Preface
To the Reader
The occasion of the letters and the correspondence that prompted them.
4 min read
Contents
Letters on Baptism
Preface and fifteen letters · about 3.8 hours of reading
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Letter I
Why Fairfield Changed His View
How these letters came to be written, his Baptist background, and the study that led him to change his position.
14 min readRead
Letter II
What Does "Baptize" Mean?
Fairfield frames the central question: whether baptizo specifies a mode or describes ceremonial purification more generally.
16 min readRead
Letter III
Classical Greek Usage
Fairfield examines how classical writers used baptizo and asks what such usage can and cannot settle for the New Testament.
15 min readRead
Letter IV
Bapto and Semantic Change
Fairfield uses bapto as an example of how a Greek word's meaning develops beyond its earliest physical sense.
13 min readRead
Letter V
Baptism in the Septuagint
Fairfield turns to the Greek Old Testament to examine how Jewish religious writers used the language of washing and baptism.
17 min readRead
Letter VI
Ceremonial Purification
Fairfield sets out ceremonial cleansing as the semantic context he believes governs baptism language.
16 min readRead
Letter VII
Washings and the Traditions of the Elders
Fairfield examines Jewish washing customs in the Gospels and what they show about the words used for them.
14 min readRead
Letter VIII
New Testament Baptisms
Hebrews, Mark 7, Jewish purification, John's baptism, and the language of entering and leaving the water.
18 min readRead
Letter IX
John's Baptism, the Jordan, and Ænon
Fairfield analyzes the accounts of John's baptizing and the geographical arguments drawn from them.
15 min readRead
Letter X
The Apostolic Baptisms
Pentecost, the eunuch, the Philippian jailer, Cornelius, and Lydia are examined as recorded cases.
17 min readRead
Letter XI
Romans 6 and the Burial Figure
Fairfield answers the argument drawn from being buried with Christ in baptism.
16 min readRead
Letter XII
Baptism with the Spirit
Fairfield examines the promise of baptism with the Holy Spirit and the language of pouring out.
14 min readRead
Letter XIII
The Early Christian Writers
Fairfield reviews patristic testimony on how baptism was administered in the earliest centuries.
18 min readRead
Letter XIV
Objections Answered
Fairfield replies to the strongest objections raised against the position he has reached.
15 min readRead
Letter XV
Conclusion
Fairfield draws his conclusions together and states what he believes baptism signifies.
12 min readRead