Baptist History, Heritage and Distinctives Part NINE 600 AD Austin Attempts to Convert Christians to Catholicism Infant Baptism was in vogue long before this time in many parts of the world

Thomas E Kresal 23h  · September 15, 2020

Baptist History, Heritage and Distinctives Part NINE 600 AD Austin Attempts to Convert Christians to Catholicism Infant Baptism was in vogue long before this time in many parts of the world, but not in Britain. The ordinances of the gospel were then administered exclusively there, according to the primitive mode. Baptism by immersion, administered to those who professed repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Welsh people considered the only baptism of the New Testament. That was their unanimous sentiment as a nation, from the time the Christian religion was embraced by them in 63, until a considerable time after the year 600. As soon as any of them renounced paganism during that period, they embraced Christianity, not as corrupted by the Romans, but as founded by Christ and his apostles.This we assert to be a fact that cannot be controverted ; for the proof of which, we refer our readers to the dispute between Austin and the ministers in Wales, sometime after the year 600. When Austin came from Rome to convert the Saxons from paganism to popery. Having succeeded in a great measure in England, he tried his experiments upon the Welsh; but was disappointed. At this period the Welsh were not ignorant pagans like the Saxons, but they were intelligent, well-informed Christians. It is true, they had no national religion; they had not connected church and state together; for they believed that the kingdom of Christ is not of this world. However, they agreed to meet with Austin, in an association held on the borders of Herefordshire.Presented by Thomas E. Kresal from: “History of the Welsh Baptists, from the year sixty-three to the year one thousand seven hundred and seventy” by Joshua Thomas, 1719-1797 Edited to English by Jonathan Davis, 1786?-1846. (Edited)