"I think the important question," said the brother, "is the meaning of the Greek word originally used for baptism. In other words, does the word baptize mean to sprinkle or to immerse? When the people in Christ's day used the word, what did they mean by it—sprinkle or immerse?"
"That hits the target exactly," said the father. "What does the word baptize mean? Let's see, I think you said that the Bible was written in Greek."
"The New Testament was," said Sterling.
"The question is, then, what word did the people use in Christ's day in talking about a baptism? When Christ told the people to be baptized, what word did he use and what did that word mean? Did the Greek word which he used for baptism mean for the people in that day 'immerse' or 'sprinkle'? When they heard the word from him, did they think of immersion or of sprinkling?"
"'Baptizo', or baptize, is the word which he used," said Sterling.
"But baptize is our English word that we use. What was the Greek word which Christ used and which meant baptism?" asked Roland.
"That is the point," said Sterling. "'Baptizo' is the Greek word, and the people who translated our English from the Greek Bible did not translate the Greek word 'baptizo' into any English word, but simply put the Greek word 'baptizo' or baptize into our language as it was without translating it. You see, if they had translated it 'immerse', that would have made the Presbyterians mad, and if they had translated it 'sprinkle' that would have made others mad, and so they did not translate it at all, but simply put the Greek word 'baptizo' in the English Bible, leaving each person to translate it as he thought proper."
"But why did they not translate it?" said Dorothy, as if vexed by their neglect. "It must mean something, and if they translated the other words, why did they not translate this word right, no matter who might have liked it?"
"They ought to have done so," said Sterling, "and they ought to have put the English word 'sprinkle' instead of the Greek word 'baptizo'."
"Oh, I see," said the father. "I guess the Presbyterians, when they came to translate the word into English, would put it 'sprinkle', and those who believed in dipping would translate it 'dipping'."