The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1884-04-30

Every reasonable man will say that,
If there Is q lay to be obeyed, the way
TO know what to do is to ascertain the
meaning of the words employed and their
grammatical construction. Christ say
Be baptized: what does baptize mean!
Our respected brother says it does not
mean sprinkle or pour. In that We agree
Then, so far as the command goes, we
are not required to do these things
The word means to immerse. Ne
challenge DIR. Hunter 70 deny il. sand
We win cite him an array of testi-
mony which viii baptize his denial be
yond his power to resurreet.
1t has come to be said that this Greek
word cannot be translated. Why! Be
cause there is no one word that will
probably represent every shade of mean
ing, which il may have in all its broad
use, and because, too, we cannot, in a
translation, by single word, express
its religious significance. The objections
are baseless. No word can be tranSlat ed
in every place with the same standings,
without destroying all the life and spirit
and beauty of language. And it is no
part of translator's business to put
into a word what can only be found in
the connection.
In all the Greek Classics this word
Yields to treatment. Let boy tell his
Greek professor, when he comes to il
that there is no English word to repre-
sent it, and he will hear another story,
even if that teacher is DR.. Hunter him
self
Dr.. II. tells US that baptize is word
expressing condition? We ask what
sort of condition People are al
ways in condition. But, if condition
is the meaning, let US have it that way
in our TRANSACTIONS. We will try few
passages.
Certain soldiers are represented a,
wading an arm of the sea, and being bap
tiled to their arm-pits. We are to un.
derstand that they were in condition
up to their arm-pits.
Sailors in battle leaped overheard, and
we're baptized e., they were in con
dition.
Certain rocks are said to be baptized
at high-tide, but not at low-tide That
is they were in a condition at high.tide
but not in condition at low-tide. Til
now scholars have thought they were
immersed or submerged in the tide, Blu,
they were only in condition.
Lucian, rfdiculing the love of the
marvellous, speaks of men walking on The
water, and says 1--WE wondered there
fore, when we saw them not baptized,
| by which we understand now that they
we're not in condition Aud that wa.
most truly wonderful, WAS it not
Every body else was in Il condition
Ships are described as being baptized
in the Tiber by a storm they were in &,
condition. though what sort Of condition
we cannot know. Till now scholars have
thought they were sunk, submerged.
And coming to the Bible. NaamaI
! baptized himself seven times in ,Jordon
! by which we understand that he put
| himself in condition seven times.
JGbn put the people in condition il
Jordan, as he, also, did the Savior.
Go teach all nations, baptiziug
shem," etc, means teach. and put then
in condition.
Philip went down into the water with
the Eunuch, and put him in a condi
ton.
All the lexicons and scholars which
say the word means immerse, dip, sub
merge. whelm, etc, were mistaken, it
means condition, and carries with it no
idea of form.
Candor eompels us to say that nc
word in Greek literature has ever re-
| ceived such treatment. What has bap-
tie done that it should thus be reduced
TO pulp, aud all its force emaseulated I
And this word gives no trouble, except
when itsrises up to condemn our Pedo-
baptist brethren. Everywhere in classic
literature it is easily translated Among
scholars, outside of small circle OF
o-baptists, there is not a word about
its being word of condition simply The
theory is new and comes to supply a
'elt want.
Until recently Pedo-haptists sought to
prove that the word might mean
sprinkle or pour, and failing in that, ii
comes to be urged practically that it is
AS eXpressionless as a dough-face.
Talleyrande said words were meant to
| conceal ideas. Diplomats aud contro
versialists may use them for such a
purpose, but the Son of God never. 4
command for all people to obey, oui
hearts and conscienees tell US, was given
in words with clear, well-fixcd meaning
and these words are to be accepted in
their plain sense. The effort to evapor.
ate Jordon. and reduce the whole ques
ton to mist does not accord with the
simplicity of Christ
There are two passages, one, rom.
6:4), the other (Col 2:12), which carry
with them convincing power. eve
were buried, therefore, with him
through baptism into death" Having
been buried with him in bantism. >
With Pedo-baptists there is no burial
It may be said this was Spirit baptism.
No matter, so far as our present enquiry
is concerned; the burial is there, what
ever the element In scriptural bap-
tism there is a burial. All the early
Christians were thus buried. We say
nothing now of the sublime doctrine of
the resurrection here set forth. The
burial is the point at issue We prefer
to let Pedo-baptists speak on this point.
Coneybeare and Howson, {Episcopa-
lians,) say "This passage eaa,sot be nm
derstood unless it be borne in mind
that the primitive baptism was bg IN
aaersion." Il is but just to say that
Paul's whole argument fails on any
other idea. DIR. Sehaff, the most emf
nent Presbyterian on the continent saws:
"Ail commentators of note (except
stuart and Hodge expressly admit. OF
take it for granted, that in this verse
the ancient prevail.
ing mode of baptism by immersion is
implied, as giving force to the idea ~
the going down of the old, and rising nm
of the new man" Were all these com.
mentators wrongg Cyril, of Jerusalem
says: ''ifhou going down into the water
and in manner, bnried in the waters
as he in the rock, art raised again y
Chrysostam says, as Christ's BODY was |
buried in the earth, 80 ours were buried I
in baptism. Turtullian saws: .For nv |
an image we die in baptism, Wesley |
says: Buried with him. alludino 70
The ancient manner Of baptiziug by i'm
nersion. With this view agree such
1ther Pedo-baptlst writers, as Bloom
ield, Hoppe, Rosenmuller, Knapp.
Whitby and Arch Bishop TilIotson. and
J host OF others. Basil, the Great, born
A. d., $50, says: Initiating the burial
# Christ by the baptism for the bodies
# those baptized are, as it were, buried
n water"
Gregory, of MAJ, born 800, wrote in
ireek, as did Basil, Cyril and Chry- 4
oston, and he says the same in effect. =
o, also, John, of Damascus. c
II all of these great scholars, ancient {
nd modern, were not mistaken, the 3
uestian i settled, and 1t is settled in i
zact accord with the wen known mean e
IL Of the word baptis0. IJr. Hunter is p
brave man to face the ablest men in i
Is own church, and the greatest Pedo-
lptists Of every age, and tell them they +,
e mistaken. n
Holding fast, now, to the true and il
ell ascerts ined meaning Of the word. b
Is easy 70 understand the meaning Of 9,
e passages cited b. Hr. Hupter. n 4
cry case the fguratlre o. tropical 81
Gaming Of word Is % Be aacertafned s