THE AUTHOR.
CHAMBERSBURG, PA., 1859.
Contents
- [Preface.]
- [Contents]
- [Chapter I.—What Is The Christian Home?]
- [Section I.—Home In The Sphere Of Nature.]
- The Power of Home-Association. Inadequate Ideas of Home. Home is a Divine Institute. Its Highest Conception. Definition of Home. Its Two-fold Aspect. As simply Physical. As purely Moral. Home in the Sphere of Natural Affection. Home-Love. Home-Ties. The Angel-Spirit of Home. Our Nature Demands Home. Home-Sickness. Conclusion.
- [Section II.—Home In The Sphere Of The Church.]
- The Heathen Home. Constituent Elements of the Christian Home. Marriage. Husband and Wife. Parents and Children. Union of the Members of a Family. The Christian Home must be Churchly. How we Abuse it. Examples of True Homes. Parental Neglect. Address to Parents and Children. Home-Meetings and Greetings.
- [Chapter II.—The Mission Of The Christian Home.]
- The Nature of this Mission. David. Joshua. It is Two-fold. The Temporal Well-Being of the Members. How Parents Abuse this part of the Home-Mission. The Eternal Well-Being of the Members. Extent of the Home-Mission. Its Importance and Responsibility. Seen in the Vicarious Character of Home. The Principle of Moral Reproduction. The Visitation of Parental Iniquity upon the Children. The Guilt of Unfaithfulness to this Mission. Qualifications for it. The Law of Equality in Marriage. How Parents may Disqualify themselves for it. Incentives to Faithfulness. Address to Parents.
- [Chapter III.—Family Religion.]
- The Christian Home Demands Family Religion. What is it? Different from Personal Religion. Co-existent with. Home. Essential to its Constitution. Its Historical Development from Eden to the Present Age. Its Present Neglect. What it Includes. The Example of our Primitive Fathers. The Forms in which it is Developed. The Home-Mission Demands it. Its Necessity seen in the Value of the Soul. Home without it. Home with it. Relations of Home Demand it. Reply to Excuses from it. Defect of it now. Reasons for this. It is Implied in the Marriage Relation and Obligation. Motives to Establish it.
- [Chapter IV—The Relation Of Home To The Church.]
- It must be Churchly. This Relation is Vital and Necessary, involving Mutual Dependence. Relation of Preparation. Home Completes Itself in the Church. It has Power only in the Sphere of the Church. This Relation involves Duties and Responsibilities.
- [Chapter V—Home Influence.]
- Home has Power. This is either a Curse or a Blessing. What is Home-Influence? Its Character. Its Degree Estimated from the Force of First Impressions. Scripture Testimony to it. Its Legitimate Objects. How it Acts in the Formation of Character. Augustine. Washington. John Q. Adams. Bishop Hall. Dr. Doddridge. Dr. Cumming. A Mother Won to Christ by a Daughter. Its Influence upon the State. Napoleon. Homes of the Revolution. The Spartan Mother and Home. Its Influence upon the Church. Its Responsibility Inferred.
- [Chapter VI—Home As A Stewardship.]
- What is a Steward? Home is a Stewardship. Parents. Home-Interests. Identity of Interest between the Master and Steward. Mother of Moses. Character and Responsibilities of this Stewardship. The Social Prostitution of Home. The Principle of Accountability this Stewardship Involves. The Final Settlement.
- [Chapter VII—Responsibilities Of The Christian Home.]
- These Inferred from Home-Influence and Stewardship. Their Measure. By the Magnitude of Home-Interest. By the Kind of Influence upon the Members. By the Guilt and Punishment of Parental Unfaithfulness. They are Incentives to Parental Integrity. A Family Drama in Two Acts. Filial Responsibility. Address to Parents and Children.
- [Chapter VIII—The Family Bible.]
- The Memories which cluster around it. The Household Interests it Contains. The Bible as a Family Record. As a Home-Inheritance. As the Gift of a Mother's Love. An Indispensable Appendage to Home. Its Adaptation to Home. It should be Used as the Text-Book of Home-Education. Its Abuse and Neglect.
- [Chapter IX—Infancy.]
- New Eras in Family History. The First-Born. Charm and Interest of Infancy. The Infant as a Member of Home. Its Emblematic Character. Its Helplessness. Its Prophetical Character. The Trust and Responsibility Involved. The Mother's Relation to Infancy. Address to Parents.
- [Chapter X—Home Dedication.]
- The Hebrew Mother and her Child. Reasons for Dedication. Dedication of Children. Abraham. Offering of Isaac. Little Samuel. David. Typical Character of Old Testament Family Offerings. Benefits of Home-Dedication. Duty of Parents to Devote their Sons to the Ministry. The Unfaithfulness of Parents to this duty.
- [Chapter XI—Christian Baptism.]
- The Baptismal Altar. It is the Sacrament of Home-Dedication. Infants are its True Subjects. Home Demands it. Infant Baptism Proven, by the Child's Need of Salvation, by the Idea and Mission of Christ, by the Idea of the Church, by the Hereditary Character of Sin, by the Relation of Christian Parents to their Children, by the Constitution of Family Life. Enemies of Infant Baptism. Why Opposed to it. Their Sophistry. Dr. A. Carson. Appeal to Parents. Duty and Privilege of Parents to have their Children Baptized. Its Neglect and Abuse. How Abused. The Old Landmarks. Striking Statistics. Abuse by Parents and Children.
- [Chapter XII—Christian Names.]
- Proper Kind of Names. Law of Correspondence and Association. Christian Names. Much in a Name. Naming a Child should not be Arbitrary. Nebuchadnezzar. Adam. The Hebrews. Woman. Eve. Cain. Seth. Samuel. Dr. Krummacher. Names now Given. The Folly and Evil of it. Why we should give Suitable Names. Why Scriptural Names. Mary. Instances of Proper Christian Names.
- [Chapter XIII—Home As A Nursery.]
- Idea of Nursing. What a Nursery Is. The sense in which Home is a Nursery. Character of the Home-Nursery. The Mother's Special Sphere. Relation of the Nursery to the Formation of Character. The Nursery is Physical. Sickly and Immoral Nurses. Consequences. It is Intellectual. Its Abuse. It is Moral and Spiritual. The Ways in which the Nursery is Abused. Boarding Schools.
- [Chapter XIV—Home-Sympathy.]
- An Argument against the Neglect and Abuse of the Nursery. Its Natural Elements. Its Definition and Nature. The Ancients. Baptista Porta. Plato. Middle Ages. It is Passive and Active. Its Disease. Good Samaritan. Rousseau. Robespierre. Its Relation to Natural Affection. Its Relation to Woman. Its Religious Elements. Christ. Ruth. Joseph. Mother of Samuel. Peter. Esther. Paul. Family of Lazarus. Its True Pattern. Its Attractive Power. Unfaithfulness to its Law. Its Highest Element.
- [Chapter XV—Family Prayer.]
- Its Relation to Home-Sympathy. Its Necessity. Its Idea. Dr. Dwight's View. The Duty to establish it Proven. Its Neglect. Excuses from Family Prayer. Address to Parents.
- [Chapter XVI—Home-Education.]
- [Section I—The Character Of Home Education.]
- What is Home-Education. Different Kinds. It must be Physical. Intellectual. Moral. The Means. Circumstances. Temptation. Example. Training. Habit. The Feelings. Conscience. Motives. Cardinal Virtues. When it should Begin. It must be Religious. Necessity of this. St. Pierre. The Mother as Teacher. Objections Considered. Encouragement to Home-Training. Dr. Doddridge. A Pious Minister. Dr. Dwight. Young Edwards. Polycarp. Timothy. John Randolph. J.Q. Adams. Daniel. The Power of Home-Training in Religion.
- [Section II—Neglect And Abuse Of Home-Education.]
- Popular Prejudices Exposed. Dr. Johnson. Edmund Burke. Miss Sedgwick. Everett. Robert Hall. Fruits of a Neglected Education. Law of the Icelanders. Parents are Responsible. Crates. Pleasure of Teaching the Young. Thompson. Abuse of it. Fashionable Boarding-Schools. A Hopeful Young Lady. How to Ruin a Son. Duty of Parents inferred. Books. Bartholin. Home-Training not isolated from Church-Training. Must be Churchly.
- [Chapter XVII—Family Habits.]
- Their Importance. Their Idea. Different Kinds. Their Formation. Tobacco and Liquor. Evil and Good Habits. Family Prayer. Omission of Duty. Their Influence. Rev. C.C. Colton. A Criminal in India. Habit as the Interpreter of Character. Its Reproductive Power. We are Responsible for our Habits. Christian Habits. Habit of Industry. Rutherford. Habits of Perseverance and Contentment.
- [Chapter XVIII—Home-Government.]
- Home is a Little Commonwealth. Includes the Legal Principle. Relation of Parents to Children. Principle of Home-Government. Parental Authority Threefold. Schlegel. Old Roman Law. A Divine, Inalienable Right. Extent of Parental Authority. False View of it. Correlative Relation between Filial Obedience and Parental Authority. Character and Extent of Filial Obedience. Neglect and Abuse of Home-Government. Parental Indulgence and Despotism. The True Medium. Address to Parents.
- [Chapter XIX—Home-Discipline.]
- Its Idea. Its Necessity. False Systems. Discipline from the standpoint of Law without Love. Its Fruits. A Quaint Anecdote. The Europeans. The Arabs. Discipline from the standpoint of Love without Law. Examples. Eli. David. Its Fruits. True Christian Discipline. Chastisement. A Model System. Abraham. His Children. When Discipline should be Introduced. When it should be Administered. Importance of Parental Co-operation. Favoritism. Relation of Command to Chastisement. The Kind of Rein and Whip. When Corporeal Punishment should be Used. Dr. South. Dr. Bell. Its Adaptation to the Real Wants of the Child. Fidelity to Threats and Promises. Examination of Offenses. Never Chastise in Anger. Let your Child know the Object of Discipline.
- [Chapter XX—Home-Example.]
- Its Idea and Influence. The Child is the Moral Reproduction of the Parent. Solomon. Paul. Shakspeare. Dr. Young. Its Necessity proven from its Relation to Precept--William Jay; from its Adaptation to the Capacity and Imitative Disposition of the Child. Duty of Parents to show a Model Example to the Child. Archbishop Tillotson. Motives to this Duty. Obstacles to the Efficacy of good Home-Example. Unequal Marriages. Jacob's Marriage. Zacharias and Elizabeth.
- [Chapter XXI—The Choice Of Pursuits.]
- Duty of Preparation for some Useful Occupation. This should be made in Childhood. The part Parents should take in this. Duty of all Persons to engage in some Useful Pursuit shown from the Relation of the Individual to the State, from the Possibility of Future Misfortune, from the Excessive Prodigality of those who have been brought up in Idleness. Law of the Athenians. What Parents should consider in their selection of an Occupation for their Children. Injudicious Course of some Parents. Fruits of Disobedience to the Law of Adaptation. Social Position. Exigencies. But one Pursuit. Jack of All Trades. Loaferism. Fruits of Indolence.
- [Chapter XXII—The Home-Parlor.]
- Its Idea and Relations to Society. Why we should hold it Sacred. The most Dangerous Departments of Home. Duty of Parents to instruct their Children in reference to it. How far the Christian Parlor may Conform to the Laws and Customs of Fashion. Adulteration of the Christian Home through Indiscriminate Association. The Sad and Demoralizing Effects. Address to Parents.
- [Chapter XXIII—Match-Making.]
- [Section I—The Relation Of Parents To The Marriage Choice Of Their Children.]
- The Bridal Hour. A Home-Crisis. The Bride's Farewell. Have Parents a right to take any part in the Marriage Choice of their Children? This Right Proven from their Relation to their Children, from the Inexperience of Children, from Sacred History. The Patriarchal Age. Judaism. The Christian Church. The Extent of this Right. The Duties it Involves. Moral Control. Coercive Measures. Improper Parental Interposition. Its Sad Effects. Persuasive Measures. Should Parents Banish and Disinherit Children for their Marrying against their will? Paley.
- [Section II—False Tests In The Selection Of A Companion For Life.]
- The Mere Outward. How we determine Unhappy Matches. The Manner of Paying Addresses. The Habit of Match-Making. Tricks of Match-Makers. The Sad Fruits. Book Match-Makers. Their Auxiliaries. The Evil. How Parents may Preserve their Children. False Influences. Smitten. Outward Beauty. Impulsive Passion. Falling in Love at First Sight. Wealth. Rank. English Aristocracy. Nepotism. Snobbishness.
- [Section III—True Tests In The Selection Of A Companion For Life.]
- Judicious Views of the Nature and Responsibilities of the Marriage Institution. Our Forefathers. Reciprocal Affection. Paley. True Love. Adaptation of Character and Position. Fitness of Circumstances, Means, and Age. Religious Equality and Adaptation. Only in the Lord. The Sad Effect of Inequality. Should Persons Marry Outside of their Own Branch of the Church? Sin and Curse of Disobedience to the Law of Religious Equality. Duty of Parents in reference to Religious Equality. All Matches not made in Heaven. Law of Moses. Abraham. Historical Instances of the Fruits of Disobeying this Law. Reasonableness of the Law. The Primitive Christians. Sense of the Christian Church. Address to Christians.
- [Chapter XXIV—The Children’s Patrimony.]
- The Question this Involves. Not Confined to Wealth. A Good Character and Occupation. True Religion. How Parents should proceed in the Distribution of their Property. Why they should give only a Competency. The Rules to Determine a Competence. Paley. What the Law of Competence Forbids. Penalties of its Violation. History. Impartiality. Paley. The Infatuation of many Parents.
- [Chapter XXV—The Promises Of The Christian Home.]
- Two Kinds. Divine Promises to Parents and Children. Those of Punishment. Law of Reproduction. Iniquity of the Parents upon the Children. Promises of Reward. In this Life. John Q. Adams. In the Life to Come. God's Fidelity to His Promises. They are Conditional. When they become Absolute. Popular Objections. Compatibility between Promises and Agencies. Paul. Moses. Promises made by Parents.
- [Chapter XXVI—The Bereavements Of The Christian Home.]
- Separation. Bereavements Diversified. Reverses of Fortune. Death. First Death. Of Husband and Father. Of a Wife and Mother. Of Children. Of the Infant. Of the First-Born. Wisdom and Goodness of God in Bereavements. Discipline. Moral Instruction. The Dead and Living still Together. Benefit. Death of Little Children is a Kindness to them. Why. Why Christ became a Little Child. We should not wish them Back. Their Death is a Benefit to the Living. Communion of Saints. Ministering Spirits. The Spirit-World. A Ministering Child. A Ministering Mother. Infant Salvation. Zuinlius. Calvin. Dr. Junkin. Newton. The Hope of Re-union in Heaven. We should not murmur against God. This does not forbid Godly Sorrow and Tears. Meekly Submit.
- [Chapter XXVII—The Memories Of Home.]
- Chief Justice Gibson. Relation of Memory to Bereavement. Memories are Pleasing and Painful. Pleasing and Pious Memories. A Mother's Recollection. The Pleasures of Remembering the Pious Dead. Irving. The Saving Influence of Memory. Painful Memories. Critical Power of Memory. Mementoes of Home. Pictures. Memorials. Letters from Home. Seek Pleasing Memories.
- [Chapter XXVIII—The Antitype Of The Christian Home.]
- Typical Relation between Home and Heaven. The Christian's Tent-Home in its Relation to Heaven. The Antitypical Character of Heaven. A Comparative View of our Earthly and our Heavenly Home. Christ the Center of Heaven's Joy and Attraction. Union between Home and Heaven. A Conscious Union of the Members in Heaven. Family Recognition and Love in Heaven. Family Greeting and Joy in Heaven. Longings after Heaven. Conclusion.
- [Notes]