of governments, ringleaders of sedition and revolution, and obstinate and incurable heretics. It has been supposed that earthquakes, wars, famines, and pestilences, have been sent upon the human family on account of the crimes of the Baptists. And it is now gravely stated, by a certain class of ^^ charitable ^^ writers, who have not the power, as did their fathers, to imprison and burn Baptists, that the Baptist denomination origina- ted with the Munster riot in Germany, about the year 1525. And this class of men are generally very clamorous about Baptist " Close Communion.'^ But did the Baptists orig- inate with the madmen of Munster? Upon an investiga- tion of the history of the jNIunster affair, the following facts are developed: 1. The Munster rebellion did not arise from any reHg- 92 German (Baptists. ious, or denominational, opinions whatever, but in order to resist the oppressions of the despotic governments of Germany. Of the miserable condition of this wretched people, Mr. Rojbinson, the historian, says : " The condi- tion of the peasants in Germany, in the year twenty-four [1524], was deplorable, if there be any- thing to deplore m a deprivation ol most ^ ^^^ of the rights and liberties of rational crea- tures. The feudal system, that execration in the eyes of every being that merits the name of man, had been estab- lished in early ages in Germany, in all its rigor and hor- ror. It had been planted with a sword reeking with human gore, in the night of barbarism, when cannibals drank the warm blood of one enemy out of the skull of another, and it had shot its venomous fibers every way, rioted itself in every transaction ; in religion, in law, in diversions, in everything secular and sacred, so that the wretched rustics had only one prospect for themselves and all their posterity — one horrid prospect of everlasting slavery." And of the effort of this unfortunate people to break the iron yoke of tyranny, the author of the Religious Encyclopedia says : " Munzer, and his associates, in the year 1525, put themselves at the head of a numerous army, and declared war against ^ ^g^ous najc, U laws, governments, and magistrates of every kind, under the chimerical pretext that Christ him- self was now to take the reins of all governments into his hands : but this seditious crowd was routed and dis- persed by the Elector of Saxony, and other Princes, and Munzer, their leader, put to death." The Religious Encyc, riame author adds : " It must be acknowl- p. 77. The Munster (Riot. 93 edged that the true rise of the insurrections of this period ought not to be attributed to religious opinions/' 2. The prime movers of the Munster riot were Pedo- baptists. Mr. Benedict says : " It -is certain that the disturbances in the very city of Munster, were begun by a Pedobap- .tist minister, of the Lutheran persuasion, whose name was Bernard Rotman, or Rothman ; that he was assisted in his endeavors by other ministers of the same persua- sion ; and that they began to stir up tumults, that is, teach revolutionary principles, a year before the Anabaptist * ringleaders,' as they are called, visited the place. These things the Papists knew, and they failed not to improve them to their own advantage. They uniformly insisted that Luther's doctrine led to rebellion, that his disciples were the prime movers of the insurrections, and they also asserted that a hundred and thirty thousand Lutherans perished in the rustic war." 3. If the testimony of their enemies is entitled to credit, the Munsterites, in their practices, very much resemble the Mormons of our day. And it would be as legitimate to charge the Baptists with the Mormon abominations, as with the excesses of the frenzied German peasants of the sixteenth century. 4. The most of these insurgents w^ere of no religion. They entered the rebellion as men driven to desperation, in order to gain their independence. But it is freely ad- mitted that some Catholics, some Lutherans, and some so- called Anabaptists, were engaged in this struggle for free- dom. 5. These deluded fanatics were finally destroyed in battle. 94 German (Baptists. Of tlieir destruction Mr. Orchard says: '^ These op- pressed men were consequently met by His Bap., vol I, ^j^^.^, lords with a sword, instead of re- p. 3o6. . ' dress; being defeated, they were slaugh- tered and reproached — the invariable results and concom- itants of defeat ; Munzer, their friend and chief, was put to death. 6. It is extremely unjust, therefore, to censure the Bap- tist denomination for the impro23rieties of some of its members who were, or may have been, seduced into fanat- icism and turbulence. Of the unjustness of these asper- sions, Mr. Evans says : '' Historians of a certain class, and partisan writers, have been fond of desig- vans ary ng. ^^^:^^^ j^g 'Anabaptists,^ and gathering around us all those elements of social dis- order and fearful profligacy which the scenes of Munster, and the mad vagaries of Stork and his brethren, ever sug- gest. Hard have they labored to identify us with these men. We are not careful to answer them in this matter. The men that shrunk not from the severe privations of the jail, and the more terrible punishment of the stake, were not affected much by a name. It answered the pur- pose of their adversaries for a time ; but they were blind to the logical consequences of their own position. They forgot, in the fullness of their malice, the retribution to which they were exposing themselves. To trace the sad events which resulted from the efforts to secure social freedom, to the doctrines that the individuaL consciousness of God's claim on man's affections, and that the Christian profession is only made by an immersion of the individual in water, ^ in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost'; is only to lay open their own system to The Munster (kiot. 95 the most crushing retort. It were just as easy to demon- strate that the world has been the vast theater on which Pedobaptists have perpetrated crimes at which humanity shudders, and over which piety and virtue must weep, as that the Anabaptists, as a body, were found steeped in crime and reveling in lust/^ Thus it is shown by Mr. Evans that if the Baptists are liable to censure, simply because some of the Munster fanatics rejected infant baptism, then, on the same princi- ples, the Pedobaptists are chargeable with all the crimes committed by their Catholic ancestors. For instance, who instituted the Inquisition ? Pedobaptists. Who preached up the crusades against the ancient AYaldenses? Pedo- baptists. Who are guilty of the blood of sixty millions of the saints for conscience sake ? Pedobaptists. But these things are passed over lightly by our accusers; and be- cause some deluded Anabaptists of Germany joined in a death struggle for liberty, the Baptists, as a denomination, are stigmatized as originating the Munster riot! The injustice of these charges is shown by Mr. D'Anvers, as follows : " That take it for granted, that things were so as to matter of fact, that many Anabaptists did prove so horribly loichcd, as Spanhe- ^ ^^^^^099 miuSj Sleidan, Osiander, and others do report, yet how unreasonable and uncharitable would it be to render all this people, either in those times or since, to be such persons also; and to judge an error in the prin- ciple from the error in conversation of some that have professed it; for by the same rule may not the purest state of the church, both in the Old and New Testament, be censured and judged; who had their Chorals, Judas' and Diotrephes\ among them? But that others that owned 96 Ger'^nan baptists. that principle, were men of another spirit, both in that as well as former and latter times, you have most ample and authentic testimony from their greatest enemies.'^ But in no sense can it be stated that the Baptists origin- ated with the Munster rebellion. It would be as legiti- mate for future historians to contend that the American Baptists originated with the Mormon movement as for one to affirm that the German Baptists started with the Munster movement. It will be seen that the German Baptists existed under the name of Anabaptists long be- fore this unhappy affair. Mr. Brown, editor of the Re- ^ ligious Encyclopedia says: "It is but jus- tice to observe, also, that the Baptists in Holland, England, and the United States, are to be con- sidered as entirely distinct from those seditious and fanat- ical individuals above mentioned, as they profess an equal aversion to all principles of rebellion on the one hand, and of- enthusiasm on the «ther. — Buclz's T/ieol. Dictionary ; 3Iilneys Church History ; Robinson'' s Eccl. Researches ; EncyclojJedia America; Benedicts History of the Bap- tistsJ^ These writers are too candid to associate the Bap- tists with the Munster riot. D'Aubigne, an eminent Pedo- baptist historian, says : '^ On one point it Quoted Intro, to , i • , • Q 7 , -. ^ seems necessary to guard agamst misap- prehension. Some persons imagine that the [Munster] Anabaptists of the times of the Reforma- tion, and the Baptists of our day, are the same. But they are as different as possible.'^ This is the testimony of a learned historian, who declares that the Baptists are as different as possible from the Munster Anabaptists. Again : we have the testimony of the Eoyal Encyclo- pedia, as quoted by Mr. Graves in the Tri-Lemma. Mr. The Jvhmster (kiot. 97 Graves says; "This great work, by William H. Hall, _ . ^ ^ Esq., with other learned, ino;enuous 2;en- Tri-Lemma,]). 137. ^ ^' , . -r ? • .S.o tlemen, was begun m London, m libH, and completed in three large folio volumes. In the article 'Anabaptists/ after recounting the excesses of Muntzer, Matthias, Borkholdt, and others, during the sixteenth century, in Germany, the Encyclopedia proceeds: ^It is to be remarked that the Baptists, or Mennonites, in Eng- land and Holland are to be considered in a very different light from the enthusiasts we have been describing; and it appears equally uncandid and invidious to trace up their distinguished sentiments, as some of their adversa- ries have done, to those obnoxious characters, and then to stop, in order, as it were, to associate with it the ideas of turbulence and fanaticism, with which it certainly has no natural connection. Their coincidence with some of those oppressed and infatuated people, in denying baptism to infants, is acknowledged by the Baptists, but they dis- avow the practice which the appellation of Anabaptist implies; and their doctrines seem referable to a more ancient and respectable origin. They appear supported by history in considering themselves the descendants of the AYaldenses, who were so grievously oppressed and perse- cuted by the despotic heads of the Eomish hierarchy.' '^ Reader, take notice: the authors of the Royal Encyclo- pedia are positive in their statement that the Baptists have no connection with the Munster mob; but, on the con- trary, they aJSirm that their doctrines seem referable to a more ancient and respectable origin. No one now, except ua extremely wicked or ignorant man, will, in the face of these historic facts, presume to affirm that the Baptists originated' with the Munster affair. Again, Mr. Benedict, 98 German (Baptists. speaking of the true Baptists of these times, says : " Their peace principles, and those on oaths, cap- en. IS. ap ., .^^1 punishment, etc., were the same be- fore the rustic war as afterward ; and may be traced down, through the history of the Waldenses and other evangelical parties, Ho the remote depths of antiquity.^ Menno was, indeed, a distinguished teacher among the Anabaptists during the whole of his ministry ; but Mosheim's account of his gathering up the fragments of the society after their dispersion, and re-organizing them upon new and better principles, is not at all sustained by anything that appears in their own relations. They were the same people in policy and practice before Menno came among them as afterward. We see them almost daily on trial in the criminal courts; and never were a people so uniform, and I may say so dauntless, in their religious professions, as were the German Anabaptists for the cen- tury and a half now under review. The charges against them seemed to have been stereotyped by the inquisitors, and their answers were uniform as to matters of fact, and always mild and explicit; and, as to the men of Munster or Amsterdam — for the scenes at both places were often referred to — they uniformly answered: 'These were not our brethren — we have no fellowship with such men. The men of Munster were among yourselves,' or of your party. They did not admit, or even intimate, that they went off from them, or were ever in their connection. But they bitterly complained of having to suffer for the faults of others that they knew nothing about, because some of them agreed with them in rejecting infant baptism.'^ It may be proper to observe here, that the term Mennonites has, in history, been applied to different classes of religionists. Menno Origin of the German (Baptists. 99 liimself, and the most of tlie Mennonites of his day, were ptriet Baptists in their religious views; but the modern Mennonites are wholly different : they practice pouring for baptism, ^yhen I use the term Mennonites, in this work, as synonymous w^th Baptists, I refer to the true Bap- tist Mennonites of old. Section II. — The German baptists descended from THE ANCIENT WALDENSES. It is a well-known fact that the Dutch, or German, Bap- tists Avere called "Anabaptists^^ and Waldenses inter- changably. Baptists have ever rejected the term "Ana- baptist '^ as not applicable to themselves. It is derived from the Greek w^ords ana, anew or again, and baptizein, to immerse or baptize; and means, to baptize anew or again. Baptists have ever held, one Lord, one faith, and one baptism; and when they baptize those who have re- ceived the infant rite, or have been immersed without the authority of Jesus Christ, they do not regard it as re- baptism, as they regard such performances as invalid — no baptism at all. And when, in this work, we speak of the Anabaptists of Germany, we do not allude to the Munster Anabaptists. There is abundance of historic evidence of the fact that the people called, by their enemies, "Anabaptists," ex- isted in Germany long before the Munster insurrection ; but how and where did they originate? The witnesses already quoted, show that tliey descended from the ancient Waldenses. In thus ascending the stream of Baptist his- tory, we have passed unscathed beyond the Munster riot, and find the Baptists still grappling with the combined 100 German ^Baptists. powers of the world in sii^^port of religious liberty, and tlie Bible as their only rule of faith and practice. Of the origin of the German Baptists, who were called Menno- nites, Mosheim, the historian, says : " It may be observed, in the first place, that the Mennonites are 401 ""^ ^ ^^'' ^^^ entirely in an error when they boast of their descent from the Waldenses, Petro- brusians, and other ancient sects, who are usually consid- ered as witnesses of the truth, in times of general dark- ness and superstition. Before the rise of Luther and Cal- vin, there lay concealed, in almost all the countries of Eu- rope, particularly in Bohemia, Moravia, Switzerland, and Germany, many persons, who adhered tenaciously to the following doctrine, Avhich the Waldenses, Wickliffites, and Hussites, had maintained, some in a more disguised, and others in a more open and public manner, viz : ^ That the kingdom of Christ, or the visible church which he estab- lished upon earth, was an assembly of true and real saints, and ought, therefore, to be inaccessible to the wicked and unrighteous, and also exempt from all those institutions which human prudence suggests to oppose the progress of iniquity, or to correct and reform transgressors.'^^ This is very important testimony, borne by the learned Mosheim, a Lutheran, Avho was intensely opposed to the Baptists, and lived in Gottingen, in Germany. Does he tell us that the Mennonites, or " Anabaptists,' ' originated at Mun- ster? No. He informs us that they existed before the time of Luther and Calvin, in almost all the countries of Eu- rope. In following up the succession of churches, we have now entered upon a period of our history before the Ref- ormation of popery in the sixteenth century. Yes; be- fore — long before — the voice of the Wittemburg reformer Origin of the German ^a^tists. 101 was lieard in the diet of Worms^ or John Calvin had emerged from the Romish apostacy, the Baptists were^ beaiing aloft the blood-stained banner of the Cross in the fearful conflict with the Romish Dragon. In speaking of the origin of Baptists, Mosheim remarks that, "The true ori2:in of that sect which acquired the . . n . 1 . 1 , . -, Ch. His., p. 490. denomination oi Anabaptists by their ad- ministering anew the rite of baptism to those who came over to their communion, and derived that of Mennonites from the famous man to whom they owe the greatest part of their present felicity, is hid in the depths of antiquity^ and is, of consequence, extremely difficult to be ascer- tained/^ Pursuing the Baptist succession, Mosheim fol- lows them to the depths of antiquity, beyond the times of Menno and the Munster tragedy. With all of his opposi- tion to Baptists, he does not attempt to locate their origin, as some do, with Muntzer. It will be remembered that the same class of people who were called Baptists in Eng- land, and Anabaptists in Germany, were also called Men- nonites, not that he was their founder, but because he united with them, and became one of their most powerful and influential ministers. The modern Mennonites are wholly different from the ancient Mennonite Anabaptists. For the so-called Men- nonites of the present time admit of pouring for baptism, while Menno and those old Mennonites were uncompro- mising dippers. In proof that the Baptists of England, Anabaptists of Germany, and ancient Mennonites, were regarded as the same " sect,'^ or denomination, we cite the following from Mosheim : " The sectaries in England, who reject the custom of baptizing in- Mosheim' s Ch. fants, are not to be distinguished by the His., p. 500. 102 German baptists. title of Anabaptists, but by that of Baptists. It is, how- ever, pro]:>able that they derive their origin from the Ger man and Dutch Mennonites, and that, in former times^ they ado])te 1 their doctrine in all its points/^ And speaking of these same Baptists, whom he calls Mennonites, Mosheim says that they " are not entirely in an error when they boast of their descent from the Wal- denses, Petrobrusians, and other ancient sects, who are usually considered as witnesses of the truth, in the times of general darkness and superstition/^ And the same has already been proved in the former section, where it is recorded in the Royal Encyclopedia, that the Baptists APPEAR SUPPORTED BY HISTORY IN CONSIDERING THEMSELVES THE DESCENDANTS OF THE WaLDENSES, WHO WERE SO GRIEVOUSLY OPPRESSED AND PERSE- CUTED BY THE DESPOTIC HEADS OF THE EOMISH HIE- RARCHY. In confirmation of the fact that the Dutch and German Baptists sprang from the original Waldenses, we here in- troduce a statement from the report from the learned com- mittee appointed by the King of Holland, to prepare a history of the Dutch Reformed Church, in Avhich they devote one chapter to the Baptists. The author of the Encyclopedia describes this committee as follows : " An ^ Account of the Origin of the Dutch .e^^ww.s .ncyc, gj^p^jg^g^^ ^^ Mennonites, was published at Breda, in 1819, by Dr. Ypeij, Pro- fessor of Theology, at Groningen, and the Rev. I. J. Der- mout. Chaplain to the King of the Netherlands, learned Pedobaptists,'^ of the Dutch Reformed Church. These learned men, appointed by royal authority, and living in Holland, having access to the libraries and archives of Origin of the German (Baptists. 103 Germany, have made their report on the origin of the Baptists. Do they locate their origin with the Munster rebelUon ? We have their concluding language, as follows : "We have now seen that the Baptists who were for- merly called Anabaptists, and, in latter _ , „ times, Mennonites, were the original W al- denses; and who have long, in the history of the church, received the honor of that origin. On this account, the Baptists may be considered as the only Christian commu- nity which has stood since the days of the apostles, and as a Christian society, w^hich has preserved pure the doctrines of the Gospel through , all ages. The perfectly correct external and internal economy of the Baptist denomina- tion, tends to confirm the truth, disputed by the Romish Church, that the Beformation brought about in the six- teenth century, was in the highest degree necessary ; and, at the same time, goes to refute the erroneous notion of the Catholics, that their communion is the most ancient.'^ This testimony is worthy of being embalmed in the memory of every lover of truth. It is not the language of some "bigoted" Baptist, but the deliberate statement of learned Pedobaptist historians after years of investi- gation. Of their testimony, Newton Brown, editor of Religious Encyclopedia, says: "This testimony, from ^ , ^^ the highest official authority in the Dutch * ' Reformed Church, is certainly a rare instance of liberality toward another denomination. It is conceding all the Mennonites or Baptists claim. It should be added, that they have constantly, but politely, declined the salaries which the government of Holland offers to all denomina- tions under its authority." 104 German (Baptists. It will not be amiss to emphasize several items which Lave been settled in this important document : 1. That the Baptists, who were formerly called Anahap- lists, and in latter times Mennonites, were the original Wal- denses. 2. Tliat the Baj)tists may be considered as the only Chris^ tian community which has stood since the days of the apostles. 3. That the Baptists may he considered as the only CJwis- tian society which has preserved pure the doctrines of the Gospel through all ages from the apostles. 4. And that the Baptist communion is more ancient than the Catholics. With these incontrovertible facts before us, will the un- blushing impudence of his satanic majesty ever again so far expose the malice of the pit, as to affirm that the Bap- tists originated with the mad proceedings of the Munster affair? The learned history, from which this extract in the En- cyclopedia was taken, was written in the Dutch language. Prof. T. W. Tobey has translated the entire chapter on the Baptists from the original. This valuable translation may be found in the Southern Baptist Review for 1859. This document throws much light on this question. Prof. Tobey informs us that the names of the authors of this history, are " A. Ypeij and I. J. Dermout ; '^ and the name of their work is, " History of the Netherlands^ Re- formed Church.'^ The work consists in four volumes. We will proceed to furnish several quotations from this valuable work, written by these learned Pedobaptists, who lived in the Netherlands among the people whom they describe. This translation does not materially differ Origin of the Gerinan baptists. 105 from that already quoted from the Encyclopedia, but it gives all the chapter on the Baptist question, while the orner only gives a part. They do not originate the Bap- tists with the Munster rebellion. Dr. Ypeij and Prof. Dermout say, in their notice of the Baptists, that "these Protestants are known in history by the name oi Anabaptists, and ought, by no ^o-q ^ means, to be considered the same as the Baptists.^^ These historians admit that the true Baptists were called Anabaptists, but they here speak of " the vile Anabaptists.'^ Again, our authors say : " The honest Baptists suffered the most severely from this . T , 1 .11, l^i^^-: P- 11. prejudice, because they were considered by the people to be the same, and were called by the same name. The fact that they agreed in their opinions re- specting the holy ordinance of baptism, Avas the unfortu- nate occasion of this thing. On this account, the Bap- tists in Flanders and in Friesland, suffered the most ter- rible persecutions. '^ That the Baptists of those times were innocent of these disturbances, is seen, as follows : " The Emperor and all his statesmen knew that the Bap- tists generally, had, both by word and deed, . testified that their peace-loving hearts ab- horred the seditious conduct of the Anabaptists.^' And these Dutch historians proceed : " How evident it w^as that, although the Baptists appeared to agree exactly with the Anabaptists in respect to •' • • the baptisDftal question, the former entirely disapproved, of the course pursued by the latter. For it had been, and continued to be, a doctrine of the Baptists, that the bearing of arms was very unbecoming to a Christian.'' And, in conclusion, we here insert the noted passage 106 German baptists. concerning the antiquity of the Baptists, as translated by Prof. Tobey. These historians say : " We have now seen „., ^r. r.r. that thc Baptists who, in former times, Ibid., pp. 19,20. 11 1 A I ^- / 1 ^ w were cailed Anabaptists, and at a later pe- liod Mennonites, were originally Waldenses, who, in the history of the Church, even from the most ancient times, have received such a well-deserved homage. On this ac- count the Baptists may be considered, as of old, the only religious community which has continued, from the times of the apostles, as a Christian society which has kept pure through all ages the evangelical doctrines of religion. The uncorrupted inward and outward condition of the Baptist community, afPords proof of the truth contested by the Rom- ish Church of the great necessity of a reformation of relig- ion, such as that which took place in the sixteenth century, and also a refutation of the erroneous notion of the Roman Catholics, that their denomination is the most ancient.^^ We have traced a regular succession of Baptists from the shores of America to Wales, England, and Germany, and to the valleys of the Alps, long before the Munster rebellion. We have now entered upon a period of our history prior to the Lutheran Reformation. In this pe- riod, prior to the year le520, we find no Lutherans, Epis- copalians, Presbyterians, nor Methodists, and, of course, no Campbellites. But the Baptist denomination here stands alone as the " pillar and ground of the truth," as the mighty pyramid of Gospel light, whose apex touches heaven, and whose rays light up the dreary pathway of the dismal ages upon which we are now entering. We have fully established the historic fact that the Baptists sprang from the ancient Waldenses; and this leads us to the consideration of the next objection. (Baptist Succession. 107 CHAPTER VI. THE ANCIENT WALDENSES. 1. The Name Waldenses. 2. The Charge of Drs. Miller and Rice against Jones, thb Historian. 3. Ancient Waldenses Baptists — Modern Waldenses Pedo- baptists. 4. The Origin of the Waldenses. Section I. — The name waldenses. The name Waldenses was originally applied to the inhabitants of the valleys of the Alps, but, in after times, it was applied to that class of Christians, everywhere, who embraced the same views with the inhabitants of the valleys. This name has sometimes been applied, by the Roman Catholics, Avith such latitude as to embrace all the sects which opposed the doctrines of Rome. Therefore, in the perusal of the pages of history, we find the term Waldenses applied to parties of almost every denomina- tional cast. And a failure to observe the proper distinc- tions in the use of this name, has led some historians lo very incorrect conclusions as regards the doctrine of the Waldenses. It is claimed by some, that the Waldenses derived their name from one Peter Waldo, a merchant of Lyons, who lived in the twelfth century. But this position is now almost universally abandoned. It is a historic fact, fully made out, that the name Waldenses was applied to the 108 TJie Ancient V/aldenses. inhabitants of tlie valleys, as a religious community, long before the time of Peter Waldus. Mr. Jones, the historian, says : " It is also proved from their books, onfs I. ts., ^j^^^ they existed as Waldenses before the P 232. , "^ time of Peter AValdo, who preached about the year 1160.'^ And upon the same point Mr. Wad- dington remarks : " That we may not fall ax ^^^9f^} ^' ^j-^4-Q ^Y\Q error of Mosheim, who ascribes JIis.j p. 3o3. . . ' • T . 1 1 the origm of that sect to an individual named Waldus. Peter Waldus, or Waldensis, a native of Lyons, was a layman and a merchant ; but, notwithstand- ing the avocations of a secular life, he had studied the real character of his church with attention, followed by shame. Stung with the spectacle of so much impurity, he aban- doned his profession, distributed his wealth among the poor, and formed an association for the diffusion of Scrip- tural truth. He commenced his ministry about the year 1180. Having previously caused several parts of the Scriptures to be translated into the vulgar tongue, he ex- pounded them, w^ith great effect, to an attentive body of disciples both in France and Lombardy. In the course of his exertions he probably visited the valleys of Pied- mont; and there he found a people of congenial spirits. They were called Vaudois or Waldenses (men of the val- leys) ; and as the preaching of Peter may probably have coniirmed their opinions and cemented their discipline, he acquired and deserved his sirname by his residence among them. At the same time, their connectioji with Peter and his real Lyonese disciples established a notion of their identity; and the Yaudois, in return for the title which they had bestowed, received the reciprocal appella- tion of Leonists. Such, at least, appears the most j^roba- The Manie Waldenses. 109 ble among many varying acconnts. There are some T\'ho believe the Yauclois to have enjoyed the uninterrupted integrity of the faith even from the apostolic ages; others suppose them to have been disciples of Claudius Turin, the evangelical prelate of the ninth century. At least it may be pronounced, with great certainty, that they had been long in existence before the visit of the Lyonese reformer.'^ It would appear from these accounts that Peter, the merchant of Lyons, received the name Waldus from the Waldenses, and not the Waldenses their name from him. The same is confirmed by Kobinson, as follows: "From the Latin ' vallis ^ came the English ^ valley,^ the French and Spanish ^ valle,' the Italian ^ valdeci,^ the Low Dutch ' velleye,' the Provencal ' vaux, ^ ^ vaudois,' the Ecclesias- tical S^allenses,^ S^aldenses,' Svaldenses.^ The words simply signify valleys, inhabitants of valleys, and no more. " It happened that the inhabitants of the valleys of the Pyrenees did not profess the Catholic faith ; it fell out also that the inhabitants o'a9 ' '' of the valleys about the Alps did not em- " brace it ; it happened, moreover, in the ninth century, that one Valdo, a friend and counselor of Berengarius, and a man of eminence who had many followers, did not approve of the papal discipline and doctrine; and it came to pass, about a hundred and thirty years after, that a rich mer- chant of Lyons, who was called Yaldus, because he received his religious notions from the inhabitants of the valleys, openly disavowed the Roman religion, supported many to teach the doctrines believed in the valleys, and became the instrument of the conversion of great numbers. All theso 110 The Ancient Waldenses. people were called Waldenses ; and hence it came to pasa that some contended they were Manicheans and Arians, and others that they were the direct opposite." Notwithstanding the name Waldenses originally desig- nated the inhabitants of certain Alpine valleys, yet it finally became the general name of a large body of Christians inhabiting many countries. On this point, Mr. Jones remarks : " Such is the view which Rei- ones I. IS., j^gp-^g gave of the principles of the Wal- denses, about eighty years subsequent to the times of Peter Waldo ; and Ave must understand this de- scription as applicable to one general class of Christians, scattered throughout the south of France, the valleys of the Pyrenean mountains, the valleys of Piedmont, and the country of the Milanese, though probably distin- guished, in different places, by the different names of Puritans or Catharists, Paterines, Arnoldists, Leonists, Albigenses or Waldenses, the last of which ultimately be- came their more general appellation." Mr. Jones further adds : " That the general body of the Albigenses received the doctrines of Peter Jones^ Ch. His., ^y^^jj ^^-^^^ these doctrines had no con- p, 242. . . nection with Manicheism, and that the Waldenses and Albigenses were two branches of the same sect, inhabiting different countries, each deriving its ap- pellation from its local residence." Many other writers mieht be adduced in confirmation of the fact thnt the AValdenses received their name originally from the valleys of the Alps. But in addition to the general name of AValdenses applied to the class of Christians who embraced the principles of the original inhabitants of the valleys of the Alps, a multitude of local names and nick-names were The J^ame Waldenses. Ill a]>plied to this people. Of these names, Mr. Jones says : ^' In Languecloc, the Catholics affirm that the origin of these heretics was recent, and that they derived their name of Vaudois, or "Waldenses, ^01 * *' p. Zol. from Peter Waldo, one of their barbes or preachers, whose immediate followers were called Wal- denses. But this was rather the renovation of the name, from a particular cause, than its original. Accordingly, it extended over that district only in France where Peter Waldo preached, for in other districts the people, who were branches of the same original sect, as in Dauphine, were, from a noted preacher, called Josephists; in Lan- guedoc they were called Henricians; and in other prov- inces, from Peter Bruys, they were called Ptrobrusians. Sometimes they received their name from their manners, as Catharists {Puritans) ; and from the foreign country whence it was presumed they had been expelled, they w^ere called ^ Bulgarians,^ or Bougres. In Italy they were commonly called Fratricelli, that is, ^ men of the brotherhood,^ because they cultivated brotherly love among themselves, acknowledging one another as brethren in Christ. Sometimes they were denominated ^Pauli- cians,' and, by corruption of the word ^Publicans,' consid- ering them as sprung from that ancient sect, which, in the seventh century, spread over Armenia and Thrace, and which, when persecuted by the Greek emperor, might migrate into Europe and mingle with the Waldenses in Piedmont. Sometimes they were named from the coun- try or city in which they prevailed, as Lombardists, Tou- lousians, and Albigenses. These branches, however, all sprang from one common stock, and were animated by the same religious and moral principles/^ 112 The Ancient Waldenses. In addition to all these local names, applied to the Wal- denses, they were also called, especially in Italy, Paterines. Mr. Orchard says : " The name of Paterines was given to the Waldenses; and who, for the most ) /^ 7 '^2''0 '^ ' P^^'^^ h.Q\di the same opinions, and have, therefore, been taken for one and the same class of people, who continued till the Reformation, under the name of Paterines or Waldenses/^ And with refer- ence to the various names applied to the Waldenses, the American Sunday-School Union, very justly remarks: '^Though these eminent witnesses for the truth are now termed, generally, Waldenses and Al- A ^^o a^rr^^^^i o BIGEXSES, yet they were formerly known by a variety oi names — some aerived irom their teachers, some from their manner of life, some from the places w^here they resided, some from the fate they suffered, and some from the malice of their enemies. The valleys of Piedmont, first gave them the name of Yal- lenses, "Waldenses, or Vaudois, a name which has since been employed to distinguish them as a primitive church. Those in the south of France Avere termed Albigenses, or poor men of Lyons, from their residence in or about Albi and Lyons. In like manner they were called Picards, Lombards, Bohemians, Bulgarians, etc., from the coun- tries in which they dwelt. The epithets Cathari and Pa- terines were applied to them as terms of reproach; and that of Lollards, either from the same cause, or from a AYal- densean pastor, AYalter Lollard, who flourished about the middle of the thirteenth century.'^ It is not my purpose, in this work, to give a detailed account of all these families of "Waldenses, in the various countries, but I only design to follow up the church succes- Tlie J\iciiiie Waldenses. 113 sion in the most direct line tlirongh the ancient Waldenses. I do not claim all who have, loosely, been called Wal- denses, as Baptists. At the present time there are parties in religion which are sometimes called Baptists; and yet, religiously, they are our antagonists. The same seems to be true as re- gards the Waldenses. The ancient, pure Waldenses, who are the ancestors of the Baptists, regarded the Pope as Antichrist, the Church of Borne as the whore of Baby- lon, the Bomish traditions as base idolatry. They had no communion or affiliation with the Catholic Church -^vhat- ever. They held all the Papal rites and ceremonies in the utmost abhorrence, as emanating from the devil. But there w^as a class of religionists who were called Wal- denses by some Catholic writers and modern Protestant historians, who w^ere a kind of Baalamite Waldenses, who sometimes communed with the Catholics; and they even had their children " baptized ^^ by Catholic priests. These were not the faithful Waldenses, who bore testimony against the corruptions of Antichrist through the dark ages. These so-called Waldenses partook of the Bomish abominations in order to screen themselves from persecu- tion. This class of pseudo Waldenses, however, had no permanent independent church organization until the time of the Beformation of the sixteenth century. This accounts for the claim of the modern Pedobaptists, that the AVal- denses were Pedobaptists. But it will be abundantly shown that the true Waldenses were Anti-pedobaptists. We now regard the following points as fully established : 1. Ttiat the term Waldenses was applied to the Christian inhabitants of the valleys oj the Alps long before the time of Peter Waldo. U'l The Aiicient Waldenses. 2. TJiat Peter of Lyons received the name Waldus, or Waldo, from the Waldenses, on account of his umon ic'Uh them. 3. That the term Waldenses was derived from the resi- dence in the valleys of the Alps, of the ancient martyrs of Jesus. It must he distinctly understood that the use of the name Waldenses, in this work, is designed to apply to the pure, ancient Waldenses, unless some qualification is ijsed to indicate a different application. Section II. — The charge of des. miller and rice AGAINST JONES, THE HISTORIAN. " Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and perse- ^r .. r -.-.-,.. cute you, and shall say all manner of evil iMatt. 5: 11,12. ,\ ' i- i i ^ i -p • • agamst you lalsely, lor my sake. i\ejoice, and be exceeding glad : for great is your reward in heaven : for so persecuted they the prophets which wai'e before you.'^ It was foretold by Christ and the apostles, that the faithful witnesses of Jesus should be accounted the filth and off-scouring of the world. Christ and the apostles Avere slandered and cruelly persecuted. The ancient Wal- denses were misrepresented and persecuted b}^ the doctors of the Catholic Church. And it need not be a matter of surprise that the Presbyterian D.D.^s, descendants of the Catholic Church, should misrepresent and slander a Bap- tist historian. As these learned dignitaries of Presbyte- rianism have assailed tlie character of William Jones, the Baptist historian, charging him with fabrication smd false- Charges against the Historian Jones. 115 hoodj it becomes us to pause and examine the grounds of these fearful accusations. Dr. Miller, in his letter to Mr. Whary, which is pub- lished in the ^' Sketches of Church History/^ says : " That Mr. Jones has carefully withheld all the evidences of this fact (infant baptism) -|o..a* ^'^j^^> from his readers/' and then charges Mr. Jones w^ith ^^ forgery .'' And Dr. Rice makes his charge against Mr. Jones as follows : ^' I have another interest- ing portion of history, which I will pre- , n • 1 X- T\T r^ -^:ainst Mr. Jones. It will be found by the examination of the Latin, from the report of the commissioners to King Louis, that Jones is correct, and the modern translations of Perrin wrong. It is my opinion that, if we could procure the original of Perrin^s history in the French lans^uatre, we would find that there is no discrepancy between Perrin and Jones. It is possible that the error has crept into the modern translations of Perrin. Mr. Pope, in his debate with Maguire, a Pomish priest, gives the circumstances of the commission to the Waldenses, with the report in Latin, and the translation, as follows : " When some cardinals and Pope & Maguire ^^i^^es accused the Waldenses in Merin- Di^., p. 19b. T 1 1 ri 1 • x^ ■ • A dol and Cabricrs of grievous crimes, and urged Lewis XII. to root them out, the Waldenses, hav- ing notice thereof, sent their deputies to his majesty to Charp-C3 a^-aiiist the Historian Jones. 119 declare their innocence. The prelates were instant upon tlie king not to give them any audience ; but the king answered, that if he were to make war against the Turk, he would previously hear him. The king accordingly sent Adam Fumee, his Master of Requests, and Doctor Parni, his confessor, to search and inquire both into their life and religion. The commissioners visited those places, and upon their return reported to the king the result of their exam- ination — viz: ^That men were baptized; the articles of faith, and the .ten commandments, were taught; the Lord's day observed; the word of God preached; and no' show of wickedness or fornication to be perceived among them ; but that they found not any images in their churches, nor any ornaments belonging to the mass.^ The king, hearing this report of the commissioners, said (and bound it \Yith an oath), ^That they were better men than he or the rest of his Catholic subjects.^ ' Turn rex etiamsi, inquit, nihi in Turcam aut diabolum bellum suscipiendum esset eos tamen prius audire vellem.^ — Wesemhecii Oratio de Valdens., p. 418, extat in Joach. Camerarii Hisfor. Narrationes de Fratrum, Orthod. EccL in Bohemia. 'Illi ad regem referunt, illis in locis homines baptizari, articulos fidei et decalogum doceri, dominicos dies religiose coli, Dei verbum exponi, veneficia et stupra apud eos nulla, esse. His auditis rex, Jurejurando addito, me, in- quit, et cetero populo meo Catholico meliores ilia viri sunt.' — JbkL, p. 419. ^Ceterum se in ipsorum templis neque imagines neque ornamenta missse ulla reperisse.' — Ibld.^' Vie consider the foregoing quotation of great import- ance. It contains the original of the report which must 120 Tlie Ancient Waldenses. settle the question of the veracity of Wm. Jones, the his- torian, who has gone to his reward. Perrin's history rep- resents the commissioners as saying that the Waldenses " Caused their children to be baptized according to the primitive church;^' but Mr. Jones leaves out the baptizing of the children, for which he is branded as a false histo- rian. But the report says, ^^ homines baptizari/' "that men were baptized ; '^ the word infantes is not in the report. As remarked by J. L. Waller: "The charge against Jones falls to the earth, and the blows at his reputation recoil '^ on the heads of his accusers. It turns out that Jones is the correct historian, and Perrin, or his transla- tor, must be wrong. Pedobaptist writers are, certainly, hard pressed to prove Pedobaptism on the Waldenses. Mr. Jones did not conceal the liistory of the Waldenses; he freely admits, as will be seen hereafter, that the pres- ent Waldenses are Pedobaptists. It is a pity that such men as Drs. Miller and Rice will attempt to blast the character of a historian without an investigation of all the evidences on which they found their accusations. Have such men the moral courage to withdraw their charges? If such men as these will resort to such un- worthy means to injure the character of Baptists, after they are sleeping in the tomb, what may be expected of the com- mon herd of sectarians who are not accjuainted vrith Bap- tist history ? And why need vre be surprised at the conduct of Catholics for tearing up the remains of the dead to be consigned to the flames, when learned men, who profess to be reformed Christians, are willing, without the slightest foundation, to tear from the tomb of the past the character of a Baptist historian and consign it to infamy? There will be a time when secret things will be brought to light. Ancient Waldenses (Baptists. 121 Section III. — The akcient waldenses baptists — THE modern waldenses PEDOBAPTISTS. Of all the slanders and misrepresentations Avliich have been perpetrated against the ancient Waldenses, the most remarkable is that of infant baj)tism. It is a well-known historical fact, that for rejecting infant baptism their blood was poured out like water for many centuries. And it is also admitted, by all parties, that the present inhabitants of the valleys of the Alps (called Waldenses) are Pedobaptists. A failure to distinguish between the ancient and modern Waldenses, is the main cause of the confusion concerning the denominational features of these peojple. It may not be amiss to distinguish between these two classes of Waldenses, by calling the ancient class Baptist Waldenses, and the modern class Pedohaptist Waldenses. The present Pedobaptist Waldenses are not the denominational descendants of the ancient Walden- ses. They descended from the Protestant Reformation under Calvin and others. It is important to note the fact, that the term Waldenses was first applied to a local com- munity. It afterward became the general name of a reli- gious denomination throughout Europe ; but now the name is restricted to a local community — the inhabitants of the valleys, who sprang from the Reformation of the sixteenth century. And there is now no dispute as to the denominational character of these modern Waldenses. They are Pedobaptists. But the ancient Waldenses, who were regarded as the witnesses for Christ, were Baptists. It is admitted that there were some persons, after the times of Huss and Jerome, in Bohemia and other places who protested occasionally against the corrupiions of 122 The Ancient Waldenses. Kome, and at the same time received her ordinances and conformed, in part, to her superstitions. These were some- times called Waldenses; but they were not the witnessing Waldenses. In regard to this controversy Mr. Orchard says : " The earliest claims which Pedo- Orch. Bapt. Ms., baptists can establish to any section of vol. I p. 308; ^i^ggg dissidents, as a distinct body from see also, Rob. _, . _ ^ i i i -rNr. Eccl.Res. p. 488. J-^oii^^, is irom a document dated lo08. This instrument is easily explained. Dur- ing the ministry of Huss and Jerome, many persons Avere brouo^ht into their cono^reo^ations who could not forego the Roman ceremonies. After Huss^ death, a great many, found in Zisca's army (1433), were called Calixtines — i. e., persons who wished the cup in the eu- charist restored to the laity, but in every other respect were Catholics. Another part was made up of those per- sons who were zealous for reform in church and state; while a third part Avas called Waldenses, or Picards, who interfered not in political affairs.^' Of these wavering Bohemian Hussites who separated from the Calixtines in 1457, Mr. Orchard says: ^'Such was the unsettled state of the rest and re- • 7 1 ^309*^^ ' ^^i^^^^' of "^^^^s body, that they published nine creeds, or confessions of faith, or rather one creed amended and improved each time. (Rob- ins. Res., p. 312.) The fourth, with the fifth edition im- proved, was presented, it is said, in 1508, to King Ula- dislaus, while he was in Hungary. The confession pre- sented to the king, says, in the preface, that the petitioning "party were not Waldenses, though they were persecuted und'^jr that name." From this testimony we discover that the first dated document, or confession of faith, among tho Ancient Waldenses (Baptists. 123 WaldeDses in support of infant baptism, was published in 1508 by the Calixtine Hussites, who were not the descend- ants of the original Waldenses, and by their own confes- sion were not Waldenses at all. And yet Pedobaptist historians gravely quote this confession in proof of the Pedobaptist character of the ancient Waldenses. But the document mainly relied on by the champions of infant baptism to prove the charge of infant baptism on the ancient Waldenses, is the " Spiritual Alma- nac"!! This rare document was found among More- land's Waldensean manuscripts, gathered about the year 1655, and its date and authorship is entirely unknown ; but it is supposed to have been written by George Moril, about the year 1530. But some Pedobaptists claim the Spiritual Almanac as a very ancient and pure Waldensean document. It is relied on by Perrin and Wall to refute the standing charge of the Catholics, that the Waldenses rejected infant baptism. This charge of the Catholic writers, that the Wal- denses "rejected the baptism of infants," Paul Perrin calls a ^' caluniny.^^ He remarks: "The fourth calumny was concernino; baptism, which it is said they „ denied to miants. J^ rom this imputation they quit themselves as follows: ^Neither is the time or place appointed for those who must be baptized ; but char- ity, and the edification of the church and congregation, ought to be the rule in this matter; yet, notwithstanding, we bring our children to be baptized, — which they ought to do to whom they are nearest related — as are their parents^ or those whom God hath inspired with such a charity.^ " Any one who is partially acquainted with the history of the Waldenses, must be convinced, at once, that this Spir- itual Almanac, as quoted by Perrin, is not a genuine an- 124 The Ancient Waldenses. cient Waldensean document. It bears upon its face its own condemnation. It should be remembered that the ancient Waldenses held with death-like tenacity to the "word of God alone as the rule of action in matters of re- ligion; but these Waldenses, of Spiritual- Almanac noto- riety, appeal to charity and the edification of the church and congregation as " the rule in this matter " of baptizing infants! Does any one suppose for a moment that the ancient witnesses of God, the Waldenses, would deviate from God's Avord and make a pseudo charity the rule of action ? No. This Almanac did not come from the an- cient Waldenses. But the apology of Paul Perrin for the Catholic charge against the Waldenses for rejecting infant baptism, only makes bad, worse; and places the Waldenses in a very unenviable position, indeed. And if he is correct, it would be hard enough even for the modern Pedobaptists to claim affinity with the Waldenses at all. He says : " True it is, that, being for some hun- dreds of years constrained to suffer their W?!^ 28* children to be baptized by the Romish priests, they deferred the doing of it as long as possible, because they detested the human inven- tions annexed to the institution of that Holy Sacrament, which they looked upon as pollutions of it. Their pas- tors, whom they called barbes, being often in travels abroad, for the service of their churches, they could not have baptism administered to their children by their own ministry. They, therefore, sometimes kept them long without baptism, upon which delay the priests charged them with that reproach. To which, not only their ad- versaries have given credit, but many of those also who have approved of their lives and faith in all other points." Ancient Waldenses baptists. 125 If any one fact in all history is settled beyond contro- versy, it is the fact that the ancient Waldenses utterly ab- horred the Romish Church, with all of its ordinances and' worship, as the Apocalyptic woman drunk with the blood of the saints. And it was for rejecting her baptism and fellowship that they suffered indescribable persecutions and afilictions for centuries. They stood as the witnesses against Antichrist during the midnight of the world. But now some Pedobaptist historians have found a class of so- called Waldenses, who suffered their children to he bap- tized by the Romish priests for hundreds of years together ; and this, they tell us, was because their pastors were often abroad in the service of their churches; therefore, as they could not get baptism from the hands of their own minis- ters, they carried their children to the Romish priests for baptism ! ! ! The Pedobaptists are welcome to such an ancestry as have, to avoid persecution, submitted to the most debas- ing superstitions and idolatries of Antichrist. But these were not the true Waldenses, who resisted Rome even to the shedding of their own blood. It is admitted that these Calixtine Pedobaptist Waldenses existed in Bohemia and other places, even before the time of Luther. And this is the class of Waldenses that united with the Reformers in the sixteenth century. They not only submitted to Romish infant baptism, but they committed the grossest idolatry in going to the Catholic mass. Of this class cf modern Waldenses, Mr. Orchard remarks : " These com- promising Vaudois, with their remote an- cestry and proo^eny, form evidently the 7 r ^^o/-^^"' class 01 the evangelicals whose conduct is an exact key to Perrin's account. This is supported by 126 Tlie Ancient Waldenses, tlieir state in 1530, when the churches connected loiih George Moril to save themselves from Catholic rage, did go to mass in Provence, and pleaded it was no great harm, provided their hearts were kept right with God. Foi which prevarication and hypocrisy the reformer Oecolam- padius rebukes them, and condemns the practice.'^ " Such were not witnesses of the truth. ^^ Even the learned Dr. Wall, after all of his efforts to find infant baptism among the ancient ' _^_ ' ■' Waldenses, admits that in their older con- p. 597. . ^ fessions the Waldenses say nothing about infant baptism. The reader is now pretty well prepared to discriminate between the ancient and modern Waldenses. But to re- move all doubt upon this subject, we now introduce other witnesses on this important question. Mr. Robinson, the historian, says : ^' They ( ancient Waldenses) are also distinguished from Eoh:s Eccl Res. ^^^^ ^^^^^^ Yaudois, and the reformed p. 4ol. \ churches, by not using any liturgy; by not compelling faith; by condemning parochial churches; by not taking oaths; by allowing every person, even wo- men, to teach ; by not practicing infant baptism ; by not admitting godfathers; by rejecting all sacerdotal habits; by denying all ecclesiastical orders of priesthood, Papal and Episcopal; by not bearing arms, and by their abhor- rence of every species of persecution.^^ How wide the ecclesiastical gulf between the ancient Waldenses — who patiently suffered the loss of all things, even to life itself, rather than shed the blood of others— and these modern Pedobaptist Waldenses, who established themselves by cruel war and bloody revenge ! Ancient Wcildenses (Baptists. 127 In describing the modern Waldenses in their struggles to establish themselves in the valleys, the American Sun- day School Union testifies as follows : " And what is still more lamentable, the Vaudois, having no n ■ ^' r 4.^ -x /• - 1 JS^is- Wald.,A.JS. means of providmg lor the security ot the „ jj ' prisoners, were compelled, for their own safety, to put to the sword every man that fell into their hands/^ No one who is not prompted by sectarian motives, will associate these warlike Waldenses with the ancient suffer- ing witnesses for Christ, called Waldenses. It is also a vrell known fact in history, that the ancient Waldenses firmly resisted every form of State religion. But these Pedobaptist ^^Orch vol. I \V aldenses were incorporated into na- g^ ^ jj ^ -^^ tional churches, and their ministers finally were enrolled among the State clergy of the empire. It was about the year 1532 that the Pedobaptist AYal- denses, in connection with George Moril and Peter Mas- son, united w^ith the Reformers under Luther and Calvin. And this class of Waldenses were classed by the Catho- lics with the Lutherans. This union with the Reformers was effected through the instrumentality of Oecolampa- dius. Concerning the distinction between the ancient and modern AYaldenses, Mr. Benedict remarks: "For a num- ber of the first centuries their discipline partook of the freedom and simplicity of ^^^* '^* ^'^^ '' the Baptists, and was more free as to the teaching of females, and the brotherhood generally, than many of our churches would now admit. By degrees they were moulded into Presbyterian measures, and in 128 The Ancient Waldenses. the end, that portion of them which still survived in the ancient valleys, adopted in substance the Episcopal fornj of church government/^ The author of the Encyclopedia of Religious Knowl- edge remarks that : " It is necessary here that we distin- guish between the ancient and modern Rellgwi^Encyc., ^^y^i^^^^^^^ It appears, from all the ac- counts we gather of them before the Re- formation, that their principles and practice were more pure and Scriptural than since that period/' Mr. Jones, as the special historian of the Waldenses, is still more explicit on this point. In the preface to his fifth London edition, Mr. Jones says, in reply to the com- plaint of Mr. Gilly, who found fault with Jones because he carried the history of the Waldenses no further than the year 1686: "This is certainly true; but my defense is an easy one — my narrative stops where Jones' Fifth Edi- .i , " j -r i» ± • .ii- ^y the story ends. I proiess to give the his- tory of the churches of Piedmont and other places, commonly designated Waldenses and Albi- genses, not of individuals ; and as I consider those churches to have been utterly dispersed and scattered by a series of persecutions which terminated in the year 1686, I con- sider myself to have brought the subject to its legitimate close. If we give credit to a host of writers belonging to the Church of England, the two witnesses of the Apoca- lypse (Rev. xi: 3, 4, etc.) were the two churches, or, to speak more properly, the two classes of churches, w^hich passed under the names of the Waldenses and Albigenses. * * * * Now, these two witnesses, after prophesying twelve hundred and sixty years in sackcloth, according to the prophetic testimony, w^ere to be finally overcome and Ancient V/aldenses (Baptists. 129 killed by the Beast that ascended out of the bottomless pit. (Rev. xi: 7.) This event I consider to have been consummated in the year 1686, and consequently as term- inatino^ the historv of the Waldenses.'^ Mr. Jones further remarks : '^ But it may be asked, does not the page of history record, that in the year 1689, about . 1 , •111 J 1 i" Jones^ Fifth JEdi- eiffht or nme hand red men proceeded irom ^. ^r ° . -'- . , tion, p. 9. the neighborhood of Geneva, equipjoed with arms and ammunition^ re-entered their own country, drove away the new inhabitants, after many contests with their enemies, obtained a reinstatement in their former posses- sions ? Certainly ; there is no disposition to deny the fact ; but I beg leave to ask Mr. Gilly, and those who dwell upon it, of what description of persons did this new race of Waldenses consist — and are they prepared to show us a number of churches formed by them bearing any resem- blance to those of the ancient Waldenses, which were dis- persed by the armies of Louis XIV. and the Duke of Sa- voy? We are quite content to rest the issue of this inquiry on the testimony which is borne to the present state of the Vaudois, by our author, and the other members of the established church, compared w^ith the accounts w^hicli have been transmitted to us by friends and foes concern- ing their ancestors.^^ Again, after showing that the pres- ent inhabitants of the valleys sprinkled infants, Mr. Jones says of the ancient Waldenses, that they represent them- selves thus : " ^We believe that in the ordinance of bap- tism,^ say they, the water is ^the visible 1 , 1 . 1 . 1 , , Jones' Fifth Edi- and external sign which represents to us . •:-. that which, by virtue of God's invisible 'operation, is within us — namely, the renovation of our minds, and the mortification of our members through 130 The Ancient Waldenses. Jesus Christ. And by this ordinance we are received into the holy congregation of God's people, previously p7^ofess- ing our faith and change of life J And, with regard to baptism of infants, they insist upoi; it to be one of the leading features of Antichrist. Their words are : ^ He teaches to baptize children into the faith, and attributes to this the work of regeneration ; thus confounding the work of the Holy Spirit, in regener- ation, with the external rite of baptism, and on this foun- dation bestows orders, and indeed grounds all his Chris- tianity.' '' And, on the same page, Mr. Jones concludes thus : " Enough has surely been said to Jones^ Fifth Mi- ^^^^^^ ^j^^^ ^^^^ present race of Protestant tlOn, p. 11. T^ n T 1 churches in Piedmont bear little or no affinity to the ancient Waldenses, either in their doctrinal sentiments, their discipline and external order, or their religious practices ; and it is an act of justice to the mem- ory of these excellent people to rescue them from this unnatural alliance.'' And after thus showing that the ancient and modern Waldenses were totally different in their denominational character, Mr. Jones says of the former that : " They brought up their chil- Jones^ Fifth Edi- -i - ±.\ - ^ ^ -x- i? x-l ,. "^ dren m the nurture and admonition ot the tion, p. 12. Lord ; but they neither sprinkled nor im- mersed them, under the notion of administering Christian baptism ; they were, in a word, so many distinct churches of Anti-pedobaptists." Enough testimony has now been introduced to satisfy every unprejudiced mind that the modern Waldenses are totally distinct, in their faith and practice, from the ancient Waldenses, who were driven from the valleys of Pied- mont in 1686, by the relentless cruelty of the army of Ancient Waldenses (Baptists. 131 Louis XIV. So, when the Baptists claim the Waldenses as their ancestors, they do not refer to the present inhabit- ants of the valleys, but to the original Waldenses, who dwelt in the valleys before the time of Luther's Eeforma- tion. The present inhabitants of these valleys, called Waldenses, are not Baptists. They are a different race of Waldenses from the original witnesses who dwelt in the valleys before the Reformation. Many modern Pedobap- tists, like the Pharisees in the time of Christ, build the tomb of the Waldenses, though their own fathers killed them. And while they praise to the skies these noble martyrs, they persecute to the extent of their power those who now advocate the same doctrine for which the Wal- denses suffered, bled, and died. But, in order to stop the mouth of every gainsayer, we here present a few other wit- nesses in vindication of the Waldenses from the charge of Pedobaptism. Mr. Benedict says : " I „ nave said that, irom very early times, up to the fifteenth century, the Baptist, or, at least, the Anti- pedobaptist character of a multitude of that great commu- nity which passed under the general name of Waldenses and Albigenses, is very strongly developed; it is indicated by the canons, decrees, and anathemas of so many coun- cils ; by the statutes of so many states and governments ; and the impeachments and complaints of so many old writers on the Pedobaptist side, that a man of but a mod- erate share of ecclesiastical knowledge must make a judy of himself to deny it, or prove himself an unfair historian if he attempts to conceal it." Again, Dr. Wall, the learned Episcopalian, admits that : " The Popish jii^t. Inf. Bapt., writers of that time, who wrote against p. 596. them [the Waldenses], some of which do plainly and 132 TJie J.:icidnt Waldenses. fully charge some of them with denymg it" — infant baptism. It is a conceded fact, by all candid historians, that the Roman Catholics not only accused the Waldenses of neglecting infant baptism, but they waged constant persecution against them, in order to force them to bap- tize their infants. This would not have been the case had the Waldenses been Pedobaptists. In regard to this per- secution against the AYaldenses, to force them to baptize children, Mr. Jones says : " On the 31st .^Q * *' of January, 1686, they were amazed at the publication of an order from the Duke of Savoy, forbidding his subjects the exercise of the Protestant religion upon pain of death ; the confiscation of their goods ; the demolition of their churches ; and the banishment of their pastors. All infants born from that time were to be baptized and brought up in the Poman Catholic religion, under the penalty of their fathers being condemned to the galleys.'^ We here insert the language of Victor Amadeus, the Duke of Savoy, in his cruel edict against the Waldenses. These are his own words : ^^ And concerning the children that shall be born ^ aTs ^^ ' ^y ^^ther and mother of the said pretended Peformed religion, our intention is that, after the publishing this present edict, they shall be bap- tized by the priests of the parish that are already, or that shall be, established for the future in the said valleys : to this purpose we command their fathers and mothers to send or bring them to the churches, under pain of being sent five years to the galleys for their fathers, and whipping for their mothers; and, moreover, the said children shall be brought up in the said Catholic, Apos- tolic, and Poman religion. And we command expressly Ancient Wakienses (Baptists. 133 all judges, bailiffs, goalers, and other officers, to see these presents duly executed.'^ If the Waldenses had been sound Pedobaptists, where would have been the necessity of publicly whipping the \Yaldensean mothers, sending the fathers to hard labor in prison, and taking their children away from them in order to baptize and raise them in the Catholic religion ! The ancient Waldenses were not Pedobaptists ; and they are grossly misrepresented when accused of infant baptism. Mr. Orchard, the historian, testifies as follows : ^' The an- cestors of the Waldenses, were termed Vaudois, Puritans, Paterines, Lyonists, ^f ' ^-^ * ^*' Petrobrusians, ArnoldiHtSy Berengarians ; these, with the Paulicians, were one and the same peo- ple; and, so far as information can be obtained, were all Anti-pedobaptists, which has been previously proved in their respective sections. These all agreed in one article of discipline — they re-baptized all such as came into their communion from the Catholic Church; hence were called Anabaptists.^^ In fact, it was the universal complaint of the Catholics against the Waldenses that they neglected the baptism of infants. " Cardinal Hos- sius, who presided at the Council of Trent, ' "^ ^ ^^ * ^^'' and wrote a history of the heresy of his own times, says, the Waldenses rejected infant baptism, and re-baptized all who embraced their sentiments.'^ Mr. Orchard closes his testimony upon this point in the following language : " Amidst all the pro- T ,. p T ., r ■ 1 1 r Orch. Bapt. His., ductions of early writers, friends and foes, ^^^ j ^g^^ confessors of the whole truth and opposers of it, annalists, historians, recorders, inquisitors, and others, with the labored researches of Usher, Newton, 134 Tiie Ancient V/aldenses. Allix, Collier, "Wall, Perrin," Leger, Moreland, Mosheim, Macleane, Gilly, Sims, and others— all of the Pedobaptist persuasion, Avitli every advantage of learning on their side, who collated councils, canons, synods, conferences, chroni- cles, decrees, bulls, sermons, homilies, confessions, creeds, liturgies, etc., from the private creed of Irenseus down to the rules of Augsburg; Avho examined documents at home, and explored territories abroad, — their united labors could never produce a single dated document or testimony of Pedobaptism among the Vaudois, separate from the K»omish community, from Novatian's rupture to the death of the execrable monster, Alexander VI., 1503.^' It is said that in the mouth of two or three y/itnesses every word shall be established; and from the testimony of friends and foes, Baptists, Protestants and Catholics, tve have proved that the ancient Waldenses luere Anti- pedohaptists. With such mountains of testimony rising up before us, it is useless to introduce other witnesses on this point; for he that will not be convinced by the testi- mony already adduced, that the original Waldenses did not baptize infants, need not be argued with; for such are given over to prejudice and blindness of heart. In as- cending the stream of history we have discovered that the ancient Waldenses are the real ancestors of the Bap- tist denomination of the present day. But we will, for the accommodation of those who are weak in the faith, introduce other witnesses on this point. All, who possess even a moderate share of historic knowledge, must admit that every Pedobaptist confession of faith, ancient or modern, teaches, directly and pjosi- lively, the doctrine of infant baptism. Ancient Waldenses baptists. 135 We now proceed to examine the ancient Waldensean confessions on this subject. First: We refer the reader to an ancient Waldensean confession^ as given by Jones the historian, and also found in Perrin and others. In this confession, article twelfth, the a ncient Waldenses say : " We consider the sacraments as sims of holy thin2;s, or as "^^^ff! ^^' ^^^•' ^1 ••11 11 r- • -11 ^^ • P* ^^^5 see also, the visible emblems oi invisible blessings, perrin chap. 12. We regard it as proper and even necessary that believers use these symbols or visible forms when it can be done. Notwithstanding which, we maintain that believers may be saved without these signs, when they have neither place nor opportunity to observe them.^^ This ancient Waldensean confession contains not even the slightest intimation of infant baptism. It refers alone to the baptism of believers. It is, therefore, an Anti- pedobaptist confession. This confession is admitted by all to be an ancient document, written about the year eleven hundred and twenty. Second: Mr. Jones gives another ancient AValdensean confession of the twelfth century; and while it speaks of baptism and the Lord's ^49 * ' Supper, it has not one word about infant baptism. Third : In another ancient confession of the Waldenses, we ' have the seventh article j as follows : " We believe that in the ordinance of bap- '^^'^/f' ^^'' ^'- , .1 . ., , T ^ p. 251; see also, t]sm the water is the visible and external p^^y^in chap. 12. sign which represents to us that which, by virtue of God's invisible operation, is within us; namely, the renovation of our minds and the mortifica- tion of our members, through Jesus Christ. And by 136 The Ancient Waldenses, this ordinance we are received into the holy congrega- tion of God's people, previously professing and declaring our faith and change of life." Is this a Pedobaptist confession? These Waldenses emphatically state, that by this ordinance (baptism) we are received into the holy congregation of God^s people, pre- viously PROFESSING AND DECLARING OUR FAITH AND CHANGE OF LIFE. Can little infants profess faith and a change of life be- fore baptism? Will Drs. Miller and Eice claim this as a Pedobaptist confession of faith? It would be quite as easy to find infant baj)tism in the Bible as in this con- fession. It should be remembered that Dr. Wall, the champion of infant baptism, admits that the ancient Waldensean confessions say nothing of infant baptism. It is worthy of remark, that in the catechism of the ancient Waldenses for the instruction of youth, nothing is said of infant baptism, though the church and its ordi- nances are referred to. Who ever heard of a Pedobaptist catechism which leaves out infant baptism? There is no such catechism in existence. Another ancient Waldensean document is called the ^' Noble Lesson." It was Avritten in the original Walden- sean language, and dated in the year 1100. This docu-. ment is appealed to by all historians as an authentic Waldensean production. It exhibits the purity of the doctrine of the Waldenses in contrast with the corrup- tions of Eome. Infant baptism can not be found in the Noble Lessons. In regard to the ministry of the apos- tles, the Noble Lessons says: ^^And they [the apostles] pa-oclaimed without fear the doctrine of Christ, preaching Ancient Waldenses (Baptists. 137 to Jews and Greeks, and working many miracles. And tluy baptized the believers in the name of Jesus Christ. Then there became a peo- 'r, ' *' pie of new converts, and they were called Christians because they trusted in Christ." Yes; this Noble Lesson of the ancient Waldenses, like the Bible from which it was drawn, teaches the baptism of believers only. It knows nothing of infant baptism. And yet we are told that the ancient Waldenses were Pedobaptists ! Once more, we call attention to the ancient Walden- sean document called " A Treatise concerning Antichrist," etc. This treatise, or work on Antichrist, bears date, A. D. 1120, which is nearly half a century before the time of Peter Waldo. In describing Antichrist, this work says : " He teaches to baptize children into the faith, and attributes to this the work of ^^'\'!' ^^' ^"^'^ regeneration, thus confounding the work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration with the external rite of baptism, and on this foundation bestows orders, and, indeed, grounds all his Christianity." Reader, take notice; the Waldenses are here describing Antichrist. And as one work of Antichrist by which he may be identified, they say that he teaches to baptize chil- dren into the faith, and attributes to this the work of regen- eration; thus exhibiting the fact that they considered in- fant baptism and baptismal regeneration (which tv/o are so neai ly allied to each other) as the work of Anti- christ — a mark of the Beast. 138 The Ancient Waldenses. Section IY. — Origin of the waldenses. Tn tracing the stream of Baptist history to its fountain- head we have, with Mosheim, followed it into the remote depths of antiquity, and found the ancient AYaldenses, en- vironed with the snow-clad Alps, contending for the same faith and practice, and suffering for the same principles now advocated by Baptists. We have now reached an age of the world centuries before the modern sects had a being on the earth. Episcopalianism, Lutheranism, Cal- vinism, Methodism, and Campbellism, with every other ism of modern date, were unknown to these early ages of trial ; and while the gloomy darkness of Romanism over- shadowed our sin-smitten world, these ancient Waldenses were the unwavering witnesses for the truth of Christ, and stood as the light of the world through this long and gloomy period of moral darkness. But where did these Waldenses originate? We have already seen that they did not commence with Peter Waldus, but, long be- fore the time' of Peter's separation from Pome, we find them battling for the same glorious truths of the Gospel of Christ for which they suffered in after times. Peter, in- stead of originating the Waldenses, joined them and re- ceived his name Waldus, or Waldensis, from them. It has already been observed that the term Albigenses is only another name for the same class of persons called Yv^al- denses. While the Waldenses inhabited the valleys of Piedmont, the Albigenses dwelt in the southern provincca of France. But where did they originate? Shall we ask the bleeding Waldenses themselves from whence they came ? In their petition to the Duke of Savoy for liberty to worship God without molestation, "They implored Origin of V.w Wald.nses. 139 tiis highness to consider that their religious profession was not a thing of yesterday, as their ad- versaries falsely reported; but had been 'f ^'^^ ^^'' ^^^•' the profession of their fathers, grand- fathers, and great-grandfathers; yea, of their predeces- sors of still more ancient times, even of the martyrs, con- fessors, apostles, and prophets ; and they called upon their adversaries to prove the contrary, if they were able.^^ These persecuted martyrs of Christ claimed that their profession was handed down to them from apostolic times. And, as all denominations are allowed to give their own history, which ought to be taken as correct, unless it con- flicts with known facts, Avhy not respect the statements of these witnesses of Jesus? But this claim of the AValdenses does not conflict with any known facts ; therefore, their testimony is valid, and must not be despised. Men who suffered, as did the ancient Waldenses, for the truth, would not knowingly utter falsehood in regard to their own his- tory. But if they did not descend from the apostolic age, they knew it, and are, therefore, liable to the charge of falsehood. This can not be; then this statement of the Waldenses is true. In regard to the rise of the Waldenses, the celebrated Theodore Beza, the successor of Calvin, says : "As for the Waldenses, I may be permitted to call them the very seed of the primitive and rw ' ,• /^i 1 • xi Jones' Ch. His.. purer Christian Church, smce they are ^^q those that have been upheld, as is abund- antly manifest, by the wonderful providence of God, so that neither those endless storms and tempests by which the whole Christian world has been shaken for so many succeeding ages, and the western parts at length, so mis- erably oppressed by the Bishop of Rome falsely so called, 140 TJie Ancient Waldenses. nor those horrible persecutions which have been expressly raised against them, were ever able so far to prevail as to make them bend, or yield a voluntary subjection to the Roman tyranny and idolatry." ^^On another occasion the same writer remarks, that Hhe Waldenses, time out of mind, have Jones^^ Ch. His., ^^^^^gg j ^j^^ ^l^.^s^s ^f the Church of Rome, and have been persecuted after s ich a manner, not by the sword of the word of God, but by every species of cruelty, added to a million of calumnies and false accusations, that they have been compelled to disperse themselves wdierever they could, wandering through the deserts like wild beasts. The Lord, never- theless, has so preserved the residue of them, that, not- withstanding the rage of the w^hole world, they still in- habit three countries, at a great distance from each other, viz: Calabria, Bohemia, and Piedmont, and the countries adjoining, where they dispersed themselves from the quar- ters of Provence about two hundred and seventy years ago. And as to their religion, they nevfer adhered to Pa- pal superstition, for which reason they have been contin- ually harrassed, by the bishops and inquisitors abusing the arm of secular justice, so that their continuance to the present time is evidently miraculous.^ ^^ Yes ; these Waldensean Baptists w^ere the seed of the 2)rimiiive church, and upheld by the wonderful providence of God, so that those endless storms and tempests lohich shook the whole Christian world for ages failed to shake the courageous Waldenses. And all the fearful persecu- tions, attended by* every engine of fiendish cruelty, and with a million of false accusations, failed to make these ancient Baptists bow to the Romish Beast. They wandered Origin o ' the IValdenses. 141 in the deserts like ivild beasts of the forest, and there en- dured the pelting storms, as loell as the rage of the whole world; and their preservation to the present time is em- dently miraculous. No wonder that the modern sects are so anxious to claim connection with this noble army of witnesses for Jesus. But these ancient Waldenses were incurable " Anabaptists/^ who despised infant baptism as a mark of the Beast. They were Baptists in faith and practice, who had their origin in the time of Christ and the apostles. But let us hear the poet Milton in regard to the origin of these people. He says : " Hence the most ancient Reformed churches of the Wal- denses, if they rather continued not pure „^^ ' ' '"- since the apostles' days, denied that tithes were to be given, or that they were ever given in the primitive church, as appears by an ancient tractate in- serted in the Bohemian history.^' As churches, they con- tinued pure from all the corruptions of Eome from the apostolic age. Oliver Cromwell says, in his letter to the Swiss Cantons : " Next to the help of God, it seems to devolve on you to provide that the most . , / 7 /• 7' • ,1 Jones' Ch. His., ancient stock oj pure religion may not be destroyed in this remnant of its ancient faithful professors, whose safety, reduced as it now is to the extremity of hazard, if you neglect, beware that the next lot do not speedily fall upon yourselves ! '^ In this letter of the Dictator of England to the Princes of Switzerland in behalf of the suffering Waldenses, who were being hunted down and slain as the beasts of the field, he truly calls them the most ancient stock of pure religion. The Swiss ambassadors who were sent to examine the sit- 142 Tiie Ancient Waldenses. uation of the AValdenscs, report as follows : ^^ The inhab- itants of the vallevs did not hold, bv the Jones' Ch. His., . i* j.i •* td • ^\ ^^\ \ j. ,,.-, ' concessions oi their Frinces, the liberty to p. ■iSyi. . , , ... exercise in public their religion ; because it was established in this country above eight centuries ago; and that they enjoyed this right kng before they were the subjects of his royal highness' ancestors, inso- much that, having never been of the same religion as their Prince, it could not be said that they had abandoned it, nor he oblige them to return to it." This carries the history of the Waldenses in the valleys back to a period long before the time of Peter Waldo ; and it further shows that they were never of the same re- ligion as the Catholics, In regard to the origin of the Waldenses, Orchard says : ^'The orthodoxy of the Xovatian party, with the influ- ence of some of their ministers, is sup- ^^_L ?f ' '^'' posed to have procured some mitio-ation of pp. 0/, 08. ^ ^ , .* the law. Constantine's oppressive meas- ures prompted many to leave the scene of sufferings, and retire into more sequestered spots. Claudius Seyssel, the popish archbishop, traces the rise of the Waldenseaii heresy to a pastor named Leo, leaving Rome at this period for the valleys.'' The Novatians were persecuted by Constantine, the first to unite church and state; and numbers of these persecuted Xovatians left Italy for the valleys of Pied- mont at different times from about the year 325 to 425 ; and these wandering Xovatians were in after times called Waldenses. It then appears that the Waldenses sprang from the Xovatians who fled from Italy in the fourth century. Again, Mr. Orchard says, upon this subject, that : " Echbertus and Emericus^ tAVO avowedly and bitter ene- Origin of the Waldenses. 143 lilies of the Waldenses, do assert, that the Orch. Bapt. His.y new Puritans (Waldenses) do conform to '^^^ ^? P- ^58. the doctrines and manner of the old Puritans {i. e., the Novatians)/^ This shows, by the acknowledgment of Pedobaptists themselves, that the AValdenses descended from the Novatians. And Orchard fixes the time of the general dispersion or flight of the Novatians at the year 413. These early Waldenses were frequently called Pa- terines, but we prefer using the term Waldenses, to avoid the confusion arising from the use of so many names. Again, Mr. Orchard says, speaking of the persecutions against the Waldenses by the emperors Theodosius and Honorius, that: " The edict was probably obtained by the influence of Augustine, who could endure no rival, nor would he bear with any who '^!' ^^^ ' ^'^ questioned the virtue of his rites, or the sanctity of his brethren, or the soundness of the Catholic creed ; and these points being disputed by the Novatian- ists and Donatists, two powerful and extensive bodies of dissidents in Italy and Africa, they were consequently made to feel the weight of his influence. These combined modes of oppression led the faithful to abandon the cities and seek retreats in the country, which they did, particu- larly in the valleys of Piedmont, the inhabitants of whicli began to be called W^aldenses." The laws of the fourth Lateran council, with the edicts of the emperors of the East and West, were leveled against the Novatians and Donatists, condemning all the re-baptized and the re-hap- tizers to suffer death. This caused many of them to flee into the wilderness, to the valleys prepared for their recep- tion ; where they soon acquired the name of the Waldenses. Thus we have the connection clearly made out between 144 Tlie Ancient Woildenses. the ancient Waldenses and the Novatians. AYe will now introduce the testimony of the learned editor of the En- cyclopedia of Religious knowledge. He remarks that : ^^It seems to be a serious mistake, into ReUqious Encyc, i • i i ., ■■ r. ^^ ^;._ -^ ' which some popular writers have lallen, p. 114v. ^ ^ . . ^ wdio represent the Waldenses as originat- ino; in France about the year 1170, and derivins; their name from the celebrated Peter Waldo. The evidence is now ample, that so far from being a new sect at that period, they had existed under various names, as a dis- tinct class of dissenters from the established churches of Greece and Rome in the earliest ages. It is an egregious error to suppose that when Christianity was taken into alliance with the state, by the Emperor Constantine, in the beginning of the fourth century, all the orthodox churches were so ignorant of the genius of their religion as to consent to the corruption of a worldly establishment.'^ This author traces the Waklenses back through the No- vatians to the apostolic age, or "earliest ages.'^ This takes our history back prior to the time of the adulterous union of church and state by Constantine; and shows clearly that the Waldenses were in existence under vari- ous names up to the times of the apostles. Crantz, in his history, dates the origin of the Waldenses in the beginning of the fourth century, at which time some of the Novatians settled in the valleys. Again, it is said by Mr. Brown, the editor of the Encyclopedia, that : " The Cathari, or Puritan churches of the No- Rdigious Encyc., ^.^.:^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ that very period, (about A. D. 325) been flourishing as a distinct communion for more than seventy years all over the empire; maintaining, by the acknowledgment even of 'Origin of the V/aldenses. 145 their enemies^ the self-styled Catholics, the inlegrity of the true faith, together with the purity of discipline and the power of godliness which had generally disappeared from the Catholic churches. These Puritans being ex- posed to severe and sanguinary persecutions for dissent, from age to age, were compelled to shelter themselves from the desolating storm in retirement ; and when, at intervals, fcliey re-appear on the page of cotemporary history, and their principles are propagated wdth new boldness and success, they are styled a new sect, and receive a new name, though, in reality, they are the same people." This shows that the same people called Novatians in Rome and Italy, were called Waldenses in the valleys of Piedmont ; and also by a variety of other names in different ages and countries. Saccho, the inquisitor, admits that the Wal- denses flourished five hundred years before the time of Waldo. The Waldenses themselves claim that: "Their doctrine and discipline had been preserved in all its purity and efficacy from the days Vfls"^ ^^<^(^-> of the primitive martyrs, in Spain, France, Germany, Italy, and especially in the valleys of Pied- mont." Here the suffering Waldenses claim an existence from the time of the "primitive martyrs," or the apostolic dge. In fact, the historic connection between the Waldenses jind the Novatians, their ancestors, is so strongly devel- oped that we can trace the emigration of a whole Xovatian church from Milan into the valleys of Piedmont, where they were afterward called Waldenses. It is stated in the Encyclopedia, that : " The learned Dr. Allix, in his ^ His- tory of the Churches of Piedmont,' gives EeHgious Encyc. iiis account: 'That, for three hundred p. 114S. 14G The Ancient Waldenses. years or niore. the Bishop of Rome attempted to subjugate tlie Church of Milan under his jurisdiction; and at last the interest of Rome grew too potent for the Church of Milan, planted by one of the disciples ; insomuch that the bishop and people, rather than own their jurisdiction, retired to the valleys of Lucerne and Angrogna, and thence were called Vallences, WaUenseSj or the 2')eoplG of the val- leys.'' " Thus, as it was in the planting of the early churches in America, so with those of the valleys of Pied- mont — a whole church emigrated together, bearing those eternal principles which lighted up the Alpine valleys for twelve hundred and sixty years. Edwards contends that the Waldenses were the true Church which fled into the wilderness from the face of the Apocalyptical Dragon, as described in the twelfth chapter of Revelations. We have the most overwhelming proof that the ancient Waldenses descended from the Novatian churches which bore testi- mony against the corruptions of the so-called Catholic party in the third, fourth, and fifth centuries. It has been erroneously supposed that Claudius of Turin was the founder of the Waldensean churches. On this point, the ^^ American Sunday School Union" remarks: "Although we have stated, in the former Z'!*^ ^ ^l^ ' ' chapter, that Claudius of Turin has been styled the founder of the Waldensean churches, their origin is to be traced to a period still more remote. Leger begins his history of the Churches of the Vaudois by a declaration that, ^they never required any reformation.^ For the first four or five centuries, the whole of what is termed the diocese of the north of Italy, of which the Waldenses formed a part, remained com- paratively pure.'^ Yes; it is a historic fact that the an- Origin of the Waldenses. 147 cient Waldenses were not reformers, in the modern accept- ation of that term. We all need to reform and amend onr lives, as individuals ; but Jesus Christ did not establish his Church on such a sandy foundation as to need the aid of human wisdom to reform it. The Waldenses, instead of claiming to be a reformation from Popery, claim to be the bride of Christ, which fled into the wilderness from the face of the dragon. Mr. Eobinson, the historian, says : " Let it not seem romantic if we suppose that [the] Waldenses, who, we " " *' know, studied the Revelation of John, thought themselves directed to retire by God himself to sequestered places ; for, by the New Testament prophet, he had said : ^The woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and three-score days.' '^ If the Waldenses had sprung either from Waldo or the Catholics, they mu^t have known it. But they boldly claim to be more ancient than the Catholics — the descend- ants of the apostolic churches. And this is claimed for them by Monastier, the historian. He claims that : " The Vaudois Church is a link that unites ,1 r^-i T 1 I, 1 n X xi Monastier^ s His. them [the evangelical churches] to the y , ^, ^ primitive church. By means of it, they establish the anterior existence of their constitution, doc- trine, and worship, to that of the papistical idolatries and errors.'^ Dr. Alexis Muston bears testimony, as follows : " Thf Vaud(^is (Waldenses) of the Alps are, in • •,. r^\ • ,' • 1 -J. The Israel of the our view, primitive Christians, or inherit- , , ^ -' ... Alps, p. 1. ors of the primitive church, who have been preserved in these valleys from the alterations successively 148 The Arxlent IVaUenses. introduced by the Church of Rome into the evangelical worship. It is not they who separated from Catholicism ; but Catholicism which separated from them, in modifying the primitive worship." And Mr. Jones says that : '' Reinerius Saccho, an in- quisitor, and one of their most implacable Jones Ch. Jdis., • i t i i • i j. ri. 2„^ ' enemies, who iived only eighty years alter Waldo, admits that the Waldenses flour- ished five hundred years before that preacher." It is customary for modern writers to call the Wal- denses Protestants, which is a misnomer. The term Pro- testants was applied to the refoi-mers of the sixteenth century, who protested against the corruptions of Rome, and forsook her communion. It is, therefore, wrong to give the name Protestants to those who were never con- nected in any way with the Catholic Church. On this subject. Dr. Symmons remarks : ^^ I call 0-- ' *' them, as they are called in these official p. 3iO, note. . ^ -^ dispatches, by the generally-known name of Protestants ; but the dissenters from the Papal Church, who occupied the valleys of Piedmont, had neither con- nection nor a common origin with those who were properly called Protestants from one of the first acts of their asso- ciation in Germany. The lYaldenses asserted a much more ancient p'^digree, and assumed to be of the old Roman Church before it was corrupted by the papa] innovations." Again ; the apostolic origin of the Waldenses is dis- tinctly stated, as maintained by themselves, by Com- menius, who published the Discipline of the Churches of Bohemia in 1644. In the year 1457, a company of the Bohemian Hussites separated themselves from the Calix- Origin of the Waldenses. 149 tines ; and in order to procure a regular ministry they sent three of their pastors to the regular Waldenses tcj obtain ordination. And they received instruction and ordination from Stephen, a Waldensean pastor, assisted by other ministers. In his report of this affair, Comraenius says : " Where- upon all those who were yet left of Huss^ followers, beino- inflamed with a divine „/";^ ^ 'oJf ^ ^ ; Piedmont, p. 364. zeal, took courage, and separating them- selves from the Calixtines, or pretended Hussites, in the year 1457, they happily set up distinct meetings in several places, supported only by the Divine assistance, as also a distinct consistory ; for, a little before those times, some part of the Waldenses being driven out of France, came and settled themselves in the confines of Austria, with one or two of their Bishojjs, to whom these Bohemians sent deputies, who declared to them their intention ; de- siring their counsel, and a Christian union with them : the Waldenses, on the other hand, commending their pur- pose, advised them, that if they desired to have those as- semblies that embraced the pure doctrine of the Gospel to be preserved from being dissipated, they ought to take care never to want faithful pastors. Wherefore that they ought not to expect ^ til some who had their ordination from Kome should, by their love to truth, be brought over to them, who might ordain pastors for them, but rather ordain them themselves, as occasion should offer. And forasmuch as the said Waldenses declared that they had lawful Bishops among them, and a lawful and uniri^ terrupted succession from the apostles themselves, they very solemnly created three of our ministers bishops, conferring upon them the power of ordaining ministers, though they 150 Tlie J.nc:ent Waldeizses. did not think fit to take upon them the name of bishops, beeause of the anti-christian abuse of that name, contenting themselves with the name of elder s^ Thus we see that the ancient AYaldenses claimed a LAWFUL AND UXINTEREUPTED SUCCESSION FROM THE APOSTLES THEMSELVES. How Contemptible the sectarian hate that would originate the Waldenses with Rome ! and thereby accuse them of falsehood in claiming an apostolic origin. In answer to the charge of some, that they originated with Peter Waldo, Dr. Allix remarks : ^' Wherefore that I may, once for all, clear this matter, I AlUx's Clis. of Piedmont, p. 19 ^ say, first, that it is absolutely false, that these churches were ever founded by Pe- ter Waldo. Let them show us any author of that time who asserts that Peter Waldo ever preached in the dio- cese of Italy, or that he founded any church there. Let them produce any sure tradition of that people referring the original of their churches to Peter Waldo. Those who wrote at that time do not tell us anything like this, no more than they who lived after. W^herefore we must needs conclude it a pure forgery to look upon Waldo as the person who first brought the Reformation into Italy we now find there. I own, indeed, that Peter Waldo's taking care to have the Holy Scriptures translated into the vulgar tongue, the churches of Italy reaped much benefit from that version, whereof we have to this day some old copies in the library of the University of Cambridge. But this does not, in the least, infer that Waldo ought to be considered as the founder of them. I say, further, that by the acknowledgment of the enemies themselves of the Waldenses, it is absolutely false that these churches are of Origin of the Waldenses. 151 no older standing than Peter Waldo. For this we have the confession of Reinerius, an inquisitor, ^Yho lived before the middle of the thirteenth century. He ingenuously ac- knowledgeth ' that the heresy he calls Vaudois, or poor people nf Lyons, was of great antiquity. Among all sects/ sayeth he (chap. 4), ' that either are, or have been, there is none more dangerous to the Church than that of the Leonists, and that for three reasons : The first is, because it is the sect that is of the longest standing of any ; for some say it hath been continued down ever since the time of Pope Sylvester, and others, ever since that of the apostles. The second is, because it is the most general of all sects ; for scarcely is there any country to be found where this sect hath not spread itself.' '^ Once more, the Waldensean claim to apostolic origin is found in the preface of their' translation of the Bible, as given by D'Anvers, as follows : " In the preface to the French Bible, and the first ,. *^^^^^^^^ ^P' } . ' twn, p. 341. 'that ever was printed, they say that they have always had the full enjoyment of that heavenly truth contained in the Holy Scriptures, ever since they were en- riched with the same by the apostles themselves, having, in fair manuscripts, preserved the entire Bible in their native tongue, from generation to generation. — Mori. Hist, p. 14.^' In this Waldensean record we have two very important historic facts stated : first, that the Waldenses claimed a regular succession from the apostles ; and second, that they preserved the entire Bible, in manuscripts, all the time from the apostolic age. What now becomes of the pre- sumptuous claim of Komanists, that if it had not been for tliem the Bible would have been lost? 152 The Ancient Waldenses. Starting in America, in the year 1870, we have followed the chain of Baptist history back through the persecu- tions endured by them in Virginia and Massachusetts, to the planting of the American colonies; and from the shores of America we have traced the same chain unbro- ken, across the waves of the mighty Atlantic, to England and Wales, where our fathers bore noble testimony to Bap- tist principles under the bloody reigns of the British mon- archs who swayed the scepters of both church and state ; and from thence we have followed the same chain of suc- cession to Holland, where Richard Blunt received baptism from the pastor of a church whose descent was from the ancient Waldenses ; and still following up this succession, from the Netherlands back into Germany, beyond the dawn of the Reformation of the sixteenth century, where the ancient Waldensean Baptists were found all alone battling, with Spartan valor, against the over-mastering tide of Popish usurpations ; and, still ascending the same historic stream, we reach the poetic valleys of Piedmont, where the altar-fires of our holy religion burned with un- dimmed luster during the dreary period of twelve hun- dred and sixty prophetic days. Surrounded by these mountain bulwarks, these faithful witnesses of Jesus raised their songs of high-sounding praises to their Redeemer, and preached in rustic strains that same glad-tiding which was announced by the angels to the affrighted shepherds of Bethlehem's plains. And from these soul-enrapturing scenes in the Alpine valleys, we have still ascended within the very shadow of the apostolic age, back to the classic ground of Roman elo- quence where the Novatians raised the standard of pro- test and bore aloft the banner of Jesus Christ against the Origin of the Waldcnses. 153 usurpations of the rising Papacy. Here we behold the stern and unyielding Novatians^ who are the real ances- tors of the Baptists, clothed in the heavenly armor and battling against the heathen world long before the haughty pontiff of Rome had usurped the seat and authority of Almighty God, and hurled his thundering anathemas from the seven-hilled city against the trembling nations of earth. Here, I say, we find ourselves connected, by the chain of historic succession, to the ancient Novatians who boldly resisted the advances of Antichrist toward the dominion of the world. But shall we stop here, without learning the origin of the Baptists? No; let us penetrate into the still more '^remote depths of antiquity,'^ until we shall reach the fountain-head of this healing stream, which has watered the earth for more than eighteen hundred years. But wdiere did the Novatians originate? The answer is found in the next chapter. lo4 The J\lova:iai:s. CHAPTER YII. THE NOVATIANS. 1. The Churches called "Novatiax Churches" did noi Originate with Novatian. "l The Origix of the Novatiaks. Sectiox I. — The churches called " xoyatian CHURCHES ^^ DID NOT ORIGINATE WITH XOVATIAX^ "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that clay sliall not come, exceut there come a fallino; 2 Thess. 2:3. ^ ' ^ ,. . , away iirst, and that man oi sm be re- vealed, the son of perdition." The mystery of iniquity had begun his work of death even in the time of Paul's ministry. Corruptions were introduced into the early churches at a very early period. This was in fulfillment of predictions of Christ and the apostles, that false prophets should arise and deceive many, and, if possible, deceive the very elect. And that grievous wolves will appear among the flock, or Church of Christ, and that even church members would arise speak- ing perverse things to draw disciples after them. Histo- rians and theologians have been accustomed to appeal to the practice of the Christians of the second and third cen- turies, as of almost equal authority with the word of God itself. This is the fatal mistake which has aided to inun- date the world with Catholic superstitions. Concerning the records of the ancient church, the learned Isaac Taylor says : " If at any time, or if in any particular instance, the J^ovatian not the Founder of the J\lovatia:is. 155 authority of the ancient church is to be , ,, T 1 1 .1 1 Tcailor's Ancient urged upon the modern church, then surely ^,, , . . _ there is a pertinence in turning to the apostolic prophesies of perversions, corruptions, apostacies, quickly to spring within the sacred inclosure itself, which meet us at the threshold, and seem to bring us under a most solemn obligation to look to it, lest, amid the fervors of an indiscriminate reverence, we seize for imitation the very things which the apostles foresaw and forewarned the church of as fatal errors.''' This timely warning of this eminent author points out to us the danger- of em- bracing errors because of their antiquity. While the flood of corruptions was pouring upon the ancient churches, and many were being overwhelmed by it, God had faith- ful witnesses all the time to withstand this tide of error, and contend earnestly for the faith delivered to the saints. And prominently among these witnesses the No- vatians appear, bearing their unflinching testimon}^ for Christ. As to Novatian himself, he is so fearfully mis- represented by his enemies that it is somewhat difficult to give a correct account of him. He was a presbyter, or elder, in the church at Rome before the rise of the Roman Catholic Church. Cornelius, the rival and implacable enemy of Novatian, was elected bishop, or pastor, of the church at Rome in the year two hundred and fifty-one. He represents Novatian as having been " baptized in his sick bed, by aspersion.'' However this may be, it does •not affect the standing of the Novatian churches, for it will be seen that the Novatians did not receive their orio;in or baptism from Novatian. All candid historians admit that Novatian was grossly misrepresented by Cornelius. Novatian was a man eminent for stern piety, learning and 156 The Uovatians. eloquence. Dupln^ tlie Catholic historian, says of him : 7 7T7 1 " -'-^^^^ author has abundance of wit, knowl- * edge and eloquence ; his style is pure, clean, and polite ; his expressions choice, his thoughts natural, and his way of reasoning just: he is full of citations of texts of Scripture that are always to the purpose: and be- sides, there is a great deal of order and method in those treatises of his we now have ; and he never speaks but with a world of candor and moderation." Robinson, the historian, says: "The history of Novatian is long, and, like that of all others in his condition, ' ' " * beclouded with fables and slander. The character of the man ought no more to be taken from Cyprian than his ought from the Pagans, who, by pun- ning on his name, called him Coprian, or the Scavenger. The case, in brief, was this : Novatian was an elder in the church at Rome. He was a man of extensive learn- ing, and held the same doctrine as the church did, and published several treatises in defense of what he believed. His address was eloquent and insinuating, and his morals were irreproachable. He saw, with extreme pain, the in- tolerable depravity of the church. Christians, within the space of a very few years, were caressed by one emperor, and persecuted by another. In seasons of prosperity, many rushed into the church for base purposes. In times of ad- versity they denied the faith and ran back to idolatry again. When the squall was over, away they came again to the church, with all their vices, to deprave others by their example. The bishops, fond of proselytes, encour- aged all this, and transferred the attention of Christians from the old confederacy for virtue, to vain shows at Easter, and a thousand other Jewish ceremonies, adulter- j^ovatian not the Founder of the js cvatians. 157 ated, too, witli paganism. On the cleatli of Bishop Fa- bian, Cornelius, a brother elder, and a vehement partisan for taking in the multitude, was put in nomination. No- vatian opposed him ; but as Cornelius carried his election, and he saw no prospect of reformation, but, on the con- trary, a tide of immorality pouring into the church, he withdrew, and a great many with him. Cornelius, irri- tated by Cyprian, who was just in the same condition, through the remonstrances of virtuous men at Carthage, and who was exasperated beyond measure with one of his elders named Novatus, who had quitted Carthage and had gone to Eome to espouse the cause of Novatian, called a council, and got a sentence of excommunication passed against Novatian. In the end, Novatian formed a church and was elected bishop. Great ifumbers followed his ex- ample, and all over the empire Puritan churches were con- stituted, and flourished through the succeeding two hun- dred years. Afterward, when penal laws obliged them to lurk in corners, and worship God in private, they were distinguished by a variety of names, and a succession of them continued till the Eeformation." Thus we see that Noratian made a noble stand against the growing corruptions in the church at Rome, which resulted in the division of the church and the formation of another, over which Novatian was elected pastor. It ia not known that Novatian aided in the formation of any other church than this. He only organized, and was pas- tor of a church at Rome. Laxity of discipline, especially the reception of those who had lapsed into idolatry, had greatly disturbed the churches in the cities. And when Novatian made his stand for virtue and church dis- cipline, ^' great numbers Jollowed his ea:ample,and all over 158 Thd Uovatians. the empire Puritan churches were constituted,^^ So we dis- cover that Novatian had nothing more to do with the or- ganization of the Novatian churches throughout the em- pire than the force of example. And, as in all such cases, no doubt, when the line of separation was drawn, some churches sided with the popular party, while others were numbered with those called Novatian. And, as to the case of Novatian himself, his lack of baptism, if the charge be correct, would no more affect the succession of the No- vatians than the lack of baptism upon the part of a few "Baptist^' ministers who have received ^^ alien immer- sion." Again, Mr. Robinson says: "They say Novatian was the first anti-pope ; and yet there was, at „ . ^- that tune, no pope m the modern sense of the word. They call Novatian the author of the heresy of Puritanism ; yet they know Tertullian had quitted the church near fifty years before for the same reason, and Privatus, who was an old man in the time of Novatian, had, with several more, repeatedly remonstrated against the alterations taking place, and, as they could get no redress, had dissented and formed separate congre- gations. They tax Novatian with being the parent of an innumerable multitude of congregations of Puritans all over the empire; and yet he had no other influence over any, than what his good example gave him. People saw every-where the same cause of complaint, and groaned for relief, and when one man made a stand for virtue, the crisis had arrived — people saw the propriety of the cure, and applied the same means to their own relief.'^ Thus it is clearly made out that Novatian was not the founder of the churches called by hi§ name. Origin of the JVovatians. 159 Section II. — Oeigin of the novatians. We have already shown, upon good authority, that the Waldenses were descended from the Novatians, and ob- served the same faith and practice ; or, in other words, the same class of Christians who were called Novatians in Italy, were called Waldenses in the valleys of the Alps. As the modern denominations lay no claim to any his- toric connection with the Novatians, it will not require much labor to show their Baptist character and connec- tion with the apostolic churches. The Xovatian period extends from about the middle of the third century to the middle of the fifth — about two hundred years. It is not to be understood that the Novatians began and ended with these periods; but that the witnesses for Christ, in the Roman empire, were called Novatians during the period named. They did not call themselves Novatians at the first, but this name was given by their enemies as a term of reproach. What is termed by historians the Novatian rupture, did not take place on account of a difference in doctrine, so far as the church ordinances were concerned, but on ac- count of the growing corruptions in some of the churcheSj in consequence of the lax discipline in the reception of apostates. When historians use the term Catholic Church with reference to these times — about the third century — they have no allusion to what is now called the Roman Catho- lic Church ; for at that time no such church existed. But in the use of the term Catholic, they only intended to re- fer to the church in general. And it was this party, 160 Tjie Movatians. which chiiined to be the Catholic, orthodox, or general church, in the third century, that in after times grew to be the Romish Church. Concerning the cause which led to the division called the Novatian rupture, Mr. Orchard remarks : *^ When Decius came to the throne, in 249, he re- Orch. Ch. His., • i i j- x n • j.i IT 52 quired, by edicts, all persons m the em- pire to conform to Pagan worship. Forty years' toleration had greatly increased professors, and they w^ere found in every department of the govern- ment. They had been so long unaccustomed to trials, that the lives of manv were unsuited to sufferins:. Decius' edicts rent asunder the churches; multitudes apostatized, and many were martyred. In two years the trial abated, w^hen many apostates applied for restoration to Christian fellowship, and sanctioned their application by letters, w^ritten by some eminent Christians who had been mar- tyrs during the persecution. The flagrancy of some apos- tates occasioned an opposition to their re-admission.'' This slack discipline has been the curse of the churches, more or less, in every age. No church can prosper which has not vital action sufficient to throw off the corrupt or foreign matter. For some time before the " Novatian rup- ture " there had been a growing tendency in some churches toward ministerial usurpation ; and the leaven of the mys- tery of iniquity was at work, which finally produced Anti- christ in his full proportions. The time for the "falling away," spoken of by Paul, had now fully come. For it matters not which party is in the majority when a separa- tion occurs, it is always true that the party which departs from the faith \ms fallen away. It is generally admitted by hietorians, whether Catholio Origin of the Jsovatians. 161 or Protestant, that the Catholic party departed from the simplicity of the Gospel, at least in point of morals. And it appears that, previous to the separation, many persons had deplored the growing corruptions in some of the churches; and they hailed with delight the earliest oppor- tunity of bearing testimony for Christ by rejecting from their fellowship those individuals and churches which had departed from the simplicity of the faith. Gieseler, in his Ecclesiastical History, gives the follow- ing account of the Xovatians : " The Pres- byter Novatian, at Pome, was disaatisfied C'r -,"-0 ' '' with the choice of the Bishop Cornelius (A. D. 251), on account of his lenity toward the Lapsi. In the controversy which now ensued, Novatian, chiefly supported by the Presbyter Novatus, of Carthage, returned to the old principle, that those who had once fallen from the faith could in no case be received again. The church being divided by this schism, Novatian was chosen bishop by the one party in opposition to Cornelius. Though the other bishops, and especially Cyprian at Carthage, and Dionysius at Alexandria, were on the side of Cornelius, great numbers in all parts joined the stricter party.'' This very important testimony from Gieseler, the learned German historian, shows that, after the division of the church at Rome, Novatian was chosen pastor or bishop of. the stricter party; and wdien the division extended throughout the empire, ^^ great numbers in all parts joined the stricter party. ^^ And this establishes the fact that these great numbers in all parts did not originate with Novatian. But their origin is with the apostolic churches. And even the church in Rome, over Avhich Novatian was pastor, did not receive its baptism nor origin from him. But this 102 The JJovatians. church derived its origin from the original apostolic church at Rome to whom Paul addressed his letter to the Romans. In fact, the Kovatian party were that part of the original church at Rome, founded ])y tiie apostles, which preserved the purity of discipline and worship against the growing apostacy which sided with Cornelius. And this firm stand of the Xovatians at Rome for virtue, furnished an example for others. Orchard remarks that : " On account of the church's severity of ^? T ^ -- ^*' discipline, the example was followed by vrA. 7, p. oo. ^ ' ^ . •' many, and churches of this order flourished in the greatest part of those provinces which had received the Gospel. '^ Therefore, instead of Xovatian being the founder of this class of Christians, he only bore testimony, with others, in iavor of the purity of discipline which had been preserved from the time of the apostles. To show that Xovatian did not act alone in his early stand for virtue and truth, vre here insert a statement from Neander, as follows : "As his principles are so clearly to be explained from the sternness of his Christian character, Neand. His. Chr. i i - • • n • • j. R1 ii-Ch 14? ^ ^^ ^^'^'"^ actmg, m this instance, m the spirit of a whole party of the church existing at that time, there is the less need to resort to an explanation, deduced from an external cause, which is supported by no historical proof.'' This statement of Neander was made in refutation of the charge that Novatian received his principles from the Stoic philosophy. And it shows that, instead of his being the originator of these principles, he only acted in concert with Or:gi:i cf the Mov.ziianz. 103 "a whole jjarty of the church/^ which existed before the ^' Xovatian rupture/' And it is evident that if the Xovatians had no just claims to be regarded as the primitive church, they would not have /c., ^^^ third centurv, Avho, notwuthstandins; p. 8/ /. . " . . . . the representations of tlieir adversaries, have some just claims to be regarded as the pure, uncor- rupted, and apostolic Church of Christ. They called themselves Cathari — that is, the rmrc ; but they received their name of Novatians from their adversaries, after their distinguished leader Novatian, who, in the year 251, was ordained the pastor of a church in the city of Rome, which maintained no fellowship Avith the (so-called) Catholic party." This distinguished author alTirms that the Novatians have ^[just claims to be regarded as the pure, uncorrupted and apostolic Church of Christ,'^ This unites the Baptist history to the apostolic churches of Jesus Christ in the first century. After a thorough examination on this point. Orchard , the historian, makes the following statement concerning the Xovatians: "The. churches thus formed upon a pba of strict communion and rigid discipline, ^otl^%T^^'' «^<^ained the reproach of Puritans ; they were the oldest bod}^ of Christian churches Origin of the JVovatians. 1()0 of which wo li:ivo any ncoonnt; ami a succession of iJicmy ■\vc shall prove, has continiuMl to the jU'csont day. No- vatian's example had a powerful iiiHiienee, and Puritan churches rose in dill'erent parts in (piick succession. So early as 254, these dissenters are complained oi' as having infected France with their doctrines, wliich wiU aid us in the A.lbi!j:;ensean churches, where the same severity of dis- cipline is traced and i-eprobated.'^ Yes, no doubt, the JNovatians were descendants of, and formed part of, the oldest body of Christian churches, which were established by Christ, and the a])()stles. And Mr. Cramp, in his late history, lius the followiui;-: *' NVc may safely infer that they abstained from com])liance with the innovation, and that ^>^^^>'P^ J^'P ^^ ^ ' ///.s'., p. 59. tlie Novatian churches were what are now called Bai)tist churclies, adhering to the apostolic and primitive })raetice.'' Notwithstanding all the false and bitter charges of their > enemies, the proof is positive, that the Novatians, in every / element of church organization, were J>aptists, and dc- ^ scended from the primitive apostolic churches. It should be observed that the Donatists in Africa, in the fourth century, are generally admitted to be the same class of Christians with the Novatians. When the division oc(Mirred at Carthage, similar to that at Rome, that party which adhered to the purity of church discipline and primitive practice in the administration of the ordinances, were called Donatists. Cryspin, the French historian, affirms that they hold together in the following things: ^' First: For purity of church mem- D' Anvcrs on Bap» ' rjrs, by asserting that none ought to be tism, p. 223. 1G6 The J\ ovaiians. adiiiittecl into churches but such as were visibly true believers aud real saints. Secondly: For the purity of church discipline^ as the application of church-censures, and keeping out such as liad apostatized or scandalously sinned. Thirdly: They both agreed in asserting the power, rights, and privileges of particular churches, against anti-Christian encroachments of presbyters, bishops, and synods. Fourthly: That they baptized again those whose first baptism they had ground to doubt.^^ The foregoing, as found in D'Anvers on Baptism, ex- hibits the fact that the Donatists were but the Novatians of Africa. And although they were called by different names on different continents, yet they were one and the same class of Christians, who Avere the successors of the original churches that withstood the mighty flood of cor- ruptions which beat upon the Church of Christ in the third, fourth, and fifth centuries. And that the Novatians adhered to the primitive prin- ciples of the first century, is admitted by Mr. Vv^addington, in his History of the Church. In speaking of the Kova- tians, whom he dignifies with the title "Sectaries,^' he remarks : " And those rigid principles '^„^'' ''^7 0/ ^ie which had characterized and sanctified Church, P- '0. the church m the first century were aban- doned to the profession of schismatic sectaries in the third.^' This very important statement of George Waddington, the learned Episcopal historian, establishes t^vo import- ant points : 1. That the Xovatians, called Sectaries by their ene- Origin of the jNovaiiciiis. 167 mies, PRESERVED THOSE RIGID PRIXCIPEES WHICH HAD CHARACTERIZED AND SANCTIFIED THE ChURCH IN THE FIRST CENTURY.^^ 2. That tlie Catholic, or orthodox party, "abandoned '^ THESE PRINCIPLES "TO THE PROFESSION OF SCHISMATIC SECTARIES IN THE THIRD '^ CENTURY. Therefore, as the Catholics, or orthodox, were the party which abandoned the primitive principles of Christianity, they were undoubtedly the party that fell away or aposta- tized from the truth. But, on the other hand, as the Novatians were the party which maintained the primitive principles of Christianity, they must be regarded as the original Church, in spite of the pompous pretentions of the so-called Catholics. While it is an admitted fact that the term Novatians, which was applied to the early witnesses for Christ, was derived from Novatian, yet it is not true that he was their founder, or that the church of which he was pastor was the first church in the separation from the popular religion. There were other churches before this, inde- pendent of the so-called orthodox, which l^ore the same testimony for original principles. I here call attention to a statement from Robinson, in- troduced in the former section, as follows: "They say Novatian was the first anti-pope; and yet there was, at that time, no pope in the ^^^•^^_^^^'^^- ^^-» modern sense of the word. They call Novatian the author of the heresy of Puritanism ; and yet they know that Tertullian had quitted the church near fifty years before for the same reason ; and Privatus, wlio was an old man in the time of Novatian, had, with several more, repeatedly remonstrated against the alterations tal^- 168 The J\"ova'ians. ing place, and as they could get no redress, had dissented, and formed separate congregations. They tax Novatian ^vitli being parent of an innumerable multitude of con- gregations of Puritans all over the empire ; and yet he had no other influence over any than what his good ex- ample gave him. People saw every-where the same cause of complaint, and groaned for relief; and when one man made a stand for virtue, the crisis had arrived — people saw the propriety of the cure, and applied the same means to their own relief.^^ Thus we discover that even before the time of Xova- tian, there existed " separate congregations '^ which bore testimony against the corruptions of the popular party. It is a fact, conceded by all historians, that the primitive churches, with few exceptions, down to the time of Xova- tian, preserved the church ordinances as they were .origi- nally delivered by inspiration. The corruptions had respect mainly to the lax discip- line which prevailed, especially in the city churches. In other words, all parties acknowledge that the main body of the early churches, prior to the middle of the third century, were true churches of Christ, and that they had their origin from Christ and the apostles. And as it has been fully shown, upon good authority, that the Nova- tians had their origin from these primitive churches, there- fore their succession reaches back through the primitive churches to Christ and the apostles. In regard to these early Baptist churches, IMr. Robin- son remarks, that " during the first three centuries, Chris- tian congregations, all over the East, sub- i?o&.'s Eccl. Res., - , ^ - i. - ^ ixir ^5 sisted m separate, mdepentlent bodies, un- supported by Government, and conse- Origin of the JVovaiians. 169 quently without any secular power over one another. All this time they were baptized ~ [Baptist] churches, and though all the fathers of the first four ages down to Jerome were of Greece, Syria, and Africa; and though they give great numbers of histories of the baptism of adults, yet there is not one record of the baptism of a child till the year 370, when Galates, the dying son of the Emperor Valens, was baptized, by order of a monarch who swore he would not be contradicted.'^ It was the custom of the old English writers to use the word baptized where we use the word baptist,- So we have the historic fact, stated in the foregoing, that these early churches were Baptist churches. ^ From the shores of America we have followed the foot- prints of the Baptist denomination back through England, Holland, and Germany, to the valleys of Piedmont, and thence to Italy and the land of Judea, in the apostolic age. In all our examinations we find no flaw or break in the chain of our denominational succession. But it is admitted that our ancestors were called by different names in different ages of the world. We now find ourselves connected Avith the primitive churches of the first and second centuries. And it is admitted by all that these churches bore the apostolic character. They were mod- eled after the original Church founded by Christ himself at Jerusalem. In making out the chain of our succession, we have not embraced all, in different parts, who bore the Baptist character; but we only designed to present the most direct line of our connection with the apostolic churches with- out the introduction of a great many names. Thus we have reached 4he fountain-head of that mighty 170 The J^ovatians, stream of Scriptural churclies flowing down from Jerusa- lem through the desert gloom of more than eighteen cen- turies, and watering the famishing world with the pure Gospel of the River of Life. Here is found the light-house of the world, erected upon the Rock of Eternal Ages, cast- ing its beams of heavenly light far over the stormy seas, while gross darkness enveloped the world, and the multi- tudes were wondering after the Beast. Notwithstanding we have traced our denominational line of succession di- rectly up to the apostolical age, yet this would avail us nothing if we are found destitute of the peculiar charac- teristics which distinguished the apostolic churches. We will, therefore, proceed in our next to examine the Bajp- tist peculiarities by the light of the New Testament and the practice of the apostolic churches. . (Baptist Succession. 171 CHAPTER YIIL BAPTIST PECULIAEITY FIRST— JESUS THE FOUNDER AND HEAD. 1. Peculiarity first Tested by the Bible, 2. Peculiarity first Identified in present Baptist teaching. Section I. — Baptist peculiarity first tested by THE BIBLE. From the shores of America we have followed the foot- prints of the Baptist denomination back through England, Holland, Germany, the valleys of Piedmont, and Italy, up to the land of Judea, in the apostolic age. We have found our denominational chain of succession unbroken, though the same people were at different times called by different names. \ye have now reached the fountain-head of that mighty stream of Scriptural churches flowing down from Jerusalem through the desert gloom of more than eighteen centuries, and watering the famishing world with the pure Gospel of the River of Life. Here may be found the establishment of the Church — the light-house of the world — erected upon the Rock of Eternal Ages, and cast- ing its beams of heavenly light far over the stormy seas of moral darkness, Avhile the multitudes of mankind were enveloped in darkness. Notwithstanding we have traced our denominationaJ line of succession directly up to the apostolic age, yet this would avail us nothing if we are found destitute uf those peculiar characteristics which distinguished the early 172 Jesus the Founder a::d Head: churches. In chapter first, we laid down seven Baptist pcciiUa}' characteristics which now distinguish them from all the parties of Christendom. We now proceed to ex- amine tliese peculiarities, one by one, by the light of In- spiration, to see if they are sustained by the word of God and examples of the apostolic churches. It was remarked in the outset that no denomination, except the Baptist claims Jesus Christ, in person, as their founder and head. Other denominations look to uninspired men for their ori- gin. Does the Bible sustain the Baptist doctrine that Jesus Christ himself established his own church ? To the law and testimony : The Lord spoke by the mouth of Daniel the prophet, and said : " And in the days of these kings ^ shall the God of heaven set up a kinsfdom, which shall never be destroyed : and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.^' It is generally admitted that this prophecy points to Jesus Christ, who is the God of heaven who was manifested in the flesh. If this be correct, and it can not be reasonably doubted, then it was declared by the prophet, that Jesus Christ, the God of heaven, should set up the everlasting hingdora. Does this mean that Abra- ham should set up the kingdom? that Moses should set it up? that John the Baptist should set it up? that Peter, or all the apostles together^ should set it up ? Xo ; this work was deleofated neither to ano-els nor men. It was peculiarly the work of the God of heaven. Some assume the position that the God of heaven established his king- dom on earth by proxy — by human agents — as the God of heaven built the temple by Solomon, and wrote the Bible by inspired men. Bat it must be remembered, that Tested by. the (Bible. 173 when God performed these great works through human agents, those agents were especially appointed by God himself to perform their several labors. No one but Sol- omon was divinely authorized to erect the first temple, which was a type of the Church of Christ. It w^ould have been rebellion for any one else to have assumed to Uimself the right to build the temple. Even David, the highly favored king of Israel, dared not enter upon this work without divine permission. He earnestly desired to build the house of the Lord, but he would not lay one stone toward this work without the heavenly commission. Those who wrote the Scriptures were moved to this work by the Holy Spirit. And in the Gospel dispensation, when John the harbinger baptized the penitent Jews, ho could point to his commission from heaven, and say : "He that sent me to baptize with water.'' Neither did the apostles assume to themselves the apostleship without the divine appointment; they were chosen and ordained by Jesus Christ. But where is the commission authorizins: either angels or men to set up the kingdom of God ? It can not be found. In the vision of Nebuchadnezzar, the kingdom of God was symbolized by the stone which " was cut out without hands." This could not have been the case if God had delegated human agents to set up the kingdom. It is true that men .were appointed to perform certain duties in connection with the establishment of the kingdom, but they were not appointed to set it up. John the Baptist was sent " to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.'' John did not set up the kingdom. He simply prepared materials from which Jesus gathered the first members of the kingdom. When was the king- 174 Jesus the Founder and Head: clom set up ? We answer, that the setting up of the king- dom, with its laws and ordinances, was not an instanta- neous, but a gradual work. John preached the Gospel and prepared materials for the setting up of the kingdom, but Jesus Christ, soon after his ow^n baptism in the river Jordan, chose the twelve apostles who were the first mem- bers of the organization known as the church or king- dom of God. When John beheld the triumphant church as the bride, the Lamb's wife, under the symbol of the great city de- scending out of heaven from God, he saw " the names of the tw^elve apostles of the Lamb" in the twelve foundation stones. This shows clearly that the twelve apostles were the first or foundation mem- bers of the Church of God. A kingdom or church must, of necessity, have a king to rule over it, subjects to be ruled, and laws to be obeyed. Jesus Christ himself is the king, from everlasting to everlasting. The absurd idea of the coronation of Jesus on the day of Pentecost, is false and ridiculous. He possessed kingly glory with the Father before the world was ; he was born King of the Jews ; he was the ^' King of Israel " when Kathaniel met him ; and he declared him- self to be a king at the bar of Pilate. It is a settled r. r.„ point that Jesus Christ was king while on John 18 : 37. -^ , , ^ , , „ ^ , ^ ^ earth, before the day oi Pentecost. And the king had subjects to be governed as soon as the apostles left all and followed him. The seventy disciples were soon added to the twelve, and the subjects of the king contin- ued to increase during his ministry. But when were the laws delivered for the government of the kingdom ? As Moses came down and delivered the laws to govern na- Tested by the (Bible. 17£ tional Israel, after he had fasted forty days on the Mount, so Jesus Christ, after he had fasted forty days during hig temptation in the wilderness, began to deliver the laws for the government of his kingdom. The Savior continued to deliver these laws till the night of his betrayal. After the Lord^s Supper was instituted, then Jesus de- livered the kingdom, as a complete organization, to the disciples in the following words : ^^And I appoint unto vou a kingdom, as my Father hath ap- ^ , „^ ^^ ^^ • . ^ , ° ' ^,{ ^ \ LuJx22: 29,30. pomted unto me; that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." While Jesus Christ the king was personally present with the church, he trans- acted the business of the kingdom ; but he was now about to depart to the Father, and he delivered to his disciples the kingdom, or the authority to execute the laws of the kingdom in the absence of the King. In the same night, in his dedication prayer, the Savior said : ^^ I have finished the work which thou gravest me to do." The ^ , ^ , ^ . . 1 T John 17 : 4. settmg up 01 the kingdom was the work as- signed by the Father to Jesus Christ; and as he declared that his work was finished, we must conclude that he had completed the setting up of his kingdom. This position is fully illustrated in the building of Solomon's Temple, which was a type of the Church of Christ. Solomon's Temple was built of stones and timbers prepared in the quarry and forests of Lebanon. Solomon did not bring rough materials and place them in the building in order to prepare them, as is done by modern workmen ; but each stone and timber was first prepared for its place, and then placed in the temple, and the building progressed to com- pletion without the sound of a hammer. The temple was 176 Jesus the Fovmder and Head: complete, in all of its parts, before it was publicly dedicated to the service of God by prayer and the application of sacrificial blood ; likewise the Church of Christ Avas a com- plete organization, all of its laws and ordinances had been delivered, before it was publicly dedicated by the prayer of Jesus, recorded in the 17th of John, and the applica- tion of his own blood which was shed upon the tree of the Cross. The injunction requiring the apostles to tarry at Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high, had no reference to the setting up of the kingdom, but to the power to speak with tongues and remember all the previous teaching of the Savior. The Baptist position, that Jesus Christ was the founder of his own church, is supported by the language of the Savior himself, as follows : " And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon ^r ,. ^n -,0 "fcl^is rock I will build my church: and the Matt. 16: 18. ^ 1 n 1 n ' .1 . . ,, gates 01 hell shall not prevail against it." Did the Savior mean that Peter would build his church ? that Luther would build his church ? that Calvin would build his church? that John Wesley would build his church or that Alexander Campbell would build his church? No. He declared, Iioill build my church; and a church or kingdom built by any one else is not the kingdom of Christ. As already remarked, the establishment of the church as a complete organization was a gradual work from the calling of the apostles to the establishment of the Lord's Supper. This work had been begun before the Savior said, upon this rock will I build my church ; and he went forward to complete and establish his church upon himself as the only foundation which is able to support his kingdom. The Baptist position has been fully sus- tained, that Jesus Christ is the founder of his own church, Tested by the (Bible. 177 and that it Avas set up during his personal ministry on earth. The Savior said : " The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom ^ , ,^ ,^ ^ Lukel^: 16. 01 (jrod IS preached, and every man presseth into it." This passage alone ought to silence every ob- jector who denies that the kingdom was set up before Pentecost. The Savior began his work while John was living, and men pressed into the kingdom before the day of Pentecost. For the further discussion of the setting up of the kingdom, the reader is referred to the second chapter of my Text-Book on Campbellism. Again, are the Baptists right in claiming Jesus Christ as the only head of the church? In ancient times the Baptists were called, by way of derision, the Acephali — the headless — because they acknowledged no human head. That Jesus Christ should be recognized as the head of his disciples, as their great teacher, Avas established by the voice of the Father when speaking in the hearing of the affrighted disciples on the mount of transfiguration; he said : " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased ; hear ye him." Any society which ap- peals to any other authority than that of Jesus Christ, in cases of discipline, does not recognize him as its head and law-giver. The same position is affirmed by the apostle Paul, when he declares that God "hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head j^ j . ^c) over all things to the church, which is his • • , ^• body, the fullness in him which filleth all in all." And again, the same apostle says: "But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ : from whom • • ' • the whole- body fitly joined together, and compacted by 178 Jesiis the ^ Founder and Head: that which every joint suj^plieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.^' Once more, waiting to the Cohjssians, Paul affirms that ^' Jesus Christ is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; that in all things he might have the pre-eminence.^' From the foregoing, and many similar passages, it is abundantly proved that Jesus Christ alone is to be regarded as the founder and head of his own kingdom. The idea of the body of Christ, his church, having a human head, is ut- terly preposterous. In fact, whenever any one presumes to occupy the place, either as the founder or head of the Church of Christ, he has partaken of the character and prerogative of Antichrist. We now reaffirm that the Bap- tist denomination is the only one on ea7'th ichich claims Jesus Christ in person as its founder and head. Section II. — Baptist authority claiming jesus CHRIST AS THE FOUNDER AND HEAD OF THE CHURCH. It is almost a work of supererogation to collect testi- mony on this point; because, all who have even a slight acquaintance with Baptist doctrine, ought to know that it is a fundamental principle Avith Baptists to claim Jesus Christ as their only founder and head. But, as some are prone to pervert Baptist views, it may not be amiss to gather a few authorities on this important point. In the Philadelphia Confession of Faith, it is said: Bel Denom. U. "The Lord Jesus Christ is the head of the S. G. B., p. 51. Church, in whom, by the appointment of Claimed by (Baptist Authorities. 179 the Father, all power for the calling, institution, order, or government of the church, is invested in a supreme and sovereign manner/' This is but the testimony of all the Baptists in the world. The author of the Religious Encyclopedia, in this point testifies as follows: '^They [Baptists] think that the Christian Church, properly so called, was not visibly or- ganized in the family of Abraham, nor in the wilderness of Sinai, but by the ministry of Christ him- sell, and or his apostles; and that it was ^^„ ^ ' then constituted of such, and of such only, as made a credible profession of repentance from sin and faith in the Savior.'^ And on the same subject the Bap- tist Manual, published by the American Baptist Publica- tion Societv, remarks: " We acknowleda-e ^ no founder but Christ." ihus we find, that the Baptists of the present day possess the Bible char- acteristic, that Jesus Christ in person set up his own kingdom. 180 The (Bible as the cRiile of Conduct: CHAPTER IX. BAPTIST PECULIAKITY SECOIS^D— THE BIBLE AS THE RULE OF CONDUCT. 1. Peculiarity Second tested by the Bible. 2. Peculiakity Second identified in Present Baptist Teaching. Section I. — Baptist peculiarity second tested BY the bible. Nearly all parties are agreed that the Scriptures should be the standard of appeal; but, at the same time^ many have their own disciplines and confessions of faith, fixing the terms of union and communion. They appeal to these human standards in the transaction of their church business. There are some, however, besides Baptists, who of late profess to be governed by the Bible alone in their church affairs; but it will be found, in the sequel, that they reject a large part even of the Xew Testament from their standard of worship. It will be found, upon strict inquiry, that the Baptists are the only people who take the Bible alone as their rule of faith and practice in church matters. But is this doctrine, thai the Word of God should be our rule of conduct^ sustained by Inspi- ration ? The fact that Jesus Christ is King in his kingdom, ought to establish the point, that no authority except his own is binding on his subjects. And it is an admitted fact that the Bible contains the authority or laws of Jesus Tested by the (Bible. 181 Christ; therefore, the Bible alone should be the rule of faith and practice in his kingdom. Jesus Christ is alone the Law-giver and Ruler in Zion. The doctrine that un- inspired men, have the right to make laws for the king- dom of God, is pregnant with rebellion against the king. It appears to me that it would be as suitable for one to attempt to write a code of laws to govern the angels in heaven as to make laAvs to govern the kingdom of Jesus Christ on earth. It is evident that God the Father recog- nized his Son, Jesus Christ, as the Law-giver in Zion, when at ^le transfiguration he said: ^^This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.^' We are under no obligation to hear any other authority than that of Jesus in matters of religion. Jesus is that prophet spoken of by Moses, when he ^' Said unto the children of Israel, a prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear.'' As Moses was the law-giver and prophet in national Israel, so Jesus Christ, his great antetype, is Lav/-giver and Ruler over spiritual Israel. And "He that des- ^^, ,^ ^„ „, . 1 i.r » 1 T 1 -1 ■^^^- 10: 28-31. pised Moses law died without mercy un- der two or three witnesses : Of how much sorer punish- ment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy things and hath done despite unto the Spirit of o^race? For we know him that hath «aid. Vengeance be- longeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, the Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.^^ It is evident, from this connection, that those who have trod- 182 The (Bible as the ^Rule of Conduct : den underfoot the Son of God, are those who have des- pised or rejected the laws of Christ; and as those who despised the law of Moses died without mercy, who can estimate the fearful doom of those who disobey Jesus Christ? God said, by the mouth of Samuel the prophet, to king Saul, who departed somewhat from the letter of the Lord's commandment : " Hath the "'" * Lord as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Be- hold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also re- jected thee from being king.'^ From these passages of Scripture we discover the dreadful turpitude of the sin of despising or disregarding the word of the Lord under any pretext whatever. Jesus said to the Jews : " Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doc- trines the commandments of men." This is positive testimony that the commandments of men are not binding in matters of religion, — that they are vain wor- ship, Paul speaks to the same point, as follows : " Where- ^ , ^ ^^ ^^ fore if ye be dead with Christ from the Ool, 2 : 20—23. rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to [human] ordinances, (u)uch not ; taste not ; handle not ; which all are to peris h with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will worship and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh." In tliis passage the apostle condemns, in unmeasured terms, all the '^ commandments and doctrines of men," whatever may Tested by the (Bible. 183 be their appearance of wisdom and humility. "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. ^ ,^ . . . T Til . . , . 1 Cor. 3: 19. L or it IS written, he taketh the wise in their own craftiness." When we are governed in religious wor- shi]) by human Disciplines, or Confessions of Faith, we are guilty of following the commandments and doctrines of men. The apostle Paul explains the use of the inspired Scriptures as follows : " All Scripture is ^ « ^ -, . ,. .. (^ r-i ^ 1- r^ 2Tim.^: 16,17. given by inspiration oi (jrod ; and is prolit- able for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruc- tion in righteousness : that the man of God may be- perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." This sets forth the Scriptures, the Word of God, as the perfect rule of actioD, by which all acceptable service must be ren- dered to God. And if we adopt any other rule of action, we reject Jesus Christ as the only Law-giver. In fact, it will be the words of Jesus Christ by which we shall be judged in that great day when the dead, small and great, shall stand before the throne of God ; for Jesus has de- clared that, "He that reiecteth me, and re- ^ , ; / .] , • 1 JohnU: 48,49. ceiveth not my words, hath one that judg- eth him : the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken of myself: but the Father which sent me, he gave me a command- ment, what I should say, and what I should speak." And in view of being judged b}^ the Word of God, we have, in the last chapter of Revelation, the following terrible warning : " For I testify unto every man 11 11 1 r» 1 1 n R^v. 22 : 18, 19. that heareth the words oi the prophecy oi this Book, if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this Book ; and if any man shall take away from the words of 184 The (Bible as the (kule of Conduct: the Book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the Book of Life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are wTitten in this Book.'^ In the face of these Scriptures, how dare any one to adopt, as authority in religion, any r^de except the Word of God? As the New Testament is the last Will of our Lord Jesus Christ, it contains all the duties enjoined upon the children of God in the Christian dispensation. While the New Testament is our standard of appeal, we regard the Old Testament as necessary to confirm and establish the New. Thus we have found that the second Baptist pecu- liarity, as introduced in the first chapter of this work, is fully sustained by the inspired Word. Section IL — Peculiarity second identified in PRESENT baptist TEACHING. That the Bible alone is to be regarded as the rule of faith and practice, all Baptists hold ivith unyielding te- nacity. It is true that Baptists have, at different times, writ- ten their views on the prominent points of Scripture doc- trine, which has proved very important as a matter of history ; but they appeal to no other standard except the Bible, in the reception, discipline and exclusion of members. Dr. W^ayland remarks: "The question is frequently asked. What is the creed, and what are the acknowledged standards of the Baptist churches in this rin. an rac. ^Q^y^j^^^y^ To this the general answer has ofBapts., p. 13. / ^ f n -n . ever been, 'Our rule oi laitn and prac- tice is the New Testament.^ We have no other authority to which we all profess submission.'^ Idsniified i:i (Baptist Teaching. 185 Also, Joseph Belcher, speaking of the Baptists, says: " It is important, however, that it should be well under- stood that nowhere do the churches of this denomination require subscription to this ^ n j^ ^^40 ' or any other human creed as a term of fe- dia of Religious Knowledge, it is affirmed, that the Bible is " The supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds and opinions should ^W^'^- ncycj be tried." In fact, it is but the united voice of all Baptists throughout the world, that, " We profess to take for our guide, in all matters of relio-ious belief and practice, the New /I?' ^^ ^J^' lestamentj the whole JSew lestament, and nothing but the New Testament.^' And it will be seen, here- after, that this has been a prominent feature of Baptist doctrine through all the dark ages of Popery, when no other denomination even professed to be governed by the Scriptures alone. But have not the Baptists a Confession of Faith, which they regard as their standard of doctrine? No ; none except the Bible. But they have, at differ- ent times, in different countries, given expression to their views of Bible doctrine. And these expressions of Bap- tist sentiments have usually been called forth in order to correct the false and slanderous charges which have been heaped upon the persecuted Baptists. In these latter days these " confessions of faith '^ have become the more necessary from the fact that almost a thousand antagonistic parties profess to believe the Bil)le. The Savior prayed that all his disciples might be one, in 186 The (Bible as the (Rule of Conduct: order to the conversion of the world. The design of this oneness was not simply to assemble together a mass of persons holding all sorts of doctrines. The apostle ex- horted the brethren as follows: ^^I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you : but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind, and in the same judg- ment.'^ And in order to this oneness, in mind and judg- ment, it becomes absolutely necessary for those who desire to dwell together in unity to express themselves in regard to the leading points in Bible doctrine. If they design to be united in church capacity, it is necessary for persons to express themselves, at least on all those points which are essential to church organization ; for if persons should assemble together simply on the profession that they believe the Bible, then we might have Boman Catholics, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Lu- therans, and Methodists, with all other Pedobaptists ; and also we would have Unitarians, Universalists, Qua- kers, Campbellites, and Mormons, all united with Bap- tists on the vague profession of believing the Bible. We must not only receive the Bible as our standard theoretically, but we must make it our rule of action. Therefore, in the midst of such a multitude of opposing parties and doctrines, it becomes absolutely necessary for those who would dwell together to express their views of Bible doctrine ; and as a summary of faith must be ex- pressed in order to Christian union, it can certainly be no more harm to write it than to express it orally. This summary of doctrine, wdiether written or unwritten, is the creed of the individual who holds it; it is a Bible Identified in (Baptist Teaching. 187 creed only so far as it comports with Inspiration. On this sul)ject, Mr. Jeter writes as follows : " Every intelligent Christian has a creed, written or unwrit- ten. There are certain facts, truths, and ^^^ ^ ^f^ . posed, p. 34. principles which he believes and main- tains, and the belief of which he deems essential to the essence of true holiness. He may or may not write these articles of his belief; but they are equally his creed, and equally efficacious in controlling his conduct, whether they are written or unwritten. The writing of them is merely placing in a visible form what previously existed in his mind, and doing so contravenes no law of Christ and violates no moral obligation. But what is here affirmed of an individual, may with equal clearness and propriety be affirmed of a church of Christ.'^ But it must be remembered that such ^' creeds,^^ or ex- pressions of faith, are not appealed to in the reception, trial, and exclusion of members among Baptists. In an- swer to the charge made by Alexander Campbell, that the Baptists had a Confession of Faith as a bond of union. Elder J. L. Waller says : " Let us, then, calmly examine creeds, as used by the Baptists, and see what there is in the matter so terrible to ^ o?! ^^ ^ eueiv, iO-iO, p. loo. Christians. And we here state, and we defy all contradiction, that the only bond of union and communion ever recognized by the Baptist denomination, is the Bible. This every man acquainted with their his- tt-ry knows to be the truth. They never published any cieed, long or short, at any time, as a bond of union and communion. These, we say, are notorious facts, and we assert them in the face of the thousand and one statements to the contrary, made, of late years, in print and in the 188 TJie (Bible as the (Rule of Conduct: pulpit. That the Baptists have creeds, is admitted ; but that these creeds are used as bonds of union, is denied." In ex- planation of the use of creeds among Baptists, Mr. Waller continues: "The first Confession of Faith ever published by the Baptists in England, was in 16 i3. They prefaced it thus: ^A Confession of Faith of seven congregations or churches of Christ, in Lon- don, which are commonly, but unjustly, called Anabaptists; puhUshed for the vindication of the truth and iiformation of the ignorant; likewise for the talcing off those aspersions which are frequently, both in pulpit and print, unjustly cast upon them.' You will remark that it was published for the vindication of the truth, and to remove unjust im- putations, under which the Baptists were suffering, and not as terms of union and communion." And it will be found that Baptists have often published an expression of faith for the information of the ignorant, for the vindica- tion of the truth, and to stand as a matter of history to point out to future generations the principles for which they 'suffered. This Confession of Faith, referred to by Elder Waller, may be found in the appendix to the first volume of Crosby's History of English Baptists, page 7. Again, in the year 1689, the delegates of more than one hundred churches met in London and republished the former Confession of Faith, "for the satisfaction of all other Christians that differ from us in the point of bap- tism." Various other expressions of faith and practice have been published by the Baptists, at different times, down to that published by the Philadelphia Association in 1742. And this association repeated the language of the English Baptists as a reason for its publication. These American Baptists, like their English brethren, felt themr Identified in (Baptist Teaching. 189 selves " To be under necessity of publishing a Confession of Faith, for the information and satisfac- tion of those that did not thoroughly un- /^ ^''^ ,^f ' ° •' mew, p. 134. derstand what our principles were, or had entertained prejudices against our profession, by reason of the strange representation of them by some men of note, who had taken very wrong measures, and accordingly led others into misapprehensions of us and them/^ It is a w^ell-known fact, that in all these Baptist confessions of faith the Bible is recognized as the rule of faith and prac- tice. Once more, Mr. Waller says : " Our churches gen- erally have creeds, or declarations of their faith upon their church-books : and these ^ ^^^ ^P • ^ ^ mew, p. 13o. creeds they make themselves, but they do not feel bound to make them in obedience to the wdll of any synod, council or assembly upon earth. Over these creeds they maintain absolute supremacy, and can alter or abolish them at pleasure. They are never used as terms of union and communion ; for no person is required to subscribe to them on being received into membership." Mr. Waller says, in conclusion : " One principle which has always been esteemed fundamental by us — THE INDEPENDENCE AND SOVEPwEIGNTY . .Ji' view, p. 13o. OF EACH CHURCH — ought to have con- vinced any reflecting man, that a denominational creed, as a bond of union and communion, was wholly out of the question, and t'ae charge that we had such, was a foul slan- der.'^ It is now clear that the Baptists possess the peculi- arity of the primitive churches in taking the Bible as their rule oi faith and practice. 190 Order of the Cominandinents : CHAPTER X. BAPTIST PECULIAEITY THIRD— ORDER OF THE COM> MANDMENTS. 1. Peculiarity Third tested by the Bible. 2. Peculiarity Third identified in present Baptist teaching. Section I. — Baptist peculiarity third tested by THE bible. Baptists hold the Bible order of the commandments; they teach Repentance, Faith, Baptism, and the Lord's Supper. This is emphatically a Baptist peculiarity ; this order is not even professed by any other denomination on earth. This is a very important feature or point of doc- trine, which will aid us in identifying the true Church of Christ. Jesus Christ not only established laws for the government of his disciples, but he established the precise order in which those laws must be obeyed. To violate the order of a law, is to disregard the law itself, and treat the law-giver with contempt. For the officers of a civil government to pretend to enforce the laws by inverting the order of their application, would involve them in the censure of the government and the forfeiture of their office. That one who changes the order of the laws of Christ, ar- rays himself as a rebel against his government. Paul said to the Corinthians ; " Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances as I delivered them to you.'' These brethren were not at liberty to change the Tested by the (Bible. 191 ordinances ; they were to keep them as they were deliv- ered. Of these four important oomminiJs, two — repent- ance and faith — are enjoined upon sinners in order to their pardon ; and the other two — baptism and the Lord^s Supper — are enjoined upon the children of God in order to their Christian duty and advancement in divine life. As regards the order of repentance and faith, the Bible is clear. Jesus said to those who believed in the existence of God : '• Repent ye, and believe the Gos- i^r j -i -i- \)e\J' It is freely admitted that before one can repent, he "must believe that God is, and "that he is a rewarder of them that dilio-ently seek ^^, ,, ^ him. But devils and wicked men may be- lieve this much, and even tremble, without possessing faith with the heart. It is the faith that ivorks by love, purifies the heart, implies trust in Christ, and is with the heart, which follows repentance, and is necessary to the pardon of sins. This is that faith referred to by the apos- tle, when he said : " One Lord, one faith, one baptism.'^ There are false gods, but only one true God; there are false baptisms, but only one true baptism approved by Jesus Christ ; there is a dead faith, without works, which wicked men and devils may possess without repentance, but there is only one faith with the heart in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the heart-faith which follows repentance, and through which salvation, the gift of God, is bestowed. When Jesus Christ preached to the Jews, he said : Repent ye, and believe the Gosnel, Did he make a mistake as to the order ? Our modern Ke- formors, who are wise above that which is written, reprove the Savior by changing his order ; they say : Believe and repent / When Jesus reproved the chief priests and the 192 Order of the Command'tnents : elders for rejecting the Gospel as preached by John, he said unto them ; "Verily I say unto you, that the publi- cans and the harlots go into the kingdom 01 (jrod before you. i? or J ohn came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not; but the publicans and the harlots believed him : and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.^^ Mark the fact, that Jesus made repentance in order to faith. Paul, acting under the immediate com- mission and authority of Jesus Christ, laid down the or- der in which he performed his mission, as follows : " Testi- ^^ ^ fyino: both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks. Acts 20 • 21. */ o y repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.'^ Paul certainly understood the order of these commandments ; he preached the same order to Jews and Gentiles — repentance toward God, and faith to- ward our Lord Jesus Christ. And it should be remem- bered, that in every passage in the entire Bible where re- pentance and faith are mentioned together, repentance is always first in point of order ; and he who dares to change this order, incurs the anathema of Jesus Christ for preach- ing another Gospel. For the further discussion of this subject, the reader is referred to my book on Campbellism. This part of the Baptist order is fully sustained by the Scriptures. We now proceed to examine the relative order of bap- tism — the third command in this chain of obedience. I be- lieve that it is generally admitted that the commission given by Jesus Christ before his ascension, contains all the authority for the administration of baptism. The ex- ecution of the commission is committed to the churches of Christ as his representatives on earth. The great com- Tested by the (Bible. 193 mission stands thus : " All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, ,, , Ti . T . . H . Matt. 2S: 18,20. and teach all nations, baptizing them m the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you : and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.^' " And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach ,^ , , ^ , ^ ^„ , i, \ ' -r/ , Mark 16 : 15, 16. the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; but he that be- lieveth not shall be damned. ^^ By the examination of this commission, as given by Matthew and Mark, the items stand thus : ^' First — Teaching or preaching. Second — Belief or faith on the part of the taught. Third — The baptism of the believer in Christ. Fourth — The teaching or instructing the dis- ciples in all the commandments of Christ. And, lastly, the promise of the Savior is, to be with those who thus ex- ecute his commission to the end of the world. Those who change the order of faith before baptism, are not acting under the commission of Jesus Christ ; neither have they the promise of the approval of the Master in this depart- ure from his authority. Those who invert the order of baptism, place themselves upon a level with those who change the order of repentance and faith. And in the execution of the great commission by the apostles and early Christians, they always required the profession of faith before baptism. On the day of Pentecost none were baptized except those who had repented and •'gladly received ^^ the word of God. Noun- believer has gladly received the word of God. The hearts of the Pentecostians were purified " by faith " Acts 16 : 9. 194 Order of the Commandments. before baptism. And it is said of the Samaritans, that: "When they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.^^ Mark the fact, that the people of Samaria " believed '' before they were baptized. When the eunuch rs «« demanded baptism, then "Philip said, if thou Acts 8: 37. , ,. • T ,i i i i believest with all thy heart, thou mayest. Once more: it is recorded, concerning the jailer, that he "Rejoiced, believing in God, with all his house." And in the case of all the other household baptisms, there are circumstances mentioned which go to prove that none were baptized except adults. There can no instance be found in the Scriptures devi- ating from the commission which requires faith in order to baptism. We now advance one step further in the examination of the Baptist order of teaching — repent- ance, faith, baptism, and the Lord's Supper — and ask the question. Does the Bible sustain the position that baptism should precede the Lord's Supper? We first introduce the example of Jesus Christ, who was baptized before he instituted or partook of the supper with his disciples. Also, the apostles had been baptized before the institution of the supper. And the commission itself fixes baptism as the first duty after believing with the heart; therefore, under the commission no one can commune before baptism. The communion, is one of those things which was to be ob- served after baptism. The Savior established the com- ^ , ^r. r.r. ^^ mumou in his kingdom : for he said, "And Luke 22 : 29 30. . ' ' I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me ; that ye. may eat and drink baptist Order of the Commands. 195 at my table in my kingdom ; ^' and as baptism is essential to membership in the visible kingdom, therefore baptism must, of necessity, precede the Lord's Supper, which is in the Lord's kingdom. In fact, there is no instance on Divine record where any unbaptized person ever ap- proached the Lord's table. It was after the Pentecostean converts had been baptized and added to the church, that they " Continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." This breaking of bread, no doubt, had reference to the Lord's Supper ; therefore, none except the baptized in church fellowship have the right to the Lord's table. The invitation of the unbaptized to the Lord's Supper is a modern custom, gotten up for the sake of popularity. The Communion question will be discussed in another chapter. We have now seen that the third peculiarity is fully sustained by Inspiration. The Bible teaches Repentance, Faith, Baptism, and the Lord's Supper, as the divine or- der of these requirements. Section II. — Peculiarity third — the bible or- der OF repentance, faith, baptism, and the " lord's supper identified with the pres- ent baptist teaching. But little need be said in locating this as a Baptis) peculiarity, from the fact that no other denomination claims ^liis order. Be it remembered that the Baptists are the only people who advocate the Bible order of the com- mandments. It is admitted that some Baptists recently, 196 Order of the Commandments. especially in England, have adopted the open commuDion custom of receiving the unbaptized to the communion', but they do not plead either Scripture precept or example for such a practice. In order to identify peculiarity third with the present Baptist practice, it is only necessary to appeal to the united testimony of the great mass of Bap- tists as set forth in their preaching and writings. I Avill, however, introduce a few authorities on this point. In a Confession of Faith, presented by the English Bap- tists to Charles IL, in article eleventh we have the follow- Croshy'sHis.E. ii^g ^ "That the right and only way of Bapt., vol. II, gathering churches (according to Christ's Ap., p. 81. appointment. Matt, xxviii: 19, 20,) is first to teach or preach the Gospel (Mark xvi : 16) to the sons and daughters of men ; and then to baptize (that is, in English, to dip) in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, or in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, such only of them as profess 7'epentance toivaj^d God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus QunstJ' And in article thir- teenth of the same Confession, these persecuted Baptists say: ^^That it is the duty of such, who are constituted as aforesaid, to continue steadfastly in Christ's and the apos- tles' doctrine, and assembling together in fellowship, in breaking of bread and prayers. Acts ii : 42." The above Confession was signed by the London Baptists, and ap- proved by twenty thousand members. They firmly main- tained the Bible order of repentance, faith, baptism, and the breaking of bread, or the Supper, in fellowship after baptism. We are informed, by Mr. Orchard, that in the times of King James I. the English Baptists " Held that Orch Ru Bapt repentance and faith must precede bap- vol. II, p. 250. tism ; that the baptism of the Church of (Baptist Order of the Commands. 197 England and the Puritans was invalid, and that the true baptism was among them." These English Baptists pre- served the Bible order of these leading commands ; but the American Baptists are more uniform in the entire preservation of this order than their English brethren ; for some of the English ventured to violate the order as respects the communion. Mr. Cramp, in his history of the Baptists, makes the following statement of Baptist doctrine : " We deny sacramental power, maintain- ' '^ ^^ * ing that the soul is renewed and sancti- fied, not by any outward act performed upon us or by us, but by the truth of the Gospel and the grace of the Holy Spirit. AYe gather from the teachings of the apostles, that a man should he a Christian before he avows himself to be one ; and, in full accordance, as we believe, with the instructions of the New Testament, we admit none to our fellowship without a profession of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Chirst. Their baptism is, at the same time, a declaration of their sole reliance on the Savior, and a symbol of their union with him in his death and his resurrection — a spiritual, vital union." Mr. Cramp here states the order of Baptist teaching. Baptists, with great uniformity, teach repentance and faith as the relative order of these commands. And no one has ever denied that Baptists teach faith as a prerequisite to baptism ; and the general complaint of close communion against Baptists settles the point that they hold baptism as necessary to the lawful approach to the Lord's table. We have found that the Baptists preserve the Bible order of the com- mandments ; they teach repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ; the burial, in baptism, of 198 Order of the Commandnients. believers, and the breaking of bread, in the Supper, by those in church fellowship. Once more : In the Baptist Confession of Faith, pub- lished, from time to time, in England, and adopted by the Philadelphia Association in 1742, and republished lately in the Religious Denominations, by Joseph Belcher, we have the following : ^^ Those who actually e. enom., p. pj^^f^gg repentance toward God, faith in, and obedience to, our Lord Jesus, are the only proper subjects of this ordinance^' — baptism. The Baptist order is only the Bible order of the commands. (Baptist Succession. 199 CHAPTER XI. BAPTIST PECULIARITY FOURTH — BURIAL IN BAP- TISM OF THE DEAD TO SIN 1. Baptist Peculiarity Fourth tested by the Bible. 2. Peculiarity Fourth identified in Present Baptist Teaching. Section I. — Baptist peculiakity fourth tested BY THE BIBLE. Baptists immerse, or bury with Christ in baptism, only those who profess to be dead to, or freed from, sin. Like the others, this peculiarity belongs alone to Baptists. All other denominations either fail to bury in baptism, or baptize those whom they admit to be unpardoned sin- ners. This will be seen when we come to examine the claims of others. I do not purpose to enter upon the dis- cussion of what is usually called the "mode" of baptism, in this work. It will not, however, be amiss at this point to introduce a few Scripture proofs to sustain the position that baptism is immersion, or a burial. The meaning of the Greek word baptizo, which was used by the Savior to designate his command, ought forever to settle the action of baptism in every unbiased mind. It is known that its ordinary and primary meaning is to im- merse, or its equivalent; and that no standard Greek lexicon gives either "' sprinkle " or "pour" as a meaning of the word baptizo at all. It is absolutely impossible for the ordinance of baptism to be three different and opposite 200 (Burial in (Baptism : actions. If sprinkling is the falfillment of the ccramand to be baptized, then pouring and immersion are not; if pouring is the fulfillment of the command, then sprinkling and immersion are not; but if immersion is the fulfill- ment of the command to be baptized, then sprinkling and pouring are not. First: My first proof is based upon the example of the baptism of Jesus Christ. The notion that the Savior was baptized to initiate him into his priestly office, is unknown to the Scriptures; and was only invented to escape the force of the example of the Son of God in favor of im- mersion. The Savior received only one " mode '' of bap- tism ; therefore, his example can not be plead in favor of ^x , ^ . ^ three " modes.^^ The apostle said that : " In HeO. 2:1/. ^^ ^ > -ii II- 1 1T1 all things it behooved nim to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faith- ful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.'^ He required his disciples, his brethren, to be baptized; he, therefore, left his example to stimulate others in the discharge of duty. He required ail, in becoming members of the church, to be baptized ; and he did not, therefore, violate his own law in becoming Head over all things to the church. Several facts should be observed in connection with the baptism of Jesus : firsty he came to John the Baptist, the only person in the world then authorized to administer baptism — he did not receive " alien ^^ baptism ; second, in order to be baptized, he went down into the water of the river Jordan ; third, after his baptism, he came wp out of the water ; fourth, while in the water, he was buried in baptism ; for Paul says : " Therefore, we are [were, aorist tense] buried with him by bap- Tested by the (Bible. 201 tism into death : that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life/^ In order to avoid the force of this passage, some have assumed the absurd position that burial in baptism refers to conversion. This would involve the gross absurdity of the conversion of Jesus Christ, thereby making him a sinner like other men. Other modern critics contend that the burial in baptism here mentioned, has reference to Holy Spirit baptism ; and they, at the same time, admit that water baptism should be of the same mode as Holy Spirit baptism ; therefore, according to their own admission, water baptism must be a burial or immersion, in order to be of the same mode as Holy Spirit baptism, which they admit to be a burial or immersion. Then, it is a point made out, that Jesus Christ, whom we are commanded to follow, was immersed, or buried in baptism ; and as he only received and com- manded "one baptism,^^ therefore, those who have not' been immersed, have neither received Christian baptism nor followed the example of Jesus in his ordinances. In regard to the baptism of Jesus, Dr. Macknight, a learned Presbyterian, says that Jesus " Submitted . 1 T, -• 1 J.1 X • 1 -1 1 ^.^ Baptist Manual. to be baptized, that is, buried under the :^^ ' water by John, and to be raised out of it again, as an emblem of his future death and resurrection.^' Bishop Taylor, the learned Episcopalian, says: "The custom of the ancient churches was not „ . . , . , . . . Bapt. Man., p. 18. sprinkling, but immersion, in pursuance of the sense of the word in the commandment, and the example of our blessed Savior." John Calvin, the founder of Presbyterianism, says that : "Baptism ^ T . . , / -r , 1 ^., . n Bapt. Man., p. 20. was administered, by John and Christ, by 202 (Burial in (Baptism: plunging the whole body under the water.'^ We might multiply quotations to show that the most learned Pedo- baptist scholars concede the point, that the baptism per- formed by John the Baptist and Jesus Christ was performed by immersion. Second: The places where baptism was performed indi- cate that it must have required more water than is used for sprinkling. Mark says: "And there went out unto ,^ , ^ ^ him all of the land of Judea, and they of Mark 1 : o. ., , , , , , . ^ ^ , . . Jerusalem, and were all baptized oi him m the River of Jordan, confessing their sins.^^ Also : "And John also was baptizing in Enon, near to Salim, because there was much water there ; and they came, and were baptized.'^ Thus we see, that in the time of Christ, baptism was performed in the river of Jordan, or where there was "much water"; and the people "came," were not brought, in order to be baptized. Third: Immersion is implied in the circumstances at- tending the baptism of the eunuch; for it is said that, " They went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch ; and he baptized him. And when they were come up out oi the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more : and he went on his way rejoicing." It will be observed, that both the administrator and can- didate went down into the water, and after the baptism they came up out of the water, which would have been wholly unnecessary in the supposition that sprinkling was performed. Fourth: The design of baptism absolutely requires that it must be performed by a burial, or an immersion. Bap- tism is sometimes spoken of as being for the remission^ or Tested by the (Bible. 203 washing away of sins. Ananias said to Saul : " And now, why tarriest thou ? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.'^ Some have fallen into the egregious error, tliat baptism is literally for the remission or washing away of sins. It is evident, however, that we only wash away sins in baptism in the same sense that we eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ in the Supper. Jesus said of the bread, "This is my body;" and of the wine, "This is my blood." And the Catholic, in his superstition, takes the language of Jesus literally, and, therefore, worships the bread and wine a& the actual body and blood of Jesus; and in like manner, some Protestants have taken those passages literally which speak of baptism as being for the remission of sins ; and they, therefore, depend on baptism as the condition of the actual pardon of sins. They have fallen into the same error, on this point, into which the Catholics have fallen on the communion question. The truth is, that we only eat the flesh and drink the blood of Jesus emblematically in the Supper, and likewise sins are washed away emblematically in baptism. But as we rep- resent the w^ashing away of sins in baptism, how much of the subject should be w^ashed? Ashe is, in a state of na- ture, entirely sinful, in order to represent the washing away of sins, the subject should have an entire washing, a burial with Christ in baptism. Nothing less than an immersion will properly represent the washing away of sins. Fifth: Once more: the prominent design of baptism is to represent the burial and resurrection of the dead. Paul introduced in his argument in favor of the resurrection, baptism as a witness of the resurrection of the dead. He 204 (Burial in (BaHism - ^ 1 - 90 ^'^^^ * " ^^^ what shall they do, which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all. Why are they then baptized for the dead?" Paul introduced baptism here as a witness to prove the resurrection of the dead ; but as nothing except immersion represents the resurrection, therefore, nothing except im- mersion is the baptism for which Paul contended. The celebrated commentator. Dr. Clark, says on this passage: " But as they received baptism as an em- -'!\q^ 0? ., i^ig^j^ Qf death in voluntarily going under the water, so they receive it as an emblem of the resurrection unto eternal life in coming up out of the w^ater. Thus they are baptized for the dead in perfect faith of the resurrection." It is evident that, as tlie Lord's Supper, as a monument, commemorates the suf- ferings and death of Jesus Christ, so baptism, as a monu- ment, commemorates, or shows forth, his burial and resur- rection. When an individual has been spiritually cruci- fied with Christ, or killed to the love of sin, and is dead to, or freed from sin, he should be buried with Christ in baptism, and arise to walk in newness of life. This is taught in Paul's" letter -to the Romans, where he asks : ^ ^ „ " How shall we that are dead to sin, live any Rom. 6: 2-7. , ^i • o t- ^ ^i ! longer therein ; Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ, w^ere baptized into his death ? Therefere we are buried with him by baptism into death : that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For, if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, w^e 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 Tested by the (Bible. 205 he destroyed, that henceforth we shall not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin/^ From the above it is clearly taught, that when the ^^old man is crucified with him," and he becomes ^^ dead to sin/^ that he that is dead is freed from sin, or pardoned ; and as death to sin must come ])efore baptism, therefore freedom from sin likewise takes place before baptism. It has ever been a funda- mental doctrine with Baptists, to baptize none except they have first professed faith in Christ, and to have received the pardon of sins. Baptists regard baptismal salvation as one of the main pillars of popery. The idea of baptiz- ing a child of the devil in order to make him a child of God, is, to a Baptist, preposterous. That persons should be children of God, or freed from sin, before baptism, is proved from all those Scriptures which ascribe salvation and eternal life to faith in Christ. One quotation is sufficient: "He that be- _, T T 1 . . T 1111 John 3 : 18. lievetn on him is not condemned ; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." And : " Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation ; but is passed from death unto life." Several facts are taught in these Scriptures : firsts the unbeliever is condemned, not for want of baptism, but be- cause he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God ; second, the believer is not condemned, and he must be a believer before baptism, therefore his con- demnation is removed before baptism; thirdly , the be- liever hath, in the present time, everlasting life, and as he is in possession of everlasting life before baptism, there- 206 (Burial in (Baptism. fore he is freed from sin, and is a child of God, before baptism ; fourth, the believer in Christ has already passed from death unto life, and shall not come into condemna- tion ; therefore he is freed from sin before baptism, be- cause he has passed from death unto life before baptism. And if the pardon of sins does not really occur when one becomes a true believer in Christ, then a large part of the New Testament can not be true. We find that the Baptist peculiarity fourth is fully sustained in the Word of God. The Bible teaches the burial with Christ in baptism only of those v)ho profess to be dead to, or freed froiUy sin. Section II. — Peculiarity fourth identified in PRESENT BAPTIST TEACHING. It is really unnecessary to introduce witnesses to prove that Baptists universally teach immersion as the only Scriptural action of baptism. The editor of the Keligious Encyclopedia remarks on this subject: "That in the opin- ion of Baptists, baptism is the immersion eigwm ncyc.y ^^^ water of a suitable candidate, in the p. 181. '^ ' name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. The only suitable candidate is a person tr/?o has been born of the Sjnrit, and who is united to Christ by faith.'' Again, the same author says : " In regard to this ordinance of Christ, ^ they have ever held,' eigwus ncyc, ^^^^^ -^^^ Benedict, their historian, ^ that a personal profession of faith, and an im- mersion in water, are essential to baptism.' " And in the same work, article twelfth of the Baptist Declaration of Faith reads as follows: "Of Baptism and the Lord's (Baptists oppose ^Baptismal Salvation. 'l^l SUPPEE. — That Christian baptism is the r ^ ^^ • j. • xi Beligious Encyc. immersion oi a believer in water, in the ^^^ ^ ' . . P- 191. name of the Father, Son, and Spirit; to Fhow forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem, our faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, with its purifying power; that it is prerequisite to the privileges of a church relation ; and to the Lord's Supper, in which the members of the church, by the use of bread and wine, are to com- memorate together the dying love of Christ ; preceded al- ways by solemn self-examination/^ In fact, no one has ever accused the Baptists of holding anything less than an immersion or burial in water for baptism. But some per- sons, through ignorance or prejudice, have accused the Bap- tists with teaching baptismal salvation ; therefore, a few 9ther proofs on this point will be given. Mr. Robinson, the Baptist historian, savs: "Baptism is „ , _ Ecci Res D AlI\ a relative institution, and all Christians " " consider it so. Some think it is an institution connected w^ith a profession of Christianity, and, of course, it is re- lated only to temporal church fellowship. This is the opinion of Baptists. Others suppose it is connected with sanctification, and the pardon of sin, and related to the future state, and consequently that it is necessary to sal- vation.^^ Thus we have the Baptist view, that while bap- tism is a solemn duty enjoined upon every child of God as a prerequisite to church fellowship and communion, they do not regard it as essential to salvation. Joseph Belcher, speaking of Baptists, remarks that: " It is true that they regard baptism as an essential ordinance of the Christian Church, ^^' «, t"''^'' ^^ ' 215, 216. and that no one can be a member of that church unless he be baptized. It is also true that they do 208 burial in (Baptism. not regard any otlier mode of administering this ordinance as valid or Scriptural, except immersion. And hence, it is also true, that they refuse to admit those to commune with them, who, though baptized by sprinkling, have never been baptized by immersion. * ^ ^ -^ It is proper, further, to remark, that Baptists do not, as is sometimes erroneously asserted, regard baptism as possessing in itself any irresistible influence in sanctifying those who receive it. They regard it as the outward sign of the inward change ; and not the means by which repentance and sanc- tification are produced." Baptists do not regard baptism as the "means" of pardon. In fact, the Baptists are the only denomination that performs baptism at all, which is not, more or less, chargeable with the doctrine of baptismal salvation. Catholics hold that the unbaptized are damned. Protestant Pedobaptists hold that baptism is the seal of the covenant of graces and the modern JRefonners make baptism regeneration itself, and essential to salvation ; but Baj)tists hold, as they have ever done, that none have a right to baptism till they are already pardoned and saved. So, instead of holding baptismal salvation, the Baptists teacii, that salvation from sin is essential to baptism. Bap- tists stand out in Christendom alone against the Komish dogma of baptismal salvation. This is a fundamental doctrine with them. INIr. Benedict shows the absurdity of baptismal regeneration, on page 286 of the History of the Baptists. Fifth Peculiarity tested by the (Bible. 209 CHAPTER XII. BAPTIST PECULIAEITY FIFTH— EQUALITY IN THF KINGDOM. 1. Baptist Peculiarity Fifth tested by the Bible. 2. Peculiarity Fifth identified in present Baptist teaching. Section I. — Baptist peculiaeity fifth tested by THE bible. Baptists recognize equal rights or privileges in the exe- cution of the laws of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Perfect religious liberty has been one of the landmarks of the Baptist denomination in every period of its history. We have been regarded with jealousy and suspicion by all the despotic rulers of earth, because our principles tend to the overthrow of all despotism. This perfect religious liberty advocated by Baptists, does not in the least inter- fere with any political or social relations which are or- dained of God. Is the Baptist doctrine of ^' soul liberty " and religious equality in the churches of Christ, sustained by the Bible? The prophecy concerning the mission of John, who intro- duced the Gospel dispensation, indicates the equality ad- vocated by Baptists. Of John^s mission, the Lord said : " The voice of him that crieth in the wil- derness. Prepare ye the w^ay of the Lord, * ' make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and 210 Eqtiality in the Kingdom: hill shall be made low : and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain/^ This prediction indicates the grand mission of the kingdom of heaven, in leveling, in a religious point of view, the human family. The kings and nobles of earth are to be brought down, and the poor, lame, halt, and blind, are to be raised to the dignity of fellow-citizens with the saints in the kingdom of God. Since the fall of man, there has ever rankled in his bo- som the spirit of pride, which prompts him to seek the opportunity to usurp authority over his fellow men. And even Christians are not entirely free from this spirit of Antichrist. The apostles themselves had strife among them as to which should be accounted the greatest. But Jesus firmly rebuked the very first buddings of this spirit of error, as follows : " But Jesus called them to him, and ,^ -. .r. .^ .. saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles, exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you : but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your min- ister; and whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all." And just before the Savior's death, he repeated the same lesson of instruction to his disciples, as y ■, C.C. r.- r.. followsi " Aud lic sald unto them, the Luke 22: 25, 26. , . ^ , ^ ., .■,-,,. kings 01 the Gentiles exercise lordship over them ; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so : but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve." How daring must be that pride that, in the face of these instructions, would prompt any one to claim the pre-eminence, or usurp authority Tested by the (Bible. . 211 over his brethren ! It is almost universally admitted, that the churches of Jesus Christ are the executives of his king- dom, appointed to execute the laws of the King. Now, if this position be correct, then all the members of each church are authorized to participate in the transaction of business, unless some of them are expressly prohibited by the Word of God; but no class of church members are prohibited from a participation in the transaction of busi- ness; therefore, all the members are authorized to act in the transaction of business. But the question may be asked : " Do not the ministers or elders possess superior authority to rule over the churches, and execute the laws of the kingdom ? " It is very important that Ave should understand the meaning of the New Testament ruling by the elders or pastors of the churches. This New Testament ruling is not to do all the voting, and transact all the business of a church in matters of discipline, hut to give them meat in due season; for Jesus " The Lord said, who then is that faithful and wise steward whom his Lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season ?^^ The Lord has made these '^ rulers ^^ over his house, not to decide cases of dis- cipline, but to give them their portion of meat in due season. He has appointed them to feed his sheer) ^ , ^, ^^ , , , T . P 1 '^ o 1 John 21: 16. and. lambs. It is further evident, irom the language of Peter, that the elders of the churches are to rule by advice and example, and not by deciding cases of discipline. Peter said : " The elders which ^ are among you I exhort, who am also an elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed : feed the 212 Equality in the Kingdom: flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for liithy lucre, but of a ready mind ; neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.'' Thus we find that the elders are to rule hy examjjh and by feeding the flock of Christ. Whatever may be the different gifts or offices in the Church of Christ, no mem- ber has a right to claim the pre-eminence in the execution of the laws of Christ. The very fact that the ministers or elders are chosen or ordained by the churches, proves that they are inferior in point of authority to the churches which have invested them with the ministerial office. The apostles themselves only claimed to be servants of the ^ churches ; for Paul said : '' We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord ; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake." The only way to become great in the kingdom of Jesus, is to be a great servant. Every minister is equal in point of privilege with every other member of the church ; but, as a minis- ter in his official capacity, he is subject to, and inferior to the church. His individual acts or decisions have no more binding force than those of any other member. It appears, from the Scriptures, that all the true members of the churches in the kingdom of Christ, have equal priv- ileges in the following particulars : First: The true mem- bers of the kingdom of Christ have been made equally free from the bondage of sin. Jesus said : " If the Son, T h R- '\P, therefore, shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." And this spiritual freedom applies to all classes, male and female, bond and free. Second: They are all equally the children of God; the apostle says : " For ye are all the children of God by Tested by the (Bible. 213 faith in Jesus Christ. For as many of you ^ , ^ o/. on - , , . T . r^^ - ^ CrClL 3 *. 26-29. as liave been baptized nito Clirist, have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female ; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Thus we find, that all true members of the church are equally the children of God, and equal heirs according to the promise, without any reference whatever to sex or position in society. Third: All the true mem- bers of the churches of Christ have the laws of God writ- ten in their hearts, and therefore know Christ ; for it is said : " They shall not teach every man his ^^ , ^ , , . , , *^ , 1 . 1 -, ^eb' 8 : 11. neighbor, and every man his brother, say- ing. Know the Lord : for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.'' Some object to servants possessing the right to vote in the church, on the ground that they are under the juris- diction of others, and have no right to control their own actions. This is an unscriptural inference, from the fact that no human laws or regulations can interfere with our relations and obligations to Jesus Christ. On the same principle it might be plead that slaves have no right to be baptized or receive the Lord's Supper ! While it is true, that Christianity did not change the relations of master and slave, for the servant was commanded to abide in the service of his master under the strongest obligation of strict obedience, yet no earthly master ever had the right to control his servants in matters of religion, or interfere with his duties in the worship of God. Paul is very de- cided upon this point ; he says : '^ Let ^ - every man abide in the same calling 214 Equality in the Kingdom: wliereiu he was called. Art tliou called being a servant? Care not for it : but if thou mayest be free, use it rather. For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord^s free man : likewise also he that is called being free, is Christ's servant. Ye are bought with a price ; be not ye the servants of men. Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God." Thus we learn, that the servant who is called of God, "is the Lord's free man," and is commanded to be not the servant of men in matters of religion ; yet he is required to abide as a serv- ant to his master, unless he may be free lawfully. And the apostle Paul said to Philemon, of one of these servants, Onesimus, who had escaped from his master : " For per- ^^, ., -,. ,„ haps he therefore departed for a season, Fhilemon, lo-17. ,, iii • ^ • c that thou snouidst receive him lorever; not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother be- loved, especially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh, and in the Lord ? If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself." Mark you, Paul sent this servant to his master, " a brother beloved,'* to be received as Paul himself. Are we to infer from this that Onesimus should have no right to vote in the church, because he was not his own master in worldly aifairs? And, if so, may we not infer that Paul himself, while a " prisoner " in " bonds," had no right to vote in the church, because he was not a free man in worldly mat- ters ? The truth of the matter is this, we are only under obligation to obey the political powers that be, in politi- cal affairs ; and whether we are bond or free, male or fe- male, when those powers interfere with our duty to God, we should say, with the apostles : "We ought to obey God rather than men." Tested by the (Bible. 215 Another objection is urged to this principle of equality in the kingdom of Christ, on the supposition that minors or children, subject to their parents, have no right to par- ticipate in the transaction of church business. This ob- jection, like the former, in the case of servants, is not based upon any Scripture prohibiting them from the trans- action of business, but upon the fact that they, like slaves, are under the control of others, and upon their supposed incompetency to perform such duties. If the question of eligibility to vote in the transactions of church business is to be decided by one^s majority, or freedom from his parents according to political laws, then in some gov- ernments persons would be eligible to transact church business much younger than in others; and the Jewish Christians were not eligible to vote in church affairs until they were thirty years old ; for they were subject to their parents, at least, until that age ; and worse still, it would make the duty of some members, in the worship of God, depend upon the caprice and even injustice of human laws. But if this question is to be determined by the supposed competency or incompetency of the church mem- bers, then quite a number of the male members who are of age will be found, at least in the estimation of our wise brethren, to be wholly incompetent to vote in the church. Then who will decide upon the competency of the members to transact church business ? Whenever it is proved that any class of members have no right to assist in the trans- action of church business, then it will have been proved that the same class have no right to church membersbij, a I all. The objection which is urged against the voting in the church of servants, minors, and women on the ground that they have no right to rule over masters, pa- 216 Equality in the Kingdom: rents, and husbands, does not touch the question ; for the same argument would prove that masters, fathers, and hus- bands have no right to vote in church, because they, no more than the others, have the right to rule over servants, children and wives in matters of religion. Jesus Christ is the sole Ruler in Zion. In the execution of the laws of Christ in the transaction of church business, no church has a right to deviate from the laws of Christ; and if any action of a church comports with the New Testamant, then it is not the church ruling, but only executing an order of the Ruler. But if any church deviates from the laws of Christ in its action, that action is null and void, and binding on no one. But the objection which opposes the participation of women in the business transactions of the churches is of more serious import, from the fact that all admit that there are restrictions regulating the duties of women in the pub- lic meetings of the churches. But to what particular acts these restrictions apply, is the point in question. Paul said to the Corinthians : ^^ Let vour women 1 Cor. 14: 34,35. , ., .,,,%.. keep silence m the churches; lor it is not permitted unto them to speak : but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home ; for it is a shame for w^omen to speak in the church. ^^ " Let _ ^ the woman learn in silence with all sub- 1 Tim. 2 : 11, 12. . . ^ jection. But i suner not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.^^ This strong language of the apostle Paul mi^st certainly restricts women from tJie exercise of certain duties or privileges belon^ng to men. But are w^e to infer from this, that women are debarred from the exercise Tested by the (Bible. 217 of all church duties aud privileges? I think not; for the same apostle, in the same letter to the same church, whero he forbids women to speak in church, gives the following directions relative to the duties of women : " But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with hei head uncovered, dishonoreth her head : for that is even all one as if she were shaven. For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn : but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God : but the woman is the glory of the man. * * ^ For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head, be- cause of the angels. * ^ ^ Judge in yourselves : is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him ? But if a woman have long hair, it is. a glory to her; for her hair is given her for a covering.^^ In the foregoing, the apostle certainly allows women to pray and prophesy in the churches on certain conditions ; for it can not be reasonably supposed that the apostle was giving instruction to the church relative to secret prayer, or private teaching. The woman who prays or prophesies in church, must do so with her head covered, or vailed ; while the man praying or prophesying in the church, should do so with his head uncovered. I suppose that the power on her head because of aTwels, alludes to the token of submission (which was her vail and long hair) to her husband; and because of the angels, I understand to mean before, or in the presence of, the angels. We also learn that ^^ Philip, the evangelist, which was one of the seven," "had four daughters, 218 Eqii'Jility in the Kingdom. virgins, which did prophesy." Philip, the evangelist, who was filled with the Holy Spirit, permitted his four virgin daughters to prophesy, or teach publicly ; and Paul allowed women to pray and prophesy, with their heads covered, in the church ; and yet he requires women not to speak, but to keep silence in the churches. Does Paul contradict him- self? Verily not ; therefore, we conclude that under some circumstances women may teach and pray in the congre- gation, and under others they must not. And I suppose, from the connection, that the women are required not to speak in church controversies on litigated questions. But that she may speak or teach in the church, under some circumstances, is evident from the fact that the apostle gives directions as to the manner in which it- should be done. But the question Avhether women should, or should not, teach publicly in the churches, has no bearing whatever, that I can see, upon the question of the privi- lege of women to aid in the transaction of church busi- ness by casting their lots, or voting. Some have pressed this objection so far that they affirm that for a woman to raise her hand to vote, would amount to speaking, because "actions speak louder than words"! But this objection would lie with equal force against the duty of women confessing their faith in Christ, being baptized, uniting with the church, or even going to the house of God at all. Again, the question is asked, " Should not religious women be willing to trust their husbands and fathers to transact the business of the church, or act for them in voting?" This would make the husbands and fathers occupy the place of god-fathers for their wives and daughters. This would be sponsorial religion — worshiping God by proxy. Then, why not the husband and father be baptized, and May Women Vote in Ch^irch ? 219 receive the LorcVs Supper^ and perform all other religious duties, instead of his wife or daughters ? The worship of God requires individual and personal obedience. No one can perform a religious act in lieu of another. Another objection arises on the score of delicacy — that some questions come before churches unsuitable for ladies to hear. The same objection is urged against ladies being immersed ; for it is alleged to be indecent. Questions of religious duty are not to be settled by the fictitious deli- cacy of modern times. The only question should be, " What is truth ? '^ in matters of religion. And more : it is not always absolutely necessary for the congregation to hear all the details of evidence in cases of church trial. In the case of the incestuous man in the church at Corinth, it was not necessary to enter into all the details; but Paul announced the fact of the man's guilt, and the church ex- cluded him. Not many worse cases than this are likely to occur in the history of church trials. And the very same objections are urged sometimes against reading the Scriptures, — that the Bible contains some things too deli- cate for them to read ! But enough of this ; it is absolutely certain that the churches of Christ are constituted the de- positories of truth, and are under obligation to act in the execution of the laws of Christ; but women are recog- nized in the Scriptures as church members ; therefore^ wo- men are authorized to participate in the execution of the laws of Christ, or in the transaction of church business. Fourth: All the members are equal as to the term? of their reception into church fellowship ; they are all required to repent, believe in Christ, and he buried with him in baptism, in order to church membership. Fifth: The members of the true churches of Christ 220 Equality in the Kingdo'^n. are equal in privilege and duty, in the trial and exclu- sion of disorderly persons. Jesus himself has laid down the law upon this point ; for he says : ^^ Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone : if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church : but if he neg- Ject to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican." Mark : the command is, to tell the grievance ^'unto the church," not to a certain class of rulers; and the offender is required to ^4iear the church," not a class of self-appointed judges in the church. The church is composed of all its members ; and as there are no restrictions for or against any class, therefore we must come to the irresistible conclusion that the church means the church, the local assembly of which the offender is a member. But if this command ever comports with the new views of church government now being advocated by some of the brethren, it will have to be reconstructed, or translated so as to read as follows : " And if he shall neg- lect to hear them, tell it unto the male members of the church over twenty-one years of age : but if he shall neg- lect to hear the male members of the church over twenty- one years of age, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican." That it was the duty of the church, not a part only, to act in the exclusion of members, is seen in the advice of the apostle Paul to the church at Corinth, 'as follows : " In the name of our Lord May Women Vote in Church? Tl\ Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my Spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh,! that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Je- sus. * ^ ^ 'i^ Purge out therefore the old leaven that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened.'^ Mark the fact, that it was the church, not a part of it, which was directed to purge out the old leaven by delivering the offender to Satan — viz: excluding him. Sixth: Church members are equal in their privilege and duty in the restoration or reception of members. Paul, in his second letter to the Corinthians, advised them concerning the excluded mem- ber, as follows : '^ Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which Avas inflicted of many. So that, contrariwise, ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swalloAved up with overmuch sorrow.'' It will be observed that his punishment or exclusion "was inflicted of many" — the church; and it was the church which was directed to forgive him." Seventh : The church members were equal in the privilege and duty in choosing their officers. Even in the election of an apostle to fill the place vacated by Judas, they, the disciples, among whom were women, " Gave forth their lots : and the lot fell upon . Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles." Now, if all the disciples in the congre- gation gave forth their lots in a matter so important as the election of an apostle, we may safely conclude that they had the right to do the same in matters of less mo- ment. Also, in the election of deacons the members were equal in privilege ; for, when the question of the deacon- ship was introduced by the apostles, it is written that, 222 Equality in the Kingdom. '^The saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Xicanor, and Timon, and Parmeuas, and Nicholas, a proselyte of Antioch/^ Does the whole multitude who choose the deacons, only mean the male members over thirty years of age? Eighth: The members of the apostolic churches were equal in privilege and duty in sending out delegates or messen- gers to promote the interests of a cause; the church at Jerusalem sent delegates to xVntioch to settle the dispute about circumcision. It is recorded thus : '' Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole Ads 15: 22. , , ^ , , .. , . cnurcn, to send chosen men oi their own company to Antioch, with Paul and Barnabas : namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren." " The whole church " acted with the apostles and elders in choosing and sending messengers to Antioch. And the same was true in sending out mission- aries. Paul says : " Whether any do inquire * " ' of Titus, he is my partner and fellow-helper concerning you ; or our brethren be inquired of, they are the messengers of the churches, and the glory of Christ." These missionaries were not messengers of a privileged class in the churches, but of the churches which sent them out. It is now fully settled that the memership in the churches of Christ are privileged to participate in all church transactions. The doings of a certain class in a church can not properly be called church actions. (Baptists for Liberty of Conscience. 223 Section II. — Peculiarity fifth identified with PRESENT BAPTIST DOCTRINE. The following sentiment, as quoted from the Christian Review, by Joseph Belcher, is eminently true : " Religious liberty is a Baptist watch-word, a kind of talisman, which operates like a charm, and nerves every man for action.'' Whatever shades of difference in opinion may have pre- vailed among Baptists on minor questions, they have ever been perfectly agreed in this peculiarity. They claim no King, Lord, or Ruler, over the conscience, except Jesus Christ. Baptist sentiments on this point are clearly ex- pressed in the Religious Encyclopedia, as follows : " Hence, also, they reject all claims of the civil mag- . , , , 1 X • -1 • • T X- xi 1 Relict ious Encyc, istrate to any but civil lurisdiction ; thouMi ^-;_ -^ ' . . . P- 188- willing and peaceful subjects to civil au- thority, where the rights of conscience are not involved. Hence, in every age, their strong attachment to liberty, especially to religious liberty; these principles they were the first to proclaim, and the first also to exemplify. Their principles have subjected them to persecution from age to age, and to such principles they have counted it a glory to be martyrs. Though their own blood has flow^n freely, they have never shed the blood of others. Indeed, civil persecution of any kind, on their principles, is impossible.'^ Not only in this country, but throughout the world, Bap- lists have borne unflinching testimony to this doctrine of equality of privilege in the worship of God. In the ad- vertisement to the Tracts on Liberty of Conscience, pub- lished by the Hanserd Knolly's Society, it is stated that : " In the prospectus of the ^f^^ ^^^^ ^ ' ^-^ Hanserd Knolly's Society, it was stated 224 Equality in the Kingdom. that ^ to the Baptists belong the honor of first asserting in this land, and of establishing on the immutable basis of just argument and Scripture rule, the right of every man to worship God as conscience dictates, in submission only to divine command/ ^^ And, on the same subject. Elder J. R. Graves expresses himself in the standing col- umn of his paper, as follows : " All standard historians unanimously affirm that the government of the apostolic churches Avas purely democratiG (that is, vested in the people or membership), and all the churches independent republics. All religious societies have legislative powers, and clerical or aristocratical governments (that is, in the hands of the clergy or a few as a session,) are anti-scrip- tural and anti-republican — tyrannies which no Christian can lawfully countenance, or republican freeman ought to support," etc. Again : Mr. Graves, in the standing column of the Bap- tist, says : " That a body of immersed believers is the highest ecclesiastical authority in the world, and the only tribunal for the trial of cases of discipline ; that the acts of a church are of superior binding force over those of an association, convention, council, or presbytery ; and no association or convention can impose a moral obligation upon the constituent parts composing them." Mr. Orchard, the Baptist historian, says of the Baptists : " They are a people very fond of religious j^' 27.-*' ^^ ' liberty, and very unwilling to be brought under the bondage of the judgment of any." This fondness for religious liberty among Baptists has generally inclined them to favor a republican form of government in the state. Such was the force of Baptist influence brought to bear in the forma ti(jn of the Ameri- (Baptists for Liberty of Conscience. 225 can government, that the Baptist doctrine of " soul liberty ^' was eustamped upon the government in such a manner that both religious and political liberty has been secured to a continent through Baptist instrumentality. We do not mean to teach that none except Baptists were in favor of these glorious principles. Many others embraced the same sentiments with the Baptists, and stood firm in their support against every foe; but it is a historic fact that Bap- tists have ever understood and advocated the doctrine of liberty of conscience; and it is certain that they took the lead, both in England and America, in the cause of free- dom. The German philosopher, Gervinus, speaking of the Baptist principles of liberty advocated by Roger Wil- liams and others in Bhode Island colony, says : " In ac- cordance with these principles, Boger Williams insisted, in Massachusetts, upon I^eligious Dcnom. ,, . ,• p 1 /■ • , p. 153; quoted by allowing entire ireedom oi conscience, and ^^i^j^^^ upon entire separation of the church and state. But he was obliged to flee, and in 1636 he formed in Rhode Island a small and new society, in which per- fect freedom in matters of faith was allowed, and in which the majority ruled in all civil affairs. Here, in a little State, the fundamental principles of political and ecclesi- astical liberty practically prevailed, before they were even taught in any of the schools of philosophy in Europe. At that time people predicted only a short existence for these democratical experiments — universal suffrage, universal eligibility to office, the annual change of rulers, perfect religious freedom — the Miltonian doctrines of schisms. But not only have these ideas and these forms of govern- ment maintained themselves here, but precisely from this little State have they extended themselves throughout the 226 Equality in the Kingdom. United States. They have conquered the aristocratic tendencies in Carolina and New York, the High Church in Virginia, the Theocracy in Massachusetts, and the Mon- archy in all America. They have given laws to a conti- nent, and, formidable through their moral influence, they lie at the bottom of all the democratie movements which ai-e now shaking the nations of Europe.'^ Though Roger Wil- liams was not fully a Baptist, he advocated the Baptist doc- trine of "soul liberty,'^ for which he was persecuted and banished from Massachusetts. As soon as he began to pro- claim this doctrine, he was charged with the heresy of the Anabaptists. While it is true, as stated by Gervinus, that the principles of religious and civil liberty were es- tablished in E-hode Island '^before they were taught in any of the schools of philosophy in Europe,^^ it is also true that the Baptists of England had suffered, long prior to the time of Williams, for the advocacy of the same prin- ciples. It is an error into which some have fallen, who suppose that Williams was the first to advocate the doc- trine of entire freedom of conscience in matters of religion. In this quotation we have the fact brought out that these Baptist principles "have given laws to a continent^'^ and are "shaking the nations of Europe^' by their moral pjower. The love of religious and civil liberty induced the early Baptists of this country to side with Washington in the struggle for American independence. President Wash- ington acknowledged the services of the Baptists in Ihe time of the Revolution of Seventy-six; for, in answer to the letter of the "Virginia Baptists, congratulating him on his honors, he replied that the deuom- leigious enom., jn^^^Qj^ ^ jjjjyg ]^(sqii throughout America uniformly, and almost unanimously, the baptists for Liberty of Conscience. 227 firm friends of civil liberty, and the persevering promoters of the glorious Eevoliitiou/ ^' This is the testimony of the renowned George Washington, that the Baptists in the revolutionary struggle were on the side of liberty. And this has been true of Baptists in all ages. Up to the time of the achievement of American liberty, as the result of the Revolution, State religion was established in the most of the colonies except Rhode Island. Baptists wxre taxed, imprisoned, and whipped, because of their advocacy of re- ligious liberty, in preaching contrary to the laws regulating religion. But, from the very first, they made deterinined efforts to secure full liberty to worship God according to the dictates of conscience. They did not merely ask this liberty for themselves, but they plead for perfect religious liberty to all. In the first Continental Congress, which was held in 1774, in Philadelphia, the Baptists sent their messengers to memorialize Congress by beseeching them to "secure at once the recognition of the inallenahle 7'ights of conscience.'^ And though nothing could then be accom- plished, yet, at the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, which met in the same year, the Baptists laid in their grievances through Isaac Backus ; and they succeeded in securing the following resolution, as given by Mr. Curtis : "In Provincial Congress, December 9, 1774. " On reading the memorial of Rev. Isaac Backus, agent of the Baptist churches in ^y'^''' ^^^^' this government, " Resolved, That the establishment of civil and religious liberty to each denomination in the province, is the sincere vvisli of this Congress; but being, by no means, vested with powers of civil government, whereby they can redress the 228 Equality in the Kingdom. grievances of any person whatever, they, therefore, recom- mend to the Baptist churches, that when a general assem- bly shall be convened in this colony, they lay the real grievances of said churches before the same ; when and where their petition Avill most certainly meet with all that attention due to the memorial of a denomination of Chris- tians so well disposed to the public weal of their country. " By order of the Congress. "John Hancock, President.'' Accordingly, the Baptists memorialized the next ses- sion of the Massachusetts Legislature (1775). In doing so, they said : " Our real grievances are, that we, as well as our fathers, have, from time to time, been taxed, on religious accounts, where we were not represented, and our causes have been tried by interested judges. For a civil Legislature to impose religious taxes, is, we conceive, a poivcr which their constituents never had to give, and, therefore, going entirely out of their jurisdiction, "We are persuaded that an entire freedom from being taxed by civil rulers to religious worship, is not a mere favor from any man or men in the world, but a right and property granted us by God, who commands us to stand fast in it. We should wrong our consciences by allowing that power to men which we believe belongs only to God.'' Although but little Avas accomplished at this time, the Baptists continued to plead the cause of liberty of con- science before the various Legislatures and before Con- gress, until religious liberty was fully established through- out the United States. Members of other denominations have, more or less, advocated religious liberty since it became popular in this country; but when liberty of con- (Baptists for Liberty of Conscience. 229 science was unpopular, and its adherents Avcre called often to suffer for their views, there was found no denomination except the Baptists to stand up boldly in favor of this boon of Heaven — religious liberty. True, some individ- uals among other parties arose above their systems, and advocated a partial liberty of conscience, or a toleration. But Baptists have understood the principle of religious liberty from the first, because this doctrine lies at the foundation of the Baptist system. It is an interesting fact that the true idea of a free constitution for the American Government was derived from the Baptists. We have the following account of the impressions made on the mind of President Jefferson, by attending a Baptist church: *' Many of the Baptists are of opinion that their system oi church government had ^^^ ' somewhat to do with the foundation of the Constitution of these United States ; and tell us that the late Rev. Dr. Fishback, of Lexington, Kentucky, a few years since, made the following statement, which he re- ceived from the late Bev. Andrew Tribble, who died at about the age of ninety-three years. Mr. Tribble was pastor of a small Baptist church, near Mr. Jefferson's res- idence, in the State of Virginia, eight or ten years before the American Bevolution. Mr. Jefferson attended the meetings of the church for several months in succession, and; after one of them, asked the Avorthy pastor to go home and dine with him, with which request he complied. Mr. Tribble asked Mr. Jefferson how he was pleased with their church government. Mr. Jefferson replied, that its propriety had struck him with great force, and had greatly interested him ; adding, that he considered it the only form of pure democracy which then existed in Equality in the Kingdom. the world, and had concluded that it would be the best plan of government for the American colonies. This was several years before the Declaration of Independence." From this it appears that Mr. Jefferson, the framer of the Constitution, gathered his idea of ^^pure democracy" from a Baptist church. To my mind, it is evident that the doctrine of religious liberty, incorporated in the American Constitution and Government, is attributable, under God, to Baptist influence. It is no idle dream to announce, that Baptist principles have given liberty to a continent. Even when Baptists have had the opportunity of pecuniary sup- port from the state, they have firmly rejected it as con- trary to their fundamental principles of religious liberty. This is illustrated by the conduct of the Georgia Baptists, reported as follows: "In February, 1785, eigious enom., ^ ^ writer in the third volume of the p. Ibo. -^ CJunstian Review, ^A law for the estab- lishment and support of religion, was passed in Georgia, through the influence of the Episcopalians. It embraced all denominations, and gave all equal privileges ; but in May, the Baptists remonstrated against it — sent two mes- sengers to the Legislature, and in the next session it was repealed. In both ministers and members, they were much more numerous than any other denomination. Their preachers might have occupied every neighborhood, and lived upon the public treasury ; but, no ; they knew that Christ's kingdom is not of this world; and believed that any dependence on the civil power for its support, tends to corrupt the purity and pristine loveliness of religion. They, therefore, preferred to pine in poverty, as many of them did, and prevent an unholy marriage between the Church of Christ and the civil authoritv. The overthrow (Baptists for Liberty of Conscieiice. 231 of the above-named odious laws is to be attributed to tlieir unremitting efforts ; they generally struck the first blow, and thus inspired other sects with their own intrepidity. If is owing to their sentiments, chiefly, as the friends of religious liberty, that no law abridging the freedom of thought or opinion touching religious worship, is now in force to disgrace our statute books. It is not here asserted that, but for their efforts, a system of persecution, cruel and relentless as that of Mary of England, or Catharine de Medici of France, would have obtained in these United States ; but is asserted that the Baptists have successfully propagated their sentiments on the subject of religious lib- erty, at the cost of suffering in property, in person, in limb, and in life. Let the sacrifice be ever so great, they have always freely made it, in testimony of their indignation against laws which would fetter the conscience. Their op- position to tyranny was implacable, and it mattered not whether the intention was to tax the people without rep- resentation, or to give to the civil magistrate authority to settle religious questions by the sword. In either case, it met in every Baptist an irreconcilable foe.' " These expressions, quoted from the Beligious Denomi- nations, are but the sentiments of all true Baptists through- out the world. The ignorance of those who represent the Baptist church government as oppressive, or opposed to religious and civil freedom, is to be pitied. The Baptists stand alone in giving the liberty to every church member to act in the transaction of church duties. None has the right to assume the pre-eminence over his brethren. Con- trasting the Baptist principles with others. Chevalier Bunsen remarks: "How little the Na- Beligious Denom., tional churches of the seventeenth cen- p. 190. 232 Equality in the Kingdom. tiiry can make head against the onsets of the Baptists, in countries where a great and free religious move- ment exists, is evinced by the fact, that, among serious Christians of the English race in the United States, the Baptist or Congregational preachers are on the increase more than any other sect, so that they form already the most numerous and most progressive community/^ Full enough has been presented to show that the present Bap- tists possess this Bible peculiarity of religious equality in the churches of Jesus Christ. (Baptist Succession. 2:33 CHAPTER XIII. PECULIARITY SIXTH— RESTRICTED COMMUNION. 1. Objectio:n^s to Restricted Communion answered. 2. Baptist Peculiarity Sixth — Restricted Communioit TESTED BY THE BiBLE. 8. Concessions to Baptist views of Communion. 4. Peculiarity Sixth — Communion in the Kingdom iden- tified WITH present Baptist teaching. Section I. — Objection to restricted communion ANSAVERED. This peculiarity in Baptist faith and practice has called down upon them the wrath of the world. It is at present, to a large extent, the reproach of the Cross of Christ. Baptists stand out against the entire religious world, in oiGPering the Lord's Sapper to those only who have pro- fessed regeneration, and who have been buried with Christ in baptism, having fellowship in a church of Jesus Christ. This Baptist " close communion ^' is the great bugbear by which our enemies, who profess so much charity for us, try to make us odious in the sight of the world. Several objeclions are urged against our practice. First: We must not judge. AVe are, of Baptists not to late, informed that, as Baptists, we have no j'^dge, right to judge who are qualified to approach the Lord's table. We are often told, by open communionists, to "Judo-e not that ye be not iudg-ed ;'^ and, . J i=> } » Matt 7' 1. at the same time, they feel themselves per- 234 (Restricted Communion. fectly competent to ^^ judge '^ or decide who ought to ap- proach the Lord's table. They themselves are perfectly qualified to judge in this matter^ but Baptists must not judge ! It must not be forgotten that, while it is true that we are forbidden by the Savior to judge the hearts or motives of our brethren, we are authorized, by the same Word of God, to " know them by their fruits,^ and thus decide or judge who are church -nembers. Indeed, Ave have the authority laid down by the apostle, by which we are required to judge with whom we should eat at the Lord's table. Here is the author- ity : ^' But now I have written unto you 1 Cor. 5: 11-13. ^ , .^ .i . . not to keep company, it any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idola- ter, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; w^ith such a one no not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.'' Here is the authority of Pleaven, to ^' judge them that are w^ithin " the church, or decide who are members of the church, and qualified for the Supper. But if the argument of our opponents is correct, that all must eat with us at the Lord's table who think themselves worthy, then we must eat with all those classes of persons with whom the apostle has said, " no not to eat" ! In fact, the very denominations who are so vociferous in their condemnation of the Baptists for deciding whom they think qualified to approach the Lord's table, are guilty of the same thing; they all decide or "judge" whom they deem qualified to approach the table. And again : in Objections to Restricted Communion. 235 condemnation of themselves our opponents undertake to use the expression of the apostle against us where he says : "Let a man examine himself, and so let ^ ^ ,^ ^^ 1 • r> 1 1 T 1 1 • T p 1 . 1 Cor. 11: 28. nim eat oi that bread, and driniv: oi that cup.^^ Many persons quote this language in order to con- demn the Baptrst practice, when, at the same time, they are totally ignorant of the connection in which it stands, and the characters to whom it was addressed. Upon ex- amination it will be found that this injunction was not given to the unbaptized, who were not church members ; but to "the Church of God which is at Corinth.'^ This was instruction given to those who were actual members of a Gospel church, and not to them that are Avithout, or members of some modern sect. Get up by human ingenuity. This instruction, for church members to examine themselves, is the same that is given by every Baptist minister who administers the Lord^s Supper. They exhort every member of the church to examine himself in the light of the Word of God, with humble prayer- and supplication to God, to enable him to partake of the elements with due solemnity, in memory of a dying Savior. The fault of some of these Corinthians was that: "In eatino; every one taketh be- 1 Cor. 11 : 21. fore other his own supper : and one is hungry, and another is drunken.^^ And when the apostle had sharply rebuked them for their want of reverence in par- taking of the Supper, he then exhorted them — the actual church members — to examine themselves^ and so eat of that bread and drink of that cup. The practice of our oppo- nents, iu the misapplication of this text, exhibits the gross- ness of the perversion of the truth to which they continu- ally resort in order to bring reproach upon us. 236 (Restricted Communion. Second: A want of Jove. Another objection urged by our oj^ponents against our practice in communion, is, iliai we exliibit a ivafit of charity or love toivard ap IS ac ' ^^^, bretJiren whom ice admit to be pious per- chanty. ^ . sons. The word charity has been pressed into service in order to give currency to all the errors which have inundated the world for the last fifteen cen- ^ ^ turics. But it is a truth, tJiat though "char- 1 Fetcr 4:8.. , itj shall cover a multitude of sins,'^ or faults, it "rejoiceth not in inifjuity, but rejoiceth in the truth." We arc taught by this, that our charity or love for men should not cause us to violate the truth of God ; for if we love Jesus Christ, we must keep his commandments irrespective of the views, feelings, prejudices, or traditions of men. And if our love or charity for men should induce us to violate the laws of Jesus Christ, which would be the case were we to commune with thoric wdio are neither baptized nor members of the kingdom of Christ, it would be posi- tive evidence that we are not worthy of him*; for '' he that ^^ ^„ loveth father or mother more than me, is not Matt. 10 : 37. , ^ -, i i i i worthy oi me : and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me." It appears that many persons who profess to be Christians, exhibit more anxiety to show love to their fellow-men than to Jesus Christ, by the faithful performance of his command- ments. If necessary to follow Christ, we are commanded fo forsake our father, and mother, and wife, and children, end brethren, and sisters ; yea, and our own life also, or we can not be Jiis disciples. It is evident that we exhibit more love to our erring brethren by refusing to participate in their errors, than if we v\^ere to indorse their errors by . Objections to (Restricted Comnuinion. 237 communing with them ; for, by the participation with them of a church ordinance, we thereby indorse their church character, and. deceive them in regard to the kingdom of Christ ; and in this way we would not only be partaking of their sins, but we would do them a permanent injury by confirming them in error. This objection is wdiolly based on a misconception of the real design of the Lord^s Supper. ^\^hen our oppo- nents charge us with the want of love toward them by not communing with them, they show by that act that they re- gard the Lord's Supper as a kind of love-feast .to show love for one another ! They partake of the Supper to show love for one another, instead of alone in memory of a dying Savior. It is the duty of the husband to love his wife ; must he commune with her at the Lord's table, irre- spective of any preparation on her part to show that love ! It is the duty of parents to love their children; must they commune with them at the Lord's table to show their love to ,them ! AYe are commanded by Jesus Christ to love our enemies who despitefally use and persecute us, as other denominations generally have done to Baptists; must we commune with them to show our love for them ! ! While we should love all Pedobaptists, whether they are friends or enemies — and I freely admit that there are many pious persons among them — yet we must love our Savior more ; and, therefore, we must not break the least of all his commandments and teach others to do so by commun- ing with them when we are confident that they have not yielded obedience to the terms of admission to the Supper. All who make this objection against Baptists, are either ignorant of the true design of the Supper, or they make an argument which they knoAV to be without foundation. 238 Restricted Cov.iinunion. The Methodist Discipline says : " The Supper of the Lord is not only a sign of the love that i.p ine J o , Qi^pigj-^Q^g ought to have among them- selves one to another, but rather is a sacra- ment of our redemption by Christ's death. '^ Even if mixed communion were Scriptural, we could not consist- ently commune with the ^lethodists, from the fact, as shown by the Discipline, they have reduced it in part to a mere love-feast — a sign of love for one another. Tliird : How can Vv^e commune in heaven ? But again the question is asked, with an air of triumph: ^^ If we can ^, . ^^ not commune together here on earth, how Com. in Heaven. . can we commune together in heaven f And this is thought by some to be argument. But we answer, that the Lord's Supper ls an institution belonging to the churches in the kingdom of Christ on earth, and it is only to be observed until Christ comes again ; and, therefore, will not be observed in heaven at all by any one. Such an objection only betrays the extreme igno- rance of him who makes it, in supposing that the Lord's Supper is to be perpetuated in heaven above. But if they mean spiritual communion, in this objection, we answer, that we now have such communion with all the people of God on earth. And it is further urged that the Baptists exclude from their communion persons with whom they expect to live in hfeaven; therefore the Baptists must regard their com- munion as a holier place than heaven itself. I answer this objection by asking. Do not the Pedobaptists them- selves expect to live in heaven with persons whom they ex- clude from their communion ? They exclude infants and idiots, and yet they expect to live in heaven with them. Tested by the (Bible. 239 Is the PedohaptistH^ communion more holy than heaven f Sucli frivolous objections lie Avitli equal weight against those who make them as against Baptists. To illustrab* the inconsistency of the Pedobaptist complaint againnt- Baptists, we relate a circumstance which actually occurred. On a communion occasion, as the elder of a Presbyterian congregation was distributing the bread and wine, his own little boy, a " baptized" member of the church, came with tears, pleading with his father for the bread and wine, saying, '^Give me some cake, give me some cider." Was not this "close" communion thus to reject one of the mem- bers of the church who had the sealing ordinance ? Baptists commune, at least with all their own members in fellow- ship, and invite all others to come to the table on the same terms; but Pedobaptists are so close in communion that they will not commune with their own infant members. But will it be said that the infants can not understand the design of the Supper ? They can certainly understand the communion as well as they understand baptism. The Greek Church is more consistent than other Pedobaptists ; for they give the Supper to their infant members. They administer it to them from a spoon. But our "cZose" communion friends will feed the old sheep and let the little lambs of the flock go unfed. Section II. — Baptist peculiarity sixth — re- stricted COMMUNION — tested BY THE BIBLE. The question now comes up, Is the peculiar practice of Baptists in regard to the Lord's Supper, which has called down on them the scoffs and opposition of the world, sup- ported by the authority of Inspiration ? First : Upon the 240 (kestrictcd Commiuiion. examination of tlie Scriptures it will be found that the Lord^s Supper stands in point of order after baptism. All denominations which practice baptism at all, have, until recently, admitted tliis position ; and it is still held, theoretically, by nearly all Christendom, that baptism pre- cedes the sacred Supper ; but of late, some, in order for pop- ularity it would seem, haye come to the conclusion that all classes, whether baptized or unbaptized, may, of right, ap- proach the Lord's table. AVe haye the example of the apostles in fay or of our position; for they Ay ere all bap- tized before they partook of the Supper at the hands of Jesus Christ. This is not only sho\yn from the fact that the apostles were John's disciples before they were called to preach by Jesus Christ, but it is proyed, from the lan- guage of John himself, where he said : " I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that Matt. 3 : 11. -^ , ^ . \ , . , ^ , cometli alter me is. miirhtier tiian i, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear : he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire." This shows that the same characters who were baptized in the Holy Spirit, which w^as on the day of Pentecost, were preyiously baptized by John ; the twelye apostles were baptized in the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost; therefore, they were preyiously baptized by John. And as John's ministry closed before the giying of the Supper, therefore it is absolutely certain that the first apostles were baptized by John before they participated with Christ of the Lord's Supper. Again : That the apostles were baptized by John, is shovrn from the foliowino;: ^^And all the Luhe 7: 29, 30: i i • •- i ,i i r ' ' people, hearmo: it, and the publicans, lus- ncw version, r r j t=> y i ^ o tified God, haying been immersed with John's immersion. But the Pharisees and the lawyers (Baptism before the Supper. 241 rejected the counsel of God toward themselves, not hav- ing been immersed by him." From this it appears thiit those who received Jesus Christ had previously been bap- tized by John. The true apostles received Christ ; there- fore they had received John's baptism. And this is con- firmed in the fact that the apostle, to succeed Judas, must *4iave companied with us" — the other apos- tles — " all the time that the Lord Jesus went ' ' " " in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrec- tion." As none w^ere eligible to the apostleship except those who had companied Avith the apostles beginning from the baptism of John, therefore the apostles began from the bap- tism of John. Jesus chose his first disciples from among the disciples of John, otherwise he would have rejected John's work and ministry ; but as John made ready a peo- ple prepared for the Lord, the Savior received the people that were prepared under the ministry of John ; therefore, the apostles who had been the disciples of John, had been baptized by him. But if the apostles were not baptized be- fore the communion, they were not baptized at all ; and this would place the apostles in the kingdom, that requires bap- tism of all, without baptism. The denial of the baptism of the apostles was introduced to serve a theory. Again : The Pentecostian converts did not partake of the Lord's Supper till after they had been baptized. The order of the proceedings of that day was — 1st. That Jesus was preached as Lord and Christ; 2d. The people were cut to the heart and cried out; 3d. They were commanded to repent and be baptized; 4th. And after they were baptized that gladly received the Word, "they continued ii42 (Restricted Corn'tnunion. Acts 2: 42. steadfastly in the apostle's doctrine and fel- lowship, and in breaking of bread, and in l^-aycrs.'^ Here the breaking of bread in the communion came after baptism. And those Avho would take the com- munion before baptism, violate the apostolic order of the proceedings on the day of Pentecost. The same is also taught in the commission, where the Savior said ; " Go ye ,, ^^ ^ ^^ therefore, and teach all nations, baptizino: i/b;^^.28: 19,20. , . /, ^, ^, ' i p xi them in the name oi the i^ ather, and oi the Son, and of the Holy Ghost : teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you : and, lo ! I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.'^ Un- der the commission, baptism was the first duty enjoined after the exercise of true faith ; therefore no unbaptized per- son, according to the commission, can approach the Lord^s table. It can not be shown that any person in the apos- tolic age ever dared to approach the Lord's table before and without baptism. Baptists do not regard anything except the immersion of a true believer as baptism at all; therefore Baptists can not commune with the members of those societies which practice another baptism. And more : baptism, to be valid, must be performed by the sanction or authority of a church of Jesus Christ acting as the execu- tive in his kingdom ; therefore Baptists can not consist- ently commune with those persons who have received immersion in those human societies which have been set up without the sanction of Heaven. And again : the order of the witnesses which bear testimony on earth, is ^ r 7 ^ o l^i^ down as follows : " And there are three !l John 5:8. . . i i r>, • • t i that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood : and these three agree in one.^' How unmistakable the order of Heaven. The Holy Spirit /?*si (Baptism hcjcre the Supper. 243 bears witness with our spirits that we are the children of God by faith in the risen Savior; second^ the water, or burial in baptism, testifies that we are dead to sin, or freed from it ; and our rising out of the water shows our faith in a risen Savior, and is a pledge of our future resurrec- tion from the dead. The blood, the third witness, is the emblematic blood of the Supper, and testifies of the death of Christ by the shedding of his blood for the remission of sins. These three witnesses bear testimony on earth, in perfect agreement, in the order of Spirit, water and blood; and as the water of baptism bears testimony after the witness of the Spirit, so the emblematic blood in the Supper bears testimony after the witness of the water in baptism. He v/ho would willfully invert the order of these witnesses, abolish or change their testimony, must be con- sidered as exercising the authority of Antichrist. The Baptists are the only people on earth whose practice co- incides with the testimony of these three witnesses. It is now fully made out that, in the apostolic age, Baptism always preceded the Lord's Supper. Second: Jesus Christ was baptized before he participated with his disciples in the Supper. This is not denied by any one, because the baptism of Jesus took place before he entered his public ministry, and the giving of the Sup- per occurred the night before his crucifixion. Those who presume to approach the Lord's table before they have been buried in baptism, claim a privilege neither taken nor granted by Jesus Christ. The Savior says thc.t : '' li is enouo^h for the disciple that he be as his ,^ ,^ ^, master, and the servant as his lord ; but those who approach the table without baptism have usurped a privilege above their Lord and Master. The example 244 (Restricted Communion. of Jesus Christ extends still further: when he mstituted this Supper, he entered alone with his disciples into a ^ ^ "laro;e upper room/' where he distrib- Luhe 22 12 19. & ri y ^ uted the elements, and said, " This do in remembrance of me/^ So, then, the most restricted, and, as some would say, the " closest " communion that ever was held on earth, was administered by the Savior to his disci- ples. And were the same Savior to return to the earth, in the form of a servant, like he was then, with his same disciples in this our day, and repeat the same communion as at the first, these same people, who boast so much of charity, would stigmatize them as "close communion Bap- tists/^ So, then, when Baptists are reproached for their practice, they should consider it an honor to bear reproach for Christ's sake. Jesus Christ was despised and rejected of men, and so are Baptists, on account of following the example of Jesus Christ. Third: The LorcVs Supper was fixed by himself in his kingdom. He said, while at the table at the time of the institution of the Supper : " I appoint unto you a king- dom as my father hath appointed unto me; that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.' ' It has already been shown that Jesus Christ set up his own kingdom with visible subjects, laws, and ordinances. And here we are informed that the dis- ciples must eat and drink at his table in his kingdom. Yes; the Lord's table is fixed by the fiat of Heaven in his king- dom. We boldly affirm that the tables spread in any other church 01 kingdom are not the Lord's tables, whatever may be the forms and solemn ceremonies attached to them The Table in the, Kingdom. 245 The table spread in the Romish Church is not the Lord's table ; but it is the table of Antichrist. And those who partake of it are guilty of idolatry. The table spread in Mr. AYesley^s Society is not the Lord's table; it is Wesley's table. And the same might be said of all the communions established by men, from the time of King Henry VIII. down to the establishment of the Reformed Society in 1827. As these societies, established by men, whatever may be the moral character of their members, form no part of the everlasting kingdom established by Jesus him- self, in which he placed the table, therefore the Baptists who are members of that kingdom can not extend the communion to these human kingdoms without violating the positive command of Jesus Christ, to eat and drink at his table in his kingdom. And the communion with these societies would be to make a human organization equal to the kingdom of Jesus Christ. The Lord's table is alone to be found in the kingdom that Jesus Christ set up, and if we were to place the elements out of that kingdom, in order to please men, it could not be properly called the Lord's Sup- per ; but would be another supper. We, as the Lord's serv- ants, are not authorized to move the table out of the house to please those who think themselves too holy to enter the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Some act and talk as if they tliought the Lord's Supper was altogether under the control of men ; and that they have a right to invite or prohibit whom they please. This certainly is an egregious mistake. Men have no discretionary powers in this matter whatever. Jesus Christ himself built the house, or kingdom, and es- tablished his table in the house; and laid down the laws of approach to it ; and, therefore, he that would change or abolish those laws has proved himself a daring usurper 246 (Restricted Coiiinuinio::. of the authority which alone belongs to Jesus Christ. Those who find fault on account of the communion being restricted to the kingdom^ are finding fault with Jesus Christ. Notwithstanding the Lord's Supper is restricted to the kingdom of Christ, yet all the children of God are invited to participate at the Lord's table in the kingdom. They should not be invited to approach that table in the neglect or contempt for the laws of Jesus Christ. Every one must get into the house, or kingdom, before he ap- proaches the table which is fixed in the kingdom. When we invite our neighbors to eat at our tables of the things necessary for the body, we invite them on the same terms with every member of the family. It would be very un- kind in one, after refusing such an offer, to narrate through- out the neighborhood that his neighbor would not let him eat at his table ! Such is the practice of those who talk so much about " charity.^^ 1 repeat, that the Baptists invite all the children of God to commune at the Lord's table upon the same terms that they themselves approach that table; and if they refuse to come, it is because their own doctrines or traditions stand as a barrier to keep them away. We invite them first into the house with us, and then to the table of the Lord, upon the terms laid down by the Master of the house, to which all must submit in coming to the table. Fourth: To commune indiscriminately with all the sects, would be the indorsement of their doctrines of church c?'- ganization. It is taught by nearly all the professing world, that the Lord's Supper is an institution belonging solely to the churches of Christ. Therefore, when we receive the members from tlie various human societies to the Supper, we ^ay, by that act, that he is a church member; and if so, The Table in the Kingdom. 247 his baptism is valid, though received in infancy, or in order to the pardon of sins. So, if we should commune with those human societies, then we would be liable to the charge of bidding god-speed to all the monstrous ab- surdities of the so-called Christian world. But we are warned against these traditions of men by the Savior, in the followino- lano;iiao^e : "In vain do they ,, , „ „ ^ ^ . "^ Mark 7: 7. worship me, teaching for doctrines the com- mandments of men.^^ And Paul warns us against these traditions, as follows : '^ Touch not ; taste , ,, 1 • 1 11 • 1 Cot. 2; 21— 2o. not; handle not; winch all are to perish with the using; after the commandments and doctrines of men : which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honor to the satisfying of the flcsh.'^ But those who commune with the societies that hold these traditions and commandments of men, have not only touched^ tasted, or handled them, but they have publicly indorsed them by indorsing the church which holds them. But does John recommend this mixed fellowship and communion ? No ; ibr he said: "If there come any to you, ^ ^, ,. ,. ,,. ,.-, . .•^,.•''2 John, 10-14. and brmg not this doctrine, receive him not into your house; neither bid him god-speed. For he that biddeth him god-speed, is partaker of his evil deeds.'^ John says, ^'receive him not/' but the popular communion- isf. 'says, " receive him '^ / To illustrate the folly of this popular communion sys- t(!ai, I will here relate an occurrence which took place in my own labors several years ago : I called at the dwell- ing of Mr. P., a prominent Universalist ; and he immedi- ately introduced the claims of Universalism and advocated them with enthusiasm. He was, however, ignorant of nay 248 (Restricted Communion. denominational locality; and lie supposed that I was a Methodist. And when he felt that his foundation was being swept aw^ay before the Bible truth, he exclaimed : " The Methodists admit that the Universalists are an or- thodox churcli by communing with them." I replied : " I am not a Methodist ; neither am I responsible for their inconsistencies." He then exclaimed : " The Presbyte- rians will commune with us." I replied : " I am not a Presbyterian." He then, in his excitement, exclaimed : " The Baptists ; " I remarked, interrupting him, " do n't say Baptists." He then, in the extremity of his confusion, said : " The Baptists are a bigoted, narrow- hearted set, any how." I remarked that " The Baptists have too much consistency to indorse such an abominable doctrine as Universalismhy communing with its members." Had I been in the place of the popular communionist, I should have been puzzled for an answer. We could mention cases Avhere Universalists have taken the Supper with the open communionists at their popular tables. Do not the open communionists bid god-speed to Universal- ism? And, according to this ojjen theory, a Roman Catho- lic, Mormon, Shaking Quaker, or Infidel, may approach the sacred Supper provided he thinks himself worthy ! It is evident to every thinking mind, that, to invite the mem- bers of the different sects to the communion, is to indorse their church organization and doctrines, whatever they may be. How, then, could any Baptist recognize the sprinkling of infants as baptism, by communing with thoso who practice it? In exhibiting the inconsistency of Robert Hall, in advocating open communion, the 1. '\i /r^^ ^ot' lamented John L. Waller said that : " Mj". 6,y Waller, p. 33. Hall had surely forgotten the history cf Mixed Communion Sanctions Error. 249 infant baptism; a system, the natural and necessary tend- ency of which was to obliterate the lines of demarcation between the church and the workl — to unite church and state — to remove tlie distinction between those who serve God and those who serve him not. Infant baptism is the pillar of Popery. That monstrous superstructure of fraud and folly could not survive two generations if infant baptism did not support it. By that rite, in each gen- eration, not less than one hundred millions of persons be- came the subjects of the Pope. Millions per annum are kidnapped in their cradles, and made the vassals of other churches and creeds by what Mr. Hall is pleased rhetori- cally to class among 'the points non-essential.'^^ In view of these monstrous evils of infant baptism, what Baptist is willing to indorse it by communion with Pedobaptist churches? Again : in exhibiting the utter folly of Mr. HalPs mixed theory of communion, Mr. Waller remarks: "AVith him it matters not whether a believer be im- mersed into the name of the triune God, ^" ' '^' ^^^ ^ Com., p. 02. or whether a worthless person in helpless babyhood has had some water and oil poured, by a papal priest, or midwife, or scullion, upon its forehead and eye- brows ; or whether, upon the responses of ghostly parents, water simply has been poured upon the little head by an Episcopal prelate, priest, or deacon ; or whether he has had water sprinkled or poured upon him by a Methodist or Presbyterian minister : any one of all these things en- titles him to membership in the church, according to Mr. Hall.'' In view of the reckless folly of the doctrine of open comnmnion, I must be permitted to say, with elder Wal- 250 (Restricted Communion. ler, that: " A free-communion Baptist is, in spirit and feel- ino;, no Baptist at all. He not only dis- cards whatever makes us Baptists, but he can not get along without misrepresenting our system, and making it palpable to every one that he cherishes for us a feeling of contempt, and loves all others better than those whose name he bears, and to whose association he afPects to belong/^ We have now had ample proof from the Bible that this peculiarity of the Baptist practice concerning com- munion is supported by the AVord of God and the prac- tice of the apostolic age. The great advocate of open communion, Bobert Hall himself, said that : " The apos- tles, it is acknowledged, admitted none to Quoted by Waller, Open Com., p. 21. the Lord's Supper but such as were pre- viously baptized.'^ This being so, how dare any one violate the example of the inspired apostles? Section III. — Concessions to baptist views of COMMUNION. First: ^^Neander, in his great Church History, speak- ing of the Lord's Supper, in the early ages of Christianity, says: ^At this celebration, as may easily Quoted by Waller ^^ concluded, no one could be present Open Com., p. 20. ' i p i ^.i • • who w^as not a member oi the Christian Church, and incorporated into it by the rite of baptism.' ^^ Second: The learned Dr. D wight, a congregationalisl, and president of Yale College, remarks that: "It is mi indispensable qucdiflccdion for this ordi^ Dwiglies Theology, ^^^ ^j^_^^ ^j^^ candidate for communion vol. IV, p. 360. , ^ , , ^ . -7 7 ^>7 7 X' be a member oj the viaioce UiurcJi oj Concessions to baptist Views. 251 Christ in full standing. By this I intend, that he shall be such a member of the church as I have formerly des- cribed — to wit: that he should be a person of piety; that he should have made a public profession of religion, and that he should have been baptized J' Third: Waller says: ^^ The late Dr. GrifSn, formerly president of Williams Colleo;e, Mass., and ^ ^ one 01 the most talented and erudite oi the con2:ref>:ational clero:y of New Eno;land, in his cele- brated letter on communion, says : ' I agree with the advo- cates of close communion on two things: 1. That baptism is an initiating ordinance, which introduces into the visi- ble church. Of course, where there is no baptism there are no visible churches. 2. That we ought not to com- mune with those who are not baptized, and, of course, are not church members, even if we regard them as Chris- tians. Should a pious Quaker so far depart from his principles as to wish to commune with me at the Lord^s table, while he yet refused to be baptized, I could not re- ceive him, because there is such a relation established bo- tween the two ordinances that I have no right to separate them ; or, in other words, I have no right to send the sa- cred elements out of the church.' '^ Fourth : Again, Waller says : " The Baltimore Chris^ tian Advocate, an organ of the Methodist ^ ^ Episcopal Church South, holds the fol- •? P- • lowing language : ^ That a good man may be a firm be- liever in the necessity of adult immersion, we do not, for a moment, doubt ; and that they who believe this, should decline communion with the unbaptizcd, is reasonable and consistent. To be offended with the refusal of these to 252 cRcs:ric:cd Communion. commune with us, is absurd; to reproach them for it, unkind and unjustifiable.' '^ Fifth : Again, Mr. Waller says that : " The Boston Ee- ^ corder, Cong^reo-ationalist, in a late issue, Open Com., p. S6. t^ • i ^ ^i says : ' it we receive people to the com- munion Avithout baptism, we shall practically treat bap- tism as a nullity, and contribute to its being wholly abandoned.' " Sixth : Dr. Beech er says : " If our Baptist brethren are right on the mode and subjects of bap- f^uo e y a er, ^-g^^ thev are ri2:ht on the question of com- Opeji Com.,-p. 8i . ^ . o t. munion." Seventh : The Eev. F. G. Hibbard, of the Genesee Con- ference, in his work on baptism, published by the Metho- dist Conference, said : '^ The question on the mode of bap- tism borrows all its importance from the HibhardonBapt., .. cr r^\ ■ ^.' i ^- v i^ ^^o 1-1 question: 'Is Christian baptism itselr es- sentially prerequisite to a Scriptural par- ticipation of the Lord's Supper ? ' This latter topic has been treated adjunctively with the question of the mode, and lends to it an unspeakable interest. Divines have not entered the polemic arena to show their skill and tact at debate. The long and painful controversy on the sub- ject of the mode of Christian baptism, has not been merely a display of intellectual parts. The Corinthians are justly censurable for wasting time and intellectual power, and brotherly charity, in a controversy concerning ' meats and drinks, and new moons, and holy days ; ' the schoolmen liave exhibited themselves to the ridicule of all succeed- ing generations, for their fruitless and eternal disputations on such points as, whether there is any possible distinction between essence and existence ; whether an angel, or pure (Dr. Hibbard's Concession. 253 siiirit, can pass from one absolute point to another with- out passing over the intermediate space ; and nearly allied to such topics must be the question of the mode of bap- tism, if it have no further im])()rtance than the mere con- venience of fitness of an outward ceremony. But the case is far otherwise. The bearing which the mode of baptism is alleged to have on the validity of the ordinance, and the connection which it bears to the lawful approach to the Lord's table, and to the rights and immunities of church-fellowship, — these invest it with a character of paramount importance." " The question no longer respects merely a ceremony of religion, but has assumed the bold and alarming aspect of church or no ^f^^d on Bapt, ^ p. 1/3. CHURCH ! Every ordinance, every insti- tution, every rite and privilege of visible Christianity, is drawn along and merged into the bosom of this doubtful controversy. Within its ample folds are embraced the question of true Protestantism and pure Christianity ; while its capacious vortex has set in motion the very pil- lars of the visible church, threatening to whelm it in its troubled waters. The issues of this controversy are to decide whether the Pedobaptist churches are the true churches of Christ; whether their ministers hold their commission to administer the ordinances by a lawful ten- ure ; whether their members have any right to approach to the table of the Lord, and whether the privileges of the church may be conceded to them without desecration. Verily, the question of the mode of baptism is a far-reach- ing subject. Without controversy, it is a grave theme. Before entering upon the argument before us, it is but just to remark, that in one principle the Baptist and Pe- 254 (Restricted Communion. dobaptist churches agree. They both agree in rejecting from communion at the table of the Lord, and in denying the rights of church-fellowship to, all who have not been baptized. Valid baptism they consider as essential to constitute visible church membership. This also we hold. The only question, then, that here divides us, is, ^What is essential to valid baptism?^ The Baptists, in passing the sweeping sentence of disfranchisement upon all other Christian churches, have only acted upon a principle held in common with all other Christian churches — viz: that baptism is essential to church membership." " They have denied our baptism, and, as unbaptized persons, we have been excluded from their ^„, "^ ' table. Inat they err greatly m their views of Christian baptism, we, of course, believe. But, according to their views of baptism, they certainly are consistent in restricting thus their commun- ion. We would not be understood as passing a judgment of approval upon their course ; but we say their views of baptism force them upon the ground of strict communion, and herein they act upon the same principles as other churches — i. e., they admit only those whom they deem baptized persons to the communion table. Of course, they must be their own judges as to what baptism is. It is ev- ident that, according to our views of baptism, we can ad- mit them to our communion ; but with tlieir views of bap- tism, it is equally evident, they can never reciprocate the courtesy. And the charge of close commu7iion is no more applicable to the Baptists than to us, inasmuch as the question of church-fellowship with them is determined by as liberal principles as it is with any other Protestant churches, so far, I mean, as the present subject is con- Concessions to (Baptist Views. 255 cerned — i. e., it is determined by valid baptism. Now, this being the case, does it not become a measure of respon- sible moment to decide upon the question of the mode of baptism? Indeed, so awful are the aspects of this sub- ject, that thousands have feared to assume a decided posi- tion in reference to it. They have held to exclusive im- mersion, and at the same time have held to catholic com- munion, or communion with persons who have not been immersed — an anomaly and absurdity that presents a sin- gular contrast to the characteristic symmetry of Christian theology.^' I have introduced this long quotation from Mr. Hib- bard on account of the strength of his argument in show- ing the utter folly of holding to inmiersion as the only baptism, and at the same time practicing mixed commun- ion. Hibbard justly says that the Baptist '^ views of bap- tism force them upon the ground of strict communion ; '^ '^AND THE CHARGE OF CLOSE COMMUNION IS NO MORE APPLICABLE TO THE BAPTISTS THAN TO US." If all Pedobaptist writers and speakers would thus admit the con- sistency of Baptist practice in communion, though they may think us in error, it would be much better for themselves, as well as for us. In showing the inconsistency of the open communion Baptists, the same writer says : "But it is far less responsible, in our estimation, to hold that baptism may be administered ^^^^ ^^ ^ ' by sprinkling or pouring, than to hold fel- lowship at the Lord's table with persons we do not believe have received Christian baptism." Eighth: Dr. Wall, the Vicar of Shoreham, the learned Episcopalian, in his history of infant baptism, says: "Among all the absurdities that ever were held, none ever 256 (kestricted Co: uunumon. JFis. Inf. BapL, maintained, that any person should partake P' of the communion before he was baptized.' ' Ninth: Drs. Coke and Asbury, the founders of Method- ist Episcopacy, in their notes on the Discipline of the Methodist Church, say : " We must also observe, that our elders should be very cautious how they ^6 07^0/ iscip., g^^j-^jji- ^^ the communion persons who arc not in our society. It would be highly injurious to our hrethreyi if we suffered any to partake of the Lord's Supper with them whom we would not readily admit into our society on application made to us. Those whom we judge unfit to partake of our profitable, pruden- tial means of grace, we should most certainly think im- proper to be partakers of an ordinance which has been expressly instituted by Christ himself.^' Tenth: Again, Bishop Hedding, on the administration of the Discipline of the Methodists, asks: "Is it proper for a preacher to give out a general invitation in the con- gregation to ' members in good standing in other churches ' to come to the Lord's Supper? No; for the most un- worthy persons are apt to think themselves in good stand- ing. And sometimes persons who are not members of any church wdll take the liberty, from such an invitation, to come. And again, there are some communities, called churches, which, from heretical doctrines or immoral prac- tices, have no claim to the privileges of Christians, and ought not to be admitted to the communion of any Chris- tian people. The rule in that case is as follows, and it ought to be strictly adhered to : ^ Let no person who is rot a member of our church be admitted to the communion without examination, and some token given, by an elder or deacon. No person shall be admitted to the Lord's Concessions to (Baptist Views. 257 Supper among us who is guilty of any practice for Avhich we would exclude a member of our church.' — Discipline, page 75." Here the bishop of the Methodist Church is opposed to open communion, and refers to the Discipline to sustain his position. And it is evident that, according to the Discipline, no Baptist can commune with the Method- ists; for the law is, that no person can commune "among us who is guilty of any practice for which we . would exclude a member of our church.'' And as all are liable to exclusion "who ^. . Ill IT • 1 T 1 . Viscip., p. 129. hold and dissemuiate, publicly or pri- vately, doctrines which are contrary to our Articles of Relig-ion," or "inveiffh against either our ^. . doctrines or Discipline, such person so ot- fending shall be first reproved by the senior minister, or preacher, of his circuit, and if he persist in such pernicious practices, he shall be expelled from the church;" and it is known to all, that Baptists not only oppose the articles of the Methodist religion, but they inveigh against their doc- trine and Discipline, and, therefore, would be excluded were they members of the Methodist society; bat as none are allowed to commune whom the Methodists would ex- elude from their society, therefore, according to the Dis- cipline, no Baptist can commune with the Methodists. And more : the Methodist preacher who would invite them, is' guilty of the violation of his own solemn oath, which he has taken to observe the Discipline in every point, great and small. While some Pedobaptists are continually up- braiding us for close communion, they forget that they themselves are guilty of a more unscripturally close com- munion than ourselves, \yhile we invite to the Supper all of our own members, and, in fact, every child of God ^Restricted C oninmnwn. to enter the kingdom and approach the Lord's tal)lG scriptiirally, these Pedobaptist preachers refuse to take to their Supper the most innocent of all their membership, — I mean the babies whom they have kidnapped, sentenced, and condemned to Methodism, by forcin^^ them into the "Methodist Church" by spriidcling or pouring! Will they say that an infant Methodist is too young to under- stand the design of the Supper? If so, he is too young to understand the design of baptism and (ihurch membership. The Greek Church is more consistent than the modern Pedobaptist sects; for they extend the 8upj)er to every baptized infant, though his age may be only eleven days. What would be thought (jf my consistency were I to make a feast and sound a trumpet to proclaim my charity, and invite strangers to my supper; but after all, it turns out that I have debarred my own children — a part of my own family — from the feast? It would be thought that my ado about my superior charity was only for popular effect. I am fully satisfied that open communion originated in the desire for popularity. Its object is to please men, not God. The Modern Ilcjormers hold strict communion in theory, but loofic communion in practice. Their leaders know that strict communion is Scriptural, but their desire for popu- larity is so strong that they practice open communion. Mr. Campbell, their founder and leader, has repeatedly ex- pressed himself in opposition to open communion. I here introduce one statement from him, as follows: "We do not recollect that we have ever argued out the Mill. Harh., vol. n^d^j^-c, Qf ^i^jg ^fj-ge and open communion //, p. 893. ^ system.' But one remark we must offer in passing, that we must regard it as one of the weakest and most vulnerable causes ever plead ; and that the ^ great' Folly of Conimunion zvith (keforfners. 259 Mr. Hall, as he is called, has, in his defense of the prac- tice, made it appear worse than before. In attempting to make it reasonable, he has only proved how unreasonable and unscriptural it is.'^ And yet, in the face of this strong condemnation of Mr. Campbell, his disciples practice this "unreasonable and unscriptural'^ open communion sys- tem. These modern disciples are more inconsistent than any other " open " communion society on earth. The Pe- dobaptist open communionists hold the branch church sys- tem, — and they only propose to commune with those whom they regard as church members, or at least. Christians, — • but Reformers wish to commune with those whom they regard as members of Antichrist alid children of the devil. These people who profess to have escaped from the cor- ruptions and smoke of Babylon, will seek the opportunity to commune with Baptists and others whom they regard as a part of Babylon and Antichrist ! They complain if they are not permitted to commune with the Antichristian sects. When they do this, do they not return to "their wallowing in the mire''? They either do not believe what they say of others, or they are guilty of willfull idolatry in symbolizing w^ith Antichrist. Which horn of this dilemma will they choose? Elder J. L. Waller sets forth the utter absurdity of communion with this sect, as follows : " The Reformers do not regard ^ ^ - _, . , p 1 /^i 1 Open Com., p. 76. the Baptists as members ot the Church of Christ. They proclaim us to be schismatics or secta- rians. They affirm that we have built upon another foundation than the sacred Scriptures — that we are one of the dauo-hters of mvstical Babvlon. Hence, their chief work has been to reform us and to construct us into a veritable church. They call upon us to forsake our evil 260 - (Restricteii Conimunion. ways, and to follow them in the paths which they honor with their footprints. And whenever they can get a Bap- tist to join them, they rejoice more over him than over ninety and nine wicked persons who need repentaiice. If they regard ours as churches of God, then tliey are guilty of egregious wrong in producing schism in the body of Christ, which they every-where atteni})t, and which, in many cases, they have but too successfiiUy accomplished; and if they do not regard ours as churches of God, then they can not, according to that Bible which they profess so dearly to reverence, wish sacramental communion with us. According to the first supposition, they are too sinful for our fellowship ; and according to the last, we are too sinful for theirs. Either way, and intercommunion is wholly out of the question, — it is but the communion of light and darkness.'^ Yet, in the face of all these facts, the modern Beformers are guilty of the very absurdity which involves them in hypocrisy and guilt in the sight of God. Mr. Waller shows the utter folly of Baptists, when they commune with Campbellites, in the following words : " In many of the reformed ^ congregations,' too, are per- '*^ * L^ "' sons who have been excluded from Bai)tist P23. /b, /7. , ^ churches for sundry misdemeanors and immoralities, and yet have been taken into the brotherhood of the Reformation without any reo-ard to our feeliuirs or discipline in the premises. This, our readers will bear witness, is no mere fancy supposition to serve a purpose. Such examples, unfortunately, exist too abundantly. Do not Baptists, then, in fellov/shiping such at the Lord's table, and as true church members, proclaim, to all intents and purposes, their own want of ecclesiastical existence — Opeit Commimion Injurious. 2G1 that to them belong none of the rights and privileges of a Christian church ? • Is it not an admission that they have no Scriptural right to receive and exclude members? Is it not, in short, an acknowledgment as palpable as it is humil- iating, that everything which the reformed ^proclaimers^ have preached and published respecting our sectarianism and our kindredship to the papal harlot, is just and true ? As matters now stand between ourselves and the Reform- ers, it would be far better for us to become members with them, than to commune with them. That would be more consistent and manly. It is better and more honorable to surrender our cause than to betray it. Let us be open enemies rather than traitors." I am persuaded that no Baptist who understands the dreadful import of his act, will ever so far betray the cause of his Master as to commune \vith those w^ho preach "another Gospel.'^ On this point, Mr. Waller further savs : " Baptists agree with Mr. Campbell • , . . ,1^ , \ i. ' J Wal. Open Com., in mamtainmg that none but immersed ^.^ believers in Jesus Christ have a right to come to his table ; because only such are fit for member- ship in his visible churches, and because the Supper was ordained by him to be a church ordinance : but they be- lieve his theory of the plan of salvation to be unscriptural and pernicious. Thus believing, they can not, by inviting Reformers to their communion, recognize their congrega- tions as Gospel churches." In fact, it would be the full indorsement of the popish dogma of baptismal salvation, to receive Campbellites to our communion, or to commune with them. In conclusion, it should be remembered that the heaviest judgments of Almighty God fell upon ancient Israel for 2G2 ^Restricted Communion. mixed fellowship, mixed worship, and mixed marriages, with the surrounding nations. And it was the settled policy of the enemies of Israel, when they failed to subdue them by force, to try to seduce them to commune with them in their worship. And, in like manner, when the various opposing parties of earth have failed to overthrow the Baptists by fire and sword, they now", in order to get us to surrender our principles, cry ^^ charity,^' and propose to commune with us. When Sanballat and Tobiah failed to hinder the rebuilding of Jerusalem by force, they then sent messengers to persuade Nehemiah to come down from his work, and meet them in council, in some of the villages of Ono : but they thought to do him mischief. And so our ecclesiastical enemies, who have failed to check the progress of the Baptist denomination by physical force, have now changed their policy, and wish to commune with them ! It comes with an ill grace from the members of those denominations whose skirts are all stained with Bap- tist blood, to propose now, as they have no power to per- secute with the sword, to commune with the Baptists. We have now seen that the peculiar practice of the Baptists in regard to the Lord's Supper, is not only sus- tained by the Word of God and the practice of the first churches, but it is admitted to be consistent by the w^isest men of other denominations. Section IV. — Peculiarity sixth — restricted coi^r- MUNION — identified AMONG MODERN BAPTISTS. It is wholly unnecessary to array many proofs on this point. The standing charge of ^^ close communion '^ is enough to settle the point, that Baptists are strict in their ^Restricted Communion among ^Baptists. 2G;> terms of communion. Because of this peculiar feature in i>aptist practice, they are called " uncharitable/' " selfish," *' bi<^ote(l/' and '^ narrow-hearted/' with many other ugly names of reproach. It would seem that our opponents suppose that they have a perfect right to fix any terms of communion which they may deem proper. They have overlooked the fact, tiiat Jesus Christ has fixed the terms of ap})r()ach to the table, and we have no more right t(j change his order than we have to establish infant baptism, or any other Popish ceremony. The complaint ought not, tlierefore, to be made against Baptists, but against him who made the terms '' narrow. '^ In fact, the reproach of what the world calls ^' close communion '^ falls upon him who said, '^ Straight is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Baptists are called to suffer rei)roach for the sake of Jesus Christ; for it has already been abundantly proved that the Savior instituted the Supper as held by the Baptists. Restricted comnmnion is practiced by about fifteen thou- sand Baptist churches in America; and the Baptist pul- pit and press advocate the same divinely instituted order. Strict communion is distinctly stated in the various ex- pressions of faith published by Baptists. Quite a num- ber of books and tracts have been written in defense of tlie ]^>ible order of the Supper. Brethren Kifiin, Booth, Fuller, and Orchard in England, and in America nearly all our writers, have wielded their pens against "open conjumnion.^' Amidst the multitude of writers in Amer- ica on the communion question, we mention the names, Curtis, Howell, Waller, and Gardner, who have produced books in defense of restricted communion. The " Church Communion/' by the last-named author, is a newly-pub- 264: (Restricted Corriniunion. lishcd work of great value. It is conceded that some persons called Baptists have adopted the popular system of open communion ; but, by the admission of nearly all, they are inconsistent with their own professions, and they stultify themselves by the indorsement of the things which they do not believe. Professor Curtis aftirms, truly, that ; "The principle upon which mixed com- 'nn^ ^^ ' '^^*' nwxwiow vi^iita, involves a hrcadi of trust ; p. 296. ' '^ because baptism and the liord's Supper are committed to the custody and guardianship of the vis- ible churches of Christ, as such, which are the trustees, the administrators of these ordinances, by divine appoint- ment.^' We are commanded to mark them which cause divisions contrary to the doctrine of Christ, and " avoid them;^^ but our open-communion brethren would say, "commune with them"! The views of Baptists are ex- pressed in the twenty-second article of the Confession of Faith, published by Joseph Belcher in the Religious De- nominations. This article expresses the Baptist doctrine of communion as follows: "The Sup])er JicUgious Daiom,, p,i t it •j.-xxii i- (,^.3 ' 01 the Liovd Jesus was instituted by him p. 203. . . *' the same night wherein he was betrayed, to be observed in his churches unto the end of the world, for the perpetual remembrance, and showing forth the sacrifice of himself in his death.'' As the communion is held by nearly all to be a church ordinance, therefore none except church members can ap- proach it without the violation of the order of the Lord's house. It is easy to see, that when we commune with all denominations, we admit the church character and claims of all denominations; and we thereby indorse the ordi- nances and superstitions of all these societies. Baptists (Restricted Coimnunioyi ar^iong (kapti:ts. 2G5 do not regard tliose societies of human origin and ordi- nances as churches of Jesus Christ, and, consequently, they do not commune with them. Baptists are not charged with holding restricted communion for worldly gain or popularity. Considering the weakness of the flesh and the desire for popular favor, together with the tremendous pressure brought to bear against Baptists, it is a matter of wonder that they withstand the popular tide even as well as they do. We find the Baptists standing alone, among all the parties of Christendom, in the preservation of the Lord's table in his kingdom, by the withholding of the emblems of the Savior's broken body and shed blood from those wdio have not been buried with Christ in bap- tism upon a profession of faith and regeneration, and are without true church fellowship. 26G The True Church ([Persecuted. CHAPTER XIA^ PECULIARITY SEVENTH.— THE TRUE CHURCH PERSE- CUTED. 1. Baptist Peculiarity Sevextu — The true Church Per- secuted — Tested by the Bible. 2. Peculiarity Sevexth identified ix Modern Baptist History. Section I. — Baptist peculiarity seventh — the TRUE CHURCH PERSECUTED TESTED BY THE BIBLE. The Lord Jesus Christy the Head of the Churcli, was sorely persecuted. His enemies sent men to try to en- tangle him in his teaching ; they assailed his character with foul slanders ; and at last they put him to the shamefal death of the cross. The Savior was sorely persecuted and maltreated while on earth, and he has made no promise that his disciples should fare better than himself in this respect ; but, on the contrary, they are promised persecu- tions as a part of their inheritance. Jesus said to Peter : Mark 10 : 29, 30. '' ^'^''''^ \ ^'^ ""*'' y°"' ^^'''"' '^ "? '"^'^ that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or Avife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the Gospel's, but he shall receive an hundred- fold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions ; and in the world to come eternal life.'' How emphatic, every one "shall receive'^ "persecutions^' as a part of his present inheritance. Again : Jesus taught that we must not expect Shown from the (Bible. 267 exemption from persecution, when he said : " It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and ,^ _ ^ ^ ,.-,-, .p , , „ T Matt. 10: 25. the servant as his lord : ii they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household ? ^' Some Christians sup- pose that they are to live in peace and quiet on earth ; but Jesus said : '^ Think not that I am come , Matt. 10: 34-36. to send peace on earth : 1 came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at vari- ance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against iier mother-in- law. And a man's foes shall be tliey of his own house- hold.^^ The Savior does not teach that the faithful preach- ing of the Gospel will itself produce war; but he Avould inform us that the wickedness of the human family is so great that they will rise in rebellion against the Gospel faithfully preached, and persecute those who forsake all for the kingdom of God, even to the rending asunder the dearest ties on earth. Jesus said : '^ I ^ , LuJx 12 : 49. am come to send fire on the earth, and what will I, if it be already kindled ?'' In this the Savior taught that the persecutions against himself were but the kindling of a fire on earth which would rend families and friends asunder. We are further informed that this fire of persecution will burn so fiercely that near relatives will deliver each other to death ; for Jesus says : " Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of ,^ .^ ., ... , -^ , , ^ . Matt. 10 : 16-22, wolves: be ye thereiore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men ; for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues ; and ye shall be brought before gov- ernors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them 2G8 Th(^ True Church (l^ersecuted. and tlie Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak ; for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which spcak- etli in you. And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child : and the children shall rise up against their parents and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake : but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.^' Daniel the prophet foresaw the fearful persecutions waged against the saints of God by the Papal horn ; he ^ „ ^^ said : " I beheld, and the same horn made Dan. 7: 21. . , i . i .-, -, war with the sanits, and prevailed against them." The crucifixion of Jesus was the result of re- ligious hate manifesting itself in a fiendish persecution which even followed his dead body into the tomb. Stephen fell a martyr by the hand of relentless persecution, under the shower of stones. And the apostles, all except John, died a violent death, because of their faithful testimony for the truth. But we are not to become discouraged under persecution, as if some strange thing had happened ; for all these afflic- tions, which are but for a moment, " work- eth for us a far more exceeding and eter- nal weight of glory.'' Peter says : " Beloved, think it not strano;e concernino; the fiery trial which is I Peter 4.: 12, 13. ^ ^ , ^ , ^ ^ ^, . to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you : But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are par- takers of Christ's suiferings ; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy." Jesus consoled the disciples as follows : Matt.b: 10-12. ,,-^, , , i • i . i x- ^' Blessed are they which are persecutoa lor 2 Cor. 4: 17. Shoivn from the (Bible. 269 righteousness' sake : for thcir's is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and perscc.t*^ you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Kcjoice, and be exceeding glad : for great is your reward in heaven : for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.'' We should esteem it a great honor to be permitted to partake of the sufferings of Jesus Christ by being persecuted. Paul rejoiced in trib- ulations and suiferings for the cause of his Master ; he sums up his afflictions as follows : " Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suf- fered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilder- ness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false b'^ethren ; in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hun- ger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches." Some professed Christians are popular Avith the world ; but' to them the Savior says: "Wo unto you, when all men shall speak well of you ! for so did their ^ , ^ ^^ Luke 6: 26. lathers to the lalse prophets. And to the same effect the apostle James testifies, as follows : " Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever, therefore, will be a friend of the world, is the enemy of God." Thus 270 The Trvte Church (c^ersecuted. we discover that those miiiisters and members, professed Christians, who enjoy the popuhir favor or friendship of the world, are the enemies of God; and consequently they are also the enemies of all the foithful Christians who bear vritness against the riders of the darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness in high places. And it is also truC; that these ^' Christians," enemies of God, who have trans- formed themselves into ministers of Christ, are the leaders in persecuting those who are faithful to Christ. Paul ^ said to Timothy: "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer perse- cution.'' There is no escape; all the truly godly shall suffer persecution; and Avhen they reach heaven it will be said of them : " These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them while in the blood of the Lamb." And of these bitter persecutions or tribulations, ,, , the Savior further said: "Xow the brother iJ/arX13:12,13. ^ ^, , , i i -,1 -, , shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son ; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake ; but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." Luke reports the words of Jesus on this point thus: "But be- ^ , ^ ,^ fore all these, thev shall lay their hands on Luke 21 : 12. ^ ^ . i -, . . you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake." In the fulfillment of this prediction the apostle Paul was sorely persecuted. Tertullus, the orator employed by the high priest and elders to prosecute Paul before Felix, the governor, ac- cused him as follows : " For we have found this man a pes- (Baptists ^erseciitcd. '2' 1 tilent fellow, and a mover of sedition amonp; ^ Acts 2- J ; T). all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes." Again, the apostle speaks of the persecutions and sufferings of the apostolic ministry in the following : ^' Even unto this pres- ent hour Ave both hunger, and thirst, and ^ are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling-place; and labor, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it; being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day." It can nowhere be found that true Christians will be popular with the world. No .point can be more fully sustained by the Scriptures than that the true church or kingdom of Jusus Christ was peculiarly persecuted, and every-wherc spoken against in the ap)ostolic age. This was acknowledged by the Jews at Rome, in the following: "But w^e desire to hear of thee what thou , ^^ ^^ , . , f. . 1 . Ads 28 : 22. thmkest: lor as concernmg this sect, w^e know that every-where it is spoken against." Sectio^t II. — The bible characteristic of the TRUE CHURCHES OF CHRIST BEING PECULIARLY PERSECUTED, IDENTIEIED IN THE MODERN HISTORY OF BAPTISTS. "While other denominations dispute among themselves, they unite in opposing the Baptists. The Baptists are the objects of derision and persecution among both Catholics and Protestants. They are accounted as the common enemy of sects, creeds and formularies of the whole Cath- olic and Protestant world. They are also looked u^xjn Th^ True Church Persecuted. \Yitk suspicion and contempt by the kings and tyrants of eartii as the enemies of all governments. Of this opposi- tion to Baptists^ Mosheim, the historian^ says: "Therts were certain sects and doctors against 05. I. IS 01 y, ^^YiQ^-^ ^\^Q 2eal^ vigilance and severity of Catholics, Lutherans^ and Calvinists, were united, and in opposing whose settlement and progress these three communions, forgetting their dissentions, joined their most vigorous counsels and endeavors. The objects of their common aversion were the Anabaptists, and those who denied the divinity of Christ and a trinity of persons in the godhead.^^ Catholics and Protestants still agree in that opposition to Baptists. These persecutions against Baptists have not been con- fined to the Old World ; but the relentless hand of violence has followed them to America; and on this continent Baptists have been banished, fined, imprisoned, and pub- licly whipped, on the account of tlieir principles. A law was passed in the colony of Massachusetts in 1644, for the banishment of Baptists for the rejection of infant bap- tism. "And in 1644, a poor man, by the Religious Denom., i? -o • x i -n -• . j ^^^ ' name oi raniter, became a Baptist, and was complained of to the court for re- fusing to have his child baptized. The court, with judi- cial dignity, interposed their authority in favor of the child. And because the poor man gave it as his opinion that infant baptism was an anti-christian ordinance, Mie was,' says Backus, Hied up and whipped.' " And in the year 1651, three Baptist ministers. Dr. John Clarke, Obe- diah Holmes, and John Crandal, were arrested on Lord's Day, July 19th, while Clarke was preaching in a private house, and the next day were committed to prison in Boston. Backus' Ch. His., Modem (Baptists (Persecuted. 273 "And on July 31st tliey were tried before the Court of Assistants, by whom Clarke ^^J^'^ ^' ^■' was fined twenty pounds ; Holmes, thirty, and John Crandal, five : or eaeh to be well whipped." On the payment of their fines, Clarke and Crandal were re- leased, but Holmes was retained in prison until Septem- ber, when he was publicly whipped most cruelly upon his bare back ; for the executioner, " striking with all his strength, spitting in his hand ^"^j!^' three times, with a three-corded whip, giving me therewith thirty strokes,'' is the testimony of Holmes himself. Two men w^ere cast into prison for showing sympathy to Holmes by shaking hands with him when he was untied from the whipping-post. In order to show the various inconveniences and trou- bles to which the Baptists were subjected, in Massachu- setts, under the rul^ of the Puritan Presbyterians, Ave here insert a long letter, addressed to the Philadelphia Association, in the year 1770. It is as follows : "^The laws of this province never were intended to exempt the Baptists from paying toward buildino^ and repairino^ Presbyterian meet- " ' ^'^^ ' ^^^*' mg houses, and makmg up Presbyterian ministers' salaries; for, besides other insufficiencies, they are all limited both as to extent and duration. The first law extended only five miles round each Baptist meeting- house; those without this circle had no relief, neither hud they within : for, though it exempted their polls, it lef: their estates to the mercy of harpies, and their estates went to wreck. The Baptists sought a better law, and with great difficulty and waste of time and money, ob- tained it; but this was not universal. It extended not 274 TJie True CJizirch 'Persecuted. to any parish until a Presbyterian meeting-house should be built, and a Presbyterian minister settle there; in consequence of which the Baptists have never been freed from the first and great expenses of their parishes — ex- penses equal to the current expenses of ten or twelve years. This is the present case of the people of Ashfield, which is a Baptist settlement. There w^ere but five fam- ilies of other denominations in the place when the Baptist church was constituted ; but those five, and a few more, have lately built a Presbyterian meeting-house there, and settled an orthodox minister, as they call him ; which last cost them £200. To pay for both, they laid a tax on the laud; and, as the Baptists are the most numerous, the greatest part fell to tlieir share. The Presbyterians, in April last, demanded the money. The Baptists pleaded poverty, alleging that they had been twice driven from their plantations by the Indians' last war;, that they were but new settlers, and had cleared out a few spots of land, and had not been able to build commodious dwelling- houses. Their tyrants vrould not hear. Then the Bap- tists pleaded the ingratitude of such conduct; for they had built a fort there at their own expense, and had main- tained it for two years, and so had protected the interior Pi'esbyterians, as well as their neighbors, who now rose up against them ; that the Baptists to the westward had raised money to relieve Presbyterians who had, like them, suffered by the Indians; and that it was cruel to take from them w^hat the Indians had left! But nothing touched the hearts of these cruel people. Then the Bap- tists urged the law of the province; but w^ere soon told that that law extended to no new parish till the meeting- house and minister were paid for. Then the Baptists Modern (Baptists (Persecuted. Tliy petitioned the general court. P»'occedIngs were stopped till further orders, and the poor people went home rejoic- ing, thinking their property safe ; but they had not all got home before said order came ; and it was an order for the l*resbyterians to proceed. Accordingly, in the month of April, they fell foul on their plantations; and not on skirts and corners, but on the cleared and improved spots; and so have mangled their estates and left them hardly any but a wilderness. They sold the house and garden of one man, and the young orchards, meadows, and corn- fields of others; nay, they sold their dead, for they sold their graveyards. The orthodox minister was one of the purchasers. These spots amounted to three hundred and ninety-five acres, and have since been valued at £363 8^., but were sold for £35 lO.S'. This was the first payment. Two more are coming, which will not leave them an inch of land at this rate. The Baptists waited on the assem- bly live times this year for relief, but were not heard, under pretense they did no business; but their enemies were heard, and had their business done. At last the Baptists got together about a score of the members at Cam- bridge, and made their complaints known ; but, in general, they were treated very superciliously. One of them spoke to this effect: ^The general assemhhj have a right to do what they did, and if you donH like it, you may quit the place!' But, alas, they must leave their all behind! These Presbyterians are not only supercilious in power, but mean and cruel in mastery. When tliey came to- g(3thei' to mangle the estates of the Baptists, tiiey diverted themselves with the tears and lamentations of the op- pressed. One of them, whose name is Wells, stood up to j)rcach a mock sermon on the occasion; and among other 276 The True Church (i^ersecuted, things, used words to this effect : ^ The Baptists, for re- fasing to pay an orthodox minister, shall be cut in pound pieces, and boiled for their fat to grease the deviVs car- riage, etc' '' There can be no more reliable historical document than that published by an association of Baptists. This letter shows that the Baptists of Ashfield, Massachusetts, had their property sold by the Puritan Presbyterians, to pay for the building of the Presbyterian meeting-house and the salary of the Presbyterian minister; and when driven out of their possessions into the wilderness, a blasphemous mock-sermon was preached to aggravate their distress. But the Baptists were not only persecuted in Massachusetts with fines and imprisonments ; they also suffered the same in Virginia and other States. As many as "thirty Baptist Bachus' Ch. His., ' • . ?; • • i'-\7'-' ^^^ ' ministers were imprisoned in Virginia "for preaching the Gospel to precious souls;" and besides the imprisonment, they suffered nearly all kinds of abuse and insults from their enemies. Among these, Ave mention the names of James Ireland and John Weatherford. Ireland was seized by the throat, by the officers of the Established Church, while engaged in prayer in the congregation; and they immediately hurried him away to jail in Culpepper. "He was ac- Virqinia Baptist, • j x • • j xi i. ^^ - M ' f 121 companiedto prison amid the abuses oi his persecutors; and while incarcerated in his cell, not only suffered by the extreme inclemency of the weather, but by the personal maltreatment of his foes. They attempted to blow him up Avith gunpowder, but the quantity obtained was only sufficient to force up some of tlie flooring of his prison." They attempted to destroy his life by suffocation, from burning brimstone, but failed. Modern ^Baptists (Persecuted. 277 They also formed a plot to poison him, wliich was unsuc- cessful. And the only charge laid against this devoted man of God was that of " preaching the G(jspel of the Son of God/' During his imprisonment, Elder Ireland en- joyed so much of the Divine presence that he was accus- tomed to call his prison ^^my palace in Culpepper/^ Elder John Weatherford was very successful in his min- istry. His success roused the resentment of his Episcopal enemies, and he was soon thrown into prison, where he remained five months. But ^^ his courage forsook hiui not. The lovo of Christ con- ^^''^''' ^'"1^' Minister, p. 49. strained him. lie preached at the door of the prison as long as allowed the privilege; when re- fused that, he preached through the grates of the window. But such determined opposition did he meet, that an effort was made by his enemies to put a stop to that also. Eor this purpose, they built an outer wall above the grate. But Weatherford devised means to overcome the obstacle. A handkerchief, by tlie congregation, was to be raised on a pole above the wall, as a signal that the people were ready to hear. His voice being very strong, he could throw it beyond these impediments, and convey the words of life and salvation to the listening crowd. Before his release, some souls were blessed, and he was owned as the honored instrument of their conversion." Ministers were sent for, who baptized the converts in the night that were thus converted under the preaching of this jnisoner of the Lord Jesus. The following account is given by Joseph Belcher, of an instance of the persecutions of a Baptist minister by the name of Shubael Dimock, in Connecticut: ^'Just as Shubael closed his sermon at a school-house in Mansfield, 278 The True Church (Persecuted. a sheriff arrested him, upon a warrant to commit him to Windham jail. His offense was as follows: ^The said Shubael Dimock has been convicted of Reliqiom Denom,, i . . ^ i -i • i\r a ^ ^ ^_p ' preaclimo; in a school-house m Mansneld, and under an oak tree in Ashford.' He was required to walk before the officer to prison. But he replied, ^I have no call there; neither can I voluntarily go, since I have said^ God willing, I Avill preach this evening in Ashford under the oak tree.^ The officer urged that it W3S his duty to commit him to jail. ' Well, then,' said the prisoner, ^If you have a duty to perform, you must attend to it ; I shall not resist.' He was at length set upon a horse and directed to guide it to AVindham. Even this he refused to do, and the sheriff was compelled to mount the horse behind, and with his arms around him to guide the horse to the prison. Here he lay confined nine months, still proclaiming the truth as he had oppor- tunity, for he declared that it was impossible to prevent his preaching unless they cut out his tongue." Of such im- prisonments and persecutions, " Many instances might be given : such as that on June 4, 1768, John Reliqious Denom., ^^r ^^ t • r>, • t /^i m i i -.gQ W alker, LfCwis Craig, James Childs, and others were dragged before the magistrates in Spottsylvania county, and bound over for trial. Three days after, they were indicted as ' disturbers of the peace.' The prosecuting attorney made this formidable charge; ^ May it please your worships, these men are great disturb- ers of the peace; they can not meet a man in the road but they must ram a text of Scri2)ture down his throat.' " It was these persecutions against the Baptists of Virginia which aroused the sympathies of the renowned Patrick Henry, and caused him to volunteer his services in the Modern ^Baptists ^Persecuted, 279 defense of the poor ministers Avho were dragged before the court as criminals ^^ for preaching the Gospel of the Son of- God/' The resistless eloquence of Mr. Henry, poured forth in the defense of three Baptist ministers, will ever be remem- bered by the friends of American liberty. From the first settlement of the Baptists in America down to the achievement of American independence, they Avere "in- sulted, fined, imprisoned, and despised.'^ Nor was it until compelled by law, that the enemies of the Baptists ceased to lay violent hands on them on account of their principles. "VVe are glad to know that there are numbers of pious per- sons in the various communions who did not then, nor would they now, indorse these persecuting measures against the Baptists. But circumstances indicate that many sectarian leaders would now lay violent hands on faithful Baptist ministers as in former times. This persecuting spirit is developed from day to day in the sectarian papers, pam- phlets and books that are scattered broadcast over the land. The following is found in the Banner of Peace, of No- vember 26, 1868, a Cumberland Presbyterian paper: "I think the Baptist Church is a clear despotism, if there is one on earth ; and they ought to cover their lips and bury their faces in everlasting shame, and cease to abuse the papacy of Rome, and other sects, as they call them." Elder N. H. Lee, of the Methodists, says: "It is not the Baptist people, as such, that I oppose, but it is the false principles and bigotry of her priesthood. '^ No doubt, such Baptist lovers as Elder Lee, and the Banner of Peace {f), if they had the power, would attempt to force Baptists, not only into "everlasting shame,'' but to prison and death, on the account of their " false principles and bigotry," as 280 TJie Trite Church (Persecuted. their Pedobaptist ancestors, the Catholics, have always done when in power. Tlie country is fully supplied with books and tracts pouring their wrath, in denunciations, upon the Baptists on the account of their doctrine. Baptist views and his- tory are continually misrepresented and perverted. Some who profess great friendship for Baptists, try to associate their history with the mad proceedings of Munster, or with the nude baptisms of the Catholics. And he who now dares to faithfully advocate Baptist principles, in con- trast with the ecclesiastical inventions of modern times, is sure to be followed by a hungry school of ecclesiastical sharks, ready to devour his good name, and stamp, if pos- sible, "everlasting shame ^' and infamy on his character. But I am happy to know that there are vast numbers of pious ])er,sous in the various sects who would not harm any one on the account of his principles. We here in- troduce the speech of Patrick Henry in defense of three Baptist preachers who were on trial for preaching. The following quotation is from the Beligious Denominations, by Mr. Belcher :* " Three Baptist preachers were brought to trial for preaching. The indictment brought against them was 'For preaching the Gospel of ^'^tei-l^r''''' ^^ '^^'^ ""-f ^^^'' c^ontrary to the statute in that case provided, and therefore, disturb- ers of the peace. The clerk was reading the indictment in a slow and formal manner, and he pronounced the crime with emphasis, ^ For pi^eaching the Gospel of the Son of God/ when a plain-dressed man dismounted his horse, entered the court-house, and took his seat within the bar. He was know n to the court and lawyers, but a stranger to the mass of spectators who had gathered on the occasion. '■'It is agreed that Patrick Henry did defend these persecuted Baptists, but this .'3 the language ascribed to him by Dr. Peck. Modem (Baptists (Persecuted. • 281 This was Patrick Plenry, who, on hearing of this prose- cution, had rode some fifty or sixty miles, from his resi- dence in Hanover county, to volunteer his services in the defense of the prisoners. He listened to the further read- ing of the indictment with marked attention, the first sen- tence of which that had caught his ear, was, ' For preach- ing the Gospel of the Son of God.' When the indict- ment had been read, and the prosecuting attorney had sub- mitted a few remarks, Henry arose, stretched out his hand and received the paper, and then addressed the court : ^May it please your worships: I think I heard read by the prosecutor as I entered this house, the paper I now hold in my hand. If I have rightly understood, the king's attorney of this colony has framed an indictment for the purpose of arraigning and punishment by imprisonment, three inoffensive persons before the bar of this court, for a crime of great magnitude — as disturbers of the j^eace. jNIay it please the court, what did I hear read? Did I hear it distinctly, or was it a mistake of my own? Did I hear an expression, as if a crime, that these men, wdiom your worships are about to try for a misdemeanor, are charged with — what ! ' and continuing in a low, solemn, heavy tone : ^ For preaching the Gospel of the Son of God ! ' Pausing, amidst the most profound silence and breathless astonishment of his hearers, he slowly waved tho paper three times around his head, then, lifting up his hands and eyes to heaven, with extraordinary and im- pressive energy, he exclaimed, ' Great God I ' The ex- clamation — the action — the burst of feeling; from the audi- ence were all overpowering. ]Mr. Henry resumed : * May it please your worships : In a day like this, when truth is about to burst her fetters ; when manjiiind 282 Th3 True Chzirch (Persecuted. are about to be raised to claim their natural and inaliena- ble rights ; Avhen the yoke of oppression which has reached the wilderness of America, and the unnatural alliance of ecclesiastical and civil power is about to be dissevered, at such a period, when liberty — liberty of conscience — is about to awake from her slumberings and inquire into the reason of such charges as I find exhibited here to-day in this indictment ! ^ Another fearful pause, while the speaker alternately cast his sharp, piercing eyes on the court and the prisoners, and resumed : ^ If I am not de- ceived, according to the contents of the paper I now hold in my hand, these men are accused of ^ preaching the Gos- pel of the Son of God/ — Great God ! ^ Another long ■pause, during which he again ^yaved the indictment around his head, while a deeper impression was made on the auditory. Resuming his speech : ^ May it please your worships ; there are periods in the history of man, when corruption and depravity have so long debased the human character that man sinks under the weight of the oppress- or's hand and becomes his servile — his abject slave ; he licks the hand that smites him ; he bows in passive obedi- ence to the mandates of the despot, and in this state of servility he receives his fetters of perj^etual bondage. But, may it please your worships, such a day has passed away ! From the period when our fathers left the land of their nativity for settlement in these American wilds — for Lib- EUTY — for civil and religious liberty — for liberty of con- science — to worship their Creator according to their con- ceptions of Heaven's revealed will, — from the moment they placed their feet on the American continent, and in the deeply imbedded forests sought an asylum from per- secution and tyranny — from that moment despotism was Modern (Baptists (Persecuted. 28o crushed ; her fetters of darkness were broken, and Heaven decreed that man should be free — free to worship God ac- eoi'ding to the Bible. Were it not for this, in vain have been the efforts and sacrifices of the colonists ; in vain were all their sufferings and bloodshed to subjugate this new world, if we, their offspring, must still be oppressed and persecuted. But, may it please your worships, permit me to inquire once more : For what are these men about to be tried ? This paper says, ^ for preaching the Gospel of the Son of God.' Geeat God ! For preachmg the Savior to Adam's fallen race.' After another pause, in tones of thunder he inquired: ^ What law have they violated ? ' Then, for the third time, in a slow, dignified manner, he lifted his eyes to heaven, and waved the indictment around his head. The court and the audience were now wrought up to the most intense pitch of excitement. The face of the pros- ecuting attorney was pale and ghastly, and he appeared unconscious that his whole frame was agitated with alarm ; and the judge, in a tremulous voice, put an end to the scene, now becoming extremely painful, by the authorita- tive command : ^Sheriff J discharge those men!^'' We have not mentioned a tithe of the persecutions waged against modern Baptists. I must express the de- liberate opinion, that if the men who denounce and mis- represent us to the extent of their ability, only had the power, they would apply fines and imprisonments as did the Episcopalians in the time of Patrick Henry. Other authorities might be introduced to exhibit the bitterness of the opposition waged against Ba})tists from the modern pulpit and press. We have found that the Bible characteristic that the kingdom of Jesus Christ is 284 The True CJnirch (Persecuted. peculiarly persecuted and every-where spoken against, is fully identified in the modern history of the Baptists. They have been persecuted as no others have been, Vv^ith peculiar hate and unrelenting bitterness. We now come to the close of the investigatioUj which settles, beyond suc- cessful contradiction, the fact that the seven leading Bap- tist peGuliarities are in reality the Bible peculiarities pos- sessed by the apostolio churches. We find the same char- acteristic features at both ends of the chain of church suc- cession. And as these leading marks are proved to be essential features of the kingdom of Jesus Christ in its divine organization, and the prophetic ^\•o^d of God is pledged for the perpetuity of tliis cluirch or kingdom, therefore we may expect to find these marks of identity possessed by the same kingdom in every age down to the present time. Though ail these marks may not be visible at the same time to the eye of the historian, yet a suffi- cient number of them may be discovered to indicate the line of succession of that church against which the gates of hell were never to prevail. Yv^e will proceed in the next chapter with these seven Baptist marks, verified by the Scriptures, as a kind of standard, to measure the dif- ferent periods on the line of succession, to see if these Bap- tist features have identified the church from the apostolic age down to the present- (BoZpiist Succession. 285 CHAPTER XV. PEIMITIVE CHURCHES— FROM THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHURCH TO THE NOVATIAN RUPTURE- A PERIOD OF ABOUT TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY YEARS. 1. Pectjltaeities applied to the Primitive Chukches. 2. Bishop aitd EldePv the same Office. 3. Ehkoes which oeiginated in this Period. Section I. — Peculiaeities applied to the primi- tive CHUECHES. Ill tlie application of the Baptist peculiar marks to this period, very little more remains to be done, because it has already been fully established that these Baptist marks are really the marks of the apostolic churches. There has arisen no dispute among historians that the main body of Christian churches bore the apostolic character during the period we now have under consideration. It may, there- fore, be considered as settled, that the primitive churches, down to the middle of the third century, in the main, pos- sessed the Bible peculiarities ; and, as these Bible peculiari- ties are also the Baptist peculiarities, therefore these prim- itive churches possessed the Baptist peculiarities. As re- gards peculiarity first, which recognizes Jesus Christ as the Head and Founder of his church, up to this time none had dared. to deny the supremacy of Jesus Christ as the Founder and Head of his own church. In speaking of Jesus Christ as the Founder and Head of the model church at Jerusalem, ^Ir. Jones, the historian, says : " If 286 (primitive C J lurches. this be a just representation of the church or kingdom of Christ as it appeared in its establishment, .' * *' it is manifest, that whenever we trace it in subsequent periods^ we must find some- thing that resembles it in its leading features. We shall discern a people holding tlie same views of the character and work of the Savior, owning subjection to him as the king whom God hath set upon his holy hill of Zion, evinc- ing their allegiance to him by an implicit obedience to his laws, institutions, and ordinances, and discarding the doc- trines and commandments of men. As the church at Jeru- salem was the first Christian church established by the ministry of the apostles, so it was designed to serve as a pattern, in its faith and order, to all succeeding churches to the end of the world." It is admitted, that the churches of these early times were all modeled after the Jerusalem pattern ; and, of course, they acknowledge Jesus as their Founder and Head, because the Jerusalem church — the pattern — had the Savior as its Founder and King. That these early churches had no human head, is seen in the following, from Mosheim, the historian : " The people were, un- doubtedly, the first in authority ; for the Mos^Ch. History, ^^p^g^i^g showed, by their own example, that nothina: of moment, was to be carried on or determined without the consent of the assembly; and such a method of proceeding was both prudent and necessary in those critical times." This point was settled in the Bible investigation, which proved that the Baptist doctrine, which recognizes Jesus as the Founder- and Head of his church, is also the teach- ing of the Word of God. AVe may conclude, therefore, burial in (Baptism. 287 that the churches of this j)rlmitlve period retained the J]ible teaching, that Jesus Christ is the only Founder and Head of his churcli. As re<^ards the second and third peculiarities, which ac- knowledge the Scriptures as the rule of faith and practice and the divine order of the commandments, history af- fords no evidence that any other stanchird of faith except the Scriptures had been adopted in this period ; and, con- sequently, the order of the commandments remained un- changed, and therefore these early churches bore the .sec- ond and third peculiarities of the Baptists as laid down in our catalogue. During this period the Christians had no human creeds or confessions of faith prepared by eccle- siastical reformers to govern the churches. Their appeal was to the laws of Jesus Christ as given by the apostles in all matters of religion. It is also easily established that these early churches bore the peculiarity which requires the burial in baptism of those who are dead to sin. Mosheim says of this period ; '^ The sacrament of baptism was administered in this cen- tury (the first) without the public assem- blies, m places appointed and prepared lor ,.^ '^' that purpose, and was performed by an immersion of the whole body in the baptismal font." There was no sprinkling or infant baptism known In the -first century. The whole body was buried or im- mersed in the baptismal font. And, of the second cen tury, the same historian testifies as follows : " The persons that were to be baptized, after they liad re- peated the creed, confessed and renounced ^^'^'-^^''^^'^'^^'11' . . . . P- "i'' their sins, and particularly the devil and his pompous allurements; were inmiersed under water. 288 (Primitive Clmrche:. and received into Christ's kingdom by a solemn invoca- tion of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, according to the ex])ress command of our blessed Lord." It was not until about the commencement of the third century that tlie error of baptismal salvation began to be introduced. On this point George Waddington, the learned Episcopal historian, remarks: ^' The original simplicity of the office of baptism had already un- Il'iS. of the Church, i j.- rpi \ ^ ^j' ' dergone some corruption. Ihe symbol had been gradually exalted at the expense of the thing signitied, and the spirit of the ceremony was beginning to be lost in its form. Hence a belief was gain- ing ground among the converts, and was inculcated among the heathen, that the act of baptism gave remission of all sins committed previously to it." It was thus in the early part of the third century that the doctrine of baptismal salvation gained ground, especially in Africa. Neander, the celebrated historian, sustains this view in the follow- ing language: "But while, on the one ITis. Three Centur i i .1 i , • p -1 - • ^ ^^^. hand, the doctrine 01 the corruption and guilt inherited by human nature, as the consequence of the tirst transgression, was reduced into a more systematic and distinct form, which was particu- larly the case in the North African Chui?ch (See below, in the history of the doctrines of Christianity), on the other hand, from want of proper distinction between the external and internal things of baptism (the baptism of water, and the baptism of the Spirit), the idea was forever gaining ground, and becoming more firmly fixed, that without outward baptism no one could be freed from that inherited guilt, saved from the eternal punishment which threatened him, or brought to eternal happiness; and v.'hile (Burial of the (Dead to Sin. 289 the idea of the magical effects of the sacrament was con- stantly obtaining more and more sway, the theory of the luiconditlonal necessity of infant baptism developed itself from that idea.^ Here Ncander, the Lutheran historian, testifies that baptismal salvation gained ground in the early part of the third century; and that infant baptism was developed from it; therefore, it was the error of baptismal salvation which, brought forth infant baptism. Now, as we have the testimony of Neander that neither baptismal salvation nor infant baptism prevailed in the primitive churches — and we have already seen that they buried their converts in baptism — therefore, peculiarity fourth, the burial in baptism of those who are dead to, or freed from, sin, is sustained in the practice of those primitive churclies. On the question of the action of baptism, Neander affirms that: "Baptism w^as originally adminis- , 1 1 • • 1 r> , 1 His. Three Centu- tered by immersion, and many ot the com- . ,„_ parisons of St. Paul allude to this form of its administration : the immersion is a symbol of death, of being buried with Christ; the coming forth from the water is a symbol of a resurrection with Christ: and both taken together, represent the second birth, the death of the old man and a resurrection to a new life.'^ The intro- duction of affusion for baptism only began to be prac- ticed near the close of this period in some sections, in the case of clinics — namely, sick persons. All candid histori- ans agree that believer's immersion Avas the prevailing practice of the primitive churches; and, as will be seen hereafter, the same prevailed almost universally for 1,300 years. The point is clearly made out, that the primitive churches possessed the leading characteristic peculiarity of the burial in baptism of professed believers — tlio i-cgen- 290 (Primitive Churches. en\te. It is also clearly established that the primitive churches retained j^cculiarity fifth, ^vhich recognizes equal rights in the execution of the laws of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Mr. Waddington says : " It is also true that in the ear- liest government of the first Christian '^'oA 01 "^''^^' societv, that of Jerusalem, not the elders pp. 20, 21. •' ' ' only, but the whole church were associ- ated with the apostles : andxit is even certain that the terms bishop and elder, or presbyter, were, in the first instance, and for a short period, sometimes used synonymously, and indiscriminately applied to the same order in the ministry. '^ Yes: it is true that in the earliest government of the Christian churches, the whole church were associated together. This description can now apply to no denomi- nation except the Baptists. All other denominations make various distinctions in point of privilege among their members, and are not associated in church discipline, or the execution of the law^s of Jesus Christ. The same his- torian remarks, that : " In this election JTis. of the Church, / ^ j. \ .^ 1 i i i i 23 (01 pastors) the people had an equal share with the presbyters and inferior clergy, without exception or distinction ; and it is clear that their right in this matter was not barely testimonial, but judi- cial and elective. This appointment was final, requiring no confirmation from the civil power or any superior pre- late; and thus, in the management of its internal affairs, every church was essentially independent of every other." The same is confirmed by the learned Mosheim, who says : *^It was, therefore, the assembly of the ' *' ' ^^' people which chose rulers and teachers, or received them by free and authoritative Equality in (Primitive Churches. 291 consent when recommended by others. The same people rejected or confirmed, by their suffrages, the laws that M'ere proposed by their rulers to the assembly ; excommu- nicated profligate and unworthy members of the church; restored the penitent to their forfeited privileges; passed judgment upon the different subjects of controversy and dissention that arose in their community; examined and decided the disputes which happened between the elders and deacons; and, in a word, exercised all that authority which belongs to such as are invested with sovereign jwwer/^ This description of the churches of this early period will apply to no denomination on earth, known to me, except the Baptists. Again, Mosheim says: "A bishop [or pastor,] during the first and '^** ' ^ ^^' second century, was a person who had the care of one Christian assembly, which, at that time was, generally speaking, small enough to be contained in a private house. In this assembly he acted, not so much with the authority of a master, as with the zeal and dili- gence of a faithful servant.^' It can be amply sustained, from a multitude of historians of different parties, that the primitive churches, next to the apostolic age, main- tained the equality, in point of privilege, of all the mem- bers of the churches, in the execution of church disci})line, which characterized the apostolic churches, and which now distinguish the Baptists from all other denominations of Christendom. ' Some persons seem to regard the form of church gov- ernment a very trivial affair, and conclude that it matters very little whether the church government is a monarchy, aristocracy, or a democracy; and that a privileged class of 292 (Primitive Churches. men have a perfect right to make, change or abolish church laws, rites and ceremonies, at pleasure. Such persons deny that Jesus Christ made any laws whatever for the govern- ment of his own kingdom ! These have partaken of the blasphemy of the little horn, of whom it was said : "And 7 9- ^^^ shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws." As all the false churches were set up and introduced by preachers, they have not failed to make ample provision for their own elevation and authority in those organiza- tions ; but in the kingdom of Christ, we find the people equal in authority in all matters of discipline, even to the trial of preachers themselves. In regard to this equality in the early churches, Mr. Robinson, the historian, says : "In the first period, which includes three Bob.^s Eccl. Res., j. • r^i • j.* -j. i • j. .^^ ' centuries, Christians were united as lust p. 123. \ . "^ now mentioned. It was an union or com- pact, tacit or expressed, and the discipline was a confeder- ate equality. Nobody Avas compelled to joiri. a church ; each was admitted singly, at his own request, by the con- sent of the whole society ; affairs were debated and trans- acted by all; whoever were excluded, were excommuni- cated by joint consent, and if they repented and requested re-admission, they Avere re-admitted in the same manner; church officers were voluntarily elected for the sake of or- der; no society had any control over another, — advice might be given, but civil coersion was unknown : the whole was a state of perfect popular freedom ; — this Avas a fraternal system of order." Thus, Ave find the practice of the primitiA^e churches in perfect harmony Avith the Scriptures and the churches under apostolic direction. Equality in the (Pfimitive Churches, 293 Miall, in his Memorials of Early Christianity, declares : " That each Christian church was, in the earliest period of ecclesiastical history, in- fiu^-^f ^/ dividualized and unassociated, except by the religious feelings which alike pervaded all, is ad- mitted by the most candid historians.'^ And this liberty and equality in the transaction of church business ex- tended to all classes of members. Women Avere allowed to vote in church business. On this point, Neander re- marks : "As Christianity did not annihilate ,1 T " 1. €■ X His. Three First the peculiar arrangements ot our nature, ^ , ,. founded in the laws of our original crea- tion, but sanctified and ennobled them, it did not (al- though, in reference to the higher life, the partition-wall between man and wife was taken aw^ay through Christ, and in him man and wife became one), it did not, I say, allow the female sex to step out of the peculiar habits and destination indicated for it by nature herself. AVomen alone are interdicted by St. Paul (1 Cor. xiv : 34) from speaking in the church — a proof, also, that no other ex- ception from this general right of all Christians existed.'' The historian here draws the conclusion, very justly, we think, that women are privileged to exercise all the duties of other members, unless interdicted by Inspiration. They were only forbidden to speak on certain occasions in the church, which indicates the right for them to exercise the other duties of church members. And in this early period, slaves themselves were not prohibited from the exercise of equal privilrges with other members. On this point, Mr. Robinson remarks, that : " It is clear that such slaves as chose to become Christians ^^1^ '^* ^-^ '' p. GOO. woi'e treated by the churches as brethren — 294 (Primitive Churches. were admitted to fellowship, and, in all religious matters, put on a footing of equality with their masters. It was a character to the Gospel that it was embraced by freemen — that slaves very seldom appeared in the primitive churches, and that, when they did, they appeared without compul- sion — not as slaves but as brethren/^ Other authorities might be adduced on this point; but it is unnecessary: for it is established, beyond reasonable doubt, that the primi- tive churches, during this period, possessed the Bible characteristic which now distinguishes the Baptists — the equality of jprivilege in the execution of the laws in the kingdom of Clirist. Furthermore : there is no difficulty in proving that the primitive churches retained the sixth peculiarity. It is already settled that the churches planted by the apostles were strict in their terms of communion. And as the Bible demands strict communion — and it is admitted that the primitive churches conformed to the Bible in this particu- lar — therefore it is admitted that the primitive churches were strict in their terms of communion. And no one will contend that the primitive churches communed with the modern sects that now demand communion with Baptists; and, therefore, those who commune with these sects find neither precept nor example in the Word of God, or in the churches that flourished immediately after the apostolic age, for such an inconsistent practice. The mighty flood of per-' secution against the early Christians was not intended to make them give up their religion, but to force them to acknowledge the validity of pagan worship by burning incense to their gods, and thus communing with them. They were persecuted, not because they professed the Christian religion, but because they claimed it as the only (kestricted Cc^nmunion. 295 true religion. They would not, by any act of affiliation or communion, recognize the authority of the pagan worship. Pliny, the younger, said of them : "For I did not in the least hesitate, but that what- ^^^^ * ''^'' ever should appear on confession to be their faith, yet that their forwardness and inflexible obstinacy would certainly deserve punishment.'^ But Mr. Jones asks: "What was the ^inflexible obstinacy?' It could not be in f)rofessing a new religion ; that v»'as a thing com- mon enough. It was the refusing all communion with paganism — refusing to throw a grain of incense on their altars. For we must not think, as is commonly imagined, that this was at first enforced by the magistrate to make them renounce their religion; but only to give a test of its hospitality and sociablcness of temper. It was, indeed, and rightly, too, understood by the Christians to be a re- nouncing of their religion, and so, accordingly, abstained from. The misfortune was, that the pagans did not con- sider the inflexibility as a mere error, but as an immoral- ity likewise. This unsociable, uncommunicable temper in matters of religious worship, \vas esteemed, by the best of them, as a hatred and aversion to mankind. Thus, Taci- tus, speaking of the burning of Rome, calls Christians * persons convicted of hatred to all mankind.' But how?. The confessions of the pagans themselves concerning the purity of the Christian morals, shows this could be no other than a being ^convicted' of rejecting all intercom- munity of worship, — which, so great was their prejudice, they thought could proceed from nothing but hatred to- ward mankind. Universal prejudice had made men re- gard a refusal of this intercommunity as the most brutal of all dissociability. And the Emperor Julian, who un- 29 G (Primitive Chtivches. derstood this matter the best of any, fairly owns that the Jews and Christians brought the execration of the world upon them by their aversion to the gods of paganism, and their refusal of all communication with them/' The whole sectarian world, which may be regarded as Christianized paganism, now look upon the true Baptists in a similar light as did the ancient pagans upon the early Christians who refused all communion with them. In truth, the above quotation from Jones, with very little modification, will now represent the views and feelings of other denominations toward Baptists. These denomina- tions accuse us, as the pagans did the early Christians, with "refusing all communion with" them; with being "unsociable" "and uncommunicable;" of temper "in mat- ters of religious worship;" and with being "persons con- victed of hatred to all" other denominations. But we re- joice in the fact that we are now reproached for the very same practice that brought reproach upon the first Chris- tians after the apostolic age. And Mosheim says, in regard to the catechumens, that: " The latter w^ere 21 ' swc\\ as had not yet been dedicated to God and Christ by baptism, and were, therefore, neither admitted to the public prayers nor to the holy communion, nor to the ecclesiastical assemblies." These catechumens who were, in the latter part of the ■second century, considered imperfect Christians, Avere not, ns unbaptized persons, admitted to the communion of the ch arch. Justin Martyr, who wrote his apology, which was addressed to the Emperor Antoninus Pius, about the year 138 after Christ, speaks of the order of bap- Memo. of Early , . -, . i i i t» r- 1 1 Christ p 182 tism and communion, as reported by Miall, as follows: "He speaks of the received (Restricted Ccmmunion. 297 and baptized convert admitted by the kiss of peace, and of the administration of the eucharist to the convert so baptized by the presiding bishop; which observance he dechires the heathens to have imitated in the Mithryan mysteries." Thus we find, that in the second century baptism preceded the Lord's Supper. Miall also affirms that, " The Lord's Supper was not indis- • • ,1 1 • • - 11' 1 Memo, of Early crimmately administered — being reserved ^, . -' oo^ for those who had been baptized, and who had previously received, according to the expression of Tertullian, ^ pious initiation.' " This last writer was speak- ing of the practice of communion in the third century. The ancient Pedobaptists were more consistent than the modern, on the communion question; for, when infant baptism was first introduced on the ground of its necessity to infant salvation, infant communion was aslo connected with it for the same purpose. Modern Pedobaptists with- hold the Supper from their infant members, whom they regard as in the church ; and yet they complain of Bap- tist "close" communion! Neander, speaking of the rise of infant baptism and communion, remarks: "As it was in the North African Church that the ne- • , /?•/?, 1,- £. i. Nean. Hist Three cessity ot iniant baptism was iirst pecu- ^< ^ . r,.-, . . , Til.. Centuries, p. 213. liarly insisted on, so also did they join with this notion that of infant communion.^' But enouo:h on this point : no one pretends that the true churches of tliis period practiced open communion. Thus it is fully developed that the Bible peculiarity, which is also a Bap- tist peculiarity, that the Lord's table is restricted to the Lord's kingdom, is identified in the practice of the prim- itive churches. Once more : that the true church or kingdom of Jesus Christ was peculiarly persecuted, will be easily 298 (Primitive Chiirciies. identified in the history of the churches of this period. It was declared by the Savior himself, that the true disciples should be hated of all nations for his name's sake. Mos- heim, the historian, informs us that JSTero, who was em- peror of Rome in the first century, accused the Christians of having set fire to the city — a crime which he himself had committed, — and to punish them, ^^ He therefore wrapped up some of them in combustible garments, Mos. Ch. History, i ^ ir^.i xxxi ^ j.\ .^ ^' and ordered fire to be set to them when the p. 16. darkness came on, that thus, like torches, they might dispel the obscurity of the night ; while others were fastened to crosses, or torn to pieces by wild beasts, or put to death in some such dreadful manner. This horrid persecution was set on foot in the month of November, in the sixty-fourth year of Christ ; and in it, according to some ancient accounts, St. Paul and St. Peter suffered martyrdom, though the latter assertion is contested by many as being absolutely irreconcilable with chronology.'^ It will be observed, that during this period, extending to the middle of the third century, the Christians were per- secuted by the heathen. The horrid and blasphemous practice of professed Christians slaughtering each other in the name of Jesus Christ, was, at this period, unknown to the world. It was during this time that the ten pagan persecutions spent their fury against the disciples of the despised Nazarine. No history, whether sacred or profane, has ever questioned the fact that these early Christians were peculiarly persecuted by their own emperors. Mr. Orchard says: "The city of Lyons was ' 'f \ "^ po '^'' again visited with the vengeance of the em- peror. Severus, in 202, treated the Chris- tians of this city with the greatest cruelty. Such was the (Restricted Coimnunion. 299 excess of his barbarity that the rivers were colored with human blood, and the public places of the city were filled with the dead bodies of professors. It is recorded of this church, that since its formation it has been watered with the blood of twenty thousand martyrs/^ And the suffer- ings of the disciples of Christ in this city, are only a sam- ple of what they suffered in other countries. Among the vast numbers who were tortured in this city, Eusebius gives the following account of several individuals: "Maturus, therefore, and Sanctus, and Blandina, and Attains, were led into the amphitheater to .J. \S^ '' ' ^ pp. 1/0, 1/6. the wild beasts, and to the common spec- tacle of heathenish inhumanity, — the day for exhibiting the fight with wild beasts being designedly published on our account. Maturus, however, and Sanctus, again passed through all the tortures in the amphitheater, just as if they had suffered nothing at all before, or rather as those who in many trials before had defeated the adver- sary, and now contending for the crown itself, again, as they passed, bore the strokes of the scourge usually inflicted there, the draggings and lacerations from the beasts, and all of the madness of the people, one here and another there, cried for and demanded; and last of all, the iron chair, upon which their bodies wel-e roasted, while the fumes of their own flesh ascended to annoy them. The tormentors did iiot cease even then, but continued to rage so much the more, intending, if possible, to conquer their perseverance. They could not, however, elicit or hear anything from Sanctus besides that confession which he had uttered from the beginning. These two, therefore, in whom life for the most part had remained through the mighty conflict, were at last dispatched. On that day they were made an ex- 300 (Primitive Churches. hibition to the world, in place of the variety of gladiato- rial combats. Blandina, however, was bound and sus- pended on a stake, and thus exposed as food to the assaulu of wild beasts; and as she thus appeared to hang after the manner of the cross, by her earnest prayers she infused much alacrity into the contending martyrs. * ^ ^ ^ But as none of the beasts then touched her, she was taken down from the stake and remanded back again to prison, to be reserved for another contest. * * ^ Thus she overcome the enemy in many trials, and in -the conflict received the crown of immortality.^' Attains, after being twice exposed in the theater, was finally beheaded. Vast numbers were thus tortured, and after their death many of their bodies w^re cast into heaps outside of the city, and guarded day and night to prevent friends from burying the remains of their mutilated bodies. Multi- tudes suifered throughout the Roman empire. At Car- thage the cruelty resembled that perpetrated at Lyons. Among the multitudes of martyrs at this city, we only give the account of the cruel martyrdom of two females, as reported in Jones' Church History. After Perpetua had entered the theater among the wild beasts, singing praises to God, her execution is thus re- ported : " Perpetua and Felicitas were first inclosed in a net, and then exposed to a wild cow. But -.-.^ ' ■' this sight struck the spectators with hor- ror, as the former w^as a delicate woman, and the breasts of the latter were streaming with milk af- ter her delivery. They w^ere, therefore, recalled, and ex- posed in a common loose dress. Perpetua was first tossed by the beast, and, being thrown down, she had the pres- ence of mind to compose her dress as she lay on the ground. (Primitive Churches (Persecuted. 301 Then rising, and seeing Felicitas mucli more torn than herself, she gave her hand and assisted her to rise ; and for some time they both stood together, near the gate of the amphitheater. Thither Perpetua sent for her brother, and exhorted him to continue firm in the faith, to love his fellow Christians, and not to be discouraged by her sufferings. Being all in a mangled condition, they were nov/ taken to the usual place of execution, to be dispatched with a sword ; but the populace requesting that they should be removed to another place, where the execution might be seen to more advantage, they got up, of their own accord, to go thither. Then, having given each other the kiss of charity, they quietly resigned themselves to their fate. In ^Yalking, Saturus had supported Perpetua, and he expired the first. She was observed to direct a young and igno- rant soldier, who was appointed to be her executioner, in ^Yhat manner he should perform his office." The malignant enmity of the carnal heart was mani- fested in the persecution and crucifixion of Jesus Christ ; and after his execution the apostles fell martyrs to the fury of the heathen world. And the same unrelenting perse- cution followed the pathway of the Church of Christ through the period of the primitive churches which we have been considering. Therefore, these ancient churches possessed, in an eminent degree, the Bible peculiarity of being persecuted and every-where spoken against. We have seen, in the foregoing examination, that the Bible characteristics are sufficiently developed in the history of these early churches to identify them with the kingdom of Christ ; and as Baptists now possess the same peculiar- ities, these early churches were such as would now be called Baptist churches. 302 (Primitive Churches. Section II. — Bishop and elder the same office In human religions societies the membership have not only been deprived of their rights of participation in the transaction of church business, but a gradation of minis- terial offices has been inaugurated which places some min- isters over others in point of office, as lords over their brethren. It will be found, upon a strict examination of the New Testament, that there are only tw^o classes of officers in the churches of Christ, and they are chosen by, and are amenable to, the churches for their official actions.- In truth, they are only servants of the churches. This was fully showui in chapter twelve, where peculiarity fifth is tested by the Bible. At this place we design to introduce authorities to show that the primitive churches recognized the Bible doctrine of the official equality of bishops (episcopoi) and elders (presbuteroi). Mr. Miall, in his Memorials, says : " But, besides these extraordinary officers, each Memo, of Earlu i i i ,i ij.ii r,j ,- . ^(. church possessed the power, under the ad- vice and admonition of the apostles, of electing distinct officers for the arrangement of its peculiar concerns. These were presbyters (as they were designated by the application of a term in use by the Jewish syna- gogues) or bishops (as they Avere called at a somewhat later period by a phrase familiar to Gentile usages). The terms are obviously interchangeable — the former re- ferring to the character which fitted them for the cffice; the latter to the relations of the office itself.'^ And Ne- ander, the historian, to the same effect, His. Three Cen- ni ^ m , ,i i . turies v 106 ainrms : I hat the .name also, episcopos^ was altogether synonymous with that (Bishop and Elder the Same Office. 303 of presbyter, is clearly collected by the passages of Scripture where both appellations are interchanged (Acta XX ; compare ver. 17 with ver. 28 : Epistle to Titus, ch. i : verses 5 and 7), as well as from those where the mention of the office of deacon follows immediately after that of ^episcopi;' so that a third class of officers could not lie between the two.'' And even Mr. Waddington, the Episcopal historian, affirms that : " It is also true, that in the earliest government of the first Christian society — that of Jcrusa- ^'^^-^ ^^ lu^ch 1cm — not the ciders only, but the whole church were associated with the apostles : and it is even certain that the terms bishop and ekler, or presbyter, were in the first instance, and for a short period, sometimes used synonymously, and indiscriminately applied to the same order in the ministry." Thus it is seen that the early churches of this period followed the example of the apostolic churches in the elec- tion of their officers. The gradation of ministerial offices in the churches has no support from the Scriptures. The only offices retained in the churches are those of ddevs or bishops and deacons, and these must be chosen or elected by the churches. The idea of a universal bishop over all the churches, is peculiar to Rome and her ofF-shoots. A bishoj:) or elder, in the New Testament, was simply a min- ister chosen and ordained to the work by the authority of the congregation. There were sometimes a plurality of bishops in one church; and in the apostolic age the epis- copacy of one elder never extended beyond the bounds of one congregation. The idea of one man acting as pastor for three or four churches, is a modern custom which should be abandoned. 304 , (Primitive Churches. By reference to Acts, twentieth chapter, it will be seen that Paul " sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church/^ verse seventeen; and to the same eiders he said : ^^ r.r. "Take heed, therefore, unto vourselves, and Acts 20: 28. ,^ ^ r^ \ ^ ^ ' ^ \ ^^ ^ X^ to all the Hock over the which the Holy (jrhost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. '^ The word over- seers in this passage, is episcopous in the Greek — the word which is usually translated bishops; but to have rendered it bishops in this place, would have shown that elder and bishop is the same office, which would have condemned the church of the translators. In the first ages of the church, there was no such a thing known as the bishop of a state or province. As before seen, Mosheim says: ^^A bishop, during the first and second century, Mos. Ch, History, i ^ i ^^ jr „„ ^' was a person who had the care oj one Christian assembly, which, at that time, was, generally speaking, small enough to be contained in a private house. In this assembly he acted, not so much with the authority of a master, as with the zeal and diligence of a faithful servants We have emphasized this statement of the historian to call attention to the importance of the subject. It was left for the corruptions of after times to establish the dio- cesan episcopacy, which has overshadowed the nations with a gloomy spiritual despotism for many centuries. Section III. — Leading erroes which omGixATro DURING THIS PERIOD. The apostle Paul predicted that there would "come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the ^n of perdition j '' and that the ^Rise of the Hierarchy. 305 "mystery of iniquity" had already begun to woriv in his own time. It was the gradual introduction of thos'e errors that some regard as things non-essential, which has pro- duced the mighty harvest of iniquity which has overshad- owed the world for so many ages. Fiist, the hierarchy: Christian philosophers soon began to engraft Judaism and heathen philosophy into Ciiris- tianity. On this point, Mr. Robinson says: "In the third century Jewish theology drew off the at- tention of Christians from the simplicity ^'J. '^^' ^'' of Jesus and the Gospel, and fixed it on an hierarchy, particularly in the great corrupt and wealthy churclies of Rome, Antioch, Alexandria, and Carthage. This introduced, by degrees, a second period, and second system of ecclesiastical management, named by this author, the Episcopal system of church law." It was as early as the beginning of the third century that some of the pastors or bishops began to assume unscriptural authority over the churches. This was not the case among all the churches, but it was only a few churches in the great cities, whose pastors had begun to assume the leadership. These churches were afterward called Metropolitan churches. We will name, therefore, as the first leading error of this period, the tendency toward a hierarchical form of church government. On this point, Miall remarks : " It is, how- ever, very clear that this century wit- nessed a rapid increase of the hierarchical ^f"!^' ^'^ ^^^ ^ ^ Christ, p. 227. power. The clergy began, for the first time, to be distinguished from the laity. The bishops assumed the titles and offices of the Jewish priesthood. The primitive virtues by which many of the pastors of the Metropolitan churches were distinguished, caused them to 30(3 Primitive Churches, be regarded as the advisers of neighboring churches, and paved the way for an assertion of superiority which speed- ily passed the bounds of apostolical prescription.'^ This usurpation of authority over the churches, which began to show itself as early as the close of the second century, con- tinued gradually to unfold itself till the faithful churches were compelled, in order to preserve their purity, to de- clare non-fellowship for those ministers and churches which had adopted the corrupt principles of church gov- ernment. It was this first apparently small departure from the true system of government which, in future times, culminated into that huge system of stupendous fraud and despotism knovrn as the Romanish Church. Second : The second leading error which originated in this period, is the doctrine of baptismal salvation. This doctrine was based upon the false interpretation of those Scriptures which speak of baptism for remission of sins; and especially John, where they made horn o^ water, mean baptism. It is admitted that baptism represents the wash- ing away of sins. The same principles of Scripture inter- pretation which gave birth to ba])tismal salvation, also gave birth to transubstantiation. Of this defection from the truth on the part of some, Miall remarks : ^' In the ante-JN'icene period, sin was regarded much ni ■ I ^ oro more in its overt demonstrations than in ChrisL, p. 368. its spiritual destructiveness; repentance had degenerated into penance; regeneration into baptism; justification by faith, into just what the ninetieth number of ^The Tracts for the Times' declares it to be; and sanctification was lost in the names of sacred persons, sacred things, and sacred places. All this was before the Papacy had begun to blazon its triple crown, or to set its Origin of (Baptismal Salvation. 307 feet upon the necks of kings." It is difficult to ascertain at what precise point of time the error of baptismal salva- tion was first advocated; it is certain, however, that it was advocated by a large number as early as the middle of the third century; and it is likely that some embraced this view as early as the close of the second century. Bap- tismal salvation was an innovation brought in, in some places, along with the change of the form of church gov- ernment to a hierarchy. Neander and Waddington both testify that baptismal salvation was a departure from the original doctrine of the design of baptism. And when this superstitious error concerning baptism was established, it opened the way for other superstitions, which tended to clothe the baptismal ceremony with a mysterious grandeur and importance which excited the admiration of the peo- ple. Among the attending superstitions added to bap- tismal salvation, may be mentioned the sign of the cross, blowing in the mouth of the candidate, the use of crism, and the giving of the newly baptized persons milk and honey, as a symbol of the new life. Third: Another serious error, which appeared in this period, is that which is usually called infant baptism. This error originated about the beginning of the third century. It appeared immediately after the introduction of baptismal salvation. It at first prevailed mostly in North Africa. As it had no support from the Scrip- tures, it claimed tradition for its authority. Origin, the great champion of infant baptism in the third century, supported infant baptism upon the authority of tradition. Keander remarks that : " Origin, in whose , ' £• i. \ i' J.1 i-u -^^^' Three First system mfant baptism stood very high, Centuries, ^. 2QQ, though not in the same point of view as 308 (Primitive Chu7'ches. the North African Church, declares that it is an apostolic tradition, — a declaration which can not, in that century, be considered of anv gre^it vreight, because men were at that time so much inclined to deduce the ordinances, which they thought of great imjx)rtance, from the apos- tles; and, beside this, there were many partition walls between this and the apostolic age, which prevented a free insight into that age." It appears, then, that the first advocates of ijifant baptism did not attempt to sustain it from the Word of God, but u];>on the authority of tradi- tion. Xeander, the historian, admits that : " It is certain that Christ did not ordain infant baptism." *' '"^' "We can not prove that the apostles or- dained infant baptism ; " and, " The first passage which appears expressly to point to this matter, is found in Irensus." It is thought that Irenseus alludes to infant baptism because he s]>eaks of regeneration in connection with infants. This vilw is based upon the supposition that IrensBUS uses the term regeneration as synonymous vrith baptism when referring to infants. It is admitted that some writers, about this time, used the term regenera- tion, in a figurative way, to denote baptism ; but there ii no evidence that Irenseus used the term in the sense of baptism in the instance referred to. Irenseus does not men- tion infe.nt baptism at all. He flourished in the latter part of the second- century. No writer in the second cen- tury has mentioned infant baptism at all. " Tertullian was inquired of, by a rich lady named -/'/ ^^'■9 ' Q^i^^i^^^y ^^^^ lived at Pepuza, a town of Phiygia, whether infants might be bap- tized on condition they asked to be baptized, and pio- duced sponsors?" This was not an inquir)' about the (kize c^ lr.'j,7d (^Tzizrr.. IQL. in J turv. \'2^. L= It f .»L Art ¥m* beslnn.'' We ki r5C retzorie: ziL-Ht -^-?kli^BAe 310 Primitive Churches. baptism, which was the offspring of baptismal salvation, produced a harvest of error and superstitions. The first among: these is infant communion. Mr. Robinson sa^'s, that : " The same Innocent very consist- ^^151 ^^^^ ^"^^^ ^"*^>' introduced infant communion ;— this grew out of infant baptism, as that did out of original sin.^' The order of the rise of inflmt baptism and communion is reported by Mr. Robinson as having been stated l)y Jerom Piescarski in the synod of Brest, in 1558, in Lith- uania, as follows : ''' He then came to baptism, and affirmed that infant baptism had no place in the Bohh Eccl Bes., g^^.^^^^^j.^ that in the two first centuries it p. 0/ y. was not mentioned ; that it rose in Africa in the third century, and was opposed by Tertullian; that the first canons to enjoin it were made at a council at Mela, in Africa, in the year four hundred and eighteen ; that infant communion came in at the same time; that before this, people were put into the state of catechumens, and instructed in the Christian faith ; that then they were ex- amined concerning their faith, and, on confessing it, were baptized by immersion; that in the fourth and fifth centu- ries, while the Papal power continued feeble, though in- creasing, the children of believers, even those of bishops, were not baptized till they were adults, and some, as Am- brose, not till they had been elected and were going to accept the ofiice of bishops; and that some deferred it till they were just ready to die.'' In this quotation wo have an account of the gradual growth of infant baptism among those who finally assumed the title of Catholic Church. Infant baptism also gave rise to the superstitions and blasphemous custom of having "god-fathers and god- (Rise of Infant (Baptisi^. 311 mothers.^^ These god-fathers and god-mothers Avere to answer the questions, promise to renounce the devil, etc., and make profession of faith, instead of the child. We have thus briefly sketched the rise of these fundamenta] errors, which, in after years, overflowed the world with a mighty deluge of superstition and crime. Dr. Gill, in speak- ing of the rise of infant baptism and popery, uses the follow- ing strong language : " The two are, in fact, indissolubly united — one in their origin, their growth, and their results. The same mother- ^.o p. 42. heresy — Baptismal E,egeneration— which gave birth to Popery, gave birth to infant baptism. They were engendered in the same dark womb of ignorance and superstition. They came forth together. They grew up together. Together they overspread the nations. And together shall they disap})ear before the light of Christ's Gospel, and the brightness of his coming.'^ After thirty- five years' investigation of the question of infant baptism, the learned J. Newton Brown gave utterance to the fol- lowing language : " Infant baptism is an ft^ ' • i 1 i • Baptist Martyrs, •om befrmnmoj to end; corrupt m i^ ^ ' . . . P- 13. theory, and corrupting in practice; born in superstition, cradled in fear, nursed in ignorance, sup- ported by fraud, and spread by force: doomed to die in the light of historical in\'cstigation, and its very memory to be loathed in all future ages by a disabused church. In the realms of despotism it has shed the blood of martyrs in torreiiis: that blood cries against it to heaven; and a long-sufPering God will yet be the terrible avenger. The book before us is a swift witness against it.'' This con- densed statement contains the truth, as found in history, of the rise and fearful results of infant baptism. Some 312 Primitive Churches. have plead for infant baptism on the ground of its an- tiquity ; but if the age of a doctrine proved its correctness, then many of the grossest superstitions of Rome must be correct, for they are as ancient as infant baptism. No error has the right to plead antiquity. A doctrine with- out the support of the Scriptures, must be given up. (Baptist Succession. 313 CHAPTER XYI. THE NOVATIAN PEKIOD— ABOUT TWO HUNDKED YEARS. 1. Peculiakities applied to the Novatiai«-s. 2. The GpvEat Apostacy. Section I. — Peculiarities applied to the nova- TIANS. " A man that is a heretic, after the first and second ad- monition, reject; knowing that he that is ^. q -.r, ... such, is subverted, and sinneth, being con- ' ' demned of himself." God requires entire separation on the part of his people from all idolatrous worshipers, whether they are known by heathen or Christian names. It may be well to observe that error has always sought fellowship with the truth ; or, in other words, the advo- cates of false doctrine desire fellowship and communion with those who embrace the doctrine of Christ ; for they know that this is the most effectual way to give currency to heresy. But God requires his faithful witnesses to touch not, taste not, handle not, the commandments and doctrines of men. In following up the chain of succession, we have already seen that there was a division in the church at Rome, led by Novatian, in favor of purity of communion. This was not a division in the Roman Catholic Church, for at that time — 251 — ^Ihere was no such church in the world. Those churches and brethren throughout the empire which re- 314 The j^ovat'iaii Period. maincd firm for the Bible doctrine of purity, in faith and worship, were called by their enemies Novatians. It has already been seen, that they did not originate with Nova- tiun, but were the descendants of the primitive churches. AVe now proceed to examine more fully into the Baptist character of the people called Novatians. When we say Baptist character, w- e mean Bible character ; for we have already proved that the Baptist peculiarities are the Bible peculiarities : we will, therefore, use the phrases Baptist 2)ecuHarities and Bible pecuHarities synonymously. We now proceed to examine the Novatian peculiarities. First : They claimed no other founder and head except Jesus Christ. This is seen in the fact, as already shown, that they ^^Have some just claims to be Reliqious Enciic, i i xi x i i ^^„ -^ ' regarded as the pure, uncorrupted, and apostolic church of Christ.'^ And as they claim to be the pure, uncorrupted, and apostolic church, they must have claimed Jesus as their Founder and Head. Of their claims, Neander says : " The No- ^ ' . , ," vatianists, therefore, as they claimed to be Centuries, p. 147. •' . ' -^ the only unstained, pure church, called themselves oi hatharoi — ^ the pure.^ ^' The charge that Novatian was the founder of the Novatian churches, is without solid foundation. It is well to observe, however, that they have never been charged with claiming Nova- tian either as founder or head. It Avas their bitter foes that made this charge. The Novatians were counted her- etics by the corrupt party who began to call themselves Catholics. Mr. Waddington gives the following necessary caution : '^ Charges, indeed, or insinua- His. of the Church, ,• ^ ,i rg tions 01 the grossest nnpurities, are some- times thrown out by the orthodox writers J^ovatians claimed no Founder but Jezus. 316 against tlie early liorctics; but wo are bound to receive them with great caution, because the answers which may have been given to them are h)st, and because they are not generally justified by any authentic records which we possess respecting the lives of those heretics/' And Mr. llobinson says : " The history of Nova- tian is lonji:, and, like that of all others in \\,,. " ' ' *' his. condition, beclouded with fables and slander." The Novatian churches possess the Baptist pe- culiarity of acknowledging no founder and head except Jesus Christ. Second: The Novatians claimed no other standard of faith and practice except the Bible. Very little need be said on this point, as they have never been charged with appealing to any standard except the Scriptures. The Kovatians were also called Paterines, in after-times; and they are known to have claimed the Scriptures alone as their rule of conduct. It is, therefore, taken for granted — unless proof to the contrary can be produced — that the Kovatians possessed the Baptist characteristic that the Word of God alone is the rule of faith and practice. Third: The Novatians also held the Bible order of the commandments. Mr. Robinson states the Novatian doctrine thus : " The Novatians said, if 1 • , IT I'll lioh.^H Ecd. J lis., you be a virtuous believer, and will ac- ^^- ' cede to our confederacy against sin, you may be admitted among us by baptism ; or if any Catho- lic has baptized you before, by re-baptism ; but, mark this: if you violate the contract by lapsing into idolatry or vice, we shall separate you from our community, and, do what you will, we shall never readmit you." This shows that the order observed by the Novatians was to 31G The JJovatian (Period. admit no one to baptism except believers ; and the com- plaints of tlieir enemies, as well as their own statements concerning the strictness of their discipline, settle the point that they only observed the communion with those who had been baptized and were in church-fellowship. The ]N^ovatians '^ look upon every society Bob.^s Eccl. His., i • i j •j.j. i ^ • i*? ' i j. ^„^ ' wnicli reaclmitted heinous oiienaers to p. 125. communion, as unworthy of the title of a true Christian church." From this we discover that the Novatians were so strict in their views of communion that they did not regard an open-communion church, one that admits heinous offenders, as worthy of the name of a Chris- tian church. In fact, no party of professed Christians had at this time so far departed from the Bible order of the commandments as to place communion before baptism. Dr. Wall, the learned Episcopalian, sums up the facts of history on this point, in the following words : " Among all the absurdities that ever were held, is.oj nj. ap- ^^^^^ g^,gj, maintained that, — that any per- ^^m, p. 786. ^ r^ \ son should partake ot the communion be- fore he was baptized." And as we have no account of the Novatians, or any others, attempting to change the order of repentance and faith, we may, therefore, justly con- clude that the Novatians possessed the Baptist peculiarity of holding repentance, faith, baptism, and the Lord's Supper. Fourth: The Novatians also possessed the Bible pecu- liarity of burying in baptism only those who professed to be dead to sin. We have already shown that they bap- tized only believers. It has been observed, no doubt, that we have not discussed the claims of the Donatists; not be- cause they did not possess the characteristics of the Church JVovatians (Biiry in baptism. 317 of Christ, but because it was unnecessary in establishing the line of succession. They can be vindicated from the mis- representations of their enemies. Speaking of the views of the Donatists in Africa, and Novatians in Italy, Oyspin, the French historian, says: "That they hold too'Cther in the followins; thino^s, viz: ,. ^^^^'^-iT ^^" First, for purity of church-members, by asserting that none ought to be admitted into churches but such as were visibly true believers and real saints. Second, for the purity of church-discipline, as the appli- cation of church-censures, and keeping out such as had apostatized or scandalously sinned. Third, they both agreed in asserting the power, rights, and privileges of par- ticular churches against antichristian encroachments of presbyters, bishops and synods. Fourth, that they bap- tized again those whose first baptism they had grounds to doubt.^^ The point in this quotation to which we wish attention at present, is, that the Novatians asserted 'Hhat none ought to be admitted into churches but such as were visibly true believers and. real saints.^' They were regarded as real saints before baptism and church membership ; they did not, therefore, baptize unpardoned sinners in order to make saints of them. Thus, we discover that the Nova- tians held the Baptist doctrine of burying in baptism only those who were dead to, or freed from, sin. And that, Avith them, the action of baptism was a burial or immersion, is evident from the following facts: First, it is known to historians, that immersion was the general practice of all professed Christians during this period ; the only excep- tions allowed were in cases of sickness, where some anion gj the corrupt churches received affusion on their sick beds. On this subject, Dr. AYhitby remarked, that: "It is. so 318 The JNovatian (Period. expressly declared here (Rom. vi: 4, and Col. ii: 12), that we are buried with Christ in baptism by ffMs m of ^^. ^^^.j^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^1^^ Baptism, p. 109. * \ argument to oblige us to conformity to his death, by dying to sin, being taken hence ; and this immer- sion being religiously observed by all Christians for thir- teen centuries, and approved by the church ; and the change of it into sprinkling, even without any allowance from the author of the institution, or any license from any council of the church, being that which the Romanist still urgeth to justify his refusal of the cup to the laity." But we have more direct' evidence that the Novatians practiced immersion as baptism. Mr. Orchard, the historian, says of the Novations, that "all converts were S. Bapt. Review, . 7 in i.ir> ^i ^-./^ ' immersedj and all proselyted irom other churches were re-immersed,^^ Also, speaking of the church at Rome, Mr. Robinson says : " Not one natural infant of any de- BobJs Eccl. Res., ... • xi • 1 i i • - 1 joQ scription appears in this cnurcii during the first three centuries, and immersion Avas the only method of baptizing." Again, Mr. Robinson says: "No alteration was made in the mode of admin isterino^ baptism. Rob: s Eccl. Res., y, .. • 1 i \i • 004 It was Clipping every-where, and nothing else." The Novatians not only immersed their candidates, but they re-immersed those who had been previously immersed by other parties; hence they were stigmatized as Anabaptists. On this point, Mr. Orch- ard says : " I am satisfied that the Church Ban vol II D 12 ^^ ^^^^'^^t, which has witnessed for him, has, from the days of Novatian, been stigma- tized with the name of Anabaptists. This re-baptizing, u ornelhis against JVovatian. 310 stpjidingas it does in ecclesiastical, }X)litIcal and commer- cial histoiy, decides, in the most satisfactory manner, our jealousy over the house of God, and our watchful care for Scriptural communion.'^ We consider it a point estab- lished beyond successful controversy, that the Novatians possessed the Baptist characteristic of holding the burial with Christ, only of those who professed to be dead to, or freed from, sin. Before leaving this point, it may be proper to mention the fact, that Novatian himself is said to have been as- persed for baptism. Of Novatian, Eusebius quotes Cor- nelius as saying : ^^ To him, indeed, the author and instiofator of his faith w^as Sa- ^^^ ' "' tan, who entered into and dw^elt in him a long time; who, aided by the exorcists, wdien attacked w^ith an obstinate disease, and being supposed at the point of death, was baptized by aspersion, in the bed on which he lay — if, indeed, it be proper to say that one like him did receive baptism.^' Again, Cornelius, the enemy and rival of Xovatian, says of him : " This illus- , , 1 -. . 1 ^, 1 r. ^b^, P- 266. trious character abandoning the Church oi God, in wdiich, when he w^as converted, he was lionored with the presbytery, and that by the favor of the bishop placing his hands upon him (ordaining him) to the order of bishop, and as all the clergy and many of the laity resisted it, since it was not lawful that one baptized in his sick bed by aspersion, as he was, should be promoted to any order of the clergy, the bishop requested that it should be granted him to ordain only this one." There are evidently tw^o points in this charge of Cornelius against the claims of Novatian. First: The validity of his baptism is questioned, on the ground of his being an improper subject; for Cornelius 320 The jWovatian (t^eriod. says : " If, indeed, it be proper to say that one like him did receive baptism/^ Cornelius had declared that the faith of Novatian liad been instigated by Satan, and that he was possessed with the Devil, who had entered into liim ; and that he received baptism in bed, through fear of death. AVithout referring to the truth or falsehood of these charges, at the present, a very important point is brought out by them — viz : that even in the most corrupt party, in tliis period, it was considered necessary that one should be a good man to render his baptism valid. Sec- ond: That aspersion was considered, at most, imperfect baptism ; for Cornelius said : " It was not lawful that one baptized in his sick bed by aspersion, as he was, should be promoted to any order of the clergy. ^^ This was de- signed to be the statement of a general law or custom, that no one, it matters not what his spiritual condition, who was baptized in his sick bed by aspersion, was eligible to the office of the ministry. This view is sustained from the fact that the bishop that ordained Novatian pleaded "that it should be granted him to ordain only this one,'^ who had been aspersed in his sick bed. And more : If there had been no design to cast suspicion on the character of Nova- tian's baptism on account of the " mode,'^ why did Corne- lius repeatedly state that it was "by aspersion ?^^ It appears, that in the former of the two quotations from Cornelius, the charge against the validity of Novatian's baptism is mainly based on his depraved character; but, in the latter, the point is made prominent, that aspersion is imperfect baptism, and not sufficient for a candidate foi the ministerial office. Elder Geo. Yarden, in his valuable criticism, found in the Baptist Monthly for 1867, shows clearly that the writers who have based the objection of Cyprian on jNovaiian's (Baptis'M. 321 Cornelius to the validity of Novatian's baptism mainly on the ground of the action being aspersion^ have fallen into an error. Elder Varden remarks : ^' Cor- T Ti , £e • i.1 -i-r AT Baptist Monthly. nenus could not sumciently viuty iNova- ^.^ ''^ tian. Hence tliere can be no doubt that ton toiouton (such a one) points with emphasis to the char- acter and disposition of Novatian, whose very preteusions to religion were all the work of the Devil. This wretch, fearing he was going to die; was sprinkled on his bed — if, indeed, it is fit to say that such a one (so depraved) re- ceived it. The validity, therefore, to which Cornelius, in consequence of his estimate of Novatian, refers, arises from the character of the man, not his mode of baptism. Whatever else there may be to show that his baptism was regarded as invalid in consequence of the mode, this sub- junctive sentence of Cornelius does not.'^ But, does history record that aspersion was considered Scriptural and proper baptism in this period? By no means. Elder Varden places this subject in its proper light, in the following: "The main fact ,1 , n • /-i. xi -1 Baptist Monthlij, that perfusion (it was more than sprink- ^.^ •^' ling) was, at that time, held to be an un- usual and improper baptism, allowed only in extreme cases, is substantiated Avithout employing these doubtful or erro- neous arguments." * * * "It may not be prudent to leave this subject without indicating the true proof. First, then, respecting the case of Novatian, Cyprian writes. Epistle 69: ^In two respects Xovatian seemed censurable: in the first place, he had caused a schism in respect to the lapsed ; and in the second place, he had been sprinkled on his bed^ BUT HAD NOT BEEN BAPTIZED. There is Certainly no ambiguity here. There existed a very prevalent impres- 322 The JNovatian (Period. sion that sprinkling, or rather pouring, was an imperfect baptism, and, therefore, did not secure the blessings prom- ised to immersion/ Cyprian thus meets this state of things, Epistle 76 : ^ If any one supposes that they obtain nothing because the waters of salvation have been only poured on them, but are destitute (of God's grace), let them not be deceived, but, if they regain their health, lei them be baptized^ It is clear that by baptizentur, Cyprian means immersion ; it stands in contrast to perfusi sunt. Is not this passage proof that, though perfusion was, in the mid- dle of the third century, allowed, it was unsatisfactory and informal? Meeting the same issue, Cyprian, in the same epistle, remarks : ^ In the sacraments of salvation, when necessity compels and God grants indulgence, the divine eompends confer the whole (that immersion does) on those that believe.' He means, that though the rite be abridged from immersion to perfusion, yet, in cases of necessity, the latter mode will secure the divine blessing on the recipient. Perfusion is an abridgment of the divine command, and was vindicated only in cases of necessity J^ The above testimony of Cyprian is but the voice of his- tory in regard to the popular party which, in later times, changed both the action and subjects of baptism, and produced that monstrous system called Popery. It can not be found in history that a single case of sprinkling, pouring, aspersion, or perfusion, for baptism, has ever oc- curred among the Novatians, unless Novatian himself was one. And it will be remembered that Novatian received his " baptism," unless he was re-baptized, in the lax party from which he separated on the account of their loose dis- cipline. In regard to the rise of aspersion, Elder Varden remarks; "We shall quote only one Pedobaptist authoi Cyprian for Affusion, 323 to evince this. Ailing says: ^Aspersion is first men- tioned by Cyprian, ^vlio died as a martyr, A. D. 259. Those who could not with safety be immersed, in conse- quence of sickness, had water poured over them; but it was doubted whether such a baptism was lawful. But Cyprian took in hand to defend it — in such a way, how- ever, as not to censure those who opposed it; yet even he did not maintain that it could be employed promiscuously with immersion in cases of health.^ And in another place Alting tells us that * Cyprian, arguing for aspersion, em- ployed neither apostolic testimony nor examjjle.' And we may add, that of all the laws which, during centuries, were made concerning baptism, no one made sprinkling and immersion indifferent, till the Council of Ravenna, A. D. 1311, declared them so. Hence it is that the scholastic theologians, while they argue for pouring and sprinkling, declare immersion the safest modeJ^ From this statement of the facts of history in regard to the rise of aspersion, etc., for baptism, it is clearly shown that the first advocates of this departure from the divine pattern, did not plead the examj)le of the apostles, or the Scriptures, to justify their course. Aspersion was plead in cases of necessity, where the subject was in danger of death. It was, therefore, the idea of baptismal salvation which produced the change from immersion to perfusion, pour- ing, and finally, to sprinkling, Avhich w^as established by law, at Ravenna, in thirteen hundred and eleven. But, to return to the case of Novatian : there is no reli- ance to be placed in the charges of Cornelius against No- vatian, because it is known that he accused him with many things of which he was not guilty. Novatian was the first at Rome to make a successful stand against the corruptiona 324 TJie J r j- • i- • i • i i ^„ ^ ' taming the rules ot discipline m his church, plainly with the intention of establishing uniformity. This uniformity could not be imposed on the Noval ianists, nor would they receive his views on child- ren's baptism and communion ; they, consequently, became the object of his aversion. Another means of awaken- ing the Catholic prelates' anger, w^as re-baptizing, * * ^ In the fourth Lateran council, canons were made to banish them as heretics, and these canons were supported by an J^ovatians (Persecuted. 327 edict, in 413, issued by the emperors Theodosius and Ilonorious, declaring that all persons ?'€-baptized, and the 7'c-baptizers, slioiild be both punished with death. Ac- cordingly, Albanus, a zealous minister, with others, was ])nnished with death, for re-baptizing/^ It should be ob- served that the persecutions during the former period were by the pagans ; but the persecutions of the Novatians were by proi'cssed Christians. No sooner was the adulterous union formed between church and state, by Constantine, than persecution began to be waged in the name of Chris- tianity. In the fourth century the Novatians were perse- cuted under the Arian emperor, Valcns. It made no dif- ference whether the orthodox Catholics, or Arians, had the ascendency — they both alike persecuted the hated Nova- tians. Mr. Jones, the historian, says: "But the conduct of Valcns was not regulated by the strict 1 p 'i. r • 1 • J.* 1 Jones' Ch. His.. rules 01 equity; lor in his persecutions he „ ' included the Novatians, whose churches he commanded to be shut up, and their pastors banished, although, so far as I can perceive, they took no part what- ever in the squabbles that existed between the contending factions.'^ Though the Novatians were bitterly persecuted by all parties who possessed the power, yet, when they were tolerated, they used their influence to relieve those who had persecuted them. They never persecuted others. The council of Nice convened in the year 325, in order to settle the Arian controversy. The Emperor Constantine, who called this council, decided that its decrees were in- fallible; for he said: "What they had decreed was the will of God, and that the ^^ff'- ^' ^^'' p. 137. agreement of so great a number of such bishops was by inspiration of the Holy Ghost." So Con- 328 The J\^ ovation (Period. stantinc banished, and persecuted in various ways, the No- vatians, and others, for refusing to submit to the decrees of the council of Xice. It is admitted by all historians that the Xovatians were peculiarly hated, persecuted, and every- where spoken against, because of their faith and practice; therefore, the Novatians possessed, in an eminent degree, that characteristic which points out the Baptists as perse- cuted and every-where spoken against. We have now seen that the Baptist peculiarities were possessed by the !N^ovatians, and as these are Bible pecu- liarities, we therefore conclude, that the Novatians form a part of the succession of Scriptural churches against which the gates of hell have never prevailed. The Xovatians possessed those j^eculiar marks, in all that is essential to church organization, which would now identify them with the Baptists. The Donatists of Africa possessed the same peculiarities with the Tsovatians, and, on this account, may be called the Kovatians of Africa. And in regard to the Baptist character of these people, Osiander, a writer of the sixteenth century, affirms : " That See D^ Anvers on t \ \ j.- ^ xi „ 29Q o^^^' modern Anabaptists w^ere the same with the Donatists of old. And Fuller, in his Ecclesiastical History (1. 5, p. 229), saith, that the Anabaptists are the Donatists, new dipt. Bullinger saith, the Donatists and the Anabaptists held the same opin- ions (Lib. 5, fol. 216, 222,) of baptism.^' Other authorities might be introduced in confirmation cf the Baptist character of the Novatians, but it is wholly unnecessary. It is absolutely impossible for any other denomination in Christendom to claim, with any show of truth, identity with the Novatians, either in doctrine or history. The Novatian period brings us down to the TJie Great Apostasy. 329 middle of the fifth century, four hundred and fifty years after the birth of Christ. Section II. — The geeat apostasy. " Let no man deceive you by any means : for that day shall not come, except there come a falling 9.04.' away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition ; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped ; so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.^^ Some have supposed, from the foregoing passage of Scripture, that the falling away had reference to the apostasy or falling away of the Church of Christ, and, therefore, they come to the conclusion that the Church of Rome was once the true Church of Christ ! This doctrine, which teaches that the gates of hell have prevailed against the Church of Christ, has opened the flood-gate for the introduction of a host of errors. When we take the position that the kingdom of Jesus Christ has been subverted, and become the kingdom of Antichrist, we are compelled to become skeptics, or infidels, concern- ing the promises of Jesus Christ for the perpetuity of his church ; and if his church has apostatized, and become the kingdom of the Devil, then Jesus Christ was a false prophet, and, therefore, an impostor. But we must believe that the heavens would sooner pass away, and the pilkirs of the earth be removed, than that one jot or tittle of tbo words of Christ should fail. This prediction .f the apos- tle concernim;- the falling away, had no reference what- ever to the falling away of the true church or kingdom of Jesus Christ ; it only had reference to the falling away 330 The Jlovatian (Period. of individual congregations and persons from the king- dom of Christ. This is in keeping with the testimony of John, where he says, concerning "Antichrists/^ that: " They went out from us, but they were not of us ; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us : but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they w^ere not all of us." These Antichrists went out; but if the church had aposta- tized, then there would have been no going out. It has ever been the policy of Satan, in attempting to thwart the designs of Heaven, to institute a counterfeit to the various points of divine worship. When Jesus Christ ordained true apostles, the Devil ordained false apostles ; when Jesus ordained true ministers, the Devil ordained his ministers, who transformed themselves into ministers of righteous- ness ; when Jesus Christ established his ordinances, Satan also established counterfeit ordinances ; when Jesus Christ established his church, Satan proceeded to establish coun- terfeit churches. And by this satanic policy of counter- feiting, the Devil has done more to impede the cause of Christ than by any other means which he has ever in- vented. And in order the better to open the way for every new invention in the way of church organization which he may w^ish to establish, he has induced the world to believe that the church established by Christ has apostatized. And now we have hundreds of so-called churches in the world, claiming to be either the church or branches of the Church of Christ. Old papal Rome stands forth at the head of the list in all her pontifical pride, and claims to be the mother and mistress of all other churches; and around her are gathered her brood of mystic daughters, who are trying to pluck the laurels from the brow of their (korue net to be ^Reformed. 331 mother; and, at the same time, other newly-hatched eccle- siastical fledglings are attempting to soar into the heavens to divide dignity and honors with their more ancient rivals. Every few years gives birth to some mighty intellectual giant whose powers are brought into requisition in at- tempting to purify some of the polluted streams of Popery, and thereby prepare a suitable river of salvation. They are trying to reform, either the old mother of abomina- tions, or some one of her polluted daughters, in order to prepare a bride for Jesus Christ. If they were not wholly skeptical in regard to the perpetuity of the kingdom of Christ, they would not dare to attempt the reformation of any part of Antichrist. The reformers of false churches have undertaken a work to which God has not called them. They have run without being sent. They might just as well attempt to purify the waters of the Dead Sea. The folly and presumption of such men have certainly reached the superlative degree, from the fact that they ought to know that if the kingdom that Christ set up has aposta- tized and come to nothing, certainly their reformations will fare no better. They have overlooked the prophetic dec- larations concerning the fate of mystic Babylon — the Church of Home ; for, instead of being reformed, she is doomed by the Word of God to utter destruction. Her body is to be burned with fire, and her overthroAv is to be as when a mighty mill-stone is cast with violence into the sea. The Church of Kome, as an organization, has never been, is not now, and never will be a church of Christ. Sl\e did not originate with the Church of Christ. She is of her father, the Devil. It is very important, however, 332 TJie J^ovatiaii (Period. with the Protestant churches, to show that the Romish Church either has been, or is now, the true Church of Christ visible ; otherwise all their own claims to be true churches would be null and void, as emanating from the corru pt fountain of a false church. Mr. J. L. AValler shows the utter fallacy of the claims to have reformed the Church of Rome, as follows : " AVe take the Re- Baptists not Pro- n i. j.\ ' j ^ r j.i • ^ , , -,/>!- lormers at their word; and trom this testants, pp. 16, 1 / . . ^ , . , . favorite passage of theirs, w^e insist that the Romanish Church was never the Church of Christ visible, and was never to be reformed. The first appearance this church makes in prophetic vision, she bears the name of, ' Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother .of Harlots and abominations of the earth.^ She reels, intoxicated with the blood of the saints. She has no prior history. The prophet saw her beginning ; the name she then bore ; he contemplated her career, and beheld her overthrow. She was the same miserable, cruel, unholy, drunken ecclesi- astical baAvd, from first to last. There is no intimation to justify the conclusion that ' the bride, the Lamb's wife,^ ever degenerated into the 'whore of Babylon,^ making all nations drunk with the wine of her fornication ; and much less is there anything in this chapter to favor the conclusion that 'Babylon the Great,' by a mere cliange of the exte- rior a])pearances, is to be transformed into the ' New Jeru- salem.' On the contrary, John was permitted to see her destruction, like a great mill-stone cast into the sea, and to hear the shouts of glad angels, saying : ' Babylon the Great is fixllcn, is fallen, and is become the habitations of Devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.' Does this teach refor- mation? Is this the purgation which is to transmute the The Great Apostasy. 333 Romish Churcli into apostolic purity ? In short, reforma- tion is nowhere inculcated in the Scriptures. It is a work to which God has called no man or set of men. Those Avho engage in it, run without being sent ; and arc laboring for an end which, if attained, would discredit the predictions of the prophets, and set at naught many of the most positive declarations of the Almighty.'' Instead of vainly attempting to reform this monstrous system of iniquity, God has commanded all his saints to " Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, xind that ye receive not of her plagues." It was found, in the former period, that several fundamental errors made their appearance. These errors, — baptismal salvation, infant baptism, the hierarchy, etc., — paved the way for the overt act of apos- tasy which occurred in the middle of the third century. After every means had foiled to reclaim the party — churches and individuals — which had already embraced the forementioned heresies, in the year 251, the faithful churches and brethren declared non-fellowship with the corrupt party. They had, step by step, departed from the simplicity of Bible worship, until many of them had passed the boundary of the kingdom of Christ. They had apostatized, or gone out from the fellowship of the true churches, which remained steadfast in the support of the ordinances as they were delivered. This is the begin- ning of that great apostasy which finally assumed the huge pr/^portions of Antichrist. And after the apostasy, or falling away, had -occurred, in the year 251, the corrupt interest made fearful strides toward that fearful darkness and idolatry which characterized Rome through the dark ages. It is usually asserted by historians, that the union 334 The JSlovatian (Period. of church and state occurred in the year 312, under the Emperor Constantine. This statement is not strictly cor- rect. The union effected by Constantine, in the year 312, was betNveen tlie corrupt church and the state, or empire. The true Church of Christ has never entered into an adulterous union with the civil power. After the con- solidation of what is usually called the church with the civil dominion, under Constantine as the head of both church and state, the progress of corruption was frightful. On this point Mr. Dowling says : '^ Soon after Constan- tine professed conversion to Christianity, DowUnc/s Jlis. of ^ i ^ i x i i xi x. -r, . oi he undertook to remodel the p-overnment Iiomanmi\ p. 31. . ° of the church, so as to make it conform as much as possible to the government of the state. Hence the origin of the dignities of patriarchs, exarchs, arch- bishops, canons, prebendaries, etc., intended by the Em- peror to correspond with the different secular offices and dignities connected with the civil administration of the empire.^' The same writer farther remarks : '^ From this „ , time onward, the proo;ress of priestly dom- Ilis. Bom., p. 31. . . ' ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ . , mation and tyranny was lar more rapid than in any previous age. The lofty title of Patriarch W'as assumed by the bishops of Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, and also of Constantinople, after the remo- val of the seat of empire to that city : claiming, according to Bingham (Antiquities, B. II, ch. 17), ^the right to or- dain all the metropolitans of their own diocese; to call dio- cesan synods, and to preside over them ; to receive appeals from metropolitan and provincial synods; to censure me- tropolitans and their suffragan bishops; to pronounce ab- solutions upon great criminals, and to be absolute and independent, one of an other.^ '^ And thus we might con- The Grccit ^poztdzy. tinue to cite authorities to show the increasing corruption of that false church which originated from the apostasy, after the middle of the third century. It is the history of this corrupt antichristian apostasy which is given to the world as the history of the church ! It is altogether a mis- nomer to call the apostasy the Church of Christ, in any sense: it is the synagogue of Satan. As an organization, it had its origin in the third century, out of the apostasy from the truth. We will note the progress of this mystery of iniquity in the next period. It is evident from the Word of God, and church history, that the true Church is not to be found enveloped in the apostasy with Antichrist; we must, therefore, look for the kingdom of Christ some- where else. 33G The Wakiensean (Period. CHAPTEE XYIL THE WALDENSEAN PEEIOD— 1260 YEAES. 1. The Prophetic History of the CnrECH Durixg this Period. 2. The Peculiarities applied to the Waldenses. 3. False Churches which arose During this Period. Section I. — The prophetic histoey of the chupch DURING this period. "And to the woman Avere given two wings of a great _ eao-le, that she mi^ht fly into the wiklerness, Rev. 12: 14. . . . into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the ser- pent." I do not claim that the true churches are known in history by the name Waldenses during the entire period of twelve hundred and sixty years; but they were called Waldenses the most of this time ; and it is generally admit- ted that the churches which became known as Waldenses in the eleventh century, existed previously in the valleys of the Alps, with the same leading characteristics; and that the same class of people existed in the valleys, as the true witnesses of Christ, during the twelve hundred and sixty years. I will, therefore, take the privilege, as se\- eral historians have done, of applying the term YValdenses to the entire prophetic period of the preservation of the woman in the wilderness, or during the sackcloth testimony of the Church. Nearly all historians are agreed that the true church, Flight of the Woman into the Wilderness. 337 under the symbol of a woman, was driven into the wilder- ness after the great apostasy, where she was "nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent ^^ ; and it is understood that a time is one year, times two years, and a half time, one half of a year ; so that the time, times, and half time, are three and a half prophetic years; and as three and a half years, in the Scripture com- putation of time, make twelve hundred and sixty days, — and in prophecy a day stands for a year, — therefore, we have the period of twelve hundred and sixty years as the wilderness period of the Church. And that we are not mistaken in the period, is shown from the following : " And the woman fled into the Avilderness, where ^ Rev. 12: 6. she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and three score days." Thus, we have the twelve hundred and sixty days, a day for a year, as the explanation of the time, times, and half a time. In entering upon this obscure period of church history, it is very important that we give heed to the pro- phetic word as a light that shineth in a dark place. Some have very erroneously supposed that the wilderness period of the church was a time in which the church was in a state of apostasy, and that the flight into the wilderness referred to the apostasy or corruption of the church. But the very opposite is true ; the flight into the wilderness was not an apostasy or corruption of the church ; but it was the retirement of the church before the apostate and corrupt power. It should be observed, that the woman fled to " a place prepared of God," and Avas there preserved " from the face of the serpent"; but this would not have been the case had she gone into pollution in the foul embraces of e338 The Waldensean (Period. the dragon ix)wer. I am fully satisfied that the Walden- soan period of the church, during her retirement in the wilderness, is the purest part of her history since the apostolic age. In the wilderness she had less inducements to conformity with the world. 8he was persecuted by the dragon while she prophesied in sackcloth during this wil- derness period. When it is said, the woman, or church, iied into the wiklerness, the term wilderness in this proph- ecy indicates more than the locality in a Avaste and desert country. It also refers, doubtless, to the darkness, ob- scurity, or barrenness, of the dark ages. Owing to the relentless persecution waged against the church by the dragon, very few materials for church history, except from enemies, have been preserved. I understand that the flight of the woman into the wiklerness has reference to the re- tirement of the main body of the Novatians from Italy about the beginning of the fifth century; and also to the retirement of the church into obscurity, so as to be lost sight of, as the true church, by the world and the great mass of historians. Any church whose history has not been involved in obscurity and doubt, can lay no claims whatever to be the true church which fled into the wilder- ness. The fact that the world did not recognize the claims of the AValdenses, is no evidence whatever that they were not the witnesses for Christ. In the time of Christ and, the apostles, the entire world, both .Jew and Gentile, ex- Ci'pt a few, repudiated the claims of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. And even at the present time the world rejects with contempt the claims of the true church. Historians differ somewhat in regard to the precise time when the church made her flight into the wilderness. Some think it occurred in tlie time of Constantine the great, J^ovatians ^Retire into the Valleys. 339 about tlic year 325 ; others tliink it took place about the year 270, and some think it occurred at an earlier date. It i.s admitted that there were settlements of true Chrietians i'ornied in the valleys of the Alps in very early times, prob- ably in the apostolic age; and others emigrated, from time to time, under the various persecutions, and took shelter in these mountain retreats; but from all the light which I can gather, I am satisfied that the true date of the llight of the woman into the wilderness was not before the year 413, when banishment and death was decreed against the Novatians on account of their ^^ rc-haptizing^^ those who came from the Catholics. This view is sustained by Mr. Orchard, as follows: "In the fourth Lat- cran council, canons were made to banish „,. '■ ' them (the Novatians) as heretics, and these canons were sup[)ortcd by an edict, in 413, issued by the emperors Theodosius and llonorious, declaring that all persons /^-baptized, and the rc-baptizers, should be both punished with death. Accordingly, Albanus, a zealous minister, with others, were punished with death, for re- baptizing. The edict was probably obtained by the inliu- encc of Augustine, who could endure no rival, nor would he bear with any who questioned the virtue of his rites, or the sanctity of his brethren, or the soundness of the Catholic creed ; and these points being disjiutcMl by the No- vatianists and Donatists, two powerful and extensive bodies of dissidents in Italy and Africa, they were cons(Mpicntly made to feel the weight of his influence. Tliesc combined modes of oppiwssion led th<^ faithful to abandon tlu» citi(\s, and seek retreats in the country, which i\\cy did, particu- larly in the valUws of Piedmont, the inhabitants of which began to be called Waldcnses." About this time a s(M*ies 340 The Waldensean (Period. of persecutions were inaugurated against the Novatians in Italy, and they soon retired in vast numbers into the val- leys of Piedmont and other places of security; so, we may safely conclude that the woman, the church, was in the wilderness as early as four hundred and ticenty-five or six. These persecutions are stated as follows: "In 412 the Bap- tists were banished as heretics. In 413 /c . p . I ., ji^j-jQceut sent letters of advice to various p. 61; note. ministers. In the same year, the Baptists, for re-baptizing, were sentenced to death. In 416 a coun- cil at Mela accursed all those who denied forgiveness to accompany infant baptism, and in 418 a council at Car- thage enforced the same curse.'^ And not long after the inauguration of this dreadful series of persecutions against the Novatians, says Mr. Orchard, "These holy people now retired from public notice." We may safely commence the AYaldensean period as early as the year four hundred and twenty-six. It is true, that all the Novatians had not departed from Italy; but the main body of these people had retired to the valleys of the Alps and other places of retreat. It must be remembered that a remnant of these people still remained in Italy ; and a succession of them continued, for centu- ries, under the name Paterines. As already intimated, the prominent facts concerning the flight of the church, are brought to view in the twelfth chapter of Pevelations, by means of the woman as a symbol of the church. The reader is requested to pause and read that chapter. It is said, in verse seventh: "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon ; and the dragon fought and his an- gels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found J^ovatians (Retire into the Valleys. 3-11 any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan, which dc- ceiveth the whole world : he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." This "war in heaven" probably has reference to the conflict between Jesus Christ — "^^ Michael" — at the head of his angels, the true ministers, on one hand, and the Devil as the head of his angels, false ministers, on the other. The Devil, at the head of the dragon power, hoped to subvert the kingdom of Jesus Christ, by the change of the form of church government, the change of the ordinances, and the estab- lishment of his " angels," or ministers over the churches. On the other hand, Jesus, as the head of his church, led on his " angels," true ministers, to the terrible conflict with the dragon and his angels. The term heaven, here, can not mean the place of rest; but it may, in this place, refer to the elevated position which the church occupies as the light of the world. This war was in the religious elements, or religious heaven occupied by the church. I am of opinion that this "war" points out the struggle be- tween the true and false ministers about the time of the beginning of the Novatian period. And the casting out of the "Devil and his angels" very likely refers to the total and final rejection of the corrupt and popular party, with all their ordinances and church claims, by those who were called Novatians. These false ministers were in nominal fellowship with the true ministers till the di- vision, called the Novatian rupture, but then they were " cast out " from this fellowship by the true churches. Their being cast out into the earth, may have ailusion to the total abandonment, on the part of those that followed the dragon, of all correct principles of church organiza- 842 TJie Waldciisean (Period. tion, and the union of the corrupt church and state. Cer- tainly this union of church and state with all the Romish idolatries has been a " Wo to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea." I am driven to these conclusions^ from the fact that the "war in heaven" and the casting out of the dragon comes before the flight of the woman. And the drawing down of " the third part of the stars of heaven " by the tail of the dragon, doubtless has reference to the departure of the third part of the ministry which followed the dragon when he was cast down to the earth. We now proceed to sum up the prophetic proofs which show that the true church was preserved during the wilderness period of her history. First: As already seen, she was fed in the wilderness for twelve hundred and sixty years, from the face of the dragon. But if the church apostatized, or became extinct, this Scripture could not be true; but as this jirophecy is true, therefore the succession or perpetuity of the church, through this dark period, is established be- yond the possibility of a doubt. Second: The Lord said by the angel : "And I will give r) . q power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score days clothed in sackcloth." If these w^itnesses refer to the testimony borne by the church in the wilderness, and this is generally believed, then the church remained firm in her prophesying or teaching through the entire period of her stay in the wilderness. Third: It is affirmed by Daniel the prophet, that: "In ^ ^ ^^ the days of these kinoes shall the God of Ban. 2: 44. '' ^ heaven set up a kingdom, wdiich shall never be destroyed ; and the kingdom shall not be left to other The Church in the Wilderness. 343 people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever/' And as this pro- phecy is admitted to refer to the kingdom or church of Christ, it, therefore, sustains the doctrine of church suc- cession or perpetuity. This is also illustrated by the stone which symbolized the kingdom, that smote the image and broke it to pieces, and finally " became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." The stone kingdom did not become extinct; neither has it been given to other people; but " it shall stand forever." Fourth: Once more; the Savior himself declared, that " Upon this rock I will build my church ; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." No one who believes the Word of God can reasonably doubt the existence of the true church ever since it was first established. But the same prophetic Word which teaches the perpetuity of the church, also teaches that the church went into ob- scurity, where she remained twelve hundred and sixty years. This doctrine is also taught in the prophetic Song of Solomon, which points out the tender relations existing between Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom, and the church, his bride, by the intimate relations existing between the husband and wife. Jesus, the Bridegroom, speaking to the bride, his church, says: "Oh my dove, thou art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret '^^"^ f fj"^ . ' mo7i, 2: 14. phices of the stairs, let me see thy counte- nance, let me hear thy voice : for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely." This tender expression of the bridegroom, representing the bride as in the cleft of the rochj in the secret places of the stairs, doubtless points out the history of the church during her wilderness ob- scurity, while secreted in the cleft or stairs of the Alpiue 344 The Waldensean (Period. mountains. The bridegroom also represents her as his ^^ undefiled/' fair one, Avhich shows that the church re- mained uncorrnpted and pure during her wilderness testi- mony. And the Savior also represents her as sustaining the same character, when she comes out of the wilderness ; for he says : " Rise up, my love, my fair on g 0/0 omon, ^^_^^^ ^^^^ come away : for, lo, the winter is passed, and the rain is over and gone ; the flowers appear on the earth ; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land ; the fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.^^ Thus we have the tender expression of the bridegroom calling to his beloved, the ciiurch, after the fearful winter of darkness and perse- cution had poured forth frightful storms upon her for twelve hundred and sixty years, to rise up and come away out of the wilderness, where her power may again be felt throughout the world. Again : We have the inspired description of the bride as she comes out of the wilderness. The question is pro- pounded : " Who is this that cometh up Sana of Solomon, r l^ ^^ ^ ^ • ^ ^ 8- 5 d 6- 10 ^^^^^ *^^^ wilderness, leaning upon her be- loved ? '' " Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and ter- rible as an army with banners ?^^ The answer would come, she is the bride, the Lamb's Avife, to whom had been given the wings of the great eagle, with which to fly into the wilderness to the place prepared of God, and where she had ever leaned upon the strong arm of her divine lover, who leads her forth from the v/ilderness as fair as the moon, as clear as the sun, and as terrible as an army The Church in the Wilder iiess. 345 with banners. Do tliese Scriptures teach the apostasy, pollution, and disgrace, of the bride of Christ ? No ; for the bridegroom has pledged himself to be with her alway, even unto the end of the world ; and, if it were necessary, he would call twelve legions of angels to her rescue at any moment. Because the world, in its blindness and superstition, has failed to see and recognize the bride, the Lamb's wife, dur- ing her stay in the wilderness, shall It be said that she ceased to exist during that time? As well might it be said of the train which enters the mountain tunnel and comes out in full trim, that it ceased to exist because It was out of sight for awhile, or that it must have been ofP the track all the time that It was not in view ! But when the train emerges from the tunnel, on time, with the same officers, with the same passengers, with the same freight, and with the same characteristic brands, we have undisputed evidence that It Is the same train which entered the tunnel, and that It had been on the track all the time, or it would not have ap- peared on time with the same equipments ; and especially, if it had been controlled by an infallible conductor, who af- firmed that the train had been preserved through the moun- tain. And likewise, as the church came out of the wilder- ness on time, according to the divine schedule, with the same officers, with the same passengers, with the same freight, and with the same characteristic marks, and having been controlled by the same infallible conductor, we may, therefore, safely conclude that the church has neither been destroyed nor off" the track of truth during the wilderness period of her history. But the church has not been totally out of view during this period ; her light has shined out of the clefts of the rock, and her countenance has beamed 346 The Waldensean (Period. forth from the secret places of the stairs all the time. And with equal propriety it might be affirmed that the Atlan- tic telegraph cable was broken into a thousand fragments, or that hundreds of miles of it are entirely wanting, be- cause it is invisible to the eye, as to affirm that the church was destroyed because it was hid from some! But when it is known that both ends of the cable are visible, and that the same electric fluid passes from one extremity to the other, no one doubts the succession of the Atlantic cable. And when we consider that the church entered the wilder- ness bearing the impress of the Holy Spirit, and emerged from it bearing the same impress, we have the evidence of her perpetuity. But we are not left in total darkness with regard to the wilderness period of the church. As already seen, we have the light of the prophetic Word, as the pillar of fire by night, which has pointed out the history of the everlasting kingdom through the wilderness period. It is true, that like the ancient pillar of fire, it is light to spir- itual Israel, but darkness to the spiritual Egyptians, the enemies of the church. If all uninspired history was a total blank, or swallowed up in the gulf of oblivion, we have a perfect right to span the chasm with the prophetic AYord, and boldly affirm that the gates of hell have not prevailed against the church of Jesus Christ. But besides the inspired Word, we have the testimony of friends, and even foes, to the perpetuity of the kingdom of God through all this dark period of the world. The history of the church may be traced by the dismal light of her martyr fires, and the blood of her witnesses, which has been poured forth like rivers in the desert. The blood-thirsty foes of the church have borne, with fiendish hate, their testimony to the true church in their accusations and charges against (Pecviliarities applied to the Wcildenses. 347 her members. Truly, God has caused the wrath of man to praise him. Even old Home herself has been constrained to bear, through her executioners, grim and bloody testi- mony to the truth of the claims of the suffering saints who died as members of the true kingdom of God. Section II. — The peculiaeities applied to the WAEDENSES. "And the woman fled into the . wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hun- dred and three score days.'^ Before we proceed to apply the Baptist peculiarities to the Waldenses, it may not be amiss to state again that the same class of people who were called Waldenses in the valleys of the Alps, were called by other names in other countries. But, says Mr. Jones: "All these branches, however, sprang from one common stock, and were ani- mated by the same religious and moral principles.^' We have not space in the present work to vindicate every branch of the Waldensean family from the slanderous charges which their enemies have preferred against them; but we desire to apply the Bible peculiarities to the main body of the Waldenses who inhabited the valleys of the Alps, or were in fellowship with them. But before we proceed to this, it may be interesting to furnish the reader with a description of the valleys of Piedmont. Mr. Jones gives the following description : " The prin- cipality of Piedmont derives its name from the circumstance of its beino; situ- ^'.^fo ^' ^^*' ^ p. 188. ated at the foot of the Alps, a prodigious 348 The Waldcnsean (Period. range of mountains^ the highest indeed in Europe, and which divide Italy from France, SwitzerLand, and Ger- many. It is bounded on the east by the duchies of Milan and Montferrat; on the south by the county of Nice and the territory of Genoa ; on the west by France, and on the north by Savoy. In former times it constituted a part of liOmbardy, but more recently has been subject to the King of Sardinia, who takes up his residence at Turin, the cap- ital of this province, and one of the finest cities in Europe. It is an extensive tract of rich and fruitful valleys, embo- somed in mountains which are encircled again with moun- tains higher than they, intersected with deep and rapid rivers, and exhibiting in strong contrast the beauty and plenty of Paradise in sight of frightful precipices, wide lakes of ice, and stupendous mountains of never-wasting snow. The whole country is an interchange of hill and dale, mountain and valley — traversed with four principal rivers — viz : the Po, the Tanaro, the Stura, and the Dora, besides about eight and twenty rivulets, great and small, which, winding their course in different directions, con- tribute to the fertility of the valleys, and make them re- semble a watered garden. The principal valleys are Aosta and Susa on the north, Stura on the south, and, in the in- terior of the country, Lucerna, Angrogna, Paccapiatti, Pramol, Perosa, and S. Martino. The valley Clusone, or Pragela, as it is often called, was in ancient times a part of the province Dauphiny in France, and has been, from the days of Hannibal, the ordinary route of the French and other armies when marching into Italy. Angrogna, Pramol, and S. Martino, are strongly fortified by nature, on account of their many difficult passes, and bulwarks of rocks and mountains ; as if the All-wise Creator, says Sir The Valleys of (Piedmont. 349 Samuel Morland, had, from the beginning, designed that place as a cabinet wherein to put some inestimable jewel, or in which to reserve many thousand souls which should not bow the knee before Baal.'' It was into these wilder- ness valleys, surrounded by the bulwarks of the Almighty, that the main body of the Church of Christ found a place of security from the wrath of the papal dragon. The Waldenses regarded themselves as having been directed by prophecy in their flight to these valleys. Of this, Mr. Robinson remarks : ^' Let it not ,• -n ,1 , ^,^ -\ Roh.^s EccL Res.. seem romantic it we suppose that [thej ^^^ ' "Waldenses, who, we know, studied the Revelation of John, thought themselves directed to re- tire, by God himself, to sequestered places ; for, by the New Testament prophet, he said, ^ The woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and three score days.' " Thus it is seen that the Waldenses claimed no human origin; but that they. were the true church, symbolized by the woman which fled into the wil- derness. We come now to the application of the pecu- liarities. First: TJie Waldenses possessed the Bajotist 'peculiarity' of regarding Jesus Christ as their founder and head. This is shown from the very reproach cast upon them by their enemies; for they were called Acepjhali, the head- less, because they acknowledged no human head or founder. Commenius, a Bohemian writer, gave the following account of the claims of the ^2%tw^hes^J'^ Waldenses in 1644 : "And forasmuch as piedmont p 205 the said Waldenses declared that they had lawful bishops among them, and a lawful and uninterrupted 350 The Waldenscan Period. succession from the apostles themselves; they very solemnly created three of our ministers bishops, conferring upon them the power of ordaining ministers, though they did not think fit to take upon them the name of bishops, because of the antichristian abuse of that name — contenting themselves Avith the name of elders/' This very important passage shows that the Waldenses claimed an uninterrupted succes- sion from the apostles. Were they liable to the charge of '^Popish succession f^' By no means; for their bitter en- emy says that: "They affirm that they Quoted in Allix^s ^j^^^^ ^^,^ ^|^^ Church of Christ, and his Churches of Fied- ,. . , —., , , , / , moiit p. 209. disciples, ihey declare themselves to be the apostles' successors ; to have apostolic authority, and the keys of binding and loosing. They hold the Church of Rome to be the whore of Babylon, and that all that obey her are damned, especially the clergy that are subject to her since the time of Pope Sylvester." It has ever been the case, that those who have claimed the true succession, have borne the most faithful testimony against the false succession of Rome. In a Waldenscan Confession of Faith published in 1G55, article twenty- fourth reads as follows: "That God has WaldilJ^^^^^^^ gathered together a church in this world for the salvation of mankind; but she has but one head and foundation, which is Jesus Christ." And we have article twenty-sixth, as follows: "That this church can not fail, or be quite destroyed ; but that it will always remain." It has been already observed, that the same class of people called Waldenses in the valleys, were called Paterines, especially in Italy. This name dates back to the Novatians. Dr. Allix says of them, that : " It appears that the Berengarians, wlio were of the Waldenses held the (Bible as their (Rule. 351 same stamp with Patcrines, did discourse much at the same rate as the Waklensos did afterward. This is evident from Lanfranc, where he „/f * ^'^^ ^1^ ' Fiedmont, p. 134. tells us that they accused the church to liave erred by reason of ignorance, and that the church remained in their party alone ; and they, with the Beren- garians, called the Church of Rome the congregation of the wicked and the seat of Satan.''^ Thus these early Wal denses maintained that themselves alone were the true. Church of Christ; that they had the true succession; and that Home is Antichrist. The bitterest foes of tho Waldenses have never charged them with holding any other founder and head than Jesus Christ. We may con- sider it a settled point that the Waldenses possessed tht Baptist peculiarity which recognizes Jesus Christ alone as the founder and head of his Church. Second : The Baptists regard the Bible alone as their rule of faith and practice ; and, upon examination, it will be found that the Waldenses also possessed the same pecu- liarity. No historic fact is more clearly developed than that the Waldenses adhered with unyielding tenacity to the Scriptures as their only guide in matters of religion. iEneassylvius, who came to be Pope Pius II., gives the following in his account of the Waldenses : " Whatsoever is preached without Scripture proof, they account no better than fables. That the ^^^^^^^ '"^ ^^- ^^' -TT 1 CI • , • (' .A /¥> . ti-^'s Churches of Holy Scriptures is of the same efficacy m pi,,i,^^,,t, p. 236. the vulgar tongue as in Latin, and accord- ingly they communicate and administer the sacraments in the vulgar tongue. They can say a great part of the Old and New Testament by heart.'' This acknowledgment of Pope Pius concerning this peculiar feature of the Wal- 252 The WaldcTiscaii (Period. denscs, is but the voice of history on this point : the Wal- denses claim no other standard of faith and practice ex- cept the Bible. To the same effect Mr. Robinson testifies of the Waldenses, as follows : ^^ From the Church of Rome they distinguish themselves by reducing, Hob.^s Eccl. Ecs., ,1 1,1 • , T^ 1 ,p. ' as they supposed, the ancient Roman doc- trine to practice, by rejecting the Pope the prelates, and all the religious orders, by renouncing councils, fathers, and all traditions, and adhering to Scrip ture alone as a rule of faith, and by refusing all the papa^ ceremonies of baptism, the Lord^s Supper, penance, orders, and so on. They are also distinguished from the latter Vaudois, and the reformed churches, by not using any lit- urgy; by not compelling faith; by condemning parochial churches; by not taking oaths; by allowing every person, even women, to teach ; by not practicing infant baptism ; by not admitting god-fathers ; by rejecting all sacerdotal habits; by denying all ecclesiastical orders of priesthood, papal and episcopal ; by not bearing arms ; and by their abhorrence of every species of persecution.^^ Once more : We introduce the testimony of a minister who had been pastor of one of the "VValdensean churches for forty years ; his name is Vignaux. He says of the Waldenses : " That the Holy Scriptures contain all that is {^10 e m onts YiQC^s^'dVY to our salvation, and that we Ch. His., p. 264. 1, ''i 1 ,. 11 1 1 are called to believe only what they teach, without any regard to the authority of man ; that nothing ;f else ought to be received by us except what God hath ^ commanded. ^^ And it is an interesting fact, that the an- cient Waldenses were mighty in the Scriptures ; they sur- passed all others in Bible knoAvledge. Mr. Jones quotes Thuanus, an eminent Catholic historian, as making the Waldenses held ike (Bible as their (kide. 353 following admission concerning the Waldenses : " They can all read and write. They know French sufficiently for the understanding of the ^.-i ' • ' *' Bible and the singing of psalms. You can scarcely find a boy among them who can not give you an intelligent account of the faith which they profess.'^ Con- trasting the Waldenses with Luther, Calvin, and others, JNIr. Jones remarks that : " The reformers, with all their zeal and learnino^, w^ere babes o^^ * ' p. 326. in spiritual knowledge when compared with the more illiterate Waldenses, particularly in regard to the nature of the kingdom of Christ and its institutions, laws, and worship in general.'^ Many other testimonies could be introduced, showing that the Waldenses not only professed to regard the Bible as their standard, but they were eminently a Bible people in point of knowledge. We regard the point fully established in history, that the Wal- denses possessed the Baptist peculiarity of holding the Bible alone as their rule of action in matters of religion, and therefore, in this respect, they were Baptists. Third : It is evident, also, that the Waldenses preserved the Bible order of the commandments which now charac- terize the Baptists ; they taught repentance, faith, haptisnij and the Lord^s Supper. That they held the Bible order of repentance and faith, has never been called in question. In fact, they were compelled to observe this order as the result of following the Scriptures as their only guide. Their views of human depravity, which they regarded as hereditary and total, and the operation of the Holy Spirit in conversion, forced them uj^on the Bible order of holding repentance before the faith with the heart. In their Con- fession, of 1365, Article XVIII stands thus : " That this 3^1 The V/aldensean Period. ^ith comes from the gracious and efficacious operations of the Holy Spirit, which illuminates our emus IS. o; g^^jg ^^^j enables them to rely upon the Vaudois, p. zdo. ^ ^, . . mercy of God, to be applied by the merits of Jesus Christ/^ Every one must know that this faith, which is produced by the influence of the Holy Spirit upon the heart, must follow, in point of order, repentance ; but, as the order of repentance and faith has never been a matter of dispute in the history of the Waldenses, we pass to the next point, which is their teaching that faith pre- cedes baptism. This point is fully settled in chapter sixth of this book, where the cliarge that the Waldenses baptized infants, is fully met. I will, however, introduce some proofs in re- gard to the teaching of the Paterines, who were the same with the ancient AYaldenses. Dr. Allix says : " We find the Berengarians exposed to the same ca- Allix' s Churches of -i • i • i i?i. i • j. i j. „. , , ^.,y lumnies which were alterward imputed to Piedmont, p. 13o. . ^ . . . the Paterines and Waldenses. This is evi- dent from the discourse of Guimondus, Bishop of A versa, lib. I, contra Bereng.; where he accuseth them of over- throwing, as much as in them lay, lawful marriages, and the baptism of infants.'^ It is true that Dr. Allix, the Pedobaptist historian, calls this charge against the Pate- rines a calumny. But it is certain that the Catholic wri- ters who lived at the same time and in the same countries with the Paterines, knew more about their practice than Dr. Allix, who lived in the present century. And as to the other charge — that these Paterines rejected laAvful mar- riage — they did reject what Catholics call lawful marriage, viz : marriage by Catholic priests. Historians are agreed that the Catholics did charjj^e the ancient Waldenses and Waldenses held the (Bible Order. 355 Paterines — who were, really^ the same class of people re- ligiously — with the rejection of infant baptism. On this point Mr. Robinson says : " As the Catholics of those times baptized by immersion, the T) , • 1 1 , ,1 RohJs Eccl. Res., l-*aterine3, by what name soever they were ..^ ' called — as Manicheans, Gazari, Josephists, Arnoldists, Passagines, Bulgarians, or Bongres — made no complaint of the mode of baptizing ; but, when they were examined, they objected vehemently against the baptism of infants, and condemned it as an error. They said, among other things, that a child knew nothing of the mat- ter — that he had no desire to be Baptized, and was inca- pable of making any confession of faith, and that the willing and professing of another could be of no service to him." This quotation shows that the ancient Wal- denses, also called Paterines, positively opposed infant bap- tism ; they held the Baptists' order of faith before baptism. It is a historic fact, that the ancient Waldenses, from the time of the flight of the woman into the wilderness, to the close of the twelve hundred and sixty years, bore testimony to the Bible order of faith prior to baptism. And as no one has ever dared to charge them with the gross absurd- ity of placing the Lord's Supper before baptism, we may justly conclude that the Waldenses preserved the Bible order of the commandments — Repentance, Faith, Baptism, and the Lord's Supper. Thus we find that the Waldenses possessed the third Baptist peculiarity, and, therefore^ they were Baptists in this respect. Fourth : Baptists immerse, or bury ivith Clirist in hap- tism, only those who profess to be dead to, or freed from, sin. We now proceed to the examination of the Waldenses aa regards the fourth Bible peculiarity. After the rise of 356 Tr.e Wa^deiizean (Period. the Arian controversy, the Catholics originated the prac- tice of trine immersion. In baptism, they dipped the candidate once in the name of the Father, once in tiie name of the Son, and once in the name of the Holy Ghost. But the AValdenses adhered to the apostolic practice of "one baptism.*^ They buried in baptism only once those who professed to be dead to sin. They were charged, it is true, with Anabaptism, or re-baptism, which they de- nied, on the ground that even the immersions performed by false churches were invalid, and not baptism at all. The suffering Waldenses, in their supplication to Emanuel, Duke of Savoy, used the following language: "The Turks, Jews, Saracens, and other nations, though His. Wald., Amer. , i i , • ^ S U 7" iiever so barbarous, are sutrered to enjoy their own religion, and are constrained by no man to change their manner of living and worship; and we, who serve and worship in faith the true and Al- mighty God, and one true and only Sovereign, the Lord Jesus, and confessing one God and une baptism, — shall not we be suffered to enjoy the same privileges ?'^ The point has already been fully established, that the Waldenscs Ijaptized none except professed believers. And they considered a true believer as a child of God; there- fore they did not baptize sinners, the children of the Devil, in order to make them children of God; they baptized those who professed to be dead to, or freed from, sin. tn a Confession of Faith published by the Waldenses in the year 1120, we have the following: "Aet. XII. — We do believe that the sacraments are signs of the ,V 4 ofJ ' \\o\y thinsT, or visible forms of the invisi- Muston, p. 300. " ^^ ble grace, accounting it good that the faith- ful sometimes use the said signs or visible forms, if it may Wald^nses opposed (Baptismal Salvation. 357 be done. However, we believe and hold that the above- said faithful may be saved without receiving the signs aforesaid, in case they have no place nor any means to use them. AiiT. XIII. — AVe acknowledo-e no other sacrament but Baptism and the Lord's Supper.'^ This unmistakably settles the point, that the Waldenses did not regard bap- tism as necessary to the pardon of sins; they regarded baptism and the Lord's Supper as signs of invisible things. In another Confession of Faith, published in 1669, the AYaldenses have the following: ^'29. That God has ordained the sacrament of baptism to be , ,. jy 1 X- 1 r Israel of the Alps, a testimony oi our adoption, and ot our ^a- being cleansed from our sins by the blood of Jesus Christ, and renewed in holiness of life.^* Thus we discover that the AYaldenses regarded baptism as a testimony of the cleansing from sins by the blood of Jesus Christ. With them, baptism was not in order to the cleansing from sin, but a testimony of it. In fact, the Waldenses regarded baptismal salvation, in connection with infant baptism, as one of the leading features of Antichrist. In a treatise concerning Antichrist, written by the Waldenses in the twelfth century, it is supposed, we have the followins; remarkable lanQ-uao;e concernino; the doctrine of Antichrist : " He teaches to baptize children into the faith, and at- "^""l^. ^^'- ^'•' tributes to this the work of regeneration, thus confounding the work of the Holy Spirit in regen- eration with the external rite of baptism, and on this foundation bestows orders, and, indeed, grounds all Chris- tianity.^' By this we learn that the Waldenses regarded infant baptism and baptismal salvation as a leading feature of 358 The Waldensean (Period. Antichrist; it is, therefore, certain that they only baptized such as professed to be real saints, or children of God. We have the testimony of Evervinus, a Catholic writer of the twelfth century, that the ancient Waldenses rejected infant baptism. He wrote a letter to St. Bernard concern- ing the Waldenses about Cologne, in which he represents them as follows : ^' Thus they make void the priesthood of the church, and. condemn the sacraments Allix's Churches i • -i i ,• i i j.i • i , „. , ^__ besides baptism only; and this onlv m of Pied., p. 157. ^ ' ^ those who are come to age, who, they say, are baptized by Christ himself, whosoever be the minister of the sacraments. They do not believe infant baptism; alleging that place of the Gospel, whosoever shall believe^ and he baptized, shall be saved.'^ But enough on this point; it is a point fully proved that the ancient Waldenses baptized, only those who professed to be true believers, or those who professed to be dead to sin. But did they im- merse, or bury in baptism, their converts ? It is conceded by historians that immersion was the prevailing practice of all denominations which professed Christianity down to the thirteenth century. The exceptions to this practice were, that in cases of sickness the Catholics performed wdiat has been called ^'clinic baptism ^^ — by affusion; but they did not plead Scripture authority for this departure from apostolic practice ; they only pleaded necessity. But as the Waldenses adhered to the Scriptures, rejecting all the traditions of men, they did not adopt this innovatior.. And, according to their doctrine, there was no necessity foi clinic baptism ; for they rejected baptismal salvation, which gave rise to the custom of the baptism of the sick to save them from the torments of hell. It is admitted by candid historians and learned Pedobaptists that sprinkling Waldenses for Immersion. 359 or pouring is a Romish tradition, and as the Waldenses regarded these traditions with abhorrence, they, therefore, rejected the traditions of sprinkling and pouring instead of baptism. Even those societies which adopted the prac- tice of infant baptism continued the ancient practice of immersion; for they immersed their infants, mostly with three dips. Dr. \Yall, the celebrated Pedobaptist histo- rian, speaking of the introduction of pouring and sprink- ling, remarks: "And though the English received not this custom till after the decay f ' ^ %.^o^"^ '' p ^ , , , , . . \ vol I, p. 728. 01 ropery, yet they have since received it from such neighboring nations as had begun it in the times of the Pope's poAver. But all other Christians in the world, who never owned the Pope's usurped power, do, and ever did, dip their infants in the ordinary use." Again, in speaking of the administration of baptism among the ancients. Dr. \Yall says : " Their general and ordinary way was to baptize by immersion, or dip- ping the person, whether it were an infant f"/ "•l\^'^^ '' r o i- > ^ .i^oL I, p. /06. or grown man or woman, into the water. This is so plain and clear, by an infinite number of pas- sages, that, as one can not but pity the weak endeavors of such Pedobaptists as would maintain the negative of it, so also we ought to disown and show a dislike of the profane scoffs which some people give to the English Anti-pedo- baptists merely for their use of dipping. It is one thing to maintain that that circumstance is not absolutely necessary to the essence of baptism, and another to go about to repre- sent it as ridiculous and foolish, or as shameful and inde- cent, pkvhen it was, in all probability, the way by which our blessed Savior, and for certain, was the most usual and ordinary way by which the ancient Christians did receiv 360 The Wald^nsean (Period. their baptism. I shall not stay to produce the particular proofs of this. Many of the quotations which I brought for other purposes, and shall bring, do evince it. It is a great want of prudence, as well as of honesty, to refuse to grant to an adversary what is certainly true, and may bo proved so. It creates a jealousy of all the rest that one says." From these passages from this eminent historian, it is evident that the prevailing custom among ancient Christians was an immersion or burial in baptism; and the only exception to this was found among Roman Cath- olics in favor of sick people. But as the Waldenses neither originated with the Catholics nor received their traditions, therefore they did not receive sprinkling or pouring, but held the burial in baptism of those who were believers. Keinerius Saccho, the Catholic persecutor of the Wal- denses, says of them, that : " They hold that none of the ordinances of the church Avhich have been ^2?q * ^*' introduced since Christ's ascension, ought to be observed, as being of no value." It is well known that sprinkling and pouring for baptism have been introduced long since the ascension of Christ; and as the AYaldcnses rejected all such ordinances, there- fore they rejected sprinkling or pouring for baptism. The fact that the Waldenses baptized all whom they received into fellowship, even when they had been previously im- mersed by others, is positive proof that the Waldenses practiced immersion or burial in baptism. Those parties who are so indifferent about the commands of Jesus Christ r.s to practice sprinkling and pouring for baptism, do not insist on the baptism of those that come from other parties; they are, therefore, not called Anabaptists. It may be laid down as an historic axiom, that whe7'e Anahaptism prevails^ Equality among the V/aldenscs. 361 immersion is the action of baptism. The Waldenses were '* Anabaptists/^ not Munsterites ; therefore, they practiced immersion, or burial, for baptism. Tlie following, from Joseph Belcher, shows that the Waldenses were known as Anabaptists : " Bishop Bossuet, a Catholic, 1.. n r-i ^ ' } if !•• Bdiqious Dcnom., complaining oi Calvin s party tor claiming „ , ■; ^ ,04 apostolical succession through the Wal- denses, observes: ^ You adopt Henry and Peter de Bruys among your predecessors, but both of these everybody knows were Anabaptists/ ^^ No historian has ever charged the Waldenses with the practice of sprinkling and pour- ing for baptism. We may consider it a point generally admitted that the ancient Waldenses possessed the Baptist peculiarity of holding the burial in baptism of those who are dead to sin. Fifth: Baptists recognize equal rights or privileges in the execution of the laivs of the kingdom of Jesus Clirist, Baptists have ever been distinguished by thein love of re- ligious liberty, w^iile Pedobaptists have generally claimed the right to propagate religion by law. We will find this Baptist peculiarity prominently developed among the Wal- denses. The inquisitor Reinerius, reports the Waldenses as holding : ^' That none in the church ought to be greater than their brethren,^^ ^^^243 ^^' ^^'''' according to Matt. 20: 25, etc. It is ^* *" " known that the Waldenses regarded the different orders in the ministry, established by the Catholics, as part of the abominations of Antichrist. They even allowed their women to teach in their congregations. We find, in an ancient Waldensean Confession, the follow- ing Article on liberty : " We esteem for ^^oaa ^ ^^' an abomination and as antichristian, all 362 The Waldenscan ^Period. tiiose human inventions wliicli are a trouble or prejudice lo the liberty of the spirit." Thus we iuid the ancient Waldenses, like the modern Baptists, contending for spirit or " soul-liberty." It will be remembered that the Albi- genses were a branch or a part of the Waldenscan family ; they held the same doctrine in every point of church organization. In regard to the point in question, Mr. Orchard remarks : ^' The errors of the IS. oj 'ng. ap- ^iijij^^.j^gcs, who, in their church capacity, tists, p. 116. ^ . , 11 says Collier, had none but lay brethren to officiate among them, and who professed ecpiality in the brotherhood, began now to grow more public." As to the charge, that the Albigenses had none but lay brethren for preachers, this must be understood with reference to Cath- olic views ; for they regarded all as laymen who had not received llomish ordination. The Waldenses had pastors ordained by themselves. It is so generally admitted that the ancient Waldenses recognized the equality of their membership, as regards church privileges, that it is un- necessary to occupy much space on this point. In the an- cient Waldenscan documents preserved by Leger, and quoted by Monastier in his History of the Vaudois Church, we have the following: " ^Among other Ills, of the Vaudois ^ • ^ r\ ^ ^ • i • CI • / D 95 powers which (jrod has given his servants, he has given them power to choose leaders (pastors) who may govern the people, and to appoint elders to their offices, according to the diversity of their employ- ments, in the unity of Christ, as the apostle proves in his epistle to Titus.' * * * ^s to the discipline of paston;, it is said : ^ Whenever any one of our pastors has fallen into any disgraceful sin, he is expelled from our society, and the office of preaching is taken from him.' As to their support, Equality among the Waldenses. 363 it is said : ^ Our food and clothing are supplied and given to us gratuitously, and in the way of alms, as much as is needed, by the good people whom we teach.' The barbes, moreover, all applied themselves to some useful art, par- ticularly medicine and surgery. No hierarchical distinc- tion was established : the only difference that existed be- tween the pastors was that arising from age, or services performed, and personal respect.'' In this quotation, it should be observed, that it was the servants of God, members of his church, who wereto choose leaders or elders to the pastorship, and exclude them from the church if they proved unworthy ; and the only differ- ence that existed between the pastors Avas that arising from age, services 'performed, and personal respect. The same author further remarks : " We conceive ,1 , , 1 . ■ . , . . i? J.1 His. (Tf theVaudois that this entire submissiveness oi the ^, % ^^,. Church, p. 102. younger barbes (pastors) to the more aged and to the leaders, has led Roman Catholic authors into an error, and made them believe that the Yaudois had a clerical hierarchy, like themselves, of bishops, etc. But nothing in their history or writings authorizes us to be- lieve in the existence of any other distinction among the barbes excepting that of age, experience, and personal qualities, which determined their choice of leaders as cir- ciunstances might require — as is still practiced, and, no doubt, was always practiced in this church.'^ It may be regarded as an established historic fact, that the ancient Waldenses possessed the Baptist peculiarity of religious equality in church membership. Dupin, the Catholic histo- rian, admits that Keinerius Saccho, the in- quisitor, charged the Waldenses with hold- , Y'l^-f- us^^ ' ing, " that all the members of the church 334 The Waldensean (Period. are equal;" and "that the washing (baptizing) of infants is of no avail to them ; that the sureties do not understand what they answer to the priest,'^ This religidus equality among the Waldenses grows out of their fundamental principles of taking the Bible alone as their guide, and claiming no founder and head but Jesus Christ. Some have supposed that the Waldenses carried this principle of equality to an extreme in allowing the women to teach and pray in the congregations. But it should be remembered, that this was allowed in the church at Corinth in the time of Paul, on condition that it be done with the head covered or vailed. And it was especially necessary among the Waldenses, owing to the fact, that in those fearful times of persecution the women could gain access where the pastors could not go. His- tory shows that often the devout \Yaldensean women w^ent out, two and two, on foot, as missionaries, to teach from house to house, in their quiet way, the Gospel of salvation. And to avoid detection by the Catholic emissaries, they usually took with them a basket of small wares or trinkets to sell ; but when the opportunity came, they would read and expound the Scriptures to the deluded Catholics and other sinners. Sixth : Baptists observe the Lord's Supper at his table in his kingdom. It wdll also be found that the ancient Wal- denses possessed this peculiarity also. For the discussion of the communion question, the reader is referred to chap- ter thirteenth of this work. The Waldenses were often called PuritanSj because of their strenuous advocacy of purity in doctrine and communion. At the beginning of the sixteenth century the Catholic clergy instigated Ula- dislaus, King of Bohemia, to issue an edict to force the Waldenses Strict in Connnunion. 365 ^yaldenses, in his kingdom, to commune with the Calix- tincs or Catholics. In regard to this edict, Mr. Jones remarivS : " At first the states would not allow this edict the force of law, go jealous ^^^ ' '' were the Bohemians of their liberties, and it took four years to bring them to consent to a statute which prohibited the ^United Brethren^ from holding any religious assemblies, public or private; commanded that their meeting-houses should all be shut up, that they should not.be allowed either to preach or print, and that within a given time they should all h.o\di religious com- munion with either the Calixtines or the Catholics J^ K^ot long after the passage of this cruel edict, some of these Wa-ldenses were committed to the flames because they would neither commune with the Catholics nor with those that did commune with Rome. By this we learn that the true Waldenses were so strict in communion that they pre- ferred death by burning to the indorsement of error by communing with false churches. In their treatise on An- tichrist, the ancient Waldenses said : " We hold communion and maintain unity one ^_ . * '' with another, freely and uprightly, having no other object to propose herein but purely and singly to please the Lord, and seek the salvation of our souls.'' The Waldenses did not hold communion with Antichrist, but with one another. The fact that the "Waldenses main- tained that the only true church was among themselves, furnishes evidence that they did not commune with others ; for they regarded communion as a church ordinance in the kingdom of Christ; they could not, therefore, give or re- ceive the Lord's Supper beyond the limits of the church. Again: The Waldenses were called -.iTiaiop^ii'^s. They 366 The Waldensean (Period, would not receive to their fellowship and communion those who had been baptized by other parties. As already re- marked, all those who practiced Anabaptism were also strict in their communion. Mr. Orchard remarks, on this point : " The Albigenses prevailed in the ' Y ' ^^^^^^'' south of France. These people admitted those only to the Lord's Supper who had been immersed (Mezeray,) after fasting and prayer.'^ These Albigenses were the same with the Waldenses on all points of church organization. They were really a part of the same religious community. They were strict in communion. Those called Petrobrusians were ancient Waldenses. Mr. Orchard says that, " Peter de Bruys and his followers declared all baptisms S. Bapt. Beview, n i . x i i- rm ^^^^ ' null unless given to believers, ihey re- baptized all proselytes, and were anti- pedobaptists. They were very strict.'^ Again : of the Waldenses, Mr. Orchard remarks : " They S. Bapt. Review, a • x i x • i. • t> . ^o w^ere Scriptural, or strict communion Jiap- tists, so far as communities can be discov- ered among them,'' No historian, known to me, has ever dared to assert that the ancient witnessing Waldenses were open communionists. During nearly all the period of the twelve hundred and sixty years of their testimony there were no modern Protestants for them to commune with ; and when the Reformation of the sixteenth cen- tury occurred, the strict Waldenses had no more fellow- ship for them than they had for the Catholics. During eleven hundred years of the sackcloth testimony of the Waldenses, there were no Lutherans, no Episcopalians, no Presbyterians, and, of course, no Methodists, to tempt them to deviate from the laws of Jesus Christ in regard Waldenses Strict in Communion. 367 to the Supper. Will any one so far stultify himself as to affirm that these ancient sufferers held religious commun- ion with the Romish apostasy? The Waldenses regarded all the Catholic worship as the grossest idolatry ; they did not, therefore, commune with Antichrist. They boldly affirmed that the Church of Korae is the " whore of Babylon ; '^ and any commun- ion with her they regarded as spiritual fornication — an unspeakable abomination. For repudiating the Romish communion, with all her abominable superstitions, the W al- denses suffered untold persecutions through all the dark ages of popish rule. Yes: these ancient Waldensean Bap- tists, as a denomination, raised the only standard of oppo- sition and protest against the- corruptions and blasphemy of the papal dragon during the dark midnight of the world for more than a thousand years before Luther, King Henry, Calvin, and others, raised the standard of rebellion in the Church of Rome, in which mighty religious earthquake a tenth part of the harlot city fell. But, alas ! these mighty reformers of the sixteenth century, instead of coming out of Babylon, as they were commanded, attempted to reform that old, polluted, miserable, bloody, debased, cruel, drunken ecclesiastical bawd, in order to prepare a bride for the Lamb of God ! And their reforming efforts were so tremendous as to shake "Mystery Babylon^' to her dark foundations. This brought on her pangs; and amidst her mighty throes, which shook the nations, she brought forth those ecclesiastical organizations called, in the Bible, "Harlots and abominations of the EAKTH." These daughters of the old "Mother and Mis- tress of Churches ^^ still retain the peculiar characteristic f-^^tures of the " Mother Church ;'^ for they have all sought, 368 The Waldensean Period. and entered, when they have had the opportunity, into an adulterous marriage with civil powers. And they, like their mother, have " committed fornication with the kings oi' the earth. '^ '^^^^7^ ^s organizations, have derived their ordinances, their laws, more or less, and their church ex- istence, from Rome. But now they come, dressed up in the garments of reformation, and wish to commune with the bride, the Lamb's wife ! The bride of the Lamb has no more business to af&liate and commune with these mystic daughters of E-ome than the faithful wife has to become the associate of the abandoned women of earth. But will it be said that there are some of God's children in these churches which sprang from Catholicism? May we not commune with them ? There are some of God's children in old Rome herself; but they are commanded to " come out '^ of her. AYe are not to go into these human societies to get communion with them. The people of God are required to come out, and eat and drinh at the Lord's table in his kingdom. Most persons fail to distinguish between organizations and individuals. Many things may be true of organizations as such, which are not true of the individuals w^iich compose those organizations. It is true, as an organization, that the Church of Rome is represented as the "MotJier of Harlots ^^ but this is not true of every individual member of the Catholic church. Individually, there are, in the Church of Rome, many virtuous, honor- able, conscientious, high-toned, charitable men and w^omen. And more : I am confident that there are some of God's dear children in the Romish Babylon. The same, and more, may be said of the churches which came from Catholicism ; for the reformed churches are improvements on popery. The unchastlty of these societies has regard Wizldenses Strict in Cow.nvunion. 369 to their false worship, in giving the honor to men that should be given to God alone. God, by the mouth of the prophet, pointed out the cities of Samaria and Jerusalem under the figures of two debased "harlots;" and yet, there were some virtuous people in those cities, even some of God^s prophets. Mixed or "open" communion in- volves the recognition of those organizations with whose members we commune. The ancient witnessing Waldenses were what are now called "close" communionists. They maintained, at fearful cost, the Bible teaching of restricted communion. They walked in this " narrow way." They possessed the same peculiar characteristic feature which now calls down the frowns of the world on the Baptists. Seventh: The Baptists have never persecuted others; but have themselves always been peculiarly persecuted and every-where spoken against. Both friends and foes are agreed that the Waldenses possessed this peculiarity in the superlative degree; for, of all others, they have been the most bitterly persecuted, and slaughtered by millions on account of their fidelity to Jesus Christ. It would oc- cupy volumes to enter into a detailed history of the perse- cutions and sufferings of the ancient Waldenses. It was the wrath of the papal dragon which made it necessary for the church to flee into the wilderness to find an asylum from the fearful storms of persecutions raised against it; and though the church was saved from destruction, yet "the remnant of her seed" endured the wrath of the dragon for twelve hundred and sixty years. In them has been fulfilled the prophecy where it is said, " The same horn made war with the saints, and ^ „ o. «^ ^- .-, T . 1 .1 1 i . Dan. 7: 21, 22,2o. prevailed agauist them ; until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of 370 The Wakienscan Period. the Most High, and the time came that the saints pos- sessed the kingdom/^ ^^And they shall be given into his hands until a time, and times, and the dividing of time/' At the commencement of this chapter it was seen that the decree of the emperors Theodosius and Honorious made death the penalty for re-baptizing. This decree was made against the Novatians, who fled to the valleys of the Alps, and were afterward known as Waldenses. The Paulicians, who are known to have been the Waldenses of the East, suffered the most terrible persecutions under Theodora. Mr. Orchard says: "The severest perse- ici. ^V • '^-j cutions experienced by them was encour- vol. i, p. 137. ^ ■^ aged by the Empress Theodora, A.D. 845. Her decrees were severe, but the cruelty with which they were put in execution by her officers was horrible beyond expression. Mountains and hills were covered with in- habitants. Her sanguinary inquisitors explored cities and mountains in lesser Asia. After confiscating the goods and property of an hundred thousand of these people, the owners to that number were put to death in the most bar- barous manner, and made to expire slowly under a variety of the most exquisite tortures. The flatterers of the em- press boast of having extirpated in nine years that num- ber of Paulicians.^' We have the following account of the persecutions of a company of Waldenses who made their appearance in England in the year 1159: "Toward the middle of the twelfth century a small so- f 213 ^^'* "^"^ ' ^^^*^ ^^ *^^^^^ Puriia7is, as they were calkd by some, or WaldenseSj as they were termed by others, or Paulicians, as they were denominated by our old monkish historian, William of Newburg, made their appearance in England. This latter writer, speaking Waldenses (Persecuted. 371 of them, says : ' They came originally from GascoynGj where, being as numerous as the sand of the sea, they sorely infested both France, Italy, Spain, and England.'^' "They were apprehended, and brought before a council of the clero^y at Oxford. ^.^ ' '' . . . P- 213. Being interrogated about their religion, their teacher, named Gerard, a man of learning, ansv/ered in their name, that they were Christians, and believed the doctrines of the apostles. Upon a more particular inquiry, it was found that they denied several of the received doc- trines of the church, such as purgatory, prayers for the dead, and the invocation of saints; and refusing to aban- don these damnable heresies, as they were ca-lled, they were condemned as incorrigible heretics, and delivered to the secular arm to be punished. The king (Plenry IL), at the instigation of the clergy, commanded them to be branded with a red-hot iron on the forehead, to be whipped through the streets of Oxford, and, having their clothes cut short by their girdles, to be turned into the open fields, all persons being forbidden to afford them any shelter or relief under the severest penalties. This cruel sentence was executed in its utmost rigor; and, it being the depth of winter, all these unhappy persons perished with cold and hunger.'^ Thus we have the record of the sad fate of these- thirty Waldenses, men and women, wdio fled into England from the hands of persecution, only to meet a more fearful doom from the hands of those who professed to be Christians. Again : Ildefonsus, the King of Arragon, is- sued a cruel edict against the Waldenses in the year 1194, in which is contained language as follows : " AVhosoever, therefore, from this day for- '^'^'^g ^^' ^''■' ward, shall presume to receive the said 372 The Wakiensean (Period. Waldenses and Inzabbati, or any other heretics of whatso- ever profession, into their houses, or to be present at their pernicious sermons, or to afford them meat, or any other favor, shall thereby incur the indignation of Almighty God, as well as ours, and have his goods confiscated with- out the remedy of an appeal, and be punished as if he were actually guilty of high treason.'^ Thus Ave learn, that in Arragon, now Spain, the pen- alty for giving food, or showing any other favor to the hated Waldenses, was death, as for high treason. What must have been the wrath and indignation against these poor people, when it was considered a crime worthy of death, for even a Catholic to favor one of them with shelter from the storm, a piece of bread, or a cup of cold water? And in this persecution, ^^The archbishops and bishops of Guienne and other prov- o?ies I. IS., -j-j^gg q£ France, as well as the clergy throughout the different dioceses, w^ere enjoined to banish the Waldenses, Puritans and Paterines from their territories; to mark them, and take care that they should neither enjoy Christian privileges while liv- ing, nor burial when dead.'^ It might have been supposed, that the Catholic fury would have been satiated with the death of these saints, but not so; they persecuted the mutilated bodies of the dead Waldenses, by denying them the poor privilege of a resting-place in the grave. Is this the religion of Jesus ? About the time of the marching of the crusading armies against the Albigenses in the south of France, a public discussion was agreed upon, between the Albigenses and the Catholics, who entered into the discussion under pre- tense of fairness, in order to detain their unsuspecting Waldenses (Persecuted, 373 victims till the arrival of the crusaders^ when the discus- sion was terminated with the slaughter of the Albigenses. The discussion had progressed several days, conducted on the part of the Albigenses by Arnold Hot, and on the part of the Catholics by bishop Eusus, when it was sud- denly broken up by the Catholic army of the crusaders, which w^as employed to murder those whom the bishops could not vanquish in debate. And after the slaughter of those assembled, this holy (?) army proceeded to deso- late the country, and ^'Uhe armies employed by Pope Innocent III. destroyed above two hun- dred thousand of them in the short space ^^^^^f ^^^' ^^•' of a few months.^" It will be remem- bered, that the Albigenses and Waldenses were the same class of Christians. And in order to exterminate the Albigenses from the south of France, crusading armies were raised by order of the Pope to perform this bloody w^ork. In order the better to seduce the superstitious Catholics into their army, they were granted plenary indulgence to sin, wdth the promise of the joys of heaven, as a reward for murdering the saints of God. So great -svas their enthusiasm against the Albigenses, that "the legate Milo's army was found to consist of about three hundred thousand fighting -^^'J'^^ ^^v D 144 men.^^ And the enormities committed by these so-called " Christian armies" beggars all description. Concerning these desolating scenes, Mr. Jones remarks: " The scenes of slaughter and devastation which had been carried on against the Albigenses in the Jones' Cli. His., p. 290. of the thirteenth century, in w^hich time it has been corn- southern provinces of France, for more than twenty years during the former part 374 The Waldensean ^Period. puted that a million of persons bearing that name were \ it to death, had occasioned many of them to cross the Pyrenees, and seek a shelter from the storm in the Spanish provinces of Arragon and Catalonia/^ In regard to the persecutions of the Waldenses in other countries, in the latter part of the thirteenth century, Mr. Jones says: "In Sicily in particular, the owes I. IS., jj-Qpgj.j^^ fyj.y raged against them. They were ordered to be treated with the great- est severity, that they might be banished, not only from the country, but from the earth. And throughout Italy, both Gregory IX. and Honorius IV. harassed and op- ])ressed them with the most unrelenting barbarity, by means of the Inquisition. The living were, without mercy, committed to the hands of the executioner, their houses razed to the ground, their goods confiscated, and even the slumbering remains of the dead were dragged from their graves and their bones committed to the flames.'^ These persecutions were not the result of the outburst of passion upon the part of inferior officers in the Catholic service; but it seems to have been the settled policy of the Pope, with all his inferior clergy, to eradicate from the Catholic mind and heart every principle of compassion, in order to instigate every son of the church to persecute the Wal- denses with the fury of incarnate fiends. About the year 1400 the Waldensean inhabitants of the valley of Pragela were surprised by the Catholic soldiers. The attack was made upon them in December, when the mountains were covered with snow. As the work of slaughter and death went on in the valley, the remnant of the inhabitants that escaped the fury of the soldiers, perished in the mountain snows. Mr. Jones says, of their Waldo^ises (Persecuted. 375 fate: "They fled to one of the highest mountains of the Alps, with their wives ^^^T^r. ^' ^^'' ^ ^ p. 319. and children, the unhappy mothers carry- ing the cradle in one hand, and with the other leading such of their offspring as were able to walk. Their inhu- man invaders, whose feet were swift to shed blood, pursued them in their flight until night came on, and slew great numbers of them before they could reach the mountains. Those that escaped were, however, reserved to experience a fate not more enviable. Overtaken by the shades of night, they wandered up and down the mountains, covered with snow, destitute of the means of shelter from the in- clemencies of the w^eather, or of supporting themselves under it by any of the comforts which Providence has destined for that purpose. Benumbed with cold, they fell an easy prey to the severity of the climate, and, when the night had passed away, there were found in their cradles, or lying upon the snow, four score of their infants de- prived of life, many of their mothers also lying dead by their sides, and others just on the point of expiring. During the night their enemies were busily employed in plundering the houses of everything that was valuable, wdiich they conveyed aTray to Susa. A poor woman be- longing to the Waldenses, named Margaret Athode, w^as next morning found hanging upon a tree." In order to instigate the civil rulers to slaughter the AYaldenses as they would ravenous beasts, the Catholic clergy Avere ac- customed to fabricate and circulate the most fabulous slan- ders and falsehoods concerning these people. They even represented their children as little mon- sters. The Duke of Savoy, " having been ^'"g'^j^ ^^'- ^^•' informed that their young children were The Waldensean Period. born with black throats; that they were hairy, and had four rows of teeth, with only one eye, and that placed in the middle of the forehead, — he commanded some of them to be brought before him at Pignerol, where, being satisfied by occular demonstration that the Waldenses were not monsters, he blamed himself for being so easily imposed upon by the clergy of the Catholic Church as to credit such idle report,^' etc. This illustrates the blinding power of " religious " prej- udice. In the fifteenth century, when the Waldenses were slaughtered in the valley Loyse, by the command of Pope Innocent YIII., a part of the inhabitants had taken refuge in the caves in the mountains. But the Catholic general discovered their places of retreat, and built large fires in the entrances to the caves ; and immense numbers were, in this w^ay, suffocated in their caves : and among the rest, /our hundred children were "suf- ^^"22 ^ ' focated in their cradles, or in the arms of their dead mothers/' In the early part of the sixteenth century, the most cruel persecutions continued to be waged against the Waldenses in the south of France; and in the year 1545, John Meinier led the Catholic forces against the Waldenses in Provence, in France. And among other horrid cruelties, this inhuman ^yretch "shut up about forty women in a barn ones . w., ^^Y\ Qf };jr^y r^^-y^ straw, and then set it on J). 331. -' ^ fire; and after that, the poor creatures, having attempted in vain to smother the fire with their clothes, which, for that end, they had pulled off, betook themselves to the great window, at which the hay is com- monly pitched up into the barn, with an intention to leap down from thence. But they were kept in with spikea Waldensss Persecuted, 37'« and spears, so that all of them perished in the flamcs.^^ It is heart-sickening to record the horrid transactions of Catholic popes and their emissaries, in their vain attempt to destroy the Church of Christ from the world. It would be more pleasant to draw a curtain over thosa dismal scenes of persecution, and let them be forever blotted from the history o£ the world. But, one of the designs of history is to give faithfully, not only the rise of principles and systems, but also their fruits for good or evil, that coming generations may avoid the errors which have filled the world with misery and woe. Roman Catholics are no worse by nature than others. The per- secutions which they have waged against others, arise from their false religious principles. The first step tovv'ard persecution among professed Christians, was the gradual introduction of a change from the simple brotherly com- pact of religious equality established by Jesus Christ, for the hierarchy in the third century. As long as the princi- ples of religious equality are observed, there can be no persecution. Any religious system which gives one person ecclesiastical authority over another, contains the seeds of persecution. Infimt baptism and membership is but the development of the principle of a hierarchal form of church government, which gives one person rule over another in matters of religion. We may, therefore, con- sider infant baptism as the second element of religious persecution. Where all have equal rights in church government, there can be no infant baptism; and Avhere there is no infant baptism^ religious persecution, to the shedding of blood, is not likely to prevail. Every church holding an episcopal, or hierarchal form of government, has persecuted when it has had the power. The Wal- 378 The Waldensean (Period. denses have never persecuted others. It is impossible to persecute on Baptist principles. Some have concluded that every church, if it had the power, would persecute and shed the blood of others on the account of religion. This is a mistake. Baptists, though sorely persecuted from generation to generation, have never oppressed, imprisoned, or caused the blood of others to be shed, on the ground of religion. This is one of the strongest proofs tliat we have the Bible organization. It has been supposed that the Catholic Church would not now persecute, if she had the power, as she did in former times. This is a mistake; for Home now possesses every element of despotism and persecution that she ever had. In fact, the element of persecution seems to be on the increase with the Catholics ; for, in this present year, A. D. 1870, the slight restraint heretofore resting on the Pope from the authority of the General Council, has been removed, and the Pope has been declared infallible by the General Council at Rome. And even to this day, the Catholic bishops are sworn, in their oath of consecration, to ^' oppose and persecute heretics to the 2^0 * *' utmost of their power." They have re- garded the Baptists as "heretics'^ of the deepest cast ; they are, therefore, sicor-n to persecute Bap- tists to the utmost of their power. Modern Baptists are not generally apprised of the great cost at which Baptist principles have been preserved. In the year 1232, at the instigation of Pope Gregory IX., the Emperor Fred- erick IL, "^commanded all judges imme- ., * ■' * ' d lately to deliver to the flames every man )S. U., p. 57. '' ^ who should be convicted of heresy by the bishop of his diocese, and to pull out the tongue of those Waldenses Persecuted. 379 to Avliom the bishop should think it proper to show favor, that they might not corrupt others/ " It was sometimes the custom for the Catholics to cut out the tongues of the AValdeuses to prevent their preaching while they were burning at the stake. But amid all these fearful sufferings God caused the wrath of man to praise him, so that the saying was verified, that " The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.'^ And to the same effect, Mr. Jones remarks that : " Those bloody edicts which were published, those li \ ' V. Tixi jxix Jones^ Ch. His., tires which were lighted up, and that va- 0,0 riety of torments which priests and inquis- itors invented with ingenious cruelty, served in reality to propagate the doctrines against which they were employed, and contributed to inflame, rather than extinguish, that ardent zeal with which the Protestants were animated.'^ . Near the close of the long period marked as the Wal- densean period^ the Waldenses began to be called Bap- tists. They had been called Anabaptists from the time of Xovatian. Cardinal Hosius, a learned Catholic, who was chairman of the Council of Trent, speaking of the AValdensean Baptists,, says : " If the truth of relio^ion were to be iudo^ed of bv the ^^/ ^oV-* '^^"' readiness and cheerfulness which a man of any sect shows in suffering, then the opinions and per- suasions of no sect can be truer or surer than those of the Anabaptists; since there have been none for these twelve hundred years past that have been more grievously pun- Jslied.^' Reader, mark the historic fact, that for twelve hundred years prior to 1570 the Baptists had suffered the most cruel punishments on account of their principles. This 380 Tlic Wddensean Period, can be said of no donomi nation except the Baptists. Near the close of the AVahlonsean period, in the year 1G55, on the twenty-fifth day of Jannary, Andrew Gastahlo, the Catholic oovernor under the Duke of Savoy, published a most inhuman "order'' against the AValdenses of the val- leys of Piedmont. And in this fiendish order of Gas- taldo the Waldenses were reipiired, '^ With in three days after the j^ implication of tJioi^e presents, to Juncs^ Ch. His., .,77 77 I 1 J I -ii ii ' .-,,_ ' lodharaw and depart, and to be, icit/i tfieir families, ivithdrawn out oj the said ^;/ac('.s', and transported into the places allowed by his royal high- ness during his good pleasure, etc., under paiii of death and confiscation of houses and goods; provided, alwaijs, that they do not make it appear to us, within twenty days following, that they are become Catholics, or that they have sold their goods to Catholics," This dreadful order required thousands of families to leave all, in the dead gf winter, and attempt a flight, over snow-covered mountains, M'ith women and children, sick and infirm, with only three days' notice to start to seek homes in foreign countries. But before they could get away the Catholics were turned loose on them to slaughter the defenseless AValdenses with- out mercy. We give the letter written by the Waldcnses directly after the dreadful tragedy. They begin this mournful letter by saying : "Brethren and fathers: — Our tears are no morp tears of water, but of blood, which not only obscure our sight, but oppress our very hearts. Our pen ^"^o,-p OP- '^'' i'*? Quided by a tremblino; hand, and Dur pp. 3b6, 36/. ,^ ♦'. ^ ^ minds are distracted by such unexpected alarms, that we are incapable of framing a letter which shall correspond with our wishes, or the strangeness of out Waldenses (Persecuted, 381 desolations. In this respect, therefore, we plead your ex- cuse, and that you woukl endeavor to collect our meaning from what we would impart to you. Whatever reports may have been circulated concerning our obstinacy in refusing to have recourse to his royal highness for a redress of our heavy grievances and moles- tations, you can not but know that we have never desisted from writing supplicatory letters, or presenting our hum- ble requests, by the hands of our deputies, and that they were sent and referred, sometimes to the council de prop- aganda jide^^ at other times to the Marquis of Pionessa,t and that the three last times they were positively rejected, and refused so much as an audience, under the pretext that they had no credentials nor instructions which should authorize them to promise or accept, on the behalf of their respective churches, whatever it might please his highness to grant or bestow upon them. And, by the instigation and contrivance of the Koman clergy, there was secretly placed in ambush an army of six thousand men, who, an- imated and encouraged thereto by the personal presence and active exertions of the Marquis of Pionessa, fell sud- denly and in the most violent manner upon the inhabit- ants of S. Giovanni and La Torre. This army, having once entered and got a footing, was soon augmented by the addition of a multitude of the neighboring inhabitants throughout all Piedmont, who, hearing that we were given up as a prey to the plunder- ^' A council established by the court oiV\,ome for propagating the faith, or, in plain English, for extirpating heretics. f This unfeeUng man seems to have sustained the station of Prime Minister in the court of the Duke of Savoy, and Gommander-in-chief of his army. 382 Tjie Waldensean (Period. ers, fell upon the poor people with, impetuous fury. To all those were added an incalculable number of persons that had been outlawed, prisoners and other oflenders, who expected thereby to have saved their souls and filled their purses. And, the better to effect their purposes, the inhabitants were compelled to receive ^re or* six regiments of the French army, besides some Irish, to whom, it is re- ported, our country was promised, with several troops of vagabond persons, under the pretext of coming into the valleys for fresh quarters. This great multitude, by virtue of a Rcense from the Marquis of Pionessa, instigated by the monks, and enticed and conducted by our wicked and unnatural neighbors, attacked us with such violence on every side, especially in Angrogna, Villare, and Bobbio, and in a manner so hor- ribly treacherous, that in an instant all was one entire scene of confusion, and the inhabitants, after a fruitless skirmish to defend themselves, were compelled to flee for their lives, with their wives and children, and that not merely the inhabitants of the plain, but those of the moun- tains also. Nor was all their diligence sufficient to pre- vent the destruction of a very considerable number of them ; for in many places, such as Villare and Bobbio, they were so hemmed in on every side, the army having seized on the fort of Mareburg and by that means blocked up the avenue, that there remained no possibility of escape, and nothing was left for them but to be massacred and put to death. In one place, they mercilessly tortured not less than an hundred and fifty women and their children, chop- ping off the heads of some, and dashing out the brains of others against the rocks ; and in regard to those whom they took prisoners, from fifteen years old and upward, Waldenses (Persecuted. 383 who refused to go to mass, they hanged some, and nailed others to the trees by the feet, with their heads downward. It is reported that they carried some persons of note pris- oners to Turin — viz : our poor brother and pastor, M. Gros, with some part of his family. In short, there is neither cattle nor provisions of any kind left in the valley of Lucerne, and it is but too evident that all is lost, since there are some whole districts, especially S. Giovanni and La Torre, where the business of setting fire to our houses and churches was so dexterously managed by a Franciscan friar and a certain priest that they left not so much as one in either place unburnt. In these desolations, the mother has been bereft of her dear child, the husband of his aifec- tionate wife, and those who were once the richest among us are reduced to the necessity of begging their bread, while others still remain weltering in their own blood, and dejjrived of all the comforts of life. And as to the churches in S. Martino and other places, w^io, on all former occa- sions, have been a sanctuary to the persecuted, they have themselves now been summoned to quit their dwellings, and every soul of them to depart, and that instantaneously and without respite, under pain of being put to death ; nor is there any mercy to be expected by any of them who are found within the dominions of his royal highness. The pretext which is alleged for justifying these horrid proceedings is, that we are rebels against the orders of his highness for not having brought the whole city of Geneva within the walls of Mary Magdalene Church, or, in plainer terms, for not having performed an utter impossibility in departing, in a moment, from our houses and homes in Bubbiana, Lucerne, Fenile, Bricheras, La Torre, S. Gio- vanni, and S. Secondo, and also for having renewed our 384 The Waldensea:i Period. repeated supplications to Ins liigliness to commiserate our situation, ^vho, while on the one hand he promised us to make no innovations in our lot, on the other refused us permission to depart peaceably out of his dominions, for which we have often entreated him in case he would not allow us to continue and enjoy the liberty of our consciences as his predecessors had always done. True it is, that the Marquis of Pionessa adduced another reason (and we have the original copy of his writing in our possession), which is, that it was his royal highness' pleasure to abase us and humble our pride for endeavoring to shroud ourselves and take sanctuary under the protection of foreign princes and States. To conclude, our beautiful and flourishing churches are utterly lost, and that without remedy, unless our God work miracles for us. Their time is come, and our meas- ure is full. O, have pity upon the desolations of Jerusa- lem, and be grieved for the afllictions of Joseph. Show forth your compassions, and let your bowels yearn in be- half of so many thousands of poor souls, who are reduced to a morsel of bread for following the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. We recommend our pastors, with their scat- tered and dispersed flocks, to your fervent Christian pray- ers, and rest in haste. Your brethren in the Lord. April TJ, 1655." The foregoing letter, written by the Waldenses to their friends soon after their banishment from their homes amidst cruelties and slaughter too terrible even to be named, is but an example of the sufferings of those witnesses of Jesus. We now come to the final dispersion of the W^aldenses Waldenses (Persecuted. 385 from their valleys. They had borne testimony in this wilderness retreat for 1260 years. The flight of the woman,, or the retirement of the church, into the wilder- ness, as we have seen, occurred in the early part of the fifth century. The murderous decrees of the emperors of the East and West caused the Novatians to commence their flight soon after the publication of the decrees of ban- ishment and death, in A. D. 413. It was not possible for all to retire at the same time. They continued to emi- grate till the main body of the Novatians had left Italy, which, I think, was consummated as early as the year 425, or 426. And from this date the 1260 years will take us to the year 1686, as the time for the woman to come forth from her hiding-place. I am -not dogmatic in the settle- ment of dates. These are approximate dates to the re- tirement of the church and her coming out of the wilder- ness. As bodies of the Xovatians had emigrated from Italy, from time to time, prior to the general flight, prior to the year 426, in like manner the AValdenses had been partially expelled from the valleys of the Alps, from time to time, prior to their final dispersion in 1686, by the armies of Louis XIV. and the Duke of Savoy. The woman was driven into the wilderness by the persecut- ing wrath of the dragon ; and it was the dreadful wrath of the same papal dragon that expelled the AValdense? from their places of security in the mountains. The bloody dragon had made '^ war with the remnant of her seed " throughout the Roman empire during the twehe laindred and sixty years ; and while the saints had been worn out and driven from one country to another in other parts of the empire, in the valleys of Piedmont the church had a local resting-place, and though sorely persecuted, she had 386 The Waldensean Period. not been driven from her place of retreat. Here^ in the mountain valleys, the altar-fires of the true temple of God burned undimmed ; here the ordinances of the Lord's house were faithfully administered for 1260 years; here the sound of the Gospel, faithfully preached, ^Yas heard from the lips of the faithful under-shepherds, all this time ; and from here, as from a parent hive, faithful missionaries went forth on the perilous work of preaching the Gospel and forming churches throughout the known world. The AYaldensean heresy, as it was called, infected all the coun- tries of earth through the influence of missionaries from these valleys. These ancient Waldenses in the Alps formed a kind of Gospel store-house, where the true Gos- pel, true ministers, and true ordinances, could be furnished to all the world. But, at last, the prophetic, fatal period came. The Waldenses must be slain, or expelled from their ancient loved valleys. This final dispersion of these witnesses for Christ took place, according to Mr. Jones, in the year 1686. He says: "I professed r ' ft ""' to ffive the historv of the churches of Pied- prefacej p. 9. ° • mont and other places, commonly desig- nated Waldenses and Albigenses, not of individuals ; and as I consider those churches to have been utterly dispersed and scattered by a series of persecutions, w^hich terminated in the year 1686, I consider myself to have brought the subject to its legitimate close." After some years of comparative quiet of the Waldenses, says Mr. Jones: "On the 31st of January, 1686, they were amazed at the publication of an order from the Duke of Savoy, forbidding his subjects the exercise of the Pro- testant religion upon pain of death, and the confiscation of their goods; the demolition and the banishment of their Waldenses Persecuted. 387 pastors. All infants born from that time^ were to be baptized and brought up in the Roman Catholic religion, under the penalty of their fathers being condemned to the galleys. Their consternation was extreme." The name of the cruel wretch who has the unenviable reputation of being the instrument of the slaughter, and final dispersion of these martyrs of Jesus, is Victor Amadeus II., the Duke of Savoy. He, being instigated by the Catholic clergy, and goaded on by King Louis XIV. of France, deso- lated the peaceful valleys of the Waldenses with fire and sword in such a savage manner as should make humanity Aveep tears of blood, and move to pity the hearts of demons themselves. After the Waldenses had been brutally mur- dered in the valleys, driven over barren mountain snows into exile, or crowded into filthy prisons, we have the fol- lowing mournful account of the miseries of the survivors of the first slaughter : "The armies of France and Savoy, having inhumanly butchered a multitude of the Waldenses, committed more than twelve thousand of J^^^^f J^'^- Hl-'-y them to prison, and dispersed two thousand of their children among the Catholics; concluding that their work w^as accomplished, they caused all their property to be confiscated. And thus were the valleys of Piedmont depopulated of their ancient inhabitants, and the light of the glorious Gospel extinguished in a country where, for many preceding centuries, it had shone with resplendent luster. In the month of September, 1686, the Swiss cantons convened a general assembly at Aran, to deliberate on the condition of those who were either imprisoned or in a state of exile in Piedmont; and they came to the resolu- 388 The Waldensean (Period, tion of sending deputies to demand from the Duke the re- lease of all that were confined, and the privilege of quit- ting the country. The latter, probably by this time glutted with human carnage, signed a treaty, in consequence of which the prisons were set open, and leave given to such as had survived, to depart peaceably, through that part of Savoy which borders upon Berne and the territory of Ge- neva. But a bare recital of the miseries which the pris- oners had suffered during their confinement, is sufficient to sicken the heart. IMore than ten thousand persons were distributed among fourteen prisons or castles in Piedmont. They were fed for months upon bread and water — the former, in which were often found lime, glass, and filth of various kinds, was so bad as scarcely to deserve the name; while the latter, in many instances brought from stagnant pools, was scarcely fit for the use of cattle. Their lodging was upon bricks or filth}^ straw. The prisons Avere so thronged that, during the heat of the summer months, they became intolerable, and deaths were daily taking place. AYant of cleanliness necessarily engendered diseases among them; they became annoyed with vermin, which prevented their sleep either by night or day. Many women in child- bearing were lost for the want of the care and comforts necessary to such a situation, and their infants shared the same fate. Such was the state of these afflicted and persecuted crea- tures, when the Duke of Savoy's proclamation was issued for releasing them. It was now the month of October, the ground was covered with snow and ice; the victims of cruelty were almost universally emaciated through poverty and disease, and very unfit for the projected journey. The proclamation was made at the castle of Mondovi, for ex- Waldenses (Persec^ded. 389 ample, and at five o'clock the same evening tliey were to begin a march of four or five leagues! Before the morn- ing more than a hundred and fifty of them sunk under the burden of their maladies and fatigues, and died. The same thing happened to the prisoners at Fossan. A com- pany of them halted one night at the foot of Mount Cenis; when they were about to march the next morning, they pointed the officer who conducted them to a terrible tem- pest upon the top of the mountain, beseeching him to allow them to stay till it had passed away. The inhuman officer, deaf to the voice of pity, insisted on their marching, — the consequence of which was, that eighty-six of their number died, and were buried in that horrible tempest of snow. Some merchants, that afterward crossed the mountains, saw the bodies of these miserable people extended on the snow, the mothers clasping their children in their arms. It is but an act of justice, however, to add that, in some few instances, the officers who conducted the different troops of AValdenses out of the country treated them with more humanity. Their own historians admit the fact, and it ought to be recorded, that some took a particular care of them ; and certainly the picture that is drawn of their deplorable condition, is such as was well calculated to melt the most unfeeling heart to tenderness. The greater part of them were almost naked and without shoes ; and they all bore such striking marks of suffering and wretchedness that the very sight of them was enough to pierce the heai-t. Those who survived the journey, arrived at Geneva about the middle of December, but in such -an ex.hausted state^ that several expired between the two gates of the city, 'finding the end of their lives in the beginning of their liberty.' Others were so benumbed witli cold that they 390 The Woddensean (Period. had not power to speak ; many staggered from faintness and disease; Avliile others, having lost the use of their limbs, wei'e unable to lift up their hands to receive the assistance that was tendered them. At Geneva they experienced that kind and hospitable reception which was due to them as their fellow-creatures, and more especially as their persecuted Christian brethren. They clothed the naked, fed the hungry, succored the af- flicted, and healed the sick. But what pen can describe the affecting scene which now took place, while they halted at Geneva for rest and refreshment, before they proceeded forward into Switzerland ! Those who arrived first, natu- rally went out to meet those that came after, anxiously inquiring for their relations and friends, of whom they had heard nothing since the fatal catastrophe in the valleys of Piedmont. The father inquired after his child, and the child after its parent ; the husband sought his wife, and the latter her partner in life. Every one endeavored to gain some intelligence of his friend or neighbor; but as three- fourths of them had died in prison or on the road, it exhib- ited a melancholy spectacle to see so many dissolved in tears at the distressing accounts they received. Their principal earthly comfort now arose from the hospitable kindness of the people of Geneva, who flocked around them and evinced such solicitude to conduct them to their own homes, that the magistrates of the city were obliged, in order to prevent confusion and disorder, to issue an injunc- tion prohibiting any from going out of the city. There was a noble emulation who should entertain the most sick, or those that were most afflicted. They received them not merely as strangers in distress, but as Christian brethren, who brought peace and spiritual blessings into their fami- Waldenses (Persecuted. 391 lies. All that needed clothing were either supplied by those that lodged them, or by the Italian Bank, the direc- tors of which, from first to last, evinced all the marks of tender compassion and of disinterested kindness. But it was not only at Geneva that the Waldenses met with this kind and hospitable treatment. The cantons of Switzerland opened to them their country, and not their country only, but their hearts and affections also. The conduct of the Swiss, indeed, was so noble and disinter- ested throughout the whole of this distressing period, that it would be unjust to their memory to pass it over with a slight mention.^^ It was in the memorable year 1686, that the valleys of Piedmont were ^^ depopulated of their ancient inhabitants, and the light of the glorious Gospel extinguished in a country where, for many preceding centuries, it had shone with re- splendent luster y The people who have inhabited the valleys since the great slaughter of 1686, are not the same class of people with the ancient witnessing Waldenses. The poet Milton, who was secretary to Oliver Cromwell, composed the fol- lowing sonnet : ON THE LATE MASSACRE IN PIEDMONT. Avenge, O Lord, thy slaughtered saints, whose bones Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold ; Even them who kept thy truth so pure of old, '^^hion^ When all our fathers worshiped stocks and stones, p. 374, Forget not. . In thy book record their groans Who were thy sheep, and in their ancient fold Slain by the bloody Piedmontese, that rolled Mother with infant down the rocks. Their moans The vales redoubled to the hills, and they To heaven. Their martyred blood and ashes sow 392 The Waldensean (Period. O'er all th' Italian fields where still doth sway The tripled tyrant, that from these may grow A hundred fold, who, having learned thy way, Early may fly the Babylonian woe. King Louis XIV. was mainly guilty of the final dread- ful slaughter and dispersion of the Waldenses. It was the French Catholics that perpetrated such monstrous barbarities upon the helpless women and children of the Waldenses. And the French Emperor has indorsed all these cruelties of his ancestors by supporting the Pope on his throne by his army at Rome. France, as a Catholic country, has indorsed all the outrages perpetrated against these afflicted servants of God. And as God has declared that he will avenge his elect that cry unto him day and night, all those countries which have taken part in the persecution of the " martyrs of Jesus/^ may expect, in the day of vengeance, to drink blood; for they "are worthy." It would seem that the dreadful cup of vengeance is now being pressed to the lips of France. As we are now pen- ning these lines, September, 1870, the news comes over the wires that the French armies are defeated in battle with dreadful slaughter, and that the Emperor Xapoleon III. is a prisoner in the hands of the victorious King of Prus- sia. The cries of the souls of the martyrs under the altar will not always go unheeded. We have found that the ancient Waldenses possessed, in an eminent degree, the Baptist peculiarities. And, therefore, the dreadful slaughter of these servants of God was really the murder of the ancient Baptists, who were called Wal- denses. They were called "Anabaptists*' all the time during this long period ; and they were called Baptists and WaldenseSj interchangeably, toward the close of this False Churches. 393 period. Though the period called the Waldensean period closes with the year 1686, yet the people who were called Waldenses were not annihilated. They were expelled from their ancient valleys ; but this only scattered them, as the good seed, among all the countries of Europe, from whence they appeared, about the time of Luther, under the names of Baptists and Anabaptists, eight hundred thous- and strong. It will be seen in the next chapter, that the descendants of the ancient Waldenses were called Baptists in Germany and England. Section III. — False chueches which arose dur- ing THIS PERIOD. When we speak of false churches, we do not design to teach that there are no children of God in these false churches. Baptists are pleased to admit that some of God's children are to be found, more or less, in all the kingdoms and societies of men commonly called churches. Some persons say that Baptists unchristianize all others, because they will not admit that the societies to Avhich they belong are true churches. It must not be forgotten that the Baptists differ from all others in the fact that they hold that persons must be saved, or prepared for heaven, before they are qualified to enter a Church of Christ. Some of the people of God are identified with the various political and benevolent societies ; and must we admit that all these are churches of Christ, because they have converted persons in them ? Just as certainly as there are false Christians in the world, there are also false churches in the world. It is a sad truth that th^re are many false Christians connected 394 The Waldenseaii (Period. with true churches, and many real saints connected with false churches. But it is evident that, for the glory of God and the advancement of his cause, all false Christians should be separated from the true churches, and all God's dear children should forsake false churches, and become identified with the kingdom of Jesus Christ. First: The Roman Catholic Church. — This is evi- dently a false church, because it is wholly destitute of the peculiar characteristics of the Church of Christ. I find that I shall only have space to name a few leading facts in regard to these false churches. It is but just to admit that the Romish Church is the most powerful religious organization that has ever opposed the cause of God in the world ; and it is the oldest and most powerful false church on earth. Its underlying principles of legalism had com- menced their work of moral death and ruin in the time of the apostles. These principles were developed into baptismal salvation, infant baptism, and the hierarchy, in the early part of the third century. And after the rejec- tion or casting out of the corrupt elements by the true churches, the union of the corrupt church with the state took place under the Emperor Constantine the Great, in the year A. D. 312. We may safely locate the origin of the Catholic Church with the union with the state at this time. The first General Council was that of Nice, in the year 325. The blasphemous title of ^' Universal Bishop ^' was conferred on Boniface III., Bishop DowUng^sm.of ^^ ^^^^^^ ^^ ^j^^ Emperor Phocas, in the ''■' ^* year A. D. 606. Thus the Bishop of Rome is made the head of the Catholic Church throughout the world. But it was not until the year 756 that the Pope became Church of (koine. 395 a temporal sovereign. King Pepin, of France, subdued the Lombards, and delivered the places wrested from Aistulphus, their kin^, to ^w ings i^.oj ^ \ ^ ^' Bom., p. 16o. Pope Stephen. From this time forward, the popes have claimed both the spiritual and the tempo- ral sword. The universal spiritual dominion came from the Emperor Phocas, who was a usurper and murderer, and the temporal kingdom was bestowed on the Pope by the usurper of the French throne, King Pepin. From the year 756, the usurpations of the popes were outrageous in the extreme. The Pope finally set up and pulled down kings at his pleasure. As early as the year 710, the Em- peror Justinian showed his great respect for Pope Con- stantine by kissing his feet, and beseeching his "Holi- ness ^^ to intercede for the pardon of his sins. It was in the year 1075 that Pope Gregory VII. excommunicated the Emperor Henry IV., in the following haughty lan- guage : " ' In the name of Almighty God, and by your authority,' said Gregory, al- ^2^'''^'\f^'' '^ luding to the members of the council, ' I prohibit Henry, the sou of our Emperor Henry, from gov- erning the Teutonic Kingdom and Italy; I release all Christians from their oath of allegiance to him; and I strictly forbid all persons from sei'ving or attending him as king J '^ And Henry finally submitted himself to the haughty Gregory by " continuing for three days, in the cold month of January, barefoot and fasting ; the humbled emperor was admitted into the palace, and allowed the superlative honor of kissing the Pope^s toeJ^ The popes have not only claimed authority in the kingdoms of this world, by exalting themselves above kings and emperors, but they have even attempted to usurp the very seat and 396 The V/aldensean (Period. throne of God himself. Instead of holding that Jesus is the Head of the church, the popes have '^Inculcated and acted upon the pernicious and extravagant DowlbuJsHk. of ^^^^^ , r^^^^ ^^^ ^ISJIOP or EOME IS Rom., p. 293. ' THE SUPREME LORD OF THE U NIVERSE, FUL POWER IN Church or State but what they de- rive FROM HIM.' '' And the General Council at Rome has recently indorsed this awful blasphemy ~of the Pope by de- claring his INFALLIBILITY. Instead of holding the Word of God as the rule of action, Rome holds tradition and the authority of the Pope as her rule of action. Prof. W. J. Walters, in his History of the Roman Catholic Church, says : " The Catholic Church maintains TJ S C B 1 *2 there are doctrmes oi essential import- ance not contained in the Scriptures ; as, for instance, the lawfulness and obligation of keeping holy the Sunday instead of the Saturday, the real Scriptural Sabbath ; the validity of infant baptism,'' etc. This learned Catholic historian admits that the Romish Church holds traditions, such as infant baptism, which are not in the Bible. Catholics, in this respect, are more candid than Protestants ; for, while Protestants pervert the Scriptures to try to sustain the infant rite, the Catholics admit that 't is only a Romish tradition. And in their controversies vith Protestants, the Catholics press on them the fact that they have only copied infant baptism as a tradition from Rome. In the celebrated discussion between Mr. Pope, an Episcopalian, and Mr. Maguire, a Catholic priest, Mr. _ Maffuire says : " I called on my opponent to Debate, 1^.164:. "] '' e • . .1 • • produce proois trom bcripture, authorizing Church of (kome. 397 the baptism of infants/' But Mr. Pope was unable to do this. And as to the Bible order, the Catholic Church claims a perfect right to change laws and customs, and, therefore, she does not pretend to hold the Bible order of the commandments. And in regard to the burial in bap- tism, the learned Catholics admit that immersion was the primitive apostolic practice ; therefore they are, by their own admissions, destitute of this mark of the true church. It is a well known fact that the doctrine of baptismal salvation is peculiarly Catholic doctrine. Prof. Walters, their historian, says : ^^ Catholics believe ,1,1,1 ^ -c 1 -I.' Reliqious Denom., that, by the sacrament oi baptism, men are rr o v> ^ -, a^ cleansed irom sm, as well original as ac- tual, and made members of the Church of Christ, adopted children of God, and heirs of the kingdom of heaven.' And the Council of Trent says : " AVho- ever shall affirm that baptism is indiifer- '^^^^*, ^^\^n^' ^ . of Trent, p. 129. ent — that is, not necessary to salvation — let him be accursed.'' And the Catholic catechism affirms that: "^The law of baptism, as established by our Lord, extends to all, insomuch that, unless they are regenerated by the grace of baptism, be their parents Christians or infidels, they are born to eternal misery and everlasting destruction;' Catechism, p. 171." Rome maybe considered the "mother" of all churches which hold this popish view of baptism. Again, the Council ofTrentsays: "Whoever shall affirm that the , ., , . ,. 1 p , . . Ibid. p. 129. true doctrine oi the sacrament oi baptism is not in the Roman Church, which is the mother and mis- tress of all churches : let him be accursed." And we have already seen that there is no equality in the Church of Rome. The popes, cardinals, bishops, and priests, have 398 The Waldensean (Period. seized the reins of authority over the poor spiritual slaves of the church. And as to their Supper^ they have made a God of it, and they worship that God made by the hands of the priests. They suppose that the bread is literally the flesh, blood, and bones of Jesus. They worship the bread and eat it as a means of salvation. Rome has instituted her seven sacraments, all of which are unauthorized in the Bible. And, in the last place, as to the mark of be- ing persecuted, Rome has been the great persecuting poAver. She has been drunk with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus for hundreds of years. She lias never been persecuted for righteousness' sake. Some of her own sons have rebelled against her and slain some of her adherents ; but this is only the foretaste of the vengeance that will be poured out on her in the day of her destruction. It is a settled principle with the Church of Rome to persecute, and to extend her doctrines by fire and sword. At the present time, it will be impossible to give an accu- rate estimate of the numbers murdered by the Catholic emissaries. Mr. Dowling says: "From ^oit ing s^ IS. oj ^^^^ birth of popery, in 606, to the present time, it is estimated, by careful and cred- ible historians, that more than fifty millions of the human family have been slaughtered for the crime of heresy by popish persecutors — an average of more than forty thousand religious murders for every year of the existence of popery.'' And Mr. Dowling quotes Scott's Church History, as follows : " No compu- Dowling's His.of ... " \ •\ x. i i, r, K«o tation can reach the numbers who nave Rom., p. 542. been put to death, in different ways, on account of their maintaining the profession of the Gospel, and opposing the corruptions of the Church of Rome. A The Lutheran Church. 399 MILLION of poor Waldenses perished in France ; nine HUNDRED THOUSAND ortliodox Christians were slain in less than thirty years after the institution of the order of Jesuits. The Duke of Alva boasted of having put to death, in the Netherlands, thirty-six thousand, by the hand of the common executioner, during the space of a few years. The Inquisition destroyed, by various tortures, ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND within thirty years. These are a few specimens, and but a few, of those which history has recorded; but the total amount will never be known till the earth shall disclose her blood, and no more cover her slain. ^^ The half has not been told. Kome has taxed her in- genuity in the invention of instruments of torture, to cause, if possible, the martyrs to blaspheme. The gloomy prisons of the Inquisition w^ere frightful beyond concep- tion. And besides all the murders committed by the instigation of Rome, the admitted profligacy of the popes, bishops, and priests, is too disgraceful to mention. Even many of the ancient nunneries were sinks of pollution. And after all the known enormities of papal Rome, we are told that she is the Church of God visible. There can be no reasonable doubt that the Roman Catholic Church is a false church. Her rise was gradual, and her decline has been the same way; but at last she will be destroyed with violence, as when a mighty mill-stone is cast into the sea. Second: The Lutheran Church. This Protestant church owes its existence to Doctor Ilartin Luther, who was reared in the bosom of Rome, and became a supersti- tious 'monk. Luther Avas a man of energy and learning. He boldly assailed some of the most absurd features of the 400 The Waldensean (Period. Romish despotism, about the year 1520; and in 1524 he threw off the " monastic dress/^ and married a nun. It is usually stated that the Lutheran Church began in 1525. It was in the year 1529 that the Reformers entered their protest against the action of the German Diet of Spires. *^ Hence arose the name of Protestant/' by which the Re- formers have since been known. Martin Luther may very properly be styled the founder and head of this church. As an organization, it did not have tTesus as its founder and head. And instead of taking the Bible as their rule of conduct, the Lutherans are governed by the "Augsburg Confession/^ with the various additions in the way of articles, catechisms, etc. They have failed to ob- serve the order of the commandments; for they put what they term baptism before faith, in the case of infants, and do not bury in baptism at all. Luther retained many of the superstitions of the Church of Rome. He taught "That the body and blood of Christ are e igious ^^^wi., j^(3^^r|^|iy pi-esent, under the form or em- blems ot bread and Avme, as dispensed to the communicants.^^ — Art. 10, Augsburg Confession. This was called con-substantiation. And, notwithstand- ing Luther preached "justification by faith alone," yet he nullified this doctrine by teaching baptism for salvation. We have the following statements of Luther, on the efficacy of baptism, as given by Elder T. W. Haynes, editor of the Carolina Baptist : " Luther, in his pre- ' Carolina Baptut ^ ^j -^ .^.j ^^ ^^^^ Galatians, page vo^. Z 1845, p. 29. ^ -, , 1 T, . 24, hurls his thunderbolts alike against Christ and Antichrist, the Baptists and Papists : ' For at this day the Papists and Anabaptists conspire together against the church in this one point (though they dissem- TJi3 LtdJieraii Church. 401 ble in words), that the work of God dependeth upon the Avorthiness of the person. For thus do the Anabaptists teach that baptism is nothing, except the person do believe/ * * ^ ' Wlio seeth not here in the Anabaptists men not possessed with devils, but even devils themselves possessed with worse devils,^ (page 24). AVhat Baptist does not recognize as an article of his faith, the doctrine, ^ that bap- tism is nothing y except the person do believe f ' Now, whether the Scripture doctrine of justification by faith alone be not uprooted by Luther himself, is submitted to the con- sideration of the candid. In his Commentary on Gala- tians 3: 27, Luther says: ^And here also he (Paul) saith, that all they who have been baptized have put on Christ. As if he had said, ye are carried out of the law by a new birth which is wrought i7i baptism. Therefore, ye are not now any longer under the law, but ye are clothed in a new garment — namely, the righteousness of Christ. Wherefore baptism is a thing of great force and efficacy,^ (vide in loco). Of how great force and efficacy, may be learned from his Catechism, as published by the Lutheran (Tennessee) Synod, page 3. ^ Secondly : What does baptism confer or benefit? Ans. — It effects the forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and confers everlasting salvation upon all who believe it, as the words and promises of God declare.^ As also from the Augsburg Confession (article 9, of Baptism), ^concerning baptism, they teach that it is necessary to salvation, and that in baptism the grace of God is offered, and that children are to be baptized, who, being offered unto God in baptism, are to be received into the favor of God. They condemn the Anabaptists, who prohibit the baptism of children, and affirm that children can be saved without baptism."^ This important quota- 402 TJie Waldensean Period. tion shows that Luther, the father of the Lutheran church, not only inherited the Komish dogma of baptismal salva- tion, but he also inherited the Romish spirit of persecution. He affirmed that baptism is necessary to the salvation of in- fants; and Luther, with the rest of the Augsburgers, con-, demned the unfortunate Baptists because they affirmed that ^^ children can be saved without baptism.'^ And Luther's condemnation of the Baptists for the terrible crime of de- nying infant baptism, was so strong that he calls them ^^ devils themselves, possessed with worse devils J^ Thus we find that the Lutheran Church retained the leading feature of Antichrist. And instead of holding religious equality in the government of the church, they are governed by a kind of spiritual aristocracy. And though they made war with their old Mother Rome, yet they combined with her to persecute the hated Baptists. They are not the church that has borne persecution through the dark ages for the sake of Jesus Christ. The Lutheran Church is the first- born, m modern times, of the old mother of "abomina- tions.'^ Her founder, Luther, had his baby baptism, and ordination in Rome. The Catholics pressed the Protest- ants sorely with this difficutly. In their embarrassment they admitted that the Church of Rome was the true church of Christ visible, at least till after the coming out of the Protestant churches. But if she was the Church of Christ, or temple of God, through all the dark ages, while riding the scarlet beast and drunk with the blood of the martyrs, certainly she must be the true church till now. She has become no worse after the Reformation than before. On this point Luther says, as reported by Mr. Haynes, that: "Wherefore, wheresoever the substance of the word and sacraments remaineth, there is the holy church, although The LutJieran Chtirch. 403 Antichrist there reign, who (as the Scripture witnesseth) sitteth not in a stable of fiends, or in a swine sty, or in a conq^any of infidels, but in the highest and holiest place of all — namely, Mn the temple of God,' 2 Thess. 2: 4. ^ Wherefore, although spiritual tyrants reign, yet there must be a temple of God, and the same must be preserved under them. Therefore, I answer briefly to this question, that the church is universal throughout the whole world, and wheresoever the Gospel of God and the sacraments are/ '' This was Luther's answer to the question : " Where w^as Protestant religion antecedent to Luther?'' Thus the renowned Luther is driven to the painful necessity of taking the position that the Koraish Church was the temple of God under the reign of "spiritual tyrants." This comment of Luther is found in his Com- mentary on Galatians 1:2: "Unto the churches of Gala- tia." But if Eome w^as the church universal and the "temj^le of God," then Luther and all the "Protestants" were cast out of the temple of God when they were ex- cluded from the Catholics; but, on the other hand, if Rome is the "great whore" of Babylon, as the Protestants affirm, then the Protestant churches are false churches, having emanated from Antichrist. " Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean ?" Let the Protestants take either horn of the dilemma, and they are pushed to the wall. As a daughter of the old bloody " mothei^^' the Jjutheran Church began her career by taking the car- nal sword to convert men to the religion of Jesus by killing them ! She also took part with her bloody mother in shedding the blood of Baptists. And this same Lutheran Church has entered into marriage with the state in every land where she has had the opportunity. The Lutheran 404 Ike Waldensean d^eriod. Church can no more be the Church of Christ visible th?n old Eome can be that church. Third: The Episcopal Church originated as early as the year 1530, when Henry YIII., King of England, rebelled against the Pope. Henry's rupture with the Pope grew out of the Pope's refusal to divorce the king from his wife, Catharine, to marry Anne Boleyn. Tlie king divorced liimseif, and married the maid of honor to his former wife; and in the year 1530, he forced the Catholic clergy to proclaim himself as the '^ supreme head of the Church of England^ But it was not till 1534 that the British parliament confirmed the adulterous king in his headship of the church. Of the Church of England, Mr. Orchard says : " The daughter of Rome was born in England, 1530, when Wareham, Archbishop of Canter- bury, and the clergy of his diocese, in synod, declared Henry YIII. the putative parent of the English harlot, and the same was legally afiiliated to him in 1534.'' And down to the present time, the kings and queens of England are regarded as the head of the church. This church has none of the marks of a true church. It, like its founder, was polluted with adultery and mur- der; for it was a state church from the beginning, and lias engaged in the persecution of the Baptists by impris- onments and burning. This church, like the Lutheran, was only a part of the Romish Antichrist broken off, and she retained all the leading features of Antichrist. She inherited from her mother the doctrine of baptismal sal- vation. In the Episcopal Prayer Book, we have the fol- Boo]: of Common ^^.^^'^"S ^'^ ^ P^^'^ ^^ ^^^^ s^i^^ice connected Prayer, pp.180, with the baptism of infants: '^Then shall 181. the minister speak unto the god-fathers and The Episcopal Church. _ 405 god-mothers on this wise: Dearly beloved, ye have brought this child here to be baptized ; ye have prayed that our Lord Jesus Christ would vouchsafe to receive him, to re- lease him from sin, to sanctify him with the Holy Ghost, to give him the kingdom of heaven and everlasting life. Ye have heard also that our Lord Jesus Christ hath promised, in his Gospel, to grant all these things that ye have prayed for; which promise he, for his part, will most surely keep and perform. Therefore, after this promise made by Christ, this infant must also faithfully, for his part, promise by you that are his sureties (until he come of age to take it upon himself) that he will renounce the devil and all his works, and constantly believe God's holy AYord, and obediently keep his commandments. The minister shall then demand of the sponsors as fol- lows ; the questions to be considered as addressed to them severally, and the answers to be made accordingly : I de- mand, therefore. Dost thou, in the name of this child, renounce the devil and all his Avorks, the vain pomp and glory of the world, with all covetous desires of the same, and the sinful desires of the flesh ; so that thou wilt not follow nor be led by them? Ans. — I renounce them all; and, by God's help, will endeavor not to follow nor be led by them, il/mis.— Dost thou believe all the articles of the Christian Faith, as contained in the Apostles' Creed ? Ans. — I do. Minis. — Wilt thou be baptized in this faith? Ans. — That is my desire. Minis. — Wilt thou, then, obediently keep God's holy will and commandments, and walk in the same all the days of thy life? Ans. — I will, by God's help. Then shall the minister say, O Merciful God, grant that the old Adam in this child may be so 406 The Waldensean (Period. buried, that the new man may be raised up in him. Amen. Grant that all sinful affections may die in him, and that all things belonging to the Spirit may live and grow in him. Amen,'^ etc. And after the baptism of the child, the minister is requested to say: "We yield 00 . 07/1. ) ay- ^Y\Qe, hearty thanks, most merciful Father, er, p. 182. . " . that it hath pleased thee to regenerate this infant with the Holy Spirit, to receive him for thine own childj by adoption, and to incorporate him into thy holy church,'^ etc. The reader is referred to the entire bap- tismal service, where he will see that the English Church has fully copied the Romish doctrine of baptismal salva- tion. They pray for the release of the infant from sin ; that the old Adam may die in him, and that he may be delivered from the power of the Devil in baptism ; and after baptism they thank God that the infant is " regener- ated " and a child of God. The same God-dishonoring doctrine of baptismal salva- tion is also taught in the catechism for children. Here it ^ ,. „ is:"Q. — Who gave you this name? A. — Catechism, p. 7. ,, . , . , . ^ My sponsors m baptism : wherein i was made a member of Christ, the child of God, and an inher- itor of the kingdom of heaven. ^^ Again : " Q. — How is the child made a member of Christ. A. — It is made a member of his church. Q. — How is it made a child of God f A. — It is taken into God's family. Q. — What was it before this. A. — Born in sin, a child of wrath." And once more : ** Q. — What is it you thank God, your heavenly Father, for, when you thank him that he has called you to this state of salvation ? A. — I thank him that in baptism he hag made me a member of Christ, the child of God, and an The Episcopal Clmrch. 407 inheritor of heaven.'^ Such are the fatal dehisions im- posed on the poor children that are led by these blind guides. It is altogether out of the question to suppose that this church is a church of Jesus Christ. Some, who ought to know better, regard the Episcopal Church as '* evangelical '^ ! Fourth: The Presbyter ian Church Avas established in the year 1541 by John Calvin, a learned French Catho- lic, who repudiated the supremacy of the Pope, and es- tablished himself at Geneva, in Switzerland, as the head of the Presbyterian Church. This church, like the others, has a human founder and head ; it is governed by the Westminster Confession of Faith ; it does not observe the Bible order of the commands, for it puts " baptism '^ before repentance and faith; it does not bury in baptism; it has a hierarchy for a church government, in Avhich one member is placed in authority above another; it does not confine its communion to the regenerate, and it has bitterly perse- cuted the Baptists for the sake of conscience. This church holds baptismal salvation in more modified terms than the older churches of the Reformation. In the Confession of Faith, Larger Catechism, Question 165 : " What is baptism f A. — Baptism is a sac- ^oqT^' ^^ ^' rament of the New Testament, wherein Christ hath ordained the washing with water, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, to be a sign and seal of ingrafting into himself, of remis- sion of sins by his blood, and regeneration by the Spirit ; of adoption and resurrection unto everlasting life ; and whereby the parties baptized are solemnly admitted into the visible church, and enter into an open and professed engagement to be wholly and only the Lord's.'^ Again, 408 TJie Waldensean Period. in answer to question 177, we have the following : ^^ The sacraments of baptism and the Lord's so? ^^ ^' Supper differ, in that, baptism is to be ad- ministered but once, with water, to be a sign and seal of our regeneration and ingrafting into Christ, and that even to infants ; whereas the Lord's Supper is to be administered often," etc. Thus, according to Presby- terianism, baptism is a ^'seal^^ of ingrafting into Christ, of remission of sins, regeneration, adojAion, the resurrec- tion and eternal life, and this even to infants. But if baptism is a seal of all these blessings, and of the cov- enant of grace, it is necessary to salvation. We now conclude this chapter, remarking however, first, that various branches have gone out from these three leading Protestant churches, which originated in the six- teenth century. And, beside all the other disqualifica- tions, these churches Avant about fifteen hundred years of being old enough to claim to be the church that Jesus Christ established ; they all came out of the Church of Rome ; their ordinances came from Antichrist ; they have all persecuted the Baptists for the sake of conscience, and they are all state churches, in every land where it is pos- sible for them to establish themselves. And, while many good men belong to these churches, we must conclude that they are not the churches of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Baptist Succession. 409 CHAPTER XYIII. MODERN BAPTIST PERIOD— ABOUT THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS. 1. Peculiaeities applied to the Modern Baptists. 2. DlSTI^S'CTIOX BETWEEN THE AnCIENT AND MODEEN MeN- NONITES. Section I. — Peculiarities applied to the mod- ern BAPTISTS. This application has already been made more especially to the American Baptists. Of course, it is not necessary to prove that the Baptists possess the Baptist peculiarities ; but I design mainly in this section to develop the seventh peculiarity, which has reference to the persecutions of the true churches in Germany and England. Mosheim, the his- torian, testifies that the Baptists, or Anabaptists, as he calls them, of his times, claimed the Bible as their only rule of faith and conduct in matters of religion. But it is so generally admitted, by friends and foes, that Baptists claim no founder but Jesus Christ, and no standard of faith but the Bible, that it is useless to multiply authorities on these points. It has been observed that the different periods lap on each other, or, in other words, the modern Baptists ex- isted in various countries, under this name, before the close of the Waldensean period. The same class of people were, at the same time, called Waldenses in the valleys, and Bap- tists or Anabaptists in other countries. Our enemies apply the name Anabaptists to us even to the present time. All 410 Modern (Baptist (Period, Baptists hold immersion as the only Scriptural action of baptism. The Catholics fell into the practice of trine immersion, or, rather, three immersions, for baptism ; but Baptists, by whatever name called, have ever held the apostolic practice of "one baptism." Catholics also practiced nude baptism in their early history. Some modern Pedobaptists have been so silly as to reproach Baptists on account of the " naked " baptisms of the Catholics; but they only exposed the nakedness of their own "mother" church. The Cath- olics practice the " baptism" of abortives. In their pious zeal to save infants from hell, the E-omish Church gives " bap- tism " to unborn infants, in cases where death is expected. This is the present custom in this country. But it is unnecessary to reproach all Pedobaptists wdth such abomi- nations — though this is as Scriptural as any other baby baptism. Baptists neither baptize infants nor adults without the profession of repentance, faith, and regenera- tion, on the part of the candidate. Luther anathematized the Baptists of his times because they taught thai infants could be saved without baptism. Zuingle, the co-reformer with Luther and Calvin, had several public debates with the Baptists, at Zurich, in 1525, on infant baptism. The Zuinglians claimed the victory, and proceeded to put the Baptists in prison. The ruling magistrates of the city give the following hard report of these Baptists, as reported in the Martyrology : " ^ Ye doubtless know, and have heard from many per- ,. , , ^ sons, how that for a lono; time past certain Martyrology, ^."d. ' ^ i i i i men, w4io appear to be learned, have ve- hemently arisen, and, without any support from'^the Holy Scriptures, have pretended, and preached among simj)le (Baptists against (Baptismal Salvation. 411 and pious men (who are otherwise well instructed in the love of God and of their neighbor, and live in peace with one another^) and without the permission and consent of the church have proclaimed, that infant baptism is not of God, but has sprung from the Devil, and, therefore, ought not to be practiced. They have also invented a re-baptism ; and many men, unlearned in the holy Scripture, taken wi*ch their vain talk and so far persuaded, have received this re-baptism, esteeming themselves better than other" people. Whence have arisen and grown up discord, disobedience, contention, devourings, strifes against love, in places and among men who formerly lived in unanimity. Therefore have we imprisoned, and punished for their good, some of the authors of Anabaptism and their disciples, and have twice, at their desire, ordained conferences, or disputations, on infant and re-baptism.^' According to this representation, these Baptists regarded infant baptism as the invention of the "Devil''; and no wonder; for their ancestors had been slain by multitudes for rejecting the infant ceremony, and German Baptists were constantly imprisoned and punished for the same of- fense. And after all the victories gained over the de- spised Anabaptists in the public disputes, these enemies admit that "many men ''" received this re-baptism"; and the Baptists were still ready for other public controversies. And if the Pedobaptists were so successful as they pre- tended, why w^as it necessary to imprison and punish the Baptists? These persecutions were from Protestants. These martyr Baptists were not in favor of baptismal sal- vation. This is seen in the charges against George Wag- ner, who was burned by the Catholics in 1527. We have the following account of the martyrdom of this Baptist : 412 Modern (Baptist (Period. " George Wagner^ of Emmerick, was apprehended at Munich, in Bavaria, on account of four articles of faith. First, that the priests can (not) forgive men their sins. Secondly, he does not believe that a man can 1^1^^^ o^y, pp. j^j,^^^g Q.Q^I fj,Qi-^-^ heaven. Thirdly, he does not believe that God, or Christ, is bodily in the bread that the priests place upon the altar; but that it is the bread of the Lord. Fourthly, he holds not the belief that the baptism of water saves men. For these articles, because he would not retract them, was he put to great torture, so that the prince had great compassion on him, visited him in person in prison, and earnestly ex- horted him, saying that he would call him his friend dur- ing his life. In like manner, the steward of the prince's household persuaded him to recant, and made him many promises. Finally, his wife and child were brought into the prison and placed before him, to move him thereby to a recantation. He suffered not himself to be moved, but said, that though his wdfe and child were indeed so dear to him, that the prince with his whole land could not pur- chase them from him, yet, nevertheless, he Avould not for- sake the Lord his God. Many priests, and others like- wise, came to him, to persuade him; but he was firm and immovable in what God had given him to know. He was finally condemned to the flames and to death. When he was delivered over to the executioner, and led into the middle of the city, he said, 'This day will I confess my God to the glory of Christ Jesus, that such happiness is afforded me in the sight of all the world.' His face was not pale, nor were his eyes distorted. With a smile play- ing on his lips he went to the fire, where the executioner bound him to the ladder, and hung a bag of gunpowder lists Persecuted. 413 to his neck; to whom he said, ^Be it thus in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost/ And when he had, with a smiling countenance, taken leave of a Christian brother, he was thrust into the fire by the exe- cutioner, and blessedly offered up his spirit the 8th day of February, in the year 1527. But the sheriff, surnamed der Eisen Reich of Landsberg, intending and wishing, while riding home from the fire, to seize others, compan- ions of his faith, died suddenly in the night. He was in the morning found dead in his bed, and was thus snatched away by the wrath of God.'^ It will be noted that Wagner, among other things, was burned to death for holding '^ not the belief that the bap- tism of water saves men.'' Luther condemned the Bap- tists as " devils possessed with worse devils,'' for rejecting baptismal salvation ; and Catholics burned them for the same offense. Neither could honors, his wife and child, nor life itself, induce this Baptist martyr to forsake the truth. Balthazar Hubmeyer and his w^ife were mar- tyred in Moravia in 1528, for their Baptist principles. Hubmeyer had been a Catholic preacher; but when he became a Baptist he was persecuted by both Papists and Protestants. The Martyrology says: "This Balthazar Hul:>meyer published in his time a tract, in which he complains of Zuingle and his ^^'^^^^^^dV, PP. followers in these terms : ' That they had proceeded so far as at one time to throw into a dark and miserable tower twenty persons, both men and pregnant women, widows and young females, and to pronounce this sentence upon them : that thenceforward they should see neither sun nor ruoon for the remainder of their lives, and 4U Modern (Baptist ^Period. be fed till their days were ended with bread and water. That they, therefore, should remain in the dark tower together, both the living and the dead, surrounded with filth and putrefaction, until not a single survivor of the whole remained/ ^ Likewise, that some of them had not taken a mouthful of bread for three days, in order that the rest might have the more to eat,^ etc. ' O God ! ' he further writes, ' what a hard, severe, cruel sentence upon pious Christian people, of whom no one could speak evil, only that they had received water baptism in obedience to the command of Christ ! ' O, sad deformation, say we, of these so-called reformed ! The Lord forgive them, and be merciful to their blindly zealous souls ! " Hubmeyer was for a while a Keformcr with Zuingle, but he rejected infant baptism and joined the hated Bap- tists. Zuingle turned persecutor against him. In his con- troversy with Zuingle, Hubmeyer said : ^' Why, therefore, ^ do we baptize children? Baptism, they Marturology, p. / 2. . ^ . . . , . . say, IS a mere sign. A sign truly it is, and a symbol instituted by Christ in most pregnant and august words. But it can not be made to apply to babes ; therefore is infant baptism without any authority what- ever. * I believe and know,^ he concludes, ^ that Chris- tendom shall not receive its rising aright, unless baptism and the Lord's Supper are brought to their original pur- ity.' " This last quotation shows that these Baptists regarded baptism as a " symbol ;^^ they did not adopt the idea of baptismal regeneration. Hubmeyer was put in prison by the Reformers at Zurich, and after many trials he escaped from the Protestants at Zurich and fell into the hands of the Catholics of Moravia, and was committed to the flames; (Baptists (Persecuted. 415 and his wife, who had shared with him the sufferings of prison, was drowned at Vienna in the river Danube. Michael Sailer and his wife were murdered by the Cath- olics. Satler was a Baptist preacher who descended from the Waklenses. The following is the cruel sentence against him: "^Between the Stadtholder of his ,^ imperial majesty and Michael batler, is made known the following sentence : That Michael Satler be delivered over to the executioner, who shall bring him to the place of execution and cut out his tongue ; he shall then throw him upon a cart, and twice tear his flesh with red-hot pincers ; he shall then be brought to the city gate, and shall have his flesh five times torn in like manner.' This was accordingly done ; after which, as a heretic, he was burned to ashes. Of his companions, the brethren were executed by the sword, and the sisters were drowned. His wife, after much entreaty, exhortation, and threaten- ing had been employed, remaining immovable, was some days after likewise drowned. This took place on the 25th of May, anno 1527." The Baptists of these troublous times certainly had the mark of being persecuted. The Catholic Emperor, Charles V., issued an edict in 1535, against the Baptists. After addressing all his officers, the emperor proceeds : " ' In order to provide against and remedy the errors and seductions which many sec- i oTfJn ^^^' ^^* taries and authors of mischief, with their followers, have dared to sow and spread in our posses- sions, in opposition to our holy Christian faith, the sacra- ments and commands of the holy church our mother ; wo have at various times decreed, caused to be made and pro- claimed, many mandates, containing statutes, edicts, and 416 Modern (Baptist (Period. ordinances, together with punishments that transgressors should suffer : in order that by such means the common and simple people, and others, might guard themselves against the aforesaid errors and abuses, and that their chief promoters and sectaries might be punished and cor- rected, as an example to all. And it having come to our knowledge that, notwithstanding our aforesaid mandates, many and various sectaries (even some who are denomi- nated Anabaptists, or re-baptizers) have promoted, and are daily promoting, the spreading, sowing, and secret preaching of their said abuses and errors, in order to draw over to their false doctrine and reprobate sect a great num- ber of men and women, in order to mislead the same, and some of them to re-baptize, to the great scandal and con- tempt of the sacrament of holy baptism, and of our edicts, statutes, and ordinances : therefore, being desirous to pro- vide against and remedy the same, we summon and com- mand, that, from this time, having seen these presents, you make proclamation, in all the parts and limits of your jurisdiction, that all who are, or shall be found to be, in- fected by the accursed sect of Anabaptists, or re-baptizers, of what state or condition soever they be, their abettors, followers, and accomplices, shall suffer the forfeiture of life and estate, and shall, without any delay, be brought to the severest punishment ; that is to say, they who re- main obstinate, and harden themselves in their wicked opinions and purposes, or who have seduced and re-bap- tized any person, or who have borne and had the name of prophets, apostles, or bishops, [shall be put to death] by fire. And all other sorts of people, who have been re- baptizod, or who secretly and with previous counsel have harbored any of the said Anabaptists, or re-baptizers, and (Baptists Persecuted. 417 who renounce their evil purposes and opinions, and sin- cerely repent, and are sorry for the same, [shall be put to death] with the sword, and the women in a sunken pit. And in order the better to come to the knowledge of these Anabaptists, or re-baptizers, their adherents and accom- plices, we expressly command all our subjects, that they make known the same, and deliver them up to the officer of the place where they reside, or where they shall be found. And if any one know of any of this sect, or be acquainted with them, and do not deliver them up to the officer where they reside, the same shall be punished as an abettor, or accomplice, of such sect of re-baptizers. And he that delivers them up, or makes them known, shall have a third part of the estate confiscated, so far as the accused shall be convicted. Forbidding, moreover, all our subjects to claim or seek any grace, forgiveness, or reconciliation, for the said Ana- baptists, or re-baptizers, or to present, on their behalf, any petitions or requests, on pain of being punished at our pleasure. It being understood, that it is not our will, nor will we permit, that any Anabaptists, or re-baptizers (be- cause of their wicked opinions) shall be received into fa- vor, but be punished as a warning to others, without any dissimulation, favor, or delay. And in order so to do, in all things appertaining thereto, we give you, and each of you for himself, full power and special command. Given at Brussels, under our seal hereto affixed, and now printed, the 10th day of June, A. D. 1535. Under the sanction of the Emperor and his Council, and under- signed, Pens ART." This terrible- edict was issued by a Catholic emperor. But the followino- is from the Protestants: 418 Modern (Baptist (Period. " Of a certain Proclamation published at Zu- rich AGAINST THE BAPTISTS, A. D. 1525. — At this time , ^ not only the Papists, but likewise the Pe- lormed, call Ziunglians, in the town oi Zu- rich, laid hands on the simple, harmless sheep of Christ; yet not (that we can find) to punish them with death, or by an executioner to deprive them of life; but they put them in close confinement, until (as may be concluded) death at last followed. But in order to determine what measures from that time forward should be employed, the following ordinance, ac- companied by many more words, was issued by the magis- trates of that city : ^ Therefore we ordain,* and it is our will, that hence- forward all men, women, young men, and maidens, ab- stain from re-baptism, and from this time practice it no more ; and that they bring the young children to be bap- tized. For whoever shall act contrary to this public or- der, shall, as often as it occurs, be punished by a fine of a mark of silver ; and if any shall be altogether disobedient and rebellious, they shall be dealt with severely ; for w^e will protect the obedient, and punish the disobedient ac- cording to his deserts, without further forgiveness. Let each one act accordingly. And all this Ave confirm by letters patent, sealed w^ith our city seal, and given on St. Andrew's Day, [Nov. 30,] anno 1525.' " After this proclamation the Protestants proceeded to harsher measures. They published the following in 1530 : ^^ ^Therefore we strictly command all the 12^2^^^' Pi'- inhabitants of our land^, and those in any- wise allied thereto, and especially the su- (Baptists Persecuted. 419 ^ perior and inferior officers, sergeants, city officers, magis- trates, elders of churches, and ministers, wherever they shall discover any Anabaptists, that they make it known to us, according to the oath by which they are bound ; that they nowhere suifer the same, nor let them multiply, but seize them, and deliver them over to us ; for, accord- ing to the tenor of our laws, we will punish the Anabap- tists with death, together with those who sanction or follow them. Whosoever shall assist them, or abstain from giv- ing information concerning them, neither will pursue them, nor bring them prisoners, shall likewise be punished ac- cording to their deserts, and without any favor, as guilty of a breach of the fidelity and the oath which they have sworn to the ruling powers.' '' Volumes might be filled with the details of the suffer- ings of the German and Dutch Baptists. They were per- secuted alike by Catholics and Protestants. The decrees of the Zuinglians were as cruel as that of Charles Y. It will be seen that all the leading Protestant Reformers embraced the leading characteristic of Rome by persecut- ing the Baptists. It is a well known historic fact, that John Calvin, the founder of Presbyterianism, procured the death of Servetus on account of his Baptist principles.- Concerning this bloody deed, Mr. Robinson remarks that: '^ Calvin did not blush to say : ^ I ordered it so that a party should be found to ac- ^''^'' ^^^^' ^'''' cuse him, not denying that the action was ^" drawn up by my advice.' What a glorious Reformation had been wrought in Geneva, when a proof of a man's Christianity lay in his humbly requesting the magistrates to burn a foreign gentleman over whom they had no juris- diction, for the honor of God and his eminent servant 420 Modern (Baptist ^Period. John Calvin/' It is true that Servetus was accused of denying the doctrine of the Trinity; but if this were true, Calvin had no right to burn him to death. Even the mild Melancthon indorsed the burning of Servetus. In regard to the persecutions under Luther, Mr. Curtis reports him as follows : " Luther says of false teachers : 'I am very o verse to the shedding of rro^j^BaptPrin.,^^^^^^ ^Tis sufficient that they should be banished ; ' but he allows that they may be ^corrected and forced at least to silence — put under restraint as madmen.' As to the Jews, he thought ^ their synagogues should be leveled with the ground, their houses burned, and their books — even the Old Testament — taken from them.' Several of the Anabaptists were also put to death by the Lutherans, ' for propagating their errors, con- trary to the judgment of the Landgrave of Hesse Cassel.' " In the year 1659 the Baptists were banished by the Picdb/terians from Switzerland as being an ^^ extremely dangerous and wicked sect." In the conclusion of this section, we ^^roceed to give a few examples of the terrible sufferings of the Baptists in England. The leading Prot- estant authors do not conceal the bitterness of their oppo- sition to the Baptists. Mr. Neal, the historian, complains of the Baptists as follows : " The people of this persuasion Crosby's m,.Bnrj. ^^^^rc more exposed to the public resent- Jjapt.,voLI,prcf., ment, because they would hold com- P- ^- munion with none but such as had been dipped. All," says he, " must pass under this cloud be- fore they could be received into their churches; and the same narrow spirit prevails too generally among them even at this day." Mr. Crosby remarks that " Y)r. Featly, writing against the Baptists of his day, says : ^ He could (Baptists Persecuted. 421 hardly dip his pen in any other liquor than the juice of gall.' '^ These quotations develop the CroshiJsHis. Eng. fact that it was "close communion ^^ J3apL,voL I,pref., which caused Dr. Featly and others to ^' ' dip their pens in the juice of gall when writing against the Baptists. In the time of King Edward YI., Joan Boucher, of Kent, w^as condemned as an " obstinate heretic ^' on ac- count of her Baptist principles. The king hesitated to consign her to the flames, because this would be equal to the cruelty of the Catholics. But Archbishop " Cranmer was employed to persuade him to sign the Burnett's Ms. Ref. warrant. He argued from the law of quoted by Crosby, Moses, by which blasphemers were to be ^"^^- -^j P- ^9. stoned. He told the king he made a great difference be- tween errors in other points of divinity, and those which were directly against the apostles' creed; that these were impieties against God, which a prince, as being God's deputy, ought to punish, as the king's deputies were obliged to punish offenses against the king's person. These reasons did rather silence than satisfy the young king, w^ho still thought it a hard thing, as in truth it Avas, to proceed so severely in such cases ; so he set his hand to the warrant with tears in his eyes, saying to Cranmer, that if he did wrong, since it was in submission to his author- ity, he should answer for it to God. This struck the Arch- bishop with much horror, so that he was very unwilling to have the sentence executed ; and both he and Ridley took the woman, then in custody, to their houses, to see if tfiey could persuade her. But she continued, by jeers and insolences, to carry herself so contemptuously, that at last the sentence was executed on her the 2d of May next year — Bishop ScQrey preaching at her burning." 422 Modem (Baptist Period. This account, as given by Bishop Burnett, shows that both Cranmer and Ridley, who were themselves burned by the bloody Mary, were guilty of procuring the burn- ing of Joan of Kent. Joan was burned to death by these Ppotestant reformers for the crime of being a Baptist. Cranmer and Ridley are often held up before the world as martyrs; but it is justice to observe, that while they were in power, they persecuted and killed others for con- science sake, and when the Catholics came into author- ity, under Mary, they, in turn, suifered death, ^yhatever may be said of bishops Cranmer and Ridley, they were not martyrs for Jesus Christ; they were the murderers of others, and when the scale turned, they themselves were murdered by the Catholics. Mr. Crosby remarks that : " In the year 1550, about the end of De- Crosbrfs His. Enq. -, ,i ,i ,, , 7? / 7 7- OA cember, the same author assures us, that Bapt., vol. /, p. 80. ' .1 • 1 ex after many cavils m the State, an act passed for the king's general pardon, wherein the Ana- baptists are excepted. *Last of all,' says the Bishop, (that is, of the acts made by this parliament) 'came the king's general pardon, out of which those in the tower or other prisons, on the account of the State, as also all Ana- baptists, were excepted.' ^' Thus we have exhibited the bitterness of that hate against the Baptists which caused them to be retained in filthy prisons when others were pardoned. And this was under the mild reign of King Edward as the head of the Episcopal Church. We have the following account, as given by Mr. Pierce, of the effort of Mr. Fox to procure the mitigation of the n I. 1 TT' T- punishment of Joan : '''Now,' says Mr. Orosoy s His. Lng. ^ ^ -^ Baptists, vol. 1,1^^. Fox, 'when the Protestant bishops had 69, 60. resolved to put her to death, a friend of (Baptists (Persecuted. 423 Mr. John Rogers, tlie divinity-rciider in St. Paul's Churcl", came to him, earnestly desiring him to use his influence Avith the archbishop, that the poor woman's life might be spared, and other means used to prevent the spread- ing of her opinions, which might be done in time : urg- ing, too, that Avhile she lived, she infected few with her opinions, yet she might bring many to think well of it by suffering death for it. He pleaded, therefore, that it Avas better she should be kept in some prison, without an op- portunity of propagating her notion among weak people, and so she would do no harm to others, and might live to repent herself. Rogers, on the other hand, pleaded she ought to be put to death. Well, then, says his friend, if you are resolved to put an end to her life, together with her opinion, choose some other kind of death more agree- able to the gentleness and mercy prescribed in the Gos- pel, — there being no need that such tormenting deaths should be taken up in imitation of the Papists. Rogers answered, that burning alive was no cruel death, but easy enough. His friend then hearing these words, which ex- pressed so little regard to a poor creature's sufferings, an- swered him Avith great vehemence, and striking Rogers' hand, Avhich before he held fast, said to him : Well. j)^r- hapSy it may so happen that you yourselves shall have your hands Jnll of this mild burning. And so it came to pass ; and Rogers Avas the first man Avho AA'as burned in Queen Mary's time.' '' Thus Ave learn that the great " martyr," John Rogers, was a murderer of a Baptist. He Avas not one of the mar- tyrs of Jesus ; for they did not persecute others on account of their religious a^Icavs. These Protestant ministers of. the Church of England were unwilling that a Baptist aa^o- 424 Modern (Baptist (Period. man should have au easier death than burning. Such were the feelings of hatred against the members of that "sect" which was every-where spoken against. During the reign of the bloody Mary, a Baptist, origi- nally from Holland, by the name of David George, died in England. Speaking of him, Mr. Crosby says: "He died in the year 155G, and was honorably buried in St. Lawrence Church. Some time after his Tt "^'n, ^^ '' death, it was discovered that he was an vol. J, p. 64. ^ . Anabaptist; upon Avhich his house, and those of his followers, were searched, a certain number of divines and lawyers appointed to examine them, his opin- ions were condemned by an ordinance, his picture carried about and burnt, and his corpse taken up three years after buried and burnt, etc." It will be observed that the Church of England was Catholic or Protestant alternately, as it happened to have a Catholic or Protestant ruler on the throne; and this bloody church persecuted the Bap- tists, both living and dead, whether it bore the name of Catholic or Protestant. Even the "good Queen'' Eliza- beth found it necessary, in the year 1575, to persecute, with banishment, those Baptists who would not take a blasphemous oath in the renunciation of all and every Anabaj^tistical error." And even ^Ir. Fox, the Martyrol- ogist, indorsed the sentence of banishment against the Bap- tists. In his letter to Queen Elizabeth, Mr. Fox says: "Many others were condemned to exile — ros)ys js. -ng. ^ j.[g[^^ sentence, in my opinion. But I hear there is one or two of these who arc appointed to the most severe of punishments — viz: burn- ing — except your clemency prevent." But the letter of John Fox, pleading for the mitigation of their punish- (Baptists Persecuted. 425 ment, availed nothing; and these two Anabapiids were burned in Smithfield, by order of Queen Elizabeth. The doctrine of the English Baptists, for which they were ban- ished and burned under the reign of Elizabeth, is stated by Dr. Some as follows: "That the ministers of the Gos- pel ought to be maintained by the volun- , i. M i.- z-i-i 1 Crosby' 8 His. Eng. tary contributions 01 the people: p t n That the civil power has no right to make and impose ecclesiastical laws : That people ought to have the right of choosing their own ministers: That the high-6ommission court was an anti-christian usurpation : That those who are qualified to preach, ought not to be hindered by the civil powers: That, tho' the Lord's prayer be a rule and foundation of prayer, yet not to be used as a form; and that no form of prayer ought to be imposed on the church : That the baptism administered in the Church of Rome is invalid: That a true condition and discipline is essential to a true church; and that the worship of God in the Church of England is in many things defective. He touches but briefly on their opinion of baptizing believers only; and brings up the rear with saying, they counted blasphemy for any man to arrogate to himself the title o^ Doctor of Divinity — that is, as he explains it, to be called Rabbi, or Lord and Master of other men's faith.^' From the foregoing statement of Baptist doctrine, a3 held by the English martyrs, we find that they regarded the churches of Rome and England as false churches, and their baptism as invalid ; and that they regarded the as- 426 Modern ^Baptist Period. sumption of the title of " Doctor of Divinity ^' as " blas- phemy.'' What Avill our modern D.D.'s think of this? Enoch Clapham^ writing against the English Baptists and others, in the year 1608, gives the following account of their doctrine, as reported by Crosby : ^^ The Anabap- tists, according to his account, held, that Crosby^ H'ls. Enq. , i r • j.i ^ j i r f 88 89 repentance and laith must precede bap- tism ; that the baptism both of the church of England and of the Puritans w^as invalid, and that the true baptism was among them. He says further, that they complained against the term Anabaptist^ as a name of reproach unjustly cast upon them. He also takes notice, that some of this opinion were Dutchmen, who, beside the denial of infant baptism, held, that it was un- lawful to bear arms : That Christ did not receive his human nature of the Virgin, but brought it down with him from heaven ; and agreed with the Roman Catholics in the doctrines of reprobation, free will, and justification. That there were others who went under this denomination that were Englishmen, to whom he does not so directly charge the former opinions, only the denial of their first baptism, and separating both from the established church, and other Dissenters; and says, that they came out from the Brownists, and that there was a congregation of them in Holland. When the Anabaptist is asked what religion he is of, he is made to answer : o/ the true religion, com- monly termed Anabaptism, from our baptizing^ When the Arian says, " I am of the mind that there is no CroshfsHis.Eng. ^^ue baptism upon earth, the Anabaptist Bapt., vol. I, pp. replies, I pray thee, son, say not so; the ^^j ^^- congregation I am of can, and doth, ad^ minister true baptism. When an inquirer after truth (Baptists (Persecuted. All oifers, upon his proving what he has said, to leave his old religion, the Anabaptist answers: you may say^ if God will give the grace to leave it; for it is a peculiar grace to leave Sodom and Egypt, spiritually so-called. When the same person offers to join with them, and firmly betake himself to their faith ; the Anabaptist replies : the dew of heaven come upon you; to-morrow I will bring you into our sacred congregation, that so you may come to he informed in the faith, hut after that, to he purely baptized.^^ It will be remembered, that this account of the English Baptists, was by their opponent, Enoch Clapham, and may be considered valuable as to the matters of fact stated. Several important points are brought to view^ in these quotations, as folio w^s; First: The English Baptists held, that repentance and faith must precede baptism. Second: That the bapAism of the Church of England and of the Puritans was invalid: Third: That the true baptism was among themselves: Fourth: That the term Anabaptist was a name of re- proach, unjustly cast upon them: Fifth: And that they regarded the churches of Rome and England, ivith all their branches, as Sodom and Egypt, spiritually so called. In the year 1611, King James, the author of the com- mon version of the Bible, showed his zeal for the Episco- pal Church by burning alive two men for heresy. They were burnt in Smithfield, in the year 1611. One of these was Legate, who was accused of denying the doctrine of the Trinity ; and " The other was one Ed- ward AVio-htman, a Baptist of the town ^^^ y ^ ^^- \^l^ f. > -Sop., foZ. /, p. 108 of Burton upon Trent, who, on the 14tti 428 Modern (Baptist (Period. day of December, was convicted of divers heresies, before the bishop of Coventry and Litchfield; and being deliv- ered up to the secular power, was burnt at Litchfield tlie 11th of April following,'^ We find among the errors for which Wightman was burned, he held: ^^That the baptizing of infants is an abominable custom: That the Lord's Supper and baptism are not to be celebrated as they are now practiced in the Church of England : That Christianity is not wholly pro- fessed and preached in the Church of England, but only in part.'' And besides burning Baptists, King James seized their estates and wasted "away their lives privately in nasty prisons." It is no wonder that he constructed rules to prevent a perfect translation of the Bible. The hatred against the English Baptists was so intense, even under the Presbyterian rule, that Samuel Gates, a Baptist preacher, was arrested in 1646, See Crosby, vol. I, a ^ , • • ^ ?j i ^op ana put ni irons as a murderer, because a lady died a few weeks after her baptism. But upon trial it was found that Anne Martin, the lady who died, was in better health for some time after her bap- tism than for years before. These sons of Calvin made a desperate effort to secure the execution of Gates, the Bap- tist preacher, as a murderer for the practice of immersion. The secret of the matter was, that Gates was aji able preacher "and great disputant" against the fiilse claims of Presbyterian] sm. During the reign of Charles IT. a Baptist preacher, by the name of John James, was pulled down from the pulpit while preaching,- by an officer of the government, and was afterward arrested and tried, under the pretense that he had spoken treason. And after he was condemned to death, his wife bore a petition to the (Baptists (Persecuted. 429 king, who only mocked at the distress of the poor woman, and said, " Oh ! Mr. James : he is a sweet gentleman ; yea, he shall be hanged." Consequently, James was hanged and quartered. Even Ilichard Baxter, the author of the Saint's Kest, charges the Baptists with murder, and nearly every other sin, for the practice of immersion. We here introduce the remarkable language of Mr. Baxter himself, as reported by Crosby in his history. Crosby quotes from Baxter's Plain Scripture Proof, p. 134: ^^ Mr. Baxter charges the practice of dipping in baptism as a breach of the sixth commandment; and forms his ar- gument upon it thus : ^ That which is a plain breach of the sixth commandment. Thou shall nol kill, Crosby' s His. Enq. is no ordinance of God, but a most heinous Bapt., vol. Ill, sin : but the ordinary practice of baptiz- P'^^f<^ce, p. 83. ing by dipping overhead in cold water, as necessary, is a plain breach of the sixth commandment. Therefore, it is no ordinance of God, but a heinous sin. And, as Mr. Craddock, in his book of Gospel Liberty, shows, the mag- istrate ought to restrain it, to save the lives of his subjects; even according to their principles, that w^ill yet allow the magistrate no power directly in matters of worship. That this is flat murder , and no better, being ordinarily and generally used, is undeniable to any understanding man. For that which directly tendeth to overthrow men's lives, being willfully used, is plain murder. And further, he adds, I know not what trick a covetous landlord can find out, to get his tenants to die apace, that he may have new fines and herriots, likelier to encourage such practices, that he may get them to turn Anabaptists. I wish, says he,, that this device be not it, that countenances these men. 430 Modern baptist (Period. And covetous physicians, methinks, should not be much against them. Catarrhs and obstructions, which are the two great fountains of most mortal diseases in man's body, could scarce have a more notable means to produce them where they are not, or to increase them where they are. Apoplexies, lethargies, palsies, and all comatous diseases, would be promoted by it. So would cephalalgies, hemi- cranies, phthises, debility of the stomach, crudities, and almost all fevers, dysenteries, diarrheas, cholics, iliac pas- sions, convulsions, spasms, tremors, etc. All hepatic, sple- netic, pulmonic persons, and hypochondriacs, would soon have enough of it.' " Thus we have Richard Baxter's statement of the evils of immersion. According to him, it is almost as bad as Pandora's box, in producing human woes. Mr. Baxter concluded by saying that immersion ^^is good for nothing but to dispatch men out of the world that are burdensome, and to ranken church-yards." He even constructed an argument to try to prove that immersion is a " breach of the seventh commandment — Tliou shall not commit adul- tery. ^^ But enough : this is but one example of the intense opposition to Baptists by those Protestants who had not the power to lay violent hands on them. It was my de- sign to introduce many other illustrious examples of the suiferings of the English Baptists for the cause of truth ; but space forbids. Like the ancient Waldenses, the Bap- tists of this period have suffered in almost every conceiv- able way, for their attachment for the cause of Christ. Women have gone to the stake from the advanced age of eighty-four years down to the tender age of fourteen, where they were burned to ashes simply because they maintained the doctrine of the Baptists. Baptist ministers have spent Mennonites. 431 from one to twenty years of their ministerial lives in filthy prisons, because of their attachment to Baptist doctrine. Truly, they belonged to that " sect '^ every- where spoken against. We have not pursued the regular order in the application of the peculiarities to this period. The great mass of the German and English Baptists maintained the Bible characteristics, even at the sacrifice of their lives. The exception to this was, the Open-communion Baptists of Poland, under the leadership of Socinus, and the Eng- lish Open-communion Baptists, led by Robert Hall. But it is generally admitted, by men of candor, that open com- munion is wholly inconsistent with Baptist principles. Section II. — Distinction between the ancient AND modern mennonites. Menno Simon, a native Frieseland, a Romish priest, re- nounced the Catholic Church and joined the Baptists in 1536. His Avonderful success as a Baptist minister brought down the hatred and persecution of all Pedobaptists upon him. And from him the opponents of the Baptists began to call them Mennonites. Mosheim, the historian, in his account of the Baptists, heads the chapter, "The His- tory of the Anabaptists or Mennonites.^^ The question has lately been raised as to the Baptist character of the Mennonites. The confusion on this point has arisen from a failure to discriminate between the original strict Mennonites, and the modern Mennonites. Menno himself was a strict Baptist. It is known that all Menno nites profess to practice believer's baptism, but the recenj Mennonites are known to practice pouring for baptism 432 Modern (Baptist C-'eriod. Z. N. Brown, the author of the Religious Encyclopedia, states, upon the authority of Mr. Ward, that, " The modern ^ , ^, ^^^ Mennonites plead the authority of Menno lor the use oi pounng and sprnikling as baptism. But in reality it is a wide departure from the views of Menno, who says, ^ After we have searched ever so diligently, we shall find no other baptism but dipping in water, which is acceptable to God and approved in his Word.' ^' And Mr. Benedict remarks that : " Menno was, indeed, a distinguished teacher among the Benedicfs His. Anabaptists during the whole of his min- Bapt, p. 124. . ^ ^^ ^ . , istry, but Mosheim s account ol his gather- ing up the fragments of the society after their dispersion, and re-organizing them upon new and better principles, is not at all sustained by anything that appears in their own relations. They were the same people in policy and practice before Menno came among them, as -afterward.^' These quotations go to prove, that Menno held the Baptist doctrine of immersion, and that he joined the Baptists, who were denominationally the same people before and after his reception among them. Mosheim, the historian, settles the fact, that the original Mennonites were thorough immersionists. Speaking of the particular Baptists of England, he says : "" The Bap- tists of the latter sect settled chiefly in Mosheim' s Church ti i-j_i t i. a. j rr. ^^^ Eondon, and ni the adjacent towns and villages ; and they have departed so far from the tenets of their ancestors, that, at this day, they retain no more of the peculiar doctrines and institutions of the Mennonites, than the administration of baptism hy immersion, and the refusal of that sacrament to infants, and those of tender years ; and consequently they have Mennonites. 433 none of those scruples relating to oaths, wars, and the functions of magistracy, which still remain among even the mDst rational part of the Mennonites." Here we have the testimony that the " administration of bcvtism by immersion, and the refusal of that sacra- ment to infants/^ are '^ peculiar doctrines " of the ^lennon- ites. And though this historian would make the impres- sion that the English Baptists differed from the Mennon- ites, yet that difference had no reference to church organ- ization or ordinances, but only related to their views con- cerning oaths, bearing arms, etc. Mosheim further states the doctrine of the Mennonites, as follows : ^' The opinions entertained bv the Mennonites in general, seemed to be derived from this leading ^^,^^^^»'''fC!mrch 1111 /izs., p. 49/. and fundamental principle, that ^the king- dom of Christ established upon earth, is a visible church or community, to which the holy and the just are alone to be admitted, and which is consequently exempt from all those institutions and rules of discipline that have been invented by human wisdom for the correction and refor- mation of the Avicked.^ This fanatical principle was frankly avowed by the ancient Mennonites : their more immediate descendants, however, began to be less ingenious ; and, in their public confessions of faith, they either disguised it uuder ambiguous phrases, or expressed themselves as if they meant to renounce it. To renounce it entirely was, indeed, impossible, without falling into the greatest incon- sistency, and undermining the very foundation of those doctrines which distinguished them from all other Chris- tian societies. And yet it is certain that the present Men- nonites, as they have, in many other respects, dej^arted from the principles and maxims of their ancestors, have 43-i Modern (Baptist (Period. also given a striking instance of defection in the case now before us, and have almost wholly relinquished this funda- mental doctrine of their sect, relating to the nature of the Christian Church/^ In this extract we have exhibited the purity of the an- cient Mennonite doctrine concerning the church, and also the fact that the modern Mennonites have departed from these original principles. A controversy originated among the Mennonites concerning church discipline. This began about the middle of the sixteenth century. One party favored the rigid execution of church discipline, while the other was more moderate. Speaking of these parties, Mos- heim remarks : " These two sects are, to MosMm^s Church ^j^^g ^.^^^. ^ distinguished by the de- -ff?^., p.496. ' :- J 4i 1 ^ nomination ot jine and -gross, or, to ex- press the distinctions in more intelligible terms, into rigid and moderate Anabaptists. The former observe, with the most religious accuracy, veneration, and precision, the an- cient doctrine, discipline, and precepts, of the purer sort of Anabaptists; the latter depart much more from the primitive sentiments, manners, and institutions of their sect, and more nearly approach those of the Protestant churches. The gross or modern Anabaptists consisted, at first, of the inhabitants of a district in Xorth Holland, called Water Land ; and hence their whole sect received the denomination of Water Landrians.'^ This needs no comment. It was the gross Mennonites — for the historian uses the words Anabaptists and Mennon- ites interchangeably — that departed from their original principles of purity in doctrine and practice. The present Mennonites, who pour for baptism, are the descendant? of the Water Landrians, and not of the original Mennonites, Methodism. 435 And when it is now stated that the Mennonites practice pouring for baptism, or that they are not Baptists, we must understand the allusion to be made to the descend- ants of the gross Mennonites. The departure of modern Mennonites from the princi- ples held by their ancestors, is confirmed by other histo- rians. Isaac Backus, speaking of the Mennonites of this country, remarks that : " The Mennon- ..1 r r^ ^ £■ Backv£ Ch. Ills., ites also came irom (jrermany, and are oi ^97 lilvc behavior, but they are not truly Bap- tists now. Their fathers were so in Luther's day, until confinement in prison brought them to pour water on the heads of the subjects, instead of immersion ; and what w^as then done out of necessity is now done of choice, as other corruptions are.'' Mr. Benedict acknowledges that part of the Mennonites have departed from their original custom of immersion. It is evident that some of our writers have conceded too much when they intimate that the original Mennonites were not immersionists. The original Mennonites, who were called Anabaptists, passed in shoals into England, where they are known under the name of Baptists. And those who now retain the name Mennonites, have entirely departed from the original doctrine of Menno and the " Anabaptists." It may be proper to mention the rise of some of the more modern societies which have recently come into ex- istence. We have already given an outline of the rise ol the Lutherans, Episcopalians, and Presbyterians. From these Protestant churches numerous branches put forth. All the branches of Protestantism have their denomina- tional succession from the Church of Rome. The Method- ist society came out of the Church of England. The rise 436 Modern ^Baptist Period. of this society was peculiar. It was for some time only a society in the Episcopal Church. The work of the AVes- kys began as early as 1729; but it was in 1737 that they claimed that "God then thrust them out to raise up a holy people.'' But it was not till the year 1784 that the Meth- odist Episcopal Church was formed as an independent body. And it was as late as the year 1845 that the M. E. Church South was established as a separate organization. This society is wholly destitute of those peculiar features which characterize the Church of Jesus Christ. It has John Wesley as its founder and head. Nathan Bangs, in his History of Methodism, says of Mr. Wesley : "He was the father of Methodism in this country, His. of MetJwdism, i in • t " . 1 J r> 'avid, on Succession, - - - - 18 Iiaj)tist peculiarities, ------ 10 lielchcr, Joseph, on the origin of the name Baptist, - 20 Baptist ministers from Europe. - - - - 82 Baptists of England sent to Holland for baptism, - 87 Baptist Succession from the aj)Ostles, - . _ - ]0,'{ Baptist peculiarity first tested by the Bil>le, - - 171 Jiaptists claim Jesus Christ as the founder and head, - 178 Bible the rule of conduct, _ _ _ . 180 Baptists claim the Scriptures as the sole rule of their faith and practice, . . . - - 184 Bible order of the Commandments, . - - 190 Jjible order of the Commandnuints claimed by Baptists, - 195 ]Jurial in bai)tism of the dead to sin, - . - J99 Burial of the dead to sin, - - _ - 204 Bishop Iledding for. Close Communion, - - - 250 Baptist ministers persecuted in Virginia, - - - 270 462 General Index. PAGE. Bisliop and Elder the same office, - - - - 302 Baptismal Salvation by Luther, - - - - 401 Baptismal Salvation in tlie Episcopal Church, - - 405 Bitterness of writers against the Baptists, - - 420 Baxter on the evils of Immersion, . . - . 429 Charleston Association, - . - - - 28 Clarke, Dr. John, organized the Newport Church in 1G38, - G4 Charge of Drs. Miller and Rice against Jones, - - 114 Cromwell on the rise of the Waldenses, . . _ 141 Creeds among Baptists, ----- 187 Confession of Faith published by the English Baptists, - 188 Communion objections, ----- 233 Communion in heaven, . . _ . . 238 Concessions to Baptist views of Communion, - - 250 Concessions of Dr. Hibbard, - . - - - 252 Coke and Asbury for Close Communion, - - 256 Campbell for Close Communion, - - - - 258 Catholics and Protestants against the Baptists, - 272 Cruel treatment of the Baptists by Presbyterians, - - 273 Cyprian to Fidus on Infant baptism, - . - 309 Church in the wilderness, ----- 344 Close of the Waldensean period, - - - 385 Catholic Church, 394 Calvin persecutes, ----- 419 Campbellism, ------- 439 Campbell the head, ----- 439 Difference between Perrin and Jones concerning infant bap- tism among the Waldenses, - - - 116 Decree of Victor Amadius to force the Baptists to baptize children, - - - - - 132 Discipline of Methodists for Close Communion, - - 257 Doctrine of the Novatians, ----- 314 Donatists, ------- 328 Dragon cast out, - - - . -~ . 342 Destruction of AValdenses, - - - . 373 Decree for the baptism of the infants of the Waldenses, - 387 Dreadful sufferings of the Waldenses in prisons, - 388 General Index. 463 PAGE. Decree of Charles V. against the Baptists, - - - 415 Doctrine for which the English Baptists were burned, - 425 Doctrine of English Baptists, . . . . 427 Early Welsh Baptists missionary, - . - 32 Early Baptists in favor of ministerial education, - - 37 Events connected with the Roger Williams affair summed up, 60 English Baptists not from John Smith, - - - 78 English Baptists descended from the German Baptists, 84 Equality in church business taught in the Scriptures, . - 209 Equality claimed among Baptists, - . _ 223 Equality among the primitive churches, - - - 290 Expulsion of the Novatians, - . - _ 339 Equality among the Waldenses, - _ . _ 361 Episcopal Church, ----- 404 Evils of immersion, ------ 429 Faith before baptism, ----- 193 Folly of communion with Reformers, - - - 259 Flight of the Woman, ----- 336 Final Dispersion of the Waldenses, - - - - 385 German Baptists not from the Munster riot, - - 91 German Baptists from the ancient Waldenses, - - 99 Graves, J. R., on church independency, - - - 224 Growth of infant baptism, ----- 310 Howell on Succession, ----- 18 Holmes whipped for preaching, - - - - 273 Horrible cruelty of the Reformers, - - - 414 Injustice of charging Baptists with the Munster affair, - 94 Infant baptism among the Waldenses, from the Spiritual Almanac, - - - - - 123 Infant baptism not in the old Waldensean confessions, - 126 Infant communion, - . - - . 297 Infant baptism a fearful sin, . - _ . 311 Infant baptism the invention of the Devil, - - 411 Infants saved by baptism — Wesley, - - - . 438 464 General Index. PAUIS. Jeter, J. B., on the " Old School " Baptists, - - 25 " James and Mary," - > - - - - 78 Jesus the founder of his church, . - . 172 Jeter on the use of creeds, ----- 187 Jesus baptized before communion, _ - - 243 Jones on the dispersion of the AValdenses, - - 886 Kingdom visible, ----- 9 Kingdom of God not meat and drink, - - - 12 Liberty of conscience, ----- 223 Lord's Supper in the Kingdom, - - - - 244 Lutheran Church, 399 Luther calls the Baptists " devils," - - - 402 Lutheranism from Home, ----- 403 Luther persecutes, ----- 420 Munster Riot, ------ 92 Miller and Eice against Jones, - - - - 115 Modern AValdenses enrolled with the State clergy, - 127 Milton on the rise of the Waldenses, . - - 141 Ministers to rule, - - - - - -211 Ministers are servants, - - - - - 212 Mixed communion sanctions error, - - 1 - - 246 Modern Baptists persecuted, - - - - 271 Meeting of the remnant of the Waldenses after their dis- persion, - - - - - 389 Millions destroyed by the Catholics, - - - 393 Modern Baptists, ..---- 409 Martyrdom of Wagner, ----- 412 Martyrdom of Ilubmeyer, ----- 413 INIartyrdom of Baptists by the Reformers, - - 414 Martyrdom of Satler and his wife, - - - - 415 Mennonites, ------ 431 Mosheim on the Mcnnonites, - - - - 432 Modern Mennonites have departed from the faith, - 434 Methodism, ------- 435 General Index. 4G5 No succession from Roger Williams, - . - 53 Noble lesson against Infant baptism, - - _ 135 Novatians, ------ I54 Novatian's character by Dupin, - - - - 155 Novatian churches not from Novatian, - - - 158 Novatians from the primitive churches, - - - 161 Novatians the Apostolic Church of Christ, - - 164 Novatians were Baptists, ----- 155 Noble defense by Patrick Henry of Baptist preachers, - - 280 Novatian period, ------ 313 Novatians opposed baptismal salvation, - - 317 Novatians immersed their converts, - - - 318 Novatians were strict in comniunion, - - - 325 Novatians were prersecuted, _ - - - 326 Novatians retire to the valleys, - - - - 341 Oldest Baptist Church in America at Newport, - - 61 Organization of the present Providence First Church, - 52 Origin of the Baptists hid in the depths of antiquity, - 101 One pastor should serve but one church at a time, - 303 Origin of baptismal salvation, - _ - _ 306 Oates, a Baptist preacher, tried for his life for immersing, 428 Perrin's report of Waldenses baptizing children, - - 116 Pope and Maguire debate, - - - - 118 Position of slaves in the church, - - - - 213 Positions of minors in the church, - _ - 215 Persecutions spoken of in the Bible, - - - 267 Persecutions in Massachusetts, - - - - 272 Preaching in prison, - - - . > 277 Primitive churches, - - - - » 285 Primitive churches practiced immersion, - - - 287 Primitive churches opposed baptismal salvation, - 288 Primitive churches equal in point of privilege, - - 292 Primitive churches strict in their communion, - 295 Primitive churches persecuted, - _ - - 298 Preservation of the church in the wilderness, - - 346 Popish blasphemy, ------ 396^ 466 General Index. PAGE. Presbyterianism, _____ 407 Protestant decree against Baptists, - - _ 418 Queen Elizabeth persecuted the Baptists, - - 424 Eoyal Encyclopedia on the Munster affair, - - 97 Eice, Dr. N. L., against Jones, - - - - 115 Eepentance prior to faith with the heart, _ - - 192 Eestricted communion, ----- 233 Eestricted communion among Baptists, - - _ 262 Else of the hierarchy, ----- 305 Else of infant baptism, ----- 307 Eome not to be reformed, - - - - 331 Eome described by Waller, ----- 332 Eomanism, - - - - - - 394 Eomish blasphemy, - - - - - 395 Eomish baptismal salvation, - - - - 397 Else of Lutheranism, ----- 400 Eise of the Episcopal Church, - - - - 404 Eogers for burning Baptists, « - - _ 423 Secession of the Anti-Mission Baptists, - - - 24 Smith, John, repudiated his baptism, - - - 81 Trott, Elder S., on the separation from the missionaries, - 24 The Savior immersed, _ - _ _ - 200 The Baptists sided with Washington in the Eevolution, - 226 The charge of Close Communion not applicable to Baptists, 255 The true Church persecuted, - - _ _ 266 Terrible persecution of early Christians, - - - 299 The great apostacy, _____ 329 The Waldensean period closed in the year 1686, - - 391 Traditions of Eome, _____ 39(5 Terrible decree of Charles Y.,' - _ - _ 415 Union of the corrupt Church and State, - - - 334 Validity of Novatian's baptism, _ - - - 320 Valleys of Piedmont described, - - - - 347 Vengeance on guilty nations, - _ - - 392 General Index. 467 PAGE. Welsh Tract Church emigrated from Wales, - - 65 AValdenses — the name, _ _ - _ _ i07 Waldenses driven out of the valleys in 1686, - - 128 Waldensean Confessions contain no infant baptism, - - 135 Waldenses regarded infant baptism as a mark of Antichrist, 137 Waldenses, their origin, ----- 138 Waldenses from the Novatians, _ _ - - 142 "Waldenses never needed any reformation, - - 146 "W^aldenses claim an uninterrupted succession, - - 149 AVashing away of sins in baptism, - - - 202 Women to keep silence in. the churches, - _ - 216 Women allowed to pray and prophesy, - . - 217 AValler on the folly of Open Communion, - - - 248 Waldensean period, ----- 336 Waldenses claim Jesus as their founder and head, - - 349 Waldenses claim the Bible as their rule, - - 351 Waldenses buried in baptism, _ _ - _ 355 Waldenses opposed baptismal salvation, - - - 356 Waldenses strict in communion, - - - , - 364 Waldenses persecuted, ----- 370 Waldensean women and children perished in the snow, - 374 Waldensean children represented as beasts, - - 376 Waldenses committed to the flames in 1232, - - 378 AValdenses increased under persecutions, - - 379 Wesley for baptismal salvation, - - _ _ 437 Zuingle debates with Baptists, _ - - - 41c Zuin^lians against the Baptists, - - . - 4H THE TEXT-BOOK ON CAMPBELLISM ^'AS reached the Third Edition. Errors of the press have been removed '"~" from the last edition of this work. Among the multitude of com- mendations of the Key to Campbellism, on its first appearance, we have the following: OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. "We hail the appearance of this book. It> is the very thing needed by our ministers who have not time to read all of Campbell's writings — the very thing for our members, for it places a key to the mysteries of this se- ductive system in their hands; and with this book and the New Testament they can withstand this error. The times demand that it should have a wide circulation. It should be in every Baptist family." — The Baptiat, {J. It. (j raves, Editor.) "The work itself we consider the best book on the subject for popular reading. It gives a clear view of what Campbellism is; shows its mani- fold inconsistencies, and refutes its errors. Without parade of learning, it presents common-sense views, which must carry conviction to all sin- cere and candid inquirers." — N. M. Crawford, {PreaideiU of Georfjetown l.'ollcye, Kentuckij.) "After reading the work, I am thoroughly convinced this very text- l;ook is needed in every section where Campbtdlism prevails. I have never iret with any work which fills its place. Here we have an index to all P'[r, Campbell taught, with chapter and page for everything that is ever tillirmed. Ilis fallacies are clearly shown, in short and pithy chapters. I I ave seen the time when I would have given double the price of the book IVir the chapter on Mr. Campbell's twenty contradictions. Suffice it to say tlie book is a success, and should meet with an extensive sale, especially ill Kentucky, where Mr. Lard succeeds so well in preaching original Camp- bellism." — A, Ji. CubaiiiiH, {PrcHident Broionnville Female Cottefje, Tenn.) "There was a place for this work, and the work fills the place. The distinguishing peculiarities of the Reformation are brought out by a great variety of citations from the writings of Mr. Campbell and his 'disciples,' and confuted with 'short, sharp and decisive' arguments, combining the authority of Scripture and the demonstration of logic; (though not with- out occasional and even serious errors of the pen or the press.)" — Index and Baptint, Georyia. "If it is possible tr present the system produced by the current refor- mation, as it is taught by the leading ' disciples,' this book has faithfully presented it. Many ^ho atylo themselves ' Christians,' may not acknowl- 470 Text=(Book on Campbellism. edge the picture which our author draws ; many would shrink from con- fessing the errors which he brings to the light. But the book is neverthe- less an exposure of the system. If thousands are connected with this error by accident, or prejudice, or education, whose experience and prac- tice or a denial of it, this phenomenon constitutes no good reason why it should not be exposed. Manfully meeting error for the love we bear to the truth, and kindly treating the erring, is the only sure way to stop the progress of the former, and win the latter back to the primitive faith." — Kentucky Baptist. " The author's aim seems to be, to show from these writings what Mr. Campbell and his followers really teach, but he does more than this — he enters the list of the disputants to show the errors and sophistry of Mr. Campbell's teachings, and their wide and vital divergence from the teach- ings of the New Testament and of Baptists. The work shows thought and studious research — its style is sufficiently lucid. It does not take the place of Elder A. P. Williams' master-piece on the leading features of Campbellism — his review of Moses E. Lard — but it has a place, and, seem- ingly a very appropriate place, of its own. We have not fallen upon one bitter or malicious sentence in it, and we hope, for the honor of truth, there are none. When the venom of hate distills its poison upon a defense of truth, the truth suffers from its virulence. Any one wishing to know what Camp- bellism, or the current reformation, generally so-styled, is, can distinctly ascertain it by a careful perusal of this book. And if the refutation of it he there finds is not satisfactory, he will find one that is so in A. P. Wil- liams' review of Lard." — Texas Baptist. " This is evidently the work of one who has made himself entirely familial* with Campbellism; who has read its inmost heart; of one also, who loves that faith which was of old delivered to the saints, and is ready to contend for it earnestly. We commend the book to such as may desire a succinct view of the history of Campbellism, with a statement and refutation of its ])rincipal tenets. The style is direct, pungent, and the reasoning conclu- sive, because, while logical, also scriptural." — The Standard, Chicago, III. The TEXT-BOOK is sold to Agents at a discount of one-third off. Single copies are sent post-paid by mail, at $1.50. All orders should be adlressed to D. B. Ray, Lexington, Ky. V PaMished Monthly, in Lexington, Ky., by A. s. worhell and d. b. eay, Is a high=toned Family (Periodical^ devoted to the elucidation and defense of the whole Truth, as held and maintained by baptists ; and it will also be the province of the gf^ff^f | kindly, but faithfully, to expose the various forms of religious error which have inundated our land. Especial attention will be given to the cultivation of self= denying piety of heart and life. 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