RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Evening Star, Issue 21992, 30 March 1935, Page 4

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

[By Forwabd.] CHRISTIAN NURTURE,

Scripture and psychology unite in pointing to something more than salvation by education as being needed to solve the problems of Christian nurture. Is not this supplied by what wc have called the imitntfonnl method of faith',. The origin of soul sickness is a tainted heredity. This, however, can only be aroused into actual disease by a tainted environment. A tainted organism acted on by a tainted atmosphere is found to be the true “ etiology of sin. Now, this points to the true treatment of the child. No doubt be carries with him into the world the seeds of eternal life. No doubt in the sweet unconscious purity of childhood he does become “trailing clouds of glory.” Nevertheless, along with this Divine element, there is as the most impartial psychologists admit, a taint of ancestry, a defect of blood. This hereditary bias to evil needs, however, an evil atmosphere to educe it into active forms of vice. The first part of the training of a child must, therefore, be ono of atmosphere. The atmosphere must be one of love, purity, and, above all, reverence. In order to attain this there must be, as wo have said, a certain social amenity in the homes of the people. ’But no matter how good the atmosphere is, something more is needed to counteract the germs of evil and develop those of goodness; and this is best found in the inculcation of religious truth through the imitational method of faith. For there is no atmosphere perfectly pure in this world. 1 and unless the spiritual blood is fed with wholesome religious truth the seeds of evil will make their appearance in the most comfortable and refined home. —Rev. Mackintosh Mackaj‘ YOU 111 DREAMS. Give me wide walls to build my bouse of Life — The North shall be of Love, against the winds of fate; The South of Tolerance, that I may outreach hate; The East of Faith, that rises clear and new each day; The West of Hope, that e’en dies a glorious way; The threshold ’neath my feet shall be Humility; The roof—the very sky itself—lnfinity; Give me wide walls to build my house of Life. -Author Unknown. SOURCES OF ILLUSTRATION. Before we consider where we are to look for illustrations that will help us in our teaching, we had better look into the kinds of illustrations that are available. There are two kinds of important classes of illustrations —material and verbal. By the former are meant objects, pictures, including blackboard illustrations, diagrams, sand and plasticine maps, models, and curios. A living plant may be taken liefore a class to illustrate some phase of growth. A seed or a bulb may illustrate the truth of the res. direction. Pictures are plentiful, and of great value in giving a more accurate background, and often in clearing up misconception. They have their limitations, however, both as regards subject matter and their availability. The blackboard is always available, and an invaluable aid in teaching. No public school teacher would dream of trying to carry on her work without ample blackboard space. It has just as great possibilities in Sunday school teaching. As ono writer says: l< Drawing on the blackboard is often the best kind of picture, for it awakens interest by being produced before the class. It assists the attention and the memory by presenting only those details that the teacher wishes to emphasise.” So with the different forms of maps;

they have an important place in teaching. There is, however, a distinct danger in the use of objects. Immediately ■they absorb the main interest in themselves, as they are apt to do, they become valueless as illustrations. A good illustration must always be subsidiary to the subject matter to bo illumined. The more elaborate objects are, _ the more startling they are, the less likely are they to accomplish their work. It is generally agreed, too, that even when wisely and effectively used, objects should be used sparingly. Probably the main resource of teachers engaged in Sunday school work will be the second class of illustration — verbal illustrations. These include figures of speech, analogies, stories. These are in daily use by all of ns. Some are not aptly chosen, but wc can understand at once what me mean. A boy will say; “ He’s as strong as a lion.” A girl, speaking of a 100-bright pattern, will say: " It has all the colours of the rainbow.” Thus in our everyday speech we talk more or less in pictures, trying to make our thoughts more clear by those word analogies. A Biblical example occurs to me. .James, desiring to draw attention to the great power of a very small member, the tongue, illustrates by analogy with the wonderful power that the very small rudder has on a big ship. Most parables are illustrations by analogy, and in the hands of Jesus were supremely effective. Power to use i illustrations with success depends upon the power of imagination; therefore cultivate it earnestly. Develop tb© habit of thoughtful observation. To observe with understanding and imagination is t ohold i: f-e key to most effective illustration. Try it, use it regularly, for power grows with exercise in this as in everything else. Study each lesson with the thought of how its truths could be made more clear by the use of illustrations. Search your own experience for the illustrative material. It is round about you all the time, and only needing use. Jesus used the seed sown in the field, a speck of sand in the eye, a lily in the field, a woman sweeping her house, and other such homely illustrations. Our own life, in those days, full as it is of possible I material, is only a small part of the territory from which to get illustrations. Books of all kinds furnish them in abundance. ‘ Pilgrim’s Progress ’ is rich in excellent material. History and biography provide inexhaustible resources of the very best kind. The great realm of Nature, flowers and trees, insect, animal, and bird life, the wonders of the heavens, always have been and always will be ample storehouses of most valuable material. It is not really a question of where to get illustrations, but of bow to develop the trained imaginative power that will en : able one to select truly and readily from the vast resources available illustrations fhat are apt and suitable to the ago being taught. It requires a combination of intuition and experience. The true test of: the effectiveness of the illustration is the degree of light that was shed on wliat was otherwise obscure. This can ini many cases be ascertained, and will enable you to estimate what progress you are making in the art.— Alfred White.