The record-union., 1896-07-19

ant Episcopal Church in America will
find in this document. That Pope Leo
is a man of genuine piety, unusual
breadth of vision, and ardent desire for
the union of Christendom no one can
doubt. That his encyolical will count
tor much in furthering his previous
wishes seems, however, to be very
doubtful indeed
The theory-to our view also the
truth-on which the Christian churches
are operated includes" says the
Christian Leader" Univ) of Boston,
this position: The people, old and
young, imperatively need the benefit
of the sanctuary service, which cannot
be generally neglected without re-
lapse toward barbarism. So vital is
the church service in keeping Christian
faith warm and effective, so essential
are the ceremonial and spirit of wor-
ship, that a community which neg
lects them not only becomes morally
lax and religiously bankrupt, but also
degenerates as respects all the essen
tials of true civilization. 1t is not de-
MED that among those who seldom or
never cross the threshold of the house
of worship are few exemplary per-
sons, but it is a part of the church
principle-in our judgment also truth
that these few are made, often kept,
exemplary because others do what they
neglect to do-learn and worship in the
Sunday congregations; if all were to do
what is done by the few, the whole
community would ere long lose the bet
ter elements of life and conduct. Both
by direct and remote effects, the church
is the salt that both saves and pre-
serves, in the lack of which our better
civilization would ere long be cast
out to be trodden under foot by the bar
barian and-what is substantially the
same thing-the hoodlum. We are not
here arguing the truth of this principle;
we are simply stating and defining it.
Even if for arguments sake we should
concede that it may be an error, it
nevertheless is exactly what we have
described it to be. 1t exactly is what
the very idea of the church thus as
sumes it to be. 1t exactly is what every
nominally Christian minister by the
terms of his vocation thus declares to
be-
''The critics of the Sunday-school
charge it with two grave failures re-
marks the STANDARD" Bapt) of Chi
cago. "They assert that it fails to
make children acquainted with the
Scriptures, and that it fails to make
use of correct methods in teaching old
er children and adults. But it has been
more than once pointed out that the
real failure in the first case is in the
home training; that not only is the
average child given no biblical instruc-
ton outside of the Sunday-school les
son, but he is not even aided and di-
rected by his parents in the home study
of the lesson itself. The other charge,
that the methods in use in most Sum
day-schoolS are far behind those now
required in day-schools, we must admit
to be true But the fact must be re-
menbered that so long as the pupil of
16 or 1S Is supposed to have already
acquired a fair elementary knowledge
of the Bible, and is taught by methods
based upon that supposition, while as
d lNdllcI vi IdCL ilc poooCooCS 4iO ooOii
knowledge, the work of the advanced
and adult departments must be in a
measure a failure. The root Of the
whole difficulty lies in the home. 1t
is in the direction of better methods of
study that we look for the most hopeful
signs for the future. The Sunday
school of the twentieth century is al
ready foreshadowed in some model
schools that might be named. 1t will
be a school in fact as well as in name.
Its primary, intermediate, and adult
departments will be SO distinctly sep-
arated that nobody viii ever commit
the blunder of speaking of the school
the whole school-as the nursery Of the
church. 3"