Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1875-06-15
Duly Araufbrf yournaL.
why do the children Of Ministers and
Deac0ns Always Turn out Bad!

Was The question oil parlsh'onef oil
Rev. DIR. Miner of Boston, and on Sunday
he answered it, and answered ii well.
There is popular impression that MN
ister's family spend their whole time In
PRAYER, reading the Bible and reciting the
catechism, and that a deacon family
come as near to this model as the ousi-
ness of this functionary will allow. Now,
the fact is. that the children OF such tam-
lies have like passions with other people.
They love their fathers and mothers, love
and quarrel with their brothers and SIS
tiers and the children of the neighbors just
like ordinary children, and grow INTO OF
binary men and women, and In TACT a 1T
tie better than the average because they
are somewhat better trained. and 90 Il, not
generally inherit vicious tendencies: lno
people of parish expect the minister ;
family to be patterns for their own ]3S' Is
they expect the minister himself 10 DE
watchman on the walls of Zion, to Whom
thew are all to look. When they find that
there is human nature in the best regula-
ted families, and such children are some
times full OF fun, then comes out the prov.
erb about ministers sons and deaconS
daughters being so much worse than
others, so that really it is in some respects
a misfortune TO be the child of such a
family lust as it oyershadows ones repu-
tation 10 be the son of an eminent man ID
any department. law, politics, literature
or art. The children are unlavoraD'y
compared with the parent, not as he was
when he was child, but as he is starchcd
by a college education and ironcd out silii
at the theological seminary. VI course
the old Adam is more rampant IN the
young people than it is in their reverend
papa.
: On Sunday evening Dir. Miner answered
the question of his parishioner' ana
showed that it was good deal Ike tle
fish question put by Charles ii. to the
ROYAL Society. Back of the question
"why ?, was that of whether the alleged
fact were an actual fact. and this was sat
isfactorily disposed of. DR.. Miner had
been President OF college for eighteen
years and during that time there mad peeh
thirty students, sons oil ministers, not one
of whom had turned out bad. Some lew
had been a little hayward during their
college course but none had been SO laf
astray as to turn out bad. In the famiiies
Of sixty clergymen whom he had known
during thirty years none OF the children
had gone far astray. He had never heard
of a clergyman's son being convicted OF
any crime. In DR.. Sprague's book, OF the
first one hundred names, one hundred ana
ten sons of the clergymen whose oiogra-c
phies were given had become preachers OF
the gospel In short, he said there was
no ground for the broad assertion that
ministers and deacons' sons generally
turned out bad. There are bad men OF all
classes, and among others there are bad
ministers and deacons; they are the eX-
ceptions, and the children OF good people
inherit the good qualities their parents,
and these are generally improved by
good training. Ministers and deacons as
frequently turn out bad as their children.
New6uryport Herald