Evening star., 1939-01-18
Use the Bible
To Instruct
Children
Certain Parts Can
Be Understood
And Needed
BY ANGELO PATRI.

I'VE agree" writes a mother in
terested in teaching children the
good ways Of living, that the
Bible is invaluable in child edu-
cation, but some OF us here would
like to have few words on how
to use It,"
I agree that it is not easy to
use the Bible intelligently in the
education of children, but it is not
really difficult when one thinks it
over. like to begin with the old
stories. Children love the story
Of the Creation, the Garden, the
naming of the animals. That story
can be told over and over again.
1t has to be, until there dawns an
appreciation of the personal rela-
tionship of the individual child to
the Creator.
The story of Moses is facinat-
ing, the wandering in the wilder
ness. the Ten Commandments. I
would teach all children those
commandments as a guide for life.
Joseph and his brethren, Es-
ther, Daniel. Daniel is a boys
hero and his life pattern a fine one
for them. The Psalms are to be
searched for comforting verses. I
like the First Psalm. The Twenty
third, the Ninety-flrst; and I would
coax, cajole. drive and Wheedle chill
dren into learning them for use in
the of tribulation.
During the recent food in New
England a lone woman faced the
destruction of her farm, her all.
Friends called her saying, Leave
the house and come up here to
safety" AS the water rose, creep
ing ever nearer her doorstep, she
groaned, God. you couldn't let
this happen to me-" And she
heard very distinctly. TT shall not
come nigh thy dwelling" A verse
out of her childhood had spoken,
and she was content. The flood
did not touch her. In the moment
of distress a Bible verse sustained
her.
The stories of the New Testa-
ment are fine. Children love the
Parallels. Every one of them holds
treasure for children and old age.
I would try to have children learn
the Fifth Chapter of Matthew,
the Sermon on the Mount, and
try harder to have them live by
it. The Bible is the history of the
human race; its weakness and
wickednesss, its strength, courage,
faith, nobleness, are all there,
written in beautiful language. The
Bible is literature. 1t contains
great poetry. It holds challenge
and Inspiration for the human
soul. One finds there what one
needs, and one may overlook what
he does not need without loss.
The begats are of interest only
to Bible scholars. They are of no
interest to children, or to most of
us grown people. They are chap
ters and verses of interest only to
specialists of one sort or another.
They, too. can be skipped without
loss. What we need from the
Bible is its strong drive to right
eousness, its clear direction to
walk in the way OF Truth and
Beauty.
The stories of the Bible, ver-
sions that select what children can
read easily, and profit by directly
are easy to get, and easy to use
Teachers and parents who want to
use the Bible can well begin with
such helps. 1t is only the matured
trained reader who can read
straight through the Bible with
profit. Children need selected bits
the dramatic stories, the musical
Psalms and the Parallels. first. Give
them a taste of good Bible reading
and they will go the rest of the
way themselves.