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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
authority_n	book_n	canonical_a	church_n	4,924	5	5.1670	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A43469	Some plain letters in the defence of infant baptism and of the mode of baptizing (now generally used in the Church of England), which may serve, for a confutation of a small treatise entituled The reason why not infant-sprinkling, but believers-baptism ought to be approved, &c.	Hewerdine, Thomas, 1659 or 60-1738?	1699 (1699)	Wing H1630; ESTC R5896	62,852	138

every-where find Infant-Baptism receiv'd and continu'd as an Apostolical practice But I 'll not lead you too far into these Historical accounts which yet we must be oblig'd to or else we shall know but very little of the Acts of the greatest part of the Apostles for what they did into what Cities and Nations they Travel'd what Disciples they made whom they Baptiz'd is not written in Scripture But now Sir suppose some wild Theist or Atheist in pursuance of their Mischievous design to discredit the Apostles should come and tell you that the greatest part of them were a pack of Lazy Drones who though they were under the obligation of a Command to Disciple and Baptize all Nations yet never mov'd a Foot upon that great Errand did not the least Hand's-turn in all that weighty Business pray Good Sir what Answer would you make How would you vindicate the Apostles from so black a charge I am sure that all Scripture-Evidence would here fail you you could not quote Scripture in the defence of one half of them but how then would you stop the Mouths of their Accusers Why Sir You must be beholden to just the evidence we have for Infant-Baptism's being practis'd by the Apostles for by all the Authority whereby you could silence their Accusers and prove to 'em the Apostles Travels and the Conversions that they every where made all the wide World over even by all that Authority I say do we prove Infants to have been Baptized by them And further suppose an Atheist should fly in the face of our Blessed Saviour himself and Blasphemously tell you that he was a false Prophet who pretended to foretell such things concerning the Destruction of the Jewish Church and State as never came to pass though he positively prophesy'd that That very Generation should not pass away till all these should be fulfill'd Suppose I say an Atheist should say thus Good Sir I must beseech you to tell me what you would answer or how you would clear our blessed Lord and Saviour from the foul Aspersion you could not in this case have any help from Scripture No but you would be forc'd to appeal to the Historians of that and of the following Ages and particularly to that most admirable Historian Josephus to shew how these Predictions and Prophecies of our Saviour were accomplish'd and most wonderfully and punctually fulfill'd about forty Years after our Saviour's Crucifixion Well Sir and we have altogether as good evidence in the first Writers of the Christian Church for Infant-Baptism as we have for the Accomplishment of our Saviour's Prophecies and as you must prove our Saviour to have been a true Prophet in that Case even so do we prove Infants to have been Baptized in the Apostolical Ages Once more some deny that the Apostles Baptiz'd any Infants and suppose a Quaker who is against all Water-Baptism should deny that they Baptiz'd either Men or Women I know you would say that we have sufficient Proof of this in the Acts of the Apostles Oh but Sir You need not be told that these Quakers many of them are a sort of unmannerly fellows that disrespect and disparage the very Scriptures themselves and perhaps they 'll ask you Who writ that Book in the New Testament call'd The Acts of the Apostles Of what Authority is it Was the Author of it an Inspir'd Writer and what can you say why we are bound to believe what we find Written therein more than in any other Old Book And now pray Sir should a morose Quaker thus put you to 't to prove the Authority of the Acts of the Apostles how wou'd you do it Truly you must answer that we have the whole Primitive Church bearing witness to it that it was written by an Inspired Author viz. by St. Luke and that it has ever been receiv'd as Canonical Scripture throughout the Universal Church of Christ dispersed over the face of the whole Earth And this indeed is sufficient evidence to a Wise-Man But then we have the very same evidence for Infant-Baptism's being an Apostolical practice we have the Universal Church of Christ bearing witness thereto in all places yea and at all times for the first fifteen Hundred Years after Christ without exception Sir That Infant-Baptism was the Universal Practice of the Holy Catholick Church and that no time can be shewed on this side the Apostles when it began is so manifestly and clearly prov'd from the best and most Authentick Writers of all Ages that some of our learned'st Adversaries have had more Conscience than to deny it Menno One of the most Learned of the Anabaptists as the Author of the Case of Infant-Baptism tells us from Cassander acknowledg'd Infant-Baptism to be as Old as the Times of the Apostles and therefore he was forc'd in the defence of his cause to invent the Story That though Infant-Baptism was first taught in the Apostles Times yet that it was then taught by false Apostles and false Teachers which proof-less Story is Learnedly and largely answer'd by the said Author of the Case of Infant-Baptism pag. 47 48 49 50. And our excellent Dr. Falkner has these Words The Christian Church in the first Ages thereof and in a Continued Succession from thence to this time hath admitted Infants to be Baptized and thought it self bound so to do And this he proves by several plain Testimonies out of St. Austin St. Cyprian Origen and from the famous African Council and concludes that divers other Fathers and Councils might be added to manifest the Universal Reception of Infant-Baptism in the Catholick Church But this saith he having been clearly and sufficiently evidenc'd by the Historical Theses of Vossius upon this Subject of Paedobaptism I shall refer him thither who wou'd have more large and ample Proof hereof Treatise concerning Reproaching c. pages 285.286 And now Good Sir have patience with me till I shall briefly summ up what I have said in this long Letter and I will conclude I have shewn you how little we read in Scripture of what The Apostles did in this Case of Baptizing after they had receiv'd the Command to Baptize all Nations and likewise what clear hints we have even in that little of their Baptizing Infants but then I have added that as we find larger accounts of the Apostles Travels and of the Nations Converted by them in the primimitive Writers so that from the same Writers we are more fully assur'd that Infant-Baptism was an Apostolical Practice And you Sir I hope will not be so vain as to despise this Evidence without which you can never prove that the greatest part of the Apostles Baptiz'd either Man Woman or Child Without which you cannot prove to an Atheist that our Saviour was a True Prophet Without which you cannot prove to a Sullen Quaker the Authority of that very Book in which we have so may Proofs against them of Baptism in general viz. The Acts of the Apostles And thus I have

afraid to enquire into the meaning of them Nay but the greatest Strength of that Book is spent against our Mode of Baptizing by Sprinkling Your Author has a Throw at this where-ever he meets with the Word Baptize and takes it for granted all along That to Baptize signifies always to Dip which I think has been sufficiently disprov'd and therefore if all that he has said and repeated again and again to this purpose in his little Book was taken out his Forty Texts wou'd dwindle into a far less number and there wou'd not be many of them left standing against Infant-Baptism Well but in Answer to the first part of your Objection That you no where find in Scripture that any Infants were Baptized First I 'll make an Impartial Enquiry what I can find in Scripture to have been done in this Case of Baptizing by Christ and by his Disciples in his Life-time And Secondly What I can find to have been done by his Apostles after his Ascension into Heaven I. We have no very large account in the New Testament of Christ's or of his Disciples Baptizing in his Life-time not one word more than what you may see in these few Texts John 3.22 26. John 4.1.2 The First of which Texts says that Jesus Baptized but says not whom not a Syllable to exclude Infants John 3.22 The Second Text says that Jesus Baptized and all Men came to him John 3.26 But here Sir that our English Translation may not lead you into a mistake I must inform you that there is no particular word in the Original that signifies Men only but the Greek word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Jesus Baptized and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all came to him All without Exception And here I will do so much Right to the Author of your little Book as to suppose he had observ'd this to be the sense of the Original words in this Text and therefore he passes it over as rather making for than against Infant-Baptism He does not I say mention this amongst the Forty Texts in his Book because he knew the Greek Word here Translated All Men signifies as well All Children even all without Exception All of all Ages I proce●d therefore to the Third and Last Text which says That Jesus made and Baptized more Disciples than John tho' Jesus himself Baptized not but his Disciples John 4.1 2. And here the Author of your little Book wou'd fain gather from the word Disciples that no Children were Baptiz'd but all that he say's is grounded upon a Gross Mistake which supposes them to have been Disciples before Baptism whereas the Text says plainly That they were made and Baptized Disciples That is they were by Baptism made Disciples and accordingly that Baptism is the only ordinary way of making Disciples I shall take occasion hereafter very largely to prove to you And thus I have particularly and Impartially Consider'd those few Texts which yet are all we find in Scripture which speak of Christ's or of his Disciples Baptizing during his Life-time and the Sum of them is this That Jesus's Disciples Baptized and made by Baptizing them more Disciples than John The Words are not They were Baptized all that Believed or all that Repented Nay nor all Men only but all in general not a Child of Man excepted And now Sir whether the Scripture be thus far against or for Infant-Baptism judge you And here I will add one thing more which wou'd be a great Satisfaction to my own mind in this Case of Baptizing Infants tho' there was nothing more to be said for it Know then Sir and I tell it you from undoubted Authority that Children were Baptized as well as Circumcised in the Jewish Church long before our Saviour's Coming in the Flesh The Jews report says Dr. Taylor That the World took up the Doctrine of Baptisms in Remembrance that the Iniquity of the Old World was purged by Water Great Exemp P. 175. And indeed Noah and his Families being saved by passing through the Waters of the Flood in the Ark did Typifie and Pre-figure our being saved by passing thro' the Waters of Baptism in the Ark of the Church for so St. Peter In the Ark says he were Eight Souls saved by Water The like Figure whereunto even Baptism doth also now save us 1 Pet. 3.20 21. And as for that Infant-Baptism which was practised of Old in the Jewish Church 't is by their own best Writers made as Ancient as Moses and deduc'd by them says Dr. Towerson from that Command of God whereby Moses was Enjoyned to Sanctifie the Israelites and cause them to wash their Cloaths against that time that God declared from Mount Sinai That Legal Covenant which they were then to enter into Dr. Towerson of the Sacrament of Bapt. Pag. 13. And the Apostle himself tells us of these Israelites That they were all Baptized into Moses in the Cloud and in the Sea 1 Cor. 10.2 They were all Men Women and Children so Baptized And you know Good Sir that when God did safely lead these Children of Israel thro' the Red-Sea he thereby figured his Holy Baptism And therefore as they Men Women and Children were Baptized into Moses by the Cloud above and the Sea beneath so says Dr. Taylor are all Persons now Men Women and Children to be Baptized into Christ by the Spirit from above and the Water below and the same Excellent Author most truly adds That it was the design of the Apostle in that Discourse 1 Cor. 10. To represent that the Fathers and We were equal as to the Privileges of the Covenant and that as we do not exceed them so neither do they exceed us nor their Children ours Great Exemp Pag. 176. And in short When our Saviour first Instituted his Baptism amongst that very People who had then such an Ancient Custom to Baptize Infants had he made any Exception against that their Custom had he excluded such Babes from his Baptism as they admitted to theirs we should certainly have heard something of it I am sure that their Infant-Circumcision was not laid aside without great Noise and Struggle and therefore that their Infant-Baptism should be so easily quitted without so much as one word said either for or against it is what I profess to you I cannot easily believe Nay but I am hereby very much confirm'd in my Belief that Infants were as well admitted to our Lord's Baptism when he Baptized in Judea as they then were and for a long time before had been Baptized in the Jewish-Church And thus Sir I have Briefly shewn you what was done by our Lord and by his Disciples in his Life-time in this Case of Baptizing And II. I will God willing enquire again what we find in Scripture to have been done in this Case by the Apostles after our Lord's Ascension But of this in my next which shall be hastened from Sir June 26. 1698. Your c. T. H. LETTER V. SIR I Proceed to enquire