Anonymous Treatise on Re-baptism.

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 A Treatise on Re-Baptism by an Anonymous Writer. That They Who Have Once Been Washed in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Ought Not to Be Re-Baptized

 1. I observe that it has been asked among the brethren what course ought specially to be adopted towards the persons of those who, although baptized i

 2. To such, then, as approach to a discussion of saving and modern, that is, of spiritual and evangelical baptism, there occurs first of all the annou

 3. And to these things thou perchance, who art bringing in some novelty, mayest immediately and impatiently reply, as thou art wont, that the Lord sai

 4. And this being found to be so, what thinkest thou, my brother? If a man be not baptized by a bishop, so as even at once to have the imposition of h

 5. And if this be so, and the occurrence of any of these things cannot deprive a man who believes, of salvation, thou thyself also affirmest that the

 6. And this also,—looking at it from the opposite side of this discussion,—those disciples of our Lord themselves attained, upon whom, being previousl

 7. Neither must you esteem what our Lord said as being contrary to this treatment: “Go ye, teach the nations baptize them in the name of the Father,

 8. But these things thou wilt, as thou art wont, contradict, by objecting to us, that when they baptized, the disciples were baptized perfectly, and r

 9. By which things, and by many deeds of this kind tending to His glory, it appeared to follow as a consequence, that in whatever manner the Jews thin

 10. Besides, what wilt thou say of those who are in many cases baptized by bishops of very bad character, who yet at length, when God so wills it, con

 11. And what wilt thou determine against the person of him who hears the word, and haply taken up in the name of Christ, has at once confessed, and ha

 12. Wherefore the whole of this discussion must be considered, that it may be made clearer. For the invocation of the name of Jesus can only be an adv

 13. For any one of us will hold it necessary, that whatever is the last thing to be found in a man in this respect, is that whereby he must be judged,

 14. And even to this point the whole of that heretical baptism may be amended, after the intervention of some space of time, if a man should survive a

 15. And since we seem to have divided all spiritual baptism in a threefold manner, let us come also to the proof of the statement proposed, that we ma

 16. But since the first part of this argument seems to be unfolded, we ought to touch on its subsequent part, on account of the heretics because it i

 17. Moreover, if a man of this sort should again return to thee, thou wilt assuredly hesitate whether he may have baptism or no and yet it will behov

 18. And the Spirit, indeed, continues to this day invisible to men, as the Lord says, “The Spirit breathes where He will and thou knowest not whence

 19. I think that we have fully followed out the announcement of John the Baptist, whence we began our discourse, when he said to the Jews, “I indeed b

16. But since the first part of this argument seems to be unfolded, we ought to touch on its subsequent part, on account of the heretics; because it is very necessary not to pass over that discussion which once falls into our hands, lest perchance some heretic should dare, of his subtlety, to assail those of our brethren who are more simple. For because John said that we must be baptized in the Holy Ghost and in fire, from the fact that he went on to say and fire, some desperate men have dared to such an extent to carry their depravity, and therefore very crafty men seek how they can thus corrupt and violate, and even neutralize the baptism of holiness. Who derive the origin of their notion from Simon Magus, practising it with manifold perversity through various errors; to whom Simon Peter, in the Acts of the Apostles, said, “Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the grace of God could be possessed by money; thou hast neither part nor lot in this work; for thy heart is not right with God.”55    Acts viii. 20, 21. And such men as these do all these things in the desire to deceive those who are more simple or more inquisitive. And some of them try to argue that they only administer a sound and perfect, not as we, a mutilated and curtailed baptism, which they are in such wise said to designate, that immediately they have descended into the water, fire at once appears upon the water. Which if it can be effected by any trick, as several tricks of this kind are affirmed to be—of Anaxilaus—whether it is anything natural, by means of which this may happen, or whether they think that they behold this, or whether the work and magical poison of some malignant being can force fire from the water; still they declare such a deceit and artifice to be a perfect baptism, which if faithful men have been forced to receive, there will assuredly be no doubt but that they have lost that which they had. Just as, if a soldier after taking an oath should desert his camp, and in the very different camp of the enemy should wish to take an oath of a far other kind, it is plain that in this way he is discharged from his old oath.

XVI. Quoniam autem prima pars disputationis hujus videtur explicata, etiam sequentem ejus propter haereticos debemus attingere: quia perquam necessarium est eum tractatum qui semel in manus incidit non praeterire; ne forte eos qui sunt simpliciores ex fratribus, aliquis haereticorum versutia sua 1201C audeat attentare. Nam quia Joannes dixit nos baptizandos esse in Spiritu sancto et igni (Matth. III, 11; Luc. III, 16), eo quod addiderit dicens et igni, idcirco quidam desperati homines ausi sunt usquequaque pravitatem suam porrigere, et propterea homines versutissimi quaerunt quomodo sanctitatis Baptisma ita corrumpant ac violent ut etiam evacuent; qui originem jam exinde trahunt a Simone mago multiformi perversitate per varios errores eam exercentes. Cui Simoni Petrus in Actis Apostolorum dixit: Pecunia tua tecum sit in perditionem, quia gratiam Dei existimasti per pecunias posse possideri. Non est tibi portio neque fors in sermone hoc. Cor enim tuum non est rectum coram Deo (Act. VIII, 20, 21). Et agunt isti haec omnia, dum fallere cupiunt eos qui sunt simpliciores aut curiosiores: et tentant nonnulli illorum 1201D tractare se solos integrum atque perfectum, non sicuti nos mutilatum et decurtatum Baptisma tradere, quod taliter dicuntur assignare, ut quam mox in aquam descenderunt, statim super aquam 1202A ignis appareat. Quod si aliquo lusu perpetrari potest, sicut affirmantur plerique hujusmodi lusus Anaxilai esse, sive naturale quid est, quo pacto possit hoc contingere, sive illi putant hoc se conspicere, sive maligni opus et magicum virus ignem potest in aqua exprimere: illi tamen talem fallaciam et stropham praedicant perfectum Baptisma esse; quod fideles homines si coacti fuerunt accipere, utique non dubitabitur eos id quod habuerant amisisse; perinde ac si quis sacramento miles dicto, desertis suis castris, in hostium diversissimis castris longe aliud sacramentum velit dicere, hac ratione constat eum vetere sacramento exauctoratum esse.