"Oh, no," said Mr. Sterling. "What does Cardinal Gibbons have to say?"
"In his book, "Faith of our Fathers", page 275, he writes: "For several centuries after the establishment of Christianity baptism was usually conferred by immersion, but since the twelfth century the practice of baptism by affusion has prevailed in the Catholic Church, as this manner is attended with less inconvenience than baptism by immersion.""
"Well, gentlemen, I am amazed," said Mr. Sterling.
"Mr. Sterling," said Dorothy, "can it be a fact that the founders of these denominations declare for immersion and yet the denominations follow some other mode? Do you suppose that it is possible that these denominations, like the Catholics, have adopted pouring because it was more convenient?"
"That is just how the practice has come into existence," said Mr.
Walton. "Cardinal Gibbons lets the whole secret out when he states that in the twelfth century pouring was adopted as the mode of baptism because of its convenience. Now remember that at that time there were no Presbyterians, nor Methodists, nor hardly anybody except the Catholics--except, of course, the Baptists," Mr. Walton remarked with a smile in which all the others joined.
"Yes," said Dorothy, "you remember it was stated tonight that in every century there were bands of Christians worshiping by themselves and protesting against the practices of the Catholic Church, and that these people seemed to believe, in substance, the princ.i.p.al doctrines held by the Baptists today."
"The point I was making," continued Mr. Walton, "is that all of these Protestant denominations, either directly or indirectly, came out of the Catholic Church three or four hundred years after the twelfth century, when the Catholic Church abandoned immersion, and when they did come out they brought with them the custom of pouring, which at that time was practiced in the Catholic Church. If the Reformation had come, however, before the twelfth century, then the Protestant denominations would be practicing immersion, because before the twelfth century the Catholic Church was practicing immersion. That is the history of the change, and explains, Mr. Sterling, why you and your church practice pouring. You inherit it from your Catholic ancestors. You have it because the Catholics abandoned immersion and put their seal on pouring. I do not say it in any unkind spirit, but am simply giving you some ancient history."
"Father, it does look as if the main part of the Christian world is using a subst.i.tute for the baptism which Christ has given us, and that they received this mode from the Catholics. Mr. Sterling, how can you be willing for the Catholic Church to dictate your baptism in that way?"
Dorothy"s eyes flashed as she uttered the question and she seemed horrified at the thought.
"Mercy alive, let me run out and catch my breath," said Mr. Sterling.
"These are startling things that I am hearing tonight. If it is true that we have sprinkling or pouring simply because the Catholic Church happened to have it when the Reformation came, then I must confess it puts our denomination in the att.i.tude of having our baptismal ceremony foisted on us by the Catholics, and we are now seeking from Scripture to justify our position. But, Mr. Walton, that cannot be so."
"I refer you to history. I have given you the places where these statements can be found."
"How did we get back into the subject of immersion?" asked Mr. Sterling.
"I was stating," said Mr. Walton, "that the truths of the Baptists were gradually permeating the ranks of the other denominations, and I remarked that the princ.i.p.al scholars in the different denominations admitted that immersion was the original Scriptural mode, the implication being that, though it was the original mode, yet the church--and you see it was the Catholic Church--had the right to change it. It is a fact that members of other denominations are asking for immersion at the hands of Baptist ministers. Only last fall I baptized a very prominent Methodist minister who had become convinced from his study of the Scriptures of the evils of infant baptism and the scripturalness of immersion."
Mr. Page, with a smile and a wink at Mr. Sterling, remarked: "Exactly, and you had better be on the lookout, Sterling; these Baptists will have you under the water yet."
Mr. Sterling colored considerably, for Mr. Page"s banter had struck deeper than Mr. Page thought.
"What I can"t understand," said Mr. Page, "is how these Baptists can be such wonderful people and yet occupy such an obscure position in this part of the country."
"But they are not obscure in America," said Mr. Walton.
"No," said Dorothy. "Don"t you remember, father, how I told you that the figures state that the Baptists are next to the largest denomination in the United States except the Catholics?"
"In Georgia," said Mr. Walton, "one person out of every four is a Baptist, and it is almost that way in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. I understand that the Baptists of Georgia pay over half the taxes of that state. They are a mighty army in the South and in the world."
All of these things were a revelation to Mr. Sterling. As to Dorothy, her mind had been made up many days ago, and her path of duty was as clear as a sunbeam to her, and it led straight to the Baptist church.
Mr. Sterling had within him a storm of thoughts that he could not still.
His efforts to win Dorothy for his faith and his church seemed to have utterly failed, and she appeared to be drifting further and further away from him. He was tortured by the thought that he might lose her.
Besides, there was the chaos in which his mind had been left by the recent discussions and disclosures. The evidence in favor of immersion as the Bible mode of baptism, and the violation of Scripture teaching in the case of infant baptism, as well as the Bible teaching regarding church government, stared him in the face. It rose above all his ties of kindred and church and above all arguments that he could summon to his aid in favor of his position, but he dared not let anyone suspect his state of mind.
He was eager to follow the matter still further, though he felt as if he were moving towards a precipice. It may to some thoughtless ones seem a trifling matter for one to abandon a position as to doctrinal matters and accept other truths. Men are constantly altering their opinions: but for a Presbyterian elder--especially one filled with an ambition for high usefulness in his church, whose ancestors on his father"s and mother"s side have been of his faith--for him to come out before his church and before the public and acknowledge that he was wrong, to give up his doctrines and his church and his prospects and his large circle of kindred and friends and link himself with an obscure and almost despised band of people meant a crisis, and he did not even permit himself to consider it. He merely tried to regard the restlessness in his mind as transient and to think that soon he would settle into his former composure and confidence. That night as he sat in his room he remembered having seen in the afternoon paper the statement that Dr. R.
L. Boardman, one of the most learned professors in the Princeton Theological Seminary, a leading Presbyterian inst.i.tution, was to lecture that evening in the adjoining town about ten miles distant. In a moment Sterling decided on his plan. He determined upon a desperate attempt.
Next morning by telephone he gained Dorothy"s consent to a conversation with Dr. Boardman in case he could persuade him to come over for that purpose. Before nine o"clock the next morning Sterling had reached the Doctor by telephone and made an engagement to meet him, and in less than an hour his automobile had whirled him to the next town, and there Sterling told the Doctor of his friend who was seeking to know her duty as to church membership, and he besought him to return with him and in the evening to visit with him his friends at the Page home and to set the young lady right on the matter of sprinkling and infant baptism and church membership.
Sterling won the day and a few hours later he and the Doctor were speeding along the road to Sterling"s home. Sterling hung his hopes high on the Doctor, who was a noted authority on Presbyterian doctrines. He felt as if he were staking everything on the conversation of that evening.
Mr. Page, when he learned that the Princeton professor and the Baptist preacher would both be on hand that evening, knew that the discussion would be lively.
CHAPTER XIV.
STERLING BRINGS IN HIS RESERVES.
That evening after dinner Mr. Sterling brought over his distinguished friend. Dorothy had invited Mr. Walton to return and form one of the group.
"Doctor," said Mr. Page, with a smile and a wink at Mr. Sterling, "I guess you will have to set us all straight. Mr. Walton here is about to enlist Dorothy and Mr. Sterling under the Baptist flag."
"Miss Dorothy seems to think the Bible commands her to be put under the water," remarked Sterling, "and she does not believe at all in infant baptism. She insists that these things prevent her joining our church, and she talks as if the Baptist doctrines are nearest to the doctrines which she believes the Bible to teach."
"Am I stating it correctly?" asked Sterling of Dorothy.
"Mr. Sterling is right in saying that I believe in immersion and not in infant baptism, and therefore I do not feel it would be right for me to join his church."
"May I ask why you feel that you cannot join his church?" asked the Doctor in a gracious manner.
"If I think the doctrines of the church are wrong, do you think I ought to select that as the church for me to join?"
"May I ask another question?"
Sterling"s hopes rose as he saw the Doctor entering upon the discussion.
He felt there could be but one result.
"Mr. Sterling has mentioned that you thought very favorably of the doctrines of the Baptists. One of the cardinal doctrines of the Baptists is religious liberty. That means they believe in the right of every individual to interpret the Scripture for himself. Do you believe in that doctrine?"
"Certainly. Don"t you, Doctor?"
"I see you are putting me on the witness stand," he said with a smile.
"I answer that I a.s.suredly do believe in such individual liberty; but it seems to me that the Baptists are inconsistent. They demand individual liberty and yet they cry out against us Presbyterians because we interpret the Scriptures in a way different from them. You say, Miss Page, you cannot join the Presbyterians because of their beliefs, but I should not think that that ought to concern you. If you hold that everyone must interpret the Bible for himself, then that is what the Presbyterians are doing. In doing that they carry out the Baptist doctrine of individual accountability to G.o.d."
Sterling was delighted. It was just as he had expected. He saw in a flash that if the Baptists were true to their doctrine of religious liberty they could not demand that he change his faith, but must accord him a perfect right to his belief.
"Excuse me, Doctor," said Dorothy, "I do not think you understood me. I do not blame the Presbyterians for drawing their own conclusions about the Bible and believing just what they think the Bible teaches rather than what somebody else thinks it teaches. I grant them this right, but it does not follow that I must therefore join their church. I say let the Presbyterians follow what they consider to be the teachings of the Bible; but let me do the same and let me not feel that I must join their church."
"No, my young friend, I would not say you must join the Presbyterian church; but may I ask why you should find it impossible to join that splendid body of Christian people? If everybody must follow his own convictions of Bible teaching, would you say you cannot fellowship those who do not interpret the Bible as you do?"
"Doctor, I do not say I could not fellowship the Presbyterians, or anybody that may understand his Bible differently from me. I can respect them and believe them to be better Christians than I am. But I don"t think I ought to join their church unless I believe their doctrines."
"Well, my daughter, you will never find a church with every member believing just as you believe."
"What does a denomination mean, anyhow, Doctor? Does it not mean a body of people believing a certain set of doctrines?"
"Yes."