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1 BAPTISM :A TREATISEON THENATURE, PERPETUITY, SUBJECTS, ADMINISTRATOR,MODE, AND USEOF THEINITIATING ORDINANCEOF THEC hristian AN APPENDIX,CONTAINING STRICTURES ON DR. HOWELL'S "EVILS OF INFANTBAPTISM," THOMAS O. AND REVISED , TENN.:PUBLISHING HOUSE OF THE CHURCH, & SMITH, Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1852, byJOHN EARLYin the Clerk's office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. TO BISHOP AND DEAR SIR:So numerous are the works on BAPTISM at the present day so worthless are themost of them so humble are the claims of the author of the following treatise,that he has not been without some unpleasant apprehensions in regard to its fate,if committed to the press.

2 He has, therefore, concluded to adopt an expedient, notunfrequently resorted to in similar cases: that is to say, to send forth hisunpretending little book under the protection of a name, far wider known andmore esteemed than his own. When it is seen that the patronage of one of theBishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, is thus far extended to thework, the public perhaps may consider it not altogether unworthy of notice. Theauthor, indeed, has other reasons for this inscription, but they are of such acomplexion as to justify their omission in this place, as considerations of personalesteem and the like need not be detailed in the front of a somewhat acquainted with his inclinations and aversions, you maywonder, perhaps, that he should write a work on BAPTISM .

3 He has but little tastefor polemic theology, especially when "mint, and anise, and cummin" are thesubjects of debate; and yet he is plunging into a controversy which seems toinvolve nothing else, having apparently but a remote relation to "the weightiermatters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith." To say the least, he has placedhimself in a paradoxical position; and a word or two in regard to this point maynot be uncalled for or considered in bad question may be asked, Have we not already works enough on BAPTISM ?He of course will give a negative answer, otherwise the following treatise wouldnot be added to the catalogue. The reasons which have influenced him in thepremises are briefly these: 1. He has been earnestly requested, by those whose opinion he holds in highesteem, to write a work on For several years he has been collecting materials on this subject, andcanvassing it in its various relations at first, for the rectifying or confirming ofhis own mind, and then for the more intelligent and profitable exercise of hisfunctions as a minister of Christ, who ought "to know the certainty of those thingswherein" he has "been instructed" himself, and wherein he has to instruct result of this prolonged investigation is an approach to "certainty," as nearperhaps as can be admitted in a question of this sort.

4 He is satisfied with thearguments adduced in favor of the views which he entertains in regard to theNature, Perpetuity, Subjects, Administrator, Mode, and Use of BAPTISM ; and hecan hardly imagine that they will not prove equally satisfactory to any one elsewho will give them a candid and careful examination. In the hope and belief thatsome inquiring minds of this character will peruse this treatise, he has compliedwith the importunity of his friends in allowing it to appear in Many of the works on BAPTISM which teem from the press are utterlyworthless the most of them advocating erroneous principles, sometimes, indeed,affecting the fundamentals of Christianity. The style and spirit too, in not a fewinstances, are highly objectionable not the slightest regard being given to theapostolic rule of speaking the truth in love.

5 The spread of such works is of mostpernicious tendency; and if the issue of the present volume will, to any extent,restrict their circulation, the author has not labored in Although there are many valuable tracts and treatises on the Subjects ofBaptism and also on the Mode, yet, so far as the author is aware, there is nomanual in circulation which discusses all the matters embraced in the followingtreatise; and he is of opinion that there are points involved in the question of theAdministrator of BAPTISM of no small interest to Christians in general and toministers in particular; and the Use of BAPTISM ought not to be considered ofcomparatively small importance; yet these topics are scarcely ever noticed in thepopular works on BAPTISM , and in none of them are they adequately present work is the result of an humble effort to supply this vacancy in ourtheological In most of the works on BAPTISM which the author has noticed, there is eithera servile copying of what others have said before, or else an attempt at originalityby far-fetched arguments and hyper-critical interpretations of Scripture, which notunfrequently jeopard the interests they are designed to defend.

6 The author hasendeavored to avoid both these extremes. He has made himself familiar with theproofs and illustrations of those who are entitled to a hearing, and he has passedthem all through his own mind, subjecting them to the impress of his own reasonand judgment. He is not greatly concerned to know to what extent he is indebtedto others for the conclusions to which he has been conducted, or for the logicalprocesses by which they have been reached. In a work like this, to adduceauthorities for every position advanced, would be a simple absurdity. He has,indeed, given full and correct quotations the ipsissima verba in every instancein which the circumstances of the case seem to require that this should be done,whether the passages are introduced to be controverted or Some works on BAPTISM , in many respects valuable, are sadly defective onthe score of method.

7 To this point the author has paid considerable attention, andhopes that his work will not prove unsatisfactory in the mode of its glance at the Table of Contents and Index will show that this matter has notbeen foregoing reasons, with others that need not be stated, justify to his ownmind the publication of this treatise. He devoutly prays that it may be the meansof satisfying some doubtful and inquiring mind allaying to some extent thefierceness of the baptismal controversy promoting the cause of truth, andadvancing the glory of the ever-blessed Trinity, to whom we have been solemnlyconsecrated in the holy ordinance of may not be improper to observe that the friendly relations which the authormaintains with Christians who dissent from the views set forth in this treatiserespecting the Subjects and Mode of BAPTISM , show that he does not considerthose views so set forth in the Scripture, as that good men may not fail to findthem there.

8 But while he recognizes, in the courtesy of Christian intercourse, thetitle which they have seen proper to claim, yet he hopes they will take no offenseat a variation from this course in a formal treatise on a Christian conceiving that they have no scriptural charter for the monopoly of thisordinance believing, indeed, that they are not so properly "Baptists" as thosewhom they cannot style even "Pedobaptists" but by a stretch of politeness forwhich they sometimes apologize the author has seen proper to style themAntipedobaptists, when speaking of them in reference to the Subjects ofBaptism Immersionists, in regard to the Mode of BAPTISM and Anabaptists, inrespect to their repetition of BAPTISM . As to the title, "Pedobaptists,'' he does notaffect it for himself and those who symbolize with him in the premises, especiallyas, like the apostles, they baptize adults as well as children; and so far as thisordinance is concerned, they want no title more specific than that of Baptist,which properly belongs to no one but the administrator of the ordinance.

9 In thisacceptation the title has been appropriated to the forerunner of Christ: they,therefore, prefer the name which the disciples received at Antioch, derived fromour only Master and Lord, the latchet of whose shoes the Baptist did not considerhimself worthy to author of this treatise, as those who read it will perceive, does notundervalue the ordinance of BAPTISM ; nevertheless, he assigns it an immeasurablylower place than that of the BAPTISM of the Holy Ghost, of which it is theexpressive symbol. He feels very certain that his venerated friend, whom he haspresumed to address in the present style, will unite with him in praying that thechurch, including Christians of every name, may receive a more copious baptismof the Spirit; and that the time may soon come when the blood of sprinkling shallbe applied to the conscience and heart of every child of of writing a brief Dedication, the author finds that he has been betrayedinto an Introduction so much so, indeed, as to supersede the necessity of writinga formal one for a volume so unpretending as the present.

10 Invoking, therefore, theblessing of Heaven on the publication, and be-speaking the candor of the readerin regard to its teachings, and his generosity in respect to its literary merits, he willadd nothing more, except to beg permission to write himself,With very great affection and esteem,Reverend and dear Sir,Your fellow-laborer in the Gospel of Christ,THE , , May 20, TO THE REVISED EDITION. SINCE the first publication of this work, it has passed through many editions,and has been placed in the Course of Study of Candidates for the Ministry in theMethodist Episcopal Church, South. For these, and other reasons, we havedeclined to make any material changes in the present edition. The Treatise hasbeen repeatedly and adversely criticized by Anti-pedobaptists; but the author hasseen nothing to induce him to abandon any of the positions he has assumed.