The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1898-03-18
Ladies Home Journal Answered.
BY Rev. L. GREEN.

We continue this week our criti-
cism of the article in the Ladies'
Home Journal, on "The Decay of
| the Sunday School,"
In the article referred to, the
superintendent are held up as be-
ing among the most ignorant class,
lacking in personality and magnet
ism.
The object of this article is to
defend the superintendents against
this uncalled- Tor attack, and to en-
courage them to 60 on in the work
God has committed to them, and
help to better the condition of the
Sunday school. In the estimation
of the Journal, the superinten1ents
as class, are almost entirely de-
void of understanding and abso-
lutely without personality or mag
netism. Now, thinking seriously
for q moment, one finds himself
wondering how this thing can be;
when the church has managed her
affairs 80 entirely to the satisfac-
tion of the Journal in every other
department of the work. One
thing is sure: If this is the case,
as the Journal asserts, it is some
thing very remarkable and | am
unable to see how such a thing
could happen without an universal
understanding among the churches
and desire to bring it about.
While to say such thing is to
manifest at once to all christian
people our ignorance of the hearty
appreciation of the Sunday school
and the good it is accomplishing,
manifested by the christian world.
That there are Sunday schools
and superintendents Of Sunday
schools that are failures, all admit;
but that all, or even a majority
are failures, we deny.
All must admit that the Sunday
school is best when properly man
aged, and thatit, as all institutions,
could be made better; but that it
| is decaying and mouldering away,
and that the managers are the
most ignorant people we have, we
deny. The allegation is an insult
not only to the superintendent
| who has labored to build up the
school, but to the intelligence of
christians, and an outrage on COM
mon sense.
1t is much easier to write, con-
demning the superintendent and
their methods than to successfully
fill their place; much easier to
say they are ignorant and lacking
in personality and magnetism than
to furnish the knowledge and mag
netism necessary TO make the
schools what they are today.
There is better literature used
today, aud more Of it, than ever
before There is a greater effort
being put forth to make the Sun
day school what it should be, in
most of the states. All things con-
sidered, the signs are full of hope
for the future of the Sunday school.
Great harm often comes from
looking on the dark side of life,
and of saying things are going TO
decay, and everything is wrong
side up. Such is discouraging, to
say the least. Tell young man
who has just started in the Christ
ian life, that he will fail in that
life, and you discourage him; then,
when he makes a mistake, tell him
you knew he would, and you have
ruined his life. We can tell the
people that the Sunday school is
decaying, and get this idea incul-
Gated into the public mind, and
soon it will decay and vanish
away. 1t is a good idea to always
give people credit for all the good
they do, and to look on the bright
side and speak hopefully of those
enterprises we would have succeed.
Our words can help along these
good works or they can be n detri-
ment to their progress,
"The influence of higher order
of intelligence" is all well enough,
but until we can furnish it, let us
encourage the intelligence that is
at work and trying to make our
Sunday school a power for good,
! If the Journal editor had to fill
the superintendent's place awhile
in some Sunday schools, he might
find that a successful school does
not depend so much after all, upon
the personal magnetism of the
superintendent. Many things are
necessary to a successful Sunday
school, some of which we may
mention hereafter,
Ito be continued.