New-York tribune., 1870-12-05
RELIGIOUS.
THE BIBLE AND THE SUNDAY-SCHOOLS.
VIEWS or BISHOP LITTLEJOHN.


question: the Church of st. Thomas, Fifth-ave and
Fiftythrdst. lie took his text from 9Th chapter De-
teronOmy 9th verse, Z" And these words which COM
mand thee this day shall be in thine heart and thou
shalt teach them diligently unto thy children"
He Showed how TO teach these commandments,
was made the foremost duty Of the family the nation
and the Church. This command Of God was the simple
setting forth OF unchangeabe law Of his government
The last hafcenury Of the Church will hereafter be re-
tone OF disparagement which now marks the current
criticism upon this period Will sooner or later give way
70 one OF praise ana admratlon Ie ist O years nas
been period not only Of revival but in itself considered
OF intense and wonderfully diversified Christian activity
Let some say what they VIII OF ~ u mas Deeh vast
Improvement upon tine century that went before IT,
Its fruit has bitter taste to minds enamoured OF me
d9Y al aust and c0DWebs; but ts iult rs OF uee oI
Gods planting much any which the the Churc mas
earned since Apostolic days The preacher illustrated
the revived activity OF this period by very tu teef
encc To the missions, the charities and the varied e
forts Of Christian philanthropy, aud also the splendid
average OF zeal and beraity which has characterized
the great mass of individual Christian effort an aver
But it was affirmed that the chief lustra-
uon OF the Christian spirit from time 10 time
the sole creation OF the last years The Bishop pro
ceeded To show length how the Sunday ayshOo work is
original commission Of the Church, and that it only
natural that when halt century ago the old apostolic
no9er impulses she should throw her energies into the
tan nurture. He cearacterzed the sunday-schoo work
amount OF sympathy drawn TO its aid and Inc remarked
! yncng single proof OF the vitality Of our
| holy religion in spite OF all the charges OF
stagnaton and decay made against It, either bY carpiug
ScGplcs or by Mathematical crOakng, hopeless believers,
O., Soiu M 1 not to her enisaonary achievements, not
10 the visible impress OF her influence upon the great
shaeS cha oi popular thought but TO the gigantic work
9g sue = uog lOr the hearts aud conscences OF the young
aas! we quantity Of activity IN this direction is
cannot altogether praise the other The results accom-
! pushed AS compared with the forces employed
IN nature 80 IN grace God sometimes brings forth fruit
from trees badly planted aud draws from unwse meth
As rule we have no right to look for the quickening
power OF the Spirit save in plans coniOrmcd to the D
vine idea and morccd into the Interchangeable laws Of
His action embodied in the structure PURPOSE
Of His Church" This the Bishop declared 10 be his
standpoint OF criticism and suggestion touching the field
of Sunday labor Declining to go into details OF
organization supervision Instruction and dcinne be
confined himself to statement Of principles which
! Of thoroughly Incorporated into the Suuday-schOOl
mmaginaton paints it or produces what pray for.
ms t sild IS not case OF good theory and bad pruc-
tcc. our practice Is faulty, because the grounds
which ought To rest vaguely discerned and loosely
adhered TO- Whose work then, first OF ALL" he inquired.
is this feeding and training of the young in holy things.
This question has in day at least two answers
widely apart the pOles-answers which according
the or the other accepted tone aud shape the whole
work. II is not the work of voluntary societies 10 not
the work Of individuals grouped together themselves
may elect and amenable 10 much or rs little authority
20. they may choose This work opens field for a vast
deal of the nobest kind of individual labor for Christ
and yet there work with which the Church has
thing do which, when rightly done, has less i'm 10 Of the
spirit Of ndivduasm. Positively viewed the Sunday
school work is essentially the Churcls own work ChrSts
own school for tutoring the child life grated into him
self by a sacrament OF his appointment. To her the
in 1t does so 10y her authority and under rules
which she alone !, commissioned to establish.
! what they teach, and how they teach
II for her to say and not for any accidentally
! ted body Of individuals however piOus and wise.
what food genuine and what il spurious and in what
proportions aud what forms that food shall be dis
pcsed Charged with this work. and held responsible to
her Lord H. how does she seek to do the and to
meet the oihcrl Beyond all controversy in the great
task o nururng the infant life given into her hands she
relies chiefly, hut not exclusively, upon these three
things: First, the Sacrament Of Holy Baptism, by which
spiritual family Of God, and made thereby a
| child Of God, q member OF Christ, and an
o all this then Is made 10 share IN the organic life OF the
body. on this covenant basis rest the promises o
service love and obedience due from every child Of
His On this basis the Church plants the foundation OF
her nurture Of souls That nurture begins III grace pro
ccrds by grace, ard when perfected, is triumph OF
grace. 1t begins with covenant gift 1t develops under
covenant authority, ana completes itself IN covenant
glory.
dyiney constituted and dlyiney perpetuaied ministry
Through her living pastors the deputies of Christ she
cept by authority from this source Here the Bishop
a stranger to ali this side OF Chrlsts work i'm
his church has lost tire knowledge OF his errand 10 men,
ana deserves TO- lose the power over men which that
But ii in doing her work for the younc tbo Church
plants herself on the Baptsma covenant as the basis If
She looks to her ministry in all its orders as the supreme
executive force So IN me third place she turns to the
spirit and ie for the of food for her children
In ardent love- n rcyeTent habtual OF the Bible who
l. there that by knowledge OF its by three
fonCit i'm its behalf against GODDESS earnne or What ia
almost bad against pOus Ignorance, will dare claim
precedence over hcr And yet while Rome stigmaiLes
her feeling for the Scriptures as excessive as to amount
! to bblioatry, extreme MISREPRESENTATION calls
her hard for the position she holds respecting the
se of Gods Word as the sole rule of faith TO her chill
iren Her position simply that revived by the Angli-
church As against Rome with doctrine Of the CO.
ordinate value OF tradition, she declares the sucency
Of the scriptures salvation and claims To hold nothing
which may not DE read therein nor proved thereby As
against the myriad secs with their unchecked license Of
private Judgment in handling the Word, she alirms that
Tie scriptures yield the safest and trues food for the IN
dyua believer only when he seeks that food under her
guidance that those scriptures do not mean what each
tbey mean. but what the Church, az the pillar
and ground NJ the truth, having authority IN contro-
dwelling spirit which shall guide her into the way OF
truth, declares them TO be- In strict conformity win
this position the Church not only uses Out naghhs tno
Bible the trCasure-hOuSe out OF when hef yOuh
life to fed. But she Insists that It shall be used
under gudance-not loosely Vaguey, OF III uetdcmoI
Fragments but according 10 that analogy or rp0porOhO
faith which she believes To be one ot her oces 10 us
cover and set fOrth. She protests uSalhSl ~ styl9
! Of teaching which makes htie OF the UNITS ana
much OF the diversity Of the scIptulrs one uei%ntds %
Of the clergy and their associates IN Ihe ouu ',Vo m
work that they shall teach not what each considers 10 De
truth, but what she defines 70 DE truth III ner ntSy
cateChsm, and articles OF althi anu II Is oni1
ols Judgment which declares that all manuals tfAi
books ana computations staau Iali, Or tbot, bain
az they agree disagree with her witness as lhy neP
! or hinder her influence 80 ---.. s .
conclusion, the Bl-hOp hhoNeu the EIaIu
the sundayschool regarded the school OF christ to
he two fold First the consequence Of all knowledge
and ll teaching % grow character 10 produce HIlhE
Jriplcs of the living Christ second To make the char
artrr the decipe-p crested tributary 10 tue power
snJ Glory Of tie church. which given 10 save sous
bnt more than all by saving them 10 make known uhO
the principatcs and powers III the Heavenly P'oS 'o
! manifold wisdom Of God. ,.,,---.,
.Would that the wcnig four millions OF children ana
the more than hall million OF teachers IN tne 9
sbool OF every name this land could be brought CON
scOusly under the sway OF the true lea ana Ie ,TIe
,,i,ro., of thi, branch Of the ChurchiS work. Inc
gbrstian nurture of the chld-fe of the Church the
ogau work 0f the organic body, the future htli ~ .o
r,sn NJ he present the glory or the shame 0i the
ge floating around "a IN solution out 'Siy not
| f,r ,teruifI this highest Ol All inter-