This layer is for the summary

This selection chronicles the meeting that put forth the question: “Is it the duty of every schoolmaster to pray in his school?” Again, this issue was argued both for and against by members of the society. Those arguing in the negative stated that the times of prayer were not explicitly stated in the Bible. In addition, they stated that a schoolmaster’s duty was to teach science rather than religion. There were also some who believed that there were some schoolmasters who would ridicule religion and that their praying would cast dishonor upon the act itself. Those who supported prayer in school stated that it was important to bring an awareness of religion into schools in order to introduce it to the young, impressionable minds of the students. Also, prayer at opening and closing of the school day offered convenient times for prayer.

The question brought to issue in this meeting was: “Ought a man to pray daily in his family?” The organization decided that the question was meant to be proven in the affirmative by drawing from scripture. It was acknowledged that there were no specific commands “in the holy scripture” that necessitated a man’s daily prayer in his family. However, it was agreed that this act could be inferred indirectly from the scripture. The Society agreed that a man ought to pray daily with his family.

This selection is an example of one meeting of the Philadelphian Society. The structure of the meeting hinges upon a question (in this case: Is mankind totally depraved?). The question is then argued either in the affirmative or the negative, drawing upon excerpts from the Bible to support both positions. This debate results in the agreement upon the answer to the question. In this example, it was argued that the “exercises or volition of men” are depraved, but not that the soul of man is not.

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