RELIGIOUS EDUCATION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20448, 30 June 1928, Page 5

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION.

By Amplits.

The situation that has , not its ideal was never yet occupied by man.—Thomas Carlyle. CHRIST OF THE ANDES. For many years Chile and Argentina had quarrelled over their exact boundary line, in the snow-covered Ancles . Mountains, which separate them. In 1900 they were about to declare war, and began making guns and warships, and drilling their soldiers. . Through the efforts of church people the leaders finally agreed to submit the question to arbitration and a treaty of peace was signed on May 28, 1903. In the meantime, a young Argentine sculptor had made a beautiful bronze statue of Christ, from cannons taken during. the War of Independence with Spain. Due to the efforts of the woman of, Argentina and Chile, who raised the money, particularly Senora de Costa, of Buenos Aires, the statue was placed, at a cost of £20,0,0.0, on the highest accessible peak of the Andes as a symbol of perpetual peace between the two countries. On its base are carved the words: _ “Sooner shall these mountains crumble to dust than the Argentines .and Chileans will break the peace which here at the feet of Christ, the Redeemer, they have sworn to keep forever.” And'there it towers amid eternal snows, bringing to the whole world the message of peace and good will. Christ of the Andes, Christ of Everywhere, Great Lover of the hills, the open air. And patient Lover of impatient men , Who blindly strive and sin , and strive again. Thou Living Word, larger than apy creed, Thou love Divine, uttered in . human deed, i , O, teach the world, warring and wandering still, : Thy ■ way of Peace,' the footpath of Good Will. —Henry Van Dyke. BATTLES OR BABIES? “ Over a-century ago men were following with bated breath . the march _ of Napoleon, and waiting with feverish’impatience for the latest new? of the war; and all the while.in their own homes, babies were being born. But who could think about babies? . Everybody was thinking about battles. Let us look at some of these babies? Why, in one' year, lying between Trafalgar and .Waterloo, there stole into, the world a host of heroes. During that year (1809) Gladstone was born at Liverpool; Alfred Tennyson was born at the Sowerby Rectory, and Oliver Wendell Holmes made his first appearance in Massachusetts. On* the very same day of the same year Charles Darwin made his ‘ debut ' at Shrewsbury, and Abraham Lincoln drew , his first breath in old Kentucky. Music was enriched by the advent of Chopin at Warsaw, and of Mendelssohn at Hamburg. But nobody thought of babies; everybody was thinking of battles. Yet, viewing that age in truer perspective which the distance of 100 years enables us to command, we may well ask ourselves, which of the battles of 1809 mattered more than the babies of 1809? That is always the blunder we short-sighted people make. We fancy that God can only manage the world by big battalions abroad, when all the while He is doing. it by beautiful Babies at home; When, a wrong wants righting, or a work wants doing, or a truth wants pleaching, or a continent wants opening, God sends a baby into the world to do it. That is why, on March 19, 1813, a babe was born at Blantyre (Dr Livingstone). The birth column is the only really important one in each day’s news.” —F. W. Boreham, in “ Mountains of the Mist.” THE CRADLE ROLL. After reading the above paragraph, can .we doubt the value of the Cradle Roll in the moulding of the future of the world? The Cradle Roll is an important part of the church, and should be recognised as such if. the church is to do her part in the reconstruction of the world. The character of the nation and of the world,is the character of-the people in it. The' church's great object is to grow Christ-like characters, through whom the world will be reconstructed. The - Cradle 101 l renders an important service to the little child,, to the mother, and to the church. Spiritual nurture must be commenced at the very beginning of life. If the Cradle Roll worker cannot- be. on hand to render service to the tiny- infant,; she can work through the mother, by arousing her to a sense of the importance of right habits and. wise discipline from even the first" day of life, as a means of developing ‘a well-balanced character and a healthy body. It often -happens, both with young and with those who have had childrjpi before, that they have been kept awaynrom church-and Sunday school for some time, and to a certain extent have lost touch with and interest in the religious family of which: they may or may not be an integral part. The Cradle Roll furnishes the connecting link, and is able to put into the hands of the mother practical helps and to show the interest of the church in the little new-comer, and to give it a place of its very own. As time goes on the Cradle Roll can serve increasingly. doing more and more for the child, and drawing the mother into the mothers circle, where she can give as well as gain. Many a mother’s interest has been awakened and her love for God’s little ones broadened • through service of the Cradle Roll to her, and through her service to the Cradle Roll. ■dJu ** °il y a little step from the Cradle Koll to the church, qpd when children have passed through the successive grades ot the school, they arrive naturally at the. place where they want to confess their faith in Christ arid become an in- £ ai n C>f H i s .organisation. The Cradle Roll, prevents leakage and loss of church forces. It prevents -leakage and loss of mothers interest, and'best of all, iLi P „ reV c nts , lea £ a .ge .and loss of human ' Sorely this ia true conservation work at its best. STANDARDS FOR LEADERSHIP TRAINING. The following 10 standards for effective leadership training for every church has been suggested by. Professor W. A. Weber. Ihe first is a qualified instructor, having personal Christian character, pose, education, skill, and practical experience. Educational equipment is important. The leadership training class ought to have a room, complete with educational facilities, such as desks or tables, blackboard, maps, and a reference library of text and reference books. Atmosphere goes a long way towards awakening , a desired response for study. Some educational standard should also be required of the pupil, before being allowed to take the training course; thus making certain, that the training course should not prove too difficult. Again, the pupil should not be allowed to take up this work until he has reached the age of 16 years, for, in very rare instances, members under that age would get easily discouraged, besides feeling the training difficult. Another important standard is that this class is open only to those showing promise of developing into leaders, for it is far better to have a small class of persons eager, willing, and capable of taking the course,, than a large class in which are many indifferent and incompetent pupils. The courses of studies; are also of the greatest importance, for these must be both comprehensive and- vital, while allowing sufficient periods for special departmental work, for which the student is fitting himself. An approved course, like the international standard teacher training course, should he taken, and no attempt made to shorten or substitute courses requiring only one year’s work. Then there must be a minimum number of hours spent-in preparation. This is essential, if the pupil is to be trained in effective leadership. The method used in class will need care--ful planning, care being taken that there is opportunity for expressional activity, on the part of the pupils, if they are to gain in power. Assigned topics, class discussion, drill, and review methods are effective. Time would be given for practical training in teaching, and administration, under a suitable supervisor. We “ learn to do by doing,” but we learn more economically when under helpful supervision, and guidance. No standard leadership training would be complete that omitted the checking up of attainments. Test, examinations, demonstrations should be required as faithfully as attendance at class. “These standards,” says Mr Weber, fieem entirely out o| teach lot-

some church schools. They are not, however, impossible. If the church once gets a vision of the great possibilities of its educational task, and seriously sets itself to fulfil its great mission of teaching religion, we shall find a way to train adequately its leaders for their important tasks.” The member of this class, as opportunity and his personal choice allowed, would ultimately be drafted into a department, and the weekly departmental training class is an important factor in laadezsEis training..