Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-08-20

4
IL Is true every word can be used In
a fgurative sense as well as It's real
literal. sense. but that does not destroy
| It's first meaning A tool may serve
more than one purpose. y paper
weight may. In an emergency. be used
as hammer, but that h. not TO say
that there 50 no difference between
the two obiocta The word battle
has its well understood meaning. but
II may be borrowed 20 express other
ideas. when the poet snys, "her bosom
bathed IN blood ne borrows the
word and uses Il in hgurative
sense but that does not change the
meaning Of the word. 10 is the same
with the word "buptizc." II has It's
well defined meaning Authors may
borrow II and use It 10 convey other
ideas. especially "wnshings' but that
does not change the meaning OF the
word And the point 20 consider is
this. that when the Master commits
stoned His disciples 20 baptize He
certainly employed the word IN us
true. primary meaning, and not In any
hgurative. or secondary meaning.
But lot Ms hear some of the early
church writer's. Justin Martyr In the
second century. describes candidates
for baptism, as follows whoever
are persuaded and believe that the
things taught by as are true, and
promise to live. or engage that they
can live. accordingly" In his reas-
oning with Trypho, alludius 90 the
words OF the prophet. wash YOU
make YOU clean" he says. Verify
Isaiah did not send you TO bath there
to wash away murder and other sins
which not all the water OF the sea
would be sufficient 10 put away
Whatever other conclusions may be
drawn from this passage 1t IS certain
that to Justin the ceremonial wash
ing was bath" He also afirms that
the daemons. having heard this
tbaptismaD washing proclaimed by
the prophets, endeavored that those
who entered their temples should
sprinkle themselves; and az last that
they should go and wash before they
entered" lie evidently ascribed
sprinkling to daemoniacal influence,
and a desire TO initiate, in way. the
CHRISTIANS Clement OF Alexandria thus
exhorts his hearers: Come, come, o
my young flock: for except ye be born
again. and regenerated, as the Scrip
ture says. We will not receive him
that is truly a Father, nor VIII ye enter
the ltingdom OF heaven" The re-
generation must be "as the Scripture
l.. freTful-
iian. In the third century. says; we
little fishes are born in water aiud-
ing 20 baptism and also the Greek
word for "fsh," which Is formed Of
the Initials Of the words: Jesus
Christ Gods Son. Savior" The read
er can follow out the comparison Ter
tullian makes between the Christians
being born in water. and fishes There
can be no alluslon to "sprinklins In
that comparison.
Clinical baptism IL a testimony Of an
tiauity 20 Immersion. 1t was admins
tered 10 sick persons in bed lest they
should die unbaptized Clinical baptism
was administered by pouring water up
on the candidate but a person 80 pap
fixed was not generally eligible to or
ders
DR.. Gray maintains that It would
have been impossible to bapuze 5'oOO
persons on one day by immersion as
was done on the day Of Pentecost' lie
saws, THAT would mean that each OF
tho twelve would immerse $50 when
,at the rate OF two In every FIVE min
utes, would require ten hours and
t,,entv-dye minutes" Is that soF
Would II take longer time to immerse
a person than 10 sprinkle him. or
pour water upon him? one reverend
gentleman. TO whom the difficulty OF
baptizing 5000 In one day, either by
immersion or sprlnkling, had occurred
sravely asserted that the apostles ar
ranged tho 5000 along the edge Of the
water and sprinkled the crowd, but We
have not seen this absurdity repeated
anywhere
Let us consider the question. Who
Saws that there were only twelve au-
thorized 60 baptizc? our Lord sent
out Seventies twice. TO preach the Cos
mel His teachings after. the resurrec-
ton from the dead were listened -
bv more than 500 brethren at one time
Many OF these must have been present
on the day Of Peutecost, ana u we
say that there were one hundred au-
| thorized To- baptize, each one would
| have had only thirty II there We're
| seventy to perform the baptism, each
would have only a. or 40. If only twelve
were baptzing each would have had
| $50. hut there is no reason why a man
should not perform that ceremony at
/ the rate OF one or two every minute
instead Of two every five minutes. The
| 5000 might have been baptized in about
3 hours by twelve men, seventy men
might have done 1t In less than an
hour
but, further. is IL absolutely certain
that the naI ratiye I'm the Acts says
that the 8 0Oe were baptized IN ore day ?
Il does say that those who received
tho words OF Peter were baptized; also
mat the same day there were added
about three thousand souls. Now the
question is, were they not as truly
ADDED 20 the hock OF believers, m "a
result of the preaching OF Peter THAI
| day. whether the baptism was perform