A PUZZLED TEUTON | AdventAI

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · April 22, 1880

FromThe Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol. 55, No. 17

A PUZZLED TEUTON.

One who does not believe in immersion for baptism was holding a protracted meeting, and one night preached on the subject of baptism. In the course of his discourse he said: “Some believe it is necessary to go down into the water and come up out of the water when they are baptized.” But this he claimed to be fallacy, for the preposition “into” of the Scriptures should be rendered differently, as it does not mean “into” at all times. “Moses” he said, “we are told, went into the mountain, and the Saviour was taken into a high mountain, etc. Now we do not suppose that either went into the mountain, but upon it. So with going into the water: it simply means going down to or near the water, and being baptized in the ordinary way by sprinkling.”

He carried this idea out fully, and in due season and style closed his discourse, when an invitation was given to any who felt disposed to rise and express their thoughts. Quite a number of the brethren arose and said that they were glad they had been present on this occasion, that they were pleased with the sound sermon they had just heard, and felt their souls greatly blessed. Finally a corpulent gentleman of Teutonic extraction, a stranger to all, arose amid a silence that was almost painful.

“Mister Breacher, I ish so glat I vas here to-night, for I has had explained to my mint some tings I never could belief before. We reat, Mr. Breacher, dat Taniel was cast into a ten of lions, and came out alife. Now I never could belief dot, for de wild peasts would shust eat him right off. He was shust close py or near to, and did not get into de ten at all. Oh, I vas so glat I vas here to-night.

“Again ve reat de Hebrew children vas cast into a firish furnace, and dat alwaish looked like a peek story, too, for they could have been burnt right up; put it is very plain to my mint now, for dey vas shust cast close py or near to the firish furnace. Oh, I vas so glat I vas here to-night.

“And den, Mr. Breacher, it ish said dat Jonah vas cast into the sea and into the whalsh pelly. Now I never could belief dot. It always seemed to me to be a peek feesh story, but it ish all blain to my mint now; he vas not taken into the whalsh pelly, but shust shumped on his pack and rode ashore. Oh, I vas so glat I vas here to-night.

“And now, Mr. Breacher, if you will shust explain two more passages of Scripture, I shall be oh! so happy dot I vas here to-night. One of dem is vere it is said de wicked shall be cast into a lake dat purns mit fire and primstone, or shust close by or near to—shust near enough to pe comfortable? Oh, I hope you tells me I shall pe cast shust by a good way off, and I will pe so glad as I vas here to-night. De oder passage is dot von which said, Blessed are dey who do des commandments, dot dey may have a right to de tree of life, and enter in through de gates into de city. Oh, tells me I shall get into de city, and not shust close py or near to—shust near enough to see what I have lost—and I shall pe so glad I vas here to-night.”