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“Pope, St.
“of the Chu P ‘ Rome
“Church, and this practice of the Roman ‘Charet was
" more L
: tradition.
cata this tiglence inflicted o
. they were no
“more
~ tism was
. of
' daptize, after death Catechume:
il
* of the flesh, and some Fathers have attributed it to
‘192
‘ON BAPTISM
*[ Continued from p, 165.]
Qndly. Of the minister’ of Baptism. ;
3 proved from the Acts of the ‘Apostles and
Bpister ofS St. Paul, that, the Apostles bape: zed such
as believed ‘in Christ ; ‘but that they preferred the
Preaching ofthe Gospel tothatduty. St. Pau
may therefore be very pr roperly
inforred, ‘he thoy imposed the Ti cri
3. rdin
ordinary. ministers of t iment ; but that
case-of noceasity. it may be ‘administered by any in-
dividual, even by women
hird century a warm dispute arose in the
Church, t¢ ascertain whether the baptism of a Here-
tic was valid : The Bish hops of Africa with St. Cy-
prian at their hhead, pretended that such Baptism was
null, and felt themselves authorised from an estab-
lished. custom among them, to re-baptize. such as
they received om the various heresies
ephen, opposed to them the Practice
which was universal ly fol.
lowed with the single exception of the Afric
ancient than theirs :—‘* Let us make no inno
vations,” said he to them, ‘* Holding ourselves fast to
» An-invariable rule, which the Catholic
Church has ever observed, to which she stiil adheres,
and proves that to € false whic! tants
wish and pretend to ° canon a fact
‘Apostles never established a S uniform discipline, but
left to the different churches, the liberty to do whatlin th
would appear to them most convenient, that they
had viven no person the authority to judge of qieir
conducts nor the charge to over them.
e opposition the African. Bishops admitt cath
wisdom of the rule, laid down by the Pope, and the
neasssity of complying § with it.
agreed, © person ought .to baptize|
the infants of intel, ‘gaint thee parents’ consent,
less they w n danger of death; uot only be-
n Fathers and Mothers
av
5B
ir bed during their last illness : som
of them acted ‘thus through humility, and fear, lest
not yet sufficiently well disposed ; others] t!
.through libertinism, that they might indulge the|t
freely in sin, in the hope, that all their sins
would be washed away by the wa! aters of Bapti ism.
other; she] w
genco 0 of t
oan ain, "irregular, that ig to say, those who had
been thus baptized on their bed ouncil of
Neocesarea prohibited such persons to be raised to
“Holy Orders, unless it was proved that their Bap-
not deferred through an unworthy mo!
In the or rimitive. ‘Church Ba ‘aptism' was thus refs
ed. to persons in e, or suc. e engaged
in professions, ‘hicks were criminal and incompati-
ble with the sanctity of Christianity, uhless they rer
of souls. but thig
s]}name of J
‘UNITED STA'FES CATHOLIC MISCELLANY.
‘ ‘1tors, whether Catholic, or Protestant are not agreed |
to
the explication which they give of this pas-
age.
3rdly. On the effects of nas
e have already observed the seque!
ofthe error of Protestants, who teach that the ente|
of the Sacraments consists.in the virtue}
enitence.
gu
been effaced by tha
that sin still remains in the person baptized and that
he may still be charged with the guilt of that sin ;
they have gaid that Baptisin does not -confer sancti-
fying grace, nor imprints on the soul of a Christian
oe they have of‘ producing justifying faith in in our |88
| Kingdor
VOL. Ux.
ho requires a @ faith that worketh by charity, and tha
he ceases et to exhort them to do good works
Galat. 6. .
Athly. On the necessity ty of Baptism.
’ Jesus Christ. has instituted ‘this Sacrament, [a3 ,
means ee necessary for salvation, when he
on ot born again wa-
Holy Ghost,
of Heaven.” John c. 3.
the Gospel to every creature ; he that believes and
aid
ter and we
as is baptized, shall be saved; he ‘that believes.not shall
be. condemned.” "Mare. c. 16..v. 16. St. Peter
has repeated re same truth. when ae said Baptism
e| Saves us. t. Paul teaches
us, that Ged has Svea us is by the terar of regenera-
f|tion and by the renewal within our souls of his Di-
vine Spirit. - Weare not ignorant of the subterfuges
by which the Calvinists and Socinians have tortured
the meaning o.
j Which establish this doctrine. But‘ the
ir. bh
<
5
&
OO
fo
a3
Q
#
£
©
8
=
s
any c 3 to prevent a repel hould
they find it ‘eof “hey have taught that this Sa-
crament im U hristian the -obliga-
tion to believe, but has not imposed the obligation }-
nito-observe the commandmenty of God, and the|¢
Church ; hence it follows, in the second analysis,
at pti is neither very useful, nor absolutely
necessary, and that a person can omit it, without
risqueing his salvation; thus the Quakers neither ad-
and also a great portion of
Protestants: are not over anxious to administer it to
their infants. :
The Council of out has condemied those. errors
e 5. 6.,and 7 Sessions, which it established
the Catholic Faith ‘touching original sin, justifica-
tidn, the effects of the Sacraments,, and those o!
er! Baptism .in particular; and ‘Fheolugians have not
eitaken sufficient’ pains tu show, that all the
quences of the system of Protestants are formally
f the
errors, has struck with the same
Anathema, “the pilge interpretaftns: which they have
given to the Holy Scripture. ‘ ouncil of Trent,
after having decided that Adam “has transmitted on
he whole human family, not only the neces: sei or
suffering and dying, but still more sin, which
death of the soul, teaches that this sin cannot be ve
faced, ’
rits are applied 5,
can. 2, 3.5 thats since the promulgation of the Gos-
pel man cannot. pass from the state of sin to the state
esire to receive it.
fj can.
This doctrine on the necessity of Baptism | has been
Pela-
gians " Pelagius, the founder of that sect pretended
contrary to the Holy Scriptu
Reformers had been such a "Theologians, as they
are supposed to have se80, they would have ioreseen
the consequences, and i! is to be opr resumed that they
would have. brought them “forth to light from the
abyss, dato which they precipitated themselves.
h Jews
his descendants; thatBaptism was administered to in-
fants, not t r blot out any sin, but to give
them the grace of ‘adoption : that should they die
without having received it, they would possess eter
nal life on account of their i innocence. A
SY EFTOTs ;
the Baptist says the same to the
“ I baptize you with water, but he that cometh after
me will baptize you with the Holy Ghost and-with
fire.” Matt. «. 3. 1, baptizes in the
esus: Christ the il, ‘who had already
received the Baptism of St. John. c. 19. v.
{t is then {alse se two Baptioms have she
same Original Sin. We will prove
that all infants, ‘vithout except jon are porn in sin ;
that they are perfectly cleansed trom it by Baptism,
this is ine doctrine formally declared by St Paul in
be Gallatians, c. 3. v “ All you
ota been baptized in Jesus Christ, have been
jclothed with Jesus Christ.” ‘To the Rom mans, c.
v1. There i is, therefore, now no condemnation
to them who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not ac-
Ananias said to him when he
tized, and 4 sh awa
name.” Acts. ¢. 22.
faithful Ist. Peter, c. 3. v. Qi.
tism being of like form now saveth ‘ou also ;
tion of | # good conscience toward:
orien s God by the re-
Jesus Chris’
mounced that state. Such as Sculptors an
workmen who made idols, Public‘ Women, Comedi-
i h
hey who pro:
habits of life were ade on trial. | Bi gta
Orig. Eccles. book 11
St. Pal, Cor. Ep. 1 ci hap. 18. ° . 29. sof
the dead rise not again, at all, why 2 are they then
‘baptized for them! What eo is this baptism?”
From this, some we ion, that they could] 4
ens who had desired
Baptism, and a uncil of Carthag
abuse ; othe: 2 imagined that a living person could|e
;|Since faith is 2 necessary
ge condemned this! th
From what will it save
‘its punishment 7 St. Peter
0 faith. but to baptism,
dispos
In the following paragraph, wo will learn from the
scripture. the absolute necessity of this
the rigorous obligation imposed on every indivi
ildual to receive it.
us, if not from sin and
attributes this effect not t
‘o the Ephesi c. 4, 0.
Holy Spirit ; “whereby you are sealed. unto the day |g
of redemption.”” These words are @ analogous and
of like signification, to what he says of A! Abraham,
when he ived circumcision as a seal of justice
which proceed from faith. Rom. c. 4.
he seal or character of circumcision could ot be
faced. . It was ne this principle that St Aus
grieve not the
receive Baptism in behalf of a. dead person, and th
attain for-him pardon of his sins. Tertullian speaks
‘of this euperttion in: his book on the resurrection
‘the Marcionites. “It is evident, that all thete. secta-
Hinns undersiee vil meaning drawn from whi
text of St. Paul, and that those abuses were
d, against the Don
crime to reiterate. Ba aptism, and i in val ecclesiastical
antiquity, there cannot be cited a single example of
an infringement on that tule, unless it was wit th He-
retics.
abit whe support or hold that baptism. imposed
on:a christian, than to have faith, have}
desi
the!sacrament, when it cannot be
putting away the filth of the flesh, but the examina | ev Ot
St. Paul speaks of the character |* |
“whi ich it imprints on the soul of man in his Epistle to
i
they have been ‘condemned b many Po opes and by:
many African Councils, and this condemnation has
been confirmed by the general Council of Ephesus
in the year 431. Calvin was not less rash,than Pe-
lagids, when he taught that the children of the faith
ful were sanctified i in the womb of their mother
commun belie! of Calvinists. is that the children of
Infidels that Wie without t Baptism are damned ; but
it is notat all the same, with the children of Christi-
this supposition there appears to us no reason, why
8 yet necessary to baptize the children of the.
faithful.
It is necessary to remark that the Council of Trent
has declared that mao cannot pass from the state of;
sin to the state of grace without japtism, or ‘the
esire to receive it. ect, it has ever been th
Is
©
®| belief of the Church, that faith accompanied with a
sire of receiving baptism supplies the place-of that.
ived ;-norhas she,
er do ubted- of the salvation of Catechuiens who :
died it before they could receive that grace.
Ithas moreover declared that martyrdum produces
he same effects in sucli as die for Jesus Christ ; it‘is
in this belief that the Church has reverenced the me-
mory ofthe holy innocents. Some respectable Bishops.
“fot the third century were of opinion that the Baptism
s returned in the sincerity of faith tothe Church, and
par! Ueipated in the holy mys steries, had no necessity
again t smn of Baptism. ‘This
anu ‘the opinion of St. is of
St.. Cyprian, Ep. 7 See Eusebius.
Ecce. History. book 7: ch. 9. and the note of Bow
rigen, Eccles. book 10. chai § 23 fine, all
: But rhe Fathers, with the exception at St. Augustine
e of opinion, that St. John the Baptist
had bean sanctified by Jesus Christ in his mother’s. |
womb; a 3 on this account, that the Church.
celebrates his nativity
distinguish three s species of Baptism, viz. that o
sire, Baptis mus faininis, that of blood or in clon,
Baptismus sanguinis and the ‘option of water.
The passage of St. Paul, which Calvin and his
followers abuse. does not prove what they wish. The
own inthe time of the Apostles: but commentar
Inot “eos contradicted the doctrine of St. Paul, "since
{Apostle.says 1 Cor. c..7. v.14. That a Pagan hes-