20 CEYLON BRANCH — ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY. 



" however conceal the fact that the administration of Holy Bap» 

 ** tism to natives, causes us no little anxiety and solicitude, many 

 *' of them being still strongly inclined to heathenish superstitions 

 "and devil-worship, which we are not always able to discover 

 M for the one will not betray the other, and no one has the 

 " boldness to give us the information. " It is an extraordinary 

 circumstance that with the large number on the one hand, of 

 natives professing Christianity in Ceylon, there were on the other 

 hand, reasonable doubts all along on the part of the clergy as 

 to the propriety of administering the rite of baptism to such* 

 The opinion of the clafsis on this point, communicated in their 

 letter of May 1679 was as follows. " Worthy brethren our heart 

 " is enlarged towards you, desiring to help by word and deed 

 " the cause of our great shepherd among you where satan holds 

 81 his throne. We know that for years doubts have existed in 

 ** Ceylon respecting the children of certain Singhalese who though 

 " baptized are prone to devil-worship, whether such children 

 85 should be baptized &c. As this crying evil has, to the best 

 " of our knowledge, not yet been remedied, and as it is a great 

 " obstacle to the extension of Christ's Kingdom we will, pace 

 w vestra franckly give you our sentiment. The whole subject 

 " resolves itself into the following questions. 



" 1 — Whether it be allowable to baptize an adult without his 

 u previous acquaintance with God and the Christian Religion* 



This of course the brethren unanimously reject with us, know- 

 " ing that ere an adult is baptized he must be taught yea be- 

 "come a disciple of Christ. Mark 29. 9. He who is wth- 

 " out the knowledge of God and his revealed service is with- 

 *\ out faith, without God and without hope. Ephes. 2. To a 

 81 person without these requisites baptism cannot in truth be ad* 

 M ministered, Acts 8. 36. 37. 



11 2 — In what light to regard such baptized persons ? or whe« 

 " ther as christians ? — and whether in virtue of their baptism 

 jM their children also should be baptized ? We hesitate not to 



