"Yes, they are practically the same."
"It seems clear as a sunbeam to me from that passage," broke in the father, "that whatever was done to the child by the faith of the believing parent was also done to the unbelieving husband, for it plainly says so. Let us have that passage again, daughter."
She read: "'For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the believing wife—'"
"There you have it plain," said the father. "And the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the believing husband, else were your children unclean but now they are holy."
"And look here!" exclaimed Dorothy, examining the passage closely. "In a verse or two below it says: 'For how knowest thou, Oh wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband?'"
"There, now," said the father, "'save thy husband'. He evidently was not saved by his believing wife. It shows that, even though he was sanctified by the faith of his wife, yet he was not saved. Sanctification did not mean much for him, and maybe it did not mean much either for the children. The writer was trying, I think, to keep those marriages intact, and I guess he had a hard time of it sometimes. Even though that husband was sanctified, yet he needed saving. That looks mightily as if the sanctifying part had reference to the marriage relation of that husband and wife and not to any spiritual or religious condition of the husband, and therefore not to anything spiritual as regards the child."
"Look here," said the Doctor with a smile, "I think Mr. Page will have to start a commentary."
"I see you have a twinkle in your eye," retorted Mr. Page, "and consequently I will not extract any compliment from your remark."
The conversation ended at this point. The Doctor stated that an engagement compelled him to hurry from what to him had been a very interesting discussion, and that he would be glad to renew it. He bowed himself out and Dorothy remarked:
"Father, I cannot tell you how strange I feel. I appreciate Doctor Vincent's efforts to help me to know my duty, but this conversation tonight has made one thing clear to me, and that is that I can never join a church that teaches and practices sprinkling and infant baptism."