The Hillsborough recorder. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1820-1879, 1848-05-03

LETTERS
From fIGe Hon. John @. Adams
TO his son:
on THE BIBLE AND ITS TEACHINGS.
LETTER iii.


LETTER III,
TTe Second general point of view. in
which propose l,a you TO consider The
'Bihlr. To the end that u may :. lIororghly
furnish y''u unto all good works. i" is in The
l,is,o iral rhararier.
10 a man fIiberal education, the study
ofhi,iOry is Mt only u.elml and important,
hut altogether indispensable, and with
regard 10 The hisi,ry contained in the BIZ
hle. The observation which Cicero makes
Respecting his nwn country, is much more
emphaicalIv applicable, " that il is not 80
much rralse.worlhy In be- acquainted with
1T. as il is shameful Ia he ignorant If il"
History. s0 far A. il relates 10 the actions
aud adventures of m'n NAV be divided
int" five different classes. First. the IlistO-
~ oflhe world. otherwise call, d Universal
History: S-cond, thst Of particular ma
Iious: Third, that Of PARTICULAR ins,i,u-
tinns Fourth. that sc single families: and
Fifth. tina, Of individual men. The last
&c ,hrse two rlas-.s aie distinguished nv
the n.,lne 0l nl.m"irs and biography. all
-.a-s1G.. .rlissps of history are 10 he fousd ia
the Bible. a..i Il NAV be worth yanr while
Ia Discriminate them one from The other.
Th U'rersal History is short, and an
curtain d in thu first eleven chapters Of
Genesis, together with the first chapter OF
tie first hook Of Chronicles. which is liz.
tie more Than genealogical list Of names:
hui il is # great Importance, not only as
il includes the history Of the creation, ofs
the ell of man. and the antediIuyian
world and tie no d by which the whole
human rare. trxrPpiing Noah and his
famiIy.t wrre destroyed, hut as il gives a
very prerisr Wc"unl from the Creation 10
the birth Of \hraham. This is the foun-
dAtion of anr,rm History. and iii>saading
pr"fane historians hereafter. would advise
you always ." ref1eri upon their narratives
with re erence |" il with respect 10 the
chronology. A correct idea of this is so
necessary In understand all history, an
cient aud MODERN. that l may hereafter
write you something fanh concerning it,
for the present shall only recommend 10
your particular attention. the fifth and ele.
vrnIh chapters Of Genesis, and rpuues,
yon 10 cast up and write me the amount
of thu age "f the world when Abraham
was horn.
The remainder Of the book Of Genesis.
beginning a, the l2th chapter, j. history
of enc indy idual Abraham and his fami-
~ during three generations of his descend
ants, after whirh the book Of Exodus
commences with The history of the same
family. mullip ie'l INTO nation; the na-
,ional and family history is continued
through The hooks of the hid Testament
until thai Of J"h. whirh is of peculiar
character. differing in manv particulars
| from anv "tlIer pat of The Scriptures.
| There is no osher history extant, which
can give sn Interesting and correct views
"f the rise and progress Of human associa.
lions. as this account of Abraham and his
, descendants, through all ~icisiiudes to
which individuals. families, aud nations
are liable. There is no other history
where the origin Of whole nation is trac-
ed up to a single man, and where con.
Uttttu tTdtU w CNCutS stUu EtSufdT series
"f persons from one generation To another
is preserved. As the history az family,
i, " Intimately connected with our religious
principles and opirions. for il is the family
from which lin his human character) Jesus
Christ descended. I, begins hy relating
the commsnd< Of God to Abraham 10
abandon his country, his kindred, and his
fathers house; and 10 go TO land which
He would show him. This command was
accnmpaEiedhy two promises; from which,
and from their fuIilmen,. arose the difle-
renee which have just noticed. between
the history Of the jews and that Of every
other nation.
The FIRST of these promises was" That
God would make Abraham great marion,
and bless hlM;" the second, and incompar-
ably the most important was, that !" in him
all the families OF the earth should be
blessed" This promise was made two
thousand years before the birth OF Christ,
and in HIM had Tvs tulallIneA,. When