A Portraiture of Quakerism, Volume 2: Taken from a View of the Education and Discipline, Social Manners, Civil and Political Economy, Religious Principles and Character, of the Society of FriendsClarkson, Thomas
Religion
A Portraiture of Quakerism, Volume 2: Taken from a View of the Education and Discipline, Social Manners, Civil and Political Economy, Religious Principles and Character, of the Society of Friends
Clarkson, Thomas
Society of Friends
[164] "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given
unto me in Heaven and in earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you. And lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the
world."
[Footnote 164: Mat. 23.18,19,20.]
The first observation, which the Quakers make, is upon the word
"THEREFORE." As all power is given unto _me_ both in Heaven and in
earth; and as I can on that account, and as I will qualify you, go ye
therefore, that is, having previously received from me the qualification
necessary for your task, go ye.
The next observation is, that the commission does not imply that the
Apostles were to teach and to baptize as two separate acts, but, as the
words intimate, that they were to teach baptizing.
The Quakers say again, that the word "teach" is an improper translation
of the original [165]Greek. The Greek word should have been rendered
"make disciples or proselytes." In several editions of our own Bibles,
the word "teach" is explained in the margin opposite to it, "make
disciples or Christians of all nations," or in the same manner as the
Quakers explain it.
[Footnote 165: [Greek: didasko] is the usual word for teach, but [Greek:
word] is used in the commission; which latter word occurs but seldom in
the New Testament, and always signifies to "disciple."]
On the word "baptize," they observe, that because its first meaning is
to wash all over, and because baptism with Christians is always with
water, people cannot easily separate the image of water from the word,
when it is read or pronounced. But if this image is never to be
separated from it, how will persons understand the words of St. Paul,
"for by one spirit are we all baptized into one body?" Or those of
Jesus, "Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of, or be baptized with the
baptism that I am baptized with?" Or, if this image is not to be
separated from it, how will they understand the Evangelists, who
represent Jesus Christ as about to baptize, or wash all over, with fire?
To baptize, in short, signifies to dip under water, but, in its more
general meaning, to purify. Fire and water have equally power in this
respect, but on different objects. Water purifies surfaces. Fire
purifies by actual and total separation, bringing those bodies into one
mass which are homogeneous, or which have strong affinities to each
other, and leaving the dross and incombustible parts by themselves.
The word "in" they also look upon as improperly translated. This word
should have been rendered [166] "into." If the word "in" were the right
translation, the words "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Ghost," might be construed into a form of words to be used
at the time of baptism.
[Footnote 166: The word in the original Greek is [Greek word] and not
[Greek word]]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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