An Old Princeton National Confessionalist
W.H. Chellis
A.A. Hodge sounding like a Reformed Presbyterian in his Outlines of Theology:
15. What are the duties of the officers of the State with regard to the Church
The state is a divine institution, and the officers thereof are God’s ministers, Rom. 13:1-4, Christ the Mediator is, as a revealed fact, “Ruler among the Nations,” King of kings, and Lord of lords, Rev. 19:16; Matt. 28:18; Phil. 2:9-11; Eph. 1:17-23, and the Sacred Scriptures are an infallible rule of faith and practice to all men under all conditions.
It follows therefore– 1st. That every nation should explictly acknowledge the Christ of God to be the Supreme Governor, and His revealed will the supreme fundamental law of the land, to the general principles of which all special legislation should be conformed. 2d. That all civil officers should make the glory of God their end, and his revealed will their guide. 3d. That, while no distinction should be made between various Christian denominations, and perfect liberty of conscience and worship be allowed to all men, nevertheless the Christian magistrate should seek to promote piety as well as civil order (“Conf. Faith” ch. 23, Sec. 2). This they are to do not by assuming ecclesiastical functions, nor by attempting to patronize or control the church, but by their personal example, by giving impartial protection to church property and facility to church work, by enactment and enforcement of laws conceived in the true spirit of the Gospel, and especially in maintaining inviolate the Christian Sabbath, and Christian marriage, and in providing for Christian instruction in the public schools.
Outlines of Theology, pg. 434
“…the Christian magistrate should seek to promote piety as well as civil order…in providing for Christian instruction in the public schools.”
A.A. was on a roll until he hit the wall on this one. Civil government is not responsible for children’s education (and neither is church government, for that matter). Children’s education rests within the purview of the institution of the family. Where is any command, either explicit or implied in Scripture that civil government has ANY business in children’s education?
Interestingly, J.H. Thornwell, who proposed a Christian Amendment to the Confederate Constitution during the Civil War, argued that the Church had no buisness with education, apart from training ministers. He assumed that the State (local School boards, of course) would do it Christianly, or should.
Knox and other establishmentarians set up Christian “government” schools. OF course, Scotland was then a Presbyterian Christian nation.
While I’m not in favor of the State controlling education, I don’t think that Sphere Sovereignty or even the Regulative Principle settled the question unequivocally against any “governmental” involvement by Church or Civil government in education. However,the Family is the sphere which is charged to bring up her Children in the fear and admonition of the Lord.
If you think about the ascending courts of the Mosaic administration (Ex. 19) there might be a basis for elder oversight of the various schools, locally and with ascending courts of appeal applying as it would in presbyterian church government.
By analogy(and under the Moasic Administration, directly) the civil courts would have a responsibilty of oversight in education, just as they would over any matter of law brought before them.
In a Christian State, there would be issues of content as well as ‘style’ which would end up before the church and state courts, not inappropriately.
The category confusion which arises in our context is that the government is funding the schools and also controlling them. Therefore, the Constitutional prohibition against establishment of a religion by congress is seen to apply in ways not envisioned by the founders.
Local School boards are a government entity, but should not be subject to that amendment, as States were allowed to establish not only Religions,but denominations at the time of the Constitution’s adoption.
Of course, the Covenanters objected to many features of the Constititution – Slavery, no recognition of God or Christ, or the Bible, etc. But they generally were not against the public schools when they arose, and later generations of Covenanters tried to bring a Christian perspective to bear upon public education.
By the way, A.A. Hodge went beyond his father in being more sympathetic to the Covenanter view of the State – he was acquainted with the RP Seminary professors who seemed to have good fellowship with the Allegheny Seminary of the Northern PResbyterians back in the mid 1800s.
Interestingly, J.H. Thornwell, who proposed a Christian Amendment to the Confederate Constitution during the Civil War, argued that the Church had no buisness with education, apart from training ministers. He assumed that the State (local School boards, of course) would do it Christianly, or should.
Knox and other establishmentarians set up Christian “government” schools. OF course, Scotland was then a Presbyterian Christian nation.
While I’m not in favor of the State controlling education, I don’t think that Sphere Sovereignty or even the Regulative Principle settled the question unequivocally against any “governmental” involvement by Church or Civil government in education. However,the Family is the sphere which is charged to bring up her Children in the fear and admonition of the Lord.
If you think about the ascending courts of the Mosaic administration (Ex. 19) there might be a basis for elder oversight of the various schools, locally and with ascending courts of appeal applying as it would in presbyterian church government.
By analogy(and under the Moasic Administration, directly) the civil courts would have a responsibilty of oversight in education, just as they would over any matter of law brought before them.
In a Christian State, there would be issues of content as well as ‘style’ which would end up before the church and state courts, not inappropriately.
The category confusion which arises in our context is that the government is funding the schools and also controlling them. Therefore, the Constitutional prohibition against establishment of a religion by congress is seen to apply in ways not envisioned by the founders.
Local School boards are a government entity, but should not be subject to that amendment, as States were allowed to establish not only Religions,but denominations at the time of the Constitution’s adoption.
Of course, the Covenanters objected to many features of the Constititution – Slavery, no recognition of God or Christ, or the Bible, etc. But they generally were not against the public schools when they arose, and later generations of Covenanters tried to bring a Christian perspective to bear upon public education.
By the way, A.A. Hodge went beyond his father in being more sympathetic to the Covenanter view of the State – he was acquainted with the RP Seminary professors who seemed to have good fellowship with the Allegheny Seminary of the Northern PResbyterians back in the mid 1800s.