CONTAINING ESSAYS, DISSERTATIONS, &c. Ο Ν VARIOUS SUBJECTS, Sent to the AUTHOR of The Gentleman's Magazine, Which could not be conveniently inferted at length, in that Work, or properly abridged; Printed for EDWARD CAVE, at St John's Gate. M.DCC.XLIII. Where may be bad, NUMB. I. F Baptifm by Dipping, by Anonymus. ---The peculiar Method of English Anabaptifs, without Foundation from Scripture. -Anfwer to T. Crosby's Letter about dipping. -From his Reflections, religious, political and natural. -From his Erudition. - -From his Obfervations on Medals and Intaglias. The Manner of the Admiffion of one Gun and his Fa- ther into the Society of the New-Light-People. Extract of another Letter from Connecticut, about Mr The Hidden Life of a Christian, an odd Preachment, as printed and published at Bofton, in New-England, by one of the New-Light-People there. A Vindication of Mr John Fox, and of his Acts and 106,115. Some Account of John Smith, the first English Anabap- tift Teacher at Leyden, in Holland. ---Iis Opinions and Inftability. Buchanan's and Johnston's Latin Paraphrafes of the Pfalms compared in fever al Paffages. Buchanan expreffes the Beauty and Elegance of the He- brew. ibid. --Obfervations by the Authors of the Univerfal History A Tranflation of the Dialogue between Hiero and Simo- nides made from the Greek of Xenophon by 2. Eliza- I. The Defence of Gulliver enlarged H. A Letter to a Friend on Revelation. HI. Several Pieces for and against the IV. Arguments upon God's Prefcience. V. Obfervations on peopling the Earth VI. On the Magiftrate's Right to in-. VIII. Against Tithes, by Rufticus. XI. On the Repeal of the Teft A&t. X. Mr. Facio's Answer to the Objecti on taken from the Motion of Co- mets, of their Bignefs and of their near Paffages or Shocks are to be of Mifcellaneous Correspondence, &c. NUMBER II. I Of BAPTISM by DIPPING: T is a Peculiarity of the English Anabaptifts, or a Shibboleth of their Party, to minifter Baptifm by laying Men and Women on their Backs under Water with convenient Garments upon them, and faying, Í baptize thee in the Name of the Father, &c. or I baptize thee in the Name of the Lord Jefus Chrift. This they confidently affert, is plainly contained in the Holy Scripture, is the Ordinance of Chrift, and an effential Part of the Sacrament of Baptifm: So that Baptifm adminiftered otherwise, is not duly administered according to Chrift's Ordinance, but is void and of none Effect. To prove this odd and fingular Opinion of theirs Benjamin Keach inftructs his ignorant and unlearned Readers, that learned Men who understand Greek tell them, that the Greek word Bap tizo properly fignifies to drown, plunge, &c. but he dishonestly conceals from them, their likewife Saying, it properly fignifies to wash, cleanse, &c. which is done without dipping or laying the whole Body under Water. Thus we wash or clean our Heads and Faces by pouring Water upon them. In feveral Tranflations of the New Testament the word Baptizo is commonly left untranflated; but in the first English Translation it is render'd fullubte or foulwhite, and John the Baptist, Johannes fe fullutere, the foul-whiter. This is agreeable to the Scripture Notion of Baptifm; that it is an outward and visible Sign of our being obliged by it to cleanse ourfelves from all Filthinefs both of Flesh and Spirit. But now 'tis well known, that Linnen is cleaned or whited by being laid on the Grass and fprinkled with Water, or hung on Pins and having Water flung against it. The Baptifin of the Holy Spirit is always reprefented in the New Testament as done by pouring out, fhedding forth, and falling upon those who were baptized with it; the two Evangelifts St Matthew and St Luke tell us, that when our Lord was baptized with the Holy Ghoft, the Heavens were opened to him, and the Holy Ghoft defcended in a bodily Shape like a Dove upon him; this bodily Shape, or vifible Form, was Fire which hover'd about our Lord's Head as a Dove does when he lights, or pitches upon the Ground. After the fame Manner are the Apostles reprefented as baptized with the Holy Ghoft and with Fire, on the Day of Pentecoft: There appeared unto them cloven Tongues like as of Fire, and it, the Fire, fat upon each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghoft. It is further obferved, that St Mark fays, Jefus was baptized of John in Jordan; but he does not fay, that Jefus was laid on his Back of John in Jordan. The Hiftory of Chrift written in Perfit relates the Manner of his Baptifm thus: The Lord Jefas entered into the Sea, and John with all Humility baptized him with his Hand, and washed him by cafting Water on bis Head. This Sebagian Serradius obferved, was more respectful than handling his Body. Ats ix. 22. The Account given by St Luke of the Baptism of St Paul by Ananias, in Judas's House at Damafcus, favours M |