Showing papers on "Baptism published in 1969"

James Short, F.R.S., and His Contribution to the Construction of Reflecting Telescopes

Abstract: JAMES SHORT (1710-1768, F. R. S. 1737), the Scottish telescope-maker who achieved such eminence that he was at one time a favoured candidate for the office o f Astronomer Royal, was born in Edinburgh on 10 June 1710. In the entry of his baptism in the Edinburgh Parish Register the parents are described as ‘William Short, Wright, Burgess and Margaret Grierson, his spouse’. In 1720, James, now an orphan, was sent to Heriot’s Hospital, a school for the education of the sons of burgesses. Two years later, he went to the High School, and in 1726 to the University of Edinburgh. His academic record was so excellent that his friends, and particularly his grandmother, wished him to become a minister of the Church of Scotland, and he attended classes at the Divinity Hall.

Biblical warrants for worship: An examination of the scriptural and early patristic basis for the major liturgical practices of the Church of Scotland

Abstract: In this thesis the writer researches the following statement made by Dr. O.B. Milligan in the Preface to the Book of Common Order of the Church of Scotland: Further, the Church of Scotland, adhering to the Scottish Reformation and receiving "the Word of God which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as its supreme rule of faith and life", bases all its wroship on Holy Scripture. Without reservation of any kind it may be asserted that everything contained in this Book receives its warrant from that source. In this study the writer shows the extent to which this forthright affirmation by Dr. Milligan can be supported by the evidence. While the debt to the Old Testament worship is not overlooked, the writer concentrates on the writings of the New Testament. Also he extends the scope of his investigation beyond the New Testament Canon. Inasmuch as the patristic literature down to Hippolytus reflects liturgical practices which extend back to the times when parts of the New Testament were written, the writer has included this additional evidence. Of necessity the writer has had to be selective in terms of the contents of the Book of Common Order. He has restricted himself to those Orders and parts of them which are related to regular public worship. Nevertheless, it will be clear to anyone who consults the Book of Common Order that any Orders which are not explicitly considered contain muchwith which the writer does deal. As a background for his study of the worship of the Church of Scotland, the writer outlines the service of the Synagogue at the time of Jesus; it was this worship which the Christian Church inherited and which the first Christians continued, to practise. Then, turning more specifically to the Book of Common Order, he discusses three elements of a general nature: Sunday; the Christian Year; and the Lectionary. The next chapter focuses attention upon features common to most services: Calls to Worship and Prayer; Psalms, Paraphrases, Hymns and Canticles; Scripture Readings; Creed; Prayers, including the Lord's Prayer; Congregational Responses; intimations; Sermon; Ascriptions; Offerings; and Benediction. A chapter is devoted to each of the two Sacraments - Baptism and the Lord's Supper - as well as to the rite of Confirmation. The writer draws the thesis to a close by stating his conclusions and making some general observations about the validity and truth of Milligan's statement. A Selected Bibliography follows the last chapter. Although Milligan's assertion cannot be completely substantiated, the writer demonstrates in this study the large extent to which it is true. Furthermore, it may be pointed out that many of the liturgical practices of the Church of Scotland are common to all branches of the Christian Church. Therefore, the results of this research have significance not only for the Church of Scotland but also for the v/hole of Christendom.

The Founding of the Third Church in Boston

Abstract: T t HE founding in i669 of the Third Church in Boston as a result of a split within the First Church was part of a controversy which lasted for several years and had widespread effects. When the choice of the Reverend John Davenport to succeed John Wilson as minister of the First Church in i667 offended a substantial number of members, they protested without effect and then unsuccessfully sought an orderly dismission from the church. Thereupon, with the support of other churches and of the civil authorities they seceded from the First to found the Third, or Old South, Church. The hostile factions continued to argue, the General Court took up the affair, and an election was fought over it. Not until i672 was an uneasy peace attained in a struggle which had divided both the civil and ecclesiastical rulers of Massachusetts.' Most historical accounts of the origins of the controversy have viewed it as one incident in the wider debate in New England provoked by the recommendations of the Synod of i662 in favor of the Half-Way Covenant, which created a new category of church members and extended baptism to their children.2 Congregations often divided over the Covenant and strong ministerial statements were printed for and against it. Since John Davenport was the Synod's greatest opponent, his call to the Boston church outraged those of its members who accepted the Covenant. Not only would Davenport gain an influential pulpit from which

The Seal of the Holy Spirit and Baptism

Abstract: (1969). The Seal of the Holy Spirit and Baptism. Baptist Quarterly: Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 111-125.

Karl Barth on Baptism

Abstract: Some years ago Barth fell seriously ill, and no one, least of all he himself, dared hope that he would ever again be capable of adding another volume to the twelve volumes of his opus magnum, the Church Dogmatics, which had appeared from 1932 till 1962. After his remarkable recovery in autumn 1965, however, he has paid a visit to Rome in September 1966, the fruit of which was his highly instructive report Ad Limina Apostolorum (reviewed in SJT, vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 110f), and now he has presented us with another volume of his Church Dogmatics, though, for the reasons given in the Preface to K.D. IV.4, the latter had to be confined to a fraction of what Barth had originally hoped to achieve in that volume. To understand what follows, we must call to mind that Barth, treating ethics as an integral part of dogmatics, had dealt in his doctrine of God (C.D. II.2) with the command of God as an essential element in the very Being of God (general ethics). In his doctrine of creation (C.D. III.4) he had discussed the command (special ethics) of God the Creator. In his teaching on reconciliation he had so far expounded (C.D. IV. 1–3) the three aspects of Jesus Christ's work of reconciliation, namely His priestly work as the Lord (Son of God) who became a servant to accomplish the work of reconciliation, His kingly work as the servant (Son of Man) who became Lord and by His exaltation exalted man to fellowship with God, and His prophetic work as the Godman who as the Mediator of man's reconciliation with God is the Guarantor and Witness of that reconciliation.