Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1910-11-04
MORE ABOUT BAPTISM
Continued from page y

efforts to the exposition of the Bible
and the teaching of simple Chris ianity
disentangled from any isms
Being firmly imbued with the con-
victlon that immersion is the true
Christian mode of baptism, the mode
taught by the Scriptures, enjoined by
Christ and practiced by the disciples,
he has taught and used that mode. but
has not sought by this or any reason to
induce people to believe that his is the
oniy true church. To those whom he
has converted and baptized he has uni
formly said Join what church you wish;
go where you prefer, where surround
ings are most congenial, where you can
do most good. All | ask is that YOU
put your faith in and seek redemption
through Jesus
Having thus cleared away the false
impressions which he alleged had been
spread regarding his work, the speaker
proceeded with an elaborate, logical
and profound discussion of the doctrine
of baptism by immersion 1t is con-
coded by all authorities that the origi-
nal meaning of the Greek word baptizo
was to dye by dipping or immersion,
and that the primary meaning of the
word during the early Christian period
and down to the present is to immense.
The principle that in interpreting
word we must give it it's primary mean
ing unless the context plainly shows
that some other meaning is intended,
is sustained by all the authorities, in
Guiding Blackstone, Greenleaf, Wharton
and other good legal writer's.
In the cases where the word baptize
is used in the Scriptures, the context
not only shows no indication of the
word being used in any other sense,
but corroborates the correctness of it's
translation as immense. We are told
that John went to Aenon to baptize be.
cause there was much water there
Much water would not be needed for
mere sprink!ing. When the eunuch
was baptized (Acts 1920, we are told
that he went down into the water, and
came up out of the water. The express
sion is used, ''buried with Christ in
baptism" Baptism is referred to as
cleansing, and as planting These
various uses of the word clearly imply
an immersion.
1t is undisputed that the disciples
and early Christians practiced baptism
by immersion, and the Greek Catholic
church which is directly descended from
the church of St. Peter, has always
practiced this mode sof baptism. The
change from immersion to sprinkling
was made by the Roman Catholic
church: Roman Catholics admit that
sprinkling is not the Scriptural mode,
but allege that the church fathers were
empowered to make the change.
In closing, the speaker adjured his
hearers that creeds are the curse of
Christianity, leading to division of
forces. A formation of church with
man. made creed tends naturally to fos-
ter still further division Soon comes
dispute to some article of the creed
and dissension leads to division. The
church founded by Martin Luther has
split up into 10 different branches, and
the Methodist church of Wesley and the
Presbyterian church of Calvin have
split into nearly as many. The true
church must be founded on the Bible,
as all orthodox churches claim to be.
Each person should read the. Bible for
himself, and if he reads it with an open
mind and not through the colored glass
es of sect and creed he will find the
truth.