OUR SUNDAY SCHOOLS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19505, 13 June 1925, Page 5

OUR SUNDAY SCHOOLS

By Amplius. There is nn liner exposition of the Scriptures than a holy life. — Jarmv I. Vance. The Presbytery’s Youth Committee is recommending the Presbytery to add (lie Kev. D. llcggie to the committee. For various reasons examinations are less in favour than over with Presbyterian Sunday schools here this ycai;. Only four schools have sent in entries for the Assembly's examinations. The Presbytery’s Youth Committee has arranged to discuss at its next meeting the whole principle of whether examinations should, or should not be hold in Sunday schools. The question of a New Zealand scheme of lessons was the chief subject of discussion at the last meeting of the Youth Committee of the Dunedin Presbytery. The report submitted by Mr J. Farquharson showed that the whole matter had been gone into very carefully and that some at any rate of the main difficulties were already practically overcome. It was recognised that it would be only courting failure to present anything less than the very best material in such a scheme. The hope was expressed that it might be ready for use in the schools at the beginning of 1927. The desirability of co-operation with other churches in the scheme was mentioned by several. The report submitted by the Special Committee is with slight amendments to be sent on to the Youth Committee of the General Assembly. A NOTEWORTHY BOOKLET. “A Programme of All-round Training in Christian Citizenship for New Zealand Boys” is the title of a very finely produced little 32-page booklet just published in Dunedin. It is the work of Mr Robin Adair, of the Y.M.C.A. staff, and displays on every page a wide knowledge of up-to-date methods of social service among boys. The programme outlined is an extraordinarily detailed and comprehensive one, and abounds in practical suggestions for everyone concerned in any aspect of the training of hoys. It is all based on a system of credits awarded for a wide variety of activities grouped under the four headings of physical, mental, social, and spiritual. The whole principle underlying the system is one well worthy of careful consideration and testing. TRAINING IN CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP. : We have only to teach our young people constructive living, and especially the right use of leisure time to cure them of the reverse. Many strong church overheads and major organisations are devoting their best energies to this task. The youth departments of the groat Churches of the United States and Canada are easily in the forefront, and the bulletins of the various boards are worthy of close study and application. Correlating the young people’s work of the Churcri, Christian education seven days a week, in the home, individual Church and community, Bulletin No. 7 issued hy the Presbyterian Board of Publications and Sabbath School Work, Philadelphia, Pa., is ■ typical of many suchThe Bulletins of the International S.s. Council of Religious Education are well worth having, and may be ordered from 1516 Mailer’s Building, 6 South Wabash avenue, Chicago, 111. The National Child Welfare Association, Inc., Educational Building. 70 Fifth avenue, New York City, has a Christian citizenship training programme with much printed matter and sets of excellent pictures. This organisation realises that "boys do not ‘just grow’ in fully developed, well-rounded Christain manhood. They need sympathetic, intelligent leaders and a definite, complete, inspiring programme.” The. Manual for Loaders of Comrades (boys 15 to 17) sots forth a programme of Christian citizenship training. This is an excellent volume of 330 pages packed with good materials. Hero is a sample: "The Bible is like a telescope. If a man looks through his telescope, then he sees worlds byond; but if he looks at his telescope, then he does not see anything but a telescope. The Bible is a thing to be looked through, to sec that which is beyond; but most people only look at it.” There are chapters onfcthe whole round of adolescent activities, lists of practical talks, thorough bibliographies, etc. “Handy” should be in the hands of every leader. It is a leader’s loose-leaf book stressing Church-centred social recreation. Social recreational leaders in New Zealand would do well to produce something similar for local use. It is quite impossible to enter into detail. This compendium has to been and used to bo appreciated. It is published by Lynn Dohrbough, 72 .Mount Vernon street, Boston, Mass. The price is about 10s per copy. A SIGNIFICANT BOOK. There is no more significant book for the religious educator than “The Psychology of Religions Experience” hy Francis Strickland, Ph.D., S.T.D., Professor of the History and Psychology of Religion, Boston University School of Theology. This volume is* published by the Abingdon Press, New York, 1021. The studies are psychological interpretation of religious faith from the point of view of the Christian faith. The 12 chapters deal with the nature of experience, the nature of religious experience, thel method and task of psychology of religion, religion in childhood, religion in adolescence, conversion and evangelism, the subconscious and religious experience, faith in God, the nature of worship, the elements of worship, religious mysticism, faith in the continuation of personal life. Dr Strickland may be regarded as a “sound” man. The chapters on religion in childhood and adolescence and conversion and evangelism should be closely studied by all who aspire to offer guidance in those fields. In these days the more accurate methods of the psychology of religion are largely displacing those of traditional Theology, and in consequence many hitherto accepted “findings” arc being closely interrogated and modified. A few extracts made at random to indicate something of the writer's method and message will be published in this column later on.