The appointment for Orwell, Ohio, Oct. 28th, given in last Review, has been taken up by the Ohio Conf. Com., because no help can be obtained for said meeting, and because in the opinion of the committee, there are reasons why some experienced messenger should be present. G. Infant Baptism—Whence Derived.
ONE of the contributors to Kitto's valuable "Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature," Prof. Jacobi, of the Berlin University, Prussia, speaks with candor in reference to infant baptism. Although a believer in the orthodox side of this question, on page 287, Vol. 1, of said work, he says: "Infant baptism was established neither by Christ nor the apostles. In all places where we find the necessity of baptism notified, either in a dogmatic or historical point of view, it is evident that it was only meant for those who were capable of comprehending the word preached, and of being converted to Christ by an act of their own will. A pretty sure testimony of its non-existence in the apostolic age, may be inferred from 1 Cor. vii, 14, since Paul would certainly have referred to the baptism of children for their holiness. (Comp. Neander, Hist. of the Planting, &c., 1, p. 206). But even in later times, several teachers of the church such as Tertullian, (De Bapt. 18) and others, reject this custom; indeed, his church in general, (that of North Africa) adhered longer than others to the primitive regulations. Even when baptism of children was already theoretically derived from the apostles, its practice was nevertheless for a long time confined to a maturer age."