1818 Aaron Bancroft, A Discourse on Conversion

Bancroft, Aaron. A Discourse on Conversion. Worcester: Printed by William Manning. 1818 [10898] 8 1/2 x 5 inches, no wrapper, new binding strings, 40 pages. Good. Pamphlet. A sermon on the text John 3:3, "Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Our author, we think, confuses "conversion" with repentance, for he speaks not of a regeneration from life to death, but of a change of mind leading to a good character. "...conversion, or regeneration, in the New Testament means a change of the affections from vicious to virtuous objects, altering the course of one's life, the formation of Christian habits." This "convert" may never have assurance of salvation, for he might fall from his position into foul sin and be lost; he is on spiritual probation until the end of his life. He says that proselytes to Judaism were baptized, and considered "born again" through that process. He rejects any notion of an instantaneous conversion, and promote