The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1873-03-19
FoR THE CENTRAL PREsBYTERlAS.
ABOUT sELF-DENIAL IN IMMERSION


Having seen good deal in the papers
lately about the pretensions of our Baptist
brethren l venture, not in spirit Of bitter
controversy, to offer one suggestion for their
consideration.
Rev. DR.. J. B. Jeter, of Richmond, gen.
tleman for whom have very high regard,
both as man and as a minister of the Cos
pei, in his sermon, entitled "The Mission of
Baptists," which was preached in 1866, in
the Madison Square Baptist church, New
York city, and has since been preached else
where, and which has been published be-
lieve as tract, for general circulation, as
serts boldly that immersion is unpopular be
cause it requires so much self denial and
humility to go down into the water aud be
put under it.
If this be true it follows then that every
Baptist convert is preeminently an humble
and devoted saint, and therefore We must
look to that Church for the brightest examples
of experimental piety. Humility is the car
dinal grace of the Spirit, the ground work Of
religion, which begins in submission to God,
as indicated by the fact that our Saviour,
in his Sermon on the Mount, gives it the
first place among the beatitudes. With so
much humility at the start, we may expect
an increase of the same in all the subsequent
lives of these professors; and, as one grace
implies the existence of others, the theory
prepares US to fud in all the conduct Of the
Baptists the associate virtues, such as meek
ness, mercy, purity, peace, patience, and
Joy, with heavenly mindedness, charity and
hberality, and abundance of good works to-
wards all men.
DR.. Jeter is we'll acquainted with the lives
of Baptists aud can tell US whether they
excel in all these things; for to make his
logic good they must not only possess them
in as high degree as other Christians, but
they must leave us all far behind in the il
lustraton Of practical godliness.
l find his arguments in the mouths Of
more obscure, but not less jealous and boast
full, advocates of immersion, in my neighbor-
hood But, while / am not censorious, |
really cannot see that they ever had bap-
tism of humility more than Others that
those whom vaey lead down into the water,
and up out of it again, exhibit a vastly su-
perior strength of Christian character, or
stand any better than our converts. say
this in charity, and with every disposition to
honor piety wherever | fad it.
am yet to be convinced that the display
of the scenery attending immersion makes
the ceremony an act of self-denial- | may
as confidently assert, as DR.. Jeter asserts the
contrary, that the notoriety of the circum-
stances is often pleasing to the carnal nature
of the subject. Even in the country, where
vast crowds assemble to look at the candi
dates for baptism, and there is considerable
arrangement for effect, there is much that
makes strong appeal to the vanity Of poor
weak human beings; and In cities, where, as
in the First Baptist church in Richmond
there is great multitude of people looking
from illuminated pews and galleries, the or
gan, the choir, the receding stage moving
away to disclose the baptising, the little step:
winding down into the water, the minister in
his gutta percha, and the maidens in white
robes, and the young men in their peculiar
costume, descending from mysterious little
rooms on either side, under certain "dim
religious" or dramatic light, it is hard fol-
me to see the cross, 4. E., in that particular
act Of devotion. 1t is still harder to trans
form DR., Burrows into John the Baptist