Reprint of the original, first published in 1876.

Surveys the practice of baptism from the earliest times up to the medieval period in order to advance the argument that immersion was not the normal method in ancient times.

Excerpt from Baptism and Christian Archaeology The study of which the following pages are the result was first suggested to me by a conversation with a friend who had joined the Baptist community because, having gone into the question, he had come to the conclusion that the original method of administering the Sacrament was by submersion. I did not believe that he was right in his judgement, but was conscious that I had little definite with which to Oppose his conviction. I knew that baptism by affusion was represented in the catacombs, but I had no idea of the mass of evidence from archaeology that witnessed to it as the universal practice in early ages. I began my study in the belief that it was at least allowed at times; I ended it with the conviction that no other method was adopted till the general introduction of infant baptism in the early middle ages made submersion possible. What I have written has therefore an obvious doctrinal and practical interest, but I have endeavoured to keep out all controversial matter and to treat the question simply as one of archaeology. For the same reason literature has been appealed to mainly in so far as it bears upon the study of Christian antiquities, and to show how it corroborates the witness of contemporary material evidence. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.