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A Treatise on Re-Baptism by an Anonymous Writer

Anonymous

Section 4

About this work

Author: Anonymous

4. And this being found to be so, what

‹ Section 3 Section 5 ›

thinkest

thou

,

my

brother

?

If

a

man

be

not

baptized

by

a

bishop

,

so

as

even

at

once

to

have

the

imposition

of

hands

,

and

should

yet

die

before

having

received

the

Holy

Spirit

,

should

you

judge

him

to

have

received

salvation

or

not

?

Because

,

indeed

,

both

the

apostles

themselves

and

the

disciples

,

who

also

baptized

others

,

and

were

themselves

baptized

by

the

Lord

,

did

not

at

once

receive

the

Holy

Spirit

,

for

He

had

not

as

yet

been

given

,

because

that

Jesus

had

not

as

yet

been

glorified

.

And

after

His

resurrection

no

small

interval

of

time

elapsed

before

that

took

place

,

—

even

as

also

the

Samaritans

,

when

they

were

baptized

by

Philip

,

did

not

receive

the

gift

until

the

apostles

invited

from

Jerusalem

to

Samaria

went

down

to

them

to

lay

hands

upon

them

,

and

conferred

on

them

the

Holy

Spirit

by

the

imposition

of

hands

.

Because

in

that

interval

of

time

any

one

of

them

who

had

not

attained

the

Holy

Spirit

,

might

have

been

cut

off

by

death

,

and

die

defrauded

of

the

grace

of

the

Holy

Spirit

.

And

it

cannot

be

doubted

also

,

that

in

the

present

day

this

sort

of

thing

is

usual

,

and

happens

frequently

,

that

many

after

baptism

depart

from

this

life

without

imposition

of

the

bishop’s

hands

,

and

yet

are

esteemed

perfected

believers

.

Just

as

the

Ethiopian

eunuch

,

when

he

was

returning

from

Jerusalem

and

reading

the

prophet

Isaiah

,

and

was

in

doubt

,

having

at

the

Spirit’s

suggestion

heard

the

truth

from

Philip

the

deacon

,

believed

and

was

baptized

;

and

when

he

had

gone

up

out

of

the

water

,

the

Spirit

of

the

Lord

took

away

Philip

,

and

the

eunuch

saw

him

no

more

.

For

he

went

on

his

way

rejoicing

,

although

,

as

thou

observest

,

hands

were

not

laid

on

him

by

the

bishop

,

that

he

might

receive

the

Holy

Spirit

.

But

if

thou

admittest

this

,

and

believest

it

to

be

saving

,

and

dost

not

gainsay

the

opinion

of

all

the

faithful

,

thou

must

needs

confess

this

,

that

even

as

this

principle

proceeds

to

be

more

largely

discussed

,

that

other

also

can

be

more

broadly

established

;

that

is

,

that

by

the

imposition

of

hands

alone

of

the

bishop

—

because

baptism

in

the

name

of

our

Lord

Jesus

Christ

has

gone

before

it

—

may

the

Holy

Spirit

also

be

given

to

another

man

who

repents

and

believes

.

Because

the

Holy

Scripture

has

affirmed

that

they

who

should

believe

in

Christ

,

must

needs

be

baptized

in

the

Spirit

;

so

that

these

also

may

not

seem

to

have

anything

less

than

those

who

are

perfectly

Christians

;

lest

it

should

be

needful

to

ask

what

sort

of

a

thing

was

that

baptism

which

they

have

attained

in

the

name

of

Jesus

Christ

.

Unless

,

perchance

,

in

that

former

discussion

also

,

about

those

who

should

only

have

been

baptized

in

the

name

of

Jesus

Christ

,

thou

shouldst

decide

that

they

can

be

saved

even

without

the

Holy

Spirit

,

or

that

the

Holy

Spirit

is

not

accustomed

to

be

bestowed

in

this

manner

only

,

but

by

the

imposition

of

the

bishop’s

hands

;

or

even

shouldst

say

that

it

is

not

the

bishop

alone

who

can

bestow

the

Holy

Spirit

.