Block, SkipCaptcha, Automoderated users, edit
2,414
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 22:
Line 22: − + + + + + + + − The school was highly religious in the 1600s. Among its graduates in that century, 50% were ministers. Prior to the Revolution, ten out of twelve of Harvard's presidents were also ministers. In the words of Harvard's founders: − + − :"Let every Student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life. John 17:3."+ − The departure of Increase Mather from the presidency in 1701 marked the beginning of a protracted struggle between orthodoxy and liberalism. The takeover of Harvard by the Unitarians in 1805 resulted in the secularization of the American university. Before the mid 1800's, Harvard would become what was basically described as the "Unitarian Vatican." <ref>[http://www.forerunner.com/forerunner/X0100_Christianity_in_U.S..html A Brief History of Christian Influence in U.S. Colleges]</ref>+
→History and Mission
The college received the name ''Harvard'' from Rev. John Harvard, who was was the son of a butcher whose family died when a plague swept England, leaving him an estate. Educated in [[England]], Rev. John Harvard was ordained, married and sailed for Massachusetts where he pastored the First Church of Charlestown. He then tragically died of tuberculosis at the mere age of 31. The College at Cambridge was then renamed in his honor him.
The college received the name ''Harvard'' from Rev. John Harvard, who was was the son of a butcher whose family died when a plague swept England, leaving him an estate. Educated in [[England]], Rev. John Harvard was ordained, married and sailed for Massachusetts where he pastored the First Church of Charlestown. He then tragically died of tuberculosis at the mere age of 31. The College at Cambridge was then renamed in his honor him.
In 1692, the Puritan preacher Increase Mather became President of Harvard. One of his acts was replacing Roman Classics with books by Christian authors in ethics classes, and maintaining a high standard of discipline. Both Harvard College Lawes of 1642 and Harvard College Laws of 1700 testify to its original high level of discipline.<ref>[http://www.peacebyjesus.com/HARVARD_LAWES.HTML Laws and Statutes for Students of Harvard College]</ref>
In 1692, the Puritan preacher Increase Mather became President of Harvard. One of his acts was replacing Roman Classics with books by Christian authors in ethics classes, and maintaining a high standard of discipline. Both Harvard College Lawes of 1642 and Harvard College Laws of 1700 testify to its original high level of discipline.<ref>[http://www.peacebyjesus.com/HARVARD_LAWES.HTML Laws and Statutes for Students of Harvard College]</ref> Students were required "to observe rules of pious decorum inconceivable in the nineteenth century, and ultimately to prove their fitness for the bachelor's degree by showing that they could 'read the original of the Old and New Testament into the Latin tongue, and resolve them logically.'"<ref>Cotton Mather, the Puritan priest", by Barrett Wendell</ref>
The school was highly religious in the 1600s. Harvard's Rules & Precepts (Sept. 26, 1642) declared:
:"Let every Student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life. John 17:3."
The early motto of Harvard was ''Veritas Christo et Ecclesiae'', meaning "Truth For Christ and the Church." Among its graduates in that century, 50% were ministers. Prior to the Revolution, ten out of twelve of Harvard's presidents were also ministers. In the words of Harvard's founders:
:"After God had carried us safe to New England, and we ... rear'd convenient places for God's worship ... dreading to leave an illiterate Ministry to the Churches, when our present Ministers shall lie in the Dust ... it pleased God to stir up the heart of one Mr. Harvard, a godly gentleman and a lover of learning ... to give the one half of his estate ... towards the erecting of a college and all his Library."
:"After God had carried us safe to New England, and we ... rear'd convenient places for God's worship ... dreading to leave an illiterate Ministry to the Churches, when our present Ministers shall lie in the Dust ... it pleased God to stir up the heart of one Mr. Harvard, a godly gentleman and a lover of learning ... to give the one half of his estate ... towards the erecting of a college and all his Library."
Harvard's Rules & Precepts (Sept. 26, 1642) declared:
Systematic theological instruction was inaugurated in 1721 and by 1827 Harvard became a nucleus of theological teaching in New England.<ref>[http://www.reference.com/browse/Harvard</ref>
The departure of Increase Mather from the presidency in 1701 marked the beginning of a long term struggle between orthodoxy and liberalism. The takeover of Harvard by the Unitarians in 1805 resulted in the secularization of the American university. Before the mid 1800's, Harvard would become what was basically described as the "Unitarian Vatican." <ref>[http://www.forerunner.com/forerunner/X0100_Christianity_in_U.S..html A Brief History of Christian Influence in U.S. Colleges]</ref>
Radical changes in educational scope and growth were in seen during the 40 year reign of Harvard president Charles W. Eliot (1869-1909).
==Expansion==
==Expansion==