A Teacher of Three Students

The College had been in operation since 1746. And the College of New Jersey, as it was originally known, had provided the church, and especially the Presbyterian Church in the United States many of its pastors and missionaries.  But with the advent of the eighteen hundreds, many of its graduates were preparing for different careers, like law, politics, and education. Something had to be done to remedy this critical need of 400 empty pulpits in the denomination.

The proverbial ball began rolling when the Rev. Ashbel Green, pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia, gave a challenging speech before the assembled elders gathered at the May 1805 General Assembly. In 1808, the Presbyterian of Philadelphia overtured that General Assembly begin a theological school. Four years later, the Assembly voted to establish such a school and to locate it in Princeton, New Jersey. Later in that same Assembly, the elders in a spirit of prayer voted the Rev. Dr. Archibald Alexander to be the first professor of Princeton Theological Seminary. The date was June 2, 1812.

Archibald Alexander had been prepared by the Holy Spirit for this important ministry. Blessed with an heritage of Scotch-Irish forefathers, and a father who was a Presbyterian elder, his family first settled in Pennsylvania before relocating to Virginia. Archibald was born in 1772 and by the age of seven, had learned the Shorter Catechism and was moving on to the Larger Catechism. He sat under the celebrated William Graham at Liberty Hall Academy, forerunner of Washington and Lee College. And yet with all of this training, Archibald was still unsaved. It wasn’t until he was sixteen that he was brought to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus. More theological training took place which culminated in his ordination by Hanover Presbytery in Virginia in 1794 as a Presbyterian minister.

From there his ministry activities went from the rural pastorate, to Hampden-Sydney College as president, to a revival preacher in New England, delegate to the General Assembly, minister of a congregation in the large city of Philadelphia, and finally to the first professor of Princeton Seminary, at the age of forty.  At the beginning of this new and challenging ministry, he had three students in 1812.  But the number wouldn’t stay there very long.  Princeton Seminary had begun.

Words to Live By: Everything which occurs in your life is for a purpose, a purpose overseen by a loving Father. Even in the day of small things, the Lord has His purpose, and greater things await the faithful servant. When you are enabled to see that biblical truth, your life, and how you view it, takes on a sacred calling. There is a good reason why the Apostle Paul commands us “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (ESV – 1 Thessalonians 5:17)

In Prison for Christ

Refusing to worship the shrine of the emperor of Japan, Orthodox Presbyterian missionary Bruce Hunt was arrested by the Japanese authorities  in 1941. They did not take his wife Kathy or any of the five children, so that was one obvious blessing.  He was encouraged also that in one of his prisons to which he was sent, some thirty other Christians had been arrested for their refusal to engage in emperor worship.

Forty-five days after his arrest, he was tried as being opposed to shrine worship and the Japanese government. In their words, he was disturbing the peace of the country.  Thus, he was going to be put on trial for his crimes.

The trial itself was a strange one indeed.  From ten o’clock in the morning to five o’clock in the evening, Bruce Hunt was peppered with religious questions.  He was asked everything from whether he believed Eve was tempted by the serpent in the Garden of Eden, to questions about the end of the world. The judge asked him what he believed about the return of Jesus, as well as the restoration of  Jews to Palestine. Rev. Hunt answered them all.

To be sure, there were questions about the issue of shrine worship, but even there the answer evolved around why Christians could not and should not worship a man instead of the God-man. When it all came down to it, Rev. Hunt was grilled about the truthfulness of biblical Christianity in his trial.

At the end of the day, with the trial being over, the verdict was handed down.  Bruce Hunt was declared not guilty by the Japanese authorities and given a suspended two-year sentence.  In essence, this meant that if he didn’t get into more trouble, the case would be dropped against him. There was only one problem with it all. The day of the trial was December 6, 1941, one day before Pearl Harbor.

With America’s entrance into the war in response to the surprise attack upon our Naval base in Hawaii, Bruce Hunt was re-arrested by the Japanese, spending the next six months in a number of concentration camps. Finally, on June 1, 1942, he was set free and reunited with his wife Kathy and their children. Deported, the family returned to the United States aboard the next available ship.

(The whole story of Bruce Hunt can be found in his book, “For a Testimony,” published by the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.)

Words to Live By: It has been an age-old question, but if it is asked with a sincere intention to answer it, it still has merit.  Here’s the question: if you were tried for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?  Think about it, pray about it, and then act to make sure that the evidence of personal Christianity is strong in  your life.