This new biography on Robert Lewis Dabney presents Dabney as a representative southern Presbyterian who provides a window into the post bellum southern Presbyterian mind.

Robert Lewis Dabney, 1820-1898, a minister in Virginia.

R.L. Dabney (1820-1898) -- preacher, theologian, soldier, poet, and essayist -- strongly condemned the public education of his day. He saw with prophetic insight that State education could not help but be secularized since it was designed to please the people. As a result, he argued, public education would begin to teach its students not truth, but the values and virtues which were palatable to society at large. Although a century has passed since Dabney first wrote this essay, the questions that parents face haven't changed. Secular education still seeks to indoctrinate our children under the pretence of objectivity, and truth is still sacrificed for the sake of social "unity." We must acknowledge with Dabney that proper education is about heart and soul, not just propositions and facts. Only then will our children learn truth and be equipped to live out our faith.

Sermons and addresses by a key American Presbyterian leader

"The best teacher of theology in the United States, if not the world. " - A.A. Hodge, "Dabney was a towering figure in the 19th century American theological world. His exposition of the five points of Calvinism will enrich the reader's appreciation for the doctrines of grace, the glory of the Gospel, the accomplishment of the work of Christ and the security of the believer." - Ligon Duncan.

"A Biblical Defense of Virginia and the South, Civil War History."