Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1866-07-21


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And worldly s pleasures ''ss their power 70
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An@lsy our s,uls r. god IN pray er aud praise.
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fhou dove OF heaven, obi nestle in my
tn, in III. nan sions 81 celestial love. \
I rice in glory and eternal rest
ED. DExooRAr To the Christ'an M'"i -
try Of Davenport 0suelsnss :-N
nv heart 10 say . ~ oofde q ye9 m>
fore shall dismiss the sutJcct Of ny
The ordinance Of Baptism has long been
. controvsrted subject. Shall Is co.sass.
70 be 20 until the looming Of our Lore
Shall lie find His ministers divided on thm
last ordinance Of "his elosioos grace"
q Add he said unto Them, 90 70 into on the
world, and preach the gospel to every cres.
turs. Hs that believeth and is baptised
shall be saved; but he that b,lieveth not
shan be damned" And these signs follow
them lhst believe; -" Sotben after
the Lori had spoken unto them he Was
received up into heaven. The last words
Of . departing friesa are usus'ly signIh>
can't, and treated With great respect ~
those To whom they are addressed. But
he's there not been great departure from
this rule, in regard to tho last thing our
Lord consmapaed, while here In this world
How many controversial sermons have
been delivered upon this subject! How
many ecclesiastical due's, In form OF oral
and printed debates have been fought over
this subiectf How the Holy Scriptures
have been wrested, the laws Of language
OUTRAGED: history perverted to maintain .
position. Society is burdensd with news
paper articles, tracts, pamphlets and books,
aad stiI thy come, and will continue to
come. and should come until the controver
~ ia settled. In the wide range Of politi.
istfy have not been 30 palpabse and
SO abundant a In this Baptis,nal
controvcrsy. Sometimes tho bcllig-
ersnts become exceedingly tacjturn,
and will not speak though "one should
sn,itc them on the cheek, " then again they
are provokingly laxative. Is not this dis>
agreement among you reproach What
would thoughtful outsider think and say
about it. lie would bs led to one
Of two conclusions. 1st. that the
law Of baptism must tie .quivocal II cx
plicit in meaning there could not DO 40
much disagreement in regard 10 the prac
teal understanding Of the subject. And il
tho law Of Christis % wantingin pssspicas
ity on one subject, it may 10 equally doubt
ful on other subjects, and therefore its
teachings cannot BE- decisive on any ques-
ton Of truth or duty. II would receive
baptism in either way am liable TO be dc
ceived, DC.
In this way you make unbelicvcrs, and
when made they think aud say the Bible 10
like an instrument that may be set TO play
any tune the company or the operator may
desire. Then the poor sinner 10 beyond
your reach. Or, %, il the book 10 right,
the administrators Of It are wrong, and il
| wrong in this, they may be wrong in every
thing else fthe preachers do not know
| what their religion is, and its duties are,
how eap vss
You will perhaps say the writer is too
imaginative. No, No II il no hyperCois,
il 10 sober fact Every degree Of ssssstiaIity
and non -essentidlify 10 by Ihc ministry ass
sribsd to baptism. A few drops Of water
sprinkled upon the head Of an infant, il
may DO slssping or it may be meeping; ia
Of ministry called Regeneration" Say
/ e6A .,T ~
laying On my table.
The justly esteemed Oha' lee II. Spursson
will not allow TO baptism any saving eiFaca>
cy at all. In his celebrated sermon on
"Bsptismsl degeneration" he Gays: "A
man that knows that he is saved by bsliev
ing in Christ does not, when W 10 baptized
liit his baptism into . saving ordinance in
feet. he 10 The very best protector against
that mistake, because no holds that he has
no right to DO bsptised until he is saved.
Then there 10 another class who, when
preaching the gospel, have the timidity to
quote such passages AZ the following witll>
out abating ought from their seeming
strength Of meaning: "Ils that bclieveth
and is baptized, shall be saved" "Repent
and be baptized every ono Of you ia the
name Of Jesus Christ for the remission Of
SINS. and you shall receive the gift Of the
HOLY Spirit" II those err by doing so,
they should be corrected. "Let the right
ocus smite them" Then there arc those,
who, like my worthy opponent in debate ut
Long Gruye contend earnestly that bap>
,ism is only a "shado~," "sign," or .
"seal.n
Now hear what an English disscntcr says
upon the same subject. Nothing can DO
more unsatisfactory than the views which
prevail among the various bodies of non :
| conformists on the ordinance OF baptism.
A picture might be drawn OF the diversity
| which exists Of most startling Character.
That diversity. in fact, is such, seeing that
truth is one, rs almost to excite h doubt
whether all denominations be not mvre or
less in error with respect to it. The chief
views may be thus expressed, from which
it will DO seen how contradictory the one is
to the other. Baptism to'k tho place Of
circumcision the baptism Of children is
founded upon the Abrahamic covenants. y
british Standard, editorial.
The list 81 contradictory views by this
candid pedo Baptist editor, 10 too long for
insertion. The contradictory views here
| enumerated cannot be harmonixed. Oppo.
sites cannot all DO true, they may all be
| false
Ths prcssaA popular tendency 10 to non
essential. That the last imperative Of our
Lord, it may DO . duty, but it 10 thing
quite unimportant. That . sinner may %
certainly be saved without II - with il. |
am not sure but there 10 Z sense in which
this may b true. Perhaps it is true Of the
curreat baptism. Mr.. Spurgeon, and per-
haps . majority Of the Baptist ministry
would not baptixe . candidate who associat
ed anything Of salvation with the reception
q the ordinance. II We 0isreprssent them,
the door 10 open for honorable redress.
That infant spsinkline 10 . "a essential,
70 eopuae withsut debate. The ssBook Of
CouAa1en Praysf" 70 the contrary notwith-
stdieg q The Ney Testament nsthine