USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Waterbury > A century of history in the First Baptist Church in Waterbury, Conn > Part 9
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Of course he could not have succeeded so well in all this excellent work if his efforts had not met with ready and generous response on the part of the church, which probably never proved its right to the praise so often accorded it by the late Deacon McWhinnie, that it is "a good church," more effectually than during Dr. Parry's ministry.
COMPOSITE CHARACTER OF THE MEMBERSHIP.
And of the church itself, which is after all the main thing, it is fitting that something be said.
JOSEPH SHIPLEY - p. 163 Father of Deacon A. J. Shipley. +
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It will be interesting to note the composite char- acter of its constituency, going back even to the beginning. Of the English contingent, we find the honored names of Collins, Hazlewood, Stanley, and Shipley, and later the names of Goffe, Ash- ton, Stout, and Trip, and doubtless others. Of the Scotch we have the McWhinnies, Minties, O'Neills, and Littlejohns; and if some of them seem to have the proverbial Scotch characteristic of being a little hard-headed, they have also warm hearts, and a little hard-headedness cannot be said to be altogether out of place in Baptist churches at the present day.
Also a vigorous element of original Teutonic stock is to be found among us, in a family which has so far won and retained our confidence that for more than a third of a century it has been intrusted with the purse of the church. And all these elements of a later European extraction are now as good American Baptists as any of us. Indeed, no genuine Baptist can be really a for- eigner for an hour in this country, since he has already learned the highest and truest principles of American liberty and civilization, which, in fact, are themselves largely of Baptist origin.
And it does not make us old-time Yankees at
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all envious or jealous when we remember that the most famous preacher that the church has sent forth is of Scotch descent, namely, James McWhinnie, son of the late Deacon McWhinnie, who, having lost a leg at Chancellorsville, so that he could no longer serve his country in the army, completed his studies at Brown, and his theologi- cal course at Newton, was pastor at Lansing- burg, New York, and at Portland, Me., whence he was called to Cambridge, Mass., where, hav- ing received his doctor's degree from Brown University, he continued in the pastorate until called to a higher service. He also helped to es- tablish the Woman's Mission in Alaska, of which his sister and ours, Miss Margaret McWhinnie, is still a prominent representative. Also, as an instance of long range Scottish descent, we are glad to number in our church and congregation several descendants of Dr. Robert Turnbull, for- merly of Hartford, and who in his time was re- garded as the ablest Baptist preacher in Connecti- cut, - one of these descendants being the leading soprano in our quartet and choir, while others are valued assistants in our Sunday-school and social gatherings. We are also in close affiliation with our German and Swedish brethren, the latter,
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indeed, being still members of our church and under the care of an assistant pastor, our excel- lent brother, A. O. Laurence, who has the ad- vantage of being able to speak in the Scandi- navian tongues. And with all these diverse ele- ments, we have also a sufficient mingling of Swiss, Irish, French, and Italians to make our church almost as cosmopolitan as the multitudes to whom Peter preached at Pentecost, while the presence among us of several members of African descent reminds us that we are all children of Him who made of one blood all the nations of the earth.
THE DEACONS AND THE CHURCH.
Our two senior deacons, D. L. Smith and A. J. Shipley, who have stood so long as well-matched and well-proportioned pillars in the house of God, are so well known that I need not dwell upon their steadfast constancy, their unfailing gener- osity, and their blameless lives. I suppose it would not be quite orthodox to say they have no faults. But I think I may at least say with the poet that "E'en their failings lean to virtue's side." Of the other deacons and the other ex- cellent men and women who are serving God and
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their generation in the First Baptist Church of Waterbury, time would fail me to say half the good things that ought to be said. But I may surely endorse the verdict of the late Deacon McWhinnie, that it is a good church, and I may add that I believe no church in Waterbury has a greater work to do, or a more important testi- mony to confirm and establish. I think I may say also, without boasting, that we consider our- selves well equipped for the work. If our pres- ent pastor, Rev. Oscar Haywood, were not pres- ent, I would say that we regard him as the equal of any who have preceded him in the long line of our pastorate. He has a zeal of God which is according to knowledge, and he has the courage of his convictions. The church is united and har- monious, our congregations were never so large, accessions were never more numerous, nearly 100 having been added during the year not yet com- pleted of Mr. Haywood's pastorate, and we think our condition never was better, nor our pros- pects more favorable.
THE SURPLUS FUND.
Our property is not only free from debt, but we have also established a surplus fund which has
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already over a thousand dollars in its treasury, and which we hope may be so increased, by be- quests and further subscriptions, that we may be able at any time to go forward with our work as occasion may require, promptly and without pecuniary embarrassment. The nature and ob- jects of this fund are more fully explained in a paper prepared for the purpose and inserted on page 203.
THE BANQUET.
There has rarely ever been a larger assembly of rejoicing Baptists on a similar occasion than gathered around the tables at the centennial ban- quet. Tables were spread in the spacious dining- hall and in the lecture room on the lower floor, and in the large Sunday-school apartments above, and all were bounteously supplied with the sub- stantials and delicacies which the ladies of the church and their friends know so well how to provide. Grace was said by Brother Edward Terrill, the oldest member of the church, in the lower rooms, and by Dea. A. J. Shipley in the upper rooms, and the Baptists and their friends partook of the good things provided with thank- fulness and gladness of heart. After the supper and an hour spent in social converse, the audience reassembled, and after singing the prescribed
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hymns under conduct of Bro. J. H. Trip, the church precentor, Prof. Porter proceeded to read the second part of his paper prefacing the reading with the following
REMARKS.
Elder Wightman, who was our first speaker in these Old Home Day exercises, but who un- fortunately was obliged to leave immediately at the close of his address, once said in a com- pany of Baptists, who were considering the condition and prospects of the Baptist denomina- tion in this State, that it is no worse, in his opin- ion, to be torn in pieces by a lion than to be hugged to death by a bear. As the descendant of a martyr, and having had in himself and his family experience of both kinds of treatment, he ought to be a pretty good judge in a matter of this kind. And at the present time, however it may have been in the past, there can, I think, be no doubt that as representatives of the distinctive principles of the Baptists we are in more danger from the affectionate embraces of the bear than from the teeth and claws of the lion. And, while we appreciate most highly the kindness and hearty good fellowship shown us by our brethren
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of other names during the progress of these cen- tennial exercises, we must not allow ourselves to be squeezed so hard as to take away our breath. We cannot surrender the great Baptist principle of freedom of speech, the right to clear and posi- tive expression of our views on this Old Home day, the especially Baptist day of our celebration, even in response to the generous kindness and courtesy manifested towards us by our brethren of other orders. I do not promise, therefore, that in the paper I am about to read there will be no allusion to points of difference between our- selves and other Christian bodies. I may add, however, that I alone am responsible for any errors or indiscretions which the paper may con- tain, the responsibility of the church being limited to the fact that they have given me a free hand without knowing what I was going to write or say.
DOCTRINE AND PRACTICE IN OUR CHURCH.
I have observed that in church histories it is customary to devote certain chapters to progress of doctrine and changes of ceremonial observ- ance. There have been some noteworthy changes in these respects in the Baptist church of Water-
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bury since its organization in 1803. During the first half century of its existence, the opinions of the members were divided on the question of the divine decrees, which formed so prominent a part of the theology of those days. Of the two first pastors, one, Elder Jesse Frost, was a Calvinist of the old type, while his co-pastor, Elder Samuel Potter, inclined to Arminian views; and both views existed side by side in the membership of the church without disturbing its harmony. The question, indeed, was never crowded into promi- nence except perhaps by one or two pastors, who thought it their duty to "indoctrinate " the people and see that any tendency to heresy" in regard to the " doctrines of grace " should be properly and promptly discouraged. But for many years past we have been of the opinion that if we should put the doctrine of the per- severance of the saints in actual practice, we could thus prove the doctrine of election better than by the profoundest argument; and further than this, the question is no longer regarded, by us as one of practical interest.
It was the custom of the church in the early days to hold the covenant meeting previous to the communion service on Saturday afternoon.
FRANKLIN POTTER, Son of Elder Samuel Potter, p. 148, and now Deacon in the Second Church.
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I learn also from Elder Wightman that this cus- tom prevailed generally among the Baptists of the State. And it speaks well for the faithfulness of the communicants that they were willing to give the half day on Saturday once a month to attendance upon this meeting. All were expected to report themselves as to their spiritual condi- tion and experiences, and if any could not be present at the meeting appointed for the pur- pose, time was allowed them on Sunday, previous to the commencement of the communion service. This salutary practice of hearing from every member previous to his participation in the com- munion, and which was possible when the church numbered but from 50 to 100 members, became, of course, impossible in a church of 500 to 1,000, and for obvious reasons the time of the covenant meeting was changed to Friday evening after the church was established in the center, and many of its members were under engagement to other parties, by whom they were employed.
CLOSE COMMUNION.
But another change, of much greater signifi- cance, has taken place in our view and practice with regard to the communion itself. Some of
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those now living, and not the oldest of us either, can remember that previous to the communion service the minister making the announcement was accustomed to say: " Members of sister churches of the same faith and order are cordially invited to partake with us." This invitation was by many regarded, and apparently with good reason, as not so much an invitation to other Baptists as an intimation that other than Bap- tists were not welcome, and in fact had no right to partake. But though the Baptist position that baptism is a prerequisite to communion was un- doubtedly logical, it was, perhaps, held not so much as a matter of principle as of policy. It was in effect our way of saying to pedobaptists : " You are not baptized." And as a matter of policy, it was doubtless more or less effective, as challenging the attention of other Christians to the Baptist contention. The Baptists of England, who are generally open communionists, have not been nearly so successful in their propagandism as the American Baptists. For every Baptist in England there are at least ten in the United States, where, counting other immersionist bodies, probably one-third of all Protestant Chris- tians may be reckoned as Baptists. Still, close
DEACON WILLIAM S. PLATT, Son of Deacon Alfred Platt and grandson of Deacon Nathan Platt. The largest benefactor of the Church at the time of his death.
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communion was undoubtedly regarded by other Christians as the bête noire of the Baptist churches, and it has been subjected to consider- able modification in our more recent practice. What might be called the iron-clad invitation, by which we virtually prohibited Christians of other orders from joining us in the service, is no longer heard from the pulpit, and a pedobaptist Christian who appears among us at the table of the Lord is no longer challenged as to his right to be there.
It should be observed, however, that we do not say he has a right to come. We simply decline to decide the case. We fall back on an- other Baptist principle, the great principle of soul liberty, the most fundamental of all Bap- tist principles, and that in the assertion of which Baptists suffered persecution for centuries. We therefore refuse to judge our brethren of other orders, and relieving ourselves of all responsi- bility in the case, we say with the apostle: "Let every man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup." But when our invitation is given, special reference is made to the duty of conscientious self-examination in words like the following: " All those who, ex-
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amining themselves, find in their hearts the an- swer of a good conscience as to their compliance with Scriptural conditions, are invited to partake with us." Surely no one can blame us for thus _ referring to the duty of conscientious self-exam- ination. If anyone makes a mistake in his ex- amination or his decision, the responsibility is his, not ours, and we will not be judges of other people's consciences. In this way we do not abandon any fundamental position and can easily justify our course. And we beg leave to call the attention of any who may still be disposed to linger in the gloom of absolute close communion to the following considerations: We must re- member that most of those who come to join us in this service really think they have been bap- tized. It was, perhaps, never even hinted to them at the time of their baptism, real or sup- posed, that there was any question at this point. It may be that their minister, through inadvert- ence, neglected to inform them that immersion was the only baptism of the apostolic churches, that the very meaning of the word " baptize," in the language in which the New Testament was written, requires that the subject should be placed wholly beneath the surface of the water, and that
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sprinkling and pouring are comparatively recent substitutes for the immersion originally com- manded and practiced. When the minister they trust, declares in the most solemn manner that he baptizes them, can they be blamed for taking him at his word, especially when he may inadvert- ently have failed to put them in a position to judge for themselves, as all Protestants are ex- pected to do? Possibly also the ceremony may have been performed on some of them when, by reason of their tender age, they were not in a position to consider the case on its merits, or even to know what was done; and so that if they came to the consideration of it in after years, it would be with an inevitable mental bias which would almost necessarily preclude the exercise of an impartial judgment. Surely we should not be justified in rudely excluding from the table of the Lord such as come to us under circumstances like these, nor, indeed, even those who, having fairly considered the matter, have come to a conclusion different from ours. We may say, therefore, with Paul: "Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind." We are not re- sponsible for erroneous conclusions, nor are those who may be in error responsible to us. To his own Master must each one stand or fall.
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BAPTISM.
And in regard to baptism itself there is at least a relative change in our position, a change pro- duced as we may say, inductively, by a somewhat remarkable change of position on the part of those who differ from us. During the first half cen- tury of our existence as a church the contention between Baptists and pedobaptists was conducted on purely Scriptural lines, that is, the word of God was regarded by both parties as the ultimate standard of appeal. Aspersionists stoutly and persistently maintained that sprinkling and pour- ing were the usual if not the only New Testa- ment baptism. There was not water enough about Judea to make immersion convenient or possible. The much water at Enon was for the asses and mules and people to drink, and not for baptism at all, for which a very little water would suffice. When John baptized the multi- tudes at Jordan he probably dipped a branch of hyssop in the water and whisked it over them as they stood on the bank of the river. How else, indeed, could he have managed to baptize such numbers as came to his baptism? The 3,000 at Pentecost could not have been immersed, as there was not time to do it. Paul in the sixth of
CHARLES PLATT, Son of Deacon Alfred Platt. Deacon in the Waterbury Church, and later Deacon in the Baptist Church in Great Barring- ton, Mass., to which place he removed early in life. t
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Romans makes no allusion to the act of baptism, but only to its effects ; and pictures in the cata- combs represent John as pouring water from a shell on the head of Christ. And volumes were written to prove that the New Testament Barrilw (baptizo) did not necessarily mean immerse. It was not classic Greek, but corrupt Jew Greek, used in a loose sense, and might mean almost anything done with water or other liquid.
But scholarship has long since driven all this kind of argument from the field. There is not now one scholar of reputation in the wide world who will accept or indorse it, or assert that New Testament baptism was ever anything but im- mersion. It is scarcely too much to say that only a degree of ignorance not at all creditable to a Christian minister, or a partisan zeal so unscru- pulous as not to shrink from the risk and respon- sibility of doubtful, possibly erroneous and de- ceptive, religious teaching, will now resort to the line of argument above sketched.
But have Baptists gained anything or pedo- baptists lost anything by the victory or defeat in this contention? Not at all. Have pedobaptists given up the practice of sprinkling since they found it was no longer sustained by Scripture?
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Not in the least. They have simply found other reasons for their practice. To speak in military phrase they have accomplished the difficult and dangerous feat of changing front in face of the enemy, and apparently, without the loss of a single man. In ordinary language, and as it appears to the average mind, we may say that their action and success in this matter seems to afford a most excellent illustration of the truth of the familiar saying that " where there's a will there's a way." Whether or not there was in any case, or in any degree, any hardening of the moral sense involved in this change of position, is not for us to determine ; but the obligation of a more perfect obedience to correspond with the clearer light, as indicated by the apostle in his sermon to the Athenians, seems not to have been very carefully considered.
But what are the reasons on which for the present, intelligent aspersionists defend the prac- tice of sprinkling as baptism? Why, the church has at length, and after more than 1,200 years of the darkness of legalism, emerged somewhat sud- denly into the light of gospel liberty, and is no longer under any obligation of literal and incon- venient obedience to the divine command.
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Listen for a moment to the words of a cele- brated Oxford professor of ecclesiastical history, the Very Reverend Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, the late learned Dean of Westminster, eminent alike for his learning and his candor, and everywhere held in high esteem as an authority on Christian institutions, and a man who could have no pos- sible interest but the interest of honesty and truth for the statements he makes. "Not by any de- cree of Parliament or council," says the learned Dean, " but by the general sentiment of Christian liberty this remarkable change was effected. Be- ginning in the 13th century it has gradually driven the ancient Catholic usage out of the whole of Europe. There is no one now who would wish to go back to the old practice."
No one would wish. That expression seems fairly to show the reason for the change. Immer- sion is not so convenient and does not approve it- self so well to the fastidious tastes of people at the present time. " The change," continues the Dean, is a striking example of the triumph of com- mon sense and convenience over the bondage to form and custom." I am sorry to be obliged to add that this sentiment of the worthy Dean can- not be construed as a very high compliment to
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the common sense of Christ and his apostles, nor as indicating a very high appreciation of the wisdom of Him who sees the end from the begin- ning, and to whom all ages and conditions of men are as an ever present reality. And the question inevitably suggests itself : Is it honoring God, exalting Him in the minds of His people, when men, however eminent, attempt to improve upon the rule and order which He has estab- lished in His house? Are they who assume to do this fulfilling as best they may the obligation of the first and great commandment, or the first peti- tion in the prayer of our Lord ? But the Dean con- tinues : " It is a larger change," he says, " than that which the Roman Catholic church has made in ad- ministering the Lord's Supper in the bread with- out the wine. For, whilst that was a change which did not affect the thing signified, the change from immersion to sprinkling has set aside most of the apostolic expressions concerning baptism, and altered the very meaning of the word. It shows how the spirit that lives and moves in human society can override even the most sacred or- dinances."* This language of Dean Stanley
* There is a sad significance in this frank statement of Dean Stanley. It should be remembered that the only
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seems to me to be a fair statement of the reasons for the change from immersion to sprinkling, as held by the most learned as well as the most candid of those who have expressed their views on the subject. Indeed, I believe it would be dif-
use and purpose of the word "baptize" in the New Testament churches was to designate and describe the act appointed by our Lord as the sign and means of initiation into his visible kingdom. As transferred from the Greek into other languages, it was set aside and de- voted to a special religious use in the same significance. To apply it to another act in no wise resembling that appointed by our Lord would have involved all the elements of falsity, and perhaps something also of dese- cration. But after more than a thousand years of rea- sonably faithful observance, this, however, was done by the priests in so many hundred thousands of instances, in which the people were deceived, that the definitive word was finally dragged over from the true to a false meaning, obscuring and setting aside in its perversion, as says the Dean, even the language of evangelists and apostles. It is probably true that in a majority of these multitudinous instances the word was addressed to un- conscious infants who could not distinguish one word from another, and who could not have even a memory of the act performed. But neither that fact, nor the fact that the ignorant actors in these ceremonies were not conscious of intentional wrong, could diminish the de- ceptive effect of the false meaning thus forced into the word "baptize " as heard by the people.
It is worthy of remark in this connection that this perversion could not be effected where the word was vernacular to the people and fixed in its meaning by
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ficult in the present state of learning to find other reasons for the change than those so explicitly stated in the language of the learned theologian above quoted. Dean Stanley is clearly right also when he alludes to the ancient baptism, immer-
everyday use. If a Greek priest should say "baptizo " (I baptize) while merely sprinkling, everyone who heard him would know he was not telling the truth. The word " baptize," even as transferred from the Greek, was kept to its true meaning till about the middle of the third century, and was then perverted in its use only in the very rare instances of those who were so sick that im- mersion was thought to be dangerous or impossible. A very early instance was that of Novatian, who, in fear of death, had water poured over and around him while lying on his bed. And the Roman bishop Cornelius, not knowing at that time that he was an infallible pope, expressed a doubt whether even such an abundant ap- plication of water could properly be called a baptism. But after a thousand years from this time, namely, in the fourteenth century, the practice, as originally applied to the dangerously sick, began to be extended to the well and strong, until, as Dean Stanley says, it has driven the ancient Catholic usage out of the whole of Europe. It seems to have been a case of taking an ell where only an inch had been given, except that in this case the inch also was taken and not given, at least not by anyone who had authority to give.
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