The Bible’s role in early Colonial education

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (KJV): “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”

From the mid-1600s until the mid-1800s, public schools as we know them today did not exist. Parents, pastors, and tutors taught the children to read, write, cipher, reason, and think using the Bible as their first instruction book.

Over these 200 years in our nation’s history, America produced five generations of men and women who laid the foundation for our country. These Americans were dedicated to the Christian principle of liberty and the art of self-government. The most influential voices came from the pulpit.

It should be noted that during this period, America won its independence and became the greatest nation on Earth. Children were raised by being educated by the Word of God.

In modern America, the most influential voice is that of a politically and socially driven media. The pulpit served as the most powerful and compelling voice in colonial America. Powerful and inspired preaching by such clergymen as Josep Cotton, Cotton Mather, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, Dr. John Witherspoon (signer of the Declaration of Independence), Samuel Davies (pastor of Patrick Henry), Jonas Clark, and Peter Muhlenburg are just a few of these great preachers of the colonial period.

The motivation for the colonial pulpit was the powerful influence of Reformers John Knox and John Calvin. Their teachings on the authority of the Scripture and the Kingdom of Christ influenced the colonial form of self and civil government.

Colonial education was a private educational system. That was the system by which our forefathers were educated. Locations for education included churches, homes, and voluntary associations such as libraries and other societies. Private benefactors mainly supported colonial education.

In 1642, the Deluders Law was passed in the Massachusetts colony. This law stated, “All youth are to be taught to read the English tongue perfectly, have knowledge in the laws and taught some orthodox catechism (of a person or their views, especially religious or political ones, or other beliefs or practices) conforming to what is generally or traditionally accepted as suitable or proper; established and approved). Dame schools were also a form of colonial education for children. Children in the neighborhood were taught to read and write by women in their kitchens.

Over the years of the colonial period, American ministers preached approximately eight million sermons. These sermons lasted from one to one-and-a-half hours. The average 70-year-old parishioner would have listened to about seven thousand sermons during their lifetime, totaling approximately ten thousand hours of concentrated listening. This total of listening is the number of classroom hours it would take to receive ten separate undergraduate degrees in a modern university without repeating the same course.

The results of colonial education were most impressive. Our educational institutions, consisting of church, family, and school, produced generations of well-educated men and women who could address the problematic issues of self and civil government. American colonial education was described this way: “To develop a wise and virtuous man, fit to be trusted with the liberty of his country.”

America became the greatest country on Earth, which began with the educational system of the colonial period. Over time, America has forsaken the educational system that made us great. God’s Word is no longer a force and for the wrong reasons.

The education and raising of our children in a Godly environment is essential.

Proverbs 22:6 (KJV): “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”