One of our best-known American preachers and theologians was Horace Bushnell (1802-1876). In his early years, Bushnell believed that a child ought to grow up as a “Christian” and he opposed the idea of a personal, spiritual crisis in children. Bushnell also helped select the Berkley site for the University of California campus.

But while a law student at Yale, Bushnell was an unbeliever. During a great spiritual revival that was sweeping the Yale campus, Bushnell became disturbed when he learned that many of the undergraduate students refused to attend the services because he didn’t attend them.

One day he faced his unbelief squarely. “If I do not believe in Christ, what do I believe in?” he asked himself. He then firmly decided that there had to be an absolute difference between right and wrong. Then he asked himself, “If I put myself on the side of what is right, do I tend to follow it regardless of the consequences?”

His answer was that he had not, but he would. It was then and there he dedicated himself to the principle of doing what is right.