CHAPTEB XI 



CHILDREN 'g BAPTISM 



CHURCH history hardly affords a more striking 

 illustration of the conflict between an instinctive 

 spiritual tendency and the barriers erected by 

 groping theologians than the manner in which the 

 baptism of children has been treated by the Chris- 

 tian world, The New Testament is silent con- 

 cerning it, and yet the teaching of Jesus has been 

 arrayed on both sides of the conflict. The state- 

 ment of John 3:5, " Except one be born of water 

 and the Spirit, he can not see the Kingdom of 

 God,'* seemed to shut children out of the King- 

 dom, their original sinfulness having been as- 

 sumed. On the other hand, the statement, "of 

 such is the Kingdom of heaven," was in direct op- 

 position to this. Its plain meaning could not be 

 evaded; but it could be neglected by those who 

 could not make it harmonize with their belief. 

 For the most part the Church has accepted both 

 statements and emphasized both in the most in- 

 harmonious fashion. The custom of children's 

 baptism probably had its roots in Jewish tradi- 

 tions and practices, and the fear that unbaptized 

 persons would be excluded from the Kingdom for- 



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