Bible Encyclopedias
Bushnell, Horace, D.D., LL.D.

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a distinguished Congregational minister, was born at Litchfield, Conn., April 14, 1802, and graduated from Yale College in 1827. After spending one year in the office of the New York Journal of Commerce, he studied law, and was at the same time tutor in Yale. College from 1829 to 1831. He passed two years in the Yale Divinity School, and was ordained pastor of the North Church, Hartford, May 22,1833. This was his only settlement, and continued until 1859, when he was dismissed. He died at Hartford, Feb. 17,1876. During his ministry he became eminent not only for his ability as a preacher and a theologian, but also as a writer. Among the numerous productions of his pen were the following: Christian Nurture (1847; enlarged, 1860) : — God in Christ (1849): -Christ in Theology (1851): — Sermons for the. New Life (1858): — Nature and the Supernatural (eod.):Work and Play (1864) : — Christ .and his Salvation (eod.): — The Vicarious Sacrifice (1865): — Moral Use of Dark Things (1868): — Woman Suffrage (1869):Sermons on Living Subjects (1872): — Forgiveness and Law (1874). Dr. Bushnell occupies a position quite unique among American divines. By some of the leaders of his denomination he was regarded, at times, as being loose and' heterodox in his views, and they refused to affiliate with him. As, however, his life passed away, he became more and more the object of sincere interest and Christian sympathy among all who came within the range of his influence. On account of the rare purity of his style, the elevation of his sentiments, and his remarkable knowledge of the windings and intricacies of human nature, he has made for himself a place of the highest rank. among American writers. Whatever difference of opinion there may be about his peculiar theological views, there can be none about his intellectual ability, the charm of his conversational powers, and his wonderful gift as a writer. See Memoirs of H. Bushnell (N. Y. 1880); Cong. Quarterly, xix, 411; Allibone, Diet.. of Brit. and Amer. Authors, s.v. (J. C. S.)