Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1922-03-26

churches OF Great Britain. From
the evidence that was collected
the committee arrived at the unan-
imous opinion that there was q
vast, astonishing, lamentable and
universal ignorance concerning the
facts and truths Of Christianity on
the part Of the men. The churches
seem absolutely to have failed in
imparting to the people the found
ations of Christian belief, the re-
port says. The ignorance of the
educated and the officers is prac-
tically as pronounced as that Of the
illiterate. Let me illustrate one
of the answers that came in. 1t
was from an officer, a member OF
the Roman Catholic church. He
says:
1.-THE average young officer has
no philosophy of life at all
This state OF things is what one
might expect to find, because the
average young officer is never
taught The cause of the whole
thing is ignorance. The average
man has never been taught to
think, and still less has the Chris
tan faith ever been suggested 10
him as a working explanation of
his existence. He is completely
ignorant of what the Christian rev
elation consists. He knows moth
ing of the history of religion in
general, or of the Catholic church
in particular"
The committee deplores the fact
that about 80 per cent of the BOYS
and girls in England are lost to
the Sunday school at IA or under;
that many have forgotten all that
they were ever taught: but chiefly
emphasize the fact that the church
is not carefully and thoroughly
teaching religion to the people.
There is no hope these men con-
clude, until every church becomes
n teaching church and instructs
its people, adults as well as chill
dren, in the Bible. the doctrines
and the church, as thoroughly as
the college an, university instrrcts
its students in science and litera-
ture
The conclusions of the American
committee are not different. "Thp
testimony that we have received :"
they say goes to show that if a
vote were taken among chaplains
and other religious workers as To
the most serious failure of the
church, as evidenced in the army
a large majority would agree that
II was the church's failure as n
teacher. We have not succeeded
IN teaching Christianity to our own
members. let alone Distributing n
clear knowledge Of it through the
community at large. If we learn
| our lesson, the result will be a
vastly greater emphasis on our
teaching function. In comparison
with other tasks 1t must have more
thought, more energy more finan-
cial support both in the local
church and in the denomination.
It is. Furthermore, a task that
challenges us to tho most effective
INSTRUMENTATION cooperation
that can be achieved"
Now it should be remembered
that education in this country be-
gan with the church. In the early
days the minister was in many
cases the teacher of the youth The
school house followed the meeting
house. Our public school system
owes its origin to the church. 1
need not remind you that it was
our own denomination that pre-
pared the way for and made possi-
BILE the establishing of the public
schools Of this city. 1t was the
church that founded and supported
the first colleges of our country.
The church. indeed, has ever rec
ognized that a most important part
of its work is the training of the
youth. Now, it is strange, is IT
not, in view of this, that the most
important part of that training,
the training in lofty ideals, in no.
Bile living, in principles that de-
termine destiny, should have re-
ceived relatively so little atten-
ton?
But there is this to be said: The
church services of those early days
were very different from those of
today. An opportunity was given
in them to teach tho great doc
trines of the church which the
modern minister would fain have.
Instead Of a service lasting for
hours, at which practically the
whole neighborhood would congre-
gate, and listen with eager inter-