The united pres church starts Princeton and requires profs to confess and teach no other. Wish we had this today!!
The General Assembly, not content to leave the education of the Church‘s ministers to others, established Princeton Theological Seminary in 1811. The Seminary is to be governed by a Board of Directors directly responsible to the Assembly. Each professor must be an ordained minister in the Church and solemnly subscribe ex animo to her stan- dards with the solemn promise not to teach or insinuate any- thing contrary to what is taught in them. Upon finishing his course, the student is to be a biblical critic, an apologist, a systematic theologian, a counsellor, and a church administra- tor—prepared to be ‗a useful preacher, and a faithful pastor.‘ It is expected that every student in the Theological Seminary will spend a portion of time every morning and evening in devout medita- tion, and self-recollection and examination; in reading the holy Scrip-tures, solely with a view to a personal and practical application of the passage read, to his own heart, character, and circumstances; and in humble fervent prayer and praise to God in secret. The aim is to avoid ‗formality and indifference‘ on the one hand and ‗ostentation and enthusiasm‘ on the other.40 In 1819 the General Assembly also established a Board of Education for the purpose of watching over, encouraging, and supporting the education of the youth of the Church with a view to their offering themselves to the Gospel. To the Board this was not simply another benevolent plan but a ‗matter of fundamental importance to the cause of Christ.‘ In 1824 the Assembly officially recommended Sabbath Schools which had now become an established institution in the Church.41