THE CHRISTIAN HOME
AS IT IS IN THE
Sphere of Nature and the Church.
SHOWING
The Mission, Duties, Influences, Habits, and Responsibilities of Home its
Education, Government, and Discipline; with Hints on "Match Making," and
the Relation of Parents to the Marriage Choice of their Children; together
with a consideration of the Tests in the Selection of a Companion, Etc.
by
REV. S. PHILIPS, A.M.
Published By Gurdon Bill,
Springfield, Mass.
H. C. Johnson, Detroit, Mich.
1865
"Sweet is the smile of Home! the mutual look,
When hearts are of each other sure;
Sweet all the joys that crowd the household nook,
The haunt of all affections pure."
PREFACE.
It is a fact conceded by all, that the constitution of the Christian
family, and its social and spiritual relations, are not as fully developed
as they should be. In this age of extreme individualism, we have almost
left out of view the mission of home as the first form of society, and the
important bearing it has upon the formation of character. Its interests are
not appreciated; its duties and privileges are neglected; husbands and
wives do not fully realize their moral relation to each other; parents are
inclined to renounce their authority; and children, brought up in a state
of domestic libertinism, neither respect nor obey their parents as they
should. The idea of human character as a development from the nursery to
the grave, is not realized. Home as a preparation for both the state and
the church, and its bearing, as such, upon the prosperity of both, are
renounced as traditionary, and too old and stale to suit this age of
mechanical progression and "young Americanism."
As a consequence, the influence of home is lost; the lambs of the flock are
neglected, grow up in spiritual ignorance, and become a curse both to
themselves and to their parents. The vice and infidelity which prevail to
such an alarming extent in the present day, may be ascribed to parental
neglect of the young. The desolating curse of heaven invariably accompanies
neglect of domestic obligations and duties; it was this that constituted
that dreadful degeneracy which preceded the coming of the Messiah. The
parents were alienated from the children, and the children from their
parents. And the only way in which the Jews could avert deserved and
impending ruin, was by "turning the heart of the fathers to the children,
and the heart of the children to their fathers."
We must adopt the same method. We need in the present day a deeper and more
scriptural sense, both in the state and church, of the importance of the
family, and of its position in the sphere of natural and religious life.
The attention of the people should be directed to the nature, the
influences, the responsibilities, the prerogatives, duties and blessings of
the Christian home.
Any work which contributes to this end is worthy of our high regard and
subserves a noble purpose; for it is only when the details of home-life are
given to the public, that proper interest in them will be developed, and we
can hope for a better state of things in this first form of associated
life.
The following work is an humble contribution to this important cause. It is
intended to excite interest in the religious elements of family life, and
to show that the development of individual character and happiness in the
church and state, in time and in eternity, starts with, and depends upon,
home-training and nurture. The author, in presenting it to the public, is
fully conscious of its many palpable imperfections; yet, as it is his first
effort, and as it was prepared amid the multiplied perplexities and
interruptions of his professional life, he confidently expects that it will
be received with charitable consideration. It is now published as an
introduction to a work on the historical development of home, to which his
attention has for years been directed. If this unassuming volume should be
instrumental in the saving of one family from ruin, we shall feel ourself
fully compensated.
THE AUTHOR.
CHAMBERSBURG, PA., 1859.
CONTENTS.
PREFACE
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.: Some 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.