Thoughtful Moments

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 6, Issue 6, 18 September 1942, Page 2

Thoughtful Moments

(Supplied by the Whakatp

ne Mi rust ers' Association)

WHAT CHRISTIAN EDUCATION IN THE HOME MEANS i By Elsie A. Saunders. The .subject of Christian Eilillation is very much in ihe news just now, and rightly so. \Ve are told that this is a war of conflicting ideals, therefore it behoves us to take stock of ourselves, and to consider to what extent Christian prin- : triples and idea's are being upheld and maintained in our homes. 1 Is not the term Christian used, far too frequently and too glibly? Many people who passively call themselves Christians would be horrified to find themselves labelled nonChristian, sub-Christian or even heathen, and yet these same people accept the easy assumption that they are Christians, without accepting the tremendous implications that the name implies. Home Atmosphere "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and mind and thy neighbour as thyself." This surely means deep religious convictions, out of which a faith in the Fatherhood, of Cod and the brotherhool of man is forged. Therefore parents who wish to claim the name of Christian must accept the responsibilities which go with thai claim, and it is to such parents \w must look lor the religious home training of the rising generation. It is important to remember that a child accepts the ethical standards of his home until he is old enough to use his own judgment, and the influences of those early years arc probably irradicable. A child's first religious awareness should be derived. from the atmosphere of his home, and without this practical demonstration of the love atmosphere, binding together iatliei and mother, brother and sister, any theoretical religious teaching must inevitably be comparatively less"Wliat you are speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.' Grounded in Love Christian Education in the homo must be rooted and grounded i" love, for God is love, and if all the] everyday happenings of life are related, by the parents to a Heavenly Father Who loves and cares, right ideas of God —as revealed in the life and teaching of Jesus —-untold naturally,. and love for Him is born. Everyone agrees that religious teaching should begin in the home, and it cannot begin without that basis, and there is no satisfactoij substitute or alternative. . It is pleasant to visualise every English child being taught the "first

OUR SUNDAY MESSAGE

fond prayers' 5 at his mother's knee, but. unless they are taught in an atmosphere of unhurried tranquility, and with a simple reverence, they will have little value. Too often they are a hurriedly repeated formula and something to be done in the process of going to bed. Here Jet me utter a plea for intelligent simple prayers phrased in terms that a small child can understand, rather than outworn theological pltitudes in archaic language of bygone centuries. Prayers must be real; and eternal truths can be so taught that a developing intelligence need not reject them. Church-going Parents, too, must make up their minds about Sunday Observance and Church-going. To the real Christian, as distinct i'rom the nominal one, Sunday is a tlav of delight and worship at God's House, is essential as daily food. It is useless to expect a child to enjoy Church-going, or to apprehend its real significance and value, if to its parents it. is but a tiresome duty. "() magnify the Lord with me. raid let us exalt His name together' 1 should be the attitude, and please note the plural! Then' what place is the Bible to have in the home? In Victorian days, morning and evening prayers were the rule and not the exception. and however far the results fell below the ideal, at least that generation knew their Bibles. Can the same be said to-day? It is surely imperative that the Bible should be taught intelligently by parents and friends who love it, and whose lives reflect something of its teaching and beauty. No Short Cut Then can Christian training be complete without hymn-singing ? The memories of Sabbath evenings, with family and friends gathered round the piano, voicing the deepest aspirations and yearnings of the tinman heart in song? Surely ii stiis the emotions as no wireles can ever do, and children miss a great de.nl, who never know this aspect oi music in the home. It can be said that this article presents nothing new —no modern panacea —no short cut. There is no short cut.. Education as a process and religious education is no exception. It is possible that in these days of anxiety and strain slackness lrtis crept into our homes. Psychologists tell ; us that little children as well as , adults need a faith by which to live, and one oi the finest, things we can do to-day for our God and our country is to re-establish the r Christian Home and so impart a liv- : ing faith to a little child.