The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1893-06-30
READY TO PREACH.
YEARS OF STUDYING COVERED By A
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT.

~
AS II Full Pledged Preacher.
You read the other day" said a prom.
inent clergyman, ''of the commencement
exercises Of Princeton theological semi.
nary and of the graduation of "a stu.
dents. There was nothing about that to
attract public attention, and very likely
you did not get further into the article
than the headlines. It meant 81 more
young clergymen in the world. that was
all. to most people. But to a mar who
has been through the training that has
just ended for those boys it means a
great deal more. never read Of a SEM
mary commencement without feeling
thankful that SO many more students
have pulled through safely.
There is not much general knowledge
Of the labor required in the making Of a
clergyman. People could easily find out
if they chose to inquire, but it is some
thing they do not stop to think of. A
clergyman is supposed to be able to an
swer any Biblical question that may be
asked him. but where he gets all his
technical knowledge nobody thinks of
asking. He does not get it from reading
the Scriptures, certainly. If you were
to keep on reading Revelation till you
understood it thoroughly, how old would
you be when you finished?
mo, don't ask me whether | think |
understand it nov o. we may drift
away into Il theological discussion which
will be very Improbable. What l start
ed to say is something about the severe
training that a man must go through be-
fore he can be graduated from a theolog-
ical seminary and so become a clergy
man. Severe? 1t is more than severe,
and you see it results in thousands of
physically weak preachers all over the
world.
1.-THE training of a clergyman really
begins when he is IL ~G-year-old child at
his mothers knee, for in nine cases Out
of ten the parents decide for him and
decide early. But start with the boy
when he has been graduated from a
grammar school, because he will prob
ably receive that much education i'll any
case, whatever his business or profess
sion is to be. He should then be in the
neighborhood of IL years old. He must
now begin a special preparation for col
lege, a preparation that differs from the
ordinary preparatory course of students
not studying for the ministry. He must
give at least four years to Il special study
of Greek and Latin, and at the same
time lay q good foundation in ancient
history, English composition and litera-
ture and higher arithmetic and algebra.
1.-THE boy then, at IL, is ready to enter
college and take the usual four years
classical course. In the first year he
struggles with algebra, geometry, Latin,
Greek, English history and English lit
erature. In the second year the same,
with the addition of comparative physi-
ology, mechanics, analytical geometry,
physics and rhetoric. In the third year
he adds also chemistry, logic, German,
political science and philosophy. The
fourth collegiate year includes all of
these studies and geology, consular and
international law, French, ethics, astron-
omy and botany besides.
"He is now, on leaving college, ready
to enter a theological seminary, unless
indeed he proposes to go into the gem
eral theological seminary Of the Protes-
tant Episcopal church, in which case he
is required to be able to read the Old
Testament in Hebrew and the New Tes-
lament in Greek before he can enter.
After his eight years of Greek he should
be able to read tho New Testament in
the original. but this does not always
follow. 1t often happens that a student
who goes through his Greek lessons well
enough in college finds on going into the
seminary, where he must actually use
the language, that he knows very little
about it.
1.-THE course in the theological semi
nary occupies three years-making II
years study in all after leaving the
grammar school. The studies in the
theological seminary are theology,
church history. Old and New Testament
languages, geography of Palestine, moral
philosophy and sociology, with lectures
on ~sermonizing and the duties of u min
lister and practical examples in preach
ing. Hebrew is one Of the sticking
points, for it is positively necessary for
a theological student to read Hebrew al
most as readily as he can English. 1t is
a grind. "a terrible grind, this long strug-
gle with Greek and Hebrew.
at is in the seminary, of course, that
the student gets his theological training.
Still each denomination has its favorite
college. Theological students frequently
occupy an unpleasant position through
out their collegiate and seminary courses.
The churches help them when they are
not able to help themselves, and they
too often have the feeling Of being in
part charity students. All of the col
leges make a reduction in the tuition of
candidates for the ministry.
AFTER graduation from the theological
seminary the student receives a profess
sional certificate from the faculty, and
he must then pass an examination before
the Chassis or presbytery in whose juris-
diction he lives. Having passed this, he
receives a license to preach. He then
awaits a call "a most important matter.
by the way-some clergymen are for