Jerome's Views Touching Several Other Matters of Faith

"Jerome, born of Christian parents, and brought up and instructed in the Christian doctrine, was baptized at Rome, in the thirtieth year of his age." Erasmus, Grondig Bewijs, letter A., Mart. Ball., folio 102.

"Again, Jerome plainly says, concerning the words of the Supper, that with this bread Christ intended to prefigure, represent, and show the truth of His body, and in many places He calls the cup a figure of the blood.

"Again, he teaches, on Matthew 16, that the priests have no more power, or just as little power, to bind or to loose, than the priests of the Old Testament had to pronounce the lepers clean or unclean. The words of the priest made them neither clean nor unclean, but simply pointed out who, according to the law of Moses, was leprous or not leprous; so now the bishop, according to the law of Christ, declares whose sins are retained, and whose are forgiven.

"Again, he also maintains that all days should be esteemed alike, and that one should constantly keep Easter and Sabbath.

"He would likewise have it that men should fast daily. 'For what does it profit,' he says, 'if you carry an empty stomach around for two or three days, and then overload it? Daily you must hunger, and daily you must eat; you must fast so as not to injure the body, but to subdue and break the desires.'

"Again: 'The Roman church is not to be esteemed more highly than the church of the whole world, whether of France, or of Britannia, and so on. But to worship one Christ, and to have one Ruler, or teacher, of the truth, this constitutes a church.' Chron. Fra., folio 65, 86.

"Again, of antichrist he says: 'And do we not know that the coming of antichrist is near at hand? He shall sit in the temple of God, that is to say, in Jerusalem, or in the church, as I understand it with more truth. Antichrist shall war against the heathen and overcome them.'

"Again: 'While a man lives here, he may be justified, but after death he has no more opportunity to do good works, though some dispute this, saying that men may increase or decrease even after they have died. While we are in this present life, we may help one another by prayer or deeds; but when we come before the judgment seat of God, neither Job, nor Daniel, nor Noah, can pray for anyone; then everyone must bear his own burden.' halent. hanius, folio 112. [n236-1]

"Again, Jerome says: 'He who is spiritual never persecutes him who is carnal. I have learned from the command of the apostles to avoid a heretic, but not to burn him. Christ came not to smite, but to be smitten. He who is smitten follows Christ; but he who smites follows antichrist.'

" 'Again, the Lord commanded His apostles that they should first instruct and teach all nations, and then baptize those instructed, in the sacrament of faith; for it is not possible for the body to receive the sacrament of baptism, unless the soul has previously received the true faith." ' P. J. Twisck, Chron., 4th book, page 129.

That in Thessalia also infant baptism was not much practiced at this time, in the year 390, is shown by Socrates, Bapt. Hist., page 363, book 5, chapter 21, with these words: [n236-2] "Besides, I also know of another custom in Thessalia, namely, that there they baptize only on Easter days; hence nearly all, few excepted, die without baptism." See also, H. Montan. Nietigheyd, page 71.

But someone may ask: With what words is it expressed in the passage cited that in Thessalia also infant baptism was not much practiced in the year 390, which the writer so confidently asserts. I answer: He gives two reasons by which he proves it; in the first place, because, as he says, it was the custom there to baptize only on Easter days, which indicates that this baptism was not administered to newborn infants, as Cyprian and his followers had commanded, for these were not born just on Easter days, and hence could not be baptized on Easter days; from which it follows that the custom of baptizing on Easter days was not instituted for newborn infants, but for adult persons, who could prepare themselves for that time. In the second place, when he says that therefore nearly all, few excepted, died without baptism, it is certainly obvious from this that all who died without baptism had not been baptized in their infancy, and that, consequently, many persons were found at this time who allowed their children to remain unbaptized.

In the year 391. It is stated that Augustine (although he afterwards became infected with the doctrine of infant baptism), though born of a Christian mother, and the descendant of Christian ancestors, was not baptized before he was in his thirtieth year (Nauclerus, book 14, Generat., says, in his thirty-third year, by bishop Ambrose, at Milan, on Easter).

Jacob Mehrning and H. Montanus relate it in this way, namely, that Monica, Augustine's mother, who, though born of Christian parents, was not baptized until she had reached adult years, likewise did not have her son Augustine baptized in his infancy; but that he was baptized when he was already thirty-three, others say thirty, years old. It is true, we read, they say, that when he had become a youth, and had fallen very sick, he desired to be baptized; and also that his mother was engaged then in preparing him for baptism. But when he suddenly recovered from his sickness, his baptism was put off. Augustine was at that time of such an age that if he had been baptized it would really not have been infant baptism, but a baptism that might have been counted with the baptism of adults, had it sprung from a voluntary resolution; for it should have been connected, as Augustine himself declares, with his faith and the confession of the name of Christ, which cannot be the case in the baptism of infants.

Augustine there also relates why his mother at that time put off his baptism, namely, because she, foreseeing the many and great waves of temptation that would roll over his head in his youthful years, feared that the guilt of his sins, after the washing of baptism, would be the greater and more dangerous, which he himself and the whole family, with the exception of his father, then believed. He also tells us that there were others, too, at that time, who put off or omitted the baptism of their children for such reasons. Bapt. Hist., pages 363, 364. H. Montan. Nietigh., pages 71, 72. [n236-3]

It appears, moreover, that on that occasion not only Augustine was baptized upon the confession of his faith, but also his son Adeodatus, and his friend Alipius, concerning which we find this notice. Bapt. Hist., page 444, Augustine, bishop of Hippon, in Africa, when he was thirty-three years old, was baptized at Milan, by bishop Ambrose, together with Alipius, and Adeodatus, his natural son, who was fifteen years old at the time. Of this, Augustine, in the 9th book, 6th chapter, of his Confessions, says: "When the time had come that I was to have my name entered on the register of the candidates for baptism, I left the country, and journeyed again to Milan. My dear friend Alipius desired to be baptized with me. Alipius, who was qualified for it because of his humility, and the mastery he had over his body, so that in case of need he would have traveled barefoot in winter through the snow in Italy, went with me. We took with us the child (that is, the youth) Adeodatus, begotten by me in sin. You, O Lord, formed him well, in both soul and body. He was now about fifteen years old, and excelled many worthy and learned men." A little further on, he says: "We have made him our equal, O Lord, in the reception of Your grace, in order to be trained up further in Your law and school; we are baptized, and the care of our old life has been taken away from us. I could not be satisfied in those days with the wonderful sweetness I experienced in contemplating the mysteriousness of Your counsel, O Lord, regarding the salvation of the human race. Oh, how I wept, amid songs of praise. The tears ran down my cheeks." Thus far, Augustine.

NOTE. In the year 392. The Apollinarians, who derived their origin from Apollinaris, denied that Christ took His humanity from the virgin Mary, saying that the word became flesh. P. J. Twisck, Chron., 4th book, page 130, from Tripart., book 9. Vincent. Hist., chapter 44. Zeg., folio 189. [n236-4]

In the year 393. Valentinian, or Valens, the son of Christian parents (Valentinian and Justina), was persuaded to journey to Milan, to be baptized by Ambrose, but was treacherously murdered on the way by one Arbogastes. H. Montan., page 70, from Socrat., book 4, chapters 9, 26. H. Montanus, however, wrongly fixes the date of this occurrence at about the year 380.

My dear friends, is it not a sad thing that this man, namely Augustine, who thus defended baptism upon faith, indeed confirmed it by his own example, and by the example of his son Adeodatus, and his friend Alipius, whom he had urged to it, should at last fall so far as to admit, indeed to become a defender of, infant baptism! Surely, it is a lamentable matter. For no one can deny that in the beginning, right after his baptism, he was exceedingly zealous in defense of the true baptism, which is received with a penitent heart; but that in the course of time he fell away to infant baptism can likewise not be denied by any lover of truth. Still, the example of Augustine, his son Adeodatus, and his friend Alipius serves to confirm our faith, since we see that in Augustine's time the leading Christians allowed their children to remain unbaptized until they were grown up and of their own accord desired baptism; for so Monica did with her son Augustine, and Augustine with his son Adeodatus, and his friend Alipius, which is a clear proof of the matter in question, namely, that not infant baptism, but baptism upon faith, was practiced among the chief Christians.