[De Sacramento aquae nostrae qua ablutis delictis pristinae caecitatis in vitam aeternam liberamur non erit otiosum digestum istud, instruens tam eos qui cum maxime formantur quam et illos qui simpliciter credidisse contenti, non exploratis rationibus traditionum, temptabilem fidem per imperitiam portant. Atque,adeo nuper conversata istic quaedam de caina haeresi vipera venenatissima doctrina sua plerosque rapuit, imprimis baptismum destruens. plane secundum naturam: nam fere viperae et aspides ipsique reguli serpentes arida et inaquosa sectantur. Sed nos pisciculi secundum nostrum Iesum Christum in aqua nascimur, nec aliter quam in aqua permanendo salvi sumus. Itaque illa monstrosissima, cui nec integre quidem docendi ius erat, optime norat necare pisciculos de aqua auferens][ Sample from Original Latin]
NOTE: The below work defends the Tertulian’s position against the rationalistic objections of a female gnostic preacher of the Cainite cult. He differentiated true Christian baptism against Non Christian baptism.
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The Blessed Sacrament of Water, in which, when cleansed, we are released from the sins of our original blindness, unto eternal life! … How great is the power of stubbornness, to unsettle the FaithFaith πίστει., or even to reject it altogether, when we find it impugns it, on account of the very articles it contains. Nothing so hardens men’s minds, as that simplicity of divine works which is seen in the doing of them, contrasted with the greatness which is promised as the effect of them. For instance, in the case before us; since the candidate for baptism is plunged into water in so simple a way, without many ceremonies, without any novel ado, without cost, and is bathed with a few words said over him, and then rises not much or not at all cleaner to look at, therefore it is considered incredible that he can have gained thereby an eternal gift. … Wretched incredulity! to deny to GodGod People in most cultures believe in the existence of supernatural beings and other supernatural concepts. God is attributed to both anthropomorphic properties (“listens to prayers”) and non-anthropomorphic properties (“knows everything”). Conceptualizing God is associated with willingness to get the COVID-19 vaccine or Vaccine hesitancy. Pope requested people not to practice “Jesus is my vaccine”. For the Jewish, family (Avestan universal) god became national God: I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,”(ex 3:15). See Ishwar. His own characteristics, simplicity and power.
What, then is it not wonderful that even a bath should wash away death? surely; but let us even be the more ready to believe, if its marvellousness, forsooth, is made a reason for unbelief. For what should be the character of divine works, but surpassing marvellousness? We, ourselves, marvel also, but because we do believe. Incredulity marvels without believing; at what is simple, as being contemptible; at what is great, as being impossible. Be it so: yet the divine announcement has gone before, and is sufficient to establish both what seems contemptible, and what seems impossible. “God(deus) hath chosen the foolish things of the world, to confound its wisdom; and what is of surpassing difficulty with men, is easy with Him.” … Mindful of this announcement, as a principle to guide us, let us consider the so-called foolishness and impossibility of the doctrine, that we are new made by water.…
It is said, “in the beginning God made the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” My first reason, then, O man, for reverencing water, is its antiquity; next, the honour put upon it, inasmuch as it was the abode of the Divine Spirit, and thus had more of grace in it than the other elements then existing. For as yet the darkness was unrelieved by the embellishment of the stars; there was the dreary abyss, the unfashioned earth, the untempered heavens; only water, a substance ever perfect, bright, uncompounded, pure in itself, a worthy receptacle of the presence of God. Moreover, when the world was to be brought into form, it was by means of water, as the harmonizing principle, that God effected it. He suspended the firmament of the heavens, by dividing the waters; and the firm land by separating them; and next, when the world was duly-shaped, and inhabitants were to be given it, it was first commanded the waters, to bring forth living things, water was the first substance to give out the breath of life; no wonder, then, that, in baptism, it has the gift of quickening.…
The angel came in the midst, and moved the pool of Bethesda; those who felt their sickliness, waited for his coming… That figure of bodily healing intimated the healing of the soulSoul Abraham, having wept a short time over his wife’s body, soon rose up from the corpse; thinking, as it should seem, that to mourn any longer would be inconsistent with that wisdom by which he had been taught that he was not to look upon death as the extinction of the soul, but rather as a separation and disjunction of it from the body, returning back to the region from whence it came; and it came, from God. (Philo) न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचिन्-नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः-अजो नित्यः शाश्वतोयं पुराणो-न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे (Gita 2.20 ), in the way in which visible things go first, as the symbol of things spiritual; so, when the grace of God was accorded to men, more came to them than mere water and an angel. Man receives that Spirit of God which he had once received from His breathing on him, but afterwards had lost by transgression. Not that we obtain the Holyholy Hebrew root qdš makes the word qōdeš (distinct). "And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation". (Exodus 19:6a). Distinct, which is not common or ordinary. "Be holy, for I, the YAHA, your ELOHIM, am holy" (Lv 19.2; cf. 11.44; 20.26) > be just, pure, and clean. Greek ἅγιος is " set apart" and is different from Hebrew 'qodes'.καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος (Matt 28.19). 'the holy place' (מִקְדָּשׁ, Ezekiel 37:28). Panskrit 'pavitra -पवित्र' means sanctified by vedic mantra and rituals and not only cleaned 'something' by clean water or by fire. Spirit in the water; but, by being cleansed in the water from sin and guilt, we are prepared by the angel for the Holy Spirit.… Next, on coming out of the water, we are anointed over with the consecrated ointment according to the ancient usage, by which oil was used as an introduction into the priesthood.… Afterwards hands are laid on us, invoking and calling down the Holy Spirit, by the form of benediction… And then that Holiest Spirit willingly descends from the Father upon the body thus cleansed and blessed: settles upon the baptismal waters, as acknowledging its ancient dwelling-place, as once He lighted on the Lord in the figure of a dove, to show His nature by its simplicity and innocence. For as, after the waters of the flood, which washed away the old iniquity, after the baptism (as I may say) of the world, the dove, sent out of the ark, and returning with the olive branch, became the herald of God’s anger appeased, and has made the olive a sign of peacePeace εἰρήνη among the nations, according to a like appointment, the spiritual influence, the dove of the Holy Spirit, flies to the earth (that is, our flesh) when emerging from the waters after its old transgressions, bringing the reconciliation of God, sent from heaven, where the ChurchChurch Creedal political organizations of Christian People (Ecclesia) were created in Rome around 350 CE with a reading manual (NT) under a local leader (Bishop) within Roman provinces. A church building is also called a 'church'. The church is the body of Christ and the Doctrine of the catholic church was added around 400 CE. Christian groups are divided into Roman Catholics, Orthodox, and countless reformed denominations. A church is maintained by donations and taxation from its members. is, the antitype of the ark. But the earth sins yet again … and so is destined to the fire; as man also, who renews his sins after baptism; so that here, too, we may take the history as a warning…
John’s baptism afforded our Lord the subject of a question proposed to the Pharisees, viz. whether it was from heaven or from earth? They could return no sound answer, as not understanding, because they did not believe.… John supplied no heavenly work, but ministered beforehand towards things heavenly, viz. as being the master of repentance, which is in man’s power… If, then, repentance is a human work, the baptism of repentance is human; it had supplied the Holy Ghost and remission of sins, if it had been heavenly. God alone remits sins, and vouchsafes the Spirit… That was not heavenly which manifested nothing of a heavenly nature. Even the spirit of prophecy, which for a season had been a heavenly gift possessed by John, afterwards, when the fulness of the Spirit was transferred to the Lord, so utterly failed him, that he sent to ask whether He were really the ChristChrist Lamentations 4:20 > The breath of our nostrils, the Christ (Mašíaḥ) of Yahweh, was captured in their pits, of whom we had said, “Under his shadow, we shall live among the nations.” Greek Septuagint (OT), χριστός derived from χρίω (anointed one). Whether Jesus was Christ? NT declared in affirmative. Jews never accepted Jesus as a chosen leader. His violent death was interpreted as a curse by Yahweh. For Hindus, Christian claims are absurd. Performing Dharma leads to liberation. For Muslims, Jesus never died on the Cross. He who confesses that Jesus is Christ is Christian. Confessing Muhammad is the Last Prophet (Rasul) earned the name of Mohammedan. ., whom He had before foretold, and singled out on His coming.…
These miserable men say, “Baptism is not necessary, because faith is sufficient for the Christian; for Abraham pleased God by faith, without any sacrament of water.” But in all things, what comes last is the conclusive, and supersedes what went before. Though salvationSalvation σωτηρίας (σωτηρᾱ), Moksha in Sanskrit, Moksha can not be achieved without performing Dharma, acquiring Artha ( money and meaning in life), enjoying Kama (fulfilling desires according to Dharma). αἴτιος σωτηρίας (Philo) - Delivery from molestation. Σωτηρίας- Safety money. paying the cost to the Father God for worldly safety and delivery from slavery. came by mere faith, before the Lord’s passion and resurrectionResurrection Egyptian Osiris is the embodiment of death and resurrection. In the New Testament, Jesus never spoke about it. After much hesitation, it was added around 400 CE in the NT texts (Rufinus) - God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power (1 Corinthians 6:14). If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. (Romans 8:11). Matthew 27: 52-53: The tombs also were opened... many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many (after that where they went nobody knows it)., yet when faith is enlarged by the doctrines of the Nativity, Passion, and Resurrection, the covenant receives an enlargement also, viz. the seal of baptism, as though a sort of garment for faith, which before was naked, but now is sanctioned by its peculiar appointments. For the appointment of dipping is given, and a form of words prescribed…
We have but one Baptism, whether in Gospels or Epistles; there is one God, one Baptism, one Church in the heavens.… Once only we enter the sacred water, once we wash away our sins, because to repeat them is not a Christian’s part. IsraelIsrael Modern State of Israel was established in 1948 after the UN proposed the partition of the British Mandate for Palestine into Arab and Jewish states. Wars with Arab neighbors followed, leading to Israel's control of various territories. In recent years, Israel has pursued peace agreements with Arab nations and faced conflict with groups like HAMAS. Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has had a notable influence on Israeli politics, including a return to office in 2022. Read more, according to the law, uses daily washings, as being daily defiled. To hinder this practice in us, the doctrine of the one baptism has been set forth. Blessed is the water which cleanses once for all, which sinners cannot make light of, which receives no stain from the recurrence of defilement, so as to pollute those whom it washes.…
Easter is the most solemn timeTime Where any expression of it occurs in any Rules, or any judgment, order or direction, and whenever the doing or not doing of anything at a certain time of the day or night or during a certain part of the day or night has an effect in law, that time is, unless it is otherwise specifically stated, held to be standard time as used in a particular country or state. (In Physics, time and Space never exist actually-“quantum entanglement”) for baptism; when the passion of the Lord, into which we are baptized, was accomplished. We may suitably apply our Lord’s words, when He sent His disciples to prepare for His last passover. “Ye shall find a man,” he said, “bearing a pitcher of water.” … Next, the season of Pentecost. Blessed are ye for whom the grace of God is waiting, what time ye ascend out of that holiest bath of your new birth, and first spread out your hands in your mother’s presence with your brethren; ask of the Father, ask of the Lord who imparts His many gifts, and says, “ask and ye shall find.” For ye have already sought, and ye have found; ye have knocked, and it has been opened to you.
Only I pray, that when you ask, you would also remember me, Tertullian, a sinner.
[Tertulliani peccatoris memineritis]
Tertullian (220 CE)
Note: The original Latin text was first printed in 1545 as part of the Mesnart edition from an unknown MS.
