Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-09-11
ALIEN IMMERSION
MADE SUBJECT
Of SERMON
DIR. MOORE IN FIRST CHRISTIAN
CHURCH SAYS THINGS THAT
WILL BE READ WITH INTER-
EST BY BAPTIsTs.

"Alien Immersion" which has been q
subject of discussion among the members
Of the Baptist denomination for the past
several weeks, was preached about Sunday
night by DR.. S. B. Moore in the First
Christian church. He made some state
ments during the course of his remarks
which will be of interest to those of the
Baptist faith and 1t is probable that there
will be replies TO him.
His subject was Lessons from the Dis
cussion Among the Baptists Regarding
the Matter of So-Called Allen INNER
sion.'
DIR. Moore said that he had no desire to
take a hand in the Baptist fight. That is,
he said, matter of their own, and they
will have to fight it out.
but there are questions involved that
concern me-" he said, land regarding
which 1 have a right to express myself,
especially as they have seen mt TO make
particular reference to our people.
1.-THE question Is, Shall the Baptists re-
ceive into their fellowship persons i'm
mersed by any other than a regularly or
dained Baptist preacher To this the
bulk of the Baptists in this section answer
most emphatically, No; that is allen i'm
mersion.' A few Baptists answer, Yes;
such persons are Scripturally baptized and
we dare not receive them If they desire
to have membership with us Doing this
very thing has brought about all this stir.
An alien, according to Webster, is "a for
eigner, a stranger, an enemy Inner
sion practiced by any other than Baptists
Is allen immersion That Is to say none
but Baptists are citizens of Christ's king
dom, or Christians. We are all foreign
ers, strangers enemies, and no matter II
we do a good deed 1t can have no merit;
immersion at the hands of all but Baptists
must be branded as allen immersion
1.-THE question of consistency comes to
-. N1-.w~@ h.
The Baptists generally claim that per-
son is saved prior to baptism, and that
when he is once saved he is saved for all
time to come! there can be no falling
from grace, and yet to get into the Bap-
tist church they demand that he be
baptized, and that. too, by regularly or
dained Baptistepreacher. Hence, accord
ing to their doctrine more is required in
order to get into the Baptist church than
Is necessary to get into heaven. This is
decidedly strange.
Then as regards our people. We are
strictly and exclusively immerslonists.
More than that the leaders, in our reform
atory movement, Thomas and Alexander
Campbell, were immersed by a Baptist.
From their labors has come the great and
rapidly increasing body with which you
and 1 are connected But If one of our
members should desire membership in
some Baptist church, In most places here
in the south he wouldsbe told that they
would have to baptize him and treat him
just as If he had made no pretensions to-
ward leading a Christtahe life. am glad
of making such a sspeeehs Probably ten
of their members come to US to one of
ours that goes to them.
"Thls Baptist idea of ALLEN immersion
rests upon their claim of being in an un-
broken line of apostolic succession; they
trace their Baptist pedigree right back to
Peter and Paul and even beyond Christ
to John the Baptist himself. They are
the only ones who can Go this. Hence they
have a kind Of patent right on baptism
and everything else that is good The
rest of us must stand at guilty distance
and submit to being branded as foreign
ers, or even enemies. This claim, as all
well informed persons know is wholly
without foundation. The most learned
Baptists even are frank enough to admit
Z this. l+ iot rtee.
Regarding this question II has become
manifest that there are three classes of
Baptists in Georgia: Cd those bound by
the traditions and customs of the fathers,
and who are ready to treat everyone who
deviates therefrom at a hereto; (2) those
who see new light but lack the courage of
their convictions-they do not want to
make any trouble-'the matter is a very
small one any way 90 those who seeing
the truth are willing to stand by it re-
. CARELESS of customs and traditions and re-
CARELESS also of consequences All honor
to such men, they will win in the end; of
that there can be no doubt
"But the matter will not end with vic
tory at this point Truth is Gods irresist-
able dynamite and other changes are COM
ing among the Baptists. They claim that
baptism is simply the door into the
church, whereas the New Testament
teaches that baptismsis for or in order to
the remission of SINS as seen in Acts
2 IS; Mark 16 TO- and other passages.
Many leading Baptists are getting straight
on this point and are speaking out with
no uncertain sound. The world is moving.
Our God is leading on.
81 make bold to set forth two claims: %
That there are just as good people and
as good Christians outside the Baptist fold
az in IT; and (2), that the validity of bap-
tism does not depend upon the character
of the administrator. So far as we know
Judas baptized as many persons as any
other apostle up to the time of his death.
Yet we have no intimation that such bap-
tisms were not valid. Baptist preachers,
as well as others, have gone astray Chope-
lessly sol, yet who will dare say that bap-
tisms performed by them were not valid
If the candidates we're actuated by the
right motives? When Christ said: He
that believeth and is baptized shall be
saved he did not add provided it is done
by a regularly ordained Baptist preach
err /"