How to Teach Religion Part 10

He echoed in the voice of Isaiah and Jeremiah, but he also touches with the flame of eloquence other lips than those of the prophets. He spoke to the child Samuel, but he also speaks to-day to every heart that will hear his voice. He flamed from the burning bush for Moses, but in like manner he shines from every glowing sunset for those whose eyes can there behold his glory.

Breadth and richness of religious material.--The sources of material available for the religious education of childhood are therefore as broad as the multiform ways in which G.o.d speaks to men, and as rich as all the great experiences of men which have left their impress upon civilization. Besides the beautiful story of G.o.d creating the earth, we have the wonderful miracle of constant re-creation going on before our eyes in the succession of generations of all living things.

Besides the deathless accounts of the heroism of such men as Elijah, Daniel, and Paul, we have the immortal deeds of Livingstone, Taylor, and Luther. Besides the womanly courage and strength of Esther and Ruth, we have the matchless devotion of Florence Nightingale, Frances Willard, Alice Freeman Palmer, and Jane Addams. Besides the stirring poetry of the Bible, and its appealing stories, myths and parables, we have the marvelous treasure house of religious literary wealth found in the writings of Tennyson, Whittier, Bryant, Phillips Brooks, and many other writers.

Material to be drawn from many sources.--The material for religious teaching lying ready to our hand is measureless in amount, and must be wisely chosen. In addition to material from the Bible, which always must be the center and foundation of the religious curriculum, should be taken other material from nature; from biography, history, and life itself; from literature and story; from science and the great world of objects about us; from music, and from art. All of this multiform subject matter must be welded together with a common purpose, and so permeated with the religious motive and application that it will touch the child's spiritual thought and feeling at many points of his experience.

At no moment, however, must we forget that our primary purpose is not simply to teach the child stories, literature, history, or science, but _religion_. By the proper use of this broader field of material religion may be given a new and more practical significance, and the Bible itself take on a deeper meaning from finding its setting among realities closely related to the child's daily life.

MATERIAL FROM THE BIBLE

The very nature of the Bible requires that we make the most careful selections from it in choosing the material for religious instruction of children. Not all parts of the Bible are of equal value as educational material, and some parts of it have no place in the course of study before full mental development has been reached.

How we came by the Bible.--It will help us to understand and apply these principles if we remember how we came by the Bible. First of all is the fact that the Bible grew out of religion and the life of the church, and not religion and the church out of the Bible. The Bible is not one book, as many think of it, but a collection of sixty-six books, which happen to be bound together. In fact, all sixty-six of these books are now printed and bound separately by the American Bible Society, and sold at a penny each. These sixty-six books were centuries in the making, and they came from widely separated regions. Different ones of them were originally written in different tongues--Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic.

The earlier Christians had, of course, only the scriptures of the Old Testament. It was nearly four hundred years after Christ had lived on earth before we had a list of the New Testament books such as our Bible now contains. In the middle of the second century only about half of the present New Testament was in use as a part of the Scriptures. Some of the books which we now include were at one time or another omitted by the Christian scholars, and several books were at one time accorded a place which are not now accepted as a part of the Bible. The authorship of a considerable number of the books of the Bible is unknown, and even the exact period to which they belong is uncertain.

The different writers wrote with different purposes--one was a historian; another a poet; another, as Paul, a theologian; another a preacher; another a teller of stories and myths, or a user of parables.

Paul wrote his letters to local churches or to individuals, to answer immediate questions or meet definite conditions and needs. Jesus left no written word, so far as we know, and the first written accounts we have of his life and work were begun forty or fifty years after his death.

The problem of selecting Bible material adapted to children.--The Bible was therefore a slow growth. It did not take its form in accordance with any particular or definite plan. It never was meant as a connected, organized textbook, to be studied in the same serial and continuous order as other books. It was not written originally for children, but for adults to read.

Its enduring quality proves that the writers of the Bible lived close to the heart and thought of G.o.d, and were therefore inspired of him. But we can grant this and still feel free to select from its lessons and truths the ones that are most directly fitted to meet the needs of our children as we train them in religion. We can love and prize the Bible for all that it means and has meant to the world, and yet treat it as a _means_ and not an _end_ in itself. We can believe in its truth and inspiration, and still leave out of the lessons we give our children the sections which contain little of interest or significance for the child's life, or matter which is beyond his grasp and understanding.

Material which may be omitted.--This point of view implies the omission, at least from the earlier part of the child's religious education, of much material from different parts of the Bible; these irrelevant sections or material not suited to the understanding of childhood may remain for adult study.

For example, we may leave out such matter as the following: The detailed account of the old Hebrew law as given in Leviticus; much of the Hebrew history which has no direct bearing on the understanding of their religion; details of the inst.i.tution of the pa.s.sover, and other ecclesiastical arrangements; the philosophy of the book of Job; genealogies which have no especial significance nor interest; the succession of judges and kings; dates and chronological sequences of no particular importance; any stories or matter clearly meant to be understood as allegory or myth, but which the child would misunderstand, or take as literal and so get a mistaken point of view which later would have to be corrected; the theology of Paul as set forth in his letters; matter which shows a lower state of morality than that on which we live; and _such other matter as does not have some direct and discoverable relation to the religious knowledge, att.i.tudes, and applications which should result from the study_.

After all such material of doubtful value to the child has been omitted, there still remains an abundance of rich, inspiring, and helpful subject matter.

The principle on which to select material from the Bible is clear: Know what the child _is ready for_ in his grasp and understanding; know _what he needs_ to stimulate his religious imagination and feeling and further his moral and religious development. Then choose the material accordingly.

Bible material for earlier childhood.--For the period of _earlier childhood_ (ages three or four to eight or nine) we shall need to omit all such material as deals with the broader and deeper theory of religion. This is not the time to teach the child the significance of the atonement, the mystery of regeneration, the power of faith, nor the doctrine of the Trinity. Those sections of the Bible which deal with such far-reaching concepts as these must wait for later age and fuller development.

The child is now ready to understand about G.o.d as the Creator of the earth and of man; he is ready to comprehend G.o.d as Father and Friend, and Jesus as Brother and Helper; he is ready to learn lessons of obedience to G.o.d, and of being sorry when he has done wrong; he is therefore ready to understand forgiveness; he is ready to learn all lessons of kindliness, truthfulness, and honesty, and of courage; he is ready to learn to pray, and to thank G.o.d for his care and kindliness.

The Bible material taught the child should therefore center upon these things. The simple, beautiful story of the creation; stories of G.o.d's love, provision, and protection and of Christ's care for children; incidents of heroic obedience and of G.o.d's punishment of disobedience; stories of forgiveness following wrongdoing and repentance; stories of courage and strength under temptation to do wrong; lessons upon prayer and praise and thanksgiving--this is the kind of material from the Bible which we should give our children of this younger age.

The greater part of the material for this stage of instruction will come from the Old Testament, and will make the child familiar with the childhood of Moses, Samuel, Joseph, David, and other such characters as possess an especial appeal to the child's sympathy and imagination. The New Testament must be drawn upon for the material bearing upon the birth and childhood of Jesus.

Material for later childhood.--In the period of _later childhood_ (ages eight or nine to twelve or thirteen) the child is still unready for the more difficult and doctrinal parts of the Scriptures. Most of the impulses of earlier childhood still continue, even if in modified form. Types of Bible material adapted to the earlier years, therefore, still can be used to advantage.

A marked characteristic of this period, however, is the tendency to hero worship and to be influenced by the ideals found in those who are loved and admired. This is the time, therefore, to bring to the child the splendid example and inspiration of the great Bible characters. The life and work of Moses, the story of Joseph and his triumph over discouragements and difficulties, the stern integrity and courage of Elijah and the other prophets, the beautiful stories of Ruth, Esther, Miriam, and Rachel, but above all the story of Jesus--the account of these lives will minister to the child's impulse to hero worship and at the same time teach him some of the most valuable lessons in religion.

During later childhood, the sense of personal responsibility for conduct is developing, and the comprehension of the meaning of wrongdoing and sin. This is the time, therefore, to bring in lessons from the Bible showing the results of sin and disobedience to G.o.d, and the necessity for repentance and prayer for forgiveness. During this period also, while the social interests are not yet at their highest, the narrow selfishness of earlier childhood should be giving way to a more generous and social att.i.tude, and a sense of responsibility for the welfare and happiness of others.

To meet the needs of the growing nature at this point many lessons should be provided containing suggestions and inspiration from high examples of self-forgetfulness, sacrifice, and service as found in the life of Jesus, Paul, and many others from the Old and the New Testament.

The child's growing acquaintance with the world about him and his study of nature in the day schools prepare him for still further deepening his realization of G.o.d beneficently at work in the material universe.

Abundant material may be found in the Bible to deepen and strengthen the learner's love and appreciation of the beautiful and good in the physical world.

Material for adolescence.--The _adolescent_ period (ages twelve or thirteen to twenty or twenty-two) is the transition stage from childhood to maturity. The broader, deeper, and more permanent interests are now developing, and character is taking its permanent trend. Conduct, choice, and decision are becoming more personal and less dependent on others. A new sense of self is developing, and deeper recognition of individual responsibility is growing.

It is all-important that at this time the Bible material should furnish the most of inspiration and guidance possible. The life and service of Jesus will now exert its fullest appeal, and should be studied in detail. The work and service of Paul and of the apostles in founding the early church will fire the imagination and quicken the sense of the world's need of great lives. The ethical teachings of the Bible should now be made prominent, and should be made effective in shaping the ideals of personal and of social conduct which are crystallizing. The development of the Hebrew religion, with its ethical teaching, and the moral quality of the Christian religion are now fruitful matter for study.

During the later part of adolescence the youth is ready to consider biblical matter that throws light on the deeper meaning of sin, of redemption, of repentance, of forgiveness, of regeneration, and other such vital concepts from our religion. The simplest and least controversial interpretations--that is, the broader and more significant meanings--should be presented, and not the overspeculative and disputed interpretations, which are almost certain to lead to mental and perhaps spiritual disturbance and even doubt.

The guiding principle.--For whatever age or stage of the child's development we are responsible, we will follow the same principle.

Because we want to cultivate in the child a deep and continuing interest in the Bible and the things for which it stands, we will seek always to bring to him such material as will appeal to his interest, stir his imagination, and quicken his sense of spiritual values. Since we desire to influence the learner's deeds and shape his conduct through our teaching, we will present to him those lessons from the Bible which are most naturally and inevitably translated into daily living. First we will know what impression we seek to make or what application we hope to secure, and then wisely choose from the rich Bible sources the material which will most surely accomplish this end.

STORY MATERIAL

The story is the chief and most effective means of teaching the younger child religion, nor does the appeal of the story form of expressing truth lose its charm for those of older years. Lessons incomprehensible if put into formal precept can be readily understood by the child if made a part of life and action, and the story does just this. It shows virtue being lived; goodness proving itself; strength, courage, and gentleness expressing themselves in practice; and selfishness, ugliness, and wrong revealing their unlovely quality. Taught in the story way, the lesson is so plain that even the child cannot miss it.

The story also appeals to the child's imagination, which is so ready for use and so vivid, and which it is so necessary to employ upon good material in order to safeguard its possessor from using it in harmful ways. Long before the child has come to the age of understanding reasoned truth, therefore, he may well have implanted in his mind many of the deepest and most beautiful religious truths which will ever come to him.

The Old Testament rich in story material.--The wonderful religious and ethical teachings of the Old Testament belong to a child-nation, and were written by men who were in freshness of heart and in picturesqueness and simplicity of thought essentially child-men; hence these teachings are in large part written in the form of story, of legend, of allegory, of myth, of vivid picture and of unrimed poetry. It is this quality which makes the material so suitable to the child. The deeper meanings of the story do not have to be explained, even to the young child; he grasps them, not all at once, but slowly and surely as the story is told and retold to him. If the story is properly told, the child does not have to be taught that the Bible myth or legend _is_ myth or legend; he accepts it as such, not troubling to a.n.a.lyze or explain, but unconsciously appropriating such inner meaning as his experience makes possible, and building the lesson into the structure of his growing nature.

If full advantage is taken of the story as a means of religious teaching, the grounding of the child in the fundamental concepts and att.i.tudes of religion can be accomplished with certainty and effectiveness almost before the age for really formal instruction has come.

The ethical quality alone not enough in stories.--Many stories of highest religious value are available from other sources than the Bible, yet no other stories can ever wholly take the place of the Bible stories. For the Bible stories possess one essential quality lacking in stories from other sources; the Bible stories _are saturated with G.o.d_.

And this is an element wholly vital to the child's instruction in religion.

We cannot teach the child religion on the basis of ethics alone, necessary as morality is to life. We cannot help the child to spiritual growth and the consciousness of G.o.d in his life without having the matter we teach him permeated and made alive with the spirit and presence of G.o.d in it. Nor is there the least difficulty for the child to understand G.o.d in the stories. The child, like the Hebrews themselves, does not feel any necessity of explaining or accounting for G.o.d, but readily and naturally accepts him and the part he plays in our affairs as a matter of course.

Stories from other than Bible sources.--But once a sufficient proportion of Bible stories is provided for, stories should be freely drawn from other fields. An abundance of rich material possessing true religious worth can be found in the myths, legends, folk lore, and heroic tales of many literatures. These are a treasure house with which every teacher of children should be familiar; nor is the task a burdensome one, for much of this material holds a value and charm even for the older ones of us.

Later writers have enriched the fund of material available for children by treating many of the aspects of nature in story form, thereby opening up to the mind and heart of the child something of the meaning and beauty of the physical world, and showing G.o.d as the giver of many good gifts in this realm of our lives. There are also available the stories of history, and of the real men and women whose lives have blessed our own or other times, and whose deeds and achievements will appeal to the imagination and stir the ideals of youth.

The teacher as a story teller.--The successful teacher of religion must therefore possess the art which will enable him to use the story as one of the chief forms of material in his instruction. He must _know_ the stories. He must be able to tell them interestingly. The story loses half of its effectiveness if it must be _read_ to the child, but it may lose in similar proportion if it is haltingly or ineffectively told. It is not necessary, at least for the younger children, to use a large number of stories. In fact, there is positive disadvantage in attempting to employ so many stories that the child does not become wholly familiar with each separate one. Children do not tire of the stories they like; indeed, their love for a story increases as they come to know it well, and they will demand to have the same story told over and over in preference to a new one.

The use of the story with older children.--A mistake has been made in not a few of the Sunday school lesson series in sharply reducing the story material for all ages above the primary grades. It must be remembered that while the older child has more power to grasp and understand abstract lessons than the younger child, there is no age or stage of development at which the story and the concrete ill.u.s.tration are not an attractive and effective mode of teaching. Surely, all through the junior and intermediate grades the story should be one of the chief forms of material for religious instruction, while for adolescents stories will still be far from negligible.

The principles of story-using, then, are clear in the teaching of religion: _Make the story one of the chief instruments of instruction; see that it is charged with religious and moral value; make sure it is adapted to the age of the learner, and that it is well told; for younger children use few stories frequently repeated until they are well known; do not insist that the child shall at first grasp the deeper meanings of the story, make sure of interest and enjoyment, and the meaning will come later._

MATERIAL FROM NATURE

The child's spontaneous love of nature and ready response to the world of objects about him open up rich sources of material for religious instruction. G.o.d who creates the beautiful flowers, who causes the breezes to blow, who carpets the earth with green, who paints the autumn hillside with glowing color, who directs the coming and going of the seasons, who tells the buds when to swell and the leaves to unfold, who directs the sparrow in its flight and the bee in its search, who is in the song of the birds and the whisper of the leaves, who sends his rain and makes the thunder roll--this G.o.d can be brought, through the medium of nature's forms, very near to the child. And the love and appreciation which the child lavishes on the dear and beautiful things about him will extend naturally and without trouble of comprehension to their Creator.

Nature material useful for all ages.--Most of the lesson material now supplied for our Sunday schools use a considerable amount of nature material in the earlier grades, but some important lesson series omit most or all nature material from the junior department on. This is a serious mistake. All through childhood and youth the pupil is continuing in the public school his study of nature and its laws. Along with this broadening of knowledge of the natural world should be the deepening of appreciation of its spiritual meaning, and the inspiration to praise and worship which comes from it. One does not, or at least should not, at any age outgrow his response to the wonders and beauties which nature unfolds before him who has eyes to see its inner meaning. None can afford to lose the simple, untutored awe with which children and primitive men look out upon the world.

Carlyle, recognizing this truth, exclaims: "This green, flowery, rock-built earth, the trees, the mountains, rivers, many-sounding seas; that great deep sea of azure that swims overhead; the winds sweeping through it; the black cloud fashioning itself together, now pouring out fire, now hail and rain; what _is_ it? Aye, what?... An unspeakable, G.o.dlike thing, toward which the best att.i.tude for us, after never so much science, is awe, devout prostration, and humility of soul; worship, if not in words, then in silence."

In the same spirit Max Muller exhorts us: "Look at the dawn, and forget for a moment your astronomy; and I ask you whether, when the dark veil of night is slowly lifted, and the air becomes transparent and alive, and light streams forth you know not whence, you would not feel that your eye were looking into the very eye of the Infinite?" And Emerson reminds us: "If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore; and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of G.o.d which had been shown! But every night come out these envoys of beauty, and light the universe with their admonishing smile."

When, then, shall we have become too far removed from childhood to be beyond the appeal of nature to our souls? When shall we cease to "hold communion with her visible forms," and to find in them one of the many avenues which G.o.d has left open for us to use in approaching him! What teacher of us will dare to leave out of his instruction at any stage of the child's development the beneficent and wonder-working G.o.d of nature as he smiles his benediction upon us from the myriad common things around us!