Horace Bushnell (1802 – 1876) proposed the idea that it was the duty of the Christian parent to nurture faith, never alerting the child to the fact that they have any other identification other than Christian. He stated this was nothing new and uses scripture and church history to support this thesis:
That the child is to grow up a Christian, and never know himself as being otherwise. (p. 10 Christian Nurture)
Bushnell saw this approach to Christian Education the more desirable because of the focus on identification and practice, rather than an attempt to teach a child that he or she is a sinner and then working to teach them that they must choose to follow God.
The Christian is one who has simply begun to love what is good for its own sake, and why should it be thought impossible for a child to have this love begotten in him? (p. 16 Christian Nurture)
Bushnell believed that the Spirit of God was just as active in the lives of the young as in the old, and that the best time to capture a child’s heart for God was when they were young. As a child grows and matures, questions will arise and these questions should be answered, but this is done in the child’s timing, and not governed by parents or teachers, reflecting notions of Romanticism from a generation or two before.
Bushnell’s work is best characterized as an attempt to develop a deep sense of identity in a child as one of God’s children, hinging this work on God’s spirit and movement among His people. Of course, the role of community in this process is extremely important. A child needs a strong community with a sense of shared life and similar goals in order to help reinforce and develop their Christian identity.
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