Arizona republican., 1907-11-18

recognized authority on Sunday school
matters declares. The spirit OF the
ages is worldly In the church world
Eness nowadays runs to ecclesiastical
aesthcticism. to ritualism and 10 the
love of show, the love or money, ana
the love OF rule. II is easy Tor the
worldly spirit to capture an organiza-
ton and carry 1t on in the interest OF
personal ambition, social pleasure, pub
lie display, and OF socalled success.
The sunday school may with
greater ease be seized and used. 1t
may become a Sunday sociable; SIDE
show; a chance tor live and popular
business man TO advertise himself and
gain friends and a name IN the interest
OF trade: an institution alongside Of
but other than the church, and indie
pendent OF It-independent of its pull
pit. independent OF its session or con-
terence: and even silently but effect
lively antagonistic.
The Sunday school may be run by
socalicd modern methods; by its mu
SIC; by its library; by its splendid or
gan.zation and order; by its exhibit
ors; its annual picnics; Christmas
tree: ond other festal services. 1t may
be the biggest school in town. have
the best singing, and do more than. or
go ahead OF, its neighbors in half 4
dozen different ways. 4 Sunday school
may be thoroughly organized, graded.
sciplined, provided with schemes of
examination and of promotion admir-
ole enough to excite the envy OF Il
secular educator. and still it may WELD
only a natural power and tend only
to wOrltliness. These natural and ar
tif.cial and utterly human elements l
do not wholly depreciate, and would
not discard the best and truest of them.
{ They may not hinder spiritual life, but
they cannot create or promote il. They
are. at their best, Of earth and not OF
heaven. They are lambs, but not oil;
cups, but not hot water; plates, but not
food, mirrors. but not the sun. Let US
! have them. but let US not depend upon
I them. Let us have them, but let Us
nave something else and something
/ better.
II is the gratifying experience o:
pastors that the product of revivals
are largely gained from the Sunday
school constituency. II an Individual
wandering through the prodigal land
! has at one time been a faithful Sun
! day school attendant there is large
( hope for repentance and salvation. On
the other hand il is very difficult tC
reach people who have no subso!l oi
religious conviction. In the great evan
gelisttic ingatherings the people who
Z have been brought up in Christian
/ homes, and who have received genera
and long continued indoctrination IN
the Sunday school. are the ones who
make the rugged stalwart soldiers o.
the Cross, and who in turn becom'
workers and soul-winners in tn,
church of God. In putting peculiar
emphasis upon the department at pres
ent made under consideration, and n
thus accentuating the special difficult!
and delicacy Of its management. i
must not be though that the othe
phases OF the work are minified in ou
estimation. On the contrary we rec
ognize the magnitude of the work tina
confronts the laborers in the primar!
department. We are fully aware of tn
Importance of the work, with CORE
4 spending difficulties. in the senior am
Bible classes. but the greatest oppor
tunities, with the gravest diff.cultie