BUSHNELL, THE FAMILY

AND CHILDREN

Randolph C.Miller
15 Edgehill Road
New Haven, CT 06511

Horace BushnelTs Christian Nurture is a storehouse of wisdom

about families, children and the Gospel for today's generation. He
anticipated in many ways what we have learned from other
sources about the significance of parental care of young children,
the development of religious faith in children, and the importance
of a Christian understanding of education or nurture. He was
convinced that children could grow up with the understanding
that they were Christians. In reaction against the theology of his
time, he did not believe that children grow up in sin and need to
be converted at a later age, although he saw clearly that there
would be less dramatic crises of faith throughout their lives. In
reacting against revivalism, Bushneil was not dismissing
evangelical Christianity. He realized that no one was free from
sin, that no efforts on our part will free us from the bonds of evil,
and that we are saved ultimately by the grace of God. God,
however, is an ever present spirit at work in children as well as in
adults, and the result is creative transformations.
At the heart of his theory was a psychological and theological
understanding of the family. Central to this view was the
nurturing power of the parents, long before the children could use
words or fully participate in the life of the church.

The Family
Bushnell saw the family as related by "something like an organic
connection/'1 The model of the human body, where each

1
Horace Bushnell, Christian Nurture (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1947), p. 18.
This isa reprint of the 1861 edition. The earlier form appeared in 1846.
Religious Education Vol 74 No 3 May-June 1979

254
RANDOLPH C. MILLER 255
member affects the feelings and functions of every other, where
all members are enriched by a common nutrient, and where all
members mature together, was what he had in mind. So the
parental life flows into the lives of the children, whether the
parents so will it or not, for an organic law is at work in the
development of children. There is "a power over character
. . . . which cannot properly be called influence."2 It is uncon-
scious, intimate, contagious. This organic power operates in
the atmosphere of the home as naturally as the air we breathe.
The family, then, is not merely an aggregate of individuals,
although individuals have their own existence within their
relationships with other human beings. There is, of course, a
proper individualism into which we grow, but children do not
begin at that point. Furthermore, adults never outgrow the
impact of their family relations. So it is that both physical and
psychological characteristics are passed on from generation to
generation, along with certain variations that are unpredictable.
The nurturing process begins just when one would expect, at
birth. The nurturing of the body and soul go hand in hand, and the
development of both goes through well established stages from
infancy to maturity. It begins with impressions and moves on to
influences; it begins prior to the age of language and moves to the
development of language. Indeed, the earliest period is
exceedingly important. "Let every Christian father and mother
understand, when their child is three years old, that they have
done more than half of all they will ever do for his character."3
Early impressions lead to language. Children have im-
pressions which lead to meanings. Only then do they struggle for
words to suit the meanings. There is a capacity for intelligent
apprehension that can respond to impressions and discover
meanings. "Thus," says Bushnell, "a dog would never get hold of
any religious impression at the family prayers, all his lifetime; but
a child will be fast gathering up, out of his little life and
experience, impressionai states and associations, that give
meanings to the words of prayer, as they, in turn, give meanings to
the facts of his experience."4
What happens before the onslaught of language is crucial. The
intensity of mother love communicated to the child becomes a
source of the child's security and trust. This love is communicated
2
Ibid, p. 2-76.
3
Ibid., p. 212.
4
Ibid., p. 204.
256 BUSHNELL, THE FAMILY AND CHILDREN

physically but the mother feels that her love is more than physical
and the child's empathy catches something of this deeper love.
Bushnell interprets this as the love of God at work in the mother's
acts of patience, faithfulness, gentleness, and courageous care.
The child, according to God's plan, starts out in complete
helplessness, so as to be sure that the motherhood will have its full
impact.
This power, which parents have over the newborn, "cannot
properly be called influence," influence comes later. It is more of
an "absolute force." The feelings, good and bad, within the family
are impressed on the child. The spirit of the family is incarnated in
family life and pervades everything the child touches. This family
spirit may work for good or ill; it may or may not influence deeply
the family members, but it embraces every one in the family,
even if individuals may choose to withdraw or to oppose it.
The grace of God is given to and through the family. Family
relationships are bound together by grace, which justifies infant
baptism and other expressions of grace which works through
what parents are rather than through what parents say or intend.
"Your character is a stream, a river, flowing down upon your
children hour by hour." 5 In their relationships with their children
parents should be willing to talk about their own infirmities, for
"there is much in them for God to pardon, much for their children
to overlook, or even to forgive; and . . . God alone can assist
them to lead themselves and their family up to a better world." 6
Often it is better to admit parental disabilities than to harp on
childhood peccadilloes.
The relations between parents and children need to be ones of
trust. Distrust destroys the possibility of effective discipline and
guidance and gets in the way of the love that is the heart of family
life. The converse of this is that the parents must be trustworthy,
for mutual suspicion leads to broken relationships. The parents
are helped in keeping this love relationship alive by the
ministrations of the church, as the children are baptized and
included in the full life of the church. But the church sometimes
fails in its responsibility by being "rent by divisions, burnt up by
fanaticism, frozen by the chill of a worldly spirit, petrified in a
rigid and dead orthodoxy." 7
From the beginning there will be outside forces which may

5
Ibid., p. 98.
6
Ibid., p. 99.
7
Ibid., pp. 39-40.
RANDOLPH C. MILLER 257
differ from parental impressions and attitudes. Even the
introduction of a baby sitter makes a difference, for "what mother
would not be dismayed by the thought of having her family grow
up into the sentiments of her nurse, and come forward into life as
being in the succession of her character!"8 Such "irreparable
damage" caused by "the self-indulgence" of parents is ignored by
many, and yet the heart of Christian nurture turns on the person of
the "mothering one." It is probable that Bushnell would
disapprove of mothers of children under the age of three being
away from home or working during these early years.
This leads us to the conclusion that "there is no cheap way of
making Christians of our children."9 The cost in terms of love is
built into Bushnell's theology of vicarious sacrifice. The highest
illustration of vicarious sacrifice is the atonement, which Bushnell
interprets as God's loving empathy taking on human sin and
sharing the consequences, and as new life emerging from this
sacrifice of the cross and the newness of life in the resurrection.
This motif is equally applicable to human love as it follows the
divine example, and thus parents may be expected to make such
vicarious sacrifices for their children.

Parental Shortcomings
If everything goes right and the children are brought up in the
way they should go, they may turn out the way we hope. But
Bushnell is no pollyanna and he knows that there are pitfalls. His
chapter wonderfully entitled "The Ostrich Nurture" outlines
what happens to some parents. First, there is the problem of
parents with no training who following their own instincts bring
about disastrous results for their children. They fail to understand
that one of the glories of parenthood is the power to pass on to the
new generation their insights, values, and goals. Second, Christian
parents may unwittingly accept the view that children are to be
converted, understood as mechanical and manipulative, when
they grow up. Thus the quickening grace of God is denied to
children. With an emphasis on sin and despair for children,
religion "becomes their fixed aversion."10 Typically such children
are converted at too early an age, so that an ostrich nurture is
cheaply maintained. This "cheap grace," as Bonhoeffer called it, is
all too evident in many churches. Third, such parents have to rely
8
Ibid., p. 213.
9
Ibid., p. 72.
10
Ibid., p. 61.
258 BUSHNELL, THE FAMILY AND CHILDREN
on revivals as the basis of conversion. There is not much
preparation over the years, but as the time of the revival
approaches, there is an increase in piety and "the father almost
chokes in his prayer, showing that he really prays with
meaning!" 11 Fourth, there is a kind of nurture that is purely ethical
and stops short of religion. Children go to Sunday school in order
to learn how to be good. This mere ethical nurture is not bad as
such, but it does not lead to faith or dependence on God. There is
no gift of new life, no sense of God's grace at work to which we
respond with trust and commitment. Fifth, there is no place in the
lives of most congregations for children. The parents who accept
this situation are caught up in Bushnell's ostrich nurture, and the
churches who ignore children are not responding to Jesus' words,
"Let the children come to me." Bushnell goes so far as to admit
children to full participation in the church's worship, including
reception of holy communion. As in Christian homes, so also in
the churches, there should be an atmosphere of grace which the
children literally can sense.
Luther Weigle, in summarizing what Bushnell stood for, tells
us that "Bushnell opposed what was called 'indoctrination,' which
consisted chiefly in the memorization of dogmatic catechisms,
and favored a larger emphasis upon the understanding of
Scripture; he advocated the grading of methods and materials of
instruction in Christian truth; he recommended greater freedom
in conversation with respect to the objects of religious belief, and
more sincerity in answering children's questions and in dealing
with adolescent doubts; he believed that the play of children,
instead of being a symptom of original sin, is a 'divine
appointment,' of educative value; he conceived the goal of
education in terms of what he called 'the emancipation of the
child.' "12
The starting point for the education of children must be with
the parents and teachers, most of whom have become "dull of
hearing." They need to go back to the "ABC of God's revelation,"
for they "have need of milk, and not of strong meat" (Heb.
5:11,12). If there has been no training for parenthood, obviously
we need to start with the ABC's, the elementary doctrines about
baptism, the laying on of hands, and even if necessary the
resurrection.
Bushnell almost defeats his purpose of inspiring us to better
11
Ibid., p. 63.
12
Introduction to Christian Nurture, p.xxxvii.
RANDOLPH C. MILLER 259
things by his recital of what can go wrong. Some parents have no
training and think they can rely on natural affection. Others are
out of peace with each other and with their children and know
nothing of the peace of God. Some homes are run by
"contrivance, artifice, or sometimes cunning," so that scheming is
necessary in order to survive. Even prayer is used to get
something from God. This leads to another defect, that of
pretense, affectation, and untruth as a basis for living. One
pretends to believe because it pays. This quickly ends up simply
as bad morality.13
Another set of vices is related to the Christian life. Sanc-
timoniousness, which is not hypocrisy but is overblown piety,
takes away the joy and love of living and interferes with the
child's need to play. There is also a particularly unlovely Christian
bigotry, based on a narrowness that excludes everyone else who
does not agree and easily moves to the fanatic, whom Bushnell
describes as one "who mixes false fire with the true, and burns
with a partly diabolical heat. . . . He scorches, but never
melts."14 In turn, a negative type of censoriousness, which kills
most efforts to be creative and joyful, permeates some homes;
there is almost a duty to see "always dark things." Another type of
disqualification comes from parental uncertainty about authority.
Because they are not sure of God's authority or the way in which
authority is to be interpreted, they are equally uncertain about
parental authority and the way it is to be administered. This can
lead to "anxiousness," a lack of faith that torments.
Bushnell sees all these difficulties, and is aware of the family
with parents divided on religious training, or where there is only
one parent or only one parent with faith. But he asserts that God
will connect himself with the party which has faith, so that he or
she will be assisted in the work of a parent. "The only true method
here is the method of faith: to be more perfectly and wholly
trusted to God, more singly, simply Christian."15
Still, there are more mistakes that parents make. Stormy
parents, especially fathers, may provoke their children to anger.
They may provide too many prohibitions. They may govern in a
hard, unfeeling way. They may be unreasonably hard to please.
They may withhold love and express displeasure long after an act
which has displeased them. They may make false accusations,
13
Ibid., pp. 217-223.
14
Ibid., p. 226.
15
Ibid., p. 230.
260 BUSHNELL, THE FAMILY AND CHILDREN
rather than make a careful investigation of the facts. Parents are
often immature and anxious, just because they lack faith, and
their anxiety is contagious. "What then is the woe put upon a
hapless little one or child, who is shut up day by day and year by
year, to the always fearing look and deprecating whine, the
questioning, protesting, super-cautionary keeping of a nervously
anxious mother." 16

The Strong Meat of Parenthood

When we get beyond the ABC's of Christian beliefs, we are a step
toward maturity where we can absorb the strong meat of the
Gospel. When we get beyond the various disqualifications of
parents, we can begin with the milk and then the solid food of
accepting parenthood as a vocation. It begins with discovering
the true conception of family government.
First, biblically the family is thought of as an environment in
which there is authority, imparted by God. The family is set up
according to certain laws, including those of reproduction,
growth, relationships within the family, and relationships with
God. The parents have the power of life and death over their
children. Indeed, "the parents are to fill, in this manner, an office
strictly religious; personating God to the child's feeling and
conscience, and bending it, thus, to what, without any misnomer,
we call a filial piety." 17 In time, children move from faith in their
parents as gods to faith in their parents' God, and at last to a faith
of their own.
The parental government should not only extend love to the
children but should also provide rules. The environment must be
dependable if it is to be accepted as the law which limits freedom.
This demands of the parents both discipline and insight into the
laws of God. There is, then, a style of obedience developed in the
child that may lead to a genuine piety. The child learns to do right
because it is right and not for any external reason, such as safety or
appearance.
The expectation, or the ideal, is that the parents will be
Christian and "living in the Spirit." Without sham or sanctimony,
the parents' lives will point to the reality of God. This means not
only in the parental relation to the children will God's love be
manifest but in the relation between husband and wife. The

16
Ibid., p. 260.
17
Ibid., p. 272.
RANDOLPH C. MILLER 261
children observe closely how their parents behave to each other,
and if there is a "defect just here, all authority in the house is
blasted."18 As the children move away from dependency to more
and more autonomy, and as the parents are aware of this
development, the time will come for the emancipation of the
child. The process begins as the child grows and only slowly and
almost imperceptibly does emancipation become evident.
In spite of all Bushnell's emphasis on nurture, relationships and
atmosphere, he also insists that there be good teaching. This
teaching should include the Scriptures. There is a right use of
Scripture; "the words are simple, the facts are vital, the varieties
of locality, dialogue, incident, character, and topic, endless."19
Catechisms should be avoided, but memorizing the creeds may
prove fruitful, not as forced acceptance of beliefs but as assent
and worship. Added to these are the Ten Commandments, the
Lord's Prayer, and some simple hymns. When these are placed in
the context of conversation and discussion, they can be adapted
to the child. Thus they are built into the child's feelings, by living
example. The godly father or mother or teacher is the clue. And
Bushnell reminds us all of the key to religious teaching: "No truth
is really taught by words, or interpreted by intellectual and logical
method; truth must be lived into meaning, before it can be truly
known."20 Such teaching is to feed the person's growth, not to stir
a revolution, and yet they "will be passing little conversion-like
crises all the time."21 The family will be a child's church, and there
will be prayer before the hearth, and grace at meals, and godly
conversations.

In Conclusion
It cannot be done, you say, in today's world. It was difficult in
Bushnell's world. He was aware of the tired wage earner arriving
late after a hectic carriage ride to find a wife exhausted by the
frazzled children. No one had the strength to exercise the love
they had for each other. There were homes in which defects of
character showed up under pressure and others in which there
was open hostility. There were broken homes, and the death rates
among parents was higher in those days, and widows and
widowers often faced alone the nurture of the children. There
18
Ibid., p. 276.
19
Ibid., p. 317.
20
Ibid., p. 318.
21
Ibid., p. 329.
262 BUSHNELL, THE FAMILY AND CHILDREN
were not as many divorces and far fewer women were wage
earners. But these difficulties (and more could be mentioned) did
not excuse the parent or parents from responsibility.
There is no way of knowing if a better job of nurturing was
done then as compared with today. I suspect that there was more
religious activity in the home and that more children grew up
knowing the Bible's content, although Bushnell was worried
about the damage done to children where the emphasis was on
sin, damnation, and sudden conversion. Not all children then
were fortunate enough to be in the once-born tradition, and the
goal of Bushnell's writing in the fields of education and theology
was to provide an understanding and experience of the grace of
God made available through the vicarious sacrifice of Jesus
Christ.
The demand placed on family and church in Bushnell's time is
not different from the requirements for today. Religion still finds
its roots in the "mothering one" and in a filial relationship. Parents
and teachers need to be fed the "strong meat" and not milk. There
is no "simple" Gospel and no easy way to make Christians of our
children. "Simple solutions," as Whitehead says, "are bogus
solutions." As adults we move to the "solid food" beyond the
ABC's of the Gospel, and thus we deal with the fundamental
issues of right and wrong, of social justice, of complicated ethical
and political and economic issues, and of what it means to be a
Christian in today's world.
The promise to parents and their children and to all believers
is that we will reach maturity, "reaching the full measure of
development which belongs to the fulness of Christ — instead of
remaining immature, blown from our course and swayed by
every passing wind of doctrine, by the adroitness of those who are
dexterous in devising error, we are to hold by the truth, and by our
love grow up wholly unto him" (Eph. 13bl5a, Moffatt). "Bring the
children up in the way they should go, and when they grow up
they will depart more or less therefrom" (Miller's proverb). That
is the promise and the risk of having children.
Dr. Miller is Horace Bushnell Professor of Christian Nurture at Yale Divinity
School and editor emeritus of Religious Education.
 ^ s
Copyright and Use:

As an ATLAS user, you may print, download, or send articles for individual use
according to fair use as defined by U.S. and international copyright law and as
otherwise authorized under your respective ATLAS subscriber agreement.

No content may be copied or emailed to multiple sites or publicly posted without the
copyright holder(s)' express written permission. Any use, decompiling,
reproduction, or distribution of this journal in excess of fair use provisions may be a
violation of copyright law.

This journal is made available to you through the ATLAS collection with permission
from the copyright holder(s). The copyright holder for an entire issue of a journal
typically is the journal owner, who also may own the copyright in each article. However,
for certain articles, the author of the article may maintain the copyright in the article.
Please contact the copyright holder(s) to request permission to use an article or specific
work for any use not covered by the fair use provisions of the copyright laws or covered
by your respective ATLAS subscriber agreement. For information regarding the
copyright holder(s), please refer to the copyright information in the journal, if available,
or contact ATLA to request contact information for the copyright holder(s).

About ATLAS:

The ATLA Serials (ATLAS®) collection contains electronic versions of previously

published religion and theology journals reproduced with permission. The ATLAS
collection is owned and managed by the American Theological Library Association
(ATLA) and received initial funding from Lilly Endowment Inc.

The design and final form of this electronic document is the property of the American
Theological Library Association.