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Immersion to Destroy, Drown, or Ruin CLASSIC BAPTISM BAPTISM FOR
INFLUENCE [(Conant’s translations) 1. And the dolphin, angry at such a falsehood, IMMERSING (BAPTIZING) killed him. ex. 51, p 24. AEsopic fable of the Ape and the Dolphin. 3. You dipped
me in plays; but I, in waves of the sea IMMERSING (BAPTIZING), will destroy
thee with streams more bitter. ex. 60, p 29. Epigram on comic poet Eupolis. 10.
And others leaping into the sea were drowned, or struck by the enemy and WERE
SUBMERGED (BAPTIZED). ex. 37, p 17. Dion Cassius,
Roman History, L. ch. 35. 11.
And every form of war was enacted and witnessed; the natives sustaining the
conflict with zeal and with all their force; the others, having greatly the
advantage both in number and in the unexpectedness of the attack, and slaying
some on land, and PLUNGING (BAPTIZING) others, with their boats and huts,
into the lake. ex. 81, pp 39-40. Heliodorus, AEthiopics, Theagenes and Chariclea, 14.
And if the winter’s torrent were bearing one away, and he with outstretched
hands were imploring help, to thrust even him headlong, IMMERSING
(BAPTIZING), so that he should not be able to come up again. ex. 28, p 13.
Lucian, Timon or the Man-hater, 44. 18. Then
bravely PLUNGING (BAPTIZING) himself into the 24. And
neither can the swordsmith determine whether he
shall sell the sword to a murderer, nor the shipwright whether he shall build
ships for a robber,...nor the pilot whether he saves, in the voyage, one whom
it were better to SUBMERGE (BAPTIZE). ex. 41, p 19. Themistius,
Oration IV. (XXIII).] Classic Baptism DROWNING BAPTISM 1. And the
dolphin, displeased as such a falsehood, mersing,
killed him. 3. But mersing you by sea-waves, I will destroy you by bitterer
blows. 10. Struck by
the enemy, were mersed. 11. Mersing others into the lake. 14. Thrust
such a one upon the head, mersing him. 18. Nobly mersing himself into the 24. One saved
in the voyage, whom it were better to merse. (1.) These are
cases of drowning. The drowning was by mersion and
was the influence designed to be secured over the mersed
objects. Mersion does not necessarily drown because
something may intervene to arrest this consummation; but where there is no
such intervention, all living animals are drowned by mersion. (2.) In many
of these cases the mersed object was already in the
water, only the head remaining above; yet the putting under the head merely,
causing death, is called the mersion (baptism) of
the person... (3.) Bapto, tingo, dip, are
never used to express any case of drowning. Their power and nature make them
unfit for any such use. (4.) “The act of
baptism,” as a uniform modal act, has no shadow of existence. The form of the
act, through which the mersion is secured does not
enter into the meaning of the word ... (5.) We see from
such usage how readily baptizo might (does?) advance, from the idea of
mersion to express that of drowning. In such use as
in ex. 24, - “the pilot does not know whether he saves in the voyage one whom
it were better to merse,”
- we are shut up to the meaning, to drown. P 277 BAPTISM OF SHIPS VESSELS MERSED FOR DESTRUCTION [(Conant’s translations)
7. And even if any one came near, how could he escape being IMMERGED
(BAPTIZED) by the very multitude of the oars. ex. 34, p 16. Dion Cassius, Roman History, L. ch.
18. 8. And if
they hit them, they came off superior; but if they missed, their own vessels
being pierced, they WERE SUBMERGED (BAPTIZED). ex. 35, pp 16-7. Dion Cassius, Roman History, L. ch.
32. 9. And
hence, they gained the advantage each over the other; the one dropping within
the lines of the ship’s oars, and crushing the oar-blades, and the other from
above SUBMERGING (BAPTIZING) them with stones and engines. ex. 36, p 17. Dion Cassius, Roman History, L. ch.
32. 12. And I
will show you also my soldiers; one fighting life-like even in the
painting...and another IMMERGING (BAPTIZING) with his hands the Persian
fleet. ex. 40, p 19. Heimerius, Oration, X. &
2. 17. Some
[of the vessels] thrusting down, under a weight firmly fixed above, they sunk
into the deep; and others, with iron hands, or beaks like those of cranes,
hauling up by the prow till they were erect on the stern, they SUBMERGED
(BAPTIZED). ex. 3, pp 2-3. Plutarch, Life of Marcellus, ch.
XV. 20. For if any were hard pressed by the enemy, they retreated safely on
account of their fast sailing into the open space; and then with reversed
course, now sailing round and now attacking in flank the more advanced of the
pursuers, while turning and embarrassed on account of the weight of the ships
and the unskillfulness of the crews, they made
continued assaults and SUBMERGED (BAPTIZED) many of the vessels. ex. 1, pp
1-2. Polybus, History, 21. Which
being done, some of the vessels fell on their side, and some were overturned;
but most of them, when the prow was let fall from on high, BEING SUBMERGED
(BAPTIZED), became filled with sea-water and with confusion. ex. 2, p 2. Polybus, History, VIII, ch. 8,
4. 22. Pierced
and BEING IMMERGED (BAPTIZED) by a hostile ship. ex. 8, p 5. Polybius, History, XVI, ch. 6,2.] P 277 Classic Baptism;
The features of these baptisms are too obvious to call for exposition. The
act effecting the baptism is widely various; the farthest possible removed
from dip. The dative without preposition, and the genitive, express agency.
The duration of the baptism has no limit. The baptism is sought for its
destructive influence. The ships have been baptized, were left in a state of
baptism, and have continued in it for two thousand years. - Many of the land animals, surrounded by
the river, perished being mersed; but some, fleeing
to the high place, are saved. [(Conant’s translation) “Most of the wild land animals
are surrounded by the streams and perish, being SUBMERGED (BAPTIZED); but
some, escaping to high ground are saved.” ex. 14, pp 7-8. Diodorus
the Sicilian. Historical Library, P 261; It seems
hardly credible that Carson should offer this as a case of modal dipping, and
yet it is even so...This is his language: “The whole land, overwhelmed, might
be said to be modally dipped, by catachresis, and that the animals would at
first swim, and then sink, and be entirely immersed. The sinking of animals
is here called baptism. What, then, is baptism but immersion?” Here is a melange of words which exhibits a remarkable rhetorical
and logical monstrosity...Diodorus says nothing
about the land being dipped or baptized, but the animals only...Can there be
a shadow of a doubt as to the sense in which “immersed” is here used (by
Carson)? Is there any possibility for its meaning to dip
...? Does it not represent
the condition of the animals after sinking, and as a consequence of the act
of sinking”?... It is neither here said, nor can it
be said that sinking is baptism...Sink, on this occasion, as flow, fall,
throw, walk, &c., &c., &c., on other occasions, (only) expresses
the form of the act by which the drowning-baptism took place ... - The river with a stronger current rolling
down mersed many, and swimming through with their
arms, destroyed them. [(Conant’s translation) “The river, rushing down with the
current increased in violence, SUBMERGED (BAPTIZED) many and destroyed them
attempting to swim through their armor.” ex. 13, p 7. Diodorus
the Sicilian. Historical Library, XVI. ch. 80.]
P 263; This is a
death baptism by a strong river current. These baptisms are a sort of dipping
hardly contemplated in “Baptizing is dipping, and dipping is baptizing.” They
exhibit an influence exerted over their object such as no Greek ever used bapto to express, and to which no one in a sane
mind would apply dip. [(compare also Conant’s translation of the following passages) “And she
breathed as persons breath after having been IMMERSED (BAPTIZED), and emitted
a low sound from the chest, like the so-called ventriloquists.” and; “And she
breathed as if breathing after having been IMMERSED (BAPTIZED).” ex. 30, p
14. Hippocrates, on Epidemics, books V and VII.] P 66 Judaic
Baptism [(Conant’s translation) “Continually pressing down and
IMMERSING (BAPTIZING) him while swimming, as if in sport, they did not
desist, till they had entirely suffocated him. ex. 16, p 8. Josephus, Jewish
Antiquities, XV, ch. 3, 3.] 1. Always pressing
down and mersing him, as if in sport, while
swimming. Aristobulus, high priest and of royal
blood, greatly beloved by the people, had awakened the suspicion and jealousy
of Herod (who reigned even though lacking lineal descent to be king). Herod,
having resolved upon his destruction, allured him to engage in sportive
exercise and when heated thereby, enticed him to a fish-pond within the
palace grounds to induce him to seek refreshment by bathing in its waters. In
the pond were already some of his creatures under the pretense of bathing,
but really to carry out the murderous intent of the king. Aristobulus
having entered the pool, these assassins consummated their purpose by
“pressing down and mersing his head while he was
swimming, as if in sport.” Thus Aristobulus was
murdered by being drowned. The comment of Dr.
Carson...”Aristobulus was several times dipped
before he was entirely suffocated...It was not the word baptizo which
destroyed him. It was the keeping him too long under the water after
immersion,” (p 263.)...”The Greek word baptizo would not hurt them
more than the harmless English word dip, were there an immediate emersion;
and dip, if not followed by an emersion will be followed by death as its
consequence as well as baptizo; and the latter may be followed by
emersion as well as the former. The continuation under water is not here
expressed by the verb in question,” (p. 286.). (Dale responds) Baptists have
good reason to do their best with this case, both to get drowning out of it
and to get dipping into it. They could have no bolder or abler representative
in making such an attempt than Dr. Carson. How has he succeeded? The fact of
drowning is so ingrained in the narrative of the baptism that even a ...The assassins
baptized Aristobulus. Aristobulus
recovered himself out of this state of baptism without help from them. Again
they baptized him, and again he recovered. At length, too much exhausted to
struggle more he remained in that state of baptism into which he was brought
by Herod’s command, and perished ... P 69 Judaic
Baptism [(Conant’s translation) “And there, according to the
command, being IMMERSED (BAPTIZED) by the Gauls in
a swimming-bath, he dies. ex. 17, p 9. Josephus, Jewish War, I, ch. 22, 2.] 2. And there, being
mersed in the pool by the Galatians according to
command, he died. This is a second allusion to the same murder. It differs
from the former in omitting...any form of act by which the baptism was effected. In the absence of such information imagination
might exhaust itself in vain attempts to learn the facts of the case. So far
is it from being true, that the Greek word is in such matters, its own
expositor; there is absolutely no help to be derived from it to learn the
definite act by which any baptism is secured. Such knowledge must come from
other quarters. Had the “Antiquities” of Josephus perished, this statement in
his “War” would have left us hopelessly in the dark as to the act employed by
the assassins in the baptism of Aristobulus. This
passage also leads to the remark that Josephus had other ideas than |