baptism, they say that baptism in water nobody any good: neither do they baptize stles. • of the proselytes whom they delude into their the apo. sect."' Yet St. Cyril of Jerusalem f intimates, that they had something instead of baptism. Their baptism,' says he, is such as I dare not describe before * men and women. I am afraid to tell in what • matter it is that they dipping a fig give it to their * wretched people.' Yet he intimates what it was: but it is so beastly that I will not do that. IV. The Messalians seem to have been no other 260. but a sort of enthusiastical people, who leaving off their employments, thought it necessary, or at least pleasing to God, to spend all their time in prayer and rapture. And thereby became subject to many hypochondriae conceits. Epiphanius and St. Austin speaking of them in their catalogues, say nothing of their denying baptism. But Theodoret, and the Historia Tripartita out of him, repeats their sense thus; that there is no profit accruing to the baptized by baptism: but that fervent prayer only expels the Devil.' And says, that the most noted *men of their sect were Dadoes, (or Daodes, or · Dadosius.) Sabbas, (or Sebas.) Adelphius, Hermas, * Symeones.' What does Mr. Danvers do, but put down these men for eminent persons that in the fourth cen⚫tury bore witness against infant-baptism? And he * De Hæresibus, cap. 46. [Op. tom. viii. p. 17. C. edit. Benedict. f Catech. 6. [cap. 33-] * Lib. iv. cap. 11. Year after the apo CHAP. V. cites for authority the foresaid place; Hist. Tripart. lib. vii. cap. 11, into which whoever looks will see that the error there laid to their charge is in the words that I have set down, and no other: which express the opinion of the Quakers, not of the antipædobaptists. stles. But he quotes also Sebastian Frank (one of the Dutch blades I mentioned a little above k) to confirm that this Dadosius, Sebas, &c., were eminent witnesses against infant-baptism. So that it is to be hoped for Danvers' credit, that he had never looked into Historia Tripartita, but had taken the quotation on the credit of Frank, which must be very small. But if one read the whole passage in Theodoret, Hist. Eccl. lib. iv. cap. 11, and Hæretic. Fabul. lib. iv. cap. de Messalianis, it is plain that the men were distracted. For they pretended that by force of their prayer they could bring the Devil out of themselves, sometimes by spittle, and sometimes by blowing their nose: they would dance about, and say they were treading upon him: they would imitate archers, and then say they had shot him. And that after the Devil was gone from them, they could see the holy Trinity with bodily eyes. They were also full of prophecies and revelations. And St. Hierome, who had lived in Syria among them, says, that they said of themselves, that when they 'were come to the top of their perfection, they were beyond any possibility of sinning, in thought, or by 'ignorance.' 6 6 The historians that have encumbered the church k Chap. iv. §. 2. Prolog. ad Dialog. contra Pelag. the apo stles. registers with these, and some other such sorts of CHAP. V. sects, would at the same rate, if they had had in year after any country at any time a dozen or two of our th Muggletonians, have made a considerable sect of them, to be talked of in church-history to the end of the world. Whereas such men, especially when inconsiderable for number, should be pitied in their lifetime, and kept dark; and their wild opinions forgot after they are dead. And this method would have lessened the catalogues of sects almost by one half. Some" do reckon besides these, the Ascodruti, and the Archontici, as sects that used no baptism. But Theodoret says, that the Ascodruti were a branch of the Valentinians; and the Archontici of them: which I am very glad of, being weary of reckoning any more. St. Austin saysP, a sect called Seleucians, or Hermians, do not admit of water-baptism, nor of the resurrection. These are the sects that have renounced all use of baptism. [An obscure religious sect, which arose in England during the times of the Commonwealth: so denominated from their leader Lodowick Muggleton, a journeyman tailor, who with J. Reeves his associate pretended to high gifts of prophecy, and gave out that they were God's two witnesses, who were to appear shortly before the end of the world. For a brief account of these enthusiasts consult the Supplement to Collier's Dictionary; and a note to the article Swedenborgians, in Evans' Sketch of the Denominations of the Christian World, p. 260. edit. 1811.] Epiph. de Archonticis, [Hæres. xx. vol. xl. Op. tom. i. p. 291.] • Hæret. fab. lib. i. cap. 10. [Op. tom. iv. p. 201.] P De Hær. cap. 59. [Op. tom. viii. p. 20.] CHAP. V. the apo stles. V. Some on the other extreme have administered Year after it several times to the same person; and are therefore properly called anabaptists. I speak now of those that practised formal anabaptism, i. e. what they themselves owned to be anabaptism, or rebaptizing of the same person. And of such I remember no more in ancient times, but the Marcionists. 40. Marcion taught, as Epiphanius says", that it is lawful to give three baptisms: so that if any one fall into sin after his first baptism, he may have a second; and a third, if he fall a second time.' And here it seems he stopped his hand. Yet Epiphanius says, that he had heard that his followers 6 6 6 6 went further, and gave more than three, if any one desired it.' He that writes the Present State of Muscovy, says, their way is, that persons of age, who change their religion, and embrace the Muscovite 'faith; nay even Muscovites, who having changed their religion in another country, are willing to return to their own communion, must first be ' rebaptized.' He speaks also of some vagabond people among them, called Chaldæans, who do customarily, and by a sort of license, practise great extravagancies from the 18th of December to Epiphany; during which time they are excluded the church: but on twelfth day, when their license is expired, they are rebaptized, (some of them having 'been baptized ten or twelve times,) and looked 6 " Hæres. 42. [seu 22.] Marcionista. [Sect. 3. apud Op. tom. i. p. 302, &c.] • Dr. Crull, chap. 11. [The Ancient and Present State of Muscovy, by J. Crull, M .D. 2 vols. 8vo. Lond. 1698. vol. i. p. 194.] the apo stles. upon as good Christians.' But Brerewood P, ch. 23, CHAP. V. says, (and quotes Possevin for it,) that they use not year after this baptism on twelfth day, as a sacrament, or as any purification of themselves; but only as a memorial of Christ's baptism received on that day in Jordan: and that the Abassenes do the same thing upon the same day upon the same account. So that it is to be hoped that Dr. Crull may be mistaken in the reason of their practice. And for what he says here of their rebaptizing all that came over to their religion; I have occasion to note something on it, at chap. ix. §. 2. Mr. Thevenot also tells a story of some people called Sabæans, living at Bassora in Arabia, that are, as he there says, improperly called Christians, that do reiterate the baptism which they use. But it is not the Christian baptism, nor given in that form. They have, he says, no knowledge of Jesus Christ, but that he was a servant to John Baptist, and baptized by him; and of the books of the gospel no knowledge at all. But however it be with any late sects, in ancient times there were, as I said, no sects that did this but the Marcionists. I know that the name of anabaptists, or rebaptizers, was then by the catholics imputed to several heretics, and by some churches of the catholics to other catholic churches. But they that were so censured did none of them own, as the Marcionists did, that what they did was rebaptizing: they all P [Enquiries touching the diversity of Languages and Religions, through the chief parts of the world, by Edw. Brerewood, 4to. Lond. 1622. p. 169.] ¶ Voyage, tom. ii. p. 331. [Travels into the Levant, p. ii. book 3. chap. 11. p. 164. edit. fol. Lond. 1687.] |