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BAPTISM, in some of its various forms, is a very ancient rite,
and was extensively practiced in several oriental countries. It was
administered in a great variety of forms, and with the use of
different elements. Water was the most common, but fire and air,
wind, spirit or ghost were also used; and both the living and the
dead were made the subjects of its solemn and imposing ceremonies.
We will notice each of these modes of baptism separately --
appropriating a brief space to each.
BAPTISM BY WATER
"Baptism by water," says Mr. Higgins, "is a very old rite,
being practiced by the followers of Zoroaster, by the Romans, the
Egyptians, and other nations." It was also in vogue among the
ancient Hindoos at a still earlier date. Their mode of
administering it was to dip the candidate for immersion three times
in the watery element, in the same manner as is now practiced by
some of the Christian sects, during the performance of which the
hierophant would ejaculate the following prayer and ceremony: "O
Lord, this man is impure, like the mud of this stream! But do thou
cleanse and deliver his soul from sin as the water cleanses his
body." They believed that water possessed the virtue of purifying
both soul and body -- the latter from filth and the former from
sin. The ancient Mexicans, Persians, Hindoos and Jews were in the
habit of baptizing their infants soon after they were born. And the
water used for this purpose was called "the water of regeneration."
Paul speaks of being "saved by the washing of regeneration. (See
Titus iii. 5.) Those who touched these infants before they were
baptize were deemed impure. And as this was unavoidable on the part
of the mothers, they were required, as in the cases of the mothers
of Chrishna and Christ, to present themselves on the eighth day
after accouchement to the priest in the temple to be purified. The
Romans chose the eighth day for girls and the ninth for boys. The
child was usually named (christened) at the time it was baptized.
And in India, the name, or God's name, or some other mark, was
engraven or written on the forehead. This custom is several times
recognized in the Christian bible, both in the old and in the New
Testament. (See Ezek. ix 4; Rev. xiv. 9; xix. 20, etc.) John speaks
of a mark being made on the forehead. (See Rev. xiii. 16.) Also of
the name of God being written on the forehead. (Rev. iii. 12.)
THE DOVE DESCENDING AT BAPTISM
At this stage of our inquiry it may be stated that several of
the ancient religious orders had the legend of a dove or pigeon
descending at baptism -- a counterpart to the evangelical story of
"the Spirit of God descending in bodily shape like a dove," and
alighting on the head of Jesus Christ while being baptized by John
in Jordan. (See Luke iii. 22.) It will be observed here that the
spirit, or soul, of God descended not only in the manner, but in
"bodily shape like a dove." This accords with the tradition
anciently prevalent among the Hindoos, Mexicans, Greeks, Romans and
Persians, or Babylonians, that all souls, or spirits, possessed, or
were capable of assuming, the form of a dove. Hence, it is reported
of Polycarp, Semiramis, Caesar and others, that at death their
souls, or spirits, were seen to leave the body in "bodily shape
like a dove" and ascend to heaven. "The Divine Love, or Eros," says
Mr. Higgins, "was supposed by the oriental heathen to descend often
in the form of a dove to bless the candidate for baptism." These
traditions, doubtless, gave rise to the story of the dove
descending at Christ's baptism -- that is God in the shape of a
dove, for that is clearly the meaning of the text. We are also
informed by our author just quoted, that a dove stood for and
represented, among the orientalists, the third person of the
Trinity, as it does in the gospel story of Christ -- he being the
second member of the Christian Trinity of Father, Son and Holy
Ghost. It was considered "the regenerator, or regenerating spirit,"
and persons being baptized were said to be "born again" into the
spirit or the spirit into them; that is, the dove into or upon
them.
What a master-key is furnished by these oriental religions for
solving the mysteries of the Christian bible! How much more lucid
than Divine Revelation -- so-called!
We will quote again from Higgins: "Among all nations, from the
very earliest period, water has been used as a species of religious
sacrament. Because, as it dripped from the clouds, it was observed
to have the power of reviving drooping nature and creating anew, or
regenerating the whole vegetable kingdom in spring, it was hence
chosen as an emblem of spiritual regeneration and a medium of
baptism. Water was the element by means of which everything was
born again through the agency of the Eros, Dove, or Divine Love."
And, hence, the ceremony of dipping or plunging (or, as it is
modernly termed, baptizing) came into vogue for the remission of
sins and "the regeneration into a new and more holy life."
Some streams were supposed to have more efficacy in these
respects than others. Hence, nearly all religious nations had their
"Holy Rivers, "Holy Water," "Sacred Pools," etc. The Hindoos
resorted to the "Holy Ganges," the Egyptians to the "Holy Nile,"
the Chaldeans and Persians to the "Holy Euphrates," the Greeks to
their "Holy Lustral Water," the Italians to the river Po, and the
Jews and Christians to their holy river Jordan. If Jordan was not
called "holy," it was undoubtedly considered so, else why did
Elisha order Naaman to wash seven times in that stream instead of
Damascus, which was much nearer and more accessible? And why was
Christ baptized in Jordan? "And all the land of Judea, and they of
Jerusalem, were baptized in Jordan, confessing their sins." (Matt.
iii. vi.) Why, as several streams were handier to a large portion
of the candidates, simply because Jordan was considered to be "more
holy." And Christians had their sacred pool of Bethesda, as the
Hindoos had their Sahar.
The rite of baptism was at first generally practiced in caves
-- as were also other religious rites; and as these caves were
often difficult of access, and their mouths, doors or gates narrow
and difficult to enter, they fully exemplify Christ's declaration,
"Straight is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto
life." (Matt. vii. 14.) And when he declared, "Except a Man be born
of water and of spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven" (John
iii. 5) he was only seconding the exhortation of the priests to
enter these subterranean vaults and be baptized after the oriental
and Jewish custom. Thus originated baptism by water in the form of
dipping, or immersion.
BAPTISM BY SPRINKLING
Owing to the scarcity of water in some countries, and its
entire absence in others, and the fatal effects sometimes resulting
from the practice of baptizing infants and invalids by immersion,
a new mode of baptism eventually sprung up, now known as
"sprinkling," in which sometimes water and sometimes blood was
used. Virgil, Ovid and Cicero all speak of its prevalence amongst
the ancient Romans or Latins. We are informed that the ancient Jews
practiced it upon their women while in a state of nudity, the
ceremony being administered by three rabbis, or priests. But the
custom finally gave way to one more consonant with decorum. Blood,
being considered "the life thereof" of man, was deemed more
efficacious than water, and hence was often used in lieu of that
element. The Greeks kept a "holy vessel" for this purpose, known as
the Facina. The Romans used a brush, which may now be seen engraven
upon some of their ancient coins and sculptured on their ancient
temples. The Hindoos and Persians used a branch of laurel or some
other shrub for sprinkling the repentant candidate, whether water
or blood was used.
In some countries the rite was practiced as a talisman against
evil spirits. The Mexicans never approached their altars without
sprinkling them with blood drawn from their own bodies, as the Jews
sprinkled the walls and door-posts of their temples with blood
under the requisition of the Levitical code. This mode of fancied
purification by sprinkling either with water or blood we find
recognized and apparently sanctioned, in the Christian bible, both
in the Old and New Testaments. Ezekiel says, "I will sprinkle clean
water on you." (Ezek. XXXVI. 25.) Peter uses the phrase, "The
sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ." (i Peter i. 2.) And Paul
makes use of the expression, "The blood of sprinkling, that
speaketh better things than that of Abel" (Heb. xii. 24), which we
regard as an indirect sanction of the senseless heathen idea of
effecting spiritual purification by drops of blood. (See Potter's
Antiquities and Herbert's Travels.)
BAPTISM BY FIRE
Baptism by fire was a form or mode of application which seems
to have been introduced from the belief that it was productive of
a higher degree of purification. There were several ways of using
fire in the baptismal rite. In some cases the candidate for
immortality ran through blazing streams of fire -- a custom which
was called "the baptism of fire." M. de Humboldt, in his "Views of
the Cordilleras and Monuments of America," informs us it prevailed
in India, Chaldea and Syria, and throughout eastern Asia. It
appears to have been gotten up as a substitute for sun-worship, as
this luminary was believed to be constituted of fire, though in
reality there never was any such thing as sun or solar worship.
Christian writers represent the ancient Persians as has having been
addicted to solar worship. But Firdausi, Cudworth and other authors
declare that neither they nor any other nation ever worshiped the
sun, but merely an imaginary Deity supposed to reside in the sun.
Heathen nations have been charged with many things of which they
were not guilty; though it is true that in the spirit of Christ's
exhortation, "Whosoever loseth his life for my sake shall find it,"
some of the candidates for the fiery ordeal voluntarily sacrificed
their lives in the operation, under the persuasion that it was
necessary to purify the soul, and would enable them to ascend to
higher posts or planes of enjoyment in the celestial world. And
some of them were taught that sins not expurgated by fire, or some
other efficaciously renovating process in this life, would be
punished by fire in the life to come. Here we will mention that
there is a seeming recognition of this ancient heathen rite in both
departments of the Christian's bible. Isaiah says, "When thou
walkest through fire thou shalt not be burned." (lxiii. 2.) And the
Baptist John recognizes three modes of baptism: I indeed baptize
you with water, but he that cometh after me shall baptize you with
fire and the Holy Ghost." (Matt, iii. 11. And Paul teaches the
necessity of being purified by fire. (See i Cor. iii. 15.) So it is
both a heathen and a Christian idea.
BAPTISM BY THE HOLY GHOST
This fanciful ceremony is both a Christian and a heathen rite,
and is undoubtedly of heathen origin. The mode of applying it was
to breathe into or upon the seeker for divine favors. This was done
by the priest, who, it was believed, imparted the Spirit of God by
the process. The custom, Mr. Herbert informs us, was anciently
quite common in oriental countries, and was at a later date
borrowed by Christ and his apostles and incorporated into the
Christian ceremonies. We find that Christ not only sanctioned it
but practiced it, as it is declared when he met his disciples after
his resurrection "he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive
ye the Holy Ghost." (John xx. 22.)
And the following language of Ezekiel is evidently a sanction
of the same heathen custom: "Thus saith the Lord God, Come from the
four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slam, that they may
live." (xxxvii. 9.) Let it be borne in mind here that breath, air,
wind, spirit and ghost were used as synonymous terms, according to
Mr. Parkhurst (see Chap. XXII.), and this breathing was supposed to
impart spiritual life, being nothing less than the Spirit of God,
the same as that breathed into Adam when "he became a living soul."
(See Gen. ii. 7.) For a fuller exposition see Chapter
XXII.
BAPTISM OF OR FOR THE DEAD
It was customary among the Hindoos and other nations to
postpone baptism till near the supposed terminus of life, in order
that the ablution might extinguish all the sins and misdeeds of the
subjects earthly probation. But it sometimes happened that men and
women were killed, or died unexpectedly, before the rite was
administered. And as it would not do for these unfortunate souls to
be deprived of the benefit of this soul-saving ordinance, the
custom was devised of baptizing the defunct body, or more commonly
some living person in its stead. The method of executing the latter
expedient, according to St. Chrysostom, was to place some living
person under the bed or couch on which the corpse was reclining,
when the defunct was asked if he would be baptized. The living man,
responding for the dead, answered in the affirmative. The corpse
was then taken and dipped in a vessel prepared for the purpose'
This silly practice was in vogue among the early Christians, and
Paul seems to regard it as an important custom. "Else what shall
they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at
all." (i Cor. xv. 9.)
The inference derivable from this text is, that Paul held that
the labor of baptizing the dead would be lost in the event of the
falsification of the doctrine of the resurrection, but otherwise it
would be valid -- which evinces his faith in the senseless and
superstitious practice. It will be observed from the historical
exposition of this chapter that all the various ancient heathen
modes and rites of baptism have been practiced by Christians, and
are sanctioned by their bible.
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