From These Grounds
President's Letter
by William G. Durden '71
December 30, 2008
Dear Dickinsonians:
On March 22, I received a visit from Lockwood Rush—a direct descendant of our founder, Dr. Benjamin Rush, and his wife, Jackie. During the last several years, Elke and I have enjoyed getting to know Lockwood, an accomplished individual whose own life mirrors closely that of his famous ancestor—Princetonian, doctorate in psychology and longtime Philadelphia resident.
This particular visit, however, proved to be an exceptional one, as Lockwood presented me with Dr. Rush’s personal Bible. This well-worn volume—complete with Rush’s notations in the margins—leaves no doubt that religion was important in Rush’s life. As Charles Coleman Sellers so accurately observed in his history of Dickinson College, Rush “acknowledged no segments or boundaries to Christian duty—medicine, politics, social reform, education, all were one.”
And so, in Rush’s underlining and handwritten marginalia sprinkled throughout his Bible, we find the collision of various aspects of his life. Take the book of Luke 4:6, for example (with underlining by Rush): “And the devil said unto him, All this power I will give thee, and the glory of them; for that is delivered unto me, and to whomsoever I will, I give it.” And Rush’s wry, handwritten commentary in the margin: “The bad characteristics of kings, and the misery of kingdoms, make this truth.”
If Rush sought guidance from the Bible to explain his position against the Crown, it also propelled him to take progressive and often controversial positions as he advocated for the abolition of slavery, penal reform, better public-health policies and—as the foundation of it all—access to education. Consistent with Rush’s overarching philosophy about a liberal-arts education, action motivated by Christian principle was to be above all “useful.”
As in so many aspects of his life, Rush’s religion was ecumenical, fluid and, ultimately, so very American. Born and raised a Presbyter-ian, Rush readily accepted those whose faith differed from his own, and he was intrigued intellectually and culturally with the Islamic and Jewish religions. Over time, Rush’s own commitment to Presbyterianism shifted as he became a Universalist. And while he remained a devout Christian, Rush joined the other Founding Fathers in their adamant opposition to commingling church and state, emphatically rejecting calls to make the new government a Christian nation.
Pragmatic to the core, Rush originally sought an affiliation between Dickinson and the Presbyterian Church, believing that such a relationship would result in a constant source of students and financial support for the new college. When it became apparent that he would have to seek public funding for Dickinson, however, Rush quickly saw the advantages of establishing a college that was technically “nondenominational.”
Rush’s Christian faith, his ecumenicalism and his passion to leave the world a better place than he found it have left their mark on Dickinson. Provost Weissman’s essay on Page 5 explores the ways in which Rush’s views on religion and spirituality have been translated into our curriculum in 21st-century terms.
Dr. Rush’s Bible—which I encourage you to view in our Archives & Special Collections—provides a tangible link between our founder’s historic vision and our contemporary values and mission. Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to Lockwood and Jackie Rush for their generosity and for understanding how much this extraordinary gift means to Dickinsonians.