The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-03-19

ence of the "word' by teaching them to
think of God and the bible with an un-
defled and divine reverence. A godly
woman only could have said. For this
child prayed, and the Lord hath given
me my petition which I asked OF Him;
therefore I also have granted him to the
Lord. as long as he liveth he Is granted
to the Lord"
That children are neglected in our days
is a statement. 10 our regret, that can
not be coptradicted. What accounts for
this great deAciency In the family circle,
IL that life as a whole Is not taken into
consideration. People live in section
of the circle and not in the whole. John
Ruskin, of immortal fame as a moral
philosopher and political economist,
traced his success in life to the fact that
his mother read a portion of the B'ble
with him every day. Are the children
taught to read the Bible today? DO they
know that It Is the word of God. and that
1t is of prime Importance in life: AS pu-
pills of the day school they have to pre-
pare very carefully for their examina-
tions. But do they know that THE fear
of the Lord is the beginning OF knowl-
edge?"
We come In contact in our everyday life
with facts that prove the statement we
have already made. And we cannot avoid
the conclusion, after considering the man.
ner in which some children are taught.
that the moral or religious character Of
the child is a secondary thing The state
pr Divides good and sound education (secu-
lar for the children, In order to make
of them good. loyal and useful citizens;
but. we say. it is the duty and obligation
Of the church to see to their religious
education. We believe that is the work
of the church to Christianize the world,
and that 1t is her bounden duty to do 1t,
because she exists as society for that
very purpose. But every member of the
church Is supposed TO he IA teacher to a
certain extent But our belief is. that
the parents can do more than any one
else to prepare the child to receive the
elevating influence Of the Holy Ghost
And whatever the influence of the father
Is on the child: it Is inCalculable undOubt-
edly the influence of the mother is in
tinitely more. And it is very important
that every mother should do her best to
give her children every advantage pos
sble to develop into the best men and
women In society.
The mother of Samuel knew the secret
of true success in life. She knew that
the good character which develops into
a useful life has its root In the Divine.
God only can make men of us. A manu-
factured character is not of much value 4;
It is simply an artificial flower in the gar
den of the world. And God will not make e
or form our character apart from our
own efforts. We are told that Garfield s
mother taught him the Gospel In its SIM
plicity; and that she prayed for him,
that's all: and yet he attributes his sue
cess In life partly to her. She knet many
a time before God with her boy in her
arms. and the informations she gave him
were the echoes of her prayers before
God. Today We know that Garfield. tine
child his mother prayed for. must live in
the life of tbs nation until the end.
There is II kind of ambition in some
young people to appear to the best ad-
vantage before society, not so much in
good character as in good dress. Some
parents take pride in this. and there is
nothing morally wrong i'm 1t so long as
they use fair means. But when the
children are not taught to cultivate a
taste for the spiritual realities of life
that negligence will amount to II social
loss. and sin which the parents will
have to face some day.
The futcre of the church of God de-