member of the _series directly leading up to the horse_ was eohippus, an
older eocene form about as large as a fox, which had four well-developed
toes and the rudiments of a fifth on each forefoot, and three toes
behind. In later eocene beds appeared an animal of similar size, but
with only four toes in front and three behind. In newer beds, i.e., lower
miocene, are found the remains of mesohippus, which was as large as a
sheep and had three toes and the splint of another in each forefoot....
The succeeding forms were still more horse-like.”[186] Next they find a
donkey-like animal, and later “a true equus, as large as the existing
horse, appears just above the horizon, and the series is complete.”[187]
If the horse tribe has evolved from a fox-like animal, it is little
wonder that men trace their origin to the monkey tribe; but those who
wish God’s character, take by faith the statement that “in the image of
God created He him.”
Such theories form the basis for the generally adopted classification of
the entire vegetable and animal worlds. Christian education demands new
text-books, based upon the truths of God’s Word.
[Sidenote: Dana on origin of species]
From Dana, the recognized authority on geology, the following sentences
are quoted: “Life commenced among plants, in _seaweeds_; and it ended
in _palms_, _oaks_, _elms_, the _orange_, _rose_, etc. It commenced
among animals in _lingulæ_ (mollusks standing on a stem like a plant),
_crinoids_, _worms_, and _trilobites_, and probably earlier in the simple
systemless protozoans; it ended in _man_.” For this development, he says,
“Time is long.”
In a paragraph on “Progress Always the Gradual Unfolding of a System,”
are the words: “There were higher and lower species appearing through
_all the ages_, but the successive populations were still, in their
general range, of higher and higher grade; and thus the progress was ever
upward. The type or plan of vegetation, and the four grand types or plans
of animal life, the radiate, molluscan, articulate, and vertebrate, were
each displayed under multitudes of tribes and species, _rising in rank
with the progress of time_.... Its progress should be, _as zoological
history attests, a development, an unfolding, an evolution_.”
In the study of this evolution in animal life, he says, “The progress in
the system of life is a progress in cephalization,” and he gives several
illustrations, as the passage from tadpole to frog; from lobster to crab,
from worm to insect, etc. Such teachers speak always of the evolution
from the lower to the higher forms of life, but leave retrogression
entirely out of their reckoning.
To those who offer the Sacred Record in opposition to his so-called
geological proofs, Dana says: “The Biblical student finds, in the first
chapter of Genesis, positive statement with regard to the creation of
living beings. But these statements are often misunderstood; for they
really leave the question as to the operation of natural causes for the
most part an open one,—as asserted by Augustine, among the Fathers of
the church and by some Biblical interpreters of the present day.... In
view of the whole subject, the following appears to be the conclusions
most likely to be sustained by further research: The evolution of the
system of life went forward _through derivation of species from species,
according to usual methods, not yet clearly understood, AND WITH FEW
OCCASIONS FOR SUPERNATURAL INTERVENTION_,” etc.
Thus have the truths in God’s great lesson book of nature been
misinterpreted. It was a step in the right direction when the mechanical
drill of the classics was dropped, and nature studies substituted; but
God’s Word must take its place as the interpreter of nature and natural
phenomena, or the theory of evolution is the natural result, and this
will form no part of Christian education.
Protestant parents, are your children learning to see in the visible
things about them the emblems of the invisible, even the eternal power
and godhead? If not, why do you not put them where they will? This is
their salvation.
[Sidenote: Underlying principles neglected]
The exaltation of detail and the belittling of principles is a common
error in educational systems. This is seen in all departments of
learning. Not only is it exemplified in the exaltation of the mental and
the physical above the spiritual, but the same method is employed in
the detail work of the class room. This is in essence papal education.
Christian education requires teachers to reverse the order throughout the
whole course of instruction.
To illustrate the thought: There are a few fundamental principles which
govern the universe. Such is the statement of the truth, “The love of
Christ constraineth us,” which contains within it the whole explanation
of the force of gravity, adhesion, cohesion, molecular attraction,
chemical affinity, human love, and the law of sex, and is therefore
illustrated in physics, chemistry, mineralogy, biology,—in fact, in all
the sciences. Again the second great commandment, “Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself,” is the statement of a principle which underlies all
history, civil government, and political and social science. If followed,
it will solve all international difficulties, as well as prevent personal
animosity; it will blot out the evils of society, breaking down the
barrier between poverty and riches; trusts would never exist, trades
unions would be unnecessary, and monopolies unknown, if the one law of
Jehovah were only learned. Of how much greater value, then, is the study
of such principles than all the theories which may be proposed by men
for international arbitration, or all the laws which may be passed in
legislative halls concerning the equal rights of men and the proper means
of governing States, Territories, or acquired possessions.
But this is Christian education, and lessons such as this are learned
only when the truth is written on the heart by the pen of the Spirit.
It is thus that a spiritual education, the higher birth of which the
Saviour spoke, rises above the education of the world as far as heaven
is above the earth. When these and kindred principles are made the
central thought, all the facts which the pupil may be able to learn in a
lifetime, will but serve to impress the truth more firmly on his life.
[Sidenote: Deductions from facts not always correct]
All the facts which it is possible for man to gather in a lifetime,
added to all that are gathered by generation after generation, are but
illustrations of a few principles. Modern teaching deals almost wholly
with facts; it requires children, from the time they enter school until
they are graduated, to heap together facts. Process is the great theme in
mathematics; facts, facts, facts, are the things sought for in the whole
realm of natural science. History is but the study of still more facts,
and where generalizations or classifications are made, they are theories
formulated from the facts gathered. But man is never able to collect all
the facts; he is never sure that his conclusions have reached absolute
truth. The truth of the matter is, the classifications thus formed are
only partially correct, and the discovery of a few more facts overthrows
the finespun theories of the best of scientists. It is thus constantly
in astronomy, in botany, in zoology, and in biology. Because of new
discoveries, the physician of yesterday is wholly wrong in the eyes
of the physician of to-day. To-morrow the bright light of to-day will
be superseded by some other luminary. This is the result of inductive
reasoning based on sense perception.
This thought is well expressed by Hinsdale, who says: “We observe and
register phenomena, classify facts, deduce conclusions and laws, and
build up systems; but in science and philosophy we return to the subject
again and again; we seek to verify our facts and test our conclusions,
and when we have finished, we are not sure, save in a limited sphere,
of our results. Some of the best-known sciences have been largely
reorganized within the last few years. We have the ‘new chemistry,’
the ‘new astronomy,’ the ‘new political economy,’ and even the ‘new
mathematics.’ Particularly in the field of human conduct, where man’s
will is the governing faculty, we are often uncertain of our way and
sometimes are wholly lost.”[188]
[Sidenote: Sense perception often incorrect]
The shifting foundation upon which such knowledge rests is well
illustrated by the tests which the human being is able to make with
the organs of sense. Water of 98° is hot to the hand that has been
accustomed to a temperature of 45°, but cool to the hand which is just
taken from water of 112°. An orange is sweet to the man who has been
eating a stronger acid, but sour to the palate accustomed to sugar. The
eye which has been used in a dimly lighted room is dazzled by the noonday
glare, and judging of the size of a star by sight we would not conceive
it to be a sun. The knowledge gained by the senses is only partially
true,—it is not absolute truth; and the scientific theories propounded by
minds which have reasoned from these inaccurate data can not fail to fall
short of absolute truth. It may be _knowledge_; it is not _wisdom_.
[Sidenote: Faith is substance, not theory]
Christian education approaches nature from the opposite direction. With
a mind open to receive truth, it grasps _by faith_ the statement of a
universal principle. The spiritual law is the thing sought, and the
corresponding physical law is compared with it. Once found, every fact
which is learned, every observation made, but shows more clearly the
working of that law in the spiritual world. For such teaching, faith is
an indispensable attribute. Experiment is not discouraged, but strongly
encouraged; reason is not laid aside, but the mind is called upon to
reason on subjects grander and nobler than any deductions which can
possibly result from the opposite manner of approaching truth.
This is the ideal in Christian education, the point toward which the
Christian teacher is leading his pupils. In case of unbelief, or in
dealing with the heathen, the mind must first be approached through the
avenues of the senses, until the Spirit of God arouses the inner eye of
faith. This is merely preliminary, and should not long continue. Children
are not given credit for having the faith they really do possess, and
are therefore held to the inductive method by educators long after their
minds and hearts are capable of grasping truth, and when it would be
found that the deductive method would produce a much more rapid growth of
mental and spiritual power than is now seen.
[Sidenote: The Christian teacher]
This suggests the qualifications necessary on the part of a teacher.
Remembering that this education is of a spiritual nature, the teacher
himself must be connected with truth by an unwavering faith.
When Nicodemus, the representative of higher education in the schools
of Jerusalem, interviewed Christ, the new Teacher who had appeared in
their midst, and whose teaching was attended by a power unknown to the
educators of the day, the learned man said, “Rabbi, we know Thou art a
teacher sent of God.” “But how can these things be?” The heavenly Teacher
outlined to him the secrets of His educational system, telling Nicodemus
that it was not based on sight, but on faith; that the spiritual was
first, and, when so made, the rest would follow. Then came the query,
“How can it be?” To which Christ replied, “If I told you earthly things,
and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you heavenly things?”
“Art thou a master in Israel, and knowest not these things?”
In view of these thoughts, it is not strange that the study of the
sciences in a Christian school will differ widely from the course offered
in the same department of learning in an institution where the object of
education is wholly different.
[Sidenote: Physiology the central science]
Discarding the evolutionary theory which pervades the teaching of
all institutions where education is not wholly based on the Word of
God, man, created in the image of God, is recognized as the highest
manifestation of creative power. The life of God is the first study;
that _life_, as manifested in man, is the next, and physiology takes
its place as the center of all science-study. This is a study of life
in all its manifestations, beginning with the spiritual, and extending
to the mental and physical. Here, as elsewhere, the laws which govern
the spiritual nature have their types in the other two natures; and when
once the central truth of _life_, an abundance of life, is grasped, the
study of physiology becomes not the study of dead forms, mere facts,
but a soul-study, which includes the home of the inner man and all the
machinery which the soul manipulates. Thus considered, from this center
(physiology) extend rays, like the spokes of a wheel, each representing
another science, until within that broad circle represented by these
radii, are included all the physical as well as all the metaphysical
sciences.
It will be seen that this mode of correlating the sciences cures at once
the mistake of the age,—the cramming system,—which results from a neglect
of manual training and from the study of a multiplicity of books, crowded
with facts which must be stored in the mind of the student.
[Sidenote: Correlation of sciences]
By placing physiology as the center of the circle, and correlating
therewith all other sciences, another advantage arises, for that circle
includes within itself the languages and mathematics. These latter are
but helps in the study of the thought-bearing subjects,—the Bible and
the sciences,—and instead of being studied as primary subjects, should
be _used as a means to an end_. Reading, writing, spelling, grammar,
rhetoric, and literature, and mathematics, from arithmetic to general
geometry and calculus, are but means of expressing truths gained in the
study of the revealed Word and the book of nature. The simplicity of
the system will appeal to the mind of any educator, for it is a plan
long sought for. The one thing lacking among those who have experimented
with such methods has been the central subject, God’s Word. Having truth
as the basis for the correlation, the problem, so far as methods are
concerned, is practically solved.
The great and pressing need is for teachers who can execute the plan.
No narrow mind will be equal to the task. Again, as a system of true
education is approached, is seen the exalted position to which those who
teach are called.
[Sidenote: The basis of every educational effort]
Before passing the subject of physiology it is well to consider the
meaning of the expression that this subject “_should be the basis
of every educational effort_.” Text-book study of physiology, it is
clear, can not cover this requirement. The fact is that _book-study_
is but a small part of Christian education. True education is life,
and he who learns much must live much. The food eaten, the manner of
clothing the body, the study, exercise, mental habits, physical habits,
manual training, in fact, every phase of life is a part of the study of
physiology and hygiene, and these subjects must one and all receive due
consideration by the Christian educator.
[Sidenote: Manual training and education]
Manual training is becoming popular in many of our city schools, but the
work offered in a Christian school will differ from that of the worldly
school in this,—the latter is training the hand or the eye only, the
former is building character by giving a trade that enables the student
to be self-supporting and independent. In that the aims are different,
the methods must differ, although the matter taught may in many cases be
identical.
[Sidenote: Healthful diet and dress]
Healthful living is receiving attention in many schools. The Christian
school, while teaching the same subject, will have as its object a
preparation for eternal life. The subject, taught without faith, will
bring only increased physical and mental activity. The spiritual nature
can be reached alone by that education which is based on faith.
[Sidenote: Need of books]
Simply a casual investigation of the subject of Christian education
reveals the need of books for the guidance of teachers who undertake to
direct the growth of the child. With proper study-books, based upon the
eternal principles of truth revealed in the Scriptures, the work which is
now in its infancy would make much more rapid and substantial progress.
[Sidenote: The home school]
Parents who sense the responsibility resting upon them in the rearing of
children for the kingdom of heaven are anxious to know when and where the
principles of Christian education can be carried out. The beauty of the
system is nowhere more vividly portrayed than in the recognition which it
gives to the _home_ and the _duty of parents_ toward their children in
the matter of education.
In spite of the fact that much is said relative to the importance of
educating for the state, the words of Herbert Spencer give a clear idea
of the home as the center of the true system. He says: “As the family
comes before the state in order of time—as the bringing up of children is
possible before the state exists, or when it has ceased to be, whereas
the state is rendered possible only by the bringing up of children, it
follows that the duties of the parent demand closer attention than those
of the citizen.” The plan of Christian education goes a little farther,
and recognizing the earthly family as a type of the heavenly, places the
parents in God’s place to the young children; hence the home should be
the only school and “the parents should be the only teachers of their
children until they have reached eight or ten years of age.”
[Sidenote: Lessons for the home school]
“The mother should find time to cultivate in herself and in her children
a love for the beautiful buds and opening flowers.... The only schoolroom
for children from eight to ten years of age should be in the open air,
amid the opening flowers and nature’s beautiful scenery. And their only
text-book should be the treasures of nature.”
[Sidenote: The church school]
With such a training, the first ten years the child should develop
a strong body and a strong mind. He should then be able to spend
the next five or six years under the instruction of a consecrated
Christian teacher in an elementary school, where teacher and parents may
co-operate. The threefold nature must be developed so that when the age
of manhood or womanhood is reached, strength of character has also been
gained.
[Sidenote: The industrial school]
The youth should then continue his mental culture in some industrial
school, located in the country, where there is freedom from the evils
of city life, and where the rapidly developing physical nature can be
correctly guided into lines of practical duties which will fit him for
real life. In the meantime, mental culture and spiritual training are
continued, for character is being formed for eternity.
[Sidenote: Training school for Christian workers]
The young man or woman of twenty or twenty-two should be prepared to
select a life-work, and the special training needed can be received in
a training school, which in Christian education will be for Christian
workers. Such a school will be necessary; for the education thus
outlined, extending from infancy over twenty years, can not fail
to develop a character which chooses _Christian work_ as the life
occupation. A short training in a higher institution, which in character
is _a school of the prophets_, should so round out the nature already
forming that the young person goes out an ambassador for Christ, willing
to be used in any capacity by the Commander of the heavenly host, whether
it be on the farm, at the carpenter’s bench, or in the pulpit; for his
soul is knit to the King of heaven, as was David’s to Jonathan’s. Such a
student is prepared for active service, either on earth or in the kingdom
of our God; for he is one with the Father and his Son.
“Comenius divided the first twenty-four years of life into four periods,
to each of which he would assign a special school, thus:—
“1. For infancy, the school should be the mother’s knee.
“2. For childhood the school should be the vernacular school.
“3. For boyhood, the Latin school or gymnasium.
“4. For youth, the university and travel.
“A mother should exist in every house, a vernacular school in every
hamlet and village, a gymnasium in every city, and a university in every
kingdom or in every province.... The mother and the vernacular school
embrace all the young of both sexes. The Latin school gives a more
thorough education to those who aspire higher than the workshop; while
the university trains up the teachers and the learned men of the future,
that our churches, schools, and states may never lack suitable leaders.”
In the system known as Christian education the division is about the
same, the years of student life extending perhaps to thirty instead of
twenty-four, with this division: the first ten years are spent in the
home school; from ten to fifteen in the church school; from fifteen to
twenty in the industrial school, and the years from twenty to twenty-five
or even thirty are devoted to study and active work in the training
school for workers.
[Sidenote: Should Protestants educate?]
The time now is when those who are true Protestants _will_ demand
Christian education, and when no sacrifice will be considered too great
for the accomplishment of that object. The prophecy of Zechariah,
recorded in the ninth chapter, gives the words of God concerning the
contest to take place near the close of time between the sons of Greece
and the sons of Zion. “Turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope;
even to-day do I declare that I will render double unto thee; when I have
bent Judah for Me, filled the bow with Ephraim, AND RAISED UP THY SONS, O
Zion, AGAINST THY SONS, O GREECE.”
Greece is recognized in the Scriptures as emblematic of worldly
wisdom,[189] but by that wisdom the world knew not God; in fact, by that
wisdom the world was led away from God. God will, then, raise up the sons
of Zion, the representatives of His wisdom—the divine philosophy—against
the sons of Greece, or the students of the wisdom of the world; and in
the final conflict, when truth wins, it will be evident that those who
are numbered with the victors have forsaken the wisdom of Greece for
the wisdom of God. It is not theory, but the most solemn fact, that the
preparation for a life with God demands that we and our children receive
a far different education than has been offered in the past. If we wish
the highest culture, if we long for soul development, our education
must be spiritual in nature; we must leave the low, turbid waters of the
valley for the snow waters of Lebanon. This is Christian education.
Protestants to-day see their children slipping from the fold. Every
inducement in the way of entertainments, form, ceremony, and oratory
is used to attract the youth to the church, but still the world
allures them. Ministers are beginning to search for the reason, and
are attributing it to the character of the education now given in
our schools; in saying this, they strike at the root of the trouble.
Protestantism is dying; the form of godliness, which denies the power
thereof, is spreading its dark mantle over the earth. It is in vain that
we point to stately edifices or noted divines; if we can not recognize
the difficulty, it but proves that we are ourselves under the cloud, and
recovery is all but impossible.
We talk of the spread of Christianity; we give of our means for the
conversion of the heathen, while our children perish within our
very homes. The spirit and power of Elias, which was to accompany
the preaching of the kingdom of Christ, was “to turn the hearts of
the fathers to the children.” Cries the prophet Joel, “_Gather the
children_, and those that suck the breast.... Let the priests, the
ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them
say, Spare Thy people, O Lord, and give not Thine heritage [the children]
to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them.”