The Plea for Infants and Elder People Concerning their Baptism, Part 1 · Section
OF THE TESTIMONIE OF THE fathers concerning the baptiſing of infants.
HErevnto I will adioyne ſome teſtimonies of the fathers, not to prove that children ought to be baptiſed, which is to be done, & is by the ſcriptures already proved: but to ſhew the practiſe hereof in auncient Churches. Auguſtine (as I find alledged) writing to Ierome. epiſt. 28. ſayth, Cyprian not making any new decree. but firmely obſerving the faith of the Church iudged with his fellow Biſhops, that as ſoone as one was borne, he might lawfully be baptiſed. See Cyprian epiſt. to Fidus. And writing againſt the Donatiſts, lib. 4. cap. 23. & 24. ſayth, that the baptiſme of infants was not derived from the authoritie of man, neither of counſels, but from the tradition or doctrine of the Apoſtles. Ciril, vponupon Lev. Cha: 8. approveth the baptiſme of infants and condemneth the iteration of baptiſme. Origine vponupon the Rom. ſayth, that the Church received baptiſme of infants from the Apoſtles. Nazianzenus in Orat. in S. Lavacrum. 3. ſayth, that baptiſme agreeth to everie age, to every condition of life, to all men if thou hast an infant, it is ſanctified from his infancy, yea from the finger ends it is conſecrated. After he ſayth: ſome man wil ſay what ſayeſt thou of infants which neither know what grace is nor payne, what ſhal we baptiſe thoſe? & he anſwers, yea verily. Amb. lib. 2. de Abraham cha. 11. Speaking of baptiſme, ſayth, neyther old man nor Proſelyte, nor infant is to be excepted, becauſe every age is guilty of ſinne and therefore stands need of the Sacrament. Theſe & many other of the fathers do beare witneſſe according to the Scriptures of the lawfulnes of the baptiſing of infants.
Mr. Smyth.
And for concluſion you produce the fathers: I ſay that the producing of fathers, who all of them held plenty of Antichriſtian hereſies, ſhall availe you nothing in your cauſe, and you that deny the teſtimonie of fathers contrary to the Scriptures, how can you with any colour produce fathers againſt vsus in caſe contrary to the Scriptures &c.
R. Clifton
I plead not for the errors of the fathers, but for the truthes which they held according to the Scriptures; And where you charge them to hold plē tie of antichriſtian hereſies, you tax them very deeply, and you that ſo cenſure others, had need to judge your ſelfe, otherwiſe the Lord wil find out a ſentence againſt you. Alſo I deſire you to ſhew where I produce the teſtimonie of the fathers contrary to the Scriptures? you are growen to be very careles what you affirm. For my producing of the fathers againſt you, I do not recall that I have done, ſeing theire teſtimonie is the truth, who ſhew the practiſe of their times, according to the Scriptures.
I know the device of your producing of fathers, viz. 1. to ſet a gloſſe vponupon your antichriſtian hereſy of baptiſiing infants. 2. to draw the world into diſlike of the Lords truth. But if any ſhould produce teſtimonies of the fathers againſt your ſeparation againſt you in the caſe of Prelacy &c. what would you anſwere, would you not ſay they are teſtimonies of men living in corrupt tymes, &c. even ſo ſay I to you &c.
Here I charge you with blaſpheming the ordinance of Chriſt in calling the baptiſing of infants, antichriſtiā hereſy, †Eſay. 5.wo to him that ſpeaks evil of good. 2 with ſinne, in ſaying it is my device to produce the fathers to ſet a gloſſe vponupon my antichriſtian hereſy, &c. for were it a falſeſhod that I defend (as I know it is not) yet know you that my ſoule is free from ſuch wicked intention to produce the fathers in that behalf. It is one thing to produce the teſtimony of the fathers witneſſing the truth according to the ſcripture, & another, for the defence of errors: the latter we reiect, & you take vp, but the former we approve and you condemne. And although we are not to build our fayth vponupon the fathers; yet for matter of fact done in their tymes we may give credit to their report: and ſo theire teſtimonie ſerves to prove ſomething, namely to ſhew the practiſe of their tymes to which end I did alledge them, and that is not to confeſſe that they prove nothing as you charge me. And ſay Remember that, and let al men take notice, that you produce testimonies, that you ſay prove nothing. And I pray you remember with what ſpirit you writ theſe words.
But why do you produce testimonies of the fathers, forſooth to ſhew the practiſe of ancient Churches. But all theſe Churches were Antichriſtian by your owne confeſſion, &c.
Yea Sir, I do produce them to ſhew the practiſe of Auncient Churches, whoſe teſtimonies is not ſo lightly reiected, ſave of you and ſuch like, that condemne all Churches for antichriſtian, except ſuch heritical Synagoges as your owne is. As concerning theſe ancient Churches in the firſt two hundred yeares after Chriſt, albeit ſome deviſes of men crept in, and as they grew elder ſo increaſed, yet that they were Antichriſtian, where have you my confeſſion? it is ſtrange that you dare affirme ſuch untruthes. And for anticihrſtiā antiquitie & vniverſality, I could wiſh you were as free frō Anabaptiſtical novelitie, as I am frō approving of any error or ſuperſtito eyth… …o… the antiquitie or univerſalitie of it, the truth we defēd needs no ſuch Popiſh propps: but yet antiquitie (when the thing is found to be true that is ancient) is not lightly to be regarded ſeing the truth is more auncient then error. And although you eſteeme not of the teſtimony of the fathers witneſ…ng againſt you, yet hauehave you ſummoned togeither ſuch men as you thought would give any contenance to your error, to batle againſt both the Scriptures and them: but their teſtimony doth little pleaſure you, as ſhall appeare by the examination of the particulars. The firſt you alledge is. Henr-Pantal…on …Chro. fol. 6. who ſaith, that Ʋictor Apher. anno 193. ordeyned that a… Eaſter it ſhould be indifferently administred to all, wherevpon I gather, that before his time onelyonly ſuch as were catechiſed in the faith were baptiſed, for he would not decree that heathen ſhould be baptiſed.
This man (I take his words upon your report) doth mention Victors decree for the time of adminiſtration of baptiſme to all yong and old, viz at Eaſter. But would any but you inferre hereupon, that baptiſme was not adminiſtred before this time to infants? You might aſwel ſay that before that time it was not adminiſtred to the elder ſort, for he ſpeakes in generall of the perſons to be baptiſed. Victor brings not in baptiſing of infants, which was then the Churches practiſe, but preſcribes a certaine time for the general adminiſtration of that ſacrament: as Gelaſius did the like, anno 494. That infāts were baptiſed before Victors time, appeareth by that…eliques …e, p. … 96. …bius. * of Higinius, who decreed that children which were to be baptiſed ſhould hauehave a Godfather and a Godmother: Anno 143. Higinius lived before Victor, about 50. yeres. Your next, Euſebius Hiſt. lib. 7. cap. 8. ſaith that Novatus reiected the holy baptiſme and overthrew the faith and confeſſion which was accuſtomed before baptiſme: whereby it appeareth that faith and confeſſion were required before baptiſme: and therefore the rudiments thereof ſtill remaine that in the baptiſing of infants, a confeſſion of ſinne and faith is required of the ſuretie or parents.
That confeſſion was required before the baptiſing of men growne to yeres and newly come to the faith is not denyed, and more then this can not be gathered from Euſebius words as you ſet them downe. But what is this againſt the baptiſing of infants? Howbeit I find not this of Novatus in Lib. 7. chap. 8. but in that chapter mention is made of a certayne faithful brother that being preſent when ſome were baptiſed and heard what was demanded and what was anſwered, weeping, &c. began to confeſse that he had otherwiſe received baptiſme of Hereticks, &c. Now if he was baptiſed of Hereticks without confeſſion of his faith, it was contrary to the practiſe of the Church, & of the Apoſtles concerning ſuch as came newly to the faith.
Euſebius eccleſiaſtical hiſt. lib. 6. c. 33. thus writeth of No…atus, that …e being vexed with an vncleane spirit in his youth, and having▪ ſpent▪ ſ…me … with Exorciſts, fel into a great ſicknes, and lying in his bed, for neceſſity he was baptiſed, neither any of thoſe things which were accustomed to follow baptiſme w…re ſo…nly fulfilled, &c.
As for the rudiments of this confeſſion, which you ſay ſtill remaynes, therevnto I anſwer, that this practiſe is a kind of imitation of that which was obſerved in former times towards them of yeres: and it may be that the parents which brought their childten to be baptiſed did make ſome ſhort confeſsion of their faith (for of confeſſing of ſyn is no ſtep remayning that I know, onelyonly a promiſe to forſake ſinne) which after did grow (as other things) into corruption.
Againe, you alledge Euſebius lib. 10. cap. 15. reporting a ſtory of one that did baptiſe children in ſport, and that Alexander Biſhop of Alexandria, though d…ne in ſport, yet finding that the children had questioned and anſwered according to the manner of the catechumeni in baptiſme, did approue it, whereby it appeareth that then onelyonly perſons by confeſſion of their faith and ſinnes were admitted to baptiſme in Alexandria.
This ſtorie I doe not find in that chapter before quoted, but ſuch a like in chap. 14. yet both your written copie and printed book, appoints to cha. 15,
If you meane that of Athanaſius baptiſing of certaine Catechumeni, lib. 10. c. 14. I anſwere that thoſe children ſo baptiſed ſeeme not to be any children of the Church but ſome of the heathen which with their parents were inſtructed in the faith, but not yet in communion or baptiſed. Againe, in that they being thus baptiſed were by the Biſhop delivered to his Church toAthanaſ… vero at… eos &c. … vocatis p… rētibus ſ… Dei obte… tione trad… eccleſiae ſu… nutrien… to be brough up, their parents thereto conſenting: which conſent the Biſhop needed not to hauehave required, or ſo committed thoſe children to be educated, if they and their parents had bene already of the Church, for to them then had this care apperteyned. Beſides if none but the elder ſort had bene baptiſed (which by that which is here obiected is not proved) yet was this but the practiſe of one particular Church which might be tainted with that error about baptiſing of infants, as Tertullian and ſome others were in thoſe times.
Next you alledge Hoſeus Petricov. Confeſ. de fide cap. 27. ſaying, that theſe 2. Apoſtolical traditions which the Scripture teacheth not, viz, that there are 3. perſons and one God, and that Dionyſius & Origin do testifie baptiſme of infants to be an Apostolical traditiō. Now you know their Apoſt. traditions were antichriſtiā inventiōs.
This witneſſe wil do you little pleaſure: for as he calleth the baptiſing of infants a tradition, ſo doth he the Trinitie, which the ſcripture doth manifeſtly teach in ſundry places. Now if you accept not his teſtimonie in calling the Trinitie a tradition, why do you produce him againſt baptiſing of infants? Beſides though this man was a Papiſt, yet is his witneſſe with us, for calling the baptiſme of infants an Apoſtolical traditiō, he meanes as the Papiſts do, ſuch doctrines of the Apoſtles as were not written which they hold equall with the ſcriptures. Againe, this he ſayth is ſo called by Dioniſius and Origen, who underſtood thereby the doctrine of the Apoſtles: And thoſe Apoſtolical traditiōs (whereof you dream) were not in their times in eſſe.
Polydore Ʋirgil, you bring in alſo to teſtifie, that it was the uſe with the Auncients, that perſons of yeres (ſere) in a manner ſhould be baptiſed clad with white garments &c. and this was performed at Eaſter and Whitſontide, &c.
This witnes tels us that it was in uſe with the Auncients not onelyonly to baptiſe the elder ſort that turned to the faith, but appointed the n… to be clad in white, & that they were inſtructed until Eaſter, (th…ir time appointed for baptiſm): & theſe it ſeemes were the Catechumeni (for in thoſe former times many had not imbraced the faith) now this autho… ſayth not that children borne in the Church were kept unbaptiſed until they could make profeſſion of their owne faith, whereof our diſpute is.
The wordes of Lactantius (whom you alſo cyte) are generall of yong & old, whoſe teſtimonie may ſerve to fil up the number, but proves not your deſire, his words you ſet downe thus Candidu… egreditur nitidis exer…itus undis: atque vetus vitium purgat in amne novo, which may be underſtood of infants as well as of the elder ſort.
Concerning Lodovicus Vives, vponupon Auguſt. de Civit. Dei cap. 27. (if…dovicus …ves flo… anno …4…. …d in R. …r. 8. his …, as did … Eraſm. he have words tending to any ſuch purpoſe for which you alledge him,) ſeing he is but a late writer, I would know out of which of the Auncients he proveth that he ſayth, certainly frō that place of Auguſtine he can gather no ſuch thing as you ſet downe in his name.
Laſtly, you cite Eraſmus in his annotations vponupon the fift of the Romanes▪ to ſay, That in Pauls time it was not received, that infants ſhould be baptiſed.
Eraſmus brings no proof for that he ſayth, and therefore being of ſo late time, what is his witnes againſt ſo many fathers, teſtifying the contrarie. Thus in alledging of him and the reſt, you ſhew the weaknes of your cauſe, that have not one auncient father directly to vvitnes with you, but are driven to call them to vvitnes that in this thing vvere of contrary judgment to your ſelfe.