Chapter 14.—19. Nor is it material, when we are considering the question of the genuineness and holiness of the sacrament, "what the recipient of the sacrament believes, and with what faith he is imbued." It is of the very highest consequence as regards the entrance into salvation, but is wholly immaterial as regards the question of the sacrament. For it is quite possible that a man may be possessed of the genuine sacrament and a
corrupted faith, as it is possible that he may hold the words of the creed in their integrity, and yet entertain an erroneous belief about the Trinity, or the resurrection, or any other point. For it is no slight matter, even within the Catholic Church itself, to hold a faith entirely consistent with the truth about even God Himself, to say nothing of any of His creatures. Is it then to be maintained, that if any one who has been baptized within the Catholic Church itself should afterwards,
in the course of reading, or by listening to instruction, or by quiet argument, find out, through God’s own revelation, that he had before believed otherwise than he ought, it is requisite that he should therefore be baptized afresh? But what carnal and natural man is there who does not stray through the vain conceits1289
of his own
heart, and picture
God’s
nature to himself to be such as he has
imagined out of his
carnal sense, and differ from the true conception of
God as
far as
vanity from
truth? Most truly, indeed, speaks the
apostle, filled with the
light of
truth: "The
natural man," says he, "receiveth not the things of the Spirit of
God."
1290
And yet herein he was speaking of men whom he himself shows to have been
baptized. For he says to them, "Was
Paul crucified for you? or were ye
baptized in the name of
Paul?"
1291
These men had therefore the sacrament of
baptism; and yet, inasmuch as their
wisdom was of the
flesh, what could they believe about
God otherwise than according to the perception of their
flesh, according to which "the
natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of
God?" To such he says: "I could not speak unto you as unto
spiritual, but as unto
carnal, even as unto
babes in
Christ. I have fed you with
milk, and not with
meat: for hitherto ye were not able to
bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet
carnal."
1292
For such are carried about with every
wind of
doctrine, of which
kind he says, "That we be no more
children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every
wind of
doctrine."
1293
It is then true that, if these men shall have advanced even to the
spiritual age of the inner man, and in the
integrity of understanding shall have
learned how
far different from the requirements of the
truth has been the belief which they have been led by the fallacious character of their conceits to
entertain of
God, they are therefore to be
baptized again? For, on this principle, it would be possible for a Catholic catechumen to
light upon the writings of some
heretic, and, not having the
knowledge requisite for
discerning truth from error, he might
entertain some belief contrary to the Catholic
faith, yet not
condemned by the words of the creed, just as, under color of the same words,
innumerable heretical errors have sprung up. Supposing, then, that the catechumen was under the impression that he was studying the
work of some great and
learned Catholic, and was
baptized with that belief in the Catholic
Church, and by subsequent research should
discover what he ought to believe, so that, embracing the Catholic
faith, he should
reject his former error, ought he, on confessing this, to be
baptized again? Or supposing that, before learning and confessing this for himself, he should be found to
entertain such an opinion, and should be taught what he ought to
reject and what he should believe, and it were to become clear that he had held this false belief when he was
baptized, ought he therefore to be
baptized again?
Why should we maintain the contrary? Because the sanctity of the sacrament,
consecrated in the words of the
gospel, remains upon him in its
integrity, just as he received it from the
hands of the
minister, although he, being firmly rooted in the
vanity of his
carnal mind entertained a belief other than was right at the time when he was
baptized. Wherefore it is manifest that it is possible that, with defective
faith, the sacrament of
baptism may yet remain without defect in any man; and
therefore all that is said about the
diversity of the several
heretics is beside the
question. For in each person that is to be corrected which is found to be
amiss by the man who undertakes his correction. That is to be made whole which is unsound; that is to be given which is wanting, and, above all, the
peace of
Christian charity, without which the
rest is profitless. Yet, as the
rest is there, we must not
administer it as though it were wanting, only take care that its possession be to
the profit, not the hurt of him who has it, through the very bond of peace and excellence of charity.
E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
