The Columbian informer, or, Cheshire journal — Keene, N.H., 1794-02-19 00:00:00, page 1

die for our friends.
111. It has been laid, that.the division
of the bible into chapters and verses, ren
ders it more difficult to be read, by chil
dren, than man, other books.
By a little cere in a matter, this dif
ra, v & obviated, and even an ad
■vantage derived from it. It may serve
transfer the attention of the scholar
i lvstfn/e of a fubjea ; and no person
{ tfl ever read well, who is guided by any
thing else, in his flops, em phatis, or ac
!cents. The diylfca of the bible into
[CONCLUDED.]
,* —r^HE curidfity and capacities of
young people for the mysteries
of religion awaken much soon
er than is generally supposed.
Os this we have two remarkable
proofs in the old tenement. The firft is
mentioned in the lath chapter of Exodus
« And it Ihell come to pass when your
~ children flullfo unto you, " What mean
you by thisfovice ?" that ye shall fay, " It
is the fieri lice of the Lord's paffjver, who
passed over the houses of the children cf
Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyp
tians, and delivered our houses. And the
children of llrael went away, and did as
the Lord had commanded Mfa and Aa
ron." A second proof of the defre el
children to be intruded in the mysteries
of religion, is n be found in the 6'h
chapter of Deuteronomy. " And when
thy fan qfab thee in time to come faying,
_" What mean the testimonies —and the
Statutes—ard the judgments which the
Lord orr God commanded you ?" Then
thou &lt fay unto thy son, " We were
Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt, and the
Lord our God brought us out of Egypt
with a mighty hand." These enquiries
from the ruvuhs of children are perfectly
natural ; for where is the parent who has
apt had unrito quell,pm, prepufed to him
''^W^^^^peXh ^ b^g^n cm,
dußed to a place of worship, or upon their
beholo.%, tor the fir# time, 'either of the
facramenu of our religion.
Let us not be viler than our Maker. If
moral precepts alone could have reformed
mankind, the mission of the Son of God
into our world,would have been unneceffa
. ry. He came to promulgate a system of
do&mes, as well as a system of morals.—
The perfect morality of the Gospel rests
open a doßrrac, which though often con
trovertea has never been refuted, I mean
the vicarious life and death of the Son of
God. This fablime and ineffable doc
trire delivers us from the absurd hypothec
sis of modern philefophers, concerning the
foundation of moral obligation, and fixes'
it upon th, eternal and fclf-moving prin.
00:e of love. It consentrates a whole
system of< thics in a single text of scripture.
"vs neiu commandment I give unto you, that
„love one anot her even as / have lovedyou."
°3, withholding tne knowledge of this doc
trine from our children, we deprive our
fflves cf the belt means of awakening
moral fenfibi'ity in their minds. We do
more, we furnish an argument for with
holding from them a knowledge of the
~-&@^l likewise ; for this, in many in
stances, is as supernatural, and therefore
as liable to be controverted, as any of the
destines or miracles mentioned in the
new testament. The miraculous concep
tion of the Saviour of the world by a vir
gin, is not more opposed to the ordinary
course of natural events, nor is the doc
trine of the atonement more above human
reason, than :hpfe moral precepts, which
command us to love our enemies, or to
A Defence of the Use of the BIBLE
as a SCHOOL BOOK.
[is a letter to the Rev. ?erQ Belina,, as
£tf»% from D-. Ruf.] '^
No. 47. a. Vol. I.] -
^l^ccUaW^.
#„r % j^], ' THE
Columbian Informer;
Or, C HESHIRE JOU R N AL.
. - ■ * » » .«MM, ~,. ,^„ , ^.a..,,^,,, ~,»—,^,, — —— I
Printed And Published by HENRY BLAKE, & CO. IN KEENE; New-ff A tev foist &>/
The present fashionable practice of re
jeaing the bible from our fchoo), I fuf
ped has originated with the drifts. They
difegver great ingenuity in this new mode
in."
To the arguments I have mentioned
in favor of the use of the bible as a
fehool book, I (hall add a few reflec
tions.
chapters and verses, is not a greater ob
ftaclc to its being read QbcaU, than the
bad punctuation of molt other books. I
deliver this ftri&UT, upon other bo^ks,
from the authority of Mr. Rice, the cele
brated author of the art of speaking,
. whom I heard declare in a large company
in London, that he had never fan a book
property poim^ m the English Lan
guage. He exemplified, notwithstand
ing, by reading td the fame company a
passage from Mikoshis perfect knowledge
of the art of reading.
Some People, I know, have prepaid
to introduce extra's from the bib!e, # into
our Ichools, instead of the bible itfelf.
Many excellent works of this kind, are
in print, but if we admit any one of
them, we Ihall have the fame inundation
of them that we have had of grammars,
spelling books, and leffoos for children,
many of which arc published for the ben
efit of the authors only, and all of them
have tended greatly to increase the ex
pense of education. Betides, these ex
traQs or abridgements of the bible, often
contain the tenets of particular feds or
perfens, and therefore, may be improper
for schools composed of the children of
different fe&s of chriftians. The bible is
a cheap took, and is to be had in every
bockttorc. It is, moreover, cAeemed
and preferred by all feds ; because each
finds its peculiar doctrines in it. It should
therefore be used in preference to any a
nridgments of it, or histories extracted
from it.
I have heard it proposed that a portion
of the bible Ihould be read every day, by
the master, as a means,of intruding Qi--
dren in it: mt'this is% poor fubAtate
^%.#Lfehfcr.blLdrf n t m r^ it as a (goal;
'book ; for by this means we inientbty
engrave, as it were, its contents upon their
minds ; and it has been remarked that
children, inflruded in this way, in the
scriptures, seldom forget any part of them.
They have the fame advantage over those
persons, who have only heard the fcrip
cures read by a matter, that a man who
has worked with the tools of a mechanical
employment for several years, has over
the man who only flood a few hours in a
work Shop, and seen the fame business car
ried on by other people.
In this defence of the use of the bible
as a school book, I beg you would not
think that I suppose the bible to contain
the only revelation which God has made
to man. I believe in aninternal revela
tion, or a moral principle, which God
has implanted in the heart of every man,
as the precis for, of his final dominion
over the whole human race. How much
this internal revelation accords with the
external, remains yet to be explored by
philosophers. lam disposed to believe,
that most of the doctrines of chriftianity
revealed in the bible, might be discover
ed by a close . examination of all the pow
ers and principles of action in man : But
who is equal to such an enquiry ? It cer
tainly does not suit the natural indolence,
or laborious employments of agreat ma
jority of mankind. The internal revolu
tion of the gospel may be compared to the
straight Une which is made through a
wilderness by assistance of a compals, toa
distant country, which few are able todif
cover, while the bible resembles a publick
road to the fame country, which is wide,
plain, and easily found. “ And a high
way mail be there, and it fliall be called
the way of holiness. The way faring
men, though fools, ihall not err there-
WEDNESDAY, Fa 1 a v a .t ±fo.
It is with great pleasure, that 1 have
observed the bible to be the only back
read in the Sunday schools in England.
We have adopted the fame practice in
the Sunday schools, lately established in
this city. This will give ear religion
(humanly fpesbing) the chance of a lon
ger life in our country. We hear much
of the persons educated in free schools in
England, turning out well in the various
walk! of life. I have enquired into the cause
of it, and have fatbfied myfelf, that it is
wholly to be ascribed to the general use of
the bible in schools, for its seems the chil
dren of poor people are of too little conse
quence to be guarded from the supposed
evils of reading the scriptures in early
life, or in an uneenfecrated school house.
However the great benefits of reading
the scriptures in schools have been,! cannot
help remarking that these benefits might
be much greater did schoolmasters take
more pains to explain them to their schol
ars. Did they deronftrate the divine
original of the bible, from the purity, con
fiflency, and benevolence of its dodrines
and precepts=did they explain the mean
ing of the levitical institutions, and Show
their application to the numerous and fuc
ceffive gospel dispensations—did they in
form their pupils that the gross and a
bominable vices of the Jews were record
ed sal, as proofs of the depravity of hu
man nature, and of the infufficiency of the
law, to produce moral virtues, and there
by to establish the necessity and perfection
of the gospel system—and above all, did
they ofeu enforce the difeperfa of qui
of attacking chritttoty, If they proceed
in kb they will do more in haff a century,
iifytirpatiug our religion, than &Hmg- +
btkee Voltaire could tea effected an a
th& land years. Jam not writing to this
c^, of peopte. I&fo<a«gi±the
op-r^nsof any ofthem. I wiffi only to
& A tie opinions and cQudua of these
lu«warm or fup:rlli4fc„christens. who
her foa misled tyto&fem this fub
je& Onthe ground of the good old cuf
tofy afuting the bible as a fchaol book,
it ,'becomes at to entrench our religion.
Itb the laftbulwark the deists have lett
it 4 , for they have rendered inftra&ion in
thb principles of Christianity by the pulpit
atyt the press, so unfashionable, that little
gfa far many years seems to have beam
drae by either of them.
•he effeas of the difofe of the bible,
afe school book, have appeared of late
in'the negtea and even contempt with
wfch scripture names are treated by ma
n, peo„e. hn becaufyurenu have not
tfa early taught to kna&or reseed the
chraaers and exploits es rhe eld gxd new a
tfUrnent worthies, that their aurr^are
^charged for these of the modern kings
& Europe, or of the principal chmacra
fa novels and romances. I conceive
fore may be hime advantage in bearing
ferine names. It may lead the ,sfa,
who bear them, to study that part of the
feripures, in which their names are man*
fen# with uncommon attention, and
jerhps it may excite a desire in them to
jcficis the talento or virtues of their an
fates mamefakee. This remark firft oc
tuhed to me, upon hearing a pious worn
ar, whose fafyroX^t fy o that ±e
fl pafiges of the bible, ^hich made a
'$ 'ivreffion# open her mind, ,here
thre r_afy 6aap<era #a vetra W
which the name of Mary is mentioned in
the new testament,
It is a finguiar fait, that while the
names of the kings and emperors of
Rome, are now given chiefly to borfa and
dogs, scripture names have hitherto been
confined only to the human species. Let
the enemies and contemners of those names
take care, left the names of more modern
kings be given hereafter only to the fame
animals, and left the names of the modern
heroines of romances be given to the ani
malsef an inferior species.
MR. Payne, Mr. Kimball, and J.
Warldron, were appointed a committee to
confider of the petition of Ebenezer Brew
ster, Esq. refolding the building a bridge
over Connecticut river, and to report.
The committee for draughting publick
bills, were directed to bring in a bill to
oblige the opening repairing and making
,affable sundry roads laid out by commit
tees appointed by the General Court for
the benefit of the publick, and to report
thereon.
Meffis. W. Simpson, E. Webster, and
Hutchins, were appointed a committee to
confider of the petition of Charles John
ston, Esq. and others, praying for the in
corporation of an Academy at Haverhill,
and to report.
Messrs. Prichard, Connor, and Fogg#
were appointed a committee to confider of
the petition of Peleg Williams, praying
for depreciation of his wages while a lieu
tenant in the late army, and to report.
The committee on the petition of John
Nott, reported, that he have leave to
withdraw his petition, which report being
read and considered, a motion was made
that the report be accepted, when the yeas
\nd nays were called for, and there ap
peared 3, yeas, 59 nays, foil was not rc^
chived—Wheu M Wit rad fefy said
-fifeor. asthe belt Qm^^
^"«^^^ 10 happinels. how greatwoa"
h,4Mra;e of car fchoghHipea &
order and prosperity of our cotrnr,
Sacha mode of itftru&mg children in the
chrifli^ religion,would con re, knowledge
into their fa,,mdi%'» and weald there
fore be preferable to teaching
creeds, „g cateehifms, wiich YrnfQ
convey,not knowledge, but arcrfoQjn^
xo their arrant I&±| am net t%fe.
e:^ #t^Rcd^on, fr
fated m due ITOt would, ; a fy
coune of two generations, eradicate M
delay from among us, and reed-: &f r
government feat, reca&ry fa e
country.
In cmitemphtingtk poli& inftito
tious of the We States, I lament, than
we waste so much time and money iu pt
iffiing crimes, and take so little pains to
present them. Weprefer to be fe„b-,
licans, and yet we Rental theoply me&a
of eftablilhibg and perpetuating rar _
publican forms of government, that is>
the aniverfal educate of our youth ia
the principles of our chriffianity, by
means of the bible ; for this divine bonify
ateve all others, .&°" '^ equality
among mankind ?tyfcfpe& for just laws,
"^ '*^tf^&"' *te" virtues,
conl^^qfflre 40 ®f republican
nifait
I have nafyOTtyto apologize for hav
ing addrelied this letter to you, after bav
.i#% been allured by you, tha;vour opin
ion, refpe&ing the use of the bible as a
school book, coincided with mine. My
excuse for what I have dohe is, that I
^~^'CT ^7 ffr by ^,^ ! - #
edge, ^ 4rf,&dfy year #M Q tha
?"? oftanh to corred atl the errors yoo,
funherapofogy may be uecefoy ft r
! having prafumed to write upon a fabjed
10 much above my ordinary studies. My
excuse for it is, that I thought a single
mite from a member of a pro^ffion, which
has been frequently charged with fcepti
cifm in religion, might attra& the notice
of persons who had often overlooked the
more ample contributions upon this fub
jea, of gentlemen of our profeffion.
With great refpeft, I am, dear fir. your
sincere friend, BENJAMIN RUSH.
Pbiladel,bia, March 10, 1791.
House bf Representatives, jan. 6, 1794,
NEWHAMPSHIRE LEGISLATURE.
[Whole No. 474