^xiq^® lift ' LIBRARY OF THE ^ UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 813 D596a 1860 t 7^/ I ANNA CLAYTON; OR BY KEY. FRANCIS MARION DIMMICK, A.M. Buy the truth and sell it not: also wisdom and instruction, and UNDERSTANDING. — ThB LoRD WILL NOT SUFFER THE SOUL OP THE RIGHTEOUS TO FAMISH. — King Solomon. SECOND EDITION. PHILADELPHIA : LINDSAY & BLAKISTON. 1860. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by LINDSAY & BLAKISTON, in the Clerk's Ofl&ce of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. BTZREOTTPED BY J. FAQAN. PRINTED BY C. SHERMAN & SON. 'il3 Both gratitude and filial affection prompt the dedica- tion of this volume to you. Your kindness and watchful care over your children should meet with some return. Your self-denying labors in their infancy, your Christian instructions and admonitions in their childhood, the ex- pressions of your deep solicitude and anxieties for their temporal and eternal interests in maturer years, can be but feebly repaid by the most dutiful of children. May God in his infinite goodness grant you, both, a full resto- ration to health and strength, and that the remainder of your pilgrimage below may be happy and joyous ; and that your decline of life may be blessed with ever-in- creasing foretastes of eternal bliss. "Sweet is the image of the brooding dove! Holy as heaven a parentis tender love! The love of many prayers, and many tears, Which changes not with dim declining years.'' (iii) PREFACE. The arguments contained in this work, were mainly presented in a series of letters to a sister — Mrs. Dtantha Dimmick Reynolds — who w^as then unsettled on the subject herein dis- cussed, and was seeking to know the Bible truth of the matter. She was flooded Avith Baptist documents, but was unwilling to endorse their views until she had carefully and intelligently investigated the whole subject. She requested me to come to her assistance in meeting and examining the arguments and doc- trines laid before her. My studies occupied nearly the whole of my time ; but a sister's call is never to be allowed to pass unheeded, and especially when matters of eternal interests are pending. By the arguments presented to her, and by suggestions as to the proper study of the Bible in determining its teachings and doctrines, she was led to see, as she believed, the errors, false statements, and illogical reasonings of our Baptist brethren. My sister felt the need of 2i popular treatment of this subject in her own case ] and having passed through the ordeal, could judge pretty correctly what kind of a work seemed to be de- manded by the great mass of the Christian church, and by those seeking to gain entrance to it. By her aid in popularizing the arguments, they are now presented to the kind attentions and regards of a Christian public. 1* (v) vi PREFACE. There is no work, to my knowledge, of the kind, covering the whole subject, and presenting the Pedobaptist side of the controversy. But our Baptist brethren have no less than two or three very popular ones in the field ; which have made hun- dreds, and perhaps thousands, of proselytes to their peculiar belief ; and shaken the faith of many others, who thought them- selves established and grounded in the doctrine of Pedobaptism. They have even drawn them from the very ranks of Pedobap- tist churches to swell the numbers of their own. A work, then, acting as an antidote to these; meeting them upon their own ground ; pointing out their fallacies, errors, mis-statements, and false assertions, seems to be greatly needed and demanded by the great branches of the Christian church. And, further, it is hoped, that this work may, in some degree, turn the attention of Christians, and especially of teachers in the church, to the great sinfulness, and to the un-Christlike spirit they exhibit in the bitter feelings they engender, and the enmity they beget, between brethren in Christ, in their secta- rian zeal of proselyting. Knowing that God often chooses to work by humble instru- mentalities, and to make use of the weak things of this world to confound the wise and mighty ; therefore, that the cause of truth may be advanced, and the glory of God promoted by the prevalence of the pure doctrines of his word ; that the hearts of all Christians may flow together in the great work of saving souls ; and that there may be a unanimity of purpose and action in the worship of God, and in the upbuilding of his kingdom, this little volume is sent forth into the world to exert its feeble influence, and to await the result. F. M. D. Lane Seminary, April 12, 1850. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAQB Noontide on a midsummer day — Clayton Famity — The subject of Baptism brought forward — The ground surveyed — Positions assumed — Father Longwind arrives — Trouble anticipated — The World glanced at and commiserated — The field and harvest — George and Anna — Private interview — Halley announced. 13 CHAPTER II. A morning in June — Anna feels her loneliness and calls for her sainted mother — Her resolve — Father Longwind broaches the subject to Anna, and is surprised at her ready awswers — He beats a retreat — Anna's Meditation on the Distractions of the Christian Church, and prays for Unity 26 CHAPTER III. Difficulties met — The plan of investigation settled upon — The New Testament use of the word Pann^co sought after — Its Spiritual import shown — Its Typical nature looked into — Consistency in the Word of God 37 (vii) VIU CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. Baptism of Suffering" inquired after — The manner of the Spirit Baptism considered — The Baptism with which Christ was to be baptized — Baptism found to symbolize Spiritual purification — Father Longwind returns with Elder Burton — Some questions considered CHAPTER V. Widow Giles — Her troubles — Her kindness to Anna — A visit — A surprise — Anna's real mother — Barrn^co still considered — Hel- lenistic Greek — The growth of Language, and the change of the signification of words — Witness called — The Itala and the Peshitc versions of the New Testament — Our own version a good witness — New words found in the New Testament Greek, and new mean- ings to old ones — The same in our language — The use of the word Pann^o) determined and settled — The Jewish modes of puri- fying considered — The Greek prepositioes eu, tij, and dno — The law governing translators — Perfect harmony and consistency in the Bible, if properly studied CHAPTER VI. Elder Clayton's mind unsettled — Interview with Brother Burton — A plan devised — A charge made ; the thrust parried — An unex- pected Competitor — Halley takes up the gauntlet thrown at Anna — Water Baptism no symbol of the Death and Burial of Christ — Custom of the Greeks and Romans with respect to their dead — Christ and the Believer — Water Baptism the shadow, and Spirit Baptism the substance — The analogical argument : taking immcrsionists upon their own ground and showing the absurdity and inconsistency of their position — A defeat inevitable; a re- treat ordered; a flight ensues — The outward act wholly sub- ordinate : illustration — The impracticability of immersion on all occanions: it does not harmonize with the other ordinance, and with the spirit and teachings of the Bible — The onus probandi CONTENTS. ix thrown upon the Baptists — The Lord's Supper and its abuse in PauPs time — An unexpected but unavoidable inference — The essence of all God's commands spiritual — Tendency of formalism — A summing up of the evidences — One Churchism 99 I CHAPTER VII. The Warning — The struggle and resolve — The lying in wait — Anna visits Widow Giles — The darkness gathers — A new advocate — The field carefully surveyed — Unexpected conclusions for a new inquirer — The difficult questions solving themselves — The proper view of the ordinance of Baptism 134 CHAPTER VIII. The trap sprung — The biter bit — The intended victim escapes — Unity was our Savior's prayer — Close Communion deprecated — Its reasons searched for in vain — The Sabbath and Communion — A new Shepherd looking after the flock — Love is the fulfilling of the law — The sky darkens — Interview : Anna and her foster father — Close Communion discountenanced — Smith family — A church — Sudden appearance of Brother Burton and Mother Clayton — A storm — The pastor wanders, and the flock follows — Brother Burton seeks diff'erent and more congenial quarters — The sky clears, and nature smiles again 161 CHAPTER IX. The Widow's bud of promise blighted — Squire Tanner introduced — The discussions opened — The kind of evidences considered — The demand for positive proof shown to be absurd — Illustrated — Man no right to prescribe God — Moral evidences the guide of life — Should be satisfied with just such kind of evidences as God sees proper to give — The great Commission — Its application shown — An undesirable conclusion even for Baptists deduced from their own arguments — The relation of Children to the Church — Objections to Infant Baptism removed — The Covenant X CONTENTS. of Grace — The Churcli founded in the family of Abraham — No new Church established — Baptism long practised by the Jews — The Abrahamic church organization recognized, and its promises confirmed by Christ and the Apostles — The Baptist position in- compatible with Paul's teachings and expositions — The Covenant everlasting — The advantages accruing — Children and Parents indissolubly connected — God's Covenant has never been changed or abrogated — The onus proband! where ? — The ground reviewed in the light of the New Testament teachings — Mr. Graves on trial and convicted 192 CHAPTER X. The establishing of a new Church looked after in vain — The mission of Christ — Circumcision and Baptism compared — Severe charges where to be applied — Were infants excluded from church juris- diction among the Jewish Christians in the time of the Apostles? — The absurdity of the position of those who exclude them — Peter and Paul included them — Some conclusions — Drs, Edwards, Woods, and Lightfoot — "The kingdom of heaven belongs to children" — The Great Head of the Church recognizes them — The Obligation resting on parents: if faithful, the result — In- fluence of the mother — The Children of believing parents born members of Christ's Church — 1. Cor. vii. 14 examined — Illus- tration of Baptist arguments — The term "faithful" — The Cata- combs of Rome and their testimony — Family Baptisms in the New Testament; Children only included — O^Kog and oiKia — Dr. Kurtz and Rev. E. Hall — Inference — A Challenge — The Evi- dence satisfactory 234 CHAPTER XI. Elder Mason introduced — Statements of Brother Graves considered — Coleman, Neander, and Irenoeus — Graves and Carson virtually deny Infant Salvation — Justin Martyr and TertuUian interrogated — Their answers do harmonize with some Baptist statements made of thom — Origen, and his testimony — A Challenge — Graves and Pengilly; their false representations of the views of Cran- mer, Luther, Calvin, Pilgrim Fathers, Ur. AVall, Bishop Burnet, CONTENTS. xi Richard Baxter, Dr. Miller, Dr. Dwight, and Bishop Taylor — Unexpected result — General view — Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, and his council of divines — Optatus and Gregory — No Baptist yet found — Ambrose and Chrysostom — Augustine, Pelagius, and Celestius — What had become of the Baptist churches ? — The un- broken chain of historical argument — Sweeping assertions con- sidered — The united voice of early church history — Novatians and Donatists — Inferential — Evidences from the Catacombs of Rome and from the Church Fathers harmonize — Questions pro- pounded — Unaccountable silence — Summing up — Challenge — One hook more — Elder Clayton's troublesome thoughts — Great Iron Wheel — Off the track — Reaction — The foster Mother — The real position 292 CHAPTER XII. An interested audience — The Baptist claim set forth by Elder Mason — The claim inspected and pinned down — The river of Baptist ancestry to be navigated — All the "Regular" boats stop at an "Independent" wharf of the 17th century — Close Com- munion thrown overboard to reach it, even ! — The river not navigable farther — Elder Mason insists that all "Baptists are Baptists," and resolves on an overland route direct to the Apos- tles through the Mennonites and Anabaptists — The real source of Calvinistic Baptists settled — Dr. Mosheim — The Mennonites' temple of faith examined and compared with that of the Par- ticular Baptists of those times — The connection between Men- nonites and Anabaptists investigated — Origin of Anabaptists and character of the sect — Thomas Munzer — Conflicting testimony from a Baptist author — The expediency of having two sets of arguments — Elder Mason retires from the field of controversy — The survey still continued — The Waldenses located and their antiquity established — Their doctrines and faith determined — At the Reformation they readily united with the Reformed Pedo- baptist churches — They are, and always have been, Pedobaptists — They were not immersionists — The Petrobrusians the first sect in the history of the Church which practised only adult baptism (1150) ! — The Pedobaptist chain connected and welded — Albi- genses, Paulicans, Cathari or Puritans, and Paternines — Mr. xii CONTENTS. Graves' trials in establishing his regular Apostolical succes- sion" — Retrospect taken in summing up — Non-essentials should be no barrier to Christian unity and love — The prospect — The Christian Parent 357 CHAPTER XIII. The effects of the controversy showing itself in the hearers — Sub- discussions — The general feeling — The farmer, an illustration — The great variety of mind — Father Benjamine — The Clayton kitchen, and Widow Giles — Elder Clayton; his absent brother: the spirit of love prevails — The arbor in the lower garden ; Anna, her thoughts ; Halley ; the Explanation — Anna learns her parentage from the lips of her own brother — The Sabbath — A Revival — An Autumn Sabbath — The gathering at church — Union — A Christian's creed — A familiar face in the pulpit — The acces- sions to the church — Communion — An interested Spectator — The village church-yard — Anna meets her father — Sorrows un- loosened by tears — The heavenly atmosphere — The father and daughter — Unanimity in God's family proclaimed — The effect of divisions — God's armory for his servants — The foster father — Where the difficulty lies — Anna drawing a contrast — Union prayer meeting — Anna, and her brother Henry, return with their father — The ultimate effect of unity and love among Christians 395 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. CHAPTER I. Green fields and silent glens ! We come To spend this summer day with you." Noontime in a farmer's house, on a sultry summer day, is a picture all are familiar with. Windows and doors are thrown open to their utmost capacity to admit any passing puff of wind which may chance to stray that way ; and the various members of the household who have turned away with sated appetites from the well-spread board, lounge here and there, as inclina- tion may dictate — upon the chairs or floor — within the balcony — or on the green grass beneath the shielding branches of some neighboring tree, enjoying an hour of unbroken stillness and repose. In Nature^s vast domain of forest and field, there is a depth of stillness only equalled by the noon of night. The cattle 2 (13) 14 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, have left their grazing in the open field, and sought the bab- bling brook and the overhanging tree. The birds, which awoke a chorus of melody in the orchards and meadows, when the day was cool and fresh, have now sought the deep wood, and underneath the dense foliage are dreaming bird dreams. Every- thing is at rest. Even the white clouds, which hang up against the blue of heaven, seem motionless and changeless as the eter- nal hills beneath them. And at this hour in an arm-chair with his feet elevated to the window-sill, sits Elder Clayton — the senior member of the Clay- ton family. He is evidently thinking, not of the fields on which his eyes are resting, although they seem to linger there with the pride of ownership ; but evidently of another field of labor, where the seed is the word, and the harvest the souls of men. He is a strong-built, muscular man, and shows the marks of toil in the natural as well as the spiritual field. He wears an honest broad face, and a kindly smile. Near him sits a fair young girl, with a broad, full brow, and deep, thoughtful eyes. Her pervading air is one of quiet dig- nity and calm repose. She is reading — is always reading. She is called Anna Clayton, though her real name is Ella Forbes. She was left an orphan, when a small child, and has lived in this family, shared its comforts and privileges, as though she were a natural heir. Almost at her feet, lying upon the floor with Sporter — who, by the way, is a large Newfoundland dog, answering, at pre- sent, for a pillow — is George; a young man of twenty, and an only child Nearly behind this group is Mrs. Clayton, in an old straight- backed chair, and sits as straight and prim as the chair itself. She is the only one of the family who never finds a leisure liour, and at this moment is knitting as though her life de- pended on it. She has a compressed mouth, thin, peaked nose, and sharp eyes, with a flash in them. You will discover, at a THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 15 glance, that slie is a woman of an indomitable will, and capable of strong' prejudices and bitter animosities. " What is it you are reading ? she said, glancing over her spectacles in her most impressive manner. " What is it you are teading, Anna ? The truth was, she knew well enough, but thought it a oroper time to evince her displeasure. " It is a book I got at Uncle's, the other day,^' she replied. It treats of the different kinds of denominational faith, under their different heads ; or, rather, it is an exposition of them, as prepared by their most eminent men ; together with a review, or summing up, of the arguments by the editor. I think it is very interesting.^' " What, did you get it at John's ? He is one of the rankest kind of Methodists. I don't believe it's fit to be read," con- tinued Mrs. Clayton. If it 's all as sound Baptist orthodoxy," said George, as that which Anna and I were reading, last night, I don't think mother Clayton would object to it. How is it, Anna? Is it sound all the way through ? " " It treats also of other kinds of denominational faith," she replied, " or else it would not be correctly titled." " Well, yes, of course," continued Greorge ; " but what heresy does it inculcate ? That's the point at issue, as our old college Prof, would say." I'm not prepared to answer such a question," she replied, gravely ; but I hope to know sometime why these differences distract the Christian world." " These differences are very sad," said Elder Clayton. Of course we would like to have them all see as we see. But if they won^ty why I'm sure it is'nt our fault. Yes, my children," he continued, looking round as though speaking to a congre- gation, no one laments these things more than we do ; they come right home to our hearts. We would be glad to embrace 16 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, in the amis of Cliristian love and fellowsliip, every kindred, tongue, and people, if they would but come in the proper manner, and in the gospel order of things/' "Come under the water, I suppose*/' George suggested, glancing mischievously at Anna, from under his heavy eye- lashes. "George, hav'nt you any respect for sacred things?'' ex- claimed his mother, sternly. "Why, what did I say? Nothing bad, was it? Somehow there is always something slipping from my tongue wrong end first. I can never get the right word in the right place. Sis, hand me that book. I'm bound to do something for my coun- try yet. I'll blow those Pedos up so high, they won't come down in a century — see if I don't." Thus saying, George took the book, and holding it olF at arm's-length, scrutinized it closely on its several sides ; then closely shutting his eyes, opened it by chance, and read with the earnestness of a school- boy conning his first lesson in a new book. " The great question now before the Christian world, and the only one that divides it in fellowship and communion^ is that of Baptism. On one side it is maintained that the only proper way of administering it, is by the immersion of believers in water on the profession of their faith ] and on the other hand, that it may be, and is, just as properly administered by sprink- ling or pouring, as by immersion ; and that the children of believers arc included in the privileges of the rite. The de- fenders of the first position, generally known as Baptists, insist on adhering to the literal meaning of the Greek word, jSa^ft^w, (baptizo), and consequently maintain, that a command to bap- tize, is a command to immerse. They also defend their practice, from the phrase " Buried with him in Baptism," and from the early custom of repairing to rivers to administer the ordinance. They further claim, with the greatest assurance, to be the only true Church of Christ. THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 17 On the other hand, those known as Pedobaptists declare that QantL^oi (baptizo) would not be correctly rendered by the term immerse ; but that it is a generic term, implying only the rite of baptism, with no reference whatever to the mode. That baptism is symbolic, an emblem of the purifying influences of the Holy Spirit, and that the grand and leading type of purifi- cation, instituted by Jehovah himself, is sprinkling : that im- mersion can no where be found in the Bible as an ordinance, either implied, acknowledged, sanctioned or commanded.^' " That will do, George,^^ said the Elder Clayton, hitching nervously in his chair : it appears to me that is an unwarrant- able position/^ Unwarrantable ? exclaimed Mrs. Clayton, who had been rapidly brimming up, and, now there was one drop too many added, she went ofi" in a torrent : Unwarrantable, I guess it is — it's blasphemy ! I wish I'de throw'd the book into the fire ! I don't see what anybody wants to meddle with such things for. My father and mother lived and died in the Bap- tist Church, and that faith is good enough for me ; and now just to hear the like of that, that there an't any immersion in the Bible — It's blasphemy! that's what it is — I won't hear such stuff And she bolted from the room, slamming the door after her in a manner that enforced her opinions. There followed an awkward pause. George rolled his eyes up toward Anna, and drew down his mouth for an inaudible whistle : but Anna sat riveted to her chair, as though suddenly stricken by a power that deprived her of motion. Fortunately, the silence was broken by a horse and horseman coming up on a leisurely trot to the gate. The man dismounted, took off a capacious pair of saddlebags, and, pulling his hat down over his eyes, with true clerical dignity, walked up to the door. Elder Clayton greeted him warmly, and the two walked into the study. There now,'' said George, " that's what I call an interposi- 2* B 18 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, tion of Providence ; nothing else could have sent old Father Longwind here, just at this time, on one of his longwinded visits. Anna, what's the matter ! Why don't you look up ? " George, you won't turn away from me, will you, if all the rest of the world does ? — You will pity me ? " She said this in a tone of hopeless pleading. " Pity you ? Why, what for, Anna ? '' " I do not know what to do.'' Do ? Why let them blow away, to be sure : guess I'd read what I was a mind to, for all anybody says — if they don't want to hear it, why, they know their privilege." " But, George, they have been kind to me — as truly a father and mother to me as to you ; what have I — what am I — that I do not owe to their care and indulgence ? and to do anything to grieve them " As for that, it seems to me to be a small matter to read or not to read a book replied George, interrupting her. A small matter ! So it may seem to them and to you, but to me it is a fearful necessity. George, sit down here, and I will tell you how it is with me. I look around the world upon a strangely intermingled mass of good and evil. I see some natures almost wholly given up to depravity, rolling sin as a sweet morsel under their tongues, and others professing to be good, professing to be children of one common Father, recipients of the same Atoning blood, under the same laws, to be travellers and pilgrims here with one object, to labor in a common cause, and to be journeying to the same eternal blessed rest; — and yet I sec this body of professing Christians split up into factions, and so blinded by prejudice, as almost to forget their Master's work, in zeal for their own particular sect — it grieves me. And when one starts up and says. You are altogether wrong, and v)e are altogether right; your church is no church, and ours is the only true church — it startles me, and I wish to know by what right they urge such claims as these. Now I feel it THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 19 my duty to profess Christ before tlie world. I cannot do this without connecting myself with some existing body of Chris- tians. Can I do this blindly^ knowing but one sect^ and making this sect my Mastery's hingdom ? No ! I dare not. Should I go with my friends^ allowing them to be a guide to my con- science — believing as they believe^ simply because they believe it? Can they stand before the judgment-seat of Christ in my stead and answer for me ? No ! you know they cannot — then how can they here ? This matter is entirely between my soul and God. Do you not^ then, see that it is an imperative neces- sity with me, that I go contrary to their wishes? Do you wonder that I feel that it is at my soul's peril if I refuse to in- vestigate, decide, and act?^^ ^^That is very reasonable, Anna,^^ said George; ^^just so I have thought it over and over, only, you see, I sum it up differ- ently. I say to myself, that it is evident from the facts in the case, that the devil has it pretty much his own way, and will get the larger part of them, and me too, if we go on the way we are going; and " 0 George, I wish you felt a deeper interest in these things.^' ^^And so I would if all the world were like you, Anna; but there is no use talking about that. You said, Pity me — I do pity you, Anna, with your views of individual responsibility, your all-embracing brotherly love and fellowship, which I admit are true Gospel principles, and if lived out would make all the world Christians — with your clear insight into the absurdity of things, and your shrinking, sensitive soul — why, Anna^ if you are to be thrown into this whirlpool of contending elements and prejudices, you might, better by far, throw yourself into Maelstrom's whirling waters — faintly hoping at some time to be cast out upon the coast of Norway — that's my opinion.'^ " But, George, should I not follow the path of duty, no matter where it leads me ? " Yes, go on, Anna, and may Heaven guard you — and if it don't, I don't know what will..'' 20 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, " Thank you, George : that strengthens me, and I begin to feel brave to do, and strong to bear/^ " But, Anna,^^ said George, breaking the silence which fol- lowed, in which both seemed lost in their own thoughts, you have no conception of the strength of religious prejudices — you can never bear up against them. After all, I believe my philosophy is the wisest. What can a body do but take the world as he finds it : laugh at its absurdities, whether they be comic or tragic, and let it go at that. This world is a thankless master. How has it regarded some of its greatest benefactors whilst living ? You know how it was with our Savior. And even in modern times, you know how it has been with such men as Columbus, Galileo, Milton, Bunyan, Baxter, and a host of reformers. To be sure, after they were dead, they began to estimate what these men had done for the world's progress; and many of them have been toasted and lauded ever since in a way that must be astonishing to those illustrious shades, if they walk to and fro in the earth, and up and down in it, as a certain wicked one did in olden times. The fact is, Anna, if a luckless wight happens to stumble on an idea which is in ad- vance of the world^s progress, he is laughed at, and forthwith every ragged urchin or upstart in the street thinks it his duty to throw rotten eggs at him. What they do after his death an't of much consequence — wouldn^t be to me, anyhow : it don^t provide his bread and butter when he most wants it. So you see my philosophy is a sort of necessity to me, as yours is to you. Come, Anna, what do you say to that ? said George, for she was silent, sad, and thoughtful, with her eyes fixed on the floor. There is much truth in what you say, George. But it seems to me, when one gigantic mind soars up above its fellows, and grasps a principle involving a great good, and bestows it upon the world, free as the winds and waters of heaven, know- ing that the world will deride the gift, or its object, and the THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 21 one wlio bestowed it; refusing in its blindness or ignorance, or accepting it thanklessly, that that mind has arrived at the highest possible point of moral grandeur attainable in this world. He approaches the Divine standard, just in proportion to the unselfishness of the object. And I would rather be such an one, with bread and water for my food, the skins of beasts for my clothing, and a cave of the earth for my dwelling-place, than to have the wealth of princes, and live as selfishly as most of the world are living. No. Let us labor for the world's good. If there are evils, let us make an effort to eradicate them. Let not our own good be the one object of life, but also the good of others. Let us seek to know the right — to do the right — to maintain the right — live for it and die for it, if need be — we cannot die in a better cause.^^ " Poh ! Anna, you are an enthusiast — a dreamer ! True, it sounds well enough, but it won't do to live in this manner, the way the world goes now. The mischief is, every one thinks that he is right — no matter what absurd notions he gets into his head— he is right — he and his alone are right. And they invariably make up, for lack of argument to sustain their posi- tion, by pertinaciously insisting that the?/ know they're right But truth must triumph," responded Anna, and the world is making progress, though we need not trouble ourselves about the effect of this or that cause : the question is, is it right ? If it ts, then, there is the path of duty — walk ye in it. God con- trols the results. If I cannot convince all the world of truth, that is no reason why /should forsake it. If I cannot make this or that error appear to the minds of others — if I fail — my object was not so much to make others see as I see, as to satisfy my own conviction of duty, and to stand justified before God. It seems to me, that the first thing to be learned is, to know for myself what is truth, and then fearlessly to oppose the wrong." Anna, you are a brave girl. I believe you have motives to 22 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, actuate yon, and principles to sustain you, tliat I know nothing about. Why I verily believe you would walk up to the stake, as you would to your dinner. I thought that kind of people were all dead long ago. It must be that they are, Anna, and Tm afraid your notions will have to warp a little — just a little, you know — ^twould'nt be of much consequence, and the world would go on so much smoother.^' Anna did not reply. George was older, and had seen much more of the world : — his warning sounded fearfully ominous, and she inwardly prayed to be kept from the evil to come. Within the study which was on the second floor of the Clay- ton house, the two ministerial friends sat engaged in earnest conversation. The windows were thrown open to admit the lazy swells of air, that now and then lifted themselves up from the forest, swept over the meadows, rustled the corn-leaves, whispered to the locust-trees, which skirted the yard, and then playing with the window drapery, passed on, and with the softest of fingers lifted gently their locks, and sunk to rest on their damp brows. These windows overlooked not only forest, meadow and corn-field, but in the perspective there was a glimpse of the village of A , with its church-steeple over- topping the tallest trees, and appearing a common centre, around which the white houses were peeping through the foliage. This might have been suggestive to Elder Clayton, for his eyes were fixed on it as he listened to a graphic sketch of his friend's labors since last they met. It has really been a refreshing season,^' said Brother Long- wind, ^' a wonderful ingathering of souls this last winter. The Lord has truly been gracious to his people. Our churches are exceedingly prosperous wherever I have been." I would re- mark here in a pause of the speaker, as Elder Clayton fervently ejaculated, Thank the Lord," — that Father Longwind, as he was generally called, was a missionary employed by the associa- THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 23 tion with which he was connected^ to visit vacant fields^ build up new churches, and to strengthen the weak. " I understand/' he continued, that the Lord has been here with a blessing, bringing numbers into the flock, not forgetting your own house- hold — is it so. Brother Clayton?^' " It is true,'' replied Elder Clayton, " last Sabbath I baptized five, and there are others yet to come forward. A few perhaps are leaning towards the Methodists, but I think with a little looking after, they may all be brought along. By the way, have you any of our publications with you ? I think if I had some works on Baptism and Communion, to pass round here, they would be just the thing." Hav'nt got one with me — sorry — sold them all out ! You've no idea what numbers of them I'm scattering round, as I go from one town to another. I just say, here's a good book, would' nt you like to buy ? It is pleasantly written — cheap, too, only so much, and if you can't aflbrd to buy it, I will give it to you ; and the consequence is, of course, they take one or two, and sometimes a whole set. But, brother, I'm going to N to-morrow to get a new supply. These books are just what you want; I'll bring two or three sets on purpose for you, and I'll warrant that with them, you'll bring all your charge around right. How is it with Anna ? She was always quick and thoughtful. I used to think she was'nt far from ithe kingdom." "Well, I don't know, I wish you would talk with her. Mother and I thought, of course, she would come on at our last Covenant Meeting. Mother even prepared her clothes for the water ; but she said that she would rather wait ; and now she has got a book which she is reading, that I don't approve of at all ; indeed, I didn't know anything about it till to-day." "Ah! what is it?" " I really don't know myself, some theological discussion, I should think, though she had just commenced reading as you came in." 24 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, " I don't approve of women and children meddling with such matters at all/^ said Brother Longwind, with a long-drawn sigh, they make such bad work of it always. What can they know of the evidences pro and con, on questions which puzzle our wisest heads/^ " You know/^ said Brother Clayton, smiling, it is given to the simplest of this world to confound the wise ; and as to ca- pacity for perceiving points at issue, Anna is not much inferior to the best. I would like to have you talk with her ] you under- stand these things better than 1 do. The difficulty with Anna is, she is never satisfied until she sounds to the bottom of every- thing that interests her — she must go to the bottom — to the very bottom of everything. Come, Brother Longwind, let's walk down to the village ; I have some calls to make to-day.^' Thus saying, the two set out leisurely down the way, enjoying the deep shade of the maples, which skirted either side along the road, stretching on far over the point of the hill ; nor did they return till the sun had snatched a last burning kiss from the glowing hill-tops, over which the clouds hung, and blushed crimson at the sight. I've got some glorious news for you,^^ said George, bursting into the room where Anna was sitting, just at nightfall, with an open letter in his hand ; some glorious news for you, Anna ! My college chum, Halley, is coming down to the ' Old Bird's Nest.' I told him he'd better, for we were literally overflowing with milk and honey hero, with an abundance of maple 'lasses, and also another kind, much sweeter and rarer, with green fields, trout-brooks, and a trusty old musket also among our superfluities, besides other things too numerous to mention. And what's better yet, Anna, he's going to be here this very night." I think your friend will be welcome," said Anna, with a quiet smile. Well, Anna; you are refreshingly cool, anyhow. But, you THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 25 see, you don't discover the beauties of it as I do. Ilalley is a glorious fellow, as cute as a lawyer and as deep as a sage. I've heard him argue on these theological questions, and I tell you he can measure the length and breadth of them as well as any- body I ever saw. Why he talks like a preacher ; in fact, I believe he is going to make one.^^ ^^Ah!'' said Anna, her eye lighting up with interest, per- haps we may get some information from him, then." "Yes, that's it; and then you see I'll manage to put him against Father Longwind, and then we will have a treat." "Would not that be unkind?" said Anna; "perhaps Father Longwind would rather decline an argument." " Never you fear that, Anna ; he's always at it ; and be- sides," said George, dropping his gay smile and tone, " I want to shield you from the attack. Don't I know what's a coming ? I hav'nt lived in the world so long for nothing, I hope. But there comes the stage now, and as sure as I'm alive there's Halley too. An't he a splendid fellow?^' The person referred to jumped from the stage and walked with a quick step up the path, his eye wandering over the neatly arranged primroses, tulips, dahlias, etc., skirted with myrtle, violets, and moss, and a fuschia that hung its wealth of crimson blossoms as a window drapery. All these were evi- , dences of a delicate female taste, and his glance was one of warm appreciation. He was received by his friend George with a hearty shake and a " How are you, my boy ? " by Elder Clayton, with the warm salutation, " You are welcome, sir ! " by Anna, with a blush and a bow ; while Father Longwind extended a glance, with his hand, that measured him, length and breadth, from his head downward. But soon they were all equally interested in his easy flow of conversation and genial good spirits. It was late in the night before the tide of conversation ebbed on the shore of silencC; and they individually sought repose. 3 26 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, CHAPTER II. "'Twixt truth and error there's this difference known: Error is fruitful, truth is only owe." — <*Let party names no more The Christian world o'erspread; Gentile and Jew, and bond and free, Are ONE in Christ, their Head." A MORNING in June ! Who can describe the unfolding richness of a J une day ? No artist can portray it on canvass, though he have more than mortal powers, and the inspiration to catch the mellow gold melting into shade, before which the Stars pale, whilst underneath the earth lies, half concealed, spread out like a vision of fairy land. But where are the thou- sand dew-gems, which hang like so many pearls from every grass-blade, and rustle within the leaves and flowers, with a star in each liquid bosom ? Where the thousand songsters, starting from their leafy coverts with a burst of melody that echoes from the overhanging heights ? Where the rich, all-pervading consciousness of life, which thrills the soul of the inanimate as well as of the animate world, and finds an answering pulsa- tion in your own ? Where the perfumes, which mount up to- ward heaven like pure incense from a thousand shrines ? And where the ever-changing skies, which vary but to put on now THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 27 splendor, till the day-king, fairly started on his triumphal march, lifts his burning eye above the hill-tops and bids the world good-morrow^^ ? Ah! the picture presented by the Divine hand shows a difference from the copy, which is only measured by the line drawn between the finite and the infinite — who can measure it? Never dawned there a fairer morning than the one which opened to our friends on the morrow of yesternight. The sun^s level rays lit up the hill-tops, and stole noiselessly down over woodland and meadow, until the Clayton House was all a-blaze with light; though it tried in vain to penetrate the window- hangings, which were drawn closely last eve, to shut out the darkness. All the windows were closed save one; and this was thrown widely open, and in it, with the sunbeams kindling like a halo of glory around her pale face, was Anna, reading. The open Bible was on her knee, and her eyes were resting on that sublime psalm of David, so beautifully appropriate at such an hour — " The heavens declare the glory of God, and the fir- mament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.^^ It had been a troubled night to Anna. The incidents of the previous day had disturbed her more than she would confess to other than herself. Hitherto her wants had been met in the rough but kindly natures around her ; for they had loved her, and in her own peculiar realm of poetic thought and feeling, she had but dreamed — now had come the time to act. A deep fountain of her soul, which hitherto had not been stirred, was broken up ; and, " as deep calleth unto deep,'^ so her soul called for a depth that could measure her own. She could share / 28 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, many thoughts with George, but there was a holy of holies'' that even he could not enter ; and as its solemn depths rolled up, and broke billow against billow, its unsatisfied yearnings called as unceasingly as the voice of the ocean, My mother ! oh, my mother ! '' Back in the depths of memory, there was a soft hand, and loving eyes, which looked down deeply within her own soul, and a voice — a tremulous voice there was, that soothed her with its melody, — Would to God," said Anna, half audibly, with a deep sigh and starting tears, " Would to God I could feel that hand now upon my throbbing brow, that I could lay my head upon that maternal bosom, and pour out my soul there also, as I would to God ! My mother ! 0 my mother ! Can you see your sorrowing child — do you know the yearnings of her heart But no mother answered — no mother came. The young soul, trembling in its first bitter life experience, must tread the way alone — no, not alone — thou and thy God, Anna, what need of more ! There came no mother, it is true, but a still small voice whispered to Anna's soul these comforting words, ^' When thy father and thy mother forsake thee, then the Lord will take thee up. Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will bring it to pass." Close your eyes, rest as securely as an infant in its mother's bosom ; wake with the dawn, and go on thy way rejoicing, for I am thy God; in me is your strength, my arm never wearies, my eyes never slumber. That voice, which said to the troubled sea, "Peace, be still!" can only still the waves that lash the soul's deep ; and in obedience to that voice, bathed in the sunlight of his glorious smile. Such moments arc a foretaste of heaven, and only come when we feel our earthly props giving way under us, and like sink- ing Peter, cry out, "Lord, save, or 1 perish!" THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 29 Anna was just waking up to the consciousness that she was all alone in the world. True, those with whom she lived, filled the place of parents in outward relations, but she knew enough of human nature to realize that the ties which bound them had not the strength of kindred blood; and whether they would stand the hour of trial, was the question that presented itself in the solemn hour of night, and in which was involved many prayers and tears. She owed them a debt — a deep debt of gra- titude, and would it not be right to submit to them in all things, and follow their dictation ? Ah ! she would gladly do it, were it not that she now recognized a higher authority, and had given up all claims to herself, into the hands of her Savior. He said, " Search the Scriptures, for they testify of me.^^ It was a personal command, no one could do it for her, and if in searching she should be led to differ — ah ! the bare thought was fearful in its uncertainty of results; but ^^God being my helper, I will be true to my own sou^ she exclaimed, ^' and 0 thou great God, guide me into thy truth ! In that hour of the solemn night-time, no one dreamed that she — the timid, retiring Anna — was determining a point that involved her future through all her natural life, and stretched on into eternity with results that none but God could fathom. No human being was aware of it, but angels were, and they hovered around with untold interest. What joy there must have been in heaven when they bore up her fervent petition and solemn resolve, God being my helper, I will be true to my own soul ; and thou, 0 God, guide me into thy truth ! Soft as an angeFs whisper stole these words through her mind, and soothed and strengthened her : "Hate what God hath written hateful In great letters on thy soul; Ever minding to read rightly Every sign upon the scroll. 3* 30 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, Love what Jesus taught thee lovely; Cherish all the angels bring; Not affecting one pulsation For the fitness of the thing. Worship as the Spirit moves thee; Wear no gyves upon thy faith. When the heavens are open to thee, Hear what the Revealer saith. Thou and God! sublime relation, Drifting through eternity, Whelming human speculation, And merging earthly vanity ! " The sun was now several hours high, as Father Longwind exclaimed for the third or fourth time, " really, I must be going, I must be off, or I shall not get to N to-day. It is hard work to go away from you. Brother Clayton ! Miss Anna,'^ he said, taking a seat near her, they tell me that you have found the Lord precious to your soul. I have been wanting to congratulate you on so happy an event : do you find that your enjoyments increase " I think that I find in religion the only true enjoyment on earth," she replied. ^^Ah! yes; all else is vanity, Wanity of vanities,^ saith the preacher. Now you must go on, it is a progressive life — step after step to be taken ; you have taken one, now the next one is to put on Christ openly before the world. One may not pause after taking the first ; but take the second, and the third, and so on to the end of the race." He paused, and looked in her face for a reply, but she was silent, and embarrassed. She felt Ilalley^s eyes fixed on her, and the family were all listening cwjcrljj for her response, but it was more the consciousness of the motive that prompted the inquiry, which caused her em- barrassment. You have read in your Bible," Father Longwind continued, THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 31 ^Hhat those wlio believed were baptized. Tbe eunucb said, ^ See, bere is water, what dotb hinder me ? ^ Philip replied, ^ If thou believest with all thy heart, thou mayest.^ He un- derstood his next duty, and was anxious to do it without delay. So in every instance, ^believe and be baptized^ was the divine command, and it seems to me that it is equally binding on you and me, and every believer on the Lord Jesus Christ. Don^t you think so, Anna?^^ Perhaps it is," Anna replied, with the flush deepening on her cheek; ^^but it seems to me, that there might now be a reasonable excuse for delay, which could not possibly exist at that time; in fact, that delay would not only be excusable, but haste criminal." She paused, confused at her own boldness, in daring to express an opinion which she knew would be dis- approved by her listeners. But what can I do ? she thought, if I speak at all, it must be what I think to be the truth. After a moment's hesitation, she continued, " Then, the meaning of every command was distinctly understood in its length and breadth, its application and force. They not only had the per- sonal teachings of Christ, but were divinely endowed to com- prehend even the dark and. hidden things pertaining to the plan of salvation. And they were familiar with the manners and customs of the people of that age, and their habits of thought. All of these things are modifying circumstances which are to be considered, and will certainly be taken into consideration by our Heavenly Father and Judge. As proof positive that these things are not so clearly understood now, you have but to look around on the Christian world — all Christians believe that they are right, yet they widely diJQfer on many points." " Yet if I read my Bible right," said Father Longwind, the essentials of the plan of salvation are made so plain, that a wayfaring man, though a fool, need not err therein." " True the essentials must be, otherwise God's revelation 32 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, would not be perfect, and God cannot produce an imperfect tiling/^ said Anna. " And are not the essentials, repentance, faith, and baptism ? ^ He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned/^' Father Longwind,^^ said Anna, " you must not propound questions to me as you would to a sage. If my mind was satis- fied on all these points, I should not be so earnestly inquiring after the truth as I am. I do not feel myself competent to speak on these subjects : I am so young a student of the Gospel. But it seems to me, that of the essentials of salvation, repent- ance is undoubtedly one; for we read in Matt. iv. 17, that ' from that time J esus began to preach, and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.' It seems that repentance was the burden of his preaching, and faith is everywhere repre- sented as the keystone of salvation. Saith Jesus, in JoUn vi. 47, ^Verily, verily I say unto you, he that believeth on me, hath everlasting life.' I also find that a continuance, or hold- ing out, is represented as essential ; for Jesus says, in Matt. x. 22, ^ Ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake : but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.' But as to baptism, if you refer to water baptism, I have never been able to find the proof in the Word of God." " But what do you make of this text ? " said Father Long- wind ; ' He that believeth and ^s haptlzed shall be saved' ? Is there not the provision of baptism */ There are two provisions only — believing, or faith, and haptlsm?^^ Anna hesitated and looked inquiringly at George — his glance said, go on, as plainly as eyes could express it, and she replied : I think John the Baptist throws some light on that point, when he says, in Mark i. 3, ^ I indeed have baptized you with water, but He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.' And Jesus, when assembled with his disciples for the last time before his ascension, said unto them, as recorded in Acts i. 5, THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 33 ^ For J ohn truly baptized with water^ but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence/ Here Christ's baptism is clearly defined, and contrasted with John^s, as it is in many other passages in the Gospels which I could name. The baptism referred to in this text, is undoubtedly that which regenerates the soul, otherwise why should it be spoken of in connection with the soul's salvation ? As Paul testifies in Ephesians iv. 30, ' Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.' I could not for one moment imagine it to refer to water baptism, which is but a type of the true ; as it would thereby be giving an external rite an importance nowhere sanctioned in the Gospel. To be- lieve it, would be to believe that it is a saving ordinance, and not only all Gospel but all church experience proves that to be false. J esus says in J ohn vi. 63, ' It is the Spirit that quick- eneth, the flesh profiteth nothing.^ Father Longwind was becoming more and more surprised at the readiness with which his questions were answered, but affected a little laugh as he replied : " 0 no, of course we don't think immersion a saving ordinance, of course not, only veri/ important. I always had my doubts about that passage myself. Fve been rather in the habit of thinking that Christ probably meant both — the thing itself — which is the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and water baptism, which is the image or shadow of the other. Don't you think so. Brother Clayton Undoubtedly he did,'' Brother Clayton replied. It must be confessed that Elder Clayton never had very clear ideas about these points, and did not know what else to say. Halley, who had been listening attentively to the conversa- tion, with his eyes wandering over the lawn, resting now on the trees which shook their stalwart branches in the breeze, and then on the grass and flowers, still fresh with the morning dew, and sparkling in the sunshine, smiled at this last idea, and said, pointing to a great oak before them, ^^I suppose if Brother c 34 ANNA CLAYTON; OR^ Longwind was telling us about that tree, describing to us its value^ if used as timber in building a sbip to carry our com- merce to the four quarters of the earth, that he would not ex- pect us to understand him as meaning both the tree and its shadow f I think the shadow would hardly compare with the substance in utility. In fact, that shadow, and all shadows, are of no use whatever, save it be to serve as a type of the sub- stance ; and are utterly insignificant and worthless when sepa- rately considered. Would it not, then, be as unreasonable to suppose that Christ would include both the thing itself and its shadow or type, when speaking of its power to save the soul, as that you would include both the tree and its shadow in build- ing a ship ? You would succeed as well in building ships of oah shadows, as making Christians of water shadows 0 yes, yes, yes,^' said Father Lpngwind with another laugh, that seems to be plain enough ) but. Miss Anna, you cannot deny that the Apostles strictly enjoined it upon believers; or at least invariably practised it on profession of their faith in Jesus Christ?'' It seemed to be the act,'' replied Anna, through which they made a profession of their faith to the world. Its use was to say to all mankind. We, baptized ones, acknowledge ourselves the followers of J esus, to have faith in his atonement, and in the sanctifying influences of the Holy Ghost." 1 don't see but what you understand it perfectly well," continued Father Longwind, I can't see what is in your way, Anna; is it anything about the mode and he scrutinized her face again for a reply. Anna would gladly have avoided that point, but the question was asked, and must be answered, and so with much hesitation, she said ; I confess that I am not quite satisfied on that point yet, and am investigating it; I hope soon to arrive at the truth, and then, when I know my duty, and how to perform it, I intend to do it without further delay." THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 35 ^^Yes, yes/^ Father Longwind remarked, musingly, drum- ming in the mean time with his fingers on the window-sill, " Yes, investigation is a very good thing where one has the means to carry it on to any great extent. Partial investigation, however, I think, sometimes does more hurt than good. You know the poet says : *' Drink deep, or taste not, the Pierian spring." " I am never satisfied with partial draughts,^^ replied Anna, smiling ; " though I hardly think it will be required to go be- yond the means that I can command. If every one lives up to all the light he can get from the word of God, I think he will be justified.^^ "Just so^ just so,^^ responded Father Longwind; "I think perhaps I may be able to assist you a little. I know of some excellent works on this subject; I guess I'll bring them down on my way back. Yes, yes ; this investigatigating spirit is very commendable, I think. But really I must be going, or I shan't get back to-morrow.^^ Thus saying, the good man made his bow with a kind adieu, and departed on his way, w^ondering who had been the teacher in the recent interview. Mother Clayton had been listening with a degree of interest which was only evinced by the clinking of her knitting-needles ) Thatching for fear there might be a thrust at her favorite creed. She heaved a deep sigh of relief as the conversation ceased, and said that she was glad Father Longwind was going to take the matter in hand, if the thing must be agitated; but for her part, she did not see why they could not let well enough alone. Thus saying, to the great relief of her pent-up thoughts, she went out to attend to her culinary duties, and was soon heard sing- ing, in her own peculiar minor and nasal voice, the familiar hymn, *'A charge to keep I have;" from which she soon struck off into another, equally familiar : **Hark! the voice of love and mercy Sounds aloud from Calvary." 36 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, Love and mercy ! tliought Anna ; " Love and mercy ! These are tlie two controlling principles wliich moved our Sa- vior to offer himself as an atonement for our sins. Oh, what an infinite sacrifice it took to atone for a guilty world ! In our stead the eternal Son of God bore the stripes of an angry Fa- ther, and by his stripes we are healed ! Then arose before her mind that memorable scene when, assembled with his disciples for the last time before his crucifixion, when the bread was broken and the wine drunk, how he said unto them, He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it i-s that loveth me. This is my commandment, that ye love one another as I have loved you.^' And again he said, ^^I command jou that ye love one another. After these things he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said. Father, the hour is come ; glorify thy Son, that thy Son may also glorify thee. I have manifested thy name unto the men thou gavest me out of the world : thine they were, and thou gavest them to me, and they have kept thy word. Neither pray I for these alone, but for those also which shall believe on me through their word. That they may all be one J as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee : that they may also be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me.^^ ''Oh, how the?/ love one another I thought Anna, as her mind ran over the present phase of the Christian world. Could not the prayer of the Infinite Son of God avail at such an hour to. keep them one^ Ah, if they are not one^ they onust be! That prayer must have its fiulfilment — must be answered. ^^For I know that thou hearcst me always,^' saith Jesus. Make them one, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.^' 0 thou great God, speed that hour when all thy people shall be one in the truth, that the unbelieving of this generation rise not up in judgment to condemn us. THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 37 CHAPTER III. He is a freeman wliom the truth makes free, And all are slaves beside." *'0h, grant ns grace, Almighty Lord, To read and mark thy holy word; Its truths with meekness to receive, And by its holy precepts live ! " Mr. Halley/' said Anna^ looking up from the book in whicli she had been absorbed the last two hours^ " Mr. Halley, I have found a difficulty in the way which is utterly beyond my power to remove^ and I shall be under the necessity of call- ing on my friends.'^ This was a few days subsequent to the incidents related in the last chapter; during which time Father Longwind had returned with the promised theological works^ one of which Anna was now perusing. ^'^ This argument/^ she continued, " which would seem candid and fair to the careless reader, assumes, to build on, a position which is a disputed one, not even intimating that it was ever questioned.^^ " It is not every one who looks so well after the foundation- stones,^' said Halley. ^^The world takes it for granted that what seems fair is fair. But what is your difficulty ? If it is in my power to help you, I shall be happy to do so.'' ^' It is this : here it is assumed that |3artrifco (haptizo), which is the original Greek word that is rendered hajytize in our translation, means, ^to dip,' ^to plunge,' Ho overwhelm,' and is never used in any of its forms to convey any other meaning 4 38 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, Reference is here made to Greek lexicons, in which it is traced from its root up, and shown in every instance to convey the idea of dipping. This point assumed, it then goes on to build the superstructure on this platform. Now my difficulty is here : no reference is made that would lead me to suppose that this was ever questioned ; but I think I have heard that it was ; and before I go on, I must have this point settled. For if this platform should be knocked from under, the beautiful super- structure would hang betwixt the heavens and the earth, be- longing to neither.'^ That's the idea, sis,'^ said George ; but an't it kinder scary business, digging round these old platforms ? Seems to me there might be danger of being buried up in the rubbish. There is little to be feared from that quarter,^' said Halley. If you had ever travelled over the Great Desert, you would probably have seen, rising from its arid sands, trees, fountains, walls, pillars, and dome, w^ith all the real magnificence of a kingly palace — very lovely to gaze upon ] but if you had at- tempted a closer view, the deceitful mirage would have vanished in the air. So it is with many a splendid structure of the human brain : seemingly perfect and complete when viewed in the distance superficially; but commence an investigation of its several parts, and you will find that spire, dome, roof, walls, pillars, and deep foundation-stones, are alike composed of air, reared in air, and ever ready to vanish before every rough breath which may be blown against them — like soap-bubbles which the younger children amuse themselves with. Truth harmonizes with all the words and works of God. It is an Eternal Rock, against which dash the ceaseless waves of false- hood and error, but without effect, save to recoil upon them- selves. And the combined powers of the elements and forces of the world beating against it, and all the united efforts of the whole human race digging about it with the spade of thought, only reveal more clearly its comely proportions, and its strength and immutability THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 89 *^Just so/^ said Anna. ^^Now if this be truth/' — holding up the volume she had been reading, — ^^it will bear investiga- tion. And now just help me to dig about it^ that we may be satisfied whether it be the spurious or the true.'' I will do so with the greatest of pleasure/' said Halley, provided it is agreeable to all. If you, George, and Elder Clayton, and mother Clayton, too/' he said, with a smile and a bow to that good lady, in whose good graces he had most suc- cessfully worked himself, if you will take hold of it with me, we will examine it as carefully as we can, and see if it will bear investigation, and the impress of truth, when placed alongside of Grod's word — for his word is truth." ^^0, of course we are. willing," said Elder Clayton, "though I don't pretend to know much about these nice points." "Yes, let's into it/' said George; "I'm getting interested myself. I an't sure but I shall come out'a D. D. yet." " I hope you will come out anything but that," said the mother, glancing with true maternal pride on her handsome boy, with his open-hearted ingenuous expression of countenance. " Let us have a statement of the first position, then," said Halley. " It is," Anna replied, " as I have already stated, that hap- tize^ which in the original is a Greek word, and in the Greek form is Qamn^ia (haptizo)^ invariably means to dip, to plunge^ to overwhelm. The meaning of the word, as used by Christ and the Apostles, seems to me to be truly the starting-point. If we can determine what the idea was, which was conveyed, when he said, ' Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost / then, I think, we shall have found an immutable truth, around which will cluster others." " Or rather," said Elder Clayton, " what that act was, which was performed, when Christ was baptized of John in Jordan." " Either one/' said Anna, " though I prefer the command— 40 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, the commission with which the disciples were empowered — as it is the only authority I can find in the teachings of Christ, which is at all satisfactory to me/' ^^AYhat!'' exclaimed Elder Clayton, ^^is not example better than precept What evidence would there have been/' said Anna, of its being for our example, if he had not said, ' Go ye into all the world, baptizing them/ '' " True/' said Elder Clayton, but I think the idea is easier to get at, in my text, than in yours." " Well, then," said Anna, " let that be the trial text. I think it is found in Mark i. 9. Here it is, it reads, ^And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.'" By one party it is understood," said Halley, ^Hhat Jesus was dipped of John in Jordan. Is not that so, Mr. Clayton ?" " It is," replied the Elder. ^^And by the other," Halley continued, ^Hhat John there administered to him the ordinance of baptism. Now for the testimony on the respective sides." What's that? the rite of baptism?" asked Elcier Clayton. '■^ I suppose you mean that it was administered by pouring or sprinkling?" I mean," said Halley, smiling, that Mark records nothing about the mode by which it Avas administered ] but simply states that it was administered by John to Jesus." Then you are not an advocate of sprinkling ? I thought it could' nt be possible, right in the face and eyes of such testi- mony!" said the old man with evident relief. ^^Just listen, ' Jesus was baptized of John in Jordan / what could that mean, but that he was immersed in the river of Jordan ?" ^' will look at it," said Halley, ^^and sec what bearing the evidences have on the point in question. I never intend," he continued, ^^to advocate anything but what I have good THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 41 reason for believing. Whatever there may be elsewhere for sprinkling, it certainly is not to be supported by anything found here ; and it remains to be seen if there is anything in favor of dipping.'^ I would suggest/' said George, as hai^tize is the disputed word, that we first examine the context wherever it occurs, with reference to the two ideas ) that is, of dipping, and of the rite of baptism, before we take up the word itself I was about to suggest the same idea,'' said Anna ; it seems that there must be sufficient evidence in the Bible alone. I always feel sure that what I find there, there can be no mis- take about." " I am not particular, as it regards the process by which the investigation is to be made," said Halley, " provided we get the evidences where we can look at them as a wliole. The one great cause of the divisions and strifes that are now, and ever have been, agitating the Christian world, arises simply from the false and circumscribed manner of studying the word of God. For example, take the different views on the Divinity of Christ. One reads, where it says, ' the Man Christ Jesus / and forth- with he concludes that he is a mere man — a good man to be sure — but only a man, nevertheless, and boldly points to God's truth for his testimony. Another finds a passage where he is spoken of as Creator — as being with God, and as being God — • and thereupon builds a theory on the other extreme, making him altogether Divinity; and to make that seem consistent and plausible, deifies his mother, too. But others with more ex- tended and enlightened views, gather all the testimony, and viewing it as a whole, find truth — the truth — on the middle ground, the union of the human and divine, a God-man." Is not that the proper v/ay to study anything ? " asked Anna. ^' Certainly it is," he replied. It is a universal principle in obtaining correct knowledge of any subject whatever. And 4* 42 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, especially is this important^ where there is involved a know- ledge of spiritual; or perhaps a blending of the spiritual and material/^ ^^But it seems to me/^ said Elder Clayton, ^Uhat we are wandering; I am anxious to get at the investigation/^ We are only discussing the principles on which to inves- tigate/^ said Anna. " It is necessary that we should under- stand them, in order to rightly understand each other ; and also to get them plainly in sight, or we may not get the right road/' And it is equally necessary that we should keep them in Right,'' said Halley ; " or we may lose the way even after start- ing right. In the first place, as has been suggested, we are to examine the context wherever the disputed word occurs, with reference to the two ideas, that is, of dippingj and the rite of baptism. In Matthew, third chapter, it is first found. I will turn to it and read it, supplying the word dipped for baptized. ^ In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilder- ness of Judea, and saying, Bepent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he of whom it is spoken by the prophet Esaias, saying : The voice of one crying in the wilderness. Prepare ye, the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. And the same J ohn had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins, and his meat was locusts and wild honey. There went out to him all Jerusalem, and J udea, and all the region round about J ordan ; and were dipped of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his dipping^ he said unto them, 0 ye generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come ? Bring forth, therefore, fruits meet for repentance, and think not to say within your- selves^ We have Abraham for our father : for I say unto you, that Gt realJf/ fell, is proved, or reasserted and corroborated by what 5-^ 54 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, follows : ^ And Jesus heing full of the IIolij GJiostj returned from Jordan, and was led hy the Spirit into the wilderness;' not to work on him a cleansing and sanctifying process, but ivith him for the salvation of the world. It was not enough for Jesus to die — true, he made full expiation for sin by so doing — but the world was to be convinced by it that he was their Savior, and had made reconciliation possible. Saith Jesus, ' The Spirit shall reprove the world of sin, and of righteous- ness, and of judgment ;' and again, ' He shall guide you into all truth ;' and we are taught clsewere, that through the Holy Spirit we are sanctified and sealed ; and so you see the work of the Spirit is just as important to fallen humanity in the economy and great plan of redemption, as the sufferings and death of Christ. Our Savior himself says : ^ Unless ye are born again, ye cannot enter into the kingdom of God.^ 0, I see ! " exclaimed Anna ; " it was to be through a united effort that the work was to be accomplished; and this is simply a record of hoio and ivhcn the Spirit came down to begin the work with Christ. It fell on him really and visibly, and he afterward communicated it to his disciples. Here is the text. John xx. 22 ; ' And when he said this, he breathed on them, and said, Tieceive ye the Holy Ghost.' '' In Mark i. 30,'' said Halley, " Jesus asks the question, ^ The baptism of John, v/as it from heaven or of men ? Answer me.' " ^' Had I been there," said George, quickly, "I would have answered that if it was simply for the purpose of wetting them, it was quite evident to one where it came from." The word occurs," continued Halley; ^^but once more in Matthew. You will find it in the 28th chapter and 19th verse, ^ Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.' This, I believe, is claimed by all ms the commission of their Lord ; but as the context throws no light on the form, we will pass it over for the present Next in order is the testimony of THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 55 Mark. He repeats faithfully the words of Matthew, ^ I have indeed baptized you with water, but He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.' And Mark x. 38-39, we have a repetition of what Matthew says about the cup of suffering, and the bap- tism of the Holy Ghost ;^ and Mark xi. 30, the question as to the baptism of J ohn, whether of heaven or of men ? And John xvi. 15, there is a repetition of the commission, though in a somewhat different form. It reads, ' Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature;' and in the 19th verse, as the effects of the preaching, and what further was to be done, ' He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; but he that believeth not shall be damned.' We have already found what baptism is referred to here, which has the power to seal the soul unto redemption." " I would like to read it," said Anna ; " and supply the word immersed. If baptism always means immerse, it means it here : ' He that believeth and is immersed shall be saved ; but he that believeth not shall be damned.' Could that mean / dipped or immersed in water ?^ " Do you believe it does. Elder Clayton ? " said Halley. We don't believe that a person must be dipped or immersed in water to be saved," responded Elder Clayton. " 0, no, of course we don't believe any such thing. There are infants, they never are immersed, and don't need to be ; and I suppose others are saved, too, who have never been immersed. 0, no, we don't believe that ! " " Then there must be one place where baptize does not mean immerse," said Halley; ^^and I never heard a sensible person claim that there was any dipping with the Holy Ghost ! I have always heard that the dipping was in likeness of the burial of Jesus Christ!" " So it is," responded Elder Clayton. You know I told you I was'nt posted on these points, and so you must wait until Brother Burton comes, and he will clear it all up I am sure." 55 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, Tliis^ then/' said Halley, " ends the testimony of Mark. Luke is next in order. His testimony of John's baptism, and the Holy Ghost baptism, is essentially the same as that of Mat- thew and Mark, nor does he throw any new light on the sub- ject. In Luke xii. 50, we have a new text in part, which reads, ' I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straitened until it be accomplished.'^ I thought,'' said Elder Clayton ; " that there was a baptism of suffering, somewhere, and here it is." " We will read in its connection," said Halley ; " and see if it will bear that construction. ' I am come to send fire on the earth, and what will I, if it be already kindled ? But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straitened until it be accomplished. Suppose ye that I am come to bring peace on earth ? I tell you, nay, but divisions. For, from hence- forth, there shall be five in one house, divided three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son,' and so on. Now what is Christ talking about ? Anna, you have been studying this passage attentively, can you tell us?" " It seems to be," she replied : the effects of the Gospel in the earth, how they shall be divided, one against another; and I'm sure this has been literally fulfilled." ^Tire and sword," said Halley; ^^are always figures of strife, divisions and persecutions. Christ did not literally bring these, but they arose from opposition to his Gospel in the hearts of men. When God's truth comes in contact with error and sin, there must needs be a clashing of the two, as they cannot dwell together. ^And what will I, if it be already kindled?' Al- ready the contest between light and darkness had commenced. The great Light of the world had come into it, but the world hated him, and would not receive his word, nor the evidence of his mission. He cast his omniscient eye .down along the shores of time, and saw the lighted fagot, the reeking sword THE INQUll^ER AFTER TRUTH. 57 greedy for massacre, death and extermination^ and all tlie hor- rors — the untold miseries through which the truth would struggle on, until it should gain the ascendency, and cover the face of the whole earth. Truly he exclaimed, ' I am come to send fire on the earth, and what will I, if it be already kindled ? But before this can come to pass, I have a mission to fulfill, I must still continue to heal the sick, and cleanse the leper, for a testimony of the truth ; and soon must suficr, die, rise again, and ascend to my Father, to accomplish that whereunto I am sent. Then I will reign until all enemies are put under my feet.^ " You would infer,^^ said Anna ; that baptism there com- prehends more than his sufferings?^' ^^Suffering's alone, do not, by any means, to my mind, the idea in the connection,^' said Halley. He is speaking of the effects of his Gospel, and the atonement which he has made, on the world ] and although his sufferings are an important part, yet nothing he did was unimportant ; any part left out, would have made it incomplete. I judge, then, as he was speaking of its efiects as a wJiole upon the world, that he certainly re- ferred to it here as aivJiole, when he said, ^ Now am I straitened till it be accomplished.' I understand this baptism to mean his mission, through which he established his kingdom, and would effect his end — which end was the world's salvation." This view," said Anna; gives it both force and consist- ency. This view will not conflict with Matthew's statement, as it was through the agency of the Holy Spirit also, that this was to be brought about. I never could comprehend how a God, though clad with the senses and feelings of a man, would speak, in view of mei^e suffering for a short season, with more feeling and greater shrinking from it, than men often do, than thousands of his followers — the holy martyrs — have done. But I can readily conceive how, when his eye took in the luhole vieiOy all the importance and bearing of man's redemption in 58 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, the economy of Jehovah's plan ; and that to accomplish it, he must struggle hand to hand with death, conquer hell, burst the bands of the grave asunder, and rise, triumphant over all, up to the bosom of his Father. I can readily conceive how he might well exclaim, ^ How am I straitened until it be accom- plished In doing this, he was doing the work of a God — none but God could accomplish such a mission ; but human nature, weak as it is, can suffer even to death, and still not complain/' It seems to me,'' said Elder Clayton ; " that this text is a little ambiguous in its meaning; at least I don't know as I can explain it, so as to make it more reasonable than the view you have taken of it." This, then, ends the testimony of Luke,'^ said Halley. ^^In the first chapter of John, the same history of John the Baptist is given. But in John iii. 22-26, we have another new text on this subject. ^ After these things, came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judea, and there he tarried with them and baptized. And John was also baptizing in Enon near to Salim, because there was much water there; and they came and were baptized: for John was not yet cast into prison. Then there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews, about purifying. And they came unto John, and said unto him, Babbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou bearest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.' " Here is an important truth !" exclaimed Anna. *^ As many times as I have read this chapter, my attention was never called to it before. We have found by a course of reasoning, and plain and direct inference, that water baptism has a spiritual import. What that spiritual significance is, we have also dis- covered. But here is indisputable testimony, directly to the point, ^Thcn there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the JewS; purifijing. And the same camo THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 59 unto John, and said, Eabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, the same baptizeth, and all men come unto him/ The dispute was about purifying, and that purifying was baptism, symbolized by water baptism/' If it was a purifying of the flesh/' said George; ^^then it follows that John was 2i public washer I And if John was only a public washer, then of what importance must have been this mission of his from heaven ? '' Your alternative is a true one,'' said Halley ; but I think few would like to choose that horn of the dilemma. The Jews," he continued, were familiar with all the ideas of puri- •fying. Those who discussed this question, were Jews; and their rites were divided into two great classes — those which were significant of purification, and those signifying an atonement for sin. Their many sacrifices perpetually bleeding and smoking on their altars, pointed them forward most forcibly to the great sacrifice which was to be made once for all; and when they ob-. served their rites for purification, they were taught the neces- sity of their souls being clean and free from sin, that thereby they might be made acceptable worshippers before God. Many a Jew overlooked this, and trusted to the external ordinance, and by so doing lost his birthright. Paul told them that the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprink- ling the unclean, could not do more than purify the flesh, they were mere emblems of a higher and spiritual purification. See Heb. ix. 23, ^It was therefore necessary that the pafteims of things in the heavens should be purified with these (referring to these sacrifices), but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these,' — which sacrifice was Christ. Under the new dispensation, we have two ordinances comprehending the meaning of the Mosaic ritual — the old dispensation. The Lord's Supper points us most feelingly back to that great atone- ment which has been made for our souls, in the same manner as the many sacrifices of the Jews pointed them forward to the 60 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, same great atonement whicli would he made for their souls. Baptism points us to the Holy Spirit's influence, through which we are cleansed, made pure, and fitted for the companionship of holy beings in heaven, as the washings and sprinklings of the Jews pointed them to the same. God's people are one at all ages of the world. Not one jot or tittle of God's law ever has or ever will change ; for it is founded on principles as eter- nal as God himself. As a sovereign, he has reserved to him- self the perfect right to change the external rites or forms, through which these external principles are revealed to the minds of men^ whenever it seemeth to him good. But th^ principles themselves are a part of God, and cannot be changed unless God himself ceases to be. He has never yet saved a soul from Adam down to this hour, except through faith -on our Lord Jesus Christ; and never will, except through faith in him until the end of time.^^ What a beautiful and wonderful system is this ! exclaimed Anna; her eyes fixed and dilating as though looking at some- thing in the distance intensely interesting. Before the retina of her mind, was the Savior lifted up on the Cross, as the ser- pent was lifted up in the wilderness ; and over him the inscrip- tion in letters of living gold, Look and Live,^^ and around him were the millions of the congregated world ; and behold all to whom were given eyes of fiiith, saw him as clearly in the future as in the past. Glorious sight ! Very like to that, we may suppose, which will burst upon our astonished vision in heaven ! Half unconsciously, Anna repeated these lines : There saints of all ages in harmony meet, Their Savior rother Burton ? " I think it must be admitted," replied Brother Burton, that he has very few superiors in the classics, and in Biblical literature.'' THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 71 Let US see then, George, wliat he says about this matter/' continued Elder Clayton. ^' Ba^trtfco (haptizo), to dip in, to sinJc, to immerse^ to wash, to lave, to cleanse hy washing^ to hap>tize, to administer the rite of baptism, either that of J ohn or of Christ/' " Now what can our Pedo friends say to that ? '' exclaimed Brother Burton with an air of triumph. " You say truly/' remarked Halley, " that Mr. Robinson is the best Greek scholar in our country ; he truly is inferior to none, and his researches have been very extended in this de- partment, and also in that of Biblical literature. Hand me the book, if you please, George, and let me see what he says in a note under the word |3a;t7-tfco (baptizo^ : here it is, page 119 : it reads : In the earliest Latin versions of the New Testament, as for example, the Itala, which Augustine regarded as the best of all, and which goes back apparently to the second cen- tury, and to usage connected with the apostolic age, the Greek verb ^3artrtfco is uniformly given in the Latin form haptizo, and is never translated by immergo or any like word ; showing that there was something in the rite of baptism to which the latter did not correspond." ^^If I were a lawyer, as I expect to be some day," said George ) I should ask Mr. Bobinson what he means by saying that a thing is so and so, and then immediately thereafter say- ing it an't so." " Yes," said Brother Burton, here he says it means to dip ; and there in the note, that it don^t mean to dip ! Did you ever see such inconsistency?" ^^A man of his standing and reputation," said Halley, would not risk it rashly by such a contradiction. Let us turn to his Preface, and see what he says about the difference between the Classic Greek and the Hellenistic or New Testament Greek. You will bear in mind, that in this Lexicon he gives first the Classical signification of words, and then secondly the force 72 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, they have in the Hellenistic Greek — just as George read of jSaTtrtfco — first, to dip J to sink, to immerse, &c. ; and then, sec- ondly, to hajjtize, to administer the rite of baptism, either that of John or of Christ. If you were reading Xenophon or Plato, here is your standard of the meaning of words, as truly given as by any lexicographer living ; but if you are reading the New Testament it will not do in all cases to apply the same meaning ; it would in many instances make the veriest nonsense, and therefore he has given us a second meaning, w^hich the context and parallel passages demand for such words. But let us hear what Mr. Eobinson himself says about this matter. Preface, page 5 : ^ In respect to the Greek, it should be borne in mind that there are three great epochs which mark the progress of the language; through all, or some of which, the different meanings and uses of a word can be traced with more or less distinctness. These are its youth, in the heroic or epic poems of Homer and Hesiod, with which may be joined the Ionic prose of Herodotus; its prime, in the palmy days of Attic ele- gance and purity, as exhibited in the great tragedians, a|^d in the prose of Thucydides, Xenophon, Plato; and its decline, after the Macedonian conquest, and still later under the Roman dominion. In this latter period, the breaking up of the various independent states, the mingling together in armies of soldiers enlisted from every quarter, and the founding of colonies and large cities peopled with inhabitants from every part of Greece, and also from foreign lands, could not fail to produce great changes in the language of different communities, which, by natural consequence, would speedily be reflected in the language of books. * * * The language of the New Testament is the later Greek language, as spoken hij foreigners of the Ilchreio stock, and ajyplied hy them to sidyjects on which it had never hecn employed hy native Greek writers. The simple statement of this fact suggests at once what the character of this idiom must be ; and might, one would think^ have saved volumes of con- THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 73 troversy. The Jews came in contact with the Greeks only at and after the Macedonian conquests ; and were therefore con- versant only with the later Greek. They learned it frona the intercourse of life, in commerce, in colonies, in cities founded like Alexandria, where the inhabitants were drawn together from Asia as well as from Greece ; and it was therefore the sjpohen language of common lifcj and not that of hooks^ with which they became acquainted. But they spoke it as foreigners, as Hebrews, and therefore it could not fail to have in general a coloring of the Hebrew, or rather of the later Aramaean, which was their vernacular tongue. Jews who spoke Greek, are called in the New Testament 'YxkrivLataL (^ITeUenisti) Hellenists; and hence in modern usage, since the time of the younger Scaliger, the Jewish Greek (which is that of the New Testament) has not unaptly been termed Hellenistic. * * * ' The writers of the New Testament with the exception of Paul, and partially, perhaps, of Luke, were unlearned men; and, like the rest of their countrymen, knew the Greek language only from the intercourse of common life, and not from books. With them, therefore, the Hebrew element which mingled in their idiom, would naturally have great prominence ; although, since their writings are not translated from a Hebrew original, it is not here as strongly marked as in the Septuagint. * * * ' The writers of the New Testament applied the Greek language to subjects on which it had never been employed by native Greek writers. No native Greek had ever written on Jewish affairs, nor on Jewish theology and ritual. Hence the Seventy, in their translation (the Septuagint), had often to employ Greek words as the signs of things and ideas, which heretofore had heeii. expressed only in the Hehrew. In such a case they could only select those Greek words which most nearly corresponded to the Hebrew, leaving the different shade or degree of signification to he gathered hy the reader from the context, * ^ But heyond this, the writers of the New Testament were 7 74 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, to be the instruments of making known a new revelation — a new dispensation of mercy to mankind. Here was opened a wide circle of new ideas and new doctrines to be developed, for which all human language was as yet too poor^ and this poverty was to be done away, even as at the present day on the discovery and culture of a new science, chiefly hy enlai^ging the significa- tion and application of loords already in use, rather than by the formation of new ones. ^ ^ The New Testament, then, was written by Hebrews, aiming to express Plebrew thoughts, con- ceptions and feelings, in the Greek tongue. Their idiom, con- sequently, in soul and spirit, is Hebrew; in its external form, Greek, and that more or less pure, according to the facilities which an individual writer may have possessed for acquiring fluency and accuracy of expression in that tongue.^ But I don^t see as this bears very much upon the point/^ said Brother Burton ; " he an^t talking about the word j3a;trtf w (Jbaptizo^.^^ ^^Is he not?'' replied Halley, ^^when he tells you that much of the New Testament, or Hellenistic Greek has not a classical significance; and then when you come to the word jSa^rtfo, tells you in his second meaning that in the New Testament it only means to haptize^ to administer the rite of haptism^ and in the note gives you further evidence that it has not a classical meaning ? '' It seems,'' said George, that this opinion of his is based not only on the context where the word is found in the New Testament, but also on the fact that in all the early Latin trans- lations, of which the Itala is one, the word is transcribed and not translated." Yes," replied Halley, that is so, and does it not have great force — is it not significant? When you recollect the Latin language was then the vernacular tongue of a heathen nation, and was as poor in words expressing spiritual ideas, as that of any other heathen nation, you will at once discover the THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 75 force of this reason. The Greek was also the language of a heathen nation, although it had been appropriated by the Jews in their Septuagint translation and therein somewhat Hebraized. The purely Greek sense of the word fSarCTfL^o^ is, as we have learned, to dvp^ to immerse ; and in the Latin there are intingo and immergo, which also mean to dipj and to immerse. Then if the translators understood jSartT'tfco in its purely Greek, or classical sense, how easy it would have been to have conveyed the idea of dipping or immersing to the mind of a Roman, by simply rendering it intingo or immergo ; and would they not, in all common sense, most assuredly have done so, or have rendered it in some way, if tliey conceived it to have a specific meaning^ corresponding to their conceptions of its true import, and thus have conveyed some definite and specific idea to the mind of the reader ? Their transcribing it, without translation, is a strong and irrefragable argument that there was nothing in the Latin tongue corresponding to the Christian meaning and import of the word.^' There must be translations into other languages,^^ said George, " dating back to about that time ; what is their testi- mony ? You will find their testimony quite uniform,'^ said Halley, smiling, though more forcible. For example, there is the Pe- shito^ a Syriac version, and the oldest translation of the New Testa- ment extant, which, probably, was made soon after the death of the Evangelist John. The testimony of James Murdock, D. D., of New Haven, as stated in the Bibliotheca Sacra, I have in my room ; I will get it and see what he says. Here it is (vol. vii. p. 733) : ' The Peshito was probably made in the very next age after the Apostles, and by apostolic men ; and in a language almost identical with the vernacular tongue of Jesus Christ and his disciples. And it may be supposed that the Apostles them- selves, and all the first preachers of the Gospel among the Syrians, adopted this phraseology, and of course that the trans- 76 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, lators of tlie Peshito had apostolic authority for their mode of designating baptism. The Peshito iiniformly renders the Greek word jSaTtrtfco by a Syriac verb meaning ^ to stand, in all the seventy-three (73) places where jSartttfco occurs. And this verb in the Peshito is never used with reference to anything besides baptism^ with this one exception that the Greek word C'tv'Ko^ (stulos), a column, a pillar, in all the four places in which it occurs in the New Testament, is rendered by a derivative of this verb. This derivative signifies a pillar or column that stands erect and firm.' ' He further proves/ continued Halley, ^ that this Syriac word which is only used to designate the ordi- nance of baptism, has only the signification, to stand, to he estahlislied, and the like.'' I'll warrant you these are all Pedos, every one of them/' exclaimed Brother Burton. ^^But where is your Baptist authority, where your Baptist scholar who has consulted Syriac, and found this to be false ? '' responded Halley. Is it to be supposed that men like Dr. James Murdock, and scores of others, would risk their repu- tation as scholars, by stating things which other scholars would know to be untrue? Or their characters as Christians by giving birth to a falsehood, inculcating error, and advocating a lie ? They would be immediately exposed and disgraced. But what says Prof. Moses Stuart about this translation ? You will find it in the Biblical Repository, vol. iii. p. 362. ^This version is the oldest of all the translations of the New Testa- ment that are extant ; for in all probability it should be dated during the first half of the second century (from 100-140, A. D.). Withal, it is admitted by those who are able to con- sult it, to be one of the most faithful and authentic of all the ancient versions. IIow does this translate the word in question (3a7trt^co) ? Onhj and always, by a word which corresponds to the Hebrew ^f2V {(l^i-'^^'^atli) ; the Chaldee ^f2V (^^^'-^^^«^^0/ - T - I" and the same word in Arabic. This is a very remarkable cir- THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 77 cumstance^ for the Syriac has a word like tlie Chaldee ^^2^ Qtse-vlia) ; and tlie corresponding Hebrew ^^jp {td-vhal) ; which means to plunge^ to dipj to immersey &c. Why should it employ this word to render ^anti^co ? * * The HebreW; Chal- dee and Arabic^ all agree in assigning to the same (Syriac) word, the sense of the Latin, stare^prostareyfulcirey and roho- rare, {"to stand/^ "to stand fast/' ^^to sustain/' "to make strong/') ^^^We come almost necessarily to the conclusion, then, inas- much as the Syriac has an appropriate word, which signifies to dip, plunge, immerse, and yet it is nevei- employed in the Peshito, that the translator did not deem it important to desig- nate any particular mode of baptism, but only to designate the rite by a term which evidently means confirm, estahlish, etc. Baptism, then, in the language of the Peshito, is the rite of confirmation, simply, while the manner of this is apparently left without being at all expressed.' So says Prof M. Stuart,'' continued Halley, " than whom there were few who were better able to judge; and whose philological exposition of the word parctL^oi, your Baptist writers have regarded very highly, and used as autliority in as far as they could make it tend to strengthen their position. " Now let us read Mark xvi. 16, according to the Baptist ren- dering of the word, and then the Syriac. ' He that believeth and is immersed shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned / says the Baptist, making two distinct conditions, as necessary to salvation, the first a spiritual and the other an external rite. Ask them if they believe this, they say, no; but still they persist in giving it this rendering, which indeed they must do, or immediately give up the controversy about the word. I have often heard the text quoted from the pulpit, to enforce the importance of immersion in this language ; ^ He that helieveth and is immersed shall he saved f but question 7* 78 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, those very same ministers of the Gospel^ if they believe im- mersion necessary to salvation, and they will reply, ' No — no, we don't believe it necessary to salvation, but then here is the text, and what will you do vfith it V They pretend not to be- lieve it, and yet they preach it indirectly from the pulpit, and directly in their actions and exclusiveness ; and actions speak louder and more forcibly than words^ you know. " The Syriac translation would read thus : ' He that believeth and standetli fast in his faith, shall be saved ; but he that be- lieveth not shall be damned/ Which of these views commends itself to the enlightened understanding and conscience ? Which harmonizes with the teachings of the word of God? For the first you may search the whole Bible through, and you cannot find a parallel text to support it. But the second, in spirit and in precept, harmonizes with every part of the word of God. Jesus says in Matthew, ' He that endureth to the end, shall be saved / and ag^iin, when he appeared to John in the Isle of Patmos, ' He that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power,^ etc. There must be a con- tinuance in believing, a holding fast unto the end, and this we are enabled to do through the assisting agency of the Spirit of God.^' Is not this Syriac view like that we have found by an ex- amination of the English translation ? asked Anna, no longer able to restrain her interest in the controversy, and seating her- self by the table. I can see but one difficulty, and that is the phraseology attending this word jSaTtrtfw, ' down into and np from the water — haptized IN the river Jordan,^ etc. This in- dicates the form of immersion, and would to my mind give that form the preference, even if there is no stronger testimony. If the Christian use of the word was to designate the rite, with- out reference to the form, still some form must have been used, and whatever the context indicates, that I should prefer.'^ Ycs/^ said Brother Burton ; if we should give up this THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 79 word parttL^oi to you^ tliese little troublesome particles would set all right. There's no getting round tliem. There they are in Greek, iv (eii), and (j^i^), ^'^ and iiito^ and of as much im- portance, ai>d having the same meaning, as in and into in English/^ But I don't see the necessity of giving up this word so easily/^ said Father Longwind. Let's bring up the Bible^ and see what that says about it/^ ^^Yes; what diO we care for this Syriac, and Chaldee, and Arabic, and Hindoo, and I don't know what all I '' exclaimed mother Clayton, giving her knitting-needles an extra flourish, plain English is all we want ! What has Itali/ and Pesteto to do with the matter, I would like to know ? I'm almost out of patience with the whole of you ! '^ ^^The Itala and Peshito, mother,^^ said Anna, ^Hiave, and should have, far more weight than our English translation, as they were made centuries — yes, more than a thousand years — nearly fifteen hundred — before, in the very next generation after the Apostles ] and by men who doubtless had been taught by the Apostles : whereas, our translation is not only obliged to go back to the old manuscripts of those times for its authority, but is separated from the habits, manners and customs of that age, not by centuries of years only, but by many centuries of midnight moral, intellectual, and religious darkness. And besides all this in the Peshito, there is the advantage of having a translation of this very disputed word, which our copy has not, and which shows us that they in the apostolic age gave it a generic signification, and not a specific one." ^^But God gave us our Bible,'' said Elder Clayton, and no doubt we shall be judged by it just as it is." ^^He did not give it to us directly by inspiration," said Halley. " The translators were not inspired to translate correctly. Strictly speaking, there is but one altogether pure fountain direct from the hands of God^ and that is the original manu- 80 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, script in the language used by the inspired penman, and by those to whom the manuscript was at that time transmitted. I think I am safe in saying that no translator can in all cases give the exact shade of meaning in the mind of the author, when translating his work into another language/^ But the translators are the next best authority/^ said Bro- ther Burton. " Those who can read nothing but English, must depend on them.^' Have we not been citing their authority ? said Halley ; men who have spent many years in acquiring a perfect know- ledge of these languages, and by unremitting toil have capaci- tated themselves for this work, and who, with the fear of God before them, have done nobly and labored faithfully — and yet authority like this you set aside, because, forsooth, it does not suit your notion of matters ! We have even given you the authority of men, who, if not inspired themselves, were at least taught by inspired men; and their testimony has no more weight against your preconceived opinions, than so much Hindoo gibberish I What further can be done ? What shall we now do but meet you upon your own ground ? Let us take the English translation then, just as it is. Let us keep in mind that baptize always means, dip, plunge, immerse^ etc. You say there is no provision for anything else in the Classic Greek. Let us call up the first witness then in the New Testament. Mr. Matthew, you have made a great mistake in saying, I bap- tize you with water ! Either you, or the translators, have made bungling work of it. Don^t you know, Matthew, that the subject is to be applied TO the loater, and not the water to the subject? You should have said baptize, or dip you in water, then it would have been all right. Again you persist in saying, ' He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and loitli fire — how is it that you are determined to give expression to such absurdities ! One would suppose that you could see the inconsistency of it yourself, and there- THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 81 fore not repeat it again and again as you do greatly to our annoyance I And not onl}^ you, Mattliew, but your fellow- laborers, Mark, and Luke, and John, have done tbe same thing. And what ninnies they all must have been, not to keep a figure better ! Just hear Peter, when he speaks of the baptism of the Holy Ghost — mark how he invariably says that it was poured out OY fell on tliem! How forcible this must have been to the mind of Peter, and to all who heard him — when they knew to be baptized was to be dipped into something I And then what a beautiful figure is this — * Know ye not that as many as were dipped into Jesus Christ loere dip)ped into Ids death I ^ and this also — ^ The?/ were all dipped into Moses, in the cloud and in the seaJ And again : ^As many as have been dipped into Christ have put on Christ;^ and yet once again: ' For hy one Spirit are ice all dipped into one hodyJ There is also your favorite text, ^ One Lord, one faith, and one dipping , But how will you harmonize this last passage with Paul's ad- monition to the Hebrews, that they should leave the principles of the doctrine of Christ, and go on unto perfection ; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of dippings, and of 'laying on of hands, etc. Here you see Paul refers to more than one baptism, or dipping, as you will have it I But what nonsense is all this — he who robs the word of God of its consistency and spirit, must be guilty in the sight of God ; and in His hands I am willing to leave him.^^ " I was thinking,'' said Anna, how much of the Bible would have been strange reading if the word /3an:T'tfto had been trans- lated dip or immerse. The dipping of John, whence was it, from heaven or of men ? I have a dipping to he dipped with and how am I straitened until it be accomplished. Are ye able to be dipped with the dipping that I am dipped with ? George laughed outright, and apologized by saying it re- minded him of " Peter Piper's peck of pickled peppers.^' 82 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, I think no one can fail to see/^ said Halley, " the absurdity of limiting this word to the strictly specific meaning it is said to have in classic Greek. That it was understood by the early Christian fathers as a generic term implying only the rite of baptism, is evident from the fact that when Origen and Augus- tine desired to speak definitely/ of immersion, ^(XTtriGixo^ (haptis- mos) is not generally used, but instead xatd^v(Sis {katadusis^, and at^d^vdi^ (anadusis). Why is this if ^aTitiCfio^ {haptismos) is specific, and means nothing but dipping or immersing — can any one tell us? " But this word is not the only one for which we claim this license. In the time of the Christian fathers this principle was felt as an imperative necessity, and it was acted upon. It seems that in those days there were some who were over-nice about the ' mint and the cummin / who had a superstitious reverence for the previous signification of words, as there are now in these times ; and in searching through the Latin lan- guage, they could find no word that corresponded to their idea of the full meaning of awr^Jp {soter) a Savior, This caused considerable perplexity for some time, but at last the good sense of the strong-minded Augustine disposed of the difficulty by making no scruple of employing the Latin word Sahator, ob- serving well, and with true insight into the law of the growth of words, that ' It was not good Latin before the Savior came, but when he came he made it to be such — -for as shadows follow suhstanceSj so words result from things.^ Also,^' continued Halley, " the Greek word TttWts (pistis) signified merely belief y in classic Greek; yet wo apply to it in the New Testament, ^ faith in God J So also %oyos (logos') meant only speech, loord, discourse, in the classic Greek, yet we apply to it, and of neces- sity it must read for, 'Christy the eternal son of God.' ALxaiocvvrj {dikiosune), signified in classic Greek doing right, Jjeing just and proper ; but in the Hellenistic Greek, righteous^ nesSf Godliness; also the righteousness of God imparted to THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 83 believers on account of tlieir faith in Clirist. See E.om. ix. 30, and X. 5, 6 ; and 2 Cor. iii. 9, and v. 21, etc. ^^Xptfj'Toj (^CJirtstos), in Classic — riihhed over tcith aiiytliingj anointed; but in the New Testament, Christ , the 3Iessiah. " 'Erttovtftoj (epiousios), rendered in Matt. vi. 11, daily, is not found in classic Greek at all. Neither are the following words. ayoLTiYj (agape^, love, love to God, God's love to Christ and to men, and Christ's love to men ; see John xvii. 26, and Col. i. 13. 'Ayfj^fa?^oy>j7^o^ {agenealogetos), Heb. vii. 3, iDitliout genealogy , " 'Aytct^co {Ilagiazo^, to make clean, to he holy. "'Ayia6^6^ (^Hag lasmos) , sanctlficat ion, purity of heart, holi- ness, etc. There are a host of others ; these I find by turning over a very few leaves of the Lexicon.^^ ^^Are there not numerous examples of such growth of words, and also of the coining of new ones, in our language asked Anna. ^' Certainly, almost beyond computation,^^ responded Halley. Our language is constantly changing; many words have grown out of their original meaning entirely; others become obsolete, whilst new ones are continually being coined to meet the demand made on our language by the progress of science, and the changes in the manners and customs of the people. We have recently coined dough-faced, fiUlhuster, telegram, etc. There are thousands of scientific terms which have been intro- duced within a few years. Whereas, some words become ob- solete, and then are again put in circulation, as for instance, ignore. But those which have changed their primitive signifi- cation, are still more numerous. Pagan formerly only meant a dweller in a hamlet or vil- lage, in distinction from those dwelling in towns and cities. " Heathen, no more than a heath-dweller. " Knave, a lad. Villian, a peasant. Virtue, only warlike courage. Martyr, simply a witness. Sacrament, at first a 84 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, deposit or plet]<>:o, tlieii :i military oiitli, thorcaftor any solemn oath whatever. Thus we couhl ^ — hudor)?^' No, there is no preposition used : the noun stands in the dative case, vbo^ti (Jiudati)/' answered George. 88 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, '^Wlien nouns are used in this way, what is indicated asked Halley. They are thus used in the dative without a preposition/^ replied George, only as a means or instrumenty and never as a place in ichich anything is said to he or to he done.^^ " Just so/^ said Halley ; " and here then is positive evidence to the point in question. According to Luke's testimony, John did not baptize in water, but witJi water, merely used water as an instrument. In Acts i. 5, as recorded, our Savior said, that John did not baptize in water, but only employed water as a means in administering the ordinance. In Acts xi. 16, Peter In repeating the words of our Lord, repeated them faithfully, and said John did not baptize in water, but simply used water in the ordinance of baptism. Therefore, if you insist that iv shall be rendered in^ in spite of every Greek lexicographer as- suring you that it may mean %vith just as properly, you thereby put Matthew, Mark^ and J ohn, against Jesus Christ, Luke, and Peter. One or the other party tells not what is true ! You make the first party say that John baptized in water, when the second party distinctly and definitely assert that he did not bap- tize in water, but only used water in the ordinance as an instru- ment — he baptized with water. To which party do you choose to give the lie ? It was in view of this that our translators uniformly gave the form ^ tvitJi the Holy Ghost,' etc., that the passages might more readily be harmonized ; for it must be ren- dered ivitJij in the passages above cited, and might j;roper/7/ be, wherever the word with the preposition occurs. They chose to believe that John did not baptize in water, rather than to twist the word of God into a direct contradiction of terms. And now upon this we have but to heap the evidences regarding the form of Spirit baptism, which are uniform and direct when- ever spoken of in the word of God. For example, see John i. 32, ^And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it ahodc vj)on hun/ Acts ii. 3, THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 89 ^\nd there appeared cloven tongues like as of fire^ and it sat upon each of them.' Acts ii. 33, ^And having received the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear/ Acts viii. 16-17, ' For as yet he (the Holy Ghost) had fallen upon none of them ; then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost/ Also Acts x. 44^ ^ While Peter yet spake these words, the HoJf/ Ghost fell on all them which heard the word/ Acts xi. 15-16, ^And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the begin- ning; then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost/ Acts xix. 6, ^And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Ghost came on them.' ^^In not one instance is the object applied to the agent, that is, the person to the Spirit, as you would have it, and as the heathen Greek writers employed the word; but instead, the agent invariably to the object. This is the only difference be- tween us on this pointy and our Baptist friends. We apply the water to the person, thus making it a means or instrument in administering the ordinance of baptism, as our Savior, and Luke and Peter declare John did ; and by so doing, we find it truly an appropriate and beautiful figure of the Holy Spirit being applied to the human spirit, falling upon, coming down iipon, poured out upon, and shed forth upon, etc. What we are after is the Christian use of this word : how the heathen Greeks used it, is a matter of no consequence, as long as Christians used it otherwise. W^e can say, as Augus- tine did in regard to the Latin word Salvator, that this use of jSartrtfw was not good Greek until it was Christianized. We will also find that the idea conveyed in the Christian use of baptism was not the form of administering the rite, but the end to be gained by it — the effect to be produced by the sub- stance of which it is the shadow — that through it we are puri- 8* 90 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, fied^ cleansed, regenerated, sanctified and sealed, unto the day of redemption : this was urged to impress its importance/^ Ah ! you would then do away with water baptism alto- gether?^^ exclaimed Brother Burton. No, we would do no such thing,^' continued Halley; ^^but we would keep it in its proper place and put it to its proper use. The Bible everywhere represents it as subordinate — a mere symbol of the other — by it we acknowledge our need of the other. Its use, and only use, is to bring before our minds the operation of the Holy Spirit, through which we are cleansed, and thus acknowledge to the world our necessity of Him ; as the only use of the Lord's Supper is to bring before us the broken body and spilt blood of our dying Lord, through which atonement is made, and thus evince our faith in its efficacy. John the Baptist, who is generally considered as having insti- tuted the outward ordinance, said, ' I knew him not, but that he should be made manifest, therefore am I come, baptizing with water, and he upon whom the Spirit descendeth, he shall baptize with the Holy Ghost.^ From this view of the case, you see at once that to make it a perfect symbol, it should be applied in that w^ay that will most perfectly symbolize the Spirit baptism. Even if we had no direct testimony to the point, our reason would teach us that as its only value is in being a sym- bol, therefore the more perfect the symbol, the more valuable. Now let us review the ground gone over. Christ and the Apostles spiritualized this word by making the agent, object, means and effect implied, all spiritual ; and to help sensuous man to comprehend this and to keep it in view, God instituted a material ordinance as a type of this spiritual operation. In this type, water is used. How used ? Let us examine for a moment. If the person is dipped into the water, it ceases to be a symbol — at least a perfect one ; the water should be ap- plied to the person, for the Divine Spirit is applied to the human spirit, and never is the person represented as being (iij)ped into the Holy S})irit.'' THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 91 "I would like to ask one question here/' said Anna; ^^What were the Jewish modes of purifying ? They must have been familiar with the idea, as their rites were divided into two general classes — those prefiguring the Great Atoning and the Great Sanctifying Powers/' The sprinJding of blood and of water/' said Halley, " was to the Jews the grand emblem of purification. Although the blood was sometimes poured out at the base of the altar, and sometimes smeared on its horns, or on parts of the person for whom expiation was to be made, yet the grand significant emblem was sprinMing. When the whole nation was consecrated to God at Mount Sinai, they, and the books of the law, and the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry, were sprinlded with blood. Paul says it was necessary that they should be purified with these sprinklings (see Heb. ix. 19-21). Paul also, as it were, gives a summary of the whole ritual of purifi- cation, by specif^dng the most significant of its usages — namely, that of the ashes of a heifer mixed with water (Numbers xix. 17) with which the unclean were sprinJded (Heb. ix. 13). On the great day of atonement the high-priest entered the most holy place and sprinMed the Ark of the Covenant with blood (Lev. iv. 17 and Heb. ix. 25). And the prophet Ezekiel speaks of water to be sprinMed under the new dispensation. After describing the gathering in of all the Jews into the kingdom of Christ, he represents J ehovah as saying, ^ Then will I sprinJde clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean ; from all your filthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse you, a new heart will I give you,' etc. (Ezek. xxxvi. 25, 26). " Paul also uses the same figure, when he speaks of drawing near to God with a full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinlded from an evil conscience, etc. (Heb. x. 22.) And Peter, when he says : ^ Elect unto obedience through sanctifica- tion of the Spirit and sprinlding of the blood of Jesus' (1 Peter i. 12). - 92 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, Josephns and Philo also wrote in the time of our Savior and tlie Apostles^ and they speak of sprinkling alone as the rite or symbol of purification in their times. And Josephus was a Pharisee — a priest and a very learned man, and from these facts we may infer that he would have been very particular to give all the forms. We also read in John iii. 25, 26, that there arose a question among the J ews about purifying — the disciples of John were all J ews, consequently this question was among Jews and about Jewish purification, and that purification was connected with the baptism of John and of the disciples of Jesus. And now let me ask a question. Could Jews who thus wrote and spoke about the application of blood and of water by sprinkling, find in sprinMiiig no due signification of puri- fication ? I think the question answers itself,'' said Anna, after the considerations which have already been suggested. I have now but one more difficulty, and that is found in the prepositions h and £1^.'' I am of the opinion/' said Brother Burton, that these particles are not so easily managed. I am sure that iv means in, in Greek as much as in does in English, and that means into, in Greek just as much as into does in English.'^ It cannot be that you are a Greek scholar or you would not assert what is so easily proven to be false," said Halley. " You say that iv and ii^ mean in and into invariably; now, George, you can read Greek well enough to decide this matter. Take your Greek Testament and turn to passages as I name them, and tell Brother Burton what prepositions are used. Matt. v. 1, ' Christ went up into a mountain.' " " It is to opoj (ev's to oros) ; before the noun mountain/' said George, though it is not to be believed that he literally went into the mountain, but only on or vjwn it." Matt. V. 34, ^ Swear not at all, neither heaven for it is God's throne.'" THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 93 That is iv Tfuj ovpav^ {en to ourand) ; Iv heaven/^ said George. ^' Our Baptist version would make it read, ' Swear not at all in heaven^ — a sensible construction, I must confess.^^ •^Matt. V. 35, ^Nor the earth, neither hy Jerusalem.' It is 'iTi yri and 'Ispoao'kvfia (en te ge and eis herosolumct) , iv earth, and ti^ Jerusalem ; but I should suppose that it was more reasonable to swear hj/ the earth than in it; and I don't know how they would swear into Jerusalem, unless, like a barbarian Gentile, they stood on the outside of the wall and swore over it, into the city ! " Matt. V. 36, ' Neither h?/ thy head.' '' There iv occurs again,'' continued George ; but it cer- tainly should not be rendered m, for it would make no sense." " Matt. vi. 34, ^ Take no thought /or the morrow.' " There we have et^ triv av^iov {eis ten aurion) ; the mor- row," said George ; but it can't mean into the morrow, for that would be an unnecessary precaution." Matt. vii. 2, ' For ivitJi what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged, and with what measure ye mete,' etc." '^The ivith Is h in both places," said George, laughing, ^^I was thinking how some of our Baptist clergy (glancing his eyes toward Father Longwind) would look mensured up after that fashion, for in what measure ye mete, and in what judg- ment ye judge, ye shall be judged." Matt. vii. 6, ' Cast not your pearls before swine, lest they trample them wider their feet.' " 'Ev -toU Tiosiv {en tois posin) ; h their feet," said George ; " but I believe I shall decide the other way this time, for if they should happen to get them in their feet, they'd be as likely again to turn and rend you. But it would bring out the force much better if it had been rendered ^ lest they trample them with their feet,' etc." ^' Matt. xii. 41, ' They repented at the preaching of Jonas.' " It is h^j but they certainly could not have repented into hia preaching." f 94 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, Luke xi. 49^ ^ I will send tliem prophets and Apostles/ etc/^ " It is ft? tliem/^ said George, looking up from liis Testament, and turning his eyes towards Brother Burton ; " I suppose Brother Burton would translate it, ' I will send into them pro- phets and Apostles/^ John xi. 38, ^ Jesus therefore groaning in himself cometh to the grave/ " ^Etj the grave, but not into it, certainly, for the stone was yet on the mouth of it.'' John xxi. 4, ^ Jesus stood on the shore.''' ^^'Etj the shore," said George, ^^but not into the shore of course, for it would make the veriest nonsense." Thus you are able to decide from a few examples taken at random," said Halley, whether it be true that h and mean in and into in Greek as much as in and into do in English. I have also just finished a careful and written rendering of the Epistle of Paul to the Philippians, and in this epistle occurs twenty- three times, and in not one instance would it bring out the sense or force of the passage to render it into^ nor is it thus rendered in a single instance in our (King James') translation. The question is not whether they do not sometimes mean in and into ; that all scholars admit, but that they invariably, or even in Plellenistic Greek — that of the New Testament — generally mean in and hito^ no scholar admits or believes. Yesterday I took up a Baptist publication in which this thing was stated just as Brother Burton repeated it, and he is pro- bably indebted to this work for his information on this subject. To say the least of such statements, it shows a culpable igno- rance on the matter in question, or a wilful perversion of the truth ; authors, like the one referred to, can take which horn of the dilemma they choose." ^^And these words are used in connection with the word bap- tize?" remarked Anna. Yes," replied Ilalley ; and where it says in Matthew that THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 95 Jesus when he was baptized went up straightway out of the water^ it reads in the original^ from the water. Brother Burton, turn to it if you please in Donnegan's Lexicon, and give us his definition. You know, you said, when we wish to determine the meaning of a Greek word, we must go to the Greek Dic- tionary, and that settles the matter at once.''^ Brother Burton took the Lexicon hesitatingly, and read, arto (apo), froiiij aioay fronij etc. ^^Yes,^^ said Halley, arco means in all Greek, /rom, and awoy froiiiy this is really the only primaiy meaning of the word. If Christ had gone into the river, as you Baptists maintain, then we should have had instead of avij^ri arto tov vba-to^ (anebe apo toil hudatos), ave^y] ix 'toy vSaifo^ (anehe EK tou liudatos)^ which would have meant then primarily from, but secondarily, etc., out of from out of etc. Therefore, as ix or (f |) is not used in the original, we may safely say that it is as certain as language can make it, that only departure from the water is intended to be conveyed by the above passage in Greek as found in the original of both Matthew and Mark. In Mark we read in our translation, that ^ Jesus was baptized of John in Jordan.' In the Greek it is the Jordan, the classical meaning of as given in their order in Donnegan's Lexicon, is to, into, unto, to- wards, at, on, in, etc. ; and there are twenty-six significations as given by Schleusner, the great German Greelii scholar. By observing the order, you will see, that as they are laid down even in Dictionaries of classic Greek, that at is a more pro- bable rendering for ft?, than in/^ " I would like to know what the law is, by which translators are governed,^' said Anna, in choosing the proper signification of words, where there are a great many to choose from, as in this case "The subject treated of by the writer,'^ responded Halley, "should be the most prominent; that is, what is he talking about, and what does he wish to say ? and which one of these ANNA CLAYTON; OR, significations, judging from tlie suhjcct matter and the context and its construction^ would bring out the most clearly and forcibly the idea in the mind of the writer ? This idea is to be deter- mined, then, by the theine of the discourse, the context — that which goes before, and that which follows — and by the con- struction of the sentence ; and these comhinedj are to determine always the choice of the meaning of a word when a plurality of significations is given, as is generally the case. And this is the most difficult part of the whole field canvassed by the trans- lator. It requires great insight into the nature, idiom, and pe- culiarities of the language, a nice discrimination of words and terms, a quick perception of slight shades of difierence, a good judgment in balancing the efiects and forces of these differ- ences, a powerful concentration of thought, in thereby being able to keep the main idea or subject in the mind, and bringing everything to bear upon it ; and last, but not least, good sound sense — common sense — so as not to make your author or writer say things that he never dreamed of, to make him rush heed- lessly and recklessly into the most foolish inconsistencies and absurdities — as many, most certainly, make the Evangelists and the Apostles involve themselves, by strenuously and obsti- nately supporting their own peculiar faith and views in viola- tion of every law of language and construction, and in the very teeth of consistency and common sense. " Now, then, in Matthew iii. 13, it is said, that ' Jesus came to Jordan in Mark i. 9 — keeping in view our principles of construction and rendering ^He was baptized of John at Jordan / and Matt. iii. 16, and Mark i. 10, that ' He went up from the water there is no conflicting in the original, as every classical scholar knows. In Matt. iii. 6, it reads, ^Were bap- tized of him in Jordan / and so it is in Mark i. 5. But in the original, h is used ; and we have learned that h may mean with and at^ &c., as well as in; and it might lierc with much more propriety be rendered at, as thereby it harmonizes with other THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 97 passages; and moreover, it is only used here to indicate the place where the ordinance was performed. Nothing is more common in both Latin and Greek, than to render the same pre- position to and into ; and also in and at ; for example, in such passages as these ; he came into the city — he came to the vil- lage — he came to the river ; and also he stopped in the city — he stopped at the village — and he stopped at the river. The same preposition answers for to and into^ and the same for at and in both Greek and Latin, as every one, who knows any- thing about these languages, must admit. We have also found that Luke, in giving the same account as the one referred to — the baptism of Jesus — used a phraseology that would not admit, at all, of the rendering in the water : and our Savior, too, in speaking of John's baptism, and subsequently Peter, in speaking of the same, used like phraseology, from which no in the water can i^ossihly he drawn. Is it not fair and safe, then, to infer that Matthew, Mark and John, meant loith loater also ? There is no violation of any principle or law of interpretation in thus render- ing it : it must of necessity be thus translated, as this is the only way the different accounts can be harmonized. And would our Baptist friends, rather than give up their untenable and preconceived notions of this subject, insist that one party did not know what they were talking about ? Will they thus accuse their Lord and Master ? There is but one other passage where apparently our versio*n affords ground for immersion, and that is John iii. 23, ^And John also was baptizing in ^non, near to Salim, because there was much water there.' The original reads vho.io. HoVka Qmdata jpoUcC). Brother Burton, will you turn to it in Bobinson^s Lexicon, and give us the definition ? " Brother Burton said that he guessed they wan't particular about it ; but on being urged, took the Lexicon and read, vha.ta, Tiorkdj many fountains or springs, i^'Scop water , and the plural vhckia, waters, TtoXkdj many ; hence, many loaters, that is, foun- tains or springs.^* G 98 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, " It means then/' said Halley^ that he was baptizing in JEnon^ or rather at ^non (as the Iv here should be rendered), because there were many fountains or springs here, and nothing more. In corroboration of this we are informed by those best acquainted with the topography of the place, in as far as they can determine its locality, that there is no place anywhere in that section of the country where there is much water. In the case of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch, the original reads the same as it does in Mark i. 10, and Matt. iii. 16, with the exception of the preposition ix^ from, out o/, etc. ; but as the primary signification of ix is from^ as given in Donnegan's Lexicon (the standard of our Baptist friends), it is in reality no exception, and fully harmonizes with the form or mode of administering the rite gathered from the Evangelists. If you are not satisfied, George, you can look at the definition of it.'' I have examined it before," replied George ; and the pri- mary meaning of ix i^from, and the order, as given by Donne- gan, is from, out of from out of, away from, etc." Then it reads in the original," continued Halley, they went down to and came vi^ from the water." " Is it not getting late " inquired Brother Burton, stretching his limbs to their utmost tension, and hanging his thumbs wearily in the arm-holes of his vest; but there was a look in his eye indicating anything rather than the wooings of the gentle god Morpheus. It is eleven," said Halley, consulting his watch ; indeed I was not aware of its being so late : I fear I have wearied you beyond excuse." Do not speak of being wearied," said Anna, I could listen forever to the explanations of these truths, if it would require forever to explain them." THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 99 CHAPTER VI. *ci'j9^z^^7?2, and peace-offering.' Eabbi Jochanan : ' Never shall any one be deemed a pro- selyte, until he is hoptizecl as well as circumcised ] for before he is baptized, he is regarded as a foreigner.' " Eabbi Joseph states : ' If any one comes, saying, I am cir- cumcised, but not baptized, let them see that he is baptized.' Rabbi J udah says : ' Baptism is the principal thing.' All these are found in the Babylonish Talmud, and mucli more to the same effect. The same evidence is found in the Jerusalem Talmud, which w^as compiled in the tliircl century; only one witness will I cite from it. Rabbi Eliezer, the son of Jacob, says : ' That some Roman soldiers, who kept guard at Jerusalem, ate of the passover, heing haptizcd on the evening of the passover.^ " Nor docs the evidence of this fact rest solely on the testi- mony of Jewish records ; it was known to the heathen nations around them. Says Epictctus, who lived about the year A. D. 104, and who was sixty years old when he penned this passage which we quote, * Why,' said he, in reproving those who pro- fessed to be philosophers while they did not live as such; Svhy do you pretend to be a Greek, when you are a Jew, a Syrian, an Egyptian ? And wlicn wc see any one wavering, we THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 215 are wont to say, this is not a Jew but acts one. But when he assumes the sentiments of one who hath been haptized and cir- cumcisedj then he both really is, and is called a Jew.' In Calmet's Dictionary, art. Pros., we find this passage : " The J ews require three things to a complete proselyte — baptism, circumcision, and sacrifice ; but for women, only baptism and sacrifice.^ " Says Dr. Wall, ^ Whenever Gentiles were proselyted to the J ewish religion, they were initiated by circumcision, the ofiering of a sacrifice, and baptism. They were all haptized, males and females, adults and infants. This was their constant practice from the time of Moses to that of our Savior, and from that period to the present day.' Those who wish for further testimony will find it by con- sulting Stackhouse, Witsius, Dr. A. Clarke,. Lightfoot, Jahn^s Archasology, etc. etc. " Even Mr. Booth, a distinguished Baptist writer, admits of Jewish converts, that ' The children of proselytes were baptized along with their parents.' R. Eobinson and Dr. Gill also admit it. Moreover this seems to be a plain inference from the Scrip- tures — that is, that the Jews must have been accustomed to the rite of baptism, and expected the Messiah, when he came, to practise it; or else how can we account for their propounding to John the question, ' Why baptizeth thou, then, if thou be not the Christ?' From this, then, we learn that the baptism of proselytes by J ohn, and by the disciples of our Savior, was no neio thing. But Jewish baptism, it is true, was not Christian baptism ] neither was the baptism of John Christian baptism; else why were his proselytes baptized over again when they became proselytes to the Christian faith, and believed that Jesus was the Son of God ? See Acts xix. 3-5. am aware that many of our Baptist brethren find it necessary to insiist that there was no re-baptism, as that truth 216 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, spoils their argument : but I only wonder that a cause which requires so plain a statement of Scripture to be denied, should be thought worth d<^fending. The word of God says, ^ Unto what were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people that they should believe on him who should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When the?/ heard this they were haptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Ghost came on them.^ Mr. Carson, an eminent Baptist author, admits, p. 372, that in Acts xix. 1—6, some who had been baptized with John's baptism were baptized over again : ' I know^ this is disputed,' says he, ' but for my part I never doi\bted it. I cannot see how this can be denied without torturing the word of God.' Now the reasons for this re-baptism to me are evident from the nature of the case. (1.) John baptized none but Jews — his mission was to call the Jews to repentance; and he was laboring under the ceremonial law, therefore his baptism could not be the seal of any covenant at all ; and we cannot reason from a form that is not a seal, to one that is. (2.) It was im- possible for it to have been Christian baptism, for the commis- sion was not yet given, nor was the Lord Jehovah revealed to man as a Triune God in the persons of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. See Acts xix. 2, John's disciples said, * We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.' If they had been baptized in the name of the Holy Ghost, would it have been possible for them to declare that they had not so much as heard that there be a Holy Ghost? Nor were they baptized by John in the name of the Lord Jesus, because Paul was about to have this done to them. Now, let me ask you, if a simple dipping or sprinkling would be Christian baptism now, unless it be done in the name of the Triune God ? And if it would not be now, how could it have been then ? Therefore, THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 217 in order that they should be jDartakers of Christian baptism, it was necessary that they should be baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Grhost/' Tanner turned again to his text-book and said, ^^But Christ called the Jewish nation the world in opposition to his church. Christ says, I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world, that is, the Jewish nation, hateth you. Paul said he was a persecutor of the church of God Before he was converted. And Nicodemus, who was a master in Israel, was told by Christ that he could not come into his church until he had been born again. So you see, Mr. Halley, that there was no church before that church was established which Christ came to set up.^' You say/^ said Halley, in reply, as I understand you, that the Jewish nation could not have been a church, for Christ chose his disciples out of the world. But this expression of our Savior only shov/s the spiritless condition into which the Jews had relapsed on account of their blind and superstitious attachment to forms. Christ's disciples were not like them actuated by the spirit of the world, but by the love of God and holiness. And Christ, by choosing them to be his followers, separated them in a particular manner from their former asso- ciates } and placed them rcalhj^ not nominally only, under the government of his holy laws. No sensible man will claim that he who noiD belongs to a Christian church, and by his actions and life shows that he has apostatized from the faith — leading an ungodly life — no one will claim. that such an one is a true member of the church of Christ ; nor would he be so called by the ' Searcher of hearts.' So it was in respect to the Jews in the time of Christ, they were but nommaUi/ the church of God, that is, the great body of them, the majority; they were, it is true, his chosen people, but they had become spiritually dead, and the kingdom was about to be taken away from them and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. Paul, after his conversion, found that he had been fighting against God's 19 218 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, spiritual ones who were then truly the church of God^ for the kingdom had then indeed been taken away from the Jews. Your third objection regarding Nicodemus, is nothing to the point at all. Christ could not have referred to the visible church, by the term ' kingdom of God/ where he says, ' Ye must be born again to enter into the kingdom of God/ for that involves the absurdity that no one could join the visible church unless Tccdhj converted and regenerated by the influences of the Holy Spirit, which we all know to be false, and the Omnis- cient Savior certainly knew^ it to be so. There are thousands in the church to-day, who have entered it on confession of their faith, who were never born of the Spirit. Our Savior then meant, ye must be born again to enter his spiritual kingdom or church. In that fold there is not one soul that has not been born of the Spirit. Have you any more texts. Squire Tanner, to prove that there was no church before the church John set up ? If you have not, we will see what evidence we can find to prove that there icas a church before the ministry of Christ or of John.^' Did not Stephen say that there was of old, in existence, a church?'' asked Anna. Here it is in Acts vii. 38. I will read it : ' This is he that was in the clmrcJi in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in Mount Sinai, and with our fathers who received the lively oracles to give unto us.' " " Yes/' replied Halley ; Stephen, being full of the Holy Ghost, was giving them a history of this church ] and he traced its origin back to the family of Abraham, and claimed that Jesus came by promise to this church. Hear him : ' This is that Moses that 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. This is he (Christ) that was in the church in the wilderness, etc' Squire Tanner, you like positive testimony, and here is some to order. Now we claim that this ^ church in the wilderness,' of which Stephen was THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 219 speaking, whose father was Abraliam — whose founder, God — ■ and the Christian church, are one and the same church; that the Christian church is but the continuation of the Jewish church from the facts: (1.) No account is given anywhere in the whole word of God of the organization of a 7ieiu one. (2.) The great principles of the Old and New Testament church are the same — built on Grace with Christ as the head — the same doctrines, the same spiritual requirements, in short, the same way of salvation. (3.) Many promises were made to the Jewish church which were not fulfilled till after the coming of Christ ; but have since been fulfilled in whole or in part, to the Christian church. See the 35th, 43d, and 53d chapters of Isaiah, and others — all of which are promises fulfilled to the Christian church; and over and above all this, there is an abundance of testimony to establish this fact. You have quoted Matt. xxi. 43, where our Savior declares that the kingdom of God shall be taken away from the Jews, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. To deny that the Jewish people were ever the church of God, is to give the lie to the Son of God, for this is j)ositive testimony. If they were never in possession of the kingdom or church of God, how could it be taken from them ? If we — if the Christian world are in possession of anything to-day, that is conferred on us by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that is what was taken away from the Jews and given to us ? Now what was entrusted to the keeping of the Jewish church ? Let Paul answer in Rom. iii. 2, ' Unto them were committed the oracles of God.' They are now committed unto us. Again in Romans ix. 4, ^ To whom pertaineth the adop- tion, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promise.^ Can we put forth better claims than these? Turn also to Romans xi. 23-24, and you will find the same truth taught. The idea is expressed in a metaphor. The visible church is represented as 220 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, an OLIVE-TREE^ of which the J ews were the natural branches, but broken off on account of unbelief ; and the Gentiles, who had been hitherto wild by nature, were to he grafted in their stead. No new creation here, or reorganization — mark the fact, — the trunk of the tree, which represents the church proper, is not uprooted — not cut down. The church is the same with its covenants and privileges; but its branches or members were lopped off, and others grafted into the same cove- nant and privileges in their stead. Said Paul, ' And they also (that is, those who were broken off — the J ews as a nation), if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in again ; for God is able to graft them in again. For if thou wert cut out of the olive-tree, which is wild by nature, and w^ert grafted in contrary to nature, into a good olive-tree^ how much more shall they, which are the natural branches, be grafted into their OWN olive-tree I ' Tell me. Elder Clayton, and you who are familiar with the process of engrafting, is the trunk torn up, and the roots exhumed and thrown away, when the scion is grafted in among the natural branches, and with them partakes of its root and fatness ? Said Paul, ^ Eoast not against the branches, but if thou boast, thou hearest not the root, hut the root thee/ Now, is it not here asserted mo&tj)ositiveh/, that the old trunk — the Abrahamic church — is not thrown aside ; but rather that the Christian church draws its support from the original and still living root — the covenant of promise — that everlasting cove- nant made with the father of the faithful, upon which was founded the first church ever organized, the onl^ church ever organized, and where now rests, and has ever rested, and will ever abide, the onh/ church now extant, whose founder and builder is God? It is this which secures to us Christ, which secures to us all the mercy and blessings God has ever cove- nanted to bestow. The voice of God pealing as from Mount Sinai, with tones as distinct as those which shall call the world to judgment, could not make this matter more plain ! THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 221 The word of God plainly declares that there never was a time when one church ceased to exist^ and another one com- menced an existence. Can it be, then, that the children of the Gentile believer, who is ingrafted into the same church, and with some of its old members, shares the privileges of its root — its covenant and promise — can it be that they (these children of promise) are excluded from all these advantages, without one word having been said to that effect ? Is there now to be- lievers no covenant embracing their children, no token or seal of that covenant of God with them, to be applied to their chil- dren ? Could anything short of an edict from Jehovah him- self, cut off one of the parties of that covenant, and declare them not entitled to its privileges ? We acknowledge no other authority, we dare not recognize any other ; but if you will point us to the ' Thus saith the Lord ^ for your position and your faith, then we will bow reverently, and obey. But so far from your being able to do that, we have the ' Thus saith THE Lord' all on our side, perpetuating and eternizing these blessings and privileges to the children of the believer through his everlasting covenant and promise. If you could prove. Squire Tanner, that children are ex- cluded from the care and privileges of the church of God, as you are trying to do, there would be a higher wall of partition between the Gentile and Jewish nation — or church if you prefer that term — than ever existed under the old dispensation. But Paul says in Eph. ii. 14, that Christ broke down the middle wall of partition which separated the Jews and Gentiles ; ' For he is our peace who hath made hotli one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us/ This was very for- cible, coming as it did from a Jew, and addressed to the Gen- tiles, and what do you suppose they understood by it ? What could they understand by it, but that Christ had made both Jews and Gentiles one church — one people. He removed the wall of partition, and the Gentiles were brought in and made 19* 222 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, one with its members. The Gentile believers were added to the J ewish believers^ the branches not broken off^ because there were many Jews who believed on Jesus Christy or the language of the Apostle is the merest nonsense ! Tanner opened his text-book (Theodosta Ernest, vol. i.), page 291, and read : The truth is simply this ; God made a covenant or agreement with Abraham, when he was ninety-nine years old, in which he promised to his seed the land of Canaan. The token or memento of this contract, was the circumcision of every male. This was the condition of their entering Canaan. This is noiv the condition of their restoration to it. The pro- mise still stands. The Jews are still a separate people. This is their marh. By this they are yet to claim their inheritance This is their object, and this the sum of its valuc!^ Then I must reply,^^ said Halley, that God is not a cove- nant-keeping God; for through their whole history the Jews have rigidhj^ even siij^erstitioush/j adhered to the rite of circum- cision, so that there has been no failure on their part in this contract, if your author has stated it truly. Why then, I ask, are they not in possession of the land of Canaan to-day ? Why have they not ever been in permanent possession of it ? " Why have they been turned out of that land again and again for this, that, and the other reason, if God, as you affirm, covenanted to give it to them for an inheritance, if they would simply perform tJiis act — the act of circumcision ? Can you tell me ? Is that the way God deals with man — with his intel- ligent creatures ? Such violations of covenanted and plighted promises would disgrace the most absolute tyranny on earth ! Is this the character of that God whom the Baptists worship ? What an object for Jehovah to enter into covenant with a nation, requiring them to wear a national hadgcj for fear He, the Searcher of hearts and the discerner of our most secret thoughts, might not know them ; and as a compensation pro- mises them a spot of earth for a dwelling-place ! Is not this an THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 223- impeacliiuent of the character of God ? What saith the Scrip- tures ? ' Circumcision is that of the heart m the spirit and NOT in the letter/ or outward act. How does that harmonize with your author's assertion of its nature — of its complete sum and value as a mere national badge ? If he had been a Jew he would have been of that class who make broad their phylacteries," and enlarge the borders of their garments, thinking that thereby they meet the require- ments of God; for he seems to have the greatest difficulty in perceiving the spiritual import of anything. He directly con- tradicts the testimony of Paul, for Paul says, ' Circumcision is a seal of the righteousness of faith ;^ but your author, Mr. Graves, says, ^No, Paul, you are mistaken; thatlAn't true; cir- cumcision is merely the seal of a worldhj mlieritance 1 ^ But says Paul again, Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise, when commanded to go out into a place which they should receive for an inheritance, went, not knowing whither, and hy faith sojourned in the land of promise, looking for a city whose builder and maker is God. ' These all died in faitli^ not having received the promises (although they dwelt in the promised land — in the land of Canaan), but . con- fessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly ; wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God : for he hath prepared for them a city.' And further, do'nt you remember how God covenanted ^ to he their God,' and now he ' is not ashamed to be called their God,' for by the eye of faith they discerned the land of promise, even the heavenly , and that ^ city which hath foundations whose builder and maker is God.' But our brother Baptist replies. Why you are altogether mistaken, Paul ! It is absolutely necessary that we differ from you on that subject, for that promise and covenant had nothing to do with that better country, that is, a heavenly,' nor with that 224 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, Jerusalem wliieli is above, ^ wliose builder and maker is God ; ' it was only the land of Canaan they were talking and covenant- ing about. God told Abraham if he would go and sojourn in that strange land he would give it to him, and to his seed after him, IF he would circumcise every male child. It was a sort of legal contract by which he and his heirs were to claim an inheritance, and circumcision is the token, memento or seal of that contract. This is its object, and this is the sum of its value. But, says Paul, this is not the sum of its value. The most precious promise in that covenant was, ' I will be a God to thee and to thy seed after thee,' and ' If ye he Chrisfs, then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise ' — see Gal. iii. 29. Heirs of what? Of the earthly Canaan? nay, but the heavenly. Think you that God made a covenant of icorlcs, saying. Circumcise your male offspring, and I will give you this land of Canaan for an inheritance ? I tell you, nay. They did not inherit the promise in this world, but lived by faitlij ' that it might be by grace ; to the end that the promise might be sure to all the seed ; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,' (Eom. iv. 16, 17). Here Paul quotes a part of this covenant (see Gen. xvii. 5) for fear it might be understood to refer to some other promise, and this puts the matter beyond question or cavil, that he is speaking of the pro7nise in the cove- nant with Abraham, of which circumcision is the seal, the original seal, and which promise and covenant are inherited by the Gentiles as well as by the Jews, so that Abraham is the father of us all, and thereby the word of God is literally fulfilled, ^ A father of many nations have I made thee,' (Gen. xvii. 5). " And Paul further remarks, I recognise this promise, ' I will be a God to thee,' as involving the most precious blessings of the Gospel of Christ: ^Ye are the temple of the living THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 225 God ; as God hath said, I will dwell in them and walk in them, and I will he their God, and they shall be my people (see 2 Cor. vi. 16), that is, theii^ God as he is not the God of other men, and they Ms people, as other men are not his people. Also see Heb. viii. 10, ^ This is the covenant that I will make with the Jiouse of Israel after those days, saith the Lord ; I will put my laws into their mind and write them in their hearts; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people/ But were there not temporal blessings included in that covenant asked Anna. "Yes, very many,^^ continued Halley; "as their title and possession of the land of Canaan, their prominence among the nations around them, their success against their enemies, and in fact all their worldly advantages and privileges. But all these were subordinate — were really only appendages to the great spiritual benefits flowing from these connections to the obedient in heart, not the letter only. Just so it is under the Gospel dispensation : all necessary temporal blessings are promised unto believers ) for Christ said, ' Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall he added unto you.^ Also ' Godliness is profitable unto all things, having the promise of the life that rioio is, as well as of that which is to come.' Thus it follows that the religion of the Jews was as truly spiritual when lived out according to the requirements of the law of God, and was essentially the same as that of the Christian world now. The difierence was only in the form of worship, and not in the worship itself. God exhibited to them the same character as to us, and required the same character and life of his people under the old dispensation as under the new. If any one doubts this, he had better search the Scrip- tures and see if he can find better Gospel piety than that of Enoch, Abraham, Elijah, Samuel, David, and a host of others; and then point out, if he can, the diff'erence between this and the other. P 226 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, Again, the same demands are made of the Jews and the followers of Christ. See Deut. vi. 5, ^ Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might/ See Matt. xxii. 31, ^ Jesus said unto them. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.^ See also Lev. xx. 7, ' Sanctify yourselves, therefore, and be ye holy, for I am the Lord thy God/ Compare with this, 1 Peter i. 15-16, ^But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation ; because it is written. Be ye holy ; for I am holy.^ Now I think we have shown, that so far as the Israelites kept the covenant God made with them through Abraham, just so far it was the source (and circumcision was the seal) of great spiritual blessings to all parties included in the covenant.'^ " I have been taught,^' said Anna, " that all Jewish rites and ceremonies found a natural end and death in Christ. What is there to support this idea ? " We are taught,^^ replied Halley, that all rites and cere- monies that typified Christ found in him a natural end, and why should they not ? Turn to Gal. 3d chapter, a part of which you referred to a short time since, and you will find the whole matter set forth very plainly. The Apostle makes a distinction between the Mosaic ritual and God's covenant with Abraham. He says, speaking of this ritual and the Mosaic law, ^ The law was added because of transgression.' He teaches that the Mosaic economy was earthly and changeable ; but God's cove- nant with Abraham, spiritual and unalterable, securing all the blessings that the believer in Christ is entitled to. You must bear in mind, also, that this covenant was established four hun- dred years previous to the law; and if the giving of the law did not annul the covenant, certainly the covenant would not he an-- nulled hjj the removing of the law, hi/ the ahrogation of the Mosaic ritual. And this is the very thing concerning which THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 227 Paul was arguing, and which the Holy Ghost teaches through his arguments ; that is, that- the covenant, and its blessings and privileges remain, although the law is done away; and that this covenant, with its requirements and attendant blessings, comes upon the Gentiles through Jesus Christ. The Mosaic economy was not the churchy but only the drapery of it. The state was intended as a shield and protection to the church, and when it passed away, the church was still as complete as when it first came from the hands of God.^' " Is it not true,^^ asked Anna, that God, in his moral go- vernment, has closely connected the interests of parents and children in whatever they receive, whether blessings or curses 't ^' Certainly ; and no one will deny this,^^ replied Halley ; who believes that through one man^s transgression, fell the whole race of man — that through Adam's sin all his posterity have become sinners. We are suffering to-day in consequence of Adam^s disobedience; we are continually prone to sin, and subject to disease, pain, sorrow, and death. God recognized and confirmed this principle of action in his moral government when he established his church upon earth ; ' I will be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.^ It is also recognized in all his dealings with his people as recorded in his word ; saith Jehovah, ' I will visit the iniquities of the fathers upon their children, unto the third^ and fourth generations ; and show mercy unto thousands (of generations) of them that love me and keep my commandments' (Ex. xx. 5-6). " Again he says : ' They are the seed of the blessed of the Lord (Isa. Ixv. 23), and their offspring with them.' It mattered not whether mercies or judgments fell upon the race of men, their children were equally partakers of the same. And how is it now? Look out upon society; see what wretchedness and misery the drunkard entails upon his family, upon his children, and even upon his children's children ; see what moral evils the godless and openly vicious man brings upon his little oneS; 228 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, wten they go forth to meet and to take iipon themselves the responsibilities of life ! Witness on the other hand the bless- ings, temporal and spiritual, physical and moral, flowing from proper training and culture, where the parent faithfully dis- charges his duty both to his child and to his God. ' Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it — train them up in the fear and admonition of the Lord these are inspired teachings, and when fully com- plied with, are invariably accompanied with manifold blessings/' Did not Christ recognize the same principle, when he said to the Scribes and Pharisees, as recorded in Matt. 23d chapter; ^ Ye are the children of them that killed the prophets ; fill ye up the measure of your fathers, that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth from the blood of righteous Abel, unto the blood of Zacharias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar ; verily I say unto you, all these things shall be required of this generation.' Is not the same prin- ciple here inculcated ? '' asked Anna. Yes,'' replied Halley ; and this prophecy of our Savior, and the curse denounced upon that generation of unbelievers, met with a most terrible fulfillment and realization at the de- struction of Jerusalem shortly after (A. D. 70). Most truly did Jesus exclaim : ^ For there shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be' (Matt, xxiii. 21). The city was leveled to the dust ; mothers were forced by famine to eat their own chil- dren; and by pestilence and by sword, at Jerusalem and through Judea, not less than three millions of J ews were swept olF as by the scourge of God. There was truly woe, woe, to Jerusalem ! Now by a little reflection you will perceive, that we have shown, (1) that all of Adam's posterity, who have at any time come into covenant with God, have effected this through grace in a Mediator : for ^ There is none other name, given under THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 229 heaven among men, whereby we can be saved/ And if God has dealt with his people only on this principle, since they failed in works; then the church was built on this at the first^ and is still built on it. (2.) God's church, the only church he has ever established on earth, built on the principle of grace, with Christ as its head (John viii. 56), and faith as its ground of justification (Gal. iii. 8), requiring supreme love to God (Deut. vi. 5), and holiness of life (Lev. xx. 7), was estahlished in the familif of Abraham (Gen. xvii. 7). (3.) God made the covenant of this church, and fixed its terms of membership; and no one can deny that he included the children of the be- liever in the same covenant with the believing parent : ' I will establish my covenant with thee, and thy seed after thee / and God has never since then repealed it, or any part of it. "Also by his command, they were, both parent and child, to have administered to them the same outward visible rite, which was the token or sign of this covenant; and which Paul de- clares ^ the sealj not of a worldly inheritance — a mere spot of earth for a dwelling-place, but the ' seal of the righteousness of faitlif and by God's plan and express command, this seal of faith was placed upon those loho coidd not exercise faith. Who has changed the decrees and plans of God ? God himself made this covenant, and declared it to be everlasting; he also fixed its terms and conditions. He alone had a right to determine who are entitled to its privileges and promises ; and he has de- termined it, and declared it. He alone can abrogate it. He alone can change it, or its terms, its tokens, or anything apper- taining thereto. We grant no such right to you, our Baptist friends, unless you show your commission from the Most High God 1 Point us to a command in the entire word of God se- parating parent and child. Point us to a command forbidding the consecration of children to God ; and that consecration to be effected by placing on them the seal of God's everlasting covenant. If you cannot do this — and you know you cannot— 20 i 230 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, why do you undertake to change Grod^s terms, privileges and requirements, without his authority ? Why put forth your puny arm to make void the commandments of God ? Now the onus prohandi falls on you. We have shown how Grod organized his church ] we have shown whom he includes in the covenant, and to whom, according to his express com- mand, the seal should be administered ; and now if he has ever revoked this, it devolves on you to show where. Will you make the effort — it will prove a fruitless effort ! There will be but one response to all your labor, and that will be but the echo of your oion question ! Through the dim vista of the past you will hear but an empty sound — a lone echoy looking back through four thousand years, which will answer where to your every inquiry ! It cannot be found in the Bible — you search there in vain. Throughout the entire word of Grod there is no an- nulling, revoking, or repealing of this covenant. Will you then resort to tradition, and to the history of the church ? We are willing to follow you there ; for we can confront you with unquestionable and abundant testimony, showing that from the time of the Apostles this coveiiant has been in force, and In- fant Baptism recognized and practised.^' As Halley paused, there followed a silence of some moments, during which each was busy with his own thoughts. "God covenanted with Abraham,^' thought Anna; "God covenanted with him and his seed, to be their God and they should be his people. Paul says: ' If ye are Christ^ s, ye are Abraham/ s seed and heirs according to the promise.^ Then if I have hope in Christ to-day, I am AhrahawJs seed. God's om- niscient eye was on me when he made that covenant, and I was included in its terms, and through it I am heir of the promise, that the God of Abraham should be my God. Verily God, the Lord, is one God^ the same yesterday, to-day, and forever; from eternity to eternity an unchangeable God.'^ Tanner's thoughts were surging differently. He was a THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 231 worldly-minded Christian ; the representative of a large class, who think it well enough to serve self six days, and God one. He was chagrined at the failure of his argument, and was seek- ing earnestly after some quibble, peculiar to his profession, whereby he might turn the tables in his own favor. " It seems to me,^' said Elder Clayton, the first to break the silence, that this being the case, it would have been taught more plainly in the New Testament.^' " There is scarcely a truth more plainly taught in the New Testament than this,^' replied Halley. But what matters it where, in what part of God's word, a truth is taught ? Is not the whole Bible the word of God, and one part of it as true and infallible as another ? A truth, whether found in Genesis or Revelations, is truth nevertheless, and GocTs truth, and woe be to him who taketh therefrom or addeth thereto ! We have, as yet, by no means exhausted this subject; but as it is grow- ing somewhat late, and some of you perhaps are already wearied, we had better adjourn till to-morrow, when we will, if you please, meet here and resume the investigation; and in the mean time let each of us ' search the Scriptures,^ and see what testimony we can individually find and bring forward. But it seems to me, no more is needed to carry conviction to an un- prejudiced mind. Let us glance back and take a hasty survey of the ground we have already been over ; and for your satis- faction. Elder Clayton, we will confine ourselves entirely to New Testament testimony. Paul says (Gal. iii. 16) : ' Now to Abra- ham and to his seed were the promises made.' And you ask does this promise reach to the Gentiles ? Was not that the end of the promise and the covenant ? Paul replies. Nay, but Christ hath redeemed us, ' That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ' (Gal. iii. 14). But you ask what is this blessing and this promise to Abraham and to his seed ? Let me also ask why these blessings and promises are not said to be to the children of Enoch, who walked with God, 232 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, or of Noah, of Elijah, of Moses, or of David, the man after God's own heart? All these had fiiith and were justified by faith ; and if simply to he justified hy faith^ be the reason we are ^ Abraham's seed/ can any one tell why we might not as well be called the seed of Enoch or of David ? The answer plainly is that it has reference to something more than this — to something that was estahlished in the family of Abraham, something confirmed to Abraham, something that is transmitted from Abraham, and this something was promised to Abraham and to his seed in an everlasting covenant, and this covenant had reference not only to all his posterity down to the time of our Savior, and thence down to our time ; but looks onward to all the generations yet to come, before the church militant, then established and confirmed in the family of Abra- ham, shall become the church triumphant in the kingdom of God. ^^Paul further says: ^ Jf ye he Christ^ s^ then are ye Ahra- ham^s seed and heirs according to the promise ' (Gal. iii. 29). We inherit something : something is transmitted. Again (Gal. iii. 8), ' The Scriptures foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the Gospel unto Ahraham.' The Gospel was therefore preached unto Abraham he/ore it v/as preached to the Gentile, and Abraham believed : that faith of his must then have been a Gospel faith, and he was justified before God through Christ. Our Savior says (John viii. 56), ' Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad.' " God established this covenant and declared it an ' everlast- iufj covenant.^ He established it on the principle of Grace through faith in our common Mediator and lledeemer, and con- sequently it must have been a Gospel covenant and a promise cc^nfirmcd in Christ. Would Christ then annul it? * Think nut/ says he in Matt. v. 17 and 18, ^that I am come to destroy THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 233 the law, or the prophets : I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled/ "And do you ask, was not the ceremonial law so blended with the covenant, that when that was abrogated, on its end being accomplished, the covenant was made void also ? Let Paul answer: ^And this I say (Gal. iii. 17), That the cove- nant that was conjivmed hefore of God in Christy the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disanmd, that it should make the promise of none effect.^ " This is definite, and should be satisfactory. But you ask again, Did not Christ, when he fulfilled the law, make an end of these old promises also, which were made to the fathers ? " Let Paul answer again : Romans xv. 8, ^ Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers.^ " Then we have proved from the New Testament, that this covenant and promise has not passed away, that it has not been disannulled, but has been confirmed in Christ Jesus. This harmonizes with the declaration of Jehovah himself when it was made; that it was to be an everlasting covenant. We have as yet brought forward only a part of the testimony in the New Testament on this subject; but who will contradict or gainsay what has already been adduced? Dare you affirm without a shadow of evidence from God's word, that one of the parties in this covenant confirmed by our Savior, has been thrown out, and consequently deny the seal to that party ? Let those who would do this, pause and reflect, lest they be guilty of fighting against God ! Guilty of forgery on God's word ! " Forgery ! that is a serious charge," said Elder Clayton. I'm sure we desio^n doino; no such thins;/' Yet, you nevertheless do it," continued Halley, if you throw the children of believers out of this covenant, and deny 20* 234 ANNA CLAYTON; OE, them tlie seal. You commit nothing less than forgery on this contract which God made with his people. I will convict you from the mouth of your own authority^ Squire Tanner, the author you are so fond of quoting. Remember God fixed the terms of this covenant, pronounced it to be everlasting^ and then affixed the seal. Says Mr. J. R. Graves (see The Great Iron Wheel, p. 442) : ^ Let us look into the nature of sealing. When the seal of state or of an individual is affixed to a docu- ment, that document must forever remain in the letter and sjnrit in which it existed tchen sealed. To enter a new clause or to change a line of an old one would he FORGERY.^ And now I ask you. Squire Tanner, if Mr. Graves is not convicted of for- gery by the testimony of his own mouth ? Is he not a forger in the sight of God ? Has he not, in that volume you have been perusing, changed more than ONE line, not only in God^s word, but ako in God^s everlasting covenant, to which He had affixed His seal?^' CHAPTER X. "What is written in the law? How readest thou ? — Luke x. 26. It is one thing to read the Bible through, And another to read to learn and do; It is one thing to read it with delight, And quite another to read it right. Some read it as their duty once a week, But no instruction from the Bible seek; "Whilst others read it with but little care, With no regard to how they read, nor where ! Some read it as a history, to know How people lived three thousand years ago. Some read to bring themselves into repute. By showing others how they can dispute; THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 235 Whilst others read because their neighbors do, To see how long 'twill take to read it through. Some read it for the wonders that are there, How David kill'd a lion and a bear; Whilst others read, or rather in it look. Because, perhaps, they have no other book. Some read the blessed Book, they do'nt know why, It somehow happens in the way to lie; Whilst others read it with uncommon care, But all to find some contradictions there! Some read to prove a pre-adopted creed, — Thus understand but little what they read, For every passage in the book they bend, To make it suit that all-important end! Some people read, as I have often thought. To teach the Book, instead of being taught; And some there are who read it out of spite, But few there are, I fear, who read it right." The morrow found Elder Clayton^s study crowded with eager listeners. Squire Tanner was there also^ industriously searching his text-book for arguments. Anna smiled half-un- consciously as she noted his eagerness^ and glanced from his text-book to her own. I have marked some passages in the Bible, which seem to me to be bearing on the subject in question/^ said Anna, in reply to Halley's inquiry after individual researches for Bible proofs. We will first, then/^ continued Halley, examine what you and others have gathered from the Sacred Scriptures on this question. Present your texts, Miss Anna, if you please.^' *^As it regards the mission of John,'^ began Anna, with much diffidence and in a subdued tone, which soon, however, grew firmer and stronger, as she seemed to forget, in her inte- rest in the subject before her, the many attentive listeners around her, the angel Gabriel told Zacharias, John^s father, 236 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, that ' He should be great in the sight of the Lord. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias^ to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobe- dient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people pre- pared for the Lord^ (Luke i. 15-17). " Here is not a trac€ of even an allusion to the setting up of a Gospel Gentile church, or of any church. His mission was ^ to the children of Israel.' Shortly after the angel appeared to Mary, and told her she should bear a son, who should be called the Son of the Highest; and God should give unto him the throne of his father David, and that he should reign over the house of Israel forever ^ and of his kingdom there should be no end : see Luke i. 32-33. That does not sound to me like the setting up of a new kingdom, for he sits on the throne of David, and reigns over the house of Israel. Mary afterward exclaimed : ^ He hath holpen his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy, as he spake to our fathers, to Abraham , and to his SEED FOREVER.' After this, Zacharias, filled with the Holy Ghost, prophesied, saying : ' Blessed be the Lord God of Israel ; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David ; as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began ; to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant ; the oath that he svmre unto our father Abraham.^ Here it is declared that Christ is comprehended in that covenant, and that he came in fulfillment of the ^ oath He sware unto Abraham.' That certainly does not favor the idea of the covenant being a legal contract for the possession of the land of Canaan, but a contract confirmin"; and insurinir the atonement of Christ. Pious Simeon also, moved by the Holy Ghost, de- clared the infant Jesus to be ^a light, to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.' Also in Luke iv. 18, when THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 237 Christ entered the synagogue, and opened the book of the pro- phet Esaias (Isaiah), and read : ' The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach • deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord/ There is nothing yet about the setting up of a visible church as the one object of his mission : it seems to have been so important a part of his work, that he never mentioned it! Again, in John x. 16, Jesus says to the Phari- sees in his parable of the Good Shepherd : ' And other sheep I have which are not of this fold (then he had a fold at that time), them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice ; and there shall be one fold and one Slieplierd! And Caiaphas, the high -priest, prophesied, saying : ' That Jesus should die for that nation, and not for that nation only, but that he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad/ His fold and Hhat nation,^ were the Jews; his other sheep and those ' scattered abroad,' were the Gentiles which he brought in among the J ews, and they became ' one fold,' and over them there was ' one Shepherd/ " Squire Tanner remarked that to him it was perfectly plain that Christ organized and established a visible church, which was usually designated the kingdom of God/' That was what Christ preached ; he preached the kingdom of God, and gathered all true believers into it. He then opened his text-book (Theodosia Ernest), page 305, and read : Now when Christ came into the world, one great object, if not the great object of his mission, was to establish his visible church. He set it up himself. He instructed his disciples carefully in the nature of its law. * * Now the most important of these fundamental rules was that which fixed the terms of membership in his kingdom. This lay at the foundation of the whole business. The character, the influence, the prosperity of his kingdom 238 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, must depend upon the character of the persons of whom it was composed. Now the Jewish kingdom, though it had in it much of good, and was a beautiful type of better things to cpme, yet it had included more of the evil than the good. ^ ^ ^ But now Christ was organizing not a temporalj but a spiritual kingdom. His dominion was to be one of interior rule — by the power of love. The subjects of this kingdom were to be converted men and loonien, who loved God and lived to his glory. No one could belong to it, as he told Nicodemus, who had not heen horn again. This was his church — (The italics are Mr. Graves'). In the first place/' replied Halley, " we have an assertion that Christ's mission was ' to set up a visible church.' Second, that he instructed his disciples in the nature of its laws, and particularly in its terms of membership. Third, he states that it was not a visible church, but a spiritual church ! For what is spiritual is of necessity not visible. No man hath at any time seen a spirit, or anything spiritual, except through the eye of faith : visible objects are seen through the natural eye — the eye of sense. Fourth, the terms of membership, regarding which Christ so faithfully instructed his disciples, were con- version : ' Ye must be born again to enter the kingdom of God.' Now this is beautiful reasoning ! just such as he has served up all along in his work for his readers ! And is it not particularly flattering, if he supposes they have not discernment enough to discover the fallacy ? Where is the logical sequence in all this commingling of ideas and sentences ? It will require a stronger and more powerful combining principle than any to be found in the whole department of chemistry, to effect here a uniting of the different elements, and thereby form a logical or even chemical connection ! Tlie object of Christ, he informs us, was to set up here a visible church! He docs not venture even a single proof-text; and for the best reason in the world, for he could not find one. I shall therefore beg leave to differ from him, inasmuch as I have somehow got the impression, that the THE INQUIllER AFTER TRUTH. 239 one great object of the mission of our Savior Jesus Christy was to make an atonement for our sins by meeting the requirements of the law in our stead. I am probably indebted for this idea to Paul, wha said : ^ God sent forth his Son to redeem them which are under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons^ (Gal. iv. 5). Also Jesus himself said, ^ I have come to seek and to save that which was lost. Think ye that I am come to destroy the law and the prophets? I tell you, Nay; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever be- lieveth in him^ should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. Even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many I " This is our Savior's own definition and statement of the purpose of his mission ; but not a word said about setting up a visible church. Again : lie instructed his disciples carefully in the nature of its laws. — Granted. There is no truth more plainly taught than who are fit members of his kingdom. ^ Blessed are the poor in spirit ; for theirs is the kingdom of God. Blessed are the peace-makers ; for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they who shall be perse- cuted for righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you ; do good to them that hate you ; and pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you ; that ye may be the children of jour Father which is in heaven. For if ye love them that love you, what reward have you? And if ye salute your hretliren only, what do ye more than others.' Again : Christ was organiziDg not a temporal, but a spirit- ual kingdom. This is also granted : although he sat upon the throne of David and shall reign over the house of Israel for- ever : and of his kingdom there shall be no end (See Luke i. 32 and 33). 240 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, There is to be no end to his kingdom, and so of necessity it is spiritual; for we have not yet formed the acquaintance of anything visible and temporal but that there is an end to it. Once more : The terms of membership to Christ's spiritual kingdom — that one of which there is to be no end — are, ^ Ye must be born again/ That, certainly, is Gospel truth. But why attempt to mystify, and to blend the two in one ? Why tell us that Christ came to set up a visible church, and then add that it was not a temporal but a spiritual kingdom ? And why do you thereafter append thereto, that no one can, and that none do enter it but those born of the Spirit, and thereby endeavor to leave the impression that this is Christ's command and declaration with regard to membership in his church mili- tant — his visible church ? What have you to say. Miss Anna, to such a process of reasoning as this ? I think,^^ replied Anna, that to suppose the terms ^ king- dom of heaven,^ and ^ kingdom of God,^ as used by our Savior, meant a visible church, which Christ came to set up, involves an absurdity. I have marked some passages in which it occurs. It could not have been a new one, certainly, set up at his coming; for he says: ^ There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, (the visible church !), and you yourselves thrust out' (See Luke xiii. 28)." If these old Patriarchs are in it, can it be a new church ? Arid can it be a visible church ? When our Savior was questioned of the Pharisees with regard to the coming of the kingdom of God, he answered (Luke xvii. 20 and 21) : ' The kingdom of God cometh not with observation : neither shall they say, Lo, here ! nor Lo, there ! for behold, the kingdom of God is icitliin you.^ This sounds also very much like the reply he made to Pilate when asked : ^ Art thou the king of the Jews ? ' His reply was : ' My kingdom is not of this world : if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight; but now is my kingdom not from hence.' THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 241 '^And further: if tbe term^ ^kingdom of God^ means a visi- ble church, we can hardly reconcile with truth all the declara- tions of Christ I He said : ^ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God/ It does not seem to be a difficult matter for a rich man to enter a visible church, and I am sure he creates a greater sensation among his brethren there than a poor man. But how is it with Christ's invisible, spiritual kingdom, of which there is no end, and he, our Savior, the only door of entrance ? I leave it for the Master himself to decide ; and he says, it is difficult. Again, if Christ meant his visible church by the term ^ kingdom of God,' he must have thought it would be very dif- ferent from what it is ; and this would seriously reflect on his omniscience, for he said : ^ Ye must be born again, or ye can- not enter into the kingdom of God.^ That very many do enter the visible church who are not born of the Spirit, I suppose no one w^ill deny; and yet we have the testimony of Jesus him- self, that no one can enter HIS kingdom unless born of the Spirit. That any one should quote such a text as that to prove membership of a visible cliurch, indicates a weakness of judg- ment and intellect not at all enviable, or a dishonesty of cha- racter wholly anti-Christian ; or at least, it is resorting to means unworthy a good causey and shows very conclusively that he has but little faith in the truth of the position taken. Your author -5— Mr. Graves — says also, on page 307, that baptism is the door of entrance to this church, which cannot be entered unless born of the Spirit! Where is his authority? Jesus says : ^ Y erily, verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. Yerily, I say unto you, I am the door, I am the door; by me if any man enter in he shall be saved' (see John, 10th chapter). If the author of that work or any other man enters Christ's 21 Q 242 ANNA CLAYTON; OR; fold through the door of baptism^ the word of God very plainly points out how he is regarded by our Savior. I desire no other door to the fold of the Great Shepherd of souls, than Christ himself; and I have the blessed assurance from the Master himself, that if I enter through him / shall he saved : but how is it with him who elimbeth up some other way ? Look ye well to it, who enter only by the door of baptism ; Christ re- cognizes no such door; remember he says, 'lam the door.' '' In view of these passages of Scripture, and others simi- lar,'^ said Halley, what idea do you gather from the term in question ? think,'^ responded Anna; ^Hhat the term kingdom of God means the spiritual rule of Christ in the hearts of all those, and those only, who are sealed unto redemption by the Spirit of truth begun in this world, and perfected when * The king shall say unto them on his right hand. Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foun- dation of the world' (see Matt. xxv. 34).'' But why were they said to preach the Gospel of the king- dom?" asked Halley. ^' The preaching of the Gospel, God has been pleased to in- stitute as the means through which man's attention is arrested, and he thereby is led into the kingdom." ^' What authority, then, is left us ? Where are the evidences from the Bible which testify that the setting up of a visible church was the mission of Christ?" asked Halley. "There is nothing remaining in support of it, save the bare assertion of Brother Baptist; and one would hardly think he would desire to retain so awkward a position. He thereby endeavors to make it appear that this visible church, he is speaking of, is something essentially different from the Jewish church. But after all his labor, it proves to be a distinction without any dif- ference. The net is cast into the sea, and whether it captures Jews or GentileS; it brings both the good and bad to shore. THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 243 The tares and wheat grow together in this world, and there is no separation until the harvest. Paul recognized this of the Jewish church, when he said: ^ They are not all Israel which are of Israel.' And again, in Romans, 11th chapter : ^ Hath God cast away his people ? God forbid ! God hath not cast away his people, which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the Scripture saith of Elias ? How he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying. Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars ; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Even so then at this present time also, there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no more of works ; other- wise, grace is no more grace.' Does Paul imply that there is any new requirement of God's people under the new dispensa- tion — does he indicate any such thing ? So far from it, that he rather on all occasions, holds up those who lived in accord- ance with the old requirement, AS examples in all the ChiHs- tian virtues. Hear him in Heb. 11, ' Faith is the substance of things hoped for. Without faith it is impossible to please God.'' This is then what is now required of us under the gospel dispensation, and by it we are accepted : is it a new re- quirement ? Let Paul answer. ' By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death. By faith Noah be- came heir of the righteousness which is by faith. By faith Abraham offered up Isaac. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau. By faith Jacob blessed the two sons of Joseph. By faith Joseph made mention of the departing of the children of Israel. By faith Moses was hid. By faith he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. By faith he forsook Egypt. Through faith he kept the passover. By faith he passed through the Bed Sea. By faith the walls of J ericho 244 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, fell down. By faitli Rahab perished not. And wLat shall I say more ? for tlie time would fail me to tell of Gideon^ and of Barak, and of Sampson, and of Jeplitha; of David, also, and Samuel, and of the prophets : who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again; and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might ob- tain a better resurrection ; and others had trials of cruel mock- ings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment ; they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword ; they wandered about in sheep-skins and goat-skins ; being destitute, afflicted, tormented ; of whom the world was not worthy; they wandered in deserts, and in moun- tains, and in dens, and in caves of the earth.' "This must have been a Gospel faith of the truest metal; and it is just such faith as this, which God required, ay, de- manded, of all the children of Israel — from every one of them just as he demands it of his people now. It was demanded in the covenant he established with them. God said (Gen. xvii. 1), ' Walk before me, and be thou perfect.' It was subse- quently demanded in the law of Moses; and later still, by all of God's messengers, by whom he made known his will to his people. That all did not exercise it; that many, when trials and temptations came, fell away; does not prove that they were not connected with God's church — does not prove that there was no church existing at that time, any more than it proves that there is no church now, and never has been any on earth. We have abundant evidence to lead us to believe that there is not a church in this Christian land that would stand the test of civil persecutions, imprisonments, torture, and ig- nominous death, without a sad number of apostasies. THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 245 That the Jewish church in the time of Christ was in a worldly and spiritless state^ is nothing more than might be said, with truth, of many churches in our midst at the present day ; and was said, even in the time of the Apostles, of some they planted and watered. God's church has ever been the same in a spiritual sense. He has ever required the same character of its members, and exhibited to them the same character of him- self. It has differed only in circumstances, and those purely external. Supreme love to God is demanded of all, and has ever been, as we have proved by numerous texts ; and all who were justified were justified not by works, but by grace be- stowed through the exercise of true living gospel faith in the atonement to he made for them and all the world. And this atonement was brought to view every time a sacrifice lay bleed- ing upon the altar. So likewise the rite of circumcision was of the same nature and equally spiritual with the ordinance of baptism. It was so called by Paul, Rom. ii. 29, ^ Circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter.^ It was the sign or symbol of the regeneration of the heart. Turn to Deut. XXX. 6 : ^ And the Lord thy God wUl circumcise tliy heart, AND THE HEART OF THY SEED, to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, that thou may est live.^ This is all that can be claimed for the ordinance of baptism ; it is a sign of the regeneration of the heart — the sanctification of the Spirit; which operation is performed that we may live before God. This is its generic sense : specifically under this it is a seal. Baptism is the seal of that faith by which we lay hold on the promises of God : and that was precisely the im- port of circumcision in a specific sense. Paul says that it was ^a seal of the righteousness of faith.' And the child was only eight days old, and therefore incapable of understanding, or making a covenant. Yet by God's command and appointment children were included in this covenant with the believing 21* 246 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, parent; and because included^ must liave affixed to them tlie seal of the covenant. Why does not your author, Squire Tanner, turn up his nose in a sickly sneer at infant circumcision, as well as at infant baptism ? He says, p. 202 : ^ Can a little babe, mewling and puking in its mother's arms, be taught the doctrines of salva- tion ? ' Why does he not directly charge God with having established an ordinance of cruelty, as well as one in its effects a nullity ? The child could not understand it ! And yet by God's express command, ' the seal of the righteousness of faith,^ was to be applied to one who could neither exercise faith, nor understand its import ! By the appointment of Jehovah him- self, the sign of the circumcision of the heart, or renewing of the Holy Ghost, was to be placed upon one whom your author says, ' is a child of wrath, even as others : ' we say not ; be- lieving that God knows best. " And now, as God has never revoked these commands, nor repealed this covenant, nor even abrogated any part of it, we feel it obligatory on us to give our child, in obedience to God's requirements, Christian circumcision; knowing that it is not misplaced, even though it be ' the sign of the circumcision of the heart, made without hands' — the purifying influences of the Holy Spirit — unless God himself has misplaced it! Who dare affirm that God has misplaced the seal of his own cove- nant? ^ We are the circumcision (Phil. iii. 3) which worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.' " Baptism is the seal of the same covenant, ordained for the same church. It means the same thing. It is employed for the same purpose, and circumcision is passed away. Baptism is now what circumcision was once; a seal of the righteousness of faith in God's promises, to be our God and the God of our children. Christianity has no other sign or seal of the right- eousness of faith. Says Mr. Hall, ^It has been objected that THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 247 circumcision was applied only to males ; might not this have been among the reasons for a change of the seal ? A distinc- tion was made between male and female under the Mosaic dis- pensation, as between Jew and Greek, bond and free ; but under Christ this distinction is abolished : ' There is neither Jew nor G-reek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female! Hence, the seal remaining, there was a necessity for changing its form! But nothing is revoked in the covenant God made with his people — there has been no shadow of vary- ing in its whole spirit — nothing has been changed save the form of the seal. But let us suppose for a moment that the Christian dispen- sation was so changed from the Jewish, as to exclude infants from the jurisdiction of the church; how would the Jews have regarded it ? " But suppose there was no church ; then they would not have been excluded from it;'^ rather tauntingly, and with an air of defiance, interrupted Tanner. "You can suppose as many absurd notions as you please. But remember you come not so much in conflict with us, as with the word of God. The sacred Scriptures declare there was a clmrcli, and reiterate and enforce the idea again and again. You would just as soon deny the existence of a hell, if it subserved your interests to do so ; the latter is certainly not more plainly taught than the former. "According to your own reasoning, by the denial of the existence of a church at that time, you give to your Master, whom you profess to love and to serve, the lie ! He says the Jews were in possession of the ' kingdom,^ and that it was taken from them and given to the Gentiles — to us : to those who should bring forth the fruits thereof (See Matt. xxi. 43). Now you claim that the term ^ kingdom of God,' even as used by our Savior, means invariably the visible church; and you refuse the testimony of the Great Head of the churchy and call his 248 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, declaration virtually a metapliorical nonentity ! You say, No ! It can't be tlie church in this case ; although if it do'nt naean the visible church, it can't mean anything; and therefore it here means just notliing at all! To such straits are people driven when they form their creed to support their own notions, and then torture the word of God to its support ! Perhaps 1 am severe. I accuse not thus the great body of the Baptist church. I know too many noble, conscientious, and self-sacrificing Christians among them ; whom I am proud to recognize as the fellow-members of the body of Christ Jesus. 1 refer to those leaders only in the church, who, when driven from their positions by the word of God, in cool, candid argument, choose to stoop to any subter- fuge rather than confess themselves driven — to be in error! Eut one day they will be judged by this very word they thus torture. This, however, has been a digression. We were about to contemplate for a moment the position of affairs if infants had been excluded from the jurisdiction of the church. Think you that the Jews would not have raised an outcry against this in- novation of one of their most highly esteemed privileges, as they did against every other that was made ? This the Jewish Christians esteemed one of their most precious privileges : and they were exceeding jealous of their rights and privileges, and held to everything handed down from their forefathers with the greatest tenacity, so that Peter and Paul both made con- cessions to them. Are we then to suppose that with all their attachments to former customs, and their Jewish jealousy about the slightest innovation or change in the old system, they would so calmly acquiesce in the exclusion of their children from the blessings and jurisdiction of the church as never to raise the slightest ohjection^ or indulge in the least murmur on the occasion, or even to mention that such an exclusion had taken place ? Far from it ! THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 249 But on the other hand, when the Gentiles were converted to the Christian faith, the Jewish Christians expected them to conform to the law and adopt the entire ritual of Moses, as well as of Christ. Even the Apostles regularly attended the temple worship, and performed as usual their accustomed ceremonies (See Acts xxi. 18-28). Multitudes of Jews after embracing Christianity still re- tained the rite of circumcision (Acts xxi. 20) : ' Many thou- sands of the Jews, who believed, were zealous of the law.' They certainly then continued the custom of circumcising their children, and adopted Christianity as a system growing out of their own religion, but by no means superseding it (See Acts xxi. 21). Here it is stated that Paul had been charged with having taught that all the Jews which are among the Gentiles, those who lived in heathen countries only (and not those living in Jerusalem and Judea), should no longer conform to the Mosaic ritual. And this was considered by them as a severe charge. AYe may now call to mind that baptism was inseparably joined with circumcision in the Jewish church. When a prose- lyte was made, they invariably circumcised and baptized him and his children. Of course only the males were circumcised, but both males and females were baptized. Says the learned Jewish writer, Maimonides, ' They baptized also young children. They baptize a little proselyte according to the judgment of the Sanhedrim : if he be deprived of his father, and his mother brings him to be made a proselyte, they baptize him (because none become proselytes without circumcision and baptism) ac- cording to the judgment or rite of the Sanhedrim; that is, that three men be present at the baptism, who are now instead of a father to him.^ And the Gemara, the second part of the Tal- mud, a sort of commentary on the Mishna, says : ^ If with a proselyte his sons and his daughters are made proselytes also, . that which is done by their father redounds to their good.' Again : ^ If an Israelite find a Gentile child or a Gentile infant, 250 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, and baptize him * ^ behold he is a proselyte/ Jewish con- verts and their children have always been blended together. They have always circumcised and baptized^ they still continue to circumcise and baptize : and they and their little ones, their children, advance as aforetime as inseparable associates into the Christian field. Under the Gospel dispensation, baptism was intended to supersede circumcision ; yet this was left optional with the J ew. He was required, in perfect conformity with Moses and his teachings, to become the follower of one greater than Moses, and who taught as never man taught/' Do you assert, Mr. Halley, that the Gospel has anything to do with infants asked Squire Tanner, as he looked up quite abstractedly from the book he had been consulting. It is stated here, sir, on page 206, by Mr. Graves, whom we consider good Baptist authority, that ^ The Gospel has nothing to do with infants.' What have you to say to that ? I have to say, sir, that that assertion is merely the tj)se dixit of your author, without a shadow of proof in its support. Look at the absurdity of the position, sir ! Although the Gospel was preached unto Abraham, and by divine appointment parent and child had traveled together in inseparable covenant relations for nearly tico tJiousand yearsy yet without finding one command or one clause, not even one word, in all the Bible, which, truly weighed, has a tendency to dissolve this relation ; notwithstand- ing all this, your author shoulders the responsibility, and pro- nounces these relations dissolved, and declares further that the Gospel never had anything to do with infants I And what is still more unaccountable, he would have the parent yield to this innovation without even a murmur, fully persuaded that He who had ^ gathered the lambs in his arms and carried them in his bosom,' and had said, ^ Suffer little children to come unto me and forbid them not,' would not gladly receive them ! And more wonderful still, the parent persists in circumcising his child, whilst at the same time he is assured THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 251 that ^ the Gospel has nothing to do with infants/ and that they are shut out from the privileges and blessings of the church of God ! And further, whilst the Apostles take the greatest pains to set them right on all other points, and even incur their resent- ment for their faithfulness in this duty, yet they suffer this glaring contradiction between principle and practice to continue without a syllable of disapprobation 1 This is your position, Squire Tanner ; is it probable — is it reasonable even ? Whatever the Apostles might have been, it is unmistakably evident that they were as unlike as possible to your author there ; or they would have denounced this infant consecration as ' impious,^ ^ sacrilegious,^ ^ daring rebellion against God,' etc., making such an uproar and outcry that the Christian church would have left at least as much as one text on record for our Baptist brethren to preach from. " But on the other hand how different from this are the facts in the case ! The Apostles declared that the covenant remains unaltered ; and so as a matter of necessity all the parties of the covenant remain in the same connection. Peter, on the day of Pentecost, being full of the Holy Ghost, stood up before the vast multitude assembled at J erusalem, and said unto them : * Eepent and be baptized, every one of you, for tlie promise is (still) to you and your children^ and all that are afar off^ even as many as the Lord our God shall call' (See Acts ii. 38, 39). And again in his second address (Acts iii. 25) : ^ Ye are the children of the prophets and the covenant luhich God made ivith our fathers, saying unto Abraham, In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.' " Is it not worthy of notice that Peter refers to some particu- lar covenant here ? In the original it is xai tyj^ diaOr^xr^^ (kai tes diathekes) and properly rendered is — ^ and of the covenant.' And also in the passage above it is ^ the promise is to you and to your children,^ i. e. the promise of God unto Abraham, ' to be a God unto thee and unto thy seed after thee.' 252 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, No one can consistently or intelligently deny, that these passages refer directly to the covenant and the promise made to Abraham and to his posterity. And Paul says (Gal. iii. 29), ' If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs ac- cording to the promise.' The promise then in which God en- gages to be our God, and to constitute us his people, is the one made to Abraham and to his seed ; and it equally extends to us and to our children, even down to eight days old, by divine appointment; for God declared it to be an everlasting covenant to Abraham and to his seed ; and the Apostles declared it to be still in force, and to extend to the Gentiles; and Paul de- clared further, to settle the matter and to make it perfectly plain, that ' if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.' Does it not then follow, that if we are Christians, we come under this same covenant, and enjoy its privileges, and partake of its promises? And moreover, it just as plainly follows that it is imperatively bind- ing on us to comj)ly with the requirement on our part in the covenant, and to have the seal of the covenant affixed to us and to our children.'' " But by the word children," said Tanner, " is meant pos- terity, and not necessarily ivfants.'^ The word ^ seed' used in the passages above cited," replied Halley, means also posterity — the earliest as well as the latest posterity — the youngest children in the family, as well as the most distant successor, and they are all included in the same covenant." Do you think, Mr. Halley, that Peter meant infants in the passage you quoted just now; where he says ^ the promise is to you and to your children' ?" asked Elder Clayton, thoughtfully. Peter speaks to all who are capable of understanding him. This vast multitude he calls ^you^ Now who can he possibly mean by the children of his hearers, but those children they had then — even the infant offspring — and also those they might THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 253 have thereafter ? And if the promise to the adults be a reason for their being baptized, it must also be a reason for baptizing their children, since the promise is to both, and made the foun- dation of their baptism. But our Baptist brethren would make Peter a weak reasoner indeed. According to their construction, he says. The promise is to you, therefore be baptized ; the pro- mise is also to your children, therefore let them not be baptized. 0, to what will party spirit not stoop to effect its ends ! But notice : the Apostle says, the promise is to you and to your chil- dren ; not is to you, and will he to your children when they become adults; but is now to parents and little ones alike. •^^And let us now further notice: Peter connects baptism with ' the promise ^ in the same manner that circumcision was connected with it. Under the old dispensation, the covenant and promise was to the believer, therefore he must be circum- cised in token of this fact. The same covenant and promise included his child, therefore the child must be circumcised in token of this fact. Says Peter, ' Repent and be baptized every one of you.^ Why ? ask the Jews — the believing Jews. Be- cause Hhe promise is to you and to your children.^ The pro- mise is to the believer, and it is confirmed in the person of Jesus Christ. They believed, and consequently the promise was theirs, and they must be baptized. But the promise is also to the believer's child, and therefore the believer's child must be baptized. The believer is one born of the Spirit of God, and with him only the covenant is made. Baptism is now the seal of faith, and this seal the believer must receive as a token of his faith in God's promises, and a sign of the sanctifying in- fluences of the Holy Spirit upon the heart. But by God's own appointment, which is never to be revoked or abrogated, the believer's child by virtue of its relation to the believing parent, is also included in the same covenant and promise, and icith its parent, receives the seal of faith, and sign of sanctification. " In view of this testimony, Squire Tanner, have Pcdobap- 22 254 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, tisis ^ in vain searched the Scriptures for evidence, — for a single precept or example — to justify the baptism of infants, as your author, Mr. Graves, affirms there on page 279 ? He who could in the abundant testimony of Revelation, declare such state- ments to be true, would say anything to effect his own designs. But if your author makes such a statement without the light of Revelation, without properly consulting his Bible, and there- fore in the darkness of the ignorance of the spirit and tenor oi the Old and New Testaments, then how great is that dark- ness ! Now in connection with what has already been said, let me request you all, at your leisure, to read Romans iv. 11-12, and Gal. iii. 6-9, and 28-29, and then tell me what more a ra- tional mind can want to confirm the facts I have stated. Dr. Edwards commenting on Acts ii. 38-39, remarks : ^ We should more certainly come at the truth, if instead of idly criti- cising, we could fancy ourselves Jews, and in the habit of cir- cumcising infants and receiving them into the church ; and then could we imagine one of our own nation and religion to address us in the language of Peter in the text : ^ The promise is to you and to your children let us ask ourselves whether we could ever suppose him to mean adults only ? ^ But Peter not only said, ' to you and to your children,^ but also, ^ them that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.^ Thus he opened the door to the Gentile believer. And Paul said, ' Christ came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them which were nigh (Gentiles and Jews) ] for through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father^ (see Eph. ii. 17-18). And again (in Eph. iii. 0) : ' That the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same hody, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the Gospel.' Will you now, Squire Tanner, if you please, turn to page 222 in your work there, and sec what your author says of Dr. Woods THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 255 Tanner turned to tlie page and read : So says also your other celebrated writer on this subject, Dr. Leonard Woods; ^The New Testament is silent respecting the subject of infant baptism. It is evident that infant baptism is not introduced as a subject of particular discussion. It is neither explicitly en- joined nor prohibited, and neither is the practice of baptizing children, nor the absence of it, expressly mentioned.' Why, he must have been almost a Baptist!^' exclaimed Halley. " But as I have his work here, I will read a little from it, and see if it sounds like that partial and fractional quotation made from him by your author ; that quotation is in effect a lihel on his views. Says Dr. Woods, Infant Baptism, 2d ed. page 43, ' Now my position is, that the Scriptures of the New Testament, understood according to just rides of interpretation , imply that the children of helievers are to he haptized. The rule of interpretation, which is of the highest consequence, and which will aid us most in discovering the true meaning of the Scriptures in relation to the subject now before us, is, that we put ourselves, as far as may he, in the place of those who gave instruction^ and of those who received it. " You will easily perceive the importance and necessity of this rule. For in numberless instances, a declaration or direc- tion derives its peculiar meaning from the consideration of the person who speaks, or of those to whom he speaks. Who does not know that the same combination of words has a very dif- ferent meaning in one place from what it has in another ? Even when the general sense of - the words is the same, the circum- stances of the case must determine the extent of the meanino- which they bear, or what is implied in the application of them to the subject in hand. Some fact, some prevalent custom, or habit of thinking, may give them a specific signification ; and without taking such fact or custom into view, we shall be likely to miss the exact sense and import of the words. In how many instances should we be at a loss respecting the meaning of his- 256 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, torians, poets^ and orators, without taking into account the age and place in which they lived, and the character, laws, and usages of the people with whom they were conversant, and for whom they wrote. As a single illustration of the importance of this principle, look at a text in the Old Testament, in which God requires that the Sahhath should be sanctified. How do you ascertain which day is meant ? Simply by considering what previous in- structions and commands were given to the Israelites on the subject, and what their usage was. In this way we are satis- fied that the seventh day was meant. Look now at a law, in an English or American statute-book, requiring the people to ab- stain from secular business on the Sahhath. How do you as- certain which day is meant here ? In the same manner as before, by considering what has been the usage of Christians generally, and particularly of that people for whom the law was made. In this way we are satisfied that the Jirst day of the week must be meant. Let us now come directly to the subject. Christ appointed baptism to be administered to all who should become proselytes to his religion, that is, to all Christians; and when he was about leaving his Apostles, who were to be employed as the in- Btruments of converting the world, he gave them this commis- sion ; ^ Go ye, and teach all na4:ions, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.' The word fiaOrit^vca'ts (7)iathetusate)j rendered teach, properly signifies, make disciples; jyroselyte ; convert to the Christian re- ligion. The commission then is this; ^ Go ye, proselyte, or make disciples of all nations, haptizing tliem in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and, of the Holy Ghost.' This com- mand was given by one who was born a Jew, and educated among the Jews, and was perfectly acquainted with all their institutions and lavvs, with their cii^^toms and usages, and with the dispensations of Divine Providence towards them. And THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 257 the command was addressed to Jews. Now whatever there was in the general circumstances^ which could have an influence upon the meaning of the command, or which would naturally cause it to be understood in one way or another, is worthy of special attention. ^^Let it be considered, then, that the Jews had long been accustomed to make proselytes from paganism to their religion. The obligation to do this had been brought to view in the divine law, and rules had been given for the proper treatment of proselytes. To make proselytes was regarded as a great object; and the efforts of the Jews to bring others to embrace their religion, were crowned with extensive success. Prose- lytes were numerous both in Greece and in Kome ] and it seems that, after the persecuting reign of Antiochus Epiphanes, some whole nations, as the Idumeans, Itureans, and Moabites, pro- fessed the Jewish faith. And whenever Gentiles embraced the Jewish religion, they were treated in regard to circumcision according to the Jewish law; that is, they were circumcised, — parents and children. This was the law of the Jews ; and this was the uniform practice. Hence it must be easy to determine how Christian Jews would be likely to understand the duty of proselyting idolaters and unbelievers to the true religion. Sup- pose that God, previously to the Christian dispensation, had se- lected twelve Jews, and gent them forth to convert Greeks and Romans to their religion, and without any mention of children, had meVely given them this commission : Go ye, i:)ro?,eJyte and circumcise them. Would they not have understood such a com- mission as requiring them to circumcise the children of con- verted Greeks and Romans ? Unquestionably they would. And why ? Because tliey were Jews, and liad; always heen ac- customed to the circumcision of children, as well as parents. In obedience to this divine command, they would have gone to the people specified, and in all the instances in which men vrere made prosely teS; would have circumcised them and their children. 22* R 258 ANNA CLAVTON; OR, Again : suppose, in sucli a case, a command had been given, which included baptism with circumcision ; thus : Go ye J and proseli/te those nations^ circumcising and hajptizing them. Still not a word about children; but simply, Go and proselyte those nations to Judaism, circumcising and haptizing them. Most certainly, they would have understood that baptism, as well as circumcision^ was to be applied to proselytes and their children. But suppose that baptism had been put in the place of cir- cumcision, as the sign to be put upon proselytes to Judaism; and so the command to the Jewish teachers had been : Go ye, proselyte and haptize the people of Greece and Rome. Must they not have understood the command in the same way? Surely those who were acquainted with the commands and in- stitutions which God gave to Abraham and to Moses, and who had always been accustomed to observe them, could have had no doubt, that the rite which marked the relation of proselytes to God, was to be applied to their children also. Thus far, all must have the same opinion. Such a divine command to Jews before the time of Christ, whether it ap- pointed circumcision only, or circumcision together with bap- tism, or baptism instead of circumcision, as a mark to be applied to those who were proselyted to the Jewish religion, must have been understood as intended to be applied also to the children of proselytes, though no mention was made of children in the command. " I am now only availing myself of one of the most import- ant principles of interpretation, and attempting to show, what influence must have been produced upon the meaning of Christ's direction by the circumstance that he was a Jew, and that ho gave the direction to JnrSj whose laws and usages had been what the Scriptures represent. ]>ut to ilhistrate this })rinciplc still farther; suppose it to have been the appointm,ent of our Savior, after his public min- THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 259 istry began, that circumcision should be applied to converts to Christianity, as it had been to converts to Judaism ; and sujd- pose him to have said to his Apostles ; ' Go ye, proselyte all nations, and circumcise them,^ making no mention of children. Could the Apostles have doubted a moment, in such a case, whether circumcision was meant to be applied to the cliildren of proselytes ? But why should we suppose they would put a diflferent construction upon the commission they received from Christ, because haptism was made the sign of proselytes, instead of circumcision? There is evidently nothing in the import of the sign, which would require any difference in its application. For baptism is appointed simply as a sign, to be put upon those who are proselyted to Christianity. If circumcision had been continued, and Christ had commanded it to be put upon Chris- tian proselytes, as it had been upon proselytes to the religion of Moses; the meaning and use of it would have been perfectly the same, as the meaning and use of baptism. ^' Also Dr. Lightfoot says in reply to this objection, raised by our Baptist friends, that because infants are not expressly men- tioned in the commission, they therefore are excluded: answer, it is not forhidden to baptize infants, therefore they are to be baptized. And the reason is plain ; for when pedo-hap- tism in the Jewish church was so known, usual, and frequent in the admission of proselytes, that nothing, almost, was more known, usual, and frequent ; there was no need to strengthen it with any precept, when baptism was now passed into an evangelical sacrament. For Christ took baptism into his hands, and into evangelical use, as he found it ; this only added, that he might promote it to a worthier end and a larger use. The whole nation knew well enough that little children used to be haptized^ there was no need of a precept for that which had ever by common use prevailed. * * On the other hand there- fore there was need of a plain and open prohibition that in- fants and little children should not he haptized, if our Lord 260 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, would not have had them baptized. For since it was most common in all preceding ages that little children should be baptized, if Christ had been minded to have that custom abolished, he would have openly forhidden it. Therefore his silence^ and the silence of the Scriptures in this matter, con- firms pedo-baptism, and continues it to all ages/ Are not these arguments perfectly plain and unmistakable V' exclaimed Anna, wholly absorbed in the discussion, and her countenance lighted up with joyous intelligence, as if having discovered new truths, and broader fields of investigation. ^' Dr. Woods, and Dr. Lightfoot, and also Dr. Edwards arrived at the same conclusion which we reached ] and all, or nearly so, by different processes of reasoning; and each process strengthens the others. What can be stronger — what can be more evident ? And, may I not ask, if there is not something in the instruc- tions of Christ, which are of 2i positive character also, and such as would have fully satisfied the Apostles in what light he regarded the children of his people^ and how he would have them treated ? In Matt. xix. 13 and 14, it is recorded : ' There were brought to Jesus little children, that he should put his hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. Eut Jesus said. Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me : for of such is the kingdom of heaven.^ In Luke xviii. 15, it is said, ^ And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them.'^^ In the passage in Luke,'^ said Halley, ^Hhe Greek word Q^i^-q (hreplie) is used, which in our version is correctly rendered by the word infants , as it means very young children. Now your author, Squire Tanner, takes the position that the terms, ' kingdom of heaven,' and Miingdom of God,' mean that visible church polity J which Christ came to set up, called his church; but seeing a weak point in this argument here, he endeavors to make a distinction between Christ's kingdom and Christ's THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 2G1 cTiurcli ; which, however, is a distinction with no difference. He says (see Theodosia Ernest, vol. ii. p. 150) : ^Baptism is the door of entrance into the visible kingdom, and through the kingdom into the church.' And yet all that is necessary (see next page, 151) to get them through the hingdom into the church, is to shake hands with them ! The mere act of shaking hands is sufficient to shake them out of the visible kingdom into the visible cnurch ! What a sublime idea ! How his mind must have labored with such a thought ! How finely and efi'ectually he has thereby shielded himself from attack and overthrow, by so acutely evading the force of the Scripture teachings in this argument, founded upon his own premises ! "If the term ^kingdom of heaven' means Christ's visible church, then Christ has declared infants to be members of it, and we receive them upon his express command : ' Suffer them to come to me ; for of such is the kingdom of heaven : ' for theij belong to my church; and consequently the argument is at an end." " Hold ! " said Tanner, opening his eyes wide with astonish- ment; Christ says ^ of such/ that is, of persons like them." "Ah!" said Halley, "another evasion! Then you would paraphrase it thus : ^ Suffer little children to come unto me, for my kingdom belongs not to them, but to adults, who resemble them in spirit ! ' It would have been no more preposterous to say : Suffer doves and Iambs to come unto me, for my kingdom consists not of them, but of adult persons of the genus homo, who have dovedike and lamb-like tempers ! Such absurdity is its own refutation ! But there are other passages in which the same Greek text occurs with no sensible difference. Anna, take your Bible, if you please, and read them. You will find many, but need read only two now : Matt. v. 3, and v. 10." Anna read : " Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matt. v. 10 : " Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake ; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." 262 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, ^^1 suppose/' continued Halley, "you would have it read, Squire Tanner, that the kingdom of heaven does not belong to the poor in spirit, but only to such as resemble them ; does not belong to those who are persecuted for righteousness^ sake, but only to those who are like them in temper ! " No ! replied Tanner ; " it is evidently no such thing ; and I will not thus trifle with God's truth ! " Then you admit that Christ pronounced them blessed, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to such : in like manner also, you must admit that Christ said, ' SuiFer little children to come to me,' because the kingdom of heaven belongs to them. Make what you will of these passages ; the inspired word of God declares little children to be equally entitled to the privi- leges and blessings of Christ's kingdom, with the ^poor in spirit,' and the ' persecuted for righteousness' sake.' There is no getting round this truth. A critical examination of the text will strengthen this rendering beyond the shadow of a doubt. The Greek word TfoiovTfcov (toiouton^, rendered in our version ^ of such/ properly denotes the nature or quality of the thing to which it is applied, and is equal to such of this kind or sort. The passage, then, literally signifies, that to such children as these (for they had believing parents), the privileges of Christ's kingdom belong. Also the declaration ' of such is the kingdom of heaven,' is expressly made the reason for suffering little children to come unto him. " In all Greek, both Hellenistic and Classic, the Greek word yap (jjar^ is used to denote the reason of what has been asserted or implied. The declaration, then, ' tCjv yap toiovtuiv ioTfiv 7] |3aaa£ta tc^v ovpavccv' (^toue gar toioutdne est in he basilia tone ouranone) : ^for of such is the kingdom of heaven/ must be understood as furnishing the reason ich?/ little children were to be suffered to come unto Christ (See Woods on Infant Baptism, pp. 65-76). "If now it is objected that the expression, 'kingdom of THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 263 heaven^ implies the kingdom of glory, or a lieavenly state — as some prefer to consider it : we answer, very well ; our argument is only strengthened by this view of the passage. For if our little children belong to the kingdom of glory, by virtue of their relation to the believing parent, and through the all-suffi- cient atonement made by our Savior, then much more do they belong to God's visible kingdom on earth, and we may hi/ right demand the seal appointed to signify that interesting relation. If they already possess the thing signified , why withhold the sign of it ? What right have you, and by what authority do you do this ? Is there anything in the nature of the Christian church, to make it inconsistent to suppose that the children of believing parents are to have a part in it, and to avail them- selves of its blessings and privileges ? Does not the church militant belong properly to those, whom the great Head of the church has declared to be fit subjects for his church triumphant ? Has any one doubts or difficulties on this subject?^' Elder Clayton had a difficulty in his mind, and after a few moments of silence he gave it expression, and said with a troubled, perplexed look : But Christ did not baptize these little children!'' ^' Nor did he baptize adults,'' replied Halley ; but he did what was of more value, of far greater consequence, than the mere application of water to them. He took them in his arms and blessed them as his by adoption ; and declared that they stood in the same relation to God and to his kingdom, as they had ever stood since the first organization of his church in the family of Abraham. By taking them in his arms and publicly recognizing them as subjects of his kingdom, he certainly authorized the application of whatever sign or seal might be appointed to distinguish the members of his kingdom from the world. And I would ask you. Elder Clayton, what evidence an adult believer could ofier in relation to this point in question, more satisfactory than that involved in the relation which children^ by 264 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, divine appointment^ sustain to God's everlasting covenant? In one case we have ?i profession of repentance and faith^ which may be false, and made from the basest of motives ; and in the other, a declaration from the Master himself, that ' to such the kingdom of God belongs/ Who ever offered better evidence of his fitness for baptism, than such a certificate from the Great Head of the church ? What more can you ask ? ^Now look at it ! On the very ground of our Baptist brethren, that the ^ kingdom of heaven ^ means the visihle churchy Christ himself has declared that children have a right to its privileges and blessings — that they belong to it. On the other hand, where it is maintained that the term ^kingdom of heaven^ means the church triumphant, a heavenly state, then as they have been declared members of that, which is only the visible church 2)erfected, only a transfer to a heavenly state, to be with its Head ; then, most certainly, they can hj/ right demand the enjoyment of its privileges here, and also the application of that seal to them, which the Master has given to distinguish his fold from the world. Their parents, as their guardians in infancy, who belong to this visible church, have a right to demand this for their children. It is not only their right to do this for tiicir children, but an imperative duty, and they are responsible to God for a faithful discharge of it.'^ I do'nt see how we can question their fitness^^ said Anna, ^'unless v»^e believe i\\Qm ' cliildr en of ir rath/ £ind that they will surely be damned, if they die in infancy ! But this the Baptists themselves reject as a horrid thought! If we believe them heirs of heaven until they rebel by actual transgression^ then they are as fit subbjects for baptism as you or I; and far more so, for they have not that load of guilt, those actual trans- gressions upon their consciences that we have. And we are not only assured that they are ft suhJeciSy but Jesus said, * Su flier them to come unto me.' And he says again : ^ He that Cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out! The Great Shep- THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 265 herd who ^ gathers the lambs in his arms, and carries them in his bosom/ is not so heartless that he would fain ca^t them out, or thrust them from the pale and privileges of his church ! George Herbert well said — "'Since, Lord, to thee A narrow way and little gate Is all the passage; on my infancy Thou didst lay hold, and antedate My faith in me.' " " And now, Mr. Halley, will you please tell us what is implied on the part of parents when they present their child for bap- tism Before angels and men, they give up their child to God, renouncing their own claim to dispose of it; and acknowledge that it was originally God's gift, and is now laid on his altar. They offer it to God the Father as its Creator. They offer it to God the Son as its Savior and Redeemer, and who, for it, be- came in his incarnation a little child like unto it. And they offer it to God the Holy Ghost as its Sanctifier; of whom it is born in the Spirit, and thus fitted for the holiness of heaven. It is a solemn moment on the part of the parents when they take it from the altar. They have given it to God, and they now bear it away to bring it up for him. And whenever they look upon it thereafter their feelings are to be expressed by these words ^Lent, not given.' Yes, Lord — " ' Our children thou dost claim, And mark them out for thine ; Ten thousand blessings to thy name For goodness so divine. Thy covenant may we keep, And bless the happy bands Which closer still engage our hearts, To honor thy commands. 23 266 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, Our offspring, still thy care, Shall own their father's God; To latest times thy blessings share, And sound thy praise abroad.' " Wliat are the obligations whicli this consecration of the child imposes on the parents ? asked Anna. To frequently renew the dedication of the child to God. To begin early to pray with the child. To early teach it the nature and meaning of baptism, and its obligations to God. To always bear in mind its consecration, and their covenant vows when deciding questions of duty in governing or advising the child. And what is implied on the part of a covenant- keeping God in this ordinance cannot, perhaps, be better ex- pressed than in the words of the celebrated Shepherd of Cam- bridge to his son : ' God gave thee the ordinance of baptism, whereby God is become thy God, and is hcforehand with thee, so that if thou wilt return to God, he will midouhtedly receive tlieer' There is a fitness in this,'^ said Anna, which shows the finger-prints of Jehovah. And do you think, that if parents — air Christian parents — would thus consecrate their children, and faitlifidly, religiously perform the obligations it imposes upon them, there would be an unconverted child in the families of all such believers I answer with the most perfect assurance,^' replied Halley, that there woidd not he one ! For if God's people kept their part of the covenant unbroken, G od could not violate his part of it. ' Yea, let God be true, though every man a liar.' It is because Christians take such obligations upon them thought- lessly, or in ignorance of their nature and importance, and therefore violate almost every hour of their lives this solemn covenant ; and set v^ry inconsistent examples before their fami- lies ) so that thousands of baptized children are, to-day, lifting up their eyes being in torment. But this is no reason or excuse THf> INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 267 for not making this consecration of their children to God. It is just as much the duty of those who do not have their chil- dren baptized in infancy, to train them up for the Lord, as it is of those who set out to do the will of their Father in this respect, and endeavor to obey God herein : for God has com- manded it. And if they do not appear before God with a broken covenant, they will appear before him, having broken, neglected and despised his commands. Impressions made in early life by parents upon their children are potent for good or evil, and can never be effaced. * Heaven lies about us in our infancy.' " John Newton testifies that in the midst of his infidelity and debauchery, he would sometimes seem to feel the pressure of his mother's hand upon his head, though long since dead ; and when she prayed with him he was too young to understand her words, but the pressure of that hand followed him in his manhood, and was one of the means of bringing him to God. Truly, *The mother, in her office, holds the key Of the soul; and she it is who stamps the coin Of character, and makes the being, who would be a savage But for her gentle cares, a Christian man.' " If we dedicate our children at home,^^ said Squire Tanner, what is the use of a public consecration of them ? I will ask in reply,^^ said Halley, if we dedicate ourselves to God in our closets, what is the use of a public profession of religion ? " Why, God requires it. "We must profess Christ before men ; and thereby we are restrained from sin, and prompted to duty. The remembrance of our public profession acts as a monitor in the Christian life.'^ God also requires the other,^^ replied Halley ; and for precisely the same reason on our part. The recollection of it 268 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, will incite to greater faithfulness. Public vows have tenfold more effect upon the mind than vows made in private/' ^^But why make use of baptism in doing it?'' asked Tanner. Why not bring them to the house of God^ and have public prayers for them without the ordinance of baptism?" And I ask in reply again/' said Halley, '^why do we use the ordinance of the Lord's Supper, when we desire particularly to remember feelingly the Lord Jesus, and to call to mind the most forcibly his death and sufferings ? Why not come toge- ther, and have prayers and a sermon suitable to bring the Savior before the mind ? Why you answer : there is some- thing in the sight of the emblems, and the taking of them in our hands, which affects the mind more deeply than anything else can. By it we get a nearer, clearer view of the atonement, than in any other way. So also baptism is calculated to bring the operation of the Spirit before our minds. By it we ac- knowledge our need of him, our need of his aid to help us in the discharge of duty, and also his purifying influences upon the heart of the child. And further : God has taught us and commanded us to consecrate them to him, by placing upon them the seal of his covenant; and we have no right of choice in the matter. There is something in seeing that seal placed upon our child in the name of the Triune God, that is more impres- sive than many exhortations and prayers. And besides having the effect to make the parent more faithful ; we know, if we fulfill our vows toward it, that it secures to the child the especial favor of God : for God has pledged his word, and he cannot lie. ^ He has promised, and will he not fulfill ?' Why did God promise Abraham, * I will be a God to thee, and to thy seed after thee?' God himself answers the ques- tion (Gen. xviii. 19) : ^ For I know him, that lie ivill command his children, and his household after him, and thei/ shall keep the loay of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham, that which he hath spoken to him/ THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 269 God is Tinder no obligation to fulfil his covenant vows, toward those who do not command their children after them^ and keep the way of the Lord. But moreover, it secures to the child the prayers of the church at the time of baptism, and ever after at suitable times, in circles for prayer, till the child grown to a proper age reconsecrates himself, and sits down at the Lord's table; and God has encouragingly styled himself a ' prayer-hearing God,^ and also a ' prayer-answering God/ And, lastly, it affords the child in after years, strong grounds of hope to come to God ; it is a source of great encouragement at the time of conversion — or a reconsecration to God — I know it has been to me. There are times when the Spirit of God is striving with us ) when anything that can keep the soul from despair, and quicken faith, is of great importance. At such times, the recollections of a parent's faith and prayers, and the united prayers of God's people, will encourage and lead a despairing soul to look up and plead with effect : 0 God ! was I not cast upon thee when a child ? Remember thou, 0 Lord, thy cove- nant, for art thou not a covenant-keeping God ? I confess my waywardness and rebellion, and would now return in penitent submission unto thee, who art the God of my fathers, and didst covenant to be my God, till by my transgression I rejected thee ; yet now with penitential sorrow and tears would I come to thee, and beseech thee not to cast me off in thine anger. Some persons think that baptism is a profession of religion, and for this reason, they must be baptized when they make a profession. This is a mistaken idea. Baptism is not our pro- fession to God, but God's profession to us. It is his seal, the seal of his covenant, placed upon us. It is a common error, that the baptism of children makes them members of the church. This is not true. The children of believing parents are horn members, and baptism is but a recognition of that right of membership. Their membership is not founded on their baptism, but their baptism on their membership. God or- 23* 270 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, dained that any infant wliicli should not be circumcised, ^ that soul should he cut off from his people,^ because, it is added, ' he hath broken my vow! Here it is manifest that the soul cut off in consequence of non-circumcision, must previously, and in- dependent of circumcision, have belonged to God's people — must have been a subject of the covenant, and member of God's church ; or else, how could he be cut off, or be said to have broken his vow ? Hence, circumcision was but the recognition of that membership. So children of Christian parents are members of God's visible church in virtue of his election of them Ihrough Christ, to be partakers of his covenant of Grace ^ and baptism is the seal of that covenant — the vow of fidelity to it, and of course a public recognition of their mem- bership. This view is also supported by the proper rendering of 1 Cor. vii. 14, ' Else were your children unclean, but now are they holy;' that is, now held as members of the Christian church.'^ I rather think you will find that untenable ground,^^ said Tanner, hastily turning the leaves of his book. ^^Let me read a little to you of what Mr. Graves says on p. 216 : ^The Jews, as we learn from Ezra x. 3, were not permitted to continue in the marriage relation with their Gentile wives. Now the ques- tion had come up in the Corinthian church, whether a Christian should not, under a similar regulation, separate from an unbe- lieving and idolatrous companion. But if such unbelieving consorts were by the other's faith entitled to church member- ship, and had, consequently, been baptized, such a thing as separation on this ground would never have been thought of. It is evident, therefore, that the infidel husband or the infidel wife were not baptized, or made church members. There is in the Scriptures not the slightest allusion to any such church mcnibcrs made by the faith of others, and not by their own. These persons were, therefore, in every sense, outsiders. They had no more connection with the church than any other hea- THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 271 thens had. But the Apostle says to their Christian compa- nions, You have no more reason to discard their children, for they are also unbelievers, and without the pale of the church. The unbelieving husband and the unbelieving wife, and your children, not their children, stand in the same category. They are all without the church — all unbaptized — and thus far, all equally unfit associates. But as your children, though not in the church, are holy to you, that is, fit to associate with, so is the unbelieving husband or the unbelieving wife, although they are also out of the church. * * * And if the children of be- lieving parents were unbaptized, it was a Baptist church ; and if the church at Corinth was a Baptist church, then all the churches planted by the Apostles were Baptist churches/ Now, Mr. Halley, that is what I call a perfect demonstration! I think you may as well resign that text, at least.^^ Halley smiled half unconsciously, and said that by and by that could better be determined upon ; he then turned to the passage in his Greek Testament, and hastily glanced it over. Every eye was resting on him during this interval of a very few moments of silence. Looking up from his Greek text, and turning toward Squire Tanner with a clear, steady, and earnest gaze, he said : " In the first place, permit me to assure your text-book, that we do not claim that an unbelieving husband or wife is entitled to baptism on the faith of his or her partner; nor is that, by any means, a sequence from our premises/^ "I think you speak rather contemptuously,'^ said Squire Tanner, with an offended air. ^^Not at all, sir,'^ said Halley; ^^but as all present might not understand the connection between Mr. J. B. Graves, the editor of the ^Tennessee Baptist,' and that fatherless volume you hold in your hand, I thought I would speak so as to be understood. If you prefer it, then, permit me to assure Mr. Graves, and through Mr. Graves permit me to assure you, that that is not a deduction from our premises. Our position is that God's cove- 272 ANNA CLAYTON] OR, nant is with his believing people and their children. And if either parent is a believer, then, through the faith of that pa- rent, the children are entitled to covenant privileges. His mixing in something about the infidel wife and the infidel hus- band being church members on the faith of the other, is done merely for effect upon those who might not have discernment enough to discover the sophistry of his argument, and it is altogether irrelevant to the point in question. We claim that we are taught here in this text by the Apos- tle Paul, that by the faith of one parent the children are made holy in that sense which entitles them to the privileges of the church. Calvin, Wahl, Whitby, Knapp, Doederlein, Dod- dridge, Schleusner, and many others, render this passage thus, Schleusner says, ' He is called holy who is to be numbered with the society of Christians.' Wahl says, ^It is spoken of one who is in any way connected with Christians, and therefore to be reckoned among them.' Dr. Doddridge says — and with him agree the great mass of the most learned and distinguished commentators, as well as the great mass of the Christian world — ^On the maturest and the most impartial consideration of this text, I must refer it to infant baptism.' And indeed, this is the natural interpretation of the passage; and the most rigid scrutiny of the original language not only bears out this rendering, but condemns every other which has been advanced. So strongly does the natural interpretation prove infant baptism, that its opposers have felt that there was no relief but to set aside the proper interpretation. The famous Baptist commen- tator Dr. Gill, supposes the Apostle to mean, ^Elsc were your children illegitimate, but now are they legitimate' The ab- surdities of this gloss are many and palpable. I will mention but few. The Greek words, which he renders here ^illegiti- mate' and legitimate,' have no such meaning anywhere else in the Bible, or anywhere in classic Greek; it is never used in this sense by any Greek author, sacred or profane ; and there- THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 273 fore is of course a sheer fabrication of Dr. Gill. The word axciOaprd (akatharta), which he renders ^illegitimate/ means unclean or common ^ and has its usual signification in Acts x. 14, where it is used by Peter. So also ay id (liagid)^ which he renders legitimate/ means holi/j set apart, consecrated^ as in Luke ii. 23, where the same word is used. See also Ex. xiii. 12. Also, the idea that piety in one party is necessary to ren- der a marriage contract valid, is so ridiculous, that not a word need be said to refute it ] it is its own confutation ! ^^It is objected by Mr. Graves, that if the children being called lioli/ makes them members of church, then the unbeliev- ing husband and wife, being said to be sanctified (the original word is TiyCaatai (hegtasti), which means to be regarded, not as wiclean — not as an idolator^ bnt as helonging to the Christian community), would make them church members also, and enti- tle them to baptism all around. Splendid reasoning this ! It is just like that he treats his readers to all along. For instance, he says, repentance and faith are required of adults in order to baptism; but in/ants cannot have these, and therefore are not fit subjects for baptism. There is no logical connection here at all. He has confounded the two distinct classes, in/ants and adults. We reason : The Scriptures require repentance and faith of adults in order to baptism, but some adults have no repentance and faith, and therefore some adults are not to be baptized. We put no more in the conclusion than can be in- ferred from the premises. Your conclusion must not be over- drawn from the premises, or have different terms than are properly predicated in your premises ; or else your reasoning becomes no reasoning — only a specious argument to the undis-. cerning — a sophism merely. This is the kind of reasoning your author, Squire Tanner, indulges in very freely; for he has learned that by putting one thing in the premises, and another entirely different in the conclusion, he can thereby assert any absurdity, however glaring ; and it is in this way that he has S 274 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, raised such specious objections to infant baptism^ to palm off upon the ignorant. Now in that same passage of Scripture before referred to, where faith and repentance are required of adults in order to salvation, Mr. Graves' reasoning must inevitably lead to this, that infants cannot have these, therefore infants cannot be saved. Paul says : ' If any one (meaning adults of course, and those ahle to work), will not work, neither shall he eat.' Mr. Graves would add. Infants cannot work, and therefore they shall not eat. Says Paul, ' Circumcision verily profiteth if thou keep the law' (referring to those, certainly, who can keep the law). Says Brother Graves, Infants cannot keep the law, there- fore their circumcision is unprofitaltle. But says Paul, ' If thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncir- cumcis^on.' Brother Graves would say. Infants cannot break the law, therefore their circumcision is not made uncircumcision — that is, it is profit ahle. Christ says, ' He that believeth and is baptized (referring only to those who are aUe to believe), shall be saved.' Brother Graves would respond. Infants can- not believe, therefore tliei/ shall not he saved, if he still rea- soned as usual ; but no, that does not subserve his purpose, and so he says, shall not he haptized ; which in fact is only another variation which he is very familiar with, and falls under the same general class. And in this case, his argument is; if children being called holy, entitles them to baptism, then adults being called sanctified, entitles them also to baptism ; which, like the others we have been considering, is a pure so- phism, and proves nothing ! Its fallacy lies in the idea, that the effect produced on the unbelieving husband or wife by al- liance with the believing, is precisely the same with the holi- ness which children derive from their descent from believing parents. But the supposition is altogether without foundation — it is unwarranted. We grant that the unbelieving wife or husband is not to be called unclean or an idolator, for the word THE INQUIRER AFTER TRIJTH. 275 of God says so, but he is not to be regarded in that sense, which shall entitle him to church membership, for there are no such conditions in God's covenant; and therefore it would be a violation of it. But the membership of infants would be no violation of it, provided one of their parents be numbered with the people of God. In view of the covenant and this expo- sition of Paul, it would be but a natural and necessary corollary. In accordance with the terms of the covenant, church-member- ship was the hirtliright of the children of God's people; but in no case was it allowed on the mere fact of intermarriage. Paul in this argument assumes that the children of believers are holy and clean. But was that true ? Ask the Bible reader, if it was true in accordance with the meaning the J ews gave the term ? The answer is in the affirmative. The J ews were called a ^ holy people.' Why? Because they were separated from the Gentile world, who were considered unclean, and directly in covenant with God. The word ' holy,' in its general sense, meant set apart, consecrated ] and it amJiincIean were ever converse terms. They were used not only to distinguish J ews from Gentiles, but also anything which was set apart from a common to a religious use. In this sense, the Sabbath-day is called holy, likewise the vessels of the temple, the vestments of the high-priests, etc. Thus it follows that the children of the Jews were considered by the Jews as holy, and the chil- dren of the Gentiles as unclean. This understanding of terms actually existed in the minds of the Jews ; and Paul assumes this, and then reasons that the believing husband need not put away his unbelieving wife ; for, as paraphrased by Dr. Woods, ^ The children are holy in the sense intended, in consequence of the influence which the believing wife has upon the unbelieving husband, or the believing husband upon the unbelieving wife. He is sanctified by her, and she by him ; and in consequence of their sanctification^ whatever it is, the children are lioli/. With- out this sanctification of the unbelieving by the believing, the 276 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, cliildren would be unclean. Suppose now husband and wife are both unbehevers. The sanctification spoken of^ whatever it is, does not exist ; of course, the reason or cause of the holi- ness of the children does not exist — they cannot be holy — they are unclean/ When both parents were believers, the children belonged to the church as a matter of course ; but now when one only was a believer, they could not decide, and so they sub- mitted the case to Paul, and h<3 assured them that God would reckon the children to the helieving parent, and not to the un- believing. It is enough that they are yours. The infidelity of your partner shall never frustrate their interest in the cove- nant of your God. They are Jioli/ because you are holy. ^^But in this investigation. Squire Tanner, we have not found that the children of believers, at Corinth, were unbap- tized. And it is too bad, on account of the glittering air-bubble your author erected on that supposition. I cannot refrain from holding it up for our contemplation a moment, ere it vanishes into air. Turn, if you please, to page 218, and see his state- ment : ^ If the children of Corinth were unbaptized, it was a Baptist church ; and if the church at Corinth was a Baptist church, then all the churches planted by the Apostles were Baptist churches.^ That I think is the substance of the state- ment ; and here we have truly a beautiful little edifice — spire, dome, walls, and columns — very beautiful for Baptist eyes to gaze upon, and all hung upon a convenient little ' IF.' Turn it around and gaze upon it! 0, if that little ^if' was not so precarious a support ! What if it should pull out, and let all down in a crash at our feet! Suppose, now, I hang up a ^ water-fowV on the same loop ! I will capture it by the same process of reasoning employed by Brother Graves in discovering his Baptist churches, and I desire you to look first upon the one and then upon the other; and no doubt you will wonder and admire ! If a turtle swims, it is a ' 'watcr-fowl ;^ and if it is a ' water-fowl/ then all birds are ' 'watcr-fowU I ' THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 277 " In addition to what has already been adduced, we learn, by an examination of the New Testament in the original Greek, that most of the terms applied to believers, were also applied to their children. They used the most affectionate appellations ; such as brother, sister, the called, the elect, holy persons or saints, the faithful, etc. These, however, were given to none but church members. The one most frequently and extensively given to church members was, Hhe faithful.^ This remained their title for several centuries. It was used in the singular and also in the plural. The mother of Timothy is called a faithful — 7ii6tr^^hich vrere applied to children as well as to adult church members ; but we have said enough on this point. If any one will be convinced by the truth at all, suffi- cient evidence has already been adduced to show that our statements are correct. I will now only add a few inscriptions, marking the last resting-place of some of those who immediately succeeded the apostles. George, can you tell me what the Catacombs of Rome arei"* THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 279 It is supposed/^ answered George, that excavations, for building-stone, were commenced near Rome long before the age assigned to Romulus and Remus, and therefore long before the Eternal City was founded. A mighty people inhabited this district of Italy long before the Romans, and built those massive Etruscan tombs, and the temples in Paestum, which, two thou- sand years ago, the Romans were accustomed to visit as antiqui- ties. These ancient quarries, subterranean quarries, abound in the south of Italy, at Rome and Naples ; and also are traced in Sicily, in Greece, in Asia Minor, and in nearly all the Greek islands. Those at Rome are very extensive. They are a net- work of excavations, and extend to the distance of fifteen miles, and some say even twenty. They are a perfect labyrinth. Cicero speaks of them in his oration for Cluentius. In these caverns, also, Suetonius tells us, Nero was advised to conceal himself in his hour of danger ) but he replied that ' he would not go under the ground while living/ Before and after the time of Nero, these catacombs were inhabited by those con- demned to work there ; and also afforded a safe place of retreat in times of disaster and persecution.^' What connection have they with the early Christians and the primitive church ? asked Halley. They were their dwelling-places and their cemetery re- plied George. Father Bosio was the first modern writer who turned his attention to them. He spent more than thirty years (1567 to 1600) in exploring them, penetrating into some of the innermost c^-ypts which had been closed for centuries, and making drawings of the inscriptions. Father Boldetti also spent more than thirty years in the examination of the tombs and crypts prior to 1720. M. D'Agincourt, an ardent student of Christian archaeology, settled in Rome near the close of the last century, intending to stay six months, but remained fifty years solely occupied in these investigations. In 1846, a work appeared in England entitled ^The Church in the Catacombs/ 280 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, by Charles Maitland, M. D., and also in this country, in 1854, a small work called the ^ Catacombs of Eome/ by E.ev. William I. Kip, D. D. By these investigations it is shown that the catacombs were, throughout, well known to the early Christians; for all parts of them bear trace of their occupancy. Says Dr. Kip : ^ For three hundred years the entire Christian population of Eome found sepulture in these recesses.' Chrysostom and Prudentius speak of them as the dwelling-places of the Christians during the persecutions in the first age of the Christian church. Jerome, in the middle of the fourth century (about 850), speaks of visiting them whilst a youth at Rome. He called them ^ the Sepulchres of the Apostles and Martyrs/ After«the persecu- tions, in the reign of Constantino (after 30G), three centuries having passed by, Christianity emerging from these dark recesses, w^alked boldly on the surface of the earth, beneath which she had so long been glad to seek concealment. Here in these dens and caves of the earth, for two hundred years (from the death of the Apostles), was probably the most per- fect representation of the Apostolic church. Here were the doctrines and teachings of the Apostles preserved in their primitive simpleness and purity. At least, so say they who have made this subject a life-study, and who understand it the best.'^ f Very well, thcn,^^ said Halley, " if there is any practice or doctrine to be learned from their relics and their inscriptions, we may be pretty well assured that it is Apostolic in its nature and character. Persecutions have a tendency to purify a church, and to keep it pure ; and we know that during its whole history in these retreats it was in the midst of the most violent persecutions. We find these early inscriptions rude and charac- terized by the utmost simplicity. We here find numerous epitaphs of children, who are called ^ faitlifuh^ and ^ ncoiiliytc^^^ titles which could not have been bestowed upon them unless THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 281 they had been received by baptism into the Christian church. The age at which they died, of course, precludes the idea of that rite having been administered to them in any way but as infants. I will read some of these inscriptions and epitaphs from some of the works which George has referred to on this subject. ^^1. ^To Romanus, the well-deserving neophyte, who lived eight years.' 2. ^Flavia Jovina, who lived three years and thirty days, a neophyte. In peace (she died) the eleventh ka- lends.' 3. ' The tile of Candidus, the neophyte, who lived twenty-one months, buried on the nones of September.' 4. ^ A faithful descended from ancestors who were faithfuls. Here lies Zosimus; he lived two years, one month, and twenty-five days.' This inscription bore the symbol of the fish and the anchor, which mark the period of a primitive, suffering Chris- tianity — probably the first century after the Apostles. 5. ^ Cyriacus, a faithful, died aged eight days less than three years.^ 7. ' Urica Elorentina, a faithful, rests here in peace. She lived five years, eight months, and eight days.' 8. ^Maurentius, son of Maurentia, a most pleasing child, who lived five years, ele- ven months, and two days, worthy to repose in peace among holy persons.' 9. ^Sacred to the G-reat God. Leopardus rests here in peace with holy spirits ; having received baptism, he went to the blessed innocents. This was placed by his parents, with whom he lived seven years and seven months.' 10. ^Bu- filla, newly baptized, who lived two years and forty days.' 11. ' To Domitius, an innocent newly baptized, who lived three years and thirty days.' There are many others which might be added to this list, but it is not necessary. ^^Now, Squire Tanner, please look at the charges made by your author on pp. 299, 302, 304, and 309 ; and consider the spirit — the bitterness of feeling — in w^hich they are made. He says that infant baptism is 'a heinous sin/ 'an act of daring rebellion against Gody ' a continually repeated^ falsehood y ' high- 24* 282 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, handed rebellion against the Son of God/ ^impious/ ^ an act of impious sacrilege!^ Eemember that these charges were made by a man — professedly a Christian man, and a minister of the everlasting Gospel — with the word of God in his hand ! Eemember that he was denouncing, by virtue of his office, in the name of God, an institution of God's own appointment, and to which he has affixed his seal ! Eemember that God created the relation of children to parents, and also the relation of children to his church, and made special mention of them in his covenant with his people, and comprehended them in all his promises ; and declared again and again that this relation should be unending, his covenant should be everlasting ; and yet this man, without showing one annulling or repealing clause of this covenant in all God's word, but with mauT/ confirma- tions of it staring him in the face ; without one passage in the whole Bible in any way reflecting upon the consecration of children to God, and upon the giving to them the seal of this covenant, as he directed should be done ] with the wwds of Christ before him, ^that his kingdom belongs to them;' and also in the face of all the testimony of the early Christians, which has been preserved in various ways to us — an unbroken chain from the Apostles down ; in the very face and teeth of all these evidences, he utters such charges as those I have men- tioned! The charges themselves are ^imjnons;' ay, more! But as he is dealing with God's institutions, and not man's, let God here, and not us, be his Judge ! " A few moments of impressive silence followed, which was first broken by Anna's slowly and thoughtfully asking, " What do you say of the household baptisms mentioned in the New Testament, Mr. Halley?'' I say they are strong corroborative testimony of our posi- tion," answered Halley. Granting that infant or household baptism was a common practice, it is thought by some an objec- tion that there are so few cases mentioned. But this arises THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 283 entirely from a superficial view of the matter. Indeed, I have heard it urged by some people, that there are but three such eases recorded in the New Testament — those of Lydia, the jailor, and Stephanas. But I think a careful examination will afford more than these : ^^1. Acts X. 1-48, is an account of the baptism of the house- hold of Cornelius. 2. Acts xvi. 15, of the family of Lydia. ^^3. Acts xvi. 33, of the jailor. "4. I. Cor. i. 16, the household of Stephanas. All these are expressly mentioned as baptized; and the language used indicates that they were of frequent occurrence. The case of Lydia, for instance : ^ And when she was baptized and her household, she besought us,' etc. It is recorded as a common and familiar event, and as the direct consequence of her own faith and profession, as the mother of the family. There can be no doubt that hundreds of families, embracing perhaps thou- sands of children, were baptized on the heads of them having become converted to the Christian faith. But we were search- ing for the believing families on record in the apostolic age. 5. liom. xvi. 3-5, the family of Aquila and Priscilla. "6. Col. iv. 15, that of Nymphos. ^'1. Philemon 2, is that of Philemon. ^' 8. Acts xviii. 8, that of Crispus. ^^9. II. Timothy i. 16-18, that of Onesiphorus. 10. Eom. xvi. 10, that of Aristobulus. ^^11. Bom. xvi. 11, that of Narcissus. Now here are eleven believing families expressly mentioned, and of course have all received Christian baptism, be they infants or adults. Those capable of believing, doubtless believed. Says Dr. Kurtz, and a similar statement is made by Lyman Coleman : ^ Have we eleven instances of the administration of the Lord's Supper? — ■ not a fourth of that number. Have we eleven instances of the change of the J ewish Sabbath ? — not a fifth of that number. 2S4: ANNA CLAYTON; OR, In fact^ there is not a single doctrine, principle, or practice derived from the example of the Apostles, which can be sup- ported by a more numerous series of clear and decided prece- dents/ He further says, after a critical examination of the Greek term oIx6^ (oikos), which corresponds with Jioiise or family in English^ and also of oixia. (piJdct)^ corresponding with our idea of liouseliold: ^Strictly speakings there is not a single instance on inspired record of the baptism of an entire house- hold as such; though individuals comprising it may have been baptized as individuals. We are therefore narrowed down in this investigation to the Greek term 61x6^^ in the sense of family ; and with this word it perfectly corresponds, and should have always been so rendered when used in relation to family baptism. Such a translation would have prevented all error on the subject of inftmt baptism. There can, correctly speaking, be no family without children. A man and his wife do not constitute a family, any more than a single gentleman who dwells under the same roof with his maiden sister.^ Let us now keep this in mind as we glance hastily over the family baptisms spoken of in the New Testament. AYhen the Apostle says (Acts xvi. 31), ^Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalfc be saved and thy house,^ he uses the word olxo^;, which means only Ms own family — children only. But in the next verse (Acts xvi. 32), ' And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house ;^ here oixta (oiJcid) is used, and olxb^ (oikos^ is dropped. The substitution of oixia in the place of olxo^j shows that the Apostle intended to make a distinction between those who heard and those who were baptized. The word used signifies liouseliold; that is, servants, domestics, prisoners — all who were living in the house. It adds, ^ And was baptized, he and all Ids f namely, his children; and there is no evidence that any others wxre baptized at the time In Acts xvi. 15, the baptism of Lydia is recorded. Although it is rendered, ^v/heu she was baptized and her THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 285 Tiousehold,^ the Greek word olxo^ is used, which limits it to children, and it should have been so rendered. Says Dr. Kurtz : ^ It is a remarkable fact, that the very best of all ver- sions, namely, the Syriac, which was probably of the first century, reads, that when she (Lydia) was baptized with her CHILDREN,^' etc. The Coptic version gives the same reading of this passage.^ It has frequently been objected that her household consisted of those brethren spoken of in the 40th verse, who were comforted by Paul and Silas. But the original tongue is not household, but family^ and limits the meaning to children; hence the objection is not a valid one. It has also been urged by our brother Baptists, that Lydia was a widow lady, or an old maid (any way to avoid the probability of a family of children), and that her household consisted of partners in her mercantile operations. But this objection the Eev. Mr. Slicer has answered so perfectly and satisfactorily, that I can- not refrain from repeating his words. ^ They will suppose,^ gays he, ^that even partners in business with Lydia, or journey- men dyers, were baptized and constituted brethren ; although there is no intimation that she had so much as one partner, or one journeyman; and if she had (which we think very un- likely), then they were baptized and made brethren without grace ; for the passage makes no mention of the heart of any person being opened except Lydia^s ; and there is no intimation that these journeymen either repented or believed, and of course could not have received a believer's baptism. I appeal to you, reader, to judge who would be the most fit for baptism, the children of a believing mother, or a household of graceless journeymen dyers ! ' But again I repeat the Greek term is not household but family, and that cuts ofi" all ^ partners in business and journeymen dyers.^ She was baptized and her family, that is, her children. Similar objections are urged by our Baptist friends to the other family baptisms. They insist that there was not one 286 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, infant or young child in all these families of children. How do they know ? Is it at all probable ? How many entire families have they on their church records, parents and child- ren^ received at one and the same time and baptized on profes- sion of faith? I venture to affirm that they have not one! Was it ever known that under the ministrations of a Baptist brother, parents of families were hopefully converted, and were baptized, they and all theirs, straightway ? There is no risk in asserting that a family baptism never occurred under the labors of a Baptist minister. Says Dr. Wardlaw, ^ It is a remarkable fact that we have no mention of anything resem- bling the baptism of households, of families, in the accounts of the propagation of the Gospel by our Baptist brethren. That the Apostles baptized families, no believer of Scripture can doubt, and we have seen that the manner in which such baptisms are recorded, or referred to, indicates no extraordinary thing. Now it surely is an extraordinary thing that in the journals and periodical accounts of Baptist missions in heathen countries, we should never meet with anything of the kind. I question whether in the thirty years of the history of the Baptist missions in India, there is to be found a single instance of the baptism of a household. When do we find a Baptist missionary saying, 'When she was baptized and her family;' or ' I baptized the family of Krishnoo,^ or any other convert ? We have the baptism of individuals, but nothing corresponding to the apostolic baptism of families. This fact is a strong cor- roborative proof, that there is some dilference between their practice and that of the Apostles. If the practice of both were the same, there might surely be expected some little correspondence in the facts connected with it' (See Dissertation on Infant Baptism, p. 109). " Here is another little volume (Law of Baptism, by Rev. Edwin Hall, p. 1G7) from which I would like to read a passage. He says : ^ The Sabbath was instituted at the creation, and THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 287 tlioiigli weeks are mentioned in the sacred history, tlie Sabbath is not again mentioned till Moses. Yet how important the Sabbath was considered in the sight of God, is well known. Again it is not mentioned from the time of Joshua till the reign of David ; and yet (as says Dr. Humphrey) It will be ad- mitted, that beyond all doubt, the pious judges of Israel remem- bered the Sabbath-day to keep it holy.'^ Moreover the Bible says nothing of circumcision from a little after Moses till the days of Jeremiah, a period of eight hundred years ; yet, doubt- less, circumcision was practised all the time. In like manner our Missionary Herald, each volume of which is twenty tinus as large as the book of Acts, is now in the progress of the thirty- sixth volume (1840). In the whole of these, containing the journals of so many missionaries, narrating every important incident with so much minuteness, and continued for so many years, there are very few instances mentioned of Infant Bap- tism. I have not the means at hand of ascertaining how many, but though I have been familiar a long time with them, and have long observed the fact with some curiosity, and have espe- cially examined not a little, I am not able to find, or to call to mind, more than a very few instances previously to the last two years. But we know the missionaries of the American Board are all Pedobaptists. The paucity of these records of infant baptism in their letters, does not prove that they do not bap- tize infants ; we know they do, and once in a while the fact is mentioned ; but it is rare, though their converts amount to many thousands. Suppose now, that, at the present time, you find a pamphlet of some twenty or thirty pages, like a single monthly number of the Missionary Herald, only half as large, covering the ground of some fifty years, and giving an account of the doings of some missionaries of whom you have never heard before. The question is asked, are they Baptist missionaries, or do they baptize the infant children of believing parents ? On examining the pamphlet^ we find such records as these : " At 288 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, such a time I baptized, in the night, a jailor and all his/' At such a time ^' Lydia and her household/^ At such a time " I baptized also the household of Stephanas : nothing is said as to whether they were all adults, or whether, as is more common, there were children in these households. Only this is certain, that if there were children, they were certainly baptized. Suppose further, that at this crisis we discover copious letters of these missionaries, written to these converts from heathenism, in which they use the term household just as we do the word family. Are they Baptist missionaries ? The presumption is they are not. You find a difficulty that must be removed before you can believe that they are Baptists. Moreover you take the journals of the Baptist missionaries of fifty or a hundred times the size of this newly-discovered pamphlet, and a hundred times more full. You do not learn that they evei' give an ac- count of the baptism of a single household, though you can understand how desirable it would be to make such a record as frequent in their journals as possible; and how readily they would be brought forward in argument as often as they might occur. You make another discovery, viz. : that these unknown missionaries consider the Abrahamic and Christian church the same. Now let one passage be found in a single letter of theirs to one of their churches, gathered from heathenism, to this effect : The unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband, and the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, else were your children unclean but now are they holy ; let it be proved that they familiarly use these terms in the J ewish sense — let but one such passage as this be found, and the question is settled, tlLcy baptize children. Who could ask for more con- vincing proof, unless he is determined that nothing shall prove it, save an express declaration in so many words — or a miracle ? I might appeal to any man accustomed to sifting and weighing evidence in our courts of justice. Is not this valid proof of the fact ? Were it a question of fact to be decided by mere im- THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 289 partial jurors in our courts of law, whether these missionaries practised infant baptism, could there be a doubt how, on this evidence, the question would be decided ? Could there be a doubt that the verdict would be These men believed in in- fant BAPTISM AND PRACTISED IT ? ^ The case is submitted to you,'' said Halley, as he closed the little volume he had been reading from. Is not the evidence convincing — so conclusive that it does not admit of a shadow of doubt ? ^' " 0, yes ! '' said Tanner, hitching uneasily in his chair ; " cir- cumstantial evidence^ and very good of its kind ; but still it is not positive testimony I I X\k(b positive testimony. If one of the Apostles had only jotted down, that at such a time, I bap- tized an infant belonging to such a one, why there would then be no doubt in the matter — no getting around that.'' Do you, Squire Tanner, act upon positive testimony in your transactions of business ? Is your Christian faith founded upon positive testimony ? Is there no possibility of a doubt coming, in all you do, and in all you believe ? Has God seen fit to give positive evidence to free moral and intelligent beings, to guide them in their duty toward him and to their fellow -men? If such was the case, would this be a proper state of discipline and moral training ? In all you do, sir, in every department of life, you act upon probabilities only ! Your whole life and its various transactions, and all your doubts and beliefs, are grounded upon probable or circumstantial testimony. Are you to prescribe to God how he shall govern his moral universe ? Will you tell the Most High that because he has not given you positive evidence of his being and attributes, therefore you will not believe that he is ; but will thrust him out of his own realm ? Ought we not to be satisfied with whatever kind of evidence God may see proper to give us ? If it is convincing ^ and has the weight of probabilities in its favor, what more can we ask ? What more should reasonable and intelligent crea- tures desire? But; sir, if you act upon positive evidence, 25 T 290 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, point me to a single example of the baptism of an adult horn of Christian ]Darents, and I will point you to scores of examples of infant baptism ! Do you accept tlie challenge ? It is a fair one. If the cliildrenof believers did not receive baptism in in- fancy, they must have received it when converted, or they re- mained w^ithout it. But where do we find on inspired record a solitary example of an individual, born of Christian parents, who was baptized as a believing adult ? What was his name ? Who were his parents ? Now this is ver?/ remarJcahle, when we re- member that the New Testament embraces a period of more than sixti/ years^ and there were at least two or three generations of children during this time. What became of these thousands of children, if they were not baptized in infancy? Did they all die infidels ? No — by no means ! We read of some of them helieving ; but when were they baptized ? Answer wy question, and I will answer yours, and with positive proofs as you desire. From this silence of the inspired word on this sub- ject, I could raise as strong an argument against the baptism of aclidt children of believers, on profession of their faith, as you do against the baptism of in/ant children of believers^ who are not capable of exercising faith. The reasoning would be exactly the same. Demanding positive testimony on this sub- ject, I could maintain that the word of God gives no authority for the baptism of adult persons born of Christian parents , neither precept nor example. Eut only such as were converted from the Jews, Greeks, or Eomans, were to be baptized; and you would search the record in vain for anything to the con- trary, unless you claim, as we do, that children of Christian parents are horn members of the church, and included in God^s everlasting covenant, and thereby entitled to the seal — the Christian seal — of that covenant in infancy.^^ That strikes me with peculiar force," said Anna. And I see no reason why we sliould not believe that children of Chris- tian parents were considered as belonging to the church, and THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 291 enjoying its privileges, and consequently baptized in infancy, until some objector can discover as much as one instance in tbe Bible where they received baptism as adults. Nothing more is needed to satisfy my mind on this subject; yet if it could be shown that infant baptism was practised by the primitive churchy and ever since that time, it certainly would be desirable to do so ; and if this could be done, I would like to know where the Baptists rest their faith, and what foundation they have to build upon ! We have already seen that anti-pedobaptists have no Bible authority in their favor; nothing in the word of God whereon to found their objections and to build their faith. I anticipate that Church History will be an interesting part of the subject; and does it not come next in order, Mr. Halley " It does,^^ replied Halley ; " and to-morrow, if there is no objection, we will meet here again, and examine into the history of the church a little — learn how far back the Baptist church can date its origin, and endeavor to determine whether infant baptism or ^ infant sprinkling,^ — as your author call§ it, — is, or is not, a ^ corruption of the church of Rome.^ 292 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, CHAPTER XI. **The ocean hath its chart, the stars their map, And knowledge spreads them on her ample lap; But Rome is as the desert, where we steer Stumbling o'er recollections. Ruins of years ! Amidst this wreck, where time has made a shrine And temple more divinely desolate, Among thy mightier oiFerings, here are mine. Oh time ! the beautifier of the dead, Adorner of the ruin, comforter. And only healer when the heart hath bled. Time! the corrector where our judgments err, The test of truth, love, — sole philosopher. For all beside are sophists, from thy thrift, Which never loses though it doth defer — Time, the avenger! unto thee I lift My hands, and eyes, and heart, and crave of thee a gift." *'Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations." Halley and George, early on the morning of the next day, jumped into a carriage and drove hastily over to P , where a friend of Halley's resided — a gentleman whose abundant wealth had afforded him the means of cultivating his literary tastes in extensive research among men in different countries. He had* travelled much, and had gathered a large library of ancient literature as well as modern. Halley 's object was to make a selection from his library of desirable works to present as authority in the pending controversy. His friend readily furnished him with the books he was in quest of When Halley, after their return, entered Elder Clayton^s THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH 293 study, with his arms full of ancient-looking volumes, he found the room closely crowded. As he laid his books upon the table, Squire Tanner arose and introduced to him Elder Mason — a prominent man among the Baptist clergy in that vicinity. After the usual compliments had passed around, Halley brought for- ward the subject of discussion for the day, by requesting Squire Tanner to turn to the 324th page of the volume he had, and read the statement there made as to the first instance on record of the baptism of a child. Squire Tanner read : " There is not on record a single soli- tary instance of the baptism of a child ^ till the year of our Lord three hundred and seventy, and that was the son of the Empe- ror A^alens.^^ ^^Yery weiy said Halley. Now please to turn to page 341, and read his authority for stating that infant baptism was not ordained by Christ and the Apostles.^^ Squire Tanner again read : " The men who say that it is cer- tain that infant baptism was not ordained by Christ or the Apostles, and was not introduced until after the second century, are such men as Neander, Coleman, and Kitto, among the most learned and eminent of your own ecclesiastical historians, and Biblical critics.^' We are grateful for his tribute to their learning and emi- nence; and we suppose, of course, he considered them compe- tent witnesses, or he would not have used their names,^^ said Halley. " But unfortunately for Mr. Graves' statement, I happen to have Ancient Christianity Exemplified, by Lyman Coleman, here, and I will read a passage or two from it, and see if he states that ^ infant baptism was not introduced till after the second century.' On pages 374 and 375, ' The silence of earli/ historical records (he means those which would be contemporaneous with the Evangelist John, and immediately after his death), respecting infant baptism, is no valid argument against it. * * Christian baptism has from the beginning 25* 294 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, "been characterized for the iiniversaliti/ of its application. Prose- lyte baptism was administered only to pagan nations. John's baptism was restricted solely to the Jews ; but Christian bap- tism is open to all. Proselyte baptism included the children with the parents; John's baptism excluded both children and the female sex. Christian baptism excludes no nation, or sex, or AGE. Comp. Matt, xxviii. 19-20 ; Gal. iii. 28 ; 1 Cor. xii. 13; together with the authorities of Irenseus, Cyprian, and Tertullian, quoted below. From all which, it appears evident heyond a doubt y that the ancient church understood that Chris- tian baptism ivas designed for ally in the fullest sense of the term; that no natioUy or class, or sex, or AGE, was excluded.^ Does this harmonize with that assertion of your author, Squire Tanner?'' ^^I must confess," replied Tanner, ^4hat Mr. Graves has sadly misrepresented Mr. Coleman in this instance, but I pre- sume it was an oversight." " I fear Brother Graves is very much addicted to such ' over- sights/ " continued Halley, smiling somewhat sarcastically. " But that will be more fully determined hereafter. Here is Neander also : we will call him to the witness-block. This is vol. i. of his Church History, translated by Prof Torrey. On page 311, he says : ^ Irenaeus is the first church teacher in whom we find any allusion to infant baptism.' Now, Irenaeus was born near the close of the first century y and was a scholar of Polycarp, who was one of John the Evangelist. Does that sound like infant baptism not being introduced till after the close of the second century? Neander adds: He (Irenaeus) also says, (speaking of Christ), that He came to redeem all by himself; all who, through him, are regenerated to God; infants, little cJiildrmy boys, young men, and old. Hence he passed through every age, and for infants he became an infant, sancti- fying the infants, etc' From this we discover that be Irenaeus whatever he may, THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 295 Jie is not a Baptist, for lie does not teach Baptist theology. If you question it, Squire Tanner, just turn to tlie work you have, page 304, as I have it marked, and you will find there an ex- position of what you profess to believe/' Squire Tanner turned slowly to the page indicated, and read : " A mother brings her babe to have it sprinkled. It is a beau- tiful child, and she \»erily thinks she is doing God service ; and is herself a lovely object as she stands there with the infant in her arms. But now I ask you, is that child regenerated ? Is he a branch ingrafted into Christ ? Are all his sins forgiven ? What do you say to that, Elder Clayton ? interrupted Halley. " How do you answer that question ? ^^I should say, yes,^^ responded Elder Clayton. ^^And if that child should die at the moment of consecration, or immediately after — or should it die in infancy without such a consecration — it is certain to enjoy the holiness of heaven : for our Savior expressly declares it. But I would like to know, Squire Tanner, what your author says further — how he answers the question. ^^He says, emphatically, no,^^ said Tanner; ^^and I will read a little more : ' You say, no ; it is absurd to think of such a thing. Then I reply, your baptism is a falsehood ; for it is designed to signify and seal those things, which in this subject do not and cannot exist.' What say you to that, Mr. Halley ? We say they do and can exist, or the child would be damned should it die in infancy. A man using such language as that you have just read, must, if he be Jionest, believe, in the depths of his soul, that infants are not saved. But Ire- naeus says that infants are ' born again,' — ^ reborn ' or ' regene- rated — unto God.' If he is correct, as we verily believe, then are they not a branch ingrafted into Christ? Is not all their sin — which is but inherited sin — forgiven ? Irenaeus says, yes; and the term he uses, by those best able to judge — who have studied his style and writings — implies that they have also been baptized. 296 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, Says Dr. Woods^ in speaking of this testimony : ^ Tliese al- lusions, however, are of snch a nature, that they cannot well be accoHinted for without supposing that infant baptism was then the uniform practice.^ ^ " Says Lyman Coleman : ' Regenerating unto God is supposed to relate to the act of baptizing. Baptism, according to the usus loquendi of the age, was regeneration. This, Neander himself admits, in commenting on the above passage from Ire- nseus, which he receives as valid and incontrovertible proof of the practice of infant baptism at this early age. How else can an unconscious infant be regenerated, save by baptism, accord- ing to the views then prevalent respecting this ordinance?^ We do not believe with Irenaeus, that there is any efficacy in baptism itself; in the case of infants, it signifies that their inherited sin has been wiped out by the blood of Jesus, and that thereby they are regenerated and constituted members of Christ's kingdom ; and in this argument our only inquiry is, whether it appears from his writings, that infant baptism was the prevailing 'practice. Wall, Schroeck, and other writers of the first ability, with the best of reasons, consider him as re- ferring to baptism — to infant baptism — in the term he uses. We have then already found one prominent teacher born in the jir^t century, very soon after the death of the Apostles, and possibly whilst the Apostle John was yet living, iclw is not a Baptkt.'' Is there not some mistake about this asked Elder Mason. None whatever,^' responded Halley. " There can be no mistake about it. The testimony is too abundant to admit of the possibility of an errror as to his statements. Here is a little volume by Grey, page 57, where he gives the language of Ircna)us in his old age : ^ I can describe the spot on which Polycarp (his instructor and the disciple of John), sat and ex- pounded; his going in and coming out; the manner of his life; the figure of his body ; the sermons he preached to the multi- THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 297 tudes ; Low lie related to us his conversation witli Jolm, and tlie rest of tliose who had seen the Lord ; how he mentioned their particular expressions, and what things he had heard from them of the Lord, of his miracles and of his doctrines/ " Coleman gives the same in substance, and remarks on it : ^ This proves that Polycarp had diligently inquired from those who could tell him, concerning our Lord and his doctrine. He had made himself master of whatever was to be known. It proves also that such traditions ivere i^epeated hy him in Ms pvLlic discourses to the people ; the best of all possible modes of instruction. Moreover, these discourses made the deepest impression on the memory of Irenseus, who expressly mentions reborn infants^'' (see Coleman, page 383). " There cannot exist a doubt that Irenseus regarded infants as included under the Gospel scheme, and as fit subjects for baptism. But Mr. Graves says that the Gospel has nothing to do with infants, and he is not alone. Dr. Alex. Carson, one of our most learned Baptist divines, openly declares (^Baptism in its Mode and Sahjects, p. 173), that children cannot be saved by the Gospel, nor by faith. ' The Gospel has nothing to do with infants, nor have Gospel ordinances any respect to them. The Gospel has to do with those who hear it. It is good ucaa^s; but to infants it is no news at all. They know nothing of it. The salvation of the Gospel is as much confined to believers as the baptism of the Gospel is. None can ever be saved by the Gospel who do not believe it. Consequently, by the Gospel, no infant can be saved. Infants who enter heaven must be regene- rated, but not by the Gospel. Infants must be sanctified for heaven, but not through the truth as revealed to man. We know nothing of the means by which God receives infants; nor have we any business with it.' Do you endorse this, Elder Mason ? Fine consolation, truly, for Cbristian parents at the grave of their beloved offspring ! If ' they are not saved by the Gospel, nor through the truth as revealed to man/ how are 298 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, they saved at all ? The fundamental principle of the Gospel is, that out of Christ there is no salvation. Christ is the sum and substance of the Gospel scheme, and there is no other name given under heaven and among men whereby we can be saved ; ' and this is the ' truth which is revealed to man/ How then are infants to be saved ? Does not Dr. Carson effectually cut off all salvation for them ? And this is what your doctrine leads to when carried out. Is Christ willing to save only adults ? The exclusion of a part of our race from the blessings of the kingdom of heaven on account of age has not the slightest warrant in the word of God ; and our noblest impulses, and our deepest religious feelings rise up and condemn such exclusive- ness, and such an unfeeling doctrine. * If temporal estates may be convey'd By cov'nants, on condition, To men, and to their heirs ; be not afraid, My soul, to rest upon The covenant of grace by mercy made.' " " Justin Martyr was contemporaneous with Irenaeus, and born about the same time. He is called the first man of letters who adorned the church after the Apostle Paul. He wrote in Greek. In his apology for Christians, addressed to Antonius Pius, his second apology, he says : ' There are many persons of both sexes, some sixty, and some seventy years old, who were made disciples to Christ from their infancy, or childhood' (jx Ttaibiov, ek pidone). By this same word the Evangelists used to represent the children Jesus took up in his arms and blessed — and when he said, ' Suffer little children to come unto me ' (Sec Matt. xix. 13, 14; Mark x. 13-15, and Luke xviii. 16). Justin Martyr does not use the word baptism here ; but how were they made disciples except by baptism? Dr. Dwight justly remarks tiiat ^ there never was any other mode of making disciples from inftmcij except by baptism.' Dr. Woods says : ^ I think it alto- gether probable, and beyond any reasonable doubt, that J ustin THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 299 meant in this place to speak of those who were made disciples, or introduced into the school of Christ by haj^tism, when they were infants. Dr. Pond also says : ' They were doubtless made disciples by baptism, for the same word, " tJiei/ were proselyted^' or made disciples QfiaOrj-tsvOyjaav^ ematJietutliesaii), is used by Christ in the commission : " Go and disciple, or proselyte (fiadr^tivaafs), all nations, baptizing them,^' etc' (Matt, xxviii. 19). Justin Martyr then could not have been a Baptist, for he believed in infant discipleship, and therefore necessarily infant baptism. Now Squire Tanner,^' continued Halley, consulting his little memorandum-book as usual, turn, if you please, to p. 331 of your book, and you will find it there stated, that * Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and others, so far from directly speak- ing of infant baptism, never once utter a syllable on the subject.' But in the light of what has already been said : Did not Ire- naeus when he spoke of 'infants regenerated or horn again, and Justin Martyr, when he spoke of ' infant discipleship , mean infant baptism ? Is there never a syllable uttered on the sub- ject? Our best authorities say that it is (izVec% mentioned. And Prof. M. Stuart, in an article of vast research and learn- ing, found in the Biblical Repository, vol. iii. p. 355, says : ^Justin Martyr in his dialogue with Trypho, the Jew, compared baptism with circumcision, and speaks of it as an initiatory ceremony.' So Coleman, p. 385, says : ' In his dialogue with Trypho, the Jew, Justin contrasts and compares baptism with circumcision. We draw near to God by him, for we have not received circumcision by the flesh, but that which is spiritual, as Enoch and others observed. This we, though sinners, receive through the compassion of God by baptism, which all are permitted to receive.^ Justin does not exclude any one on account of his age ; he says, all are permitted to receive bap- tism. Also he compared and contrasted baptism with circum- cision, that is, they were alike in their nature and use. Could he talk about circumcision and not talk about infant circum- 300 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, cision ? Were not the Jews circumcised in their infancy? And believing, as he did, that baptism came in the place of circumcision, could he talk about baptism in this general manner, and not include infant baptism " But you forget/^ said Elder Mason, " that it is stated by Mr. Graves that they did not directly speak of infant baptism " No, Elder Mason, I do not forget. It is stated in that work, that, so far from directly speaking of infant baptism, they never once uttered a syllahle on the subject : not a syllable on the subject ? Can that be true, in view of the testimony given ? I leave it for you to judge. " Tertullian comes next in order. He was born about forty- five years after the Apostles, and wrote about one hundred years after the death of John. He and Origen were both young men at the death of Irenaeus and Justin Martyr. Tertullian is the first man who speaks against infant baptism ; and whilst he recognizes its existence and prevalence, and he himself expressly recommends that infants be baptized if not likely to survive the period of infancy ; yet, in consequence of his peculiar notions, he advises that baptism in all other cases be delayed until a later period of life.'^ ^' Do you know his reasons for advising delay in cases of baptism asked Anna. His only reason was, that he believed that sins committed after baptism could never be forgiven. 0 yes,'' said Elder Mason, " he is the man to whom a cer- tain lady, named Quintilla, wrote, asking something about the matter of baptism — and you say he only advised delay That was all, sir ! And that delay had reference not only to children, but to all unmarried, persons : for he thought it w\ns dangerous on account of their peculiar temptations to sin. But do you wish to know just what Tertullian says about the matter? Here is the passage in the original language — Ter- tullian's Treatise Do Baptismo, chap, xviii. ; and here also is a THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 301 translation of it from the best authorities, which I have com- pared with the original and found to be correct. Miss Anna, will you take the book and read the passage ? Anna took the work and read the passage he had marked. ^^But they whose duty it is to administer baptism, should know, that it is not to be given rashly. 'Give to every one that asheth thee^ has its proper subject, and relates to almsgiving. But tliat command is rather to be regarded : ^ Give not that which is holy to dogs, neither cast your ^earh before sivine ; and Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither he partaker of other men^s sins. Therefore, according to every person^s condition and disposition, and age; also, the delay of baptism is more profitable, especially as to little children.^' Mark there ! interrupted Halley, he does not talk about prohibition as though they had not a universally conceded right to it, but delay only. Please read on, Anna.^' " For,'' Anna continued, v/hy is it necessary that the spon- sors should incur danger ? For they may either fail of their promise by death, or may be disappointed by the child's proving to be of a wicked disposition. Our Lord says indeed, forbid them not to come to me. Let them come then, when they are grown up ; let them come when they understand ; let them come when they are taught whither they are to come ] let them become Christians when they are able to know Christ ? Why should their innocent age make haste to the forgiveness of sin ? Men act more cautiously in temporal concerns. Worldly sub- stance is not committed to those, to whom divine things are en- trusted. Let them know how to ask for salvation, that you may seem to give to him that asketh. It is for a reason of no less importance, that unmarried persons, both those who were never married, and those who have been deprived of their partners, should, on account of their exposure to temptation, he hept waiting, till they are either married, or confirmed in a habit of chaste single life. They who understand the importance of 26 302 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, hapfismj will be more afraid of hastening to receive it, than of delay/' Thus testifies Tertullian/' said Halley ; and as Dr. "Woods' remarks on this passage are so appropriate, I cannot refrain from reading them. He says : ' The strange opinions which he entertained, as a Montanist, have nothing to do with his testimony as to /acts ; especially as to facts, to which he makes no appeal in support of his peculiar opinions ; and most of all as to facts, against which he objects, and which he attacks with severity. In regard to such facts, his testimony is en- titled to full credit. For what motive could he possibly have to assert things, which stood in the way of his own sectarian views, unless those things actually existed ? Would any author, especially one who wished to set himself up as the head of a sect, speak of the existence of a practice which he disapproved, and which was directly opposed to his favorite object, when at the same time he was aware that no such practice existed ? Could he have had any motive whatever to treat infant baptism as he did, unless he, and those for whom he wrote, knew that it was a common practice ? This has never been shown ; and I am greatly mistaken if it ever can be.' " " It occurs to me,'' said Anna, ^Hhat, if this practice, which he opposes, was an innovation since the time of the Apostles — it being only one hundred years from them, and he being a very learned man — certainly he must have known it; and when, and under what circumstances, it was introduced. Here is a passage in one of your books from Mr. Coleman, page 385, which strikes me with force, and I will read it : ' The authori- ties which have been cited, carry back the ordinance of infant baptism to a period of less than one hundred years from the age of the Apostles. When was it introduced, if not by the Apostles? And by whose autliority, if not by theirs? To these important iiujuirics all history is silent, assigning no time for its first introduction, nor revealing the least excitement, THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 303 controversy^ or opposition to an innovation so remarkable as this must have been if it was obtruded upon the churches with- out the authority of the Apostles. How, especially, could this have been effected in that age which adhered so strictly, even in the smallest things, to ancient usage and authority, and which was so near to the Apostles, that their usages and insti- tutions must have been distinctly known by tradition ? Or how could the change have been effected in so short a space of time ? Hath a nation changed their gods in a day ? Have they in a day changed their cherished institution ? Far from it.' This is the same man that is represented, with Kitto and Neander, as saying that infant baptism was not introduced till after the second century^ — is he not, Mr. Halley "The very same,'' responded Halley. "And much worse than all that, is he represented as saying. Squire Tanner, v/ill you please turn to your work, page 324, and read* what he — your author I mean — says about Mr. Coleman ? " Squire Tanner did as requested, after a moment's hesitation. He read : " Coleman, another of your own writers, and a citizen of our own country, says : ' Though the necessity of infant bap- tism was asserted in Africa and Egypt in the beginning of the third century, it was even to the end of the fourth by no means generally observed, least of all in the Eastern church, and it finally became a general ecclesiastical institution in the age of Augustine,' which you know was at the beginning of the fifth century." "This passage," said Halley, "I have, as yet, never found in Coleman's writings — it may be in them — but he is not a man who is thus given to contradict directly and expressly his own statements. But you may find on pages 382, 383, this passage ; which you will perceive does not harmonize very well with Mr. Graves' statement; but it does harmonize with what I have read of him elsewhere, and is unquestionably his sincere belief. < But why did not Tertullian, in his zeal against infant baptism, 804 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, employ another and most conclusive argument? Why not say, ' This practice is a dangerous innovation, a fiction of the day. It was unknown fifty years ago; imknown to the apostolic churches, unknown to the Apostles themselves. From the be- ginning it was not so. Ye know the teaching of the Apostles. Ye know the traditions of the churches ; ye know it was not so.^ Such an argument against the object of his aversion would have been conclusive, and must have suggested itself to this adroit tactician. Why did he not use it ? Plainly ^ because he could not. He could only reason from his own principles, and pass in silence the mightier argument of the authority and usage of the apostolic churches, because this was directly opposed to Mm. His condemning the practice, not only proves its pre- vious existence ; it proves more. It proves that this was no in- novation. When a man condemns a practice, he is naturally desirous to support his peculiar views by the strongest argu- ments. Could Tertullian, therefore, have shown that the prac- tice was of recent origin, that it had been introduced in his own day, or even at any time subsequent to the lives of the Apostles, we have every reason to believe, that he would have availed himself of a ground so obvious, so conclusive. It proves still further, that the baptism of in/ants was the general PRACTICE of the church in Terfidliari^s time (in the second cen- tury, and not a hundred years after the Apostles). His opinion is his own. It is that of a dissent from the universal body of professing Christians. He never pretends to say that any part of the church held or acted upon it.' This is the lan- guage used and adopted by Mr. Coleman ; and I would ask, if there is any mistaking its import ? The quotation is a libel upon his opinion — if it is a quotation. He states it as his belief that infant baptism was the general practice, not only in Tertullian's time, but even back through the history of the church even to the time of the Apostles. ^^And is there not great force in these remarks asked THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 305 Anna. ^^If it had been an innovation^ would not Tertuilian have urged it as such ; and thus put it down at once ? This would have been natural — this would have been the most powerful argument he could possibly have urged against it. It is absurd to suppose that he could or would have overlooked such an argument^ in the zeal and spirit he manifests in oppo- sition to the practice. If he coidd have opposed it by asserting that it was a practice unusual or unknown in the apostolic churches, he certainly would have done so. Would he not?^^ Yes/' replied Ilalley, it is remarkable that Tertuilian does not appeal to any usage of the church at all — nor to any part of the church from the time of our Savior down to his own time, in support of his peculiar belief. If it had been possible, he most certainly would have denounced it as an innovation both hurtful and uncalled-for, and thus have put it down effectually.^' "What does Brother Graves say of Tertuilian, Squire Tan- ner?'' asked Elder Clayton. " On page 334, he sums up the matter by saying : ' We simply say that it did not exist before ; — that this is the first proposal to introduce it (infant baptism), and that it loas op- posed." "Yery brief and concise," said Halley. "It dadi not exist before, and it was opposed ! Will you claim him then for a brother Baptist ? He is called an acute reasoner — your own men call him a learned and acute reasoner — and yet it had never occurred to him that this infant baptism was an innova- tion; that there was an ^unanswerable argument' in the great commission itself to put down effectually all infant baptism tendencies I Nor is he exactly orthodox on the great text ' be- lieve and be baptized ] ' for he seems to think it necessary, as an additional qualification to belief, that they shoidd he pre- viously married ! I presume he would have amended the com- mission, and have had it read, ' believe, get man-led, and then 26* u 806 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, be baptized/ He does not, in some other points^ seem fully to be allied in faith to the belief of his brethren in these times ; especially as he is so ignorant as to advocate the giving of the ordinance of baptism to infants, if not likely to live to grow up and get married. Probably he would have been much wiser if he had lived in our day^ and have been under the tuition of somo of our Baptist writers. But as he is the only one we have as yet found, corresponding at all with their creed, and as we are inclined to be generous, we will put him down as a Baptist. " Dr. Mosheim, in his Church History, says of Tertullian : ^He was endued with great genius, but seemed deficient in point of judgment. His piety was warm and vigorous, but at the same time melancholy and austere. His learning was ex- tensive and profound ; and yet his credulifij and superstition were such as might be expected from the darkest ignorance. And with respect to his reasonings, they had more of that sub- tlety that dazzles the imagination, than of that solidity that brings light and conviction to the mind.^ " Says Dr. Wall, a very candid and reliable writer, who was born in 1645 or ^6 and died in 1727 or ^8, and spent the most of his life in the study of the Church Fathers and the early writers of the Christian era : ' Tertullian fell into the heresy of the Montanists, who blasphemously held that one Montanus was that Paraclete or Comforter which our Saviour promised to send : and that fuller and better discoveries of God's will were made to him than to the Apostles, who prophesied only in part. * * But that which most deserves the reader's observation is, that the words of Tertullian do not import that the custom of the Christians at that time was to leave infants unbaptized ; but, op the contrary, they plainly intimate that there was a custom of baptizing them ; only he dislikes that that custom should be generally used' (Vol. i. pp. 87 and 99). So Dr. Wardlaw, of Glasgow, takes the same view of his testimony. ^ Tertullian's condemning the practice of baptizing infants, so far from being THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 307 in their (the Baptists') favor, militates against them. It not only proves its previous existence, it proves more. It proves that it was no innovation,^ etc. Note Mr. Graves' reasons/^ continued Halley, laying aside the book he had been quoting from, that because Tertullian recognizes such innovations as the signing the baptized with the sign of the cross, giving them a mixture of milk and honey, and anointing them with holy oil, therefore infant baptism is also an innovation; — that because these notions existed then, and the doctrines of baptismal regeneration and purgatory date back to about this time, therefore infant baptism is to be classed with them as another innovation ! Cogent reasoning this, and like that we have found elsewhere ! He might in the same manner reason of the Lord's Supper and of the Sabbath, and class them all as innovations ! (See Theodosia Ernest, vol. i. p. 335). To say the least, this kind. of argument shows a weakness which is calculated to excite commiseration ! Could not Tertullian have informed us, if it had been an innovation, as well as Brother Graves ? He opposed it, and brought all the argument he could find to bear against it. And in all the argument that a learned and acute reasoner of that age could bring to bear against infant baptism, there is nothing about its not being a divine institution — not a text of Scripture that has the least bearing upon the subject — nothing about infants not being equally entitled to it with helieving unmarried adults, or married even ; except on the ground of expediency. Nothing about its not being taught and practised by the apostles — he must certainly have known whether it was or not — but simply, he thought it expedient that it be delayed in the case of infants and unmarried adults ! And I must add that his reasoning on that subject has about the same force as that of his brethren, who have adopted him, at a much later day ! " Says Dr. Philip SchaiF, the renowned and learned pupil of Dr. Neander, in speaking of Tertullian's testimony (History of 808 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, the Apostolic Churcb, pp. 580 and 581) : ^The vast difference of Tertullian's position in this whole controversy from that of the Baptists of our days, must be clear to every one who has any historical or critical judgment. And for this reason is it so preposterous for the Baptists, who otherwise concern them- selves mighty little about tradition and ecclesiastical antiquity, so zealously (and honestly no doubt) to appeal to the African Church fiither. But they feel themselves greatly encouraged by the authority of some great German historians, especially Neander, who, although a Pedobaptist himself, was quite too latitudinarian on this, as on some other points, and suffered his latitudinarianism unconsciously to mjliience his historical repre- sentation of the apostolic and post-apostolic practice.^ The next link in the chain of our historical argument is Origen. He was born about eighty-five years after the apostles, and was descended from Christian parents, and without doubt was baptized in infancy. His father was a martyr for Christ in the persecution under Severus, one hundred and two years after the apostles, when he was seventeen years old. Eusebius assures us, that his ancestors had been Christians for several generations, and that, ' The Christian doctrine was conveyed to him from his forefathers.^ His grandfather, or at least his great-grandfather, must have lived in the time of the apostles. And so he had no further than his own family to go for inquiry how it was practised by the Apostles. Besides all this, Origen was a very learned man, and could not be ignorant of the usages of the churches ) in most of which he had traveled-, for he was born and bred at Alexandria ] so it appears out of Eusebius, tharhe had lived in Greece, and at Itome, and in Cappadocia, and Arabia, and spent the main part of his life in Syria and Pales- tine. Says Lyman Coleman, p. 379, ' Timothy and Titus must have been living with the Origen family for many years, and possibly other of the orvjinal twelve besides John. The "faithful men'' to whom they committed the ordinances of THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 309 religion, that they might be able to teach others, must have been contemporary with this family for near a hundred years. Now, consider the insatiable curiosity of Origen to acquire knowledge, and his facilities — and is it credible, is it possible, that he should have been ignorant of the custom, the teaching, and the tradition of the apostles respecting the subjects of baptism ? This was a rite of almost daily occurrence, common to the church in every place. Origen traveled extensively to obtain information; he visited the apostolic churches, and resided among the chief of them. Could then a rite, totally new, unfounded, and contrary to apostolic injunction and ex- ample, have been so established, and so long prevail, as to be received as an ordinance of the apostles ? Where was John, the apostle, and Timothy, and Titus, and the " faithful men, able to teach others also?^' Where were Polycarp and Ire- noeus, to say nothing of Barnabas and Hermas, that they did not rebuke and expose the delusion of those who would thus forsake the commandment of the Apostles for the ordinances of man "From this you discover,^' continued Halley, ^^what weight to give to his testimony. Eecollect that he was born of Christian parents. He saw his father beheaded for professing Christian- ity, and he himself suffered as a martyr to his faith in subse- quent years. When only seventeen, previous to the execution of his father, in order to encourage him, he wrote to him in these words : ' Beware, sir, that your care for us does not make you change your resolution.^ Bear this in mind, as we examine is testimony. In his Homily 8th on Levit. c. xii., he says : ^According to the usage of the church, baptism is given even to infants ; when if there were nothing in infants which needed forgiveness and mercy, the grace of baptism would seem to be superfluous.^ He here was laboring to establish the doctrine of original sin, and adduces the practice of infant baptism as a proof of it. 810 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, In his Homily on Luke xiv., he says : ' Infants are bap- tized for the forgiveness of sins. Of what sins? Or when have they sinned ? Or can there be any reason for the laver in their case, unless it be according to the sense we have men- tioned above, viz., no one is free from pollution, though he has lived but one day upon the earth. And because by baptism native pollution is taken away, therefore infants are hoptized.^ But his most important testimony is found in his Commen- tary on the Epistle to the Romans, book 5, where he says : 'For this cause it teas that the church RECEIVED AN ORDER FROM THE Apostles, to give baptism even to infants.^ Is there no mistake about that ? asked Elder Mason, get- ting uneasy in his chair. No mistake about it at all, sir ! You can examine these works yourself — they are of unquestioned authority. Here it is in three different works before me, and here are the transla- tions in each work. Look at it, sir ! You can read it. ^ For this cause it was that the church received an order from the Apostles, to give baptism even to infants.^ Is that not satis- factory?^^ What does Brother Graves say about this man Origen ? asked Elder Mason, rather nervously, turning to Squire Tanner. " I do not know,^^ said Tanner, '' but I will look and see." ^^You look in vain!" said Halley. Your author — Mr. Graves — has an accommodating memory; and the existence of such a man as Origen entirely slipped his mind! And this is rather remarkable too, inasmuch as Origen was one of the most learned and distinguished of the early church fathers; born only eighty-five years after John (A. D. 185), and of noted Christian ancestry; who translated the Scriptures into various languages by the assistance of others, and helped to disseminate them ; a man of vast influence in the church ; re- nowned and travelled. I have no doubt that if, on a scrutiniz- ing and most diligent examination of his works^ there could THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 311 have been found a sentence that possibly might have been con- strued against infant baptism in any way whatever, he would not have been thus overlooked — no, he would not have escaped so easily; for those of far inferior ability, integrity, and repu- tation, have been called out from their long resting-places, and have been brought forward as witnesses, because, forsooth, a careless sentence or remark could be tortured into an apparent support of Baptist faith. It was because his testimony was incontrovertible y his reasoning irrefutahle^ his argument conclu- sive and unanswerable, and his evidence unavoidable ; it was on this account that he was passed over in silence, hoping the learned would not notice, and the ignorant would not know.^' " Are you not severe in your charges ? asked Elder Mason. " Do you insinuate that he is in the habit of construing things to suit his own purpose? I think you are not justified in mak- ing such a charge. We will see,'' replied Halley. ^^I have been looking over % the work carefully, and noted some passages ; and therefore am prepared to sustain any such charge, and to meet the challenge of nonjustification in the matter. Turn to vol. i., p. 320. It reads : ' Was Archbishop Cranmer, who suffered martyrdom for his religion, under Mary, Queen of Scots, a good and holy man ?' Now this is the first time I ever saw it intimated that Mary, Queen of Scots, was really Queen of England ; or that Cranmer was a Scotchman ; or even that he ever heard of such a person as Mary, Queen of Scots, for she was in France, and only a young girl at his death. But to the charge : he says, on the same page, ^ Cranmer, before he Avas burnt, had been very officious and energetic in bringing Baptists to the stake/ Now unless he can prove that Joan Bocher and George van Paris were Baptists — which I am sure lyou would not like to do, or to have him do, and thereby endorse their ideal monstrosities and heretical notions — this charge is entirely unfounded with regard to Cranmer ^before he was burnt'/ and whether the 312 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, charge can be sustained against him after lie was hurnt, I will leave you to judge. I do not attempt to uphold Cranmer where he erred, or to palliate his crimes, if such they are; but to show that this charge is made merely for effect. His voucher for this statement is Neal's History of the Puritans ; and I will read you what he says of these two persons, who are the only ones mentioned in whose death Cranmer had any direct agency. And I desire you to observe the charge brought against them. Was it on the ground of baptism ? Was it made because they were Baptists, and therefore repudiated infant baptism ? Mr. Graves leaves the impression that they were persecuted in view of their Baptist faith; if such is the fact, it is a kind of faith I think fewj in these times, will endorse. See vol. i., p. 35 : ^ Among others who fled out of Germany into England, from the rustic war, there were some that went by the name of Ana- baptists, who, besides the principle of adult baptism, held seve- ral wild notions about the Trinity, the Virgin Mary, and the person of Christ. Complaint being made of them to the coun- cil, a commission was ordered to six of the bishops, and some other divines, to search after all Anabaptists, heretics, or con- temners of the common prayer, whom they were to endeavor to reclaim, and after penance to give absolution ; but if they con- tinued obstinate, they were to excommunicate, imprison, and to deliver them over to the secular arm. Several tradesmen who were brought before the commissioners abjured; but Joan Bocher, or Joan of Kent, obstinately maintained that Christ was not truly incarnate of the Virgin, etc., and was burnt. About two years after, one Van Paris, a Dutchman, being con- victed of saying that God the Father was only God, and that Christ was not very God, and refusing to abjure, was con- demned and burnt in Smithfield.'' " Again : he says, ' Luther urged the princes of his country to persecute those who could not conform to his opinions.' No authority is referred to for this, and for the very best of rea- THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 813 sons, there is none reliable to be found ] and it did not seem proper, then, to assert that there was any. But in vol. i. pages 418-19, he says : ^ Luther had no great objections to the Bap- tists in his early efforts. He encouraged the Munzer of noto- riety, who was a Bapist minister, and so highly esteemed by Luther, as to be named his Absalom. Their united efforts greatly increased persons of the Baptist persuasion. When the news reached Luther of Carlstadt rebaptizing (that is, bap- tizing those that had only received popish baptism), that Munzer had won the hearts of the people, and that the Befor- mation was going on in his absence ; he, on the 6th of March, 1522, flew like lightning from his confinement, at the hazard of his life, and without the advice of his patron, to put a stop to Carlstadt's proceedings. (He now refers to some authority) : see Maclean's Mosheim, vol. iii. page 45. The success and number of the Baptists exasperated him to the last degree.^ I will turn to the authority referred to, and read : ' His zeal (speaking of Carlstadt), however, was intemperate, his plans laid with temerity, and executed without moderation. During Luther's absence, he threw down and broke the images of the saints that were placed in the churches ] and instead of restrain- ing the vehemence of a fanatical multitude, who had already begun in some places to abuse the precious liberty that was dawning upon them, he encouraged their ill-timed violence, and led them on to sedition and mutiny. Luther oj)posed the im- petuosity of this impudent reformer with the utmost fortitude and dignity; and wisely exhorted him and his adherents, first to eradicate error from the minds of the people, before they made war upon its external signs in the churches and public places ) since the former being first removed, the latter must follow of course.' Here you see there is not a word about Munzer, nor a single sentence referring to Baptists, nor to the point in question. There is in a foot-note from Dr. Maclean himself, the following passage : ' On the other hand it must be 27 814 ANNA CLAYTON; OR; owned that Carlstadt was rash, violent, and prone to enthu- siasm, as appears from the connections he formed afterward with the FANATICAL Anahajptists headed hy Munzer. There is nothing in Mosheim which indicates that Munzer and Luther vere ever friendly or labored together ; not a word that he ever encouraged him in his labors ; not a syllable that ^ their united efforts greatly increased persons of the Baptist persuasion nothing intimating anything of the kind ! In the passage quoted, Munzer is declared, by your author there, a Baptist minister. Let us see what kind of a Baptist minister he was. Dr. Mosheim says (Dr. Murdock's ed., pages 38, and 202, vol. iii.) : ' Respecting religion there was no great dispute. But when the fanatic^ Thomas Munzer, who had before de- ceived several by his fictitious visions and dreams, and some others of a similar character, had joined this irritated multitude, from being a civil commotion, it became, especially in Saxony and Thuringia, a religious or holy war. * * But these forces were routed without much difficulty by the Elector of Saxony and other princes ; 3kinzer, the firebrand of sedition, was put to death, and his aiders and abettors were dispersed.' The Encyclopaedia Americana calls him a ^ German fanatic' This, then, is your Baptist divine; and through him your lineage is traced — or rather to him. And as to Luther's per- secutions of others, there is not the least foundation for any such charge ; for it is a well-known historical fact, that he was ever for peace, and for free and open discussion. He used his influence to restrain the princes, and others, from violent mea- sures. He opposed the league of Smalcald, for he said, ^he believed that men should repose themselves wholly on the pro- vidence of God, without venturing upon any measures suggested by policy' (see Mosheim, vol. iii. page 56, n. 6). He openly preached against violent measures being taken, even against his bitterest enemies. "Again on the same page (320), Mr. Graves says: that THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 315 * Calvin procured the condemnation of Servetus/ The court at Yienne had condemned Servetus, and he had fled to Geneva, and was there concealed four weeks. Calvin saw him whilst there, and informed the government at Geneva. He was ap- prehended; the governor of Vienne came with the sentence which had been passed, and requested the court at Geneva to give him up; but on the importunate request of Servetus him- self, that he should be tried at Geneva, they refused to give him up; he was consequently tried there, and condemned (see Mosheim, Murdock's ed., vol. iii. pages 225-6) : ' The court of Geneva, now unanimously, condemned Servetus to be burned alive the day following. Calvin^ and the other minis- ters of Geneva, interceded for a milder death : but the court VjOuM not yield! ^ Once more : ' Our Pilgrim Fathers persecuted the Quakers and the Baptists, and condemned them to banishment and death.^ Will he point out instances, or a dngle instance, where they were condemned to death on account of their religion ? If they committed murder or treason, or by any other means violated the laws of the land, they were dealt with as criminals and not as Baptists. Even the celebrated ."Roger Williams, of whom you made so much capital, was no Baptist when he was banished from Salem. The Maine Evangelist , near the close of the summer of 1858, says : ' Roger W^illiams was a Congre- gational minister whilst in Massachusetts; and he did not become a Baptist till two years after he left the State. He was banished, or rather fled, because the magistrates thought him teaching seditions and revolutionary doctrines, and were about to transport him to England for trial. It was two years after he fled to Bhode Island, before he embraced Baptist views and formed a Baptist church; hnt remained in it hut a year ; with- drawing from all church connection. Whatever may have been the truth or error of his principles which gave off'ence, they were such as he held as a Congregational minister! This 316 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, is also found substantially in the Encyclopaedia Americana. Now all these assertions, Elder Mason, which we have been considering, are found on one page ! " Probably that page is an exception,'^ said Elder Mason No doubt he was misinformed on those points/^ An exception ! repeated Halley, sarcastically. " Let us see if it is an exception. Turn to page 220, where you will find Dr. Wall quoted so as to leave the impression with those who read it, that he admits that the Scriptures furnish no warrant for infant baptism. ' Dr. Wall, the most eminent of them all, distinctly declares : Among all persons that are recorded as baptized by the Apostles, th^re is no express mention of in- fants.' Mark the expression : ' no express mention ' ! No one claims that there^is any express mention of the baptism of an infant ! Probably, Mr. Graves, if he had thought my name could have been tortured into his support, would have placed it on the list of those bearing evidence for him ; and the next tract published by the General Baptist Tract Society, or the Baptist Publication Society, entitled, ' Scriptural Guide to Bap- tism/ would have attached to my name a garbled quotation^ wholly misrepresenting my views, and endorsed by Pengilly ! The quotation is essentially true as far as it goes. Here is the passage more at large : ' The commission given by our Savior to his disciples, in the time of his mortal life, to bap- tize in the country of Judea, is not at all set down in Scrip- ture ; only, it is said, that they baptized a great many ; and the enlargement of that commission given them afterwards (Matt, xxviii. 19), to perform the same office among all the heathen nations, is set down in such brief words, that there is no par- ticular direction given what they were to do in reference to the children of those that received the faith ; and among all the persons that are recorded as baptized by the apostles, there is no express mention of any infant; nor is there, on the other side, any account of any Christianas child, whose baptism was THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 817 put off till lie was grown up^ or wlio was baptized at man's age/ But lie says, vol. ii. p. 521, speaking of 1 Cor. vii. 14: ^This interpretation, or such as amounts to the like effect, I have shown to be the most current among the primitive Christians. And if it be allowed, there needs no more evidence for it (infant baptism) from Scripture.^ And again, in vol. iv. p. 509, he says, speaking of children being received through baptism and made members of Christ's kingdom: ^And the sanction here given to the command of such a receiving of them is the highest that is ever given ; even the same that is given to the command of receiving the apostles themselves. For as it was said to them, He that receiveth you receiveth me ; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me; so the very same is said here of receiving children in his name! Again (p. 220) : ' Bishop Burnet says, There is no express precept or rule given in the New Testament for the baptism of infants.' Express precept again ! Express mention, express precept, express rule, is thrust into your eyes from nearly every page ! We claim, and so did Bishop Burnet, that an express precept is not necessary ^ for we can be taught truths and doc- trines without express precepts or commands ! Next comes Eichard Baxter ; he is dragged out by Pen- gilly, and then again by Mr. Graves, and made apparently to bear evidence for them (p. 220) : ' Richard Baxter says, I con- elude that all the examples of baptism in the Scriptures do mention only the the administration of it to the professors of saving faith ; and the precepts give no other direction.' Let us examine this evidence a little ; the quotation is taken from a work where he was reasoning on an entirely different suhjccty and it is only used in the sense of an illustration whereby to throw his opponent in a quandary, and is not his opinion at all; nor was it put forth as such ; and Pengilly and Graves were aware of this when they quoted it ! Thus they dragged him in, as they have many others, to bear witness against himself— 27* 318 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, and against infant baptism I Is this dealing fairly witli the dead ? Is it dealing righteously with the truth ? Richard Baxter^ your name is spread abroad in tracts and books which are scattered broadcast over the world — carried^ as by the winds, into every nook and corner of the earth — as though you had borne testimony against that ordinance you so dearly prized, and would have given up no sooner than you would your life ! Is this a true representation of you? Did you believe one thing, and advocate and practise another ? What have you to say of infants and of their privileges, Richard Baxter? I wonder that such slanders do not call the departed witnesses for Christ from their long resting-places ! But, as it happens, Baxter left abundant testimony which, in his own burning words, speaks for him trumpet-tongued ! He says : ^ God had never a chmxJi on earth of icliich infants were not infant mem- hers since there loere infants in the workV (See Commentary on Matt, xxviii. 19). And more, he held public discussions with Baptists on the subject, and published two works on the Scrip- ture proof of infant baptism ! And yet, notwithstanding all this, these men can quote a passage from another work, treating upon another subject, and which, disconnected from the con- text, a^^pears to witness against the faith in which he lived, and labored, and died, and palm it off upon the people as his belief and teachings ! Is this honorable ? Is it the index of a true Christian character and spirit ? Still these men have set forth equal misrepresentations upon almost every page of their entire works on this subject! I know a young man, now a Pedobap- tist clergyman, who was once a Baptist, and was led to see his error just by the garbled quotations found in the ' Scripture Guide to Baptism,^ by Pcngilly. He was one of those very few readers who desire to look up the quotations, and to decide for themselves ] or who arc so situated as to be able to do so. In comparing the representations of Pengilly with the true views of the authors, he was so disgusted that he went into a THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 319 tliorougJi and candid investigation of the wliole ground ; which led him — as I verily believe it will every one, where the inves- tigation is both thorough and candid^ without pi'ejudice — to see that this peculiar faith of the Baptist denomination is not only unfeeling and unnatural^ but also unscriptural and unchristlike. Look now on the next page (221). He says : ^ Even your Presbyterian Doctor Miller, of Princeton Theological Seminary, says : The fact is, that during the whole threescore years after the ascension of Christ, which is embraced in the New Testa- ment history, we have no hint of the baptism of in/ants horn of Christian parents.^' ^ This is just what ive have stated here. Mark the expres- sion, ^infants born of Christian parents I ' That is not saying, nor did he believe, there was no hint of the baptism of infants born of Gentile and Jeivish parents, who were converted to the Christian faith. He (Graves) well knew that probably not one in a hundred of the readers of that work would notice the difference; and yet it makes all the difference in the world. Mr. Graves did not expect his readers to have discernment enough to notice that that quotation was one which tended to overthrow the very point he was trying to establish ; but only, that he had the name of such a renowned man as Dr. Miller on his side, helping him to overthrow the whole structure of pedo- baptism ! What a mistake ! I repeat the words of Dr. Miller : ' that in the New Testament history we have no hint of the baptism of infants born of Christian parents — nor of such in- fants when they weregroivn up to he adi^ts, and who helieved and were reckoned among Christ's followers ! How is this ? Can Mr. Graves explain it ? Will you tell me the reason. We have numerous accounts of Gentile and Jeivish converts, who, when they believed, were baptized and their families; but never a lisp of a heliever's child being baptized, which, when arriving at an age of understanding, helieved cdso. Not one. Yet there must have been many thousands of them, for the time embraced 320 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, in the New Testament history comprises several generations of children. Read Dr. Miller's argument^ and you will find that he has not left us in doubt with regard to his belief : I would recommend it to your perusal. I will quote but two short pas- sages from it. ' Although the New Testament does not contain any specific texts which, in so many words, declare that the infant seed of believers are members of the churh in virtue of their birth ; yet it ahounds in passages ichich cannot he reason- ahJy explained hut in liarmony icitli this docAvine, Instead of onr Baptist brethren having a right to call upon us to find a direct warrant in the New Testament in fiivor of infant member- ship, we have a right to call upon them to produce a direct warrant for the great and sudden change which they allege took place. If it be as they say, that the New Testament is silent on the subject, this very silence is quite syjficient to destroy their cause and to establish ours J Is this not sufficiently distinct ? " Again, your author remarks (p. 220) : ' Martin Luther, the great reformer, says : ' It cannot be proved that infant baptism was instituted by Christ, or by the first Christians after the Apostles.^ When or where Luther said this, he does not think proper to inform us. But if he ever did say it, he has also said that which is exactly the reverse of it, as I can point you here to the very pages (See Singularia Lutheri, Jena ed., 1564, Art. Baptism, p. 657). He is proving that baptism is not a saving ordinance, and says : * That the dipping of a child in vrater, or the sprinkling it with water according to the command of Christ, should clean'^e it from sin and transfer it from the kingdom of Satan to the kingdom of God, is reviled by reason.' Again, in the same article, p. 602 : ' I consider that by far the safest baptism, is the baptism of children.' Once more, p. 663 : ' We conclude that children believe at baptism, and have a faith of their own : that God produces it in them in answer to the faithful prayers and obedience of the sponsors.' *^ A vast deal more might be adduced, but this is abundantly THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 321 sufficient to prove that Luther's belief and practice was alto- gether on the other side of the question. Not long since I took up a Baptist publication in which was an article headed ^ Martin Luther almost a JBa/ptisf/ and again the old story was told over about Luther's translation of the Bible, in which he renders baptize, Tanfeii, which signifies immerse, etc. I laid the publication down with a feeling akin to disgust. Is it pos- sible, thought I, that they will persist in repeating that same old story, although so often corrected, right in the face of facts, and that too, when every German who can read his Bible will tell them it is false ! For a moment let us look at the reason of the thing. AVhen Martin Luther took water in his hand and sprinkled it upon the head of a child, saying, ' Ich taufe dicJij etc., did he mean, I immerse you ? Would the people so understand him ? Is it possible ? There may be some such thing afloat in newspaper litera- ture,'' said Elder Mason; ^^but I do'nt think it ever came from a source authorized by the church. It does not look rea- sonable.'' It comes, sir, from the very highest authority in your church," replied Halley. ^^And as it happens, I have that authority at hand. It is in the Report of the Baptist Bible Society for 1840, and on p. 89 it reads : ' Other translators may do as they please-; baptize may be twisted into all sorts of meanings except immersion — unless, indeed, in the case of old versions. Luther may say that it means to immerse, and his version shall continue to be circulated; but woe be to the Bap- tists if they say so, and what is the reason ? ' Mr. Woolsey says also, p. Y4, ' That Luther rendered baptize into a word sig- nifying to immerse.' '^ " I think they would not say so, if it were not true," said Elder Mason. You could sooner believe that Martin Luther would sprin- kle a little water on the head of a child before a congregation, V 322 ANNA CLAYTON; OR^ and say, ^ I immerse you^ I suppose! But here is authority at hand. Here is a German Bible, and here are German Lexi- cons; and let the Germans themselves determine the meaning of words in their own language. Weber's German and English Lexicon is of unquestioned authority, and gives the following definitions, which are fully corroborated by Adler's : ^'Tavfe, baptism, christening; taufen^ to baptize, to christen. '^And here are the German words given for immerge^ im- merse, and immersion : ^'Immerge, eintauchen, untertauchen, versenken. ^'Immerse, eintauchen, untertauchen, versenken. ''Immersion, die Eintauchung, das Untertauchen. "Buckhardt and Adler, in their Lexicons, give the same definitions. The word taufe never conveys the idea of immer- sion to a German mind. This is enough to vindicate Martin Luther, and his version of the Bible. On p. 323 he states again: ^John Calvin, the founder of your Presbyterian church, says. It is nowhere expressed by the Evangelists that any one infant was baptized.' He also brings up the name of Dr. Dwight; but what do these men say? Calvin, in his Com. on Harmony of the Evangelists, vol. ii. p. 390, says : ^ We, on the other hand, maintain that since bap- tism is the pledge and figure of the forgiveness of sins, and likewise of adoption by God, it ought not to be denied to in- fants, whom God adopts and washes with the blood of his Son. Certainly tlie laying on of hands was not a trifling or empty sign, and the prayers of Christ were not idly wasted in air. But he could not present the infants solemnly to God, without giving them purity. And for what did he pray for tliem, but that they might be received into the number of the children of God? Hence it follows, that they were renewed by the k^'pirit to the hope of salvation. In short, by embracing them, he testified that they were reckoned by Christ among his flock. THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 823 And if they ivere partahers of the spiritual gifts^ ivhich are represented hy baptism, it is unreasonable that they should he deprived of the outward sign.' And thus speaks Dr. Dwight, vol. iy. p. 340, Sermon 159 : ^ Such children, then, among Gentiles, as are born of those who profess the religion of the Scriptures, are included in the covenant, and are to he baptized/ 31 r. Graves refers also to Dr. Taylor, of the Church of England. Dr. Wall says of him, vol. ii. p. 22 : ^ There were no need of mentioning Bishop Taylor, were it not for some importunate anti-pedobaptists, who cite him in this controversy against his xoill. He, in the times of the rebellion in England, wrote a treatise called The Liberty of Prophesying ^ in which he under- took to show how much might be said for two sorts of dissent- ers, the anti-pedobaptists and the papists ) saying thus : These two are the most troublesome, and most disliked; and by an account made of these, we may make judgment what may be done towards others, whose errors are not apprehended of so great malignity." In this he declares himself vfell satisfied with the principles of pedobaptism, of which he gives a sum- mary account, and says that he takes the other ojyinion to be an error,'' yet under pretence of reciting what may be said for that error, he draws up so elaborate a system of arguments against infant baptism, and sets them forth to the utmost, by such advantage of style, that he is judged to have said more for the anti-pedobaptists than they were ever before able to say for themselves.' It is, I presume, like Bishop Whately's argument showing that there never has been such a man as Napoleon Bonaparte. Dr. Whately believes that there has lived such a man, yet he made it appear very probable, logically, that there never was such a man ] yet who would be so silly as to quote passages from this argument, and thereby maintain that Bishop Whately candidly and believingly denied the existence of Na- poleon? But this is just what Graves and Pengilly have done in Reference to Bishop Taylor ! 824 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, ^^And moreover^ we notice that on the page already cited, Mr. Graves makes even Prof. Moses Stuart, Dr. Leonard Woods, Dr. Knapp, and Matthew Henry, repeat that there are no ' ex- press commands^ for infant baptism in the New Testament, and thereby endeavors to throw the influen<3e of their names against what they loved, believed, and practised. There are clouds of other quotations that we cannot notice singly; so quoted, and in such connections, and for such purposes, as to come heaven- wide of the faith in which these men lived and died. These men went to the word of God for their doctrine. Whatever would not stand the test of the Holy Scriptures, they rejected. They taught and practised sprinkling as the proper mode of baptism ; they practised infant baptism, and taught that it was a Divine mstitution, founded and approved by God himself. For the warrant of both these they went, as we now do, to the Bible. And yet these, and other Baptist writers, attempt to lay the influence of their names, and the weight of their piety, into the scale against the doctrines which they believed, practised, and inculcated ! These names are brought up in a long cate- gory, and arrayed against their brethren by making quotations in such a manner as to create an unfair and untrue impression of their views and principles ! Take these names from their books, and also the quotations annexed to them, and there is nothing left but a lifeless carcass — a skeleton ! And one, too, of such a nature and character, that its ^dry bones ^ can never be clothed by the Spirit and word of God ! Could Baxter, Calvin, Luther, Wall, Stuart, Chalmers, McKnight, Miller, Burnet, Taylor, Wesley, Whitfield, Doddridge, Henry, Knapp, D wight, and others, appear here in our midst to-day, they would lift up their voices in withering, burning words, for the ordinances which now their names are made to impugn. If I have been severe in these remarks, it is but the severity of truth. Have I been too severe in setting forth these misrepre- sentations '/ THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 825 " No/^ said Elder Clayton. To be tliiis dishonest through sectarian zeal in the cause of our Master, can scarcely be de- nounced with too much severity. Let us resume, then, our chain of evidences for Infant Baptism, drawn from the church fathers. Next after Origen, in the order of time, comes Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, who was born about one hundred years after the Apostles. In the year A. D. 253 — about one hundred and fifty years only after the Apostles — sixty-six bishops met in council at Carthage. Fidus, a country bishop, had sent a letter with two cases, on which he desired their opinion. The one which relates to our present subject was, whether an infant might be baptized he/ore it was eight days old. In their reply there were the following passages : ' Cyprian and the rest of the bishops who^were pre- sent in the council, sixty-six in number, to Fidus our Brother, Greeting. — As to the case of Infants; — ivliereas you judge that they must not he baptized loifhin two or three days after they are horn, and that the rule of circumcision is to he observed, that no one should he baptized and sanctified before the eighth day after he is born ; We were all in the council of a very different opi- nion. As for what you thought proper to be done, not one was of your mind ; but we all rather judged that the mercy and grace of Grod is to be denied to no human being that is born. — This therefore, dear brother, was our opinion in the council; that we ought not to hinder any person from baptism and the grace of God, who is merciful and kind to all. And this rule, as it holds for all, is, we think, more especially to be observed in reference to infants, even to those newly born.^ (See Wall's Hist. In. Bap., vol. i. chap. 6, p. 129 ss?) Now, Squire Tanner, turn, if you please, to your text-books, vol. i. p. 221, and vol. ii. p. 226, and you will see it there stated : ' The necessity of infant baptism was never asserted by any council before that of Carthage, held A. D. 418.' This is as near the truth as he usually gets. The council was held A. D. 28 826 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, 253 (see Mosheim, vol. iii. p. 172 ; Dr. Hase's Ch. Hist., p. 90 ; and Schaff's Ap. Ch.^, p. 581 : Dr. Schaff makes it a little earlier, A. D. 246), one hundred and sixty-five (or according to Dr. Schaff, 172) years earlier than Brother Graves has it. Now Cyprian, the head of this council, was the successor of Tertul- lian, a presbyter in Carthage, and was converted in A. D. 246, and received the crown of martyrdom A. D. 259. And in view of this testimony, is it possible to suppose that sixty-six bishops, gathered from all parts of the land, only 150 years after the Apostles, and headed by the most distinguished man in the whole Christian church at that time, should not have doubted — no, not a single one of them — as to the propriety of apply- ing the ordinance of baptism to infants — even ' under eight days old' — if, indeed, it had not been the universal practice of the entire church of Christ to baptize infants ? And this is the more remarkable from the fact that it is the identical spot where Tertullian had labored but a few years before so strenu- ously to have baptism delayed in the case of infants and un- married persons. But, it seems, Tertullian was not very successful, as in this council, a few years after, there u-as not one of his opinion — not one to advocate delay.'' And this," said Anna, ^^ I understand to have been a synod of divines — a council of all the most learned men in the Chris- tian church at that time. With me it has far more weight, that the decision was given in ^puhlic assemblage, than if it were only the private opinion of the same men. And then it was so near the time of the Apostles ; and the unanimous opinion of sixty- six divines also : all this shows most conclusively to my mind that infant baptism was not only the opinion and usage of the whole Cliristian claircli, but had ever been from the time of the Apostles." ^^Optatus, Bishop of Milevi," continued Ilalloy, "who was born about two liundred years after the Apostles, is the next witness we will examine. He wrote about two hundred and THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 327 sixty years after John the Evangelist, and had been comparing a Christian's putting on Christ in baptism, to putting on a gar- ment. He then says : ' But lest any one say, I speak irreve- rently in calling Christ a garment, let him read what the Apostle says, as many of you as have been haptized in the name of Christ, have put on Christ. Oh ! what a garment is this, which is always one, and which fits all ages and all shapes. It is neither too large for infants, nor too small for young men, nor does it need any alteration for women.' ^' Here too is the Oration 20 of Gregory Nazianzen, who was contemporary with Optatus — about two hundred and sixty years after the Apostles. He compares Basil, one of the church fathers, to Samuel, as follows : ' Samuel, among them which call upon his name, was given before he was born, and imme- diately after his birth was consecrated, and he became an anointer of kings and of priests out of a horn. And was not this man (Basil) consecrated to God in his infancy, and carried to the steps in a coat ? ' He probably means the steps of the baptismal font. " Dr. Wall gives an abstract of Gregory's oration on the ordinance of baptism : ' He first gives his opinion in favor of delaying the baptism of children till they are three years old. And still he so expresses himself as to leave no doubt that the usual practice was against him. But on reconsidering the danger to which infants are exposed, and all the circumstances of the case, he advises that infants (of a few days old) should be baptized.' "Thus he and Tertullian are the only men in the early churches who speak of delaying baptism at all ; and the recon- sideration of the matter led Gregory to recall what he had said on delay, and to give it as his opinion that they should be early in life baptized according to the prevailing custom of the church.'' "We cannot call him a Baptist/' said Anna, "for an infant 828 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, three days old is just as capable of exercising faith as one of three years. And it seems that Gregory repudiated his own advice to delay baptism in a fuller consideration of the matter. Therefore TertuUian is the only one yet found who really ad- vocated delay of baptism in the case of infants \ and yet he was no Baptist, for he equally advocated a delay of baptism to un- married persons, even if adults, and capable of exercising faith. There, in reality, has been no Baptist found yet, and we have canvassed nearly tliree centuries from the Apostles.'^ And it is also worthy of note,^^ said Halley, that during this whole period, with scarce an interval, the Christian church had constantly endured civil persecutions of the most direful and bloody character ] and that in her progress she had passed through blood and fires, storms and disasters. The professor of the Christian religion was constantly exposed to the dungeon, the rack, and the faggot; and nearly all, or quite, of those church fathers we have referred to, suffered martyrdom for their faith. But we have the testimony of a few more to add to that which has already been adduced. Ambrose, who wrote about two hundred and seventy-four years after the Apostles, in com- menting on the first chapter of Luke, and speaking of John, and Elias, and of his parting the waters of the river Jordan, says: ^ But perhaps this may seem to be ful^Wadi in our time, and in the Apostles' time. For that return of waters backward toward the head of the river, which was caused by Elias when the river was divided, signified the mystery of the laver of sal- vation, which afterwards was to be instituted, by which those who are baptized in infancy are reformed from a wicked state to the primitive state of their nature.' Here Ambrose testifies that infants were not only baptized then^ but also Hn the Apos- tles^ time-/ as he says, it was fulfilled then us qww. And we think, from the j)r()ximity of liis age to that of the Apostles, and tlie other advantages he possessed of knowing how long it had been practised, that his testimony is as reliable as that, THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 829 at least, of those removed more than fourteen hundred years from him, and whose proofs are, if proofs at all, traced through him and his contemporaries. John Chrysostom, who dates within the third century after the Apostles, and who was one of the most able and eloquent preachers that had as yet adorned the primitive church ; born at Antioch, bishop of Constantinople, twice banished on account of his zeal in reforming and keeping pure the Christian church, and at length brought, by his sufferings in the bitter persecu- tions he encountered, to the grave — thus speaks, in his writings which I have here. Homily 40, on G-enesis, speaking of cir- cumcision and then of baptism, which God has appointed in the place of the former, ' But our circumcision, that is, the grace ofhaptism, gives cure without pain. And it has no determinate time, as circumcision had ; but it is proper that this circumcision without hands should be received by one in tlie heginnirig of life, or in the middle of it, or in old age. Again, he says : ^ Some think that the heavenly grace (of baptism) consists only in forgiveness of sins ; but I have reckoned up ten advantages of it. For this cause we hoptize infants also, though they are not defiled hy sin'' — meaning, doubtless, actual sin. There are other passages in the works of John Chrysostom, bearing on this subject, but we will pass them, and proceed to call a still more noted church father named Augustine; who was born 254 years after the Apostles, and one of the most pious, learned, devoted, and remarkable of all the church fathers. His father was a pagan till near the close of his life ; his mother (Monia), was eminently pious. He was converted at the age of thirty-three (A. D. 387) ; was bishop of Hippo thirty-five years (395-430) ; and during this time was indefati- gable in preaching, writing, combating error and vice, and in- fusing life and spirituality into the churches and clergy far and near (see Mosheim, vol. i. page 258, n. 35). ^He was,' says history, ' one of the most sincere and ardent Christians of his 28* 830 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, time/ Dr. Wall says (vol. i. page 241) : ^ St. Augustine was a man of note in tlie church, and continued writing books for forty years and more. There never was any one man whose pains were so successful in healing the wounds of the church caused by schisms and heresies. His moderate and popular way of arguing had a great effect.' Again (page 259) : ' St. Augustine speaks here of infant baptism, and we see a full evi- dence that it was then universally practised, and had been so beyond the memory of any man or of any record : that they took it to be a thing that had not been enacted by any coun- cil,'' but had " ever been in use'' from the beginning of Chris- tianity. And they had then but 300 years to look back to the times of the Apostles, whereas we now (about 1725), have 1600. And the 'writings and records which are now lost, were then ex- tantj and easily known! " In view of all this, we shall see that his testimony in rela- tion to the history of the ordinance of infant baptism, taken in connection with that of his renowned contemporary, Pelagius, ^ the learned heretic,' is strong and explicit ; not only that in- fants were then baptized, but that this usage was universally, in the Christian church, practised and understood ; and also acknowledged to have been handed down from the very times of the Apostles." "Was not there a controversy between these two men?" asked Elder Mason. "What was the ground of their con- troversy ? " " Pelagius," replied Halley, " denied the depravity of the human heart, and the necessity of divine grace, and the in- fluence of the Spirit in man's regeneration. He also maintained that the human will is as much inclined to good as to evil, and that good works constitute the meritorious cause of salvation. History records (see Mosheim, vol. i. page 370), that Pelagius, and his colleague and companion, Cclestius, were in high repu- tation for their virtues and piety ; and that the success of Fela- THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH- 331 gius was great, but that lie found a powerful opponent in the person of the famous Augustine, bishop of Hippo, who exposed the unscriptural character of the system, and its direct ten- dency to subvert the grand doctrine of the gospel, and to render the cross of Christ of none effect. In one of his arguments against Pelagius, and in proving the doctrine of original sin, he asks : ' Why are infants haptized for the remission of sins if they have no sin ? ^ Intimating thereby to Pelagius, that the denial of original sin must draw after it the denial of infant baptism. Now mark the reply of Pelagius, which, under the circumstances, was striking and unequivocal. Says Pelagius : 'Baptism ought to he administered to infants, with the same sa- cramental words which are used in the case of adult persons. Men slander me, as if I denied the sacrament of baptism to in- fants. I NEVER HEARD OF ANY, not even the most impious here- tic, who denied baptism to infants.'^ Again, Augustine remarks in reference to the Pelagians : ' Since they grant that infants must be baptized, as not being able to resist the authority of the WHOLE CHURCH, WHICH WAS DOUBTLESS DELIVERED BY OUR Lord and his Apostles, they must consequently grant that they stand in need of the benefit of the Mediator.^ With this argument, the Pelagians were much pressed. It would have been very much to their purpose, if it had been in their power, to assert that Augustine was wrong in his position and statement; and that the baptism of infants was not en- joined by Christ and his Apostles. Or if they had known of any sect or society of Christians existing in their day, or before their time since the Apostles, who disowned infant baptism, or had raised objections to it, their own interests would have led them to plead such an example. in behalf of their position and their argument. But they were so far from being able to do this, that they were obliged to concede that they never saw nor heard of any one, either Christian or heretic — no, nor any writer who pretended to believe in the Scriptures, who denied 832 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, baptism to infants. Celestius, who assisted Pelagius in the propagation of his peculiar doctrines^ said : ' Infants are to be baptized according to the rule of the universal church/ Could there have been any sect denying infant baptism/' asked Anna, " and they not have known of its existence ? " Pelagius was born in Britain (probably a Welshman), and Celestius in Ireland/^ replied Halley. ^* They both lived a long time in Kome, to which all the people of the then known world had resort. They were both some time in Sicily; and then in Carthage a considerable period. Then Pelagius traveled through Egypt, and settled in Jerusalem for many years. Celestius went from Carthage to Ephesus and Constantinople, and in fact visited all the noted churches in both Europe and Asia. In view of this, w^e should consider it impossible that there should have been a sect, or even a church, that denied the practice of infant baptism in aJl Christendom^ and they not have heard of it. The conclusion is irresistible, that there was not at that time, nor within the memory of the men of that time, any Christian society which denied baptism to infants.^^ What ! not one Baptist church in all Europe, Asia, and Africa?'^ exclaimed Elder Clayton. "And this was only three hundred years after the Apostles I If there ever had been any, what had become of them ? " That is a question,'^ replied Ilalley, " that I have never heard answered — or even attempted to be answered. Here in all the known countries where Christianity had penetrated, there was not a church where infant baptism was not practised at that time, or v/here it had not been practised v/ithin the re- collection of the oldest men then living, or where they had ever heard of its being rejected ! And the most talented and learned men of those times declare it to have been an apostolic institu- tion — 'delivered by our liord,' — and that it had ever been prac- tised. And those whose interest it was to make contrary state- ments, if possible, assure us that they never heard of any one, THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 333 even the most impious heretic^ who denied baptism to infants. This^ then, is conclusive testimony ; and he, who demands more than this, is not reasonable. "But turn, if you please. Squire Tanner, to your text-book, vol. ii. p. 467, and you will find it there stated : ^ If we now go back to the year 300, we will find all the churches to be Bap- tist churches in regard to hcqotism^ except a few in Africa/ Is this possible, and yet not a trace of any such existence to have been found, or even known, a few years later ? How did Bro- ther Graves know that they were all Baptist churches ? Has he intuitions on the subject? If they were all Baptist churches, in spite of all history and every assurance to the contrary, we have only to say that they were veri/ unlike their brethren of a later day! And with such Baptists we have very little differ- ence of opinion, and none whatever in the practice of infant baptism! " But let us quote a very little more from Augustine. In remarking on the passage, 1 Cor. vii. 14, he says : ' There were Christian infants who were sanctified (that is, baptized) by the authority of one or both of their parents/ Again, in speaking of the good which Christian baptism does to infants, he re- marks : ' That the faith of those by whom the child is brought to be consecrated, is profitable to the child.' This sounds very much like the Pedobaptist doctrine of the present day. If you should desire to see more evidence on this subject from Augus- tine and the other church fathers, as I have not time to bring it up here, I would refer 3^ou to these works, which I have been quoting from : Dr. Wall's Hist, of Infant Baptism, vols, i. and ii. ; Dr. Woods on Infant Baptism; Dr. Kurtz's Infant Baptism; Dr. Alexander's Life, chap. ix. etc. etc. There are other works here in Latin, and some in Greek ; but those I have mentioned contain translations from these authors, and the translations are sufiiciently numerous and forcible to satisfy every rational and candid mind that infant baptism was gene- 334 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, rally practised from the apostolic age down to the fall of the Western Empire. And at that time it is acknowledged by all to have been in general use. Yes, there is one unbroken chain of evidence — Augustine, Chrysostom, Ambrose, Optatus, Cy- prian and his sixty-six bishops, Origen (Tertullian, in our gene- rosity, though no Baptist, we will donate to them, as a kind of peace-olFering), Justin Martyr, and Irenseus, w^ho was born in the first century whilst the Evangelist John was living, and therefore knew and handed down apostolic customs and usages. According to the united testimony of these men — for it all harmonizes, even Tertullian's is as strong as any in bearing evidence to the fact of the general prevalence of infant bap- tism — the universal Christian church, all along during the lives of these fathers of the church, down through three centuries, till we have ahunclmit and unquestioned testimony, practised infant baptism; and these evidences, further, assure us that at the close of the third century after the Apostles, there was not a single Baptist church in the whole Christian world — not one, having or professing the faith peculiar to our Baptist bre- thren, then existing in all Christendom; nor was it known that there ever had been I "Says Dr. Woods : ^We have evidence as abundant, and specific, and certain as history afibrds of almost any other fact, til at infant haptism universally prevailed from the days of tlie Apostles tlirovgli four centuries J Says Dr. Schaff': ^Origen of Alexandria, the most learned representative of the Greek church, who was himself baptized soon after his birth (85 years after John, A. D. 185), and was at the death of Tertul- lian (about A. D. 220) some thirty-five years of age, speaks in the most unequivocal terms of infant hcq)tisni as an apostolic tr((dition, and the universal 2>ractice of the church. And those who interpret the silence of ecclesiastical WTitcrs before Ter- lulHan respecting iniant baptism unfavorably to it, do not con- aider J in the first place, that we have very few written memo- THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 335 rials of any kind from tliis age, and are left wholly in tlie dark on many other points ; and in the second place, that at that time the great missionary zeal, and the rapid spread of the church, made the baptism of proselytes still more frequent, and, in the nature of the case, most thought of. Finally, even in Clement of Alexandria, Irengeus, and Justin Martyr, there is no lack of hints which indicate, with more or less certainty, the existence of infant baptism.^ Says Dr. Wall (vol. i. chap. 21) : ' Irenaeus (born in the time of the Apostles), Epiphanius, Philostrus, Augustine, and Theodoret, who wrote catalogues of all the sects and sorts of Christians that they knew, or had ever heard of, make no men- tion of any who denied infant loa^tism, except those who denied all baptism. Each of them mentions some sects that used no baptism at all ; and these sects Augustine represents as disown- ing the Scripture, or a great part of it. But of all sects that aclcnowleclged ivater baptism in any ca,se^ NO ONE is mentioned that DENIED IT TO INFANTS.' Dr. Wall further says : ' That the first body of men we read of, that denied baptism to in- fants, were the Petrobrusians, A. D. 1150.' "Now turn to Theodosia Ernest, (vol. i. pp. 161 and 163), and you will find it there stated : ^ That Presbyterian ministers have been trained and educated in error. They have trusted to the assertions of others, who had an interest in deceiving them. — They do not examine the historical records for them- selves. — From the very earliest ages of Christianity, up to the present time, there has been a body of professing Christians who have always held, as we do now, that baptism is not valid unless it be preceded by instruction and faith in Christ; and, consequently, that the baptism of infants is no baptism at all.' And here/' continued Halley, drawing a small pamphlet from his pocket, " is a tract published by the General Baptist Tract Society, and signed Pengilly — who, as I have before re- marked, or at least intimated, is a very near relative, logically, 336 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, of Mr. Graves. This tract says : ' Our principles are as old as Christianity. Persons holding our distinctive principles ; that is^ the baptism of believers only^ have appeared in all ages of the Christian era. From Christ to nearly the end of the second century^ there were no others; at least if there were, their history is a blank. After Christianity was introduced, many opposed it/ etc. Now what authority is given for this sweeping assertion ? Not a scrap of evidence, either sacred or profane ; and for the best of all reasons — there is no such evidence in the world. Most earnestly has it been sought for ; and such has been the zeal, that quotations have been made from spurio^is works; others altered by those who cited them ; some tortured so as to convey a very different meaning from that of the authors ; and others even forged expressly for the occasion. (See Dr. Wall, vol. ii. chap, i.) But all these, Argus-eyed Christianity has exposed; and everything not bearing the test and stamp of genuineness, has been rejected by every candid writer, whose sectarian zeal did not run away with his honesty — who was not more anxious to advance the cause of his party than the cause of his Master. Brothers Graves and Pengilly are too much influenced by sectarian zeal in this respect. We have already noticed their misrepresentations ; and I will only give two examples here of their citing unreliahle authorities. See Tiieodosia, vol. i. pp. 323 and 325 (see also ' Scripture Guide to Baptism' ) : ' Ludo- vicus Yives, a 7iame of high historical authority/, says, None of old was wont to be baptized but in grown age, and who desired it, and understood what it was.' — ^The learned Curcelleus is one of them, and he says : Infant baptism was not known in the world the first two centuries after Christ.' Dr. Wall, who wrote about 1600, and whose statements are considered perfectly reliable, even hy Mr. Graves (see TiiEO- DOSIA, vol. i. p. 170), says of these men Ttol. ii. p. 16) : * Since THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 387 this Yives lived so little while ago (1492-1541, a Spaniard), and produces no proof out of any author to confirm his opinion, his affirming anything concerning any old customs is of no more authority than if any one now living should say the same, without producing his proof. Especially since he was but a young man when he wrote these commentaries, and, though learned in philosophy and secular history, yet confesses him- self in his preface to them, that as for diviniti/, ivMch teas none of Jm profession y he minded it only so far as his other studies would give him leave. Curcelleus says the same thing as Vives does. And there is to be said of him not only what was said of Yives, that affirming a thing of antiquity, he produces no quotation for proof, but also that he hrlnijs it in to maintain another tenet as paradoxical as this (the denial of infant bap- tism in the early Christian church) itse(f is.^ Like Pelagius, he denied original sin • but not like Pelagius he makes this statement as an argument in its favor. Pelagius would have done it if he could consistently with truth ; but he did not affirm it, from the fact that he knew it to be false, and that the Christian world would have, at the time, denounced it as such. " But to return : among all the investigations, thorough and critical, of the ancient records and of the writings of the early church fathers, piles of proof on proof have been found in sup- port of infant baptism, and for its divine authority and exist- ence through the first four centuries of the Christian era ; but not a lisp has been, or can be, found militating against its existence, general practice, and divine authority. Baptists persist in asserting that it was not introduced till after the second century ; but they do not pretend, nor have they attempted, to tell us hoiv it was then introduced. They say that when it was introduced it was opposed. Who opposed it? What church — what council of divines ? Who, among all the early Christians, declares it to have been 7iot of divine authority, and not in general use ? The fathers tell us that they never 29 W 838 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, heard of such a man, but, on the contrary, assure us that it was of divine authority, and that it was a custom and ordinance of the universal church. All history is silent, when asked who , opposed it ? Echo only answers — who ? Mr. Graves states (vol. ii. p. 469) : ' Their churches were scattered all over the Roman empire when Constantino came to the throne (A. D. 306, about 200 years after the Apostles). Constantino sought to unite them with the Catholics, but they obstinately refused to pollute their communion even at the command of the emperor, who then professed to be their friend.' He is talking about Baptists or those holding to their distinctive principles. Were there any in existence in tli time of Con- stantino ? Would not Pelagius, Celestius, or Augustine, have heard of them, if they were all over the Roman empire at that period "I think,'^ replied Anna, ^Hhat he claims some sects called (see vol. ii. pp. 466-469, and also diagram on p. 476) Cathari or Novatians, and Donatists. They were, I believO; nearly con- temporary with the Emperor Constantino.^' Why were they called by these names?'' asked Halley. Elder Mason, can you tell me why they were thus named, and in what respect they differed from other sects ? " " Really I do'nt know," replied Elder Mason ; I suppose I have seen it some time, but I never trouble myself much about such matters." The Novatians or Cathari were the followers of one Novatus, a presbyter of Carthage, who had disagreed with Cyprian, his bishojf (about A. D. 250), and is said to have been ^ not only arrogant, factious, vain, and rash, but chargeable also with many offences and crimes.' (See Mosheim, vol. i. p. 203, and n. 19) : ^ Their peculiarity was (that is, of the sect) that they would not receive into the church persons who, after being haptized , fell into r/reater sinsJ Pedobaptists of our times would not diflfcr very much from this. There is no evidence at all anywhere that they denied infant baptism." THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 839 "And how was it witli the Donatists^ a little after tliis period, and in the age of Augustus ? asked Anna. " There is no evidence that the schism which led to the formation of this sect/' answered Halley, " was in consequence of any dissension on doctrinal points. But^ according to Mo- sheim, the immediate cause was in the election of Cecilian, the archdeacon^ by a majority of the people and the clergy^ to fill the chair vacated by the death of Mensurius, bishop of Carthage, A. D. 311. He was consecrated immediately, without waiting for the bishops of Numidia, by the bishops of the archdiocese of Carthage. The Numidian bishops were highly offended^ and by the aid of the disaffected in Carthage deposed the newly- ordained bishop, and in his stead consecrated Majorinus as bishop of Carthage. The most violent and active among the Numidian bishops was Donatus, and therefore the whole party opposed to Cecilian were called Donatists. The quarrel spread far and wide, so that nearly every church in Africa was divided, and almost every city had two bishops. The matter was brought before Constantine in 313, and he referred it to the bishop of Rome, assisted by three bishops from Gaul. Cecilian was ac- quitted by this court. The Numidians were dissatisfied with his acquittal, and to quiet their murmurs the Emperor Con- stantine appointed a much larger tribunal (314) which also decided against the Donatists. They then appealed to the Emperor himself, who, on examination of the matter (316), decided against them ; and on account of their contumely, re- proaches, and complaints, he ordered their temples to be taken from them in Africa, and the seditious bishops to be banished.''' "But what has this to do with infant baptism?'' asked Elder Clayton. " I confess I do not know," rephed Halley. " They were acknowledged to be of the same doctrinal faith. Says the historian Gibbon, whom none can accuse of sectarian bias, and whose authority as an historian is unquestioned in regard to 340 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, facts, vol. i. cli. 21 : ' Excluded from the civil and religious communion of mankind, tliey boldly excommunicated the rest of mankind who had embraced the impious party of Cecilian and of the Traditors. Bishops, virgins, and even spotless in- fants, were subjected to the disgrace of a public penance before they could be admitted to the communion of the Donatists, But notwithstanding this irreconcilable aversion, the two parties, who were mixed and separated in all the cities of Africa, had tlie same language and maimers, the same zeal and. learning^ THE SAME FAITH AND WORSHIP/ Mosheim, vol. i. p. 286, says : ^ That the Donatists were sound in doctrine, even their adversaries admit/ It is a well-authenticated and established fact in history, that not only the Novatians and Donatists, but also the Arians, practised infant baptism. Augustine was the great opponent of the Donatists and the Arians a few years later, and he declared that none of all the Christians had any other* opinion than that infant baptisms was useful and neces- sary. Now these very Donatists, whom all history declares to have had the same faith and worshipy to have had the same church ordinances and usages which the other greater branch of the church had — whom all history assures us to havejomc- tised infant hajitism, as the church had ever done — these Mr. Graves declares to have been Anabaptists — to have withdrawn from the so-called Catholic church, because disgusted with its corinqotions and innovations — that they refused to haptize their children — that therefore they were persecuted and put to death, and that Augustine was one of the persecutors ! (See Theo- DOSIA, vol. i. pp. 338-9). What a dearth of truth there is in these statements we may readily see from what has already been said. That they baptized all who came to them — even those coming from the other branch of the church, is unquestionable also. But why did they re-baptize them ? It was not because they had not been immersed. It was not because they were baptized in infancy. It was not because they were sprinkled. THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 341 It was on no ground kindred to that of the Baptist faith and practice. And as Gibbon was neither Baptist nor Pedobaptist, I will quote from him, vol. i. chap. 21, that you may know the reason : ' They (the Donatists) asserted with confidence, and almost with exultation, that the apostolical succession was interrupted; that all the bishops of Europe and Asia were infected by the contagion of guilt and schism ; and tliat the prerogatives of the Cafliolic church icere cov fined to the chosen portion of the African helievers, who alone had preserved in- violate the integrity of their faith and discipline. This rigid theory was supported by the most uncharitable conduct. When- ever they acquired a proselyte, even from the distant provinces of the East, they carefully repeated the sacred rites of baptism and ordination; as they rejected the validity of those which he had already received from the hands of heretics or schismatics. If they obtained possession of a church which had been used by their Catholic adversaries, they purified the unhallowed building with the same jealous care which a temple of idols might have required. They washed the pavement, scraped the w^alls, burnt the altar, which was commonly of wood, melted the consecrated plate, and cast the Holy Eucharist to the dogs, with every circumstance of ignominy which could provoke and perpetuate the animosity of religious flietions. Notwithstanding this irreconcilable aversion, the two parties, who were mixed and separated in all the cities of Africa, had the same language and manners, the same zeal and learning, the same faith and worship.' Says Dr. Wall (vol. ii. p. 132) : ' The challenge of Saint Augustine, and the confession of Pelagius, that never knew nor heard of any heretics or schismatics that were against the haj^tizing of infants, must be an undeniable proof that neither of these two sects (Novatians and Donatists) were so; since a considerable body of each of them were remaining in those parts where these two men lived ; and all their particular opinions were the subject of every day's disputation/ Mosheim 29* 842 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, and Hase, in their Ohurcli Histories^ fully corroborate what has already been said. Where then does Mr. Graves get his authority for the state- ments he has made with regard to the Donatists ? Where ? I ask, unless it be from a vivid imagination, — on which, as we have seen, — he has made demands before ! We have now brought the examination down to the year A. D. 430 — more than 300 years after the death of the Apos- tles — and we have found infant baptism to be clearly the un- disputed practice of the ivliole cliurcli. And we might add nearly in the words of Augustine : Will any one still ask for authority ? * Will any one ask for divine authority in this matter V In ^ that which the loliole church practises : ' which loas NOT instituted, hy councils^ hut teas ever in use? It is very reasonably believed to be no other than a thing delivered by the authority of the Apostles. We m.ay, besides, make a true estimate how much the sacrament of baptism does avail infants by the circumcision which God's ancient people received.^' We have also found that the Donatists who were contem- porary with Augustine and Pelagius, were no Baptists, but practised infant baptism. Yet I confess,^' continued Halley, after a moment's hesitation, if we look more closely, they did have some distinctive features, which are now peculiar to our Baptist brethren ; and if you think them sufficiently strong to settle the relationship, we will pass this sect over to you." ^' What were those distinctive features ?" asked Elder Mason, eagerly. They have been incidentally mentioned in the various quo- tations from the authorities cited. But I will repeat them. They were," continued Halley, slowly, with a calm expressive gaze at Elder Mason, " a claim that they alone had the full right to be considered the true and. infallible church; and to such intolerable malignity did they carry their resentment in their church relations, that they avoided all communication THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 843 with the Christian mother church ; they not only shut out all intercourse, but pronounced the sacred rites and institutions of their mother church as void of all virtue^ and some of them as impious and sacrilegious; in their bitterness and party zeal, they even carried their resentment and exclusiveness so far as to re-baptize those who joined them from other churches, and also to re-ordain those who already sustained the ministerial office. I have been able to trace no other resemblances/^ A perceptible flush sprung up on the faces of many in the room, but it was more marked in the case of Elder Mason and Squire Tanner; and it seemed to deepen somewhat in the few moments of silence which followed. " I would like to call your attention now,'^ continued Halley, turning over some old volumes which lay before him, " to the harmony of this testimony of the church fathers in regard to the practice of infant baptism in the early period of the church, and that which is found in the Catacombs of Rome. Here is a work by the Right Rev. Wm. J. Kip, D. D., wherein we find epitaphs and inscriptions similar to those we have already cited. Recollect that these Catacombs were inhabited by the early Christians during the persecutions of the church, he/ore the time of Constantine (about two hundred years after the Apostles), and who was the first Christian em- peror, and under whose reign Christians, /or the first time, were protected by civil authority. Turn to the first volume of your text-book. Squire Tanner, p. 308, and you will find it there stated that during this period ' The church remained what Christ intended it should be. It was a body of professed be- lievers. But when infants instead of converts began to be in- troduced, its whole character was changed. Its spirituality was gone. No Pagan, not even the tiger-hearted Nero himself, was so cruel in his persecutions of the Christians, as this body of \ baptized infants became, when it grew up to manhood and was invested with the power to kill.^ But in these caves of the earth, to which these persecuted 344 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, Christians fled for safety, there are found enduring monuments of the ftiith and practice of these simple-hearted and persecuted men and women, who lived ' when the church was what Christ intended it to be;^ and strange to relate, we are assured tha) even then it was composed in part of these very ^impiouslj baptized infants/ Not only are we assured of this by the dis- tinguished bishops of the church who led their feeble, aggrieved and oppressed flocks into these fortresses of the earth, and who themselves sealed their faith with their blood; but also the flocks themselves have left an imperishable record graven upon the eternal rocks, and which speak none the less forcibly and fatally to the Baptist cause. God, who can foresee all possible events, ever guards his truth, and fortifies it, so as to render it invincible. Here, through the lapse of ages, he has preserved to the world, relics and inscriptions made by Christians in that bloody time, when they were forced to go down into the earth to prolong life and to worship God. Let us now look again be- neath the lifted veil, and be wiser. We here meet with numerous epitaphs of children who are called ' NeopJiyieSy and ' Fmtlifiihj titles which, of course, could not have been given them unless they had been received hy ha^thm into the church. The age at which they died pre- cludes the idea that it was administered to them in any way but as infants. These epitaphs were carved, recollect, le^s, than tivo hundred years after the Apostles. They arc the rude monu- ments of those simple-hearted Christians in the primitive age of the church, ere she was corrupted by power. The ages of the children, who had been baptized, and made members of the church, and on whom was bestowed the title of Neo2)hyte or Falthfid^ when they died, was from less titan two years up to adult age; as may be seen by referring to those already noticed. Seven out of the eleven inscriptions, given in the examinations of yesterday, state that the child (though consecrated by bap- tism), was under four years of age when it died ; and the oldest of the number was only eight years of age. THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 345 Let us now for a few moments look at the force of the his- torical testimony we have been considering. Our Baptist brethren affirm that infant baptism was not an apostolic insti- tution. We ask, then, how they account for these inscriptions of the primitive Christians ? How do they account for, and interpret the hints and references to infant baptism in the writings of those who Vv'ere even contemporary with the Apos- tles ? Tertullian wrote in the first century after them, and he speaks of it as a generally existing practice : wliere^ then, and Jiow^ was the change made ? Where is the evidence of its in- troduction ? Point us to a trace — even to the faintest trace of it. What declaration is there in any history or record of the times that infant baptism began to be practised in the churches? What suggestion or allusion is there, either in history or tra- dition, making it appear in any degree probable that such a change ever took place? For you to affirm that such a change was brought about without being able to point to a scrap of evidence fivoring it, and still persist in affirming it in the face of every degree of probability against you, is, to say the least, an arrogant assumption instead of an argument. Pray tell us, where were our Baptist brethren when such a horrible heresy was being agitated and introduced ? Why did they not, to a man, raise their voices and plead trumpet- tongued for its de- struction ? Were they all asleep when the church was teeming with such a dreadful error ? Was there not one faithful enough to cry out against it, and to utter and record even one syllable against its inti^oductioii ? There is not a syllable on the pages of history, sacred or profane, against its first appearance. Ter- tullian advocates delay^ but admits it was in general use in his day. It is a popular tradition among our Baptist friends, and one they con over and over most fondly, that their denomina- tion dates back to the time when John the Baptist began to 'immerse^ professed believers in Jordan. If this be true, what became of them afterward ? John and his disciples baptized 84(5 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, thousands, and these thousands probably baptized hundreds of thousands. Where were all these mj^iads when infant baptism was introduced ? It seems to me that these people whom the Baptists claim as denominational ancestors, were very unlike them in sectarian zeal ! If they had only possessed a small fraction of the vigilance and party spirit which characterize their brethren in these times, such an innovation could not have gained ground without exciting and arousing the whole church, and causing such opposition, that volumes of controversy would have been the result of the conflict, and the inheritance of their posterity. If there were Baptists then, why did they not lift up their hands, in pious horror, toward heaven, as they do now, and exclaim, This is ^ sacrilege ^ ? Why did they not set themselves at work to array argument against it in such a man- ner as to clear their skirts of the guilt incurred ? What means this ominous silence ? Alas ! alas ! our Baptist brethren had either ceased to he, or had not as yet begun to he ! Although there is on record very ancient and particular accounts of heresies, and of controversies on a great variety of subjects, yet history is as silent as the grave about the heresy of Pedobaptists — yes, as silent as the grave ! ^^Did not Tertullian lift up his voice of warning against it?'' asked Elder Mason. Not against its introduction ; not against it as an innova- tion; not against it as non-apostolic; not against it as not being of Divine authority! No: unfortunately, the only one in the Christian church for five hundred years or more, who ever op- posed infant baptism in any way, believed and taught that in- fants ought to be baptized, if in danger of death; — and what infants are not? I would ask; — and he objected as much to the baptism of unmari^icd heUeverSy as to that of infants, and that, too, from the same reason. You see, then, that the only object- or you can point to during all this period, was himself sadly infected with the heresy. But the testimony is not all negative THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 347 for its being an apostolic custom and ordinance. Far from it. We do not lack for witnesses of undoubted ability and veracity to prove that it was practised in the apostolic age, and also that it was handed down from them by their express order and command. Says Augustine : ' They minded the Scriptures^ and the authority of the whole church : infant baptism was not ordained by councils, but was ever in use. The custom of our mother the church in baptizing infants must not be disregarded, nor be accounted needless, nor helieved to he other than an order of the Apostles.^ Origen, who suffered for his faith, the son of a martyr, and the grandson and great-grandson of professing Christians, and living in the next century after the Apostles, declares : ' The church received an order from the Apostles to give baptism even to 11 f ants J And for eleven hundred years after the ascension of our Lord and Savior, history does not record a single Chris- tian sect on the face of the earth, which believed in or prac- tised baptism at all, which rejected infant baptism, or even questioned it in any respect whatever. " For eleven hundred years I'^ exclaimed Anna, with sur- prise. ^^What was the name of that sect?^^ They were a small fraction of the Waldenses,^^ replied Halley, '^led off in the twelfth century by one Peter de Bruys; and they rejected infant baptism on the plea that infants could not be saved under any circumstances whatever (see Dr. Wall, vol. ii. chap. 7), and therefore ought not to be baptized.^^ Peter de Bruys ? queried Anna. " Were they not called Petrobrusians ? They were,'^ replied Halley. ^^Then Graves traces through them the Baptist church continued Anna. But certainly that is not exactly Baptist faith, for they profess to believe that infants are saved.'' ^^No!'' replied Halley, ^Hhey were not Baptists, for they taught that none could be saved but those who were able to ;48 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, believe, and to work out their own salvation by a course of self- denial and labor ) and as infants were incapable of thus believ- ing, and working out their own salvation, according to their creed they must be lost. And it was not till the sixteenth cen- tury that infant baptism was opposed on any such grounds as are now urged by our Baptist friends. The very first sect of professing Christians on record in the history of the whole Christian world, which rejected infant baptism and believed in infant salvation, were the Anabaptists, starting up in Germany about the year 1522.'' That is a sweeping assertion, sir said Elder Mason, start- ing to his feet. " I'm sure it is easy to trace a line of Chris- tian sects — under different names, it is true, but all rejecting infant baptism — up through the lapse of ages, even to the time of the Apostles." You say it is easy to trace back your ancestry to the time of the Apostles," replied Halley, very calmly and slowly; "if so, meet me here to-morrow, and T will measure histories with you. I do not ask or expect you to take my bare assertions for historical evidences. There is an abundance of truth on the subject, faithful and complete. To-morrow, then, if there is no objection, we will trace back the lineage of our Baptist friends, and decide for ourselves whether they are legitimate or spurious in their claims to apostolic heirship." A look of excited interest passed round the room. " I wish to-morrow were here," said Squire Tanner. " And I must con- fess, if this hook fails me, I am no longer a Baptist." " I trust, then," said Anna, while tears of joy for the mo- ment dimmed her eyes, and an emotion of deep gratitude stirred the depths of her soul, I trust. Squire Tanner, that to-mor- row, at this hour, the power of God's invincible Truth Avill have swept away human-drawn lines and distinctions, and that you will be ready then to lift up your eyes to God, our Hea- venly Father, and to ask in penitence and sincerity, :race streno^thenino- me, to seek the salvation of my soul ! The speaker was George Clayton. A thrill of joy shot through the father's heart. Anna, too, sent up a prayer of thanksgiving and praise — a sister's off'ering for a brother's conversion. This 412 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, was but the spark whicli fired the train. Others followed, and soon it was seen that there were many anxious souls crying out : Lord, save, or I perish/' The progress of the revival was uninterrupted. Sinners beheld the bleeding sacrifice upon the cross — marked the justice of an angry Father — and cried out in fear lest his rod smite them in judgment. A risen Savior gave them hope ; and when they heard him calling after them : Come unto me, all ye weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest — Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest to your souls : then they were won by love, and hastened to swell the ranks of the people of God. Scores found peace in believing. Not a family remained unvisited by the Spirit of God. The young and the aged bowed alike before the unseen power. And had our ears been purged from their grossness, we might have heard a shout resounding from the hilltops like that which startled the shepherds on the plains of Bethlehem : Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, good will toward men.'' Weeks pass. Again a Sabbath dawns, cheered by an Autumn isun. There is something peculiarly impressive in the solemn quiet rest of a Sabbath in Autumn. The sun wheels slowly through a dreamy hazy atmosphere, with the fierceness of his glance subdued. The earth, with forests dressed in rainbow hues, and fields in brown, lulls the air to silence and the winds to rest — no sound, no motion ! Whilst we were engaged in thoughts kindred to these, the familiar plaintive sound of the church-bell spoke of other scenes. And as we watched the unrest of man, the rolling wheels, the gathering feet, all tending to that point where called the bell ; we fancied that its voice of iron tongue, cleav- ing with quick wing the slumbering air, had waked echoes also in the court of heaven, and that angels entered the house of (jlod along with the sons of men. And do you wonder why THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 413 angels gathered there ? We read, that there is joy in heaven over one poor soul repentant; and here were many, clothed and in their right mind/^ about to put on Jesus before the scoffing world. We glance around the densely-crowded courts^ and behold they have come up as one rWan to unite in one hody as a church — a union in which all members of Christ's family will have a home. It was not asked, are you of this stripe, or of that order? but, ^^Do you acknowledge the Lord Jehovah to be your God, the object of your supreme love — the Lord Jesus Christ your all-sufficient Savior, your only Redeemer — the Holy Ghost your Sanctifier and Comforter ? Do you with- out reserve give yourselves away to God, to be his willing ser- vants forever ? Do you covenant to observe all his commands and ordinances in the closet, in the family, and in the sanctuary, remembering that every one of you shall give an account of himself unto God ? Around this, which is the Christian's faith, flocked Christians of every name, henceforth to be known only as Christians. Pastor and People, Excommunicators and Excommunicated, Immersionists, Sprinklers, and Pourers, all gathered around o?ie standard — the cross; recognizing but one standard-bearer and Master — Christ Jesus. It was a sight well worth a journey from heaven to witness ! May this present generation witness many such scenes as this ! Look ! there is a familiar face in the pulpit, which carries us back in remembrance to the old Academy place, and to the communion season there. How unlike that scene is this ! Yet we can trace the relation of cause and effect; that was the sowing of the good seed, and this but the harvest. Glorious harvest for thee, thou faithful laborer in thy Master's service ! Thy God hath sent thee back to reap ! Count the sheaves as they gather around the altar, and say. Is it not enough ? Elder Clayton was there also, by his side, and assisted in the duties of the day, and in the administering of the ordinances. There before the altar stands Anna, with a face radiant with 35* 414 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, holy joy. Mary, her faithful friend, is beside her; and George too, earnest and prayerful. And on either side, gathered with them, are children, with their youthful voices just tuned to praise ; young men and women, the middle-aged, and the old, with eyes dimmed anil steps tottering. Does it not gladden thy heart, thou servant of the mighty God ? Go on, then, preaching love, the burden of the Gospel of peace; love — love to God, and love to man. When they were all gathered around him, the man of God opened the Bible, and read : " Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing ; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty'^ (2 Cor. vi. 17, 18). Then he administered unto them their solemn vows. And should any inquire how they were baptized, we answer, with water, before the altar, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. And as his hand rested on Anna's forehead, he said, in the language of Paul (Titus iii. 5-7) : " Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.'' And as he passed back to the pulpit, he said : ^^Now are ye one body in Christ Jesus. Ye have one Lorclj even your God, whom ye have this day acknowledged. One Spirit, by which ye grasp the merits of a risen Savior. One baptism, for by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gen- tiles, whether we be bond or free ; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. Behold he continued, in the language of Scripture ; " ' One body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 415 througli all, and in you all/ Bless God for evermore ! Amen and amen/^ Then were uncovered the sacred elements ; and lie who min- istered in God^s name, casting his eyes over the sea of faces moistened with tears, exclaimed : " Jesus saith, I am the bread of life. If any man eat this bread, he shall live forever. If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. Whoso eat- eth my flesh and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.^^ Then after silently breaking the bread, and pouring out the wine, he extended his hands to- wards the recently warring masses before him, now resolved into one by the power of love, and exclaimed : ' This cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ ? The bread which we break, is it not the commu- nion of the body of Christ?' 0 beloved, remember, ^We being many, are one bread and one body ; for we are all partakers of that one bread' (1 Cor. x. 16, 17). What a precious season was this to Christian souls ! Should it be wondered at if souls, breathing such teachings as their native air, lose their fierceness, and no longer strive about words to no profit, divided often by nothing but a name? Would they go thence telling how much more acceptable to God they were than their brethren '( How much more they will be re- warded for their works of righteousness ? theirs being more righteous than their fellows, all works but theirs to be burned and suffer loss ? Poor self-righteous, foolish mortals ! You have yet to learn that all your righteousness is as filthy rags ; and that every trembling repentant soul can plead enough of the righteousness of Christ — which is alone acceptable to God — to be justified and received by him; and you, proud as you are, can do no more. "Who art thou that judgest another man^s servant? To his own Master he standeth or falleth; yea, he shall be holpen up, for God is able to make him stand." Go thou, remember the Pharisee and Publican, and which of 416 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, the two was justified. " Every one that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted/^ There was one intensely interested spectator of these scenes. We saw him talking with Halley before service ; and although his form was somewhat bowed, and his hair grey, yet we could see that their features were cast in much the same mould. We noticed also his eager gaze resting on Anna, as she stood before the altar paying her vows to God^ and entering into solemn covenant with Jehovah. Anna, come this way,^^ said Halley, as they passed out of the church after service. She was sur- prised at the request^ and more still at the direction taken ; but she followed on unquestioningiy from the vestibule to a side passage which opened into the village church-yard. Standing underneath a whispering pine in an obscure corner, and half leaning on a marble headstone, was an aged man whom they approached. As Anna's eyes first rested on him, she paused, and turning deadly pale, looked thoughts she dared not utter. Halley only replied by drawing her arm within his own, and leading her onward. Anna, your father ! — Father, your long-lost child 0 G od, I thank thee ! burst from the full hearts of both parent and daughter. Anna was pressed with passionate fond- ness to a father's bosom, in whose arms she had not rested since a little prattling child. Tears, such as strong men weep when shaken by powerful emotions, dropped slowly from the old man's furrowed cheeks. Tears — full, bright drops — dimmed Anna's eyes; but hers were tears of unmixed joy — his wrung from bitter memories which obscured the present. Anna, my child he said at length, when he had suffi- ciently recovered his voice, ^^you remember your mother's death-bed ; tell me where they laid her.'' Startled by this forced remembrance, she glanced around the obscure corner, up at the overshadowing pine, down then at a nameless headstone ; and pointing toward a flowing vine her THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 417 own hand had planted, exclaimed, with a burst of tears which told how grief upheaves the soul as winds the ocean, It is there they laid her, dear father; and oh! how lonely I have been since For fifteen summers had the grass spread its velvet softness over that cold bosom there inhumed. But could her glad spirit have looked down from those bright mansions of rest provided for the dead who die in the Lord, upon these loved ones for the first time met here to weep over her ashes, methinks she would have whispered: Weep on, yet not without hope; ^for they who sow in tears shall reap in joy/ Weep on, for tears shall unloosen your sorrows, and soon we shall meet where no tears are known. Each humid gem, that falls wrung out with holy sorrow, by angel hands is gathered ere the thirsty clods drink it, and thence transplanted into heavenly soil, behold, it springs up with richest bloom and sweetest fragrance, self-wreathed in garlands to bedeck your brows in Paradise ! The old man — old rather from grief than years — as he stood over his long-lost partner's grave, lifted up his hands as though in benediction, and with words not unmixed with tears, feel- ingly exclaimed : Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth ; yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors. Let us weep no more now ; she is at rest. Oh ! you know not what a load of sorrow and bitterness it has lifted from my heart, to know that hers is not a dishonored grave. I bless God that it is even as it is. Let us go hence, and so live that we may meet her when our labors, like hers, are ended.^' I am thinking,^' said Anna, to what seraphic stature she has already grown. Fifteen years of expansion in heavenly air, with never a blight — truth unmixed with error as her daily food — and all these earthly fetters cast off which dwarf us here. 0, how her glad spirit must reach out, and reaching, grasp more and more of the fullness of God, and of the mysteries of his grace ! 2b 418 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, Yes/^ replied Halley, interruptedly catching the glorious thought^ and with his eyes turned toward the halo-begirded sun. " When the heavens shall be roiled together as a scroll, and this proud earth flee away from the presence of its Creator, and thou bright sun with all thy splendor shall be clothed in sackcloth, and wander amid the darkness of eternal space, seek- ing thy funeral urn with all the universe of God; then man's existence shall have just begun ! Then having shaken off this mortal clog which chained his spirit down to earth, without hindrance more, *The man emerges — mounts above the wreck, As towering flame from Nature's funeral pyre, And vies with angels ! ' " Oh ! how glorious that will be ! exclaimed Anna. I almost long,'' she paused, and then added in the language of Paul : " For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and be with Christ, which is far better." " Do you forget the work to which you have devoted your- self?'' asked Halley. ^^Is there nothing to live for?" Yes, much to live for. A work — a glorious work lies before every one. And may God grant that Christ may be magnified in me, whether it be by life or death. ' For to me to live is Christ, but — to die is gain.'" With such conversation they beguiled the way homeward. Little by little the father caught the outlines of the great and all-absorbing thought which was moulding the character of his daughter. " Father," she said, pausing on the brow of the hill within the grateful shade of an overhanging maple, if I could only live to see the strifes and discords in all Christendom healed, and all Christians one in the bonds of peace; I could then, like Simeon of old, say: ^Now Icttest thou thy servant depart in peace; for mine eyes hath seen thy salvation.'" The father looked with surprise at the young girl radiant in THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 419 the first fresliness of womanhood, marked the unconscious grace of mien, so much like her mother, noticed the play of the wind among the curls that kissed her brow, heeded the sanguine joyousness of her disposition, and the brilliancy of her intelligent speaking eyes ; he observed all these, and more : he regarded with admiration the sweet and holy enthusiasm of her soul, which sparkled and shone through all her actions. But we would not attempt to unravel the secret and complicated workings of the father's heart while he thus gazed. Grod only knows why he, like many others, should seek to dissuade from laboring for an object which he professedly longed and prayed for — but so it was. We only point out the weakness, and say, God pity and forgive ! " It is well enough, my daughter, to do what one can,'^ he said. " But I have studied the human heart so many years that I begin to doubt whether this can ever be accomplished.^' Should I study the human heart, father, I too might doubt,'' replied Anna; ^^for I know the fruits of the unrenewed heart are ^hatred, variance, wrath, strife, seditions, and heresies;' but in the power of God's Spirit I trust; and just as surely as there is a God, it will be accomplished. God has promised that the divisions of Zion shall be healed, and that there shall be a reign of peace ; ' when the Spirit shall be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field. Then shall judgment dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. And the works of righteousness shall be peace, and the effects of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.' Yes," repeated. Anna, quietness and assurance for ever. Thus saith the Lord, and he will accomplish it. I rest my faith on his word, not doubtingly, but with the full trust that through willing instruments he will work out this end. Look at what he has done here during the past few weeks ! Look at what he is doing everywhere, and say : ' Watchman, what of the night ? Is there no promise of the morning ? ' " 420 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, It is not to be denied, my daughter, tliat there is a won- derful change in this respect. Nor can it be doubted that there is, to some degree, a feeling of unity springing up among the churches. But the question is, will it ever mould them into one?'' " If they are moulded in spirit,^^ replied Anna, it matters but little by what names they may choose to be called ; though it would scarce be wise, perhaps, to keep up a show of differ- ence where none existed. Let Christians worship together in one temple, let them meet around one mercy-seat, and bear each other up on wings of prayer, let them meet around one table to commemorate the sufferings of their dying Lord, let them unite in their efforts for good, and for the extension of religious teachings, and for the promotion of the cause of their common Master ; then they will irresistibly flock together in unity and love. There will not only be a spirit of unanimity, but of uni- formity in all their actions and teachings. If ministers of the Gospel would but heed the admonition of Paul : ' Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them hefore the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit^ but to the subvert- ing of the hearers / how the work would spread ! I thank God that there are many such faithful ministers of the Gospel now, and they are rapidly increasing. There are some stumbling- blocks who put themselves in the way, not only by withholding this part of the counsel of God, but also by preaching sectarian- ism and engendering strifes, and embittering party feelings; but if they persist, they may expect to he put out of the way ; for God's power is in the movement, and the masses are stirring." " It may be so," said the father, musingly. Hallcy, who stood watching the two with quiet interest, and seeing that an impression was being made on his father's mind, sought to deepen it. ^^In many country places," he said, and also in villages, and large towns even, there are Christians of several different orders intermingled in a civil and social ca- THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 421 pacity, who, keeping themselves carefully distinct in religious matters, are all so weak as scarcely to sustain a teaclier of the commonest kind ; and many indeed are unable to do even this, and so they dwindle and starve. Sometimes a spirit of rivalry creeps in between different denominations, and they lay to for church edifices, each striving to build the largest and the most expensive, and thereby they involve themselves beyond their means by endeavoring to build two or more churches, when one were large enough for the whole community. So under this pecuniary incubus self-placed upon their shoulders, they are obliged to struggle and groan for years, and perhaps lose their building; besides suffering more or less disrupture, if not an entire breaking up of their church organizatioi! in that commu- nity. At times, a considerable number of Christians will re- main a large fraction, if not the whole, of their lives in an un- organized state, overaAved by a stronger growth of different orders in the same vicinity, so that they, discouraged, aimless, and almost lifeless, do not accomplish anything in their Master's service, and go shrivelled and shamefaced to render up their accounts to God. This is only a slight glimpse at the evils which grow out of these divisions. Could I tell of only half the hatred, evil speaking, backbiting, bitter emulations, anger, hopes shipwrecked, and souls lost resulting therefrom, it would fill a thousand volumes, and make the blood run chill with horror ! "And all this,'' said Anna, "is done in the name of Grod and religion ! But the immolation of human sacrifices on heathen altars is more excusable, it seems to me, in the sight of a holy God ! Yea, I would rather be a worshipper of heathen deities, than a professing Christian wrapped in robes of self- righteousness, and sowing seeds of discord among the members of God's family ! ' Not every one that saith unto me. Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.''' " I know this is all true," said the father ; " I only hesitated 36 422 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, because I feared it was useless to make the effort to remove the " So Moses feared/^ replied Anna, when God told him to go and deliver his people from bondage. He was sure that nothing could be done — at least that he could do nothing : for- getting, indeed, that he was not expected to lean upon an arm of flesh/' You are right, Anna, my daughter, and I am wrong. I must talk with you again about this.^' I am sure that any one can do a great deal, through God strengthening him, if his heart is only in the work;'' continued Anna. " Yes, my daughter, if we put our trust in God ; but if we were expected to work in our own strength, I am certain we could accomplish nothing.'' " It seems to me," continued Anna, her face still glowing with her thoughts, it seems to me that God has provided for his servants a vast armory, and bids them go, choose their own weapons. Some, in culpable haste, seize only a beetle, and rush out and deal blows hither and yon, knowing not to what pur- pose. Some are content with a naked sword only, wherewith they cut and slash, right and left, mistaking friends for foes, and distinguishing neither. Others, heeding the heavenly ad- monitions and counsels, put on the whole armor of God, taking ^ the breast-plate of righteousness,' ^ having their feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace,' procuring the ^ shield of faith,' and taking the ^helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,' they are rendered strong in the power of God's might, and become puissant in courage to do, and in fortitude to bear." They had now reached the porch, where Elder Clayton met them with a hearty welcome, his whole face glowing with the sunlight of love. ^^I welcome you," he said as the Elder Halley was introduced ; I welcome you as the father of my THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 423 precious child. Anna^ my dear^ God has blessed you as you deserve ; and I know you will not let these new ties of filial and fraternal love sever the old. You will, I know, only open your heart and make room for more. 0 what a Sabbath ! What a feast we have had to-day ! It seemed to me almost like heaven come down to earth ! " It bodes the brightness of the coming time, we hope/^ said Halley. Yes, yes, it has been the happiest day of my life,^^ said Elder Clayton, thoughtfully. " My friend,^^ he continued, ad- dressing Halley, senior, you should have attended our Union prayer meetings during the last month. God's presence has been almost visible, and his Spirit is still searching out the im- penitent, and bringing them in. You have seen the result to-day — ^a Union church, and fifty-nine souls, lately cleansed, added to its members ; more are coming, and still the work goes on. My soul can hardly contain itself for joy ! What now to me are all the little differences which have separated Christian hearts ? They are as nothing. My only concern now is for the salvation of perishing souls, knowing I must give a strict account to God for my own actions only, and that my brother must do the same. Baptists, Presbyterians, Congrega- tionalists, Methodists, Episcopahans, Lutherans, etc., meet now in unanimity to worship God in Spirit and in truth. Christ is all, and in all, and we heed the warning of the Apostle : ^Let the peace of God dwell in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.' Yes, we are thankful, and we bless God for it.'' ^^But are you not afraid these prejudices will spring up again ?" asked the elder Halley. "1 always thought them ex- ceedingly hard to uproot. You know that revival seasons, precious as they are, will pass over, and then different feelings come up ; we get cold and worldly, and shortly discover that everybody else is going wrong but ourselves." 424 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, I see no necessity of this/^ said Elder Clayton, in reply. " Avoid tlie cause, and we avoid the effect. I think we have here raised an impassable embankment against the encroach- ments of the adversary. We now labor and pray together ; our interests and our aims are identical, we have nothing left to contend about.^^ I think the main difficulty/' said Halley, the younger, ' lies not in the masses, but in the Gospel teachers, falsely so called ; for they have not the spirit of the Gospel in their hearts. I never yet heard of a serious contention in a Christian commu- nity, but it was begun, and afterward fanned and fed, by a man who thought God had called him to preach, not the Gospel of peace, but sectarian creeds.'^ " We are told,'' said Anna, musingly, that the fruit of the Spirit is first righteousness, and then peace ; and that ' all the law is fulfilled in one word — in this. Thou shalt love thy neigh- bor as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another ' " (Eph. v. 14, 15). " How much there is in the word of God on this subject,'^ said Elder Clayton. Why, it underlies almost every thought, on every page. God knew how difficult it would be for us to practise this ; and as though determined to arrest our attention and enforce its peculiar importance in the system of grace, he accompanied it with threatenings and promises, with admoni- tions and reproofs, thus making it all things to all men, that it might not fail to reach some." I do'nt know but this is true," said the elder Halley ; and if it is, the Christian world has been strangely blind and slow to learn." " Yes, but I can't so much wonder," replied Elder Clayton, or, at least, it ill becomes me to condemn, when I remember that for twenty years that part of the word of God was sealed to me. I had not the slightest conception of its existence — I was a blind leader of the blind. Now it meets my eyes every- THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 425 where. Love — love to God and love to man. I hear angels hymning it when on errands of mercy to this fallen world. I hear the Psalmist singing it, holy prophets repeating it, and J ehovah proclaiming it amid the thunders of Sinai, with a voice that shakes the earth and heavens. Jesus, the Eternal Son of the Father, came to teach, by his own example, how to love one another; and his twelve Apostles taught everywhere, saying: ^ This commandment have we from him^ That he who loveth God loveth his brother also.' "Paul repeated it so many times,'' said Anna, "that he seemed half-inclined to leave it out of his Epistle to the Thessa- lonians, knowing that they were more given to love. I fancy he paused and looked up questioningly, when the Spirit whis- pered, ' Write, there is no danger of repeating it too often ; ' and so he added : ^ But as touching brotherly-love ye need not that I write unto you : for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in Macedonia ; but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more.' He seemed to have no fears that they could love- too much ; and whilst commending them for what they already exercised, bade them increase more and more in love toward — not the brethren of their own church simply, or those of Macedonia only, for which love he had just ap- plauded them, but — all the brethren of whatever name, and wherever dwelling throughout the wide world. I do'nt believe they ever contended about mere forms and non-essentials to that degree, that they gave loose rein to their evil passions and de- nounced those differing from them only in such, as ^ impious,' 'servants of the devil,' as committing 'sacrilege before high heaven,' as ' anti-Christ,' etc. Not only withholding church- fellowship, but also refusing church recognition ; denouncing their ordinances as ' solemn mockeries,' their ministers as having ' no ministerial character,' and denying that they should be so 'recognized by admittance into the pulpit' even! And 36* 426 ANNA CLAYTON; OR, then, as in a paroxysm of sectarian frenzy, and as though summing up the whole category of evils, throw all Christendom who differed on any point from themselves, into ^Mystical Babylon !^^^ 0, Anna ! Anna ; do'nt recall those wicked remarks, they are like the recollections of a horrid dream ! exclaimed Elder Clayton, as he turned away with a look of real pain. There followed a season of silence, during which each one was forcibly impressed, as he recalled the past, with the contrast between the works of love and of hate. At length dinner was announced, after which. Elder Clayton said : " Come, my friends, let us change the scene ; it is time for the Union Prayer Meeting.^' The meeting had commenced when they reached the church, and a song of praise arising from devout hearts, was ascending as sweet incense before God. O, what power there is in song, when it bursts as the spontaneous language of human hearts ! It has power to reach other hearts, and to set them all on fire with religious ardor. *'0 Lord, I love thy service now, Thy church displays thy power." There were familiar faces there also, whose hearts were per- vaded with a spirit of brotherly love and unity. Father Long wind's heart had been touched by the Spirit of God's love^ and Elder Mason and Squire Tanner were also present, to stay Elder Clayton's hands in furthering the good work. Ere the meeting closed, Halley, the elder, resolved to go home and to forward more earnestly the union prayer meeting in his own village. There was still existing much sectarian spirit there, which he hoped by the grace of God to be able to overcome. Anna, my child," he said on the morrow, you will go back with me; and, I think that with you and Henry to aid me, a work shall be accomplished to the glory of Zion.'* THE INQUIRER AFTER TRUTH. 427 Heaven speed the work!^^ said Elder Clayton^ '^although it robs me of my child. Go, and God be with you, and bless you!" When all Christian hearts are thus glowing with love to God and man ; then soon the sombre shade of wickedness, error and misery, which have so long shrouded the earth, shall be dissi- pated ! The day-star of righteousness, truth, love, and peace, shall be ushered in as the glorious harbinger of a still more glorious morning to the world ! — as the bright refulgent dawn- ing of that period when the dark corners of this long-benighted earth shall be illumined, and the last remnant of enervatinoj delusion dispelled. And see ! 'Tis come, the glorious morn! the second birth! And earth holds jubilee ! Awaking Nature hears The new-creating word, and starts to life! She Raises in ev'ry heighten'd form, set free from Pain and death. Then, Love and Truth o'ersweep All woes, all tears, all time, all fears; and sweet From that celestial voice the music flows, Proclaiming to our heroes blest repose." THE END.