Fathers

A Candid Inquiry into the Controversies among Evangelicals · §83

Precarious hypotheses: as if the Reformed made neglect harmless, or denied the virtue Christ and Paul tie to baptism

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The precarious supporting claims are these. First: that the Reformed do not count neglect of baptism as harmful. They do count it harmful — harmful to those who neglect it against Christ's command.

Second: that we deny baptism the full virtue Christ gives it (Mark 16:16) or Paul gives it (Titus 3:5), as if Christ binds salvation to holy baptism and Paul binds regeneration to it.

But Christ says nothing there about infants being regenerated by baptism. He speaks of prior faith — and so of prior regenerating grace — in adults the apostles were to baptize. Salvation hangs not on baptism but on the believer's act: whoever has not believed will be condemned.

For Paul too baptism is the washing of regeneration, set against Jewish washings — which neither seal regeneration nor serve as a moral means, under the New Testament, for beginning that regeneration in infants and carrying it on in adults.

Latin

HYPOTHESES precariæ sunt, 1. Reformatos non censere neglectum Baptismi damnosum; Qui censent omnino, sed damnosum negligentibus, contra mandatum Christi. 2. Non tribuere nos omnem Baptismo virtutem, quam tribuit Christus, Marc. XVI.16. vel Paulus Tit. III.5. quasi alliget ille salutem, hic regenerationem S. Baptismo. Quum tamen nihil Christus, de Infantibus per Baptismum regenerandis; Sed de fide praevia, adeoque & praevia regenerationis gratia, in Adultis per Apostolos baptizandis; Suspensa etiam salute, non a Bapt. sed ab actu credentis; qui non crediderit, damnabitur. Paulo etiam Baptismus λουτρὸν παλιγγενεσίας, opposite ad lotiones Judaicas, quae nec obsignativae Regenerat. nec medium morale sub Novo T. illi inchoandae in Infantibus, continuandae in Adultis.

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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