March 20, 2000 (Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061-0368, fbns@wayoflife.org) -- The following is an excerpt from A General History of the Baptist Denomination in America by David Benedict. This was first published in 1813 and is currently out of print. We have published this extremely valuable two-volume work in the Way of Life Electronic Baptist History Library on the web [http://www.wayoflife.org]. The electronic edition of Benedict’s History of the Baptists will also be included in the Fundamental Baptist Library on CD-ROM which we are preparing. The target publication date is September 2000. It is designed to work both for IBM and Macintosh computer systems. We will give more information on this upcoming CD in coming months, the Lord willing. The following excerpt from Benedict is from volume 1, chapter 2:

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The whole account of baptism in the New Testament is plain and intelligible, and the state of this ordinance, during the lives of the apostles, is to be gathered mostly from the book of Acts, written by Luke, the first ecclesiastical historian. It extends from the ascension of Christ to the residence of Paul at Rome, a space of more than thirty years. "In this book there are frequent narrations of the baptism of believers, as of Cornelius, the Ethiopian eunuch, and others, but not one infant appears in the whole history; yet, no doubt, some christians had married, and had young families within the thirty years between the ascension of Jesus and the settlement of Paul at Rome. There is no mention of any of the ceremonies, which modern christians have affixed to baptism: no consecration of water, no sprinkling, no use of oils and unguents, no sponsors, no kneeling in the water, no catechumen-state, no giving a name, no renunciation of any demon, none of the innumerable additional, which, under pretense of adorning, have obscured the glory of this heavenly institute. It belongs to those who practice such additions, to say how they came by them, and under what master they serve."

From writers of unquestionable authority, it is evident, that the primitive christians continued to baptize in rivers, pools, and baths, until about the middle of the 3rd century. Justin Martyr says, that they went with the catechumens to a place where there was water, and Tertullian adds, that the candidates for baptism made a profession of faith twice, once in the church, and then again when they came to the water, and it was quite indifferent whether it were the sea, or a pool, a lake, or a river, or a bath. Such are the accounts given by Justin Martyr in his Apology, and by Tertullian on baptism as quoted by Robinson.

The sacrament of baptism, says Mosheim, was administered in the first century, without the public assemblies, in places appointed and prepared for that purpose, and was performed by immersion of the whole body in the baptismal fount. [Ecclesiastical History, Philadelphia edition, vol. 1. p. 126.]

Had the professed disciples of Jesus Christ always maintained this plain and significant rite, according to its primitive form, the history of baptism would have been short, and an account of persons baptized, and the reasons and circumstances of their baptism would have composed it. But now the case is far different. The fancies, the passions, and interests of mankind, have so perverted this heavenly institute, that its history has become difficult and voluminous; and so greatly has it been varied, abused, and prostituted, that in different parts of its progress, you see no resemblance of its original form, except that some portion of the element of water is applied to animal beings in human shape. And since so large a portion of the christian world has received by inheritance a counterfeit baptism, which they will not give up, he, who would plead for that, which is apostolical and pure, must work his way against ten thousand opponents, all armed with different weapons of defense, some forcible and some futile, but none of them capable of producing the least conviction upon an enlightened and conscientious mind.

We must now leave the apostolical and primitive ages, for a wide wilderness of obscurity and error; and in going over it, we shall but just glance at the most remarkable occurrences, which present themselves to our view.

The history of baptism naturally divides itself into two branches; the one regards the subjects, and the other the mode. These two branches, we shall, for the most part, treat separately; but, in some cases, it will be proper to speak of them in connection.

The limits of this sketch are so short, and the incidents to be thrown together so numerous and varied, that the transitions must of necessity be frequent, and they may not always be the most easy; but I trust, that in the end, every unprejudiced reader will be convinced, that believers’ baptism is an institution of Jesus Christ, and that infant sprinkling is an invention of men.

The subjects of baptism deserve first to be considered. We have already seen that believing men and women were the only persons baptized by John and the apostles of our Lord. From the Acts of the Apostles, from the Epistles, and from the book of Revelation, it appears that upwards of sixty churches were gathered by the apostles and primitive preachers. These churches were constituted of Jews, Proselytes, and Pagans; we have an account of many of their names, characters, and baptisms, but no mention is made of the baptism of infants, and on no occasion do infants appear.

A Roman Catholic does not hesitate to acknowledge, that infant baptism is a human tradition; but he can prove that it has been established by law that is sufficient for his purpose, and there is an end of the business with him. But most protestants are unwilling to make this honest confession. They persist that it is found in the Bible, and their attempts to prove it have cost them an almost infinite deal of labor, which, after all, is to no purpose.

Irenaeus is represented as saying, The church received a tradition from the apostles to administer baptism to little children or infants. Irenaeus lived in the second century; he is said to have been a disciple of Polycarp, and Polycarp was a disciple of John the Evangelist. This would seem to be getting within between one and two hundred years of the point. But Dr. John Gill challenged the whole literary world to produce such a passage from the writings of Irenaeus. It was afterwards acknowledged that Origen, of the third century, and not Irenaeus of the second, was the writer intended. [Backus’ History, vol. 2. p, 238]

But it is generally supposed that Tertullian of Africa, in the third century, is the first writer who makes any mention of infant baptism, and he, (says Dr. Gill) opposed it. But his opposition is considered by Pedo-baptists as evidence in the case. If, say they, infant baptism was not then practiced, why did this father oppose it? But others make very different reflections on the subject. The catechumen state had arisen to some degree of maturity in the third century. Catechumens were those who were put into a class to be catechized and instructed into the first rudiments of christianity, and when they had acquired a certain degree of knowledge, or had been in a catechumen state a certain time, they were baptized. This method of making christians is supposed to have originated at Alexandria in Egypt, and from thence in process of time, spread over the christian world. Nothing of this catechumen state is found in the New Testament, and at what time it commenced, I have not been able to learn; but it was probably towards the close of the second, or in the beginning of the third century. It gained maturity in its progress, and continued a popular and prevalent establishment, so long as it was needful. Catechumens were generally persons in a state of minority; sometimes, however, those of mature age were enrolled among the children, and when christianity became a political engine, princes were added to the lists, and were catechized awhile before they were baptized. The catechumen state continued as long as minors were the subjects of baptism, but when it was found out by the skillful priests, that infants came into the world crying for baptism, and that they would be doomed to eternal perdition if they should die without it, the business of catechizing became not only useless, but impracticable; godfathers and godmothers stood forward to answer all the questions which children used to answer for themselves; they took the whole responsibility of their faithfulness upon themselves, and promised what was never or seldom performed, either by the children or sponsors. The catechumen state being thus superseded by a more expeditious method of making christians, it dwindled away and fell into disuse.

It is easy to conceive, that among catechized children, some would be more forward than the rest, and of course would be prepared for baptism at an earlier age. A French Catholic writer observes, that he saw a little child in the country, who, at seven years of age, would promiscuously open the Greek Testament, and read and explain it with facility. "I heard," says he, "of two other infants, brother and sister, the one nine years of age, the other eleven or twelve, speak Greek and Latin perfectly well." A little superstition, of which there are numberless curious instances, added to such cases, handed baptism downwards from minors to babes. A monumental inscription in Italy informs the reader, that Joanna Baptista de Peruschis, daughter of Alexander de Peruschis, and Beatfix Gorzei, when she was only six months old, mostly, sweetly, and freely pronounced the name of Jesus every day before she sucked the breast, and mostly, devoutly adored the images of the saints. [Robinson’s Hist. Baptism, p. 157, 158.]

It seems pretty clear, that forward children laid the foundation for infant baptism, but other and more powerful motives hastened its progress, as we shall presently show.

But to return: In Tertullian’s time some had begun, or were about beginning to baptize infants, that is, minors, who could ask for baptism. When Tertullian was informed of this business, he wrote a book to oppose it, in which we find the following passage. "The condescension of God may confer his favors as he pleases; but our wishes may mislead ourselves and others. It is, therefore, most expedient to defer baptism, and to regulate the administration of it, according to the condition, the disposition, and the age of the person to be baptized; and especially in the case of little ones. [The word, here translated little ones, is, in the original parvulos, which we shall show presently, was used then for minors, who might be of every age under twenty-one.] What necessity is there to expose sponsors to danger? Death may incapacitate them for fulfilling their engagements; or bad dispositions may defeat all their endeavors. Indeed, the Lord saith, forbid them not to come unto me; and let them come while they are growing up, let them come and learn, and let them be instructed when they come, and when they understand christianity, let them profess themselves christians."

In the year 1700, Dr. Mather, one of the Massachusetts divines, complained that there were reports, that some of the Congregational churches received members on the strength of written relations of their religious experience, which had been dictated by their ministers. This was a strange thing in his day, and it would doubtless have shocked and grieved this good old man, if he could have foreseen that the churches of his order, would, in a short time after, get to receiving members, without any relations either written or verbal, and that some would hold that a minister who knew himself destitute of saving grace, might preach the gospel and administer its ordinances. [Backus’ History, vol. 2. p. 26-33.]

So Tertullian had but just heard the report of the innovations which were about to be introduced in the Church of Christ. He had but some faint intimations of that flood of error, in regard to baptism, which, in a few succeeding centuries, deluged the christian world.

But before we proceed, it may be proper to subjoin the testimony of two following Pedo-baptist writers. The first is a learned divine of Geneva, who succeeded the famous Episcopius in the professorship at Amsterdam, in the seventeenth century. This learned writer thus frankly acknowledges: "Pedo-baptism was unknown in the two first ages after Christ; in the third and fourth it was approved by a few; at length, in the fifth and following it began to obtain in divers places; and therefore this rite is indeed observed by us as an ancient custom, but not as an apostolic tradition." The other is Bishop Taylor, who calls infant baptism "a pretended apostolical tradition;" but further says, "that the tradition cannot be proved to be apostolical, we have very good evidence from antiquity" [Baldwin’s Letters to Worcester, p. 167, 168]. These are honest and fair concessions, and if all Pedo-baptists would make the same, their cause would stand on as good a foundation as it now does, and they would save themselves much labor and care.

The account of Tertullian’s opposing the baptism of little ones, who were capable of asking for it, but who, in his opinion, were not sufficiently enlightened to be admitted to the sacred rite, was in the beginning of the third century. About the middle of this century, that is, about forty years after the account of Tertullian, the people in Africa had got baptism down from catechized minors to new-born babes, and Fidus, a country bishop, wrote to Cyprian of Carthage, to know whether children might be baptized before they were eight days old, for by his Bible he could not tell; nor could Cyprian tell, without first consulting a council or association of bishops, which was about to be assembled. When the council met, which consisted of between sixty or seventy bishops, after some other business had been transacted, Fidus’ question was brought before them. Fidus thought that infants ought to be baptized at eight days old, because the law of circumcision prescribed this time. "No," replied the council, "God denies grace to none; Jesus came not to destroy men’s lives, but to save them, and we ought to do all we can to save our fellow creatures. Besides," added they, "God would be a respecter of persons if he denied to infants what he grants to adults. Did not the prophet Elisha lay upon a child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands? Now the spiritual sense of this is, that infants are equal to men; but if you refuse to baptize them, you destroy this equality, and are partial" [Robinson’s History of Baptism, p. 197].

Some other questions were agitated respecting newborn infants, which might do well enough for African bishops to discuss, but which might be somewhat offensive to a modern ear.

The reader may here see, what kind of arguments were used at first to support infant baptism, and it must be acknowledged that they are about as good as ever have been discovered since.

We hear but little more about infant baptism, until the fifth century, that is, until the year 416, when it was decreed in the COUNCIL OF MELA, of which St. Austin was the principal director, "That whosoever denieth that infants newly born of their mothers are to be baptized, let him be accursed." ["An honest indication," says Robinson, "rises at the sound of this tyranny, and if a man were driven to the necessity of choosing one saint out of two candidates, it would not be Saint Austin, it would be Saint Balaam, the son of Bosor, who, indeed, loved the wages of unrighteousness, as many other saints have done, but with all his madness, had respect enough for the Deity to say, How shall I curse whom God hath not cursed?"]

This council is generally supposed to have been held at Mela, in Numidia, now in the kingdom of Algiers. According to others it was held in the island of Malta. Thirteen years after this council, this part of Africa was overrun by the Vandals, and the Catholics here were dispersed, and some of them fled into Europe, and carried with them infant-baptism, superstition, and intolerance.

As Africa has been frequently mentioned in the preceding narrative, it may be proper to observe what part of that dark quarter of the globe is intended. A person, acquainted with ecclesiastical history, will need no explanation, but others, into whose hands this work may fall, may desire one.

Africa, which is now generally in a deplorable state of ignorance, once contained a number of civilized kingdoms, famous for commerce and the liberal arts. Among these Carthage was probably the most distinguished. It was situated on the north of Africa, along the southern shore of the Mediterranean sea, where are now the Barbary States of Tunis, Algiers, and so on. Carthage once vied with Rome in power; but it was finally subdued by her, and reduced to a province. It was overrun by the Vandals in the fifth century, and by the Saracens in the seventh; and from that period, Mahometanism has been the established religion of the country. In this part of Africa, christianity was planted in early times, and here too it was early corrupted. Here, and not in Judea, infant baptism originated, as is evident to every candid investigator of historical facts. The limits of this sketch will not permit us to give a circumstantial account of the progress of the baptism of babes; but it is sufficient to observe, that it gained ground, at first, by slow degrees, so strongly did scripture and reason operate against it; but having enlisted on its side, the interested views of priests and princes, and the tender feelings of anxious mothers, who were taught to believe, that their babes would be doomed to the gulf of ruin, if they died without this renovating rite, then called the laver of regeneration; under these circumstances, infant-baptism began most rapidly to prevail, and in a few centuries overrun the whole catholic church.

We have seen that infant baptism arose in Africa, that the baptism of minors began to be practiced in the beginning of the third century, and that the baptism of newborn babes was determined under awful anathemas, by Saint Austin’s council at Mela, in the fifth century. But its entrance into Europe is of a later date. The first ecclesiastical canon in Europe, for infant baptism, was framed at Girona in Spain in the sixth century, and the first imperial law to establish the practice, was made in the eighth century, by the Emperor Charlemagne. The council at Girona consisted of only seven obscure bishops, who met without authority, but who legislated with some effect, for people began to be concerned about the salvation of their children. This council framed ten rules of discipline. One was, "that catechumens should be baptized only at Easter and Pentecost, except in case of sickness; and another was, that in case infants were ill and would not suck their mother’s milk, if they were offered, to baptize them, even though it were the day they were born." Charlemagne’s law to establish infant baptism was almost three hundred years after this council. The practice was then generally prevalent, and this Emperor, for political purposes, obliged the Saxons, on pain of death, to be baptized themselves, and laid heavy fines on those who should neglect to have their children baptized within the year of their birth. [Robinson’s History of Baptism, p. 269--282.]

Now priests had no further trouble to vindicate the cause of infant baptism, popes and princes had undertaken to manage the cause; it was established by laws civil and ecclesiastical, and if any dared to oppose it, fire and sword ended the dispute.