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My "preliminary observations" thod of relative religion-any more are "offensively invidious."-"Mr. than you perceive the beauty of a

churchman's or a Papist's relative religion, when he encumbers the religion of Jesus with his sponsors, and signing with the sign of the cross! "Otherwise" we should "see the importance of family piety." And this from a liberal, unassuming, and kind-hearted Pædobaptist? Is it then necessary to sprinkle unconscious babes, in order to see the beauty of family piety? Cannot we dedicate them to God, pray for their salvation, conduct them at a rational age to the family altar, and teach them "the way they should go!" I ask what family religion there is in the Pædobaptist, that is not to be found in the Baptist family? May not every one, in either case, practise religion, excepting the unconscious babe; and does the unconscious babe, in either case, practise religion at all?

F Cox and his brethren mistake the very nature of baptism"-" the Baptists do not perceive the beauty of relative religion, otherwise they would see the importance of family piety." These are singular charges. My preliminary observations are solely intended to prove, that as Christianity, as a whole, requires the exercise of the intellectual and moral faculties, it is unlikely that its divine author should have annexed to it any thing which did not require their exercise; since it would be to suppose Christianity constructed upon two essentially different principles; if, however, every other observance of Christianity demand the affections, and this (Pædobaptism) admits of its being practised without any personal religion, any interest in the transaction, or any knowledge of it, there exists an obvious disparity, and so far an The whole of the remaining deargument is educed in favour of fence of Mr. Ewing, or rather attack, our practice, and against that of upon my critical statement, is really our opposing brethren. Here I so flimsy and feeble, and so conhave, indeed, stated my persuasion; trary to the acknowledged opinion of but I have not represented any many, even of their distinguished Pædobaptist advocate as rash, dog- men, (as I can aver from their own matical, illogical! Is there any admissions,) and so little calculated thing" offensively invidious" in to produce any impression upon any such a mode of argument? Is it person on either side of the quesnot fair for a controversialist to tion, that I am happy to be relieved pursue such an inquiry? Let my from the necessity of any particular opponent attempt to demonstrate exposure. If Mr. Ewing chooses any similar disagreement in the to attempt his own defence, I have principle of our practice, from that no objection, since I venture to of the Christian system in general; predict he can produce something and I promise not to use it "offen- at least more plausible; or if not, sively invidious," but, if he succeed I can defer my reply to another "remarkably clever;" he shall be opportunity. The insufficiency of treated with all the honours of a the criticism on my reference to the discoverer! But we "do not un- paludamentum, I may safely leave, derstand the very nature of baptism." even to a prejudiced opponent, to This is really very good from one detect; it proceeds from utter inwho is by no means rash, illiberal, attention to the usual language of or dogmatical! We do not per- prophecy. My quotations from ceive" the beauty of relative re- the Greek fathers, it is affirmed, ligion"-certainly not of your me. "instead of weakening, confirm

Mr. Ewing's interpretations of the word baptism by the Greeks." This is another specimen of our Reviewer's logical accuracy. I have shown that the Greek fathers, who understood their own language, use terms interchangeably with baptism, which incontestibly signify to immerse; therefore I have confirmed Mr. Ewing's statement that baptism does not signify immersion. The Reviewer speaks, on one occasion, of my having" given my understanding a holiday;" I am afraid he so frequently treats his logical powers in a similar manner, that they grow wild and unruly amidst the inebriating festivity.

The statement respecting Philip and the Eunuch is so ridiculous, that I cannot persuade myself that any sensible man will repeat it; if he do, and comes in my way, I may perhaps bestow a few lines to show its futility.

My demand for the production of a single case in which it is shown that sprinkling is the radical idea of Banrw, and of a single instance of sprinkling in the New Testament, or of a single command, inculcating the practice, accompanied by the assurance of concession in such a case, and concluded by the question, "Will Mr. Ewing or any of his brethren venture to give me a similar pledge?"-is met by the declaration, "Yes, we will." Reluctant, however, to try the metal of his sword, the dextrous combatant immediately retreats, exclaiming, as he flies, "Let Mr. Cox produce one single instance of such baptism as he practises, the adult descendants of believers, either from Scripture or any ecclesiastical history, or a single case in the New Testament of immersion baptism, and we concede him the victory." I answer, the baptism I practise is the baptism of adults, irrespectively of the question whether they are or are not the de

is

scendants of believers; and to this baptism I am directed by every precept and precedent of the New Testament. Not only, again, "immersion baptism” mentioned in a single case; there is no other described in the New Testament, as I have largely shown from the word itself; the places where baptism was practised, the nature of the proceeding, and all the direct and incidental allusions. But "from Scripture or ecclesiastical history I cannot produce an example of the baptism of the adult descendants of believers, or if I do the victory shall be conceded!" Take then the following:-Ambrose was born of Christian parents, was instructed in Christian principles, and not baptized till he was chosen Bishop of Milan. Jerome, born of Christian parents, was thirty years of age when he was baptized. Augustine was of full age when he was baptized. Gregory Nazianzen, who was born of Christian parents in 318, and his father a bishop, was not baptized till about thirty years old. Chrysostom, born of Christian parents in 347, had attained nearly twenty-one years of age when he was baptized. Your Reviewer I take to be a man of veracity; will he then fulfil his pledge, his solemn pledge, and "concede to me the VICTORY?" This may be taken as a brief hint to anonymous opponents; if Mr.Ewing, or Dr. Wardlaw, or any man with a name, choose to accept my proposal, I shall know how to proceed more in detail.

As there is no reasoning in the next paragraph about the final burial, I shall, at present, hold my attempted confutation of Mr. Ewing to be unrefuted.

Here I feel thoroughly disposed to close my examination of the review; having omitted to notice two or three passages, because of their irrelevancy, and one or two others, because of their insulting violence

of attack upon the denomination I represent. In humble imitation, however, of the Reviewer's tactics, in leaping from the first page to the last of my book, I shall, for a moment, leap back from the last to the first of his review, just to notice, in conclusion, a most extraordinary paragraph. "We heard of a popular Baptist minister, who lately made the very same assertion from the pulpit—the argument ours-the popular feeling theirs. Whether he borrowed it from Mr. C.'s newly published volume we cannot say, but when, after the service, this allthe-argument-man was called upon by a Pædobaptist minister, who was present, for a vindiction of his brag, he was constrained to feel that he had much less than he imagined, to confess that he had not been aware how much argument there was on the other side, and to promise a closer attention to the subject in future." These are pretty tales for the amusement of children, and I am sorry that your Reviewer should have thought so meanly of his Padobaptist friends to suppose they

a story which carries suspicion on the very face of it. We heard;and so you will calumniate an individual or a body on report-some gossip's misrepresentation! A popular Baptist minister constrained to feel, and to confess, and to promise, and so forth-at the first onset! What-strike at once on the first summons! 1s it credible? Is it possible? "Weak" as some of us may be, I think our popular Baptist ministers are not weak enough for this! I know not how to believe it; and have no right to do so without some tangible evidence. An anonymous statement of an anonymous occurrence may serve the purpose of slander, but will never carry with it the force of truth. "This," it is however added, " is not a solitary case within our own knowledge." I am certainly surprised-I dare not severely retort, but unless names and places are produced, I am a sceptic still.

I am, Gentlemen,
Yours very truly,

F. A. Cox.

would be amused by such a story- Hackney, November 8, 1824.

Miscellanea.

To the Editors of the Baptist Magazine. professing Christians, agreeing with us

DEAR SIRS,

as to ADULTS only being the proper subjects of baptism;-and when last in England, he kindly consented to furnish a compendions account of his tra vels, in a series of letters, for insertion in the Baptist Magazine. Persuaded that they will prove highly interesting, I have much pleasure in handing you the first of these communications, which has just reached me from Brussels.

Many of your readers are aware that the Rev. W. H. Angus has visited various parts of the Continent, partly with a view to advance the interests of the Baptist Missionary Society, of the Committee of which he is a member, and partly to exert himself for the spiritual benefit of seamen, among whom many of his earlier years were spent. In his varions and extensive journies, he discovered large bodies of Fen-court, Jan. 1, 1825. VOL. XVII.

J. D.

No. 1.
Bruxelles, Dec. 20, 1924.

MY DEAR BROther,

I sit down to redeem my pledge, to furnish, for the Magazine, a series of detail of a journey through Holland, &c. in connexion with the Mission. I must, however, begin by stating, that my first residence on the Continent, was solely with a view to prosecute the study of the French and Dutch languages, in order, some future day, to advance the spiritual welfare of seamen. A stay of some months in Rotterdam, brought me into a most pleasing acquaintance with Mr.Meschaert, pastor of the Menonite Baptist Church in that place. Previous to this, I had thought the denomination was confined entirely to England and America. From Mr. M. however, I learned, that there were not only thirty thousand Baptists in Holland, but that their churches were scattered over different parts of the European Continent, in goodly number. It was scarcely possible that a piece of intelligence, to me at once so new and valuable, could fail of soon giving birth to the project of one day bringing this interesting class of Christians into connexion with their English brethren, and so, if possible, to engage them in the good work of faith, and labour of love, among the heathen.

Shortly after my return to England, having been absent for nearly three years, I thought it somewhat extraordinary that I should hear, by letter, from Brother Anderson, of Edinburgh, of Mr. Ward, and his intention to visit the Continent, for the objects of the Mission, provided I would accompany him. It easily occurred how greatly the end of such a journey would be promoted by the appearance in person of one of the Mission's brightest ornaments. On a little further reflection, I concluded, that now was the right time to carry into execution my long formed project. (I think these circumstances worthy of being related, as they mark in a peculiar manner, the leadings of a mysterious Providence in the case.) In a post or two, therefore, every thing was decided upon relative to the journey intended.

Accordingly we both embarked, August 10, 1820, with a fine promising breeze, and were at the mouth of the

Thames, at anchor, the same evening; but the wind flying round in the night to the eastward, and bringing in with it so high a sea, obliged us to run from our anchorage to Sheerness harbour. Here we rode in shelter four days. The day we put to sea again, our vessel struck, in her course down the North Channel, upon the hook of the Gunfleet Sand; but, there being fortunately a smooth sea, and a flood tide, we came off nearly as we went on. In two days more, the Dutch coast was in sight; but the captain mistook Scheveling for the Brill, and overshot his port. This error was discovered by one of the passengers, a Dutch fisherman, whose knowledge of the coast the captain doubted at first, until the other exclaimed, in bad English, and in a tone of self-confidence and dipleasure:

Vat, I not know mine own town? I knows it so as myn right hand." To recover the ground lost by this oversight, it took a day and a night's contending against a high wind, and a higher sea, before we arrived at Rotterdam, the tenth day. The distance has been performed in two. In the unusual length of the passage, the smallness of the vessel, her crowded state, both as to passengers and goods, our close and scanty accommodations, in all this there was sufficient to unhinge any one in a much more perfect state of health than our dear, and now, departed brother Ward; but his deportment the whole way through was altogether so lovely, that I shall never look back upon these ten days spent on the waters, without associating therewith sentiments of the most delightful kind.

For lack of leisure, let this suffice for the present; whilst, in the hope of following up the above details,

I remain, yours most truly,

W. H. ANGUS.

N. B. I make no apology for having here used the term Baptist, in referrence to the Menonites, since, in the different parts of Europe, (except in France, where they are very numerous,) in the title-pages of all their religious books I have ever seen, as well as from their account of themselves, it is sufficiently evident that they are known as much by the one of these names as by the other. In France they afe called, or rather miscalled, Anabaptists.

Familiar Illustrations of the sacred then rushed into my arms and burst

Writings.

No. I.

"Deut. xxxiii. 19. “ They shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand."

"Afflictions teach us the worth of our Bibles. The Bible is [comparatively] but an insipid book before afflictions bring us to feel the want of it, and then how many comfortable passages do we find, which lay neglected and unknown before! I recollect an instance in the history of some who fled from this country to that, then wild desert, America. Among many other hardships, they were sometimes in such straits for bread, that the very crusts of their former tables in England would have been a dainty to them. Necessity drove the women and children to the sea. side, to look for a ship, expected to bring them provision: but no ship, for many weeks, appeared;-however, they saw in the sand vast quantities of shell-fish, since called clams, a kind of muscle. Hunger compelled them to taste, and at length they almost fed wholly on them, and to their own astonishment were as cheerful, fat, and lasty, as they had been in England, with their fill of the best provisions. A worthy man, one day, after they had all dined on clams without bread, returned thanks to God for causing them to "suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand;"-a passage of scripture till then unobserved by the company, but which ever after endeared the writings of Moses

to them."

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into tears. I could sooner have cut off my arm than have then struck him for his fault: he had taken hold of my strength, and he had made peace with me.' TOLLER.

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Ir is argued, that as all the males in a household were commanded to be circumcised, so, from the same mode of expression being used, are we not naturally to conclude, that all the children of a Christian parent ought to be baptized? But are a man's children the only members of what is called his household;-does not this include his wife as well as his children? Now, when a man's household is said to be from its nature, been exclusively applicircumcised, if this ordinance had not, cable to males, can we suppose that

the wife would not have been included

in the household as well as the children? While, then, females are to be baptized, if the old law of applying the ordinance to a man's household is to be observed, must it not include the wife as well as the children? But how does this comport with the apostle, speaking of a believing husband having an unbelieving wife? The apostle commands such a believer to remain with her. Here, then, is an unbeliever, one of his household, and she must cither be baptized, though an unbeliever, or it must be admitted that the law of circumcision, which required that this rite be administered to all the members of a man's household, who were capable of receiving it, is a law which, in the case of Christian baptism, is not to be applied.

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