Samuel Miller (1769-1850) was a minister in the Presbyterian Church and called to serve as the second professor at Princeton Seminary in 1813. Miller is remembered for his faithfulness as a churchman and also for being a prolific author. Moreover, Miller was also a crucial figure in the establishment of Princeton Seminary as he served alongside men such as Archibald Alexander and Ashbel Green to formulate a plan for its creation. While there are certainly many reasons why Samuel Miller is remembered as a churchman, one reason most definitely concerns his understanding of how important piety and learning are for ministers of the gospel. Miller rightly believed that there must exist a vital union between learning and piety if ministers are to be effective in their calling. However, this is also the mindset that the church must possess if it is prepared to educate potential ministers. Thus, Princeton Seminary was established with the objective to train men for gospel ministry in this regard; they were to be men who sought both piety and learning.
The following is an extended quotation from Samuel Miller regarding the importance of the union between piety and learning. It is a helpful quotation as it concerns the training of ministers in general but also helpful for beginning to understand the philosophy of education at Old Princeton Seminary. Here are Miller's words:
"The importance of the union of piety and learning in the holy ministry is one of those radical principles of ecclesiastical wisdom, which the experience of ages has served more and more to confirm. If the priests' lips were, of old, to keep knowledge; if the ministers of the gospel are bound to feed the people with knowledge and with understanding; then nothing can be plainer than that ignorance, or small and indigested knowledge, is, next to the want of piety, one of the most serious defects in a c candidate for the sacred office. It is equally plain, that if this great concern be properly directed, especially if it be directed with order and uniformity, it must be attended to by the church herself. That which is left to individual enterprise and caprice, may sometimes be well managed, but will seldom be managed in any two cases alike. Besides, unless the church take this matter into her own hands, she cannot inspect and control the education which her candidates for the holy ministry receive. Her most precious fountains may be poisoned without her being able to apply an effectual remedy. No church, therefore, which neglects the proper education of her ministers, can be considered as faithful, either to her own most vital interests, or to the honour of her divine Head and Lord."
Information:
1. The quotation from Miller was taken from his "A Brief History of Princeton Theological Seminary" in: Garretson, James M. Princeton and the Work of Christian Ministry : A Collection of Addresses and Articles by Faculty and Friends of Princeton Theological Seminary. Carlisle, Pa, Banner Of Truth Trust, 2012. 42.
2. Click here for more information about Samuel Miller.
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