«Deep, unspeakable suffering may well be called a baptism, a regeneration, the initiation into a new state»

«But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? / And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: / But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.»

«And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.»

«And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: / In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: / Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.»

«And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.»

«And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; / As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.»

«And it came to pass, that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the temple, and preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came upon him with the elders, / And spake unto him, saying, Tell us, by what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority? / And he answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer me: / The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? / And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then believed ye him not? / But and if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: for they be persuaded that John was a prophet.»

«AVERNUS, n. The lake by which the ancients entered the infernal regions. The fact that access to the infernal regions was obtained by a lake is believed by the learned Marcus Ansello Scrutator to have suggested the Christian rite of baptism by immersion. This, however, has been shown by Lactantius to be an error._Facilis descensus Averni,_ The poet remarks; and the sense Of it is that when down-hill I turn I Will get more of punches than pence. --Jehal Dai Lupe»

«BAPTISM, n. A sacred rite of such efficacy that he who finds himself in heaven without having undergone it will be unhappy forever. It is performed with water in two ways --by immersion, or plunging, and by aspersion, or sprinkling.But whether the plan of immersion Is better than simple aspersion Let those immersed And those aspersed Decide by the Authorized Version, And by matching their agues tertian. --G.J.»

«A national political campaign is better than the best circus ever heard of, with a mass baptism and a couple of hangings thrown in.»