С НА Р. These (and possibly many more) have openly IIX. declared their thoughts concerning the present cusYear after tom. And abundance of others have so largely and the apo stles. industriously proved that a total immersion was, as Dr. Cave says, the almost constant and universal 'custom of the primitive times,' that they have sufficiently intimated their inclinations to be for it now. So that no man in this nation, who is dissatisfied with the other way, or does wish, or is but willing, that his child should be baptized by dipping, need in the least to doubt, but that any minister in this church would, according to the present direction of the rubric, readily comply with his desire, and, as Mr. Walker says, be glad of it. And as for the danger of the infants catching cold by dipping, sir John Floyer has in a late book endeavoured to shew, by reasons taken from the nature of our bodies, from the rules of medicine, from modern experiences, and from ancient history, that washing or dipping infants in cold water is, generally speaking, not only safe, but very useful: and that though no such religious rite as baptism had been instituted, yet reason and experience would have directed people to use cold bathing both of themselves and their children: and that it has in all former ages so directed them. For (besides that the Jews by God's law used it on many occasions, and the Christians made it the far most usual way of their baptism) he shews that all civilised nations, the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, &c., made frequent 9 Primitive Christianity, part i. chap. 10. [8vo. 1675.] Of cold baths. [See VTXPOлOTEIA, or the History of Cold Bathing, both ancient and modern: by Sir John Floyer.' Third edition, 8vo. London, 1709.] IX. use of it, and gave great commendations of it: and CHAP. that nature itself has taught this custom to many barbarous nations; the old Germans, Highlanders, Year after Irish, Japanese, Tartars, and even the Samoieds who stles." live in the coldest climate that is inhabited. This learned physician gives a catalogue of diseases for which it is good: some of them, for which it is the best remedy that is known. And he says, he cannot advise his countrymen to any better method for preservation of health than the cold regimen: to dip all their children in baptism; to wash them often afterward till three quarters of a year old: to inure them to cold air, drinking of water, few clothes to use them, when boys, to bathing in rivers; when men to cool baths, &c. the apo He prognosticates that the old modes in physic and religion will in time prevail, when people have had more experience in cold baths: and that the approbation of physicians would bring in the old use of immersion in baptism. If it do so, one half of the dispute (which has caused a schism) between the padobaptists and antipædobaptists will be over. There are more of the first, who are brought, by the arguments of the other, to doubt of the validity of their baptism, for that they were not dipped at the receiving it, than there are for that they received it in infancy. Neither was there ever an antipadobaptist in England, as I shewed in the last chapter, till this custom of sprinkling children, instead of dipping them, in the ordinary baptisms, had for some time prevailed. What has been said of this custom of pouring or sprinkling water in the ordinary use of baptism, is to be understood only in reference to these western CHAP. parts of Europe; for it is used ordinarily nowhere IX. else. The Greek church, in all the branches of it, does still use immersion; and they hardly count a child, except in case of sickness, well baptized without it. And so do all other Christians in the world, except the Latins. That which I hinted before, is a rule that does not fail in any particular that I know of, viz. all those nations of Christians that do now, or formerly did, submit to the authority of the bishop of Rome, do ordinarily baptize their infants by pouring or sprinkling. And though the English received not this custom till after the decay of popery; yet they have since received it from such neighbour nations as had begun it in the times of the pope's power. But all other Christians in the world, who never owned the pope's usurped power, do, and ever did, dip their infants in the ordinary use. And if we take the division of the world from the three main parts of it; all the Christians in Asia, all in Africa, and about one third part of Europe, are of the last sort: in which third part of Europe, are comprehended the Christians of Græcia, Thracia, Servia, Bulgaria, Rascia, Walachia, Moldavia, Russia Nigra, &c.; and even the Muscovites, who, if coldness of the country will excuse, might plead for a dispensation with the most reason of any. Dr. Crull gives this account of them"; "the priest takes the child ́ stark naked into his arms, and dips him three times into the water, &c.-The water-is never warmed over the fire, though the cold be never so 'excessive but they put it sometimes in some warm place or other, to take off a little of the cold.' If t State of Muscovy, vol. i. chap. 11. p. 193, 194. IX. the apo they warmed it more, I do not see where were the CHAP. hurt. The Latins, that stayed behind at the council of Florence, do determines it to be indifferent, Year after • whether baptism be administered in warm or in stles. cold water. And an archbishop of Samos', who has wrote the history of that island, says, at p. 45, that they use hot [or warm] water. We have no reason to think that the Muscovites do submit to this, as to a hardship put upon them by the Christian religion; for they commonly, when they come sweating out of a hot stove, do suddenly throw themselves into cold water, and think it medicinal so to do, as the said doctor relates. And the neighbour nations thereabouts, even those that are not Christians, do ordinarily put their infant children into the coldest water they can get, for health's sake, and to harden them. For so the same author tells of the Crim Tartars", that the mothers do use • to bathe their infants, once a day at least, in cold water, wherein a little salt is dissolved, to make • them hardy.' And the success answers; for these are one of the healthiest, hardiest, and most vigorous nations in the world. But whereas the said doctor says, that the Muscovites glory that they are the only true Christians now in the world; forasmuch as they are * Cap. de Unione Jacobinorum et Armenorum. [See the decree of pope Eugenius the fourth, addressed to the Armenians, at page 1056 of vol. 31 of the councils edited by Mansi.] (See A Description of the present State of Samos, Nicaria, • Patmos, and Mount Athos. By Joseph Georgirenes, archbi⚫ shop of Samos, now living in London. translated,' &c. 8», London, 1678. The book contains a Greek dedication by the archbishop, to James duke of York.] Chap. vii. p. 112. x Chap. xi, at the beginning, p. 188. 1339 IX. the apo stles. 6 CHAP. baptized, whereas others have been only sprinkled; which is the reason they allege for rebaptizing all Year after such, of what persuasion soever, that embrace their religion:'—This is neither consistent with the account given by himself in the same chapter of their rebaptizations; that 'even Muscovites, who having 'changed their religion in another country, are willing to return to their own communion, must 'first be rebaptized :' nor with the account of the practice of other Greek Christians, who do all baptize ordinarily by immersion as well as the Muscovites nor with the account given by other writers of the practice of the Muscovites themselves. For though Mr. Daillé do say much the same of them as Dr. Crull does here, (he does not say quite the same he says, the Muscovites say, that the Latins are not duly and rightly baptized.)' Yet other writers say, that the Muscovites themselves do in case of the weakness of the child baptize by affusion. Joannes Fabri", in an epistle that he has written purposely of these people's religion, says, if the child be strong, he is thrice plunged all over. Otherwise he is wetted with the water. But this last is seldom used:''conspersio enim minus sufficiens judicatur,' for they count sprinkling not so 'well [or not so sufficient].' And another author 6 y [Page 194.] 2 Lib. 2. de usu Patrum, p. 148, [or p. 329, of the edition 4o. Genevæ, 1656.] a [See a work by Johannes Fabri, an archbishop of Vienna, entitled Moscovitarum Religio,' printed at Basle in 1526, at Spire in 1582, and to be found in the collection of Rerum 'Muscoviticarum Auctores Varii,' folio, Francofurti, 1600. p. 136, of this last edition.] See |