We spent the last few days in Princeton, New Jersey....and on the campus of Princeton University. About a hundred yards from our room is the gravesite of Jonathan Edwards....and probably within 200 yards in the other direction is the house that he spent only 35 days in as the college president before he became ill and died at only 54 years of age.
The remains of John Witherspoon....and Aaron Burr Sr....and Aaron Burr Jr....are only feet away from that of Jonathan Edwards.Before I continue let me say that the glory of God that once must have wafted through the numerous stone arches is long gone. The churches and chapels are just relics that haven't had time to crumble yet. On issues of the needs of black and hispanic Americans....I am of the Robert Kennedy mold....the most compassionate and caring politician that I have ever observed. I have posted on the 'white privilege' that helped me earlier in life....and I have been extremely critical of how our main goal in the Republican Party today seems to be in keeping low-income housing away from our suburbs. That's where I am....but having said that....it is more than a quest for legitimate diversity on these higher education campuses of today....rather it is some sort of god. The plaque on the historic post that is in front of the house that once was home to the college presidents....began with...."THE PRESIDENT'S HOUSE, 1756-1878. In this house, home to Princeton University's presidents from 1756 to 1878, lived at least sixteen enslaved men,women, and children. All were the personal property of the Presbyterian ministers who served as presidents of this institution." That fact is what Princeton chose to highlight. I walked up to two women who were reading the plaque....(only fifty yards away from the historic Nassau Hall where the Congress of the Confederation convened for four months in 1783)....this called the Maclean House today....and I asked them if they ever heard of Jonathan Edwards. They hadn't and I gave them a short description and advised that they Google him.
We spent time on the grounds of Princeton Seminary....where men like Charles Hodge and B. B. Warfield and J. Gresham Machen and John Murray....to name only four stalwarts in the Christian faith....where they worked and labored for the Lord....but it is not the same Princeton Seminary that it once was.
I purchased literature at the local bookstore to help as we walked the grounds....and one photo stood out to me....a chapel....but no longer a chapel....the photo taken from the back....all the pews were old and scratched up. The caption read...."Generations fidgeted to sermons"....using their penknives to etch graffiti in the wood....(this in the late 1800s)....and on one occasion covering the pews with molasses so that services...."would be cancelled." Such was the slow....step-by-step transformation....from Christian....to liberal....to even anti-Christian....that plagued higher education in America.
The architecture is beautiful....and the secular history also astounding....with men such as Woodrow Wilson and Albert Einstein permeating the air....if you are aware that they once taught here. As with many elite universities....they have individual colleges on the campus. I was reminded of touring Cambridge University back in early 2001....Emmanuel College it was....where John Harvard attended....and as I ascended the steps of the main building there was a statue of the Buddha. Anyway...there is Rockefeller College on I believe the NE corner of Princeton....where the film....A Beautiful Mind....with Russell Crowe as the mathematician John Nash....had many scenes. If you have seen or will see that film....you might ponder the secular definition of a beautiful mind....compared to a biblical definition....for there are variations of what a beautiful mind might be....and how they might be nurtured.
I recommend it as a day trip but two days would be better. The Nassau Inn is the only hotel right in town....and would certainly make the hours of walking easier....while there are plenty of restaurants and ice cream parlors and chocolate stores if that is your thing.
