The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1882-05-21
THE SUN, SUNDAY, MAY q, 1882.

Christian world, and though the entrance to
their churches is made 80 difficult, and 30
trying frequently to the scnsiblities, the
Baptists contend with the Methodsts for the
honor Of holding the largest number of COM
municants OF any denomination in the United
States. They are counted by the million,
and are constantly increasing In number,
the lax views which prevail regarding the
Interpretation of Scripture in other religious
bodies not having disturbed their faith.
The Baptists, therefore, are never tired Of
attacking, ridiculing, and seeking to turn the
positions Of the pedobaptists. They hate
the Pope, and they hate infant baptism,
which they declare to be the pillar Of
Popery. The only consistent Professionalism,
they say, is theirs. And, indeed, II they are
right, there Is no other Church besides that OF
the Baptists, for, according to thcm only
adult and immersed believers constitute
church, and such are to be found only in the
Baptist communion. Logically, the CONVEX
sion Of the world with them means It's con-
version to the Baptist faith and practice.
What we have said will enable any reader
to understand why Mr.. HENRY G. VEDDER
has taken so much pains to gather and pre-
sent in the Baptist Quarterly Rerielc for
April large number of statistics obtained
with view Of showing that the practice of
infant baptism has declined among the
pedobaptist denominations of Professionalism
in the United States during the last half CEN
fury. Mr.. VEDDER calculates from the
census of 1870 that there was during that
year one birth for little less than every
twenty people Of marriageable age and over
in the Union. II, therefore. less than one
infant to every twenty members was bap-
tiled by any pedobaptist denomination In
1870, the practice Of infant baptism, he argues,
Is declining in that denomination. He accord
ingly got together statistics of the baptisms
ofinfants among the Episcopalians, the Dutch
Reformed Presbyterians, Methodsts, and
Congregationalists, and has compared them
with the estimated birth rate upon which he
had fixed. BY this process he arrives at tho
conclusion that the ratio of infant baptisms
to communicates has decreased among the
Episcopalians, as compared with fifty years
ago, from one in seven to one in eleven;
among the Dutch Reformed, from one in
twelve to one in twenty; among the Presby-
terians from one in fifteen to one in thirty
three; among the Methodists, from one in
twenty-five to one in twenty-nine, and among
the Congregationalists, from ono in fifty to
one in seventy-seven. Hence he says that
"the practice OF infant baptism is declining
so rapidly that, unless the decline shall be ar
rested in some way that cannot now be fore
seen, there is need of little prophetic gift to
announce its practical extinction at no dis
tant day" The influences that have brought
this change to pass are many, as Mr.. VEpDER
thinks, but chief among them Is what he calls
"the attrition Of Baptist friction"
But he gives no statistics from which
trustworthy conclusion, much less conclu-
sion so sweeping us his, could be drawn. Sta
tistics OF births In nearly all our States are
so loosely kept as to be valueless for such
calculation as his. They are VIGOROUSLY i'm
perfect. Nor can he more than assume what
the infant baptisms of half century ago
were. Perhaps there is smaller proportion
Of them TO the number OF communicates
among some denominations, the Congrega-
tionalists, for instance; but that falling of
cannot be justly said to be due to Baptist in
iluence, but is owing to the general decline OF
faith in those denominations.
Mr.. VEDDERs article is Of no value as
scientific calculation. 1t will help neither the
Baptists nor the cause OF religion in general