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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