The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1881-12-21
For the Central Presbyterian.
What is Christian Baptism ?
BY Rev. r. r. Howison.
(Continued.)

From all these evidences, independent
and yet cumulative, we learn what was
the meaning of the verb "to baptize" in
the days of Christ's personal residence on
earth. 1t meant-not to immense, but to
wash by efusion, pouring or sprinkling
water on the person or thing baptized in
sign or token of publication. This was
the MISUNDERSTOOD and established mean
ing of the word baptize when John the
Baptist came "baptizing in the wilder
ness and preaching: Repent for the
kingdom Of heaven is at hand" How
then did John baptize? What mode,
what action did he use in this rite2 1t
is insisted, by exclusive immersionists,
and their notion has been too easily ac-
quiesced in by others, that John baptized
by immersion. But there is no proof of
it whatever; and to suppose it, is to run
counter to all the fair and natural pre-
sumptions of the case. For hundreds Of
years, the action involved in baptism
among the Jews had been-not INNER
sion, but simply applying water in wash
ing, pouring, or sprinkling and yet we
are asked to believe that John the Bap-
fist, himself Jew, and born and raised
wholly under Jewish usages, suddenly
and without cause, and against all the
reasons of facility and convenience,
changed this usage and commenced the
practice of immersing the whole body in
waterll This we have no good reason to
believe. 1t is false notion founded on
false premises. One of these premises is
the statement based on our faulty Eng
lish translation that those baptized went
down into the Jordan river and came up
out of the Jordan. But the true render
ing is went down els to the Jordan and
came up apo from the Jordan" When
Peter ran els to the sepulchre, it appears
distinctly by the narrative in Luke that
he did not go into it. And the only rea-
son why John resorted to the neighbor-
hood of the river Jordan was that the
immense multitudes of people who came
to him to be baptized, many of them
doubtless attended by beasts of burden,
rendered it indispensable that an ample
supply of water for cooking, drinking,
and cleansing should be at hand. We
read in the fourth gospel that John was
baptizing in Enon near to Salim, because
there was much water there But this
is not an accurate translation. The Greek
is atdata 0oIIa, many waters, as the Re
vised Version states in the margin, and
this expression has been explained by the
many springs, rills, and fountains found
by travellers, near the site of ancient
Enon. These springs, though entirely
unsuited for immersion, would have been
highly important to the multitudinous
assemblage of men, women, children, and
beasts. The numbers baptized must have
amounted to hundreds of thousands for
Judea at that time contained about six
millions of inhabitants, and Matthew
says: "There went out to him Jerusalem
and all Judea and all the region round
about Jordan" Mark says "there went
out unto him all the land of Judea and
they of Jerusalem and were all baptized
of him Luke says: "Then said he to
the multitude that came forth to be bap-
tized of him." Now even if John had
many assistants (of which we have no
evidence whatever) it would have been
physically impossible to have separately
immersed each Individual of these innum-
cradle multitudes. But there would
have been no difficulty in separately per-
forming the simple act of effusion All
these facts confirm the belief that John
OhO DdpOioO ulo uOG oSpdIJ lIOu Cue SS-
tablished usage of the Jews in baptism,
and did not baptize by immersion. 1t is
favorite argument of exclusive INNER
sionists that Christ our Saviour was bap-
tized by immersion. But there is no
proof of it and no reason to believe it.
Christ was baptized Just as the others
were baptized-that is, according to the
established Jewish usage by having the
water applied to him by efusion, sprink-
ling or pouring. He went down els to
the water, and came up apo from the
water. And even if he went into the
water that would not prove that he was
immersed, for, the action of effusion or
pouring might have been most conven-
iently performed by John the Baptist
while both were standing in the water
1t is worthy Of close attention that the
evangelist John states that the great null
titudes of baptisms took place in Betha-
bara beyond Jordan, and that the place
of the baptism Of Christ was in Enon near
to Salim where there were many springs
and fountains-many waters, as the Greek
expresses it. And the very earliest writers
of the Christian era after the apostles
when they speak of the mode Of baptism
practised by John, and Of the mode in
which he baptized Christ our Saviour,
sneak of il as bv effusion or pouring ot