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Show BAPTISM ANSWER TO A COLORADO COLO-RADO QUERY. Canon City, Colo. A reader of The Intermountain Catholic would like to have this article discussed on Baptism. Respectifully, A READER. The above communication, with an article by. W. P. Surrels, published in the Democrat, some litle time ago, has been sent to this office. The article of W. P. Surrels contains many scriptural quotations. In the opening paragraph he has "I indeed baptize you with water" (Matt. 3:11); '-'They came into a certain water" (Acts 8:36); "Can any man forbid water?" (Acts 11:47). The conclusion is "there can be no baD-tism baD-tism without water." Water and the words "I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost" are the only outward or visible sacrament through which the regenerating grace of the Holy Ghost is -communicated. "And John also was baptizing in Enon near Salem, because there was much water there: and they tame and were baptized" (John 3:23). Conclusion is "this scripture does not say that John selected that place so there would be plenty water for man and beast to drink. It says he was 'baptizing because be-cause there -was much water! Much water is required for scriptural baptism. bap-tism. This is made still more evident by reading. They were all baptized by him in the river Jordan" (Mark 1:5). Before discussing the quantity of water needed the writer should give his views as to the necessity of baptism to attain life eternal. In another paragraph par-agraph he gives the reply of the Savior Sav-ior to Nicodemus, a well meaning Pharisee who came to him by night and which setles the question, viz: the necessity of baptism for salvation "Except "Ex-cept a man to be born of water and of the spirit, he cdnnot enter Heaven." One of the conditions then, under which man can save his soul, is baptism. bap-tism. For the fulfillment of that condition con-dition according to the same writer, "much water is required." If so, God places an absoltfle condition, which, under many circumstances, could not be possibly fulfilled. How much water Mr. Surrels does not say, but presumably presum-ably enough for immersion. Where there is no pool,' lake or river of sufficient suffi-cient death to immerse, and a person realizing the necessity of baptism, yet there is sufficient to sprinkle or wash, is the interested party to be denied Heaven because the absolute condition of the Father could not be possibly fulfilled? ful-filled? Who is to blame? The man asks for baptism, yet the rigorous command of God could not according to Mr. Surrels be complied with. God, infinitely just, all merciful, and full of the tenderest love for His child, precludes the possibility of salvation for that person. Take another instance of a man traveling in the desert where there is no water, not enough to moisten his parched lips and save his life, convinced of the necessity of baptism: bap-tism: "Unless man is born again," asks to be baptized, wishes for it. Does God, infinitely just and whom we are taught to call our Father, condemn such a person because he is not baptized? bap-tized? And could not be under the circumstances. cir-cumstances. If; so, God would issue a command which. He foresaw, would be for some, at certain times and under un-der certain circumstances, impossible. Such a supposition, knowing God's attributes, at-tributes, is a greater impossibility. The word baptism is taken from the Greek, and means to plunge, immerce, submerge in water, or to wash, clean, purify, or wet with water. The word is found four times in the Old Testament. Testa-ment. It is said that the Jews were baptized in their ceremonies of washing wash-ing themselves; that Nebuchodonosor was baptized with the dew of Heaven; that the world was baptized at the flood; and that the Jews were baptized bap-tized at the passage of the Red Sea. According to St. Augustine, a very respectable authority, baptism is "washing with water in the Word." Catholic teaching, ever the same, requires re-quires for valid baptism a washing, which takes place either by immersion, pouring or springling. When it is 'impossible 'im-possible to secure water, and a man is dying, "baptism of desire" is sufficient ! for salvation. Could any doctrine, knowing that baptism is necessary for salvation, be more reasonable and in accordance with the justice and mercy of God than this? It has been the universal uni-versal praetie of the Christian church since Apostolic times. The conclusion drawn from the text, "Baptising because there was much .water," therefore "much water is a requirement re-quirement for Scriptural .baptism" proves too much, and what proves too much, as say the logicians, proves nothing. A citizen of Colorado might say he would go to New York to bathe because there is too much water in the Atlantic ocean. It would not follow from that that in his own home, where there is no pool or lake, that a bath was impossible. A sponge bath, or' shower bath could be easily taken. Private Pri-vate Interpretation of the Scriptures has led to many absurd and unreasonable unreason-able doctrines. In the fourth paragraph the writer says, with an air of infallibility, greater great-er than that ever assumed by any Supreme Su-preme Pontiff, "to be baptized Scrip-turally Scrip-turally you must be hurried in the wa- ter. and then raised from it. Scriptural Scriptur-al baptism then requires water, much water, coming to the water, going down to the water, coming up out of the water." If all these be true, we ask how did the Apostles' converts, who were in prison, or in a bed of sickness. sick-ness. receive Scriptural baptism? What of "clinical baptism," which means in Greek a bed? St. Peter baptized bap-tized 3.000 at one time, and 5,000 at another. an-other. St. Saturnin, when doing missionary mis-sionary work at Pampelune, baptized in seven days 40.000 Catechumens. In one day St. Chrysostom baptized 3.000; St. Augustine of Canterbury, 10,000; St. Faustin, 12,000. If all had to be burried in water, and then raised from it. such large numbers in one day could not be baptized. . Will the writer maintain that all these baptisms were not Scriptural or valid? In doing so, he must be either fallible or infallible. If the former we I take the practice of the Christian Church from Apostolic times as a safer guide then his fallible word. As he will make no pretentions of infallibility for himself that point is easily disposed of. But the texts quoted, he claims, are infallible. in-fallible. Be it so, their meaning is the difficulty, and until interpreted by a Supreme infallible court, the writer's dogmatic assertion "to be Scripturally baptized you must be burried in water, has no weight. Their meaning is plain and obvious, he will doubtless say. Not more so than the meaning of the words of Christ, when he took bread blessed and said: "This is My body" (Mat. xx vi: 26), or when after His Resurrection Resurrec-tion He was consoling His Disciples and said to them: "Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you. When He had said this He breathed breath-ed on them, and He said to them: "Receive "Re-ceive ye the Holy Ghost; whose sins you shall forgive they are forgiven them; whose sins you shall retain they are retained" (John xx. 21-23) . The former text, "This is My body," plain, simple and obvious, has received 350 different interpretations. " The meaning of the latter, which seems incapable of distortion, has been so changed that it means the very opposite oppo-site of what the Savior said. Scriptural quotations, without a living voice, a Supreme court, and an infallible one, too, are in this enlightened and unbelieving unbe-lieving age so many riddles,, and with the contradictory explanations given, have no meaning. In a work, "Doctrine and Doctrinal Disruption," recently published by the author, W. H. Mallock, who is neither a Catholic nor a Protestant, we find the claims of the Catholic Church fully and logically set forth. One sentence shows the necessity of a living voice, and infallible teacher to dispel the darkness of error, cement together the truths of religion and bring out of the chaotic mass of contradictions arising from private interpretations of the Scriptures one living, unique and divine religion. He writes, "Rome is the only Church representing itself as an ever-living ever-living and articulate individual, which, at no period of its existence, has lost any one of Its faculties, but is able every day to reaffirm With a living voice every doctrine which it has ever authoritatively enunciated In the past; to reaffirm it, moreover, with an ever deepening meaning to reaffirm it now in the same supernatural knowledge. knowl-edge. Rome, ' fact, in its capacity ca-pacity of the one infallible teacher, resembles re-sembles a sailor in a shipwreck, who alone of his companions has retained the swimming apparatus with which all were originally provided; and who, when derided by his companions for boasting that he alone can swim, answer an-swer them by continuing on the surface sur-face whilst they, one and all, go under un-der it." |