Alexander on “The Use and Abuse of Books”

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By David B. Calhoun on March 4, 2010 , ,

Archibald Alexander on The Use and Abuse of Books

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In 1812 the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America elected Archibald Alexander as the first professor in its newly established theological seminary. Alexander was forty years old. He had already served as a preacher, college president, and pastor. His preparation for leading the first Presbyterian seminary had been enriched by his experience of American life in the South, the Middle States, and New England; on the frontier, in the country, and in a major city. Alexander was the primary force that gave direction to Princeton Theological Seminary for at least its first hundred years.
Soon after his installation as professor of didactic and polemic theology, the seminary’s board of directors also appointed Alexander librarian, a position he held until his death in 1851. He began the work, carried on by others, that eventually made the seminary library one of the finest theological libraries in the world. . .

David B. Calhoun

Professor

David B. Calhoun, (1937-2021) was Professor Emeritus of Church History at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri.  A minister of the Presbyterian Church in America, he has taught at Covenant College, Columbia Bible College (now Columbia International University), and Jamaica Bible College (where he was also principal).  Calhoun has served with Ministries in Action in the West Indies and in Europe and as dean of the Iona Centres for Theological Study.  He was a board member (and for some years president) of Presbyterian Mission International, a mission board that assists nationals who are Covenant Seminary graduates to return to their homelands for ministry.

 

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