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Untitled Article
treatise Tertullian is arguing as a Montani ^ t ag ainst the re ^ jdrai § Bipri of adub terers and fornicators intft the church , o ^ r ^ p ^^ n ^ jfuid ^ u ^ i ^ jtbei argu > m ^ nts fay which the orthodox endeavoured Jo ^ efencr $$ ; practice . The orthodox , among other topics , cited the parablep of tne lost sheep , the lost
piece of money , and the prodigal son ; to which Tertulhan replies by shewing that these parables were not applicable to the cas $ ; that they related to the conversion of Heathens , not to the repentance and tlje restoration of those who , having professed Christianity * had -fallen into heinous sins . " If by the younger son , " says he , " is to be understood a Christian , then not only adulterers and fornicators , but idolaters , blasphemers who have denied Christ , and every kind of apostates , may be restored to their former state and
privileges- * Recuperabit igitur et apostata vestem priorem , indumentum spiritus sancti , et annulum denuo signaculum lavacri , et rursus illi mactabitur Christus , et recumbet eo in thoro , de quo indigne vestiti a tortoribus solent tolli et abjici in tenebras , nedum spoliati . '" Surely we ought not to infer from this passage that a ring was given in baptism , any more than that a splendid robe was put on when the Holy Spirit was conferred by impost tion of hands—or that the baptized convert was seated at a festive table . Tertullian is merely drawing a comparison between the marks of honour and affection which the returning prodigal received from his father , and the privileges to which the apostate would be restored , if the inferences drawn
from the parable by the orthodox were just . The robe , the ring , the fatted calf , the banquet , are the circumstances of the parable symbolizing the endowment of the Holy Spirit , the saving effects of baptism , the benefits resulting from the death of Christ , and all the honours and privileges attached to the Christian profession renewed to the repentant apostate . He then endeavours to shew , that the parable does apply to the case of a converted Heathen , and compares the ring given to the returning prodigal to the public profession made by the convert at his baptism .
That it was the custom in Tertullian ' s time to require sponsors in baptism , is undeniable . But in the case of children , as Bingham admits , that office was usually sustained by the parents ; who , in defiance of nature and reason , as well as of ancient usage , are expressly forbidden by the canons of the English Church to take upon them this charge , though of all persons the most proper to be entrusted with it . To the repeating of baptism , Tertullian was decidedly adverse ; yet he considered heretical baptism as utterly null .
He allows the laity to have the right of administering baptism ; not , however , extending that right to women . With irespect to the season of administering the rite , though he specifies the interval between Good-Friday and Whitsun * day as peculiarly appropriate , he remarks that every day and every hour are alike suited to the performance of it . In consequence , however , it is most
probable , of the opinion which he entertained concerning the irremissible character of heinous sins committed after baptism , he thought it expedient to delay the rite ; and as to children he says , ' * Let them come when they are instructed whither they come . Let them be wade Christians when they can know Christ Why need their guiltless age to make such has , te to the forgiveness of sins ? " That he is the first ecclesiastical writer who mentions
expressl y the baptism pf infants , is universally admitted ; whether ,, from the manner in which he mentions it , we are to conclude that , the practice vm derked , b y tradition , from the apostolic age , we cannot stop to inquire . iBomaa Cathojic writers have appealed to * hq authority of Tertullian in support of t > h * doctrine of Ti ^ ub ^ tiatw aaow author hw shewn , on very Snirafficient grounds . Hie corruption of the origiAaMy
Untitled Article
& 14 ttevim . 7 ~ 4 > K fCaye ' s Tertullhfo
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1827, page 514, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1798/page/42/
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