A Candid Inquiry into the Controversies among Evangelicals · §82

Fourth dispute: lay baptism in necessity; antiquity less scrupulous, yet women kept from administering it

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Fourth and last: controversy about a layperson administering baptism in a case of necessity. On that point antiquity was not so scrupulous, as Tertullian shows, and Grotius, Salmasius, and others agree (above, pp. 311–312).

Women, however, are constantly shut out from administering it — and not in one Tertullian passage only: On Baptism, On the Veiling of Virgins, and On the Prescription of Heretics, as G. J. Vossius cites them in Disputation XI.

So also in the African canons, Council of Carthage IV, canon c (Councils, tom. II): A woman must not presume to baptize — which some absurdly restrict to times when priests are present.

Latin

4. Talis tandem Controv. circa administrum Laicum, in casu necessitatis, qua in re non ita scrupulosa fuit Antiquitas, ut ex Tertulliano visum, accedentibus Grotio, Salmasio, aliis; supra pag. 311. 312. Mulieribus tamen ab ejus administratione constanter exclusis, non uno apud Tertull. loco, de Baptismo, de Velandis Virginib. de Praescriptione Haeretic. citatis G. J. Vossio, Disp. XI. Sed & in Canonibus Africanis, Concil. Carthag. IV. Can. c. Tomo II. Conc. Mulier baptizare non praesumat, quod absurde nonnulli ita limitant, praesentibus Sacerdotibus.

About this text

Samuel Strimesius — Prefatio through Controversiae Post Lutherum Controv. III-XIII + XV Tolerantia, Hexades Annotationum Prooemium and Annotatio I through Decem Theses / Francus plus Annotatio II §.I-§.VI and Annotatio III §.I–§.VII (through Cassellanum 1661) from Ingenua in Controversias Evangelicorum (Frankfurt an der Oder, 1708). Honest partial; Prefatio silence reasons, Annotatio III §.VIII+ fruits / §.IX+, Hexades theses body, deeper Controversiae / Part II remain.

English follows the locked 1708 Francofurti ad Viadrum Latin of Prefatio §I–II, Crimina defenses through III, Part I Protheoria through Controversiae Obices/Historia/Varii gradus, Formula Discord/Disparitas, Ulterius confirmatur / Classes / Formula protest / triplex differentia, Coena Domini Controversiae Priores through Precariae Hypotheses (Controv. print pp. 34–40), Controversiae Post Lutherum Natae Controv. III–XV tip (providence through De Tolerantia mutua; Controv. print pp. 40–78), Hexades Annotationum Prooemium H.I–§.III (Hexades print pp. 1–4 / PDF ~182–185), and Annotatio I De Augustana Confessione §.I–§.VIII tip (Hexades print pp. 5–24+ / PDF ~186–205+), reconstructed from Google Books PDF page images (ONB copy, id 3epYAAAAcAAJ) with pdftotext as check. No modern English was copied. Sister Halle digitization of Ingenua in Arminianismum (DOI 10.25673/65287) remains Anubis-blocked — skipped; Controversias only. Prefatio silence reasons, Annotatio I §.IX+, Hexades theses body beyond §.VIII, and remainder of Controversiae / folio remain.

Witnesses

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