The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1926-12-10
ON FORCING CHILDREN TO
ATTEND CHURCH
BY N. ID. Cochran :

Four hundred clergymen, representing all of the
Protestant denominations of New York, unanimously
adopted resolution calling the parents of New
York "in Gods to bring their children to the
house of God, to the end that children may in
the knowledge and love of God and of right"
What they mean, of course is that they want
parents to bring their children to church.
In addressing the gathering Supreme Court Justice
Grain made an eloquent appeal for greater church at
tendance by children saying the lack Of attendance
tragic. 1T is symptomatic of dying church." he
sad and added: Jesus stands the shores and asks
Children, lowest thou me? and they answer. No."
He said that of the six million people of greater
New York onefourth are children from seven to II
years of age; and he "overburdened with the
of danger to the church because of the absence
of children from the place Of worship Sunday morn
ings"
Whereupon the cergymen unanimously passed
resolutions in which they said I'VE therefore, in Gods
name, call upon the fathers and mothers of our city
to bring their children to the house of God" and
pledged themselves by solicitation exhortation and
admonition. in the church and out of the church, to
bring home to the parents Of communion their
Godimposed obligation to to it that children join
in the worship of the churc.."
What that means, of course, is that the preachers
no way out Of the difficulty except to insist that
parents MAKE their children go to church. Granting
the desrablity Of religious instruction for children it
is possible nevertheless that the preachers, unan
mously trying to do the right thing in the wrong
way.
If children don't go to church it is probably be-
cause they don't want to 60 They can't be made to
love go to church by forcing them to go against
their WILL They can't be compelled by their parents
or anybody else to love God And that doesn't mean
that there is anything wrong with the children It
that the preachers falling down on their job
If they understood children they wouldn't find 1t
difficult at all to interest them in the wonderful story
Of Jesus and to get His teachings into their budding
minds. But too many sermons stupid, stilted
and cloudy that they can't hold the interest of grown
ups children can't be expected to get thrill out
of the average aimed at the assumed ntelIi
gence of their parents
There is thrill in the story of Jesus 1t is chocl
full of human interest The story needs no enlarge
ment or/expansion Of detail. 1t is complete story
it is told in the New Testament No story book
for children has ever been written that can hold
candle to it, 1t be told without mixing it up with
the Old Testament stories that may the creduty
even of children But not many preachers know how
to tell it to grip the interest stimulate the
imagination of children. Or of grownups either for
that matter.
There is nothing the matter with the minds of
children There is nothing the matter with the story
Of Jesus SO there must be something the matter with
the preachers. The fact that they no other
way out than by nagging parents to compel their
children to church indicates clearly enough that
there is something the matter with them.