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Charlotte Mason in Modern English
Charlotte Mason's ideas are too important not to be understood and implemented in the 21st century, but her Victorian style of writing sometimes prevents parents from attempting to read her books. This is an imperfect attempt to make Charlotte's words accessible to modern parents. You may read these, print them out, share them freely--but they are copyrighted to me, so please don't post or publish them without asking.
~L. N. Laurio
pg 50
Chapter 6 - Parents as Inspirers: Primal
Ideas Derived from Parents
'One little boy was observing the scene. It was savage and inhuman,
unlike anything he had ever seen before. He nestled close to his mother
and asked with bated breath, 'Mama, is there a God here?'--adapted from John Burroughs
The
Main Thing We Have to Do
The last chapter introduced parents to the concept of their highest
function--that of revealing God to their children. Without a doubt, the
most important thing we have to do in this world is to bring the human
race out of the savage, inhuman desolation where God is not, and into
the light and warmth and comfort of God, family by family, one child at
a time. This individual task with each child is the most momentous work
in the world. It's entrusted to the wisest, most loving, disciplined,
and divinely taught people of all: parents. 'Be ye perfect as your Father is perfect,' is the
perfection of parenthood. Perhaps this kind of perfection can only be
fully attained through parenthood. Some parents are misguided, or
ignorant or even indifferent. One in a thousand is callous. Yet, the
good that's done
pg 51
on earth is accomplished under God by parents, whether directly or
indirectly.
Concepts
of God that are Appropriate for Children
The tools that this great work is done with are the ideas that can be
introduced into children's minds. Parents who recognize this will be
very concerned about which ideas of God are the most appropriate for
children, and how to best convey those ideas. Let's take a look at one
current idea that's causing some stir in people's thoughts.
'We
Should Work Up Slowly Through the Human Side'--Why Not?
'We read some of the Old Testament as 'the history of the Jews,' and we
read Job, Isaiah and Psalms as poetry. I'm happy to say that he likes
them very much. We read some parts of the Gospels in Greek, enjoying
them as the life and character of a hero. It's a huge mistake to impose
the authority and divinity of these stories on children all at once. It
makes them lose interest. Instead, we should work up slowly through the
human side.' (from Memoirs of Arthur
Hamilton, Messrs Kegan Paul and Co.)
This theory sounds good to a lot of people because it's 'so
reasonable.' But it assumes that we're ruled by Reason, and that our
Reason is infallible and certain. If we just leave it alone to do its
work, it
will bring us to fair and just conclusions. The fact is, that function
of the mind that we call reasoning--we shouldn't call it The
Reason--actually does bring us to inevitable conclusions. The process
is definite, and the result is convincing. But whether that conclusion
is right or not depends totally on the initial idea. When we want to
discredit this initial idea, we call it a prejudice. When we want to
exalt it, we call it an
pg 52
intuition, or even an inspiration. It would be a waste of time to try
to illustrate this. The whole history of Error is full of logical
outcomes of
what we like to call misconceptions. The history of Persecution is the
tale of how inevitable conclusions arrived at through reasoning are
mistaken for truth. Christ's death on Calvary wasn't due to an
impulsive, mad outburst of mob sentiment. It was a triumph of
reasoning. It was the inevitable result of a series of logical
sequences. If what's reasonable is what's right, then the Crucifixion
wasn't a crime, but something to applaud. And that's why the hearts of
religious Jews were so hardened and why their understanding was so
darkened. They were sincerely doing what seemed right in their own eyes. It's
exhilarating to observe the thoughts inside us compelling us towards an
inevitable conclusion, even against our will. If the final conclusion
forms itself even in spite of ourselves, how can it not be right?
Logical
Certainty and Moral Right: Conscientious Jews and the Crucifixion
Let's put ourselves in the place of a logical and conscientious Jew
just for a minute: 'The name of 'Jehovah' is a name of awe,
unapproachable in thought or action except in ways that God Himself has
specified. To approach His name unlawfully is blasphemy. Because
Jehovah
is so infinitely great, any presumptuous offense is infinitely heinous.
It's criminal. It's the final sin that can be committed against God Who
is First. The blasphemer deserves to die for making himself equal with
God, Who is unapproachable. A blasphemer is as arrogant as Beelzebub.
He's doubly worthy of death. God's honored Name is entrusted to us
Jews, and it's our job to
pg 53
get rid of the blasphemer. Therefore, the man must die.' And that's why
their poisonous hatred hounded every step that Jesus took during His
blameless Life. These men were following what their reasoning told
them. They were sure that they knew
they were doing the right thing. And that became an invincible
ignorance that even the Light of the world couldn't illuminate.
Therefore, He
'Who knows us as we are,
Yet loves us better than He knows,'
offered their true excuse: 'They know not what they're doing.' Once an
argument is set in motion, its steps are absolutely incontestable. The
fatal flaw is in the initial idea--a concept of Jehovah that made even
the possibility of Christ impossible and inadmissible.
The
Patriotic Jew and the Crucifixion
That's the way the Jews whose religion was their first priority
reasoned. But patriotic Jews, who put their hopes for their nation even
ahead of their religion, came to a totally different inevitable
conclusion following a sequence of arguments just as incontestable:
'The Jews are God's chosen people. A Jew's first obligation is to his
nation. These are critical times. A great hope is before us, but we're
in the power of Rome. The Romans might crush out our national life
before our hope is realized. We need to make sure that we don't do
anything to make them suspicious. What about this Man, Jesus? He seems
to be harmless, he might even be righteous. But he stirs up the people.
They say that he's even called the King of the Jews. He must not be
allowed to ruin the hope of the Jews. He needs to die. It's better for
one man to die for the rest of the people so that the entire nation
doesn't perish.' And, thus, the most criminal act that was ever
committed on
the earth was probably done without any consciousness of
pg 54
doing anything wrong. In fact, the psuedo-moral sense that approves of
all reasonable actions was
totally acquitted. The Crucifixion was the logical and necessary result
of ideas that the persecuting Jews had absorbed since their infancy.
That's the way it is with all persecution. It never originates because
of a specific occasion, but comes from habits that were formed over an
entire lifetime.
A
Child's Earliest Ideas Come from the Parents
The first impulses to habits of thought that children receive come from
their
parents. Since the way a person thinks and acts towards God is
'The very heartbeat of what he is,'
the introduction of the kind of earliest ideas that will draw the
child's soul to God is the most important and highest duty that parents
have. If a man is guilty of any kind of sin of unbelief, are his
parents totally blameless?
First
Approaches to God
Let's look at what's commonly done with most children in this area. As
soon as the child can lisp out his first words, he's taught to kneel in
his mother's lap and say, 'God bless . . .' and ask God's blessings for
a list of all those who are near and dear to him, and then, 'God bless
me and make me a good boy for Jesus' sake. Amen.' It's touching and
beautiful. One time I peeked in an open door of a cottage in a
village in the moors and I saw a little child in his pajamas kneeling
in his mother's lap and saying his evening prayer. That spot has
remained like a kind of shrine in my mind. There's nothing more
touching and tender to see. Later, when a child can say the words,
'Gentle Jesus, meek and mild'
is added to his prayer, and still later, 'Our Father.' There's nothing
more appropriate and more
pg 55
beautiful than these morning and evening visits with God as the little
ones are brought to Him by their mothers. Most of us can think back to
the sanctifying influence of those early prayer experiences. But
couldn't more be done? How many times in the course of a day does a
mother lift her heart to God as she goes about her daily routine with
her children, and they never know? One mother of a boy and girl aged
four and five said, 'Today I talked with them about Rebekah at the
well. They were both very interested, especially the part about Eliezer
praying in his heart and the answer coming immediately. They asked,
'how did he pray?' and I said, 'I often pray in my heart when you don't
know it. Sometimes I see you begin to show a naughty spirit, so I pray
for you in my heart, and almost immediately, I find that the good
spirit comes. Your faces show that my prayer was answered.' My daughter
stroked my hand and said, 'Dear Mama, I'll try to think about that.' My
son looked thoughtful, but he didn't say anything. Later, when they
were in bed, I knelt down to pray for them before leaving the room.
When I got up, my son said, 'Mama, God filled my heart with goodness
while you prayed for us, and, Mama, I will
try tomorrow.'
Praying
Out Loud In Front of Our Children
Might it be possible for the mother, when she's alone with her
children, to sometimes pray out loud so that her children will grow up
with a sense of God's presence? It would probably be difficult for some
mothers to break down the reserve of their spiritual relationship with
God even with their own children. But, if it could be done, wouldn't it
lead to joyful, natural living in the presence of God because His
presence would be recognized?
A
Child's Gratitude
One mother remembered how much she had loved an inexpensive bottle of
perfume when she was young. So she
pg 56
brought home three little bottles of perfume for her own three little
girls. She presented them at breakfast the next morning and the girls
enjoyed them during the whole meal. Before breakfast was over, the
mother
was called away. Little M-- was sitting with her bottle and what was
left of her breakfast, lost in her thoughts. Out of the pure wellspring
of heart, she murmured, to nobody in particular, 'Dear Mother, you are too good!' Imagine the joy of a
mother who should overhear her little child murmur upon seeing the
first primrose of the season, 'Dear God, you are too good!' Children are little
mimics. If they hear their parents continually expressing their joys,
concerns, thanks and wishes, then they'll also have many things to say
themselves.
Another point related to this--little German children hear and speak of
der liebe Gott [the dear God] many times during the
day. They address God with the familiar form of 'du,' but 'du' is part
of their everyday speech. All those who are dear to them in their
intimate circle are addressed with 'du.' It's the same with French
children. Their thoughts and words are of le bon Dieu [the good God]. They also address
God with the familiar form of 'tu,' but that's how they always speak to
those who are most near and dear to them.
Archaic
Language in Children's Prayers
But that's not the case for little English children. They're alienated
with an archaic form of address that sounds reverent to us older
people, but must seem forbidding to a little child. Imagine what a
benefit it would be if the Lord's Prayer could be translated into
reverent but modern language! [perhaps
Charlotte Mason would have approved of the Lord's Prayer, Matt 6:9-13,
in the New
Century Version?] To those of us who have learned to analyze
it, the KJV is dear, almost sacred. But we should never forget that,
after all, it's only a translation, and is probably the most archaic
bit of English still in use. The phrase 'which art' [or 'who art' to Catholics]
sounds like
pg 57
'chart,' which is meaningless to a child. 'Hallowed' sounds like a
foreign language to him; even to us it sounds odd. 'Trespasses' is
mostly a legal term that he never hears in his regular daily speech.
And no amount of explaining can make 'Thy' have the same kind of
meaning as 'your.' Making a child express his prayers in a
strange language puts a barrier between him and his 'Almighty Lover.'
Can't we try to teach our children to say, 'Dear God'? Surely no one
knows better than a parent that an austere, reverent style of speech
can never be as sweet in God's ears as the appeal to 'dear God' that
flows naturally from a child who's 'used to God' when he wants to
include his heavenly Father in his joy and plead for help in trouble.
If children are allowed to grow up in the awareness of the constant,
immediate, joy-giving, joy-taking Presence in the midst of them, then
there won't be any need to worry about attempts to draw the child away
from God. The threat of infidelity is foolishness to anyone who knows
God in the same way he knows father, mother, wife or child--or even
better.
'The
Shout of a King'
Children should also grow up with the shout of a King in their midst.
Within our faulty human nature are fountains of loyalty, worship,
passionate devotion, and cheerful service that unfortunately need to be
unsealed from within the dirt-filled hearts of us adults, but only need
a reason to flow from a child's heart. There's nothing more secure and
more gratifying than being under orders--than being possessed,
controlled and continually in the service of One Who is a joy to obey.
In our modern society, we've lost sight of the fact that a king or
leader implies warfare with an enemy, and victory--or possible defeat
and disgrace. It's never too soon for children to learn this concept of
life.
pg 58
Christ's
Fight Against the Devil
'I've thought it over carefully and I've decided that the best I can do
is to give you my perspective of what an average boy carried away from
our Rugby School fifty years ago that was the most beneficial, the most
valuable, later in life . . . I haven't been sure what to put first and
I'm not sure my team mates who are still living would agree with me.
But, speaking for myself, I think that the thing that most
distinguished us was the sense that in school and on the field, we were
training for a big fight that would last all our lives. In fact, we
were already involved in it. This fight would test all of our powers to
the utmost--all of our physical, intellectual, and moral powers. I
don't need to say that this fight was the age-old battle of good
against evil, light and truth against darkness and sin, Christ against
the devil.'
That's what the author of Tom
Brown's School Days [Thomas Hughes]
said when he addressed Rugby School on a recent Quinquagesima Sunday.
He's right--education is only really education when it teaches this
lesson, and this is a lesson that should be learned at home before the
child begins any other life lessons. It's an insult to children to say
that they're too young to understand this, which is the reason we're
sent into the world.
'It's
So Hard to Do God's Work!'
A five year old little boy, the great-grandson of Dr. Arnold, was
sitting at the piano with his mother choosing his Sunday hymn. He
picked 'Thy Will Be Done,' and, more specifically, his favorite verse
which begins 'Renew my will from day to day.' His mother was puzzled at
his choice of this song and verse until she got a further glimpse into
his child-thoughts when he explained
pg 59
by saying wistfully, 'It's so hard to do God's work!' He still didn't
understand the difference between doing and bearing, but the battle and
struggle and strain of life had already made an impression on the
spirit of this 'careless, happy child,' as we so often think of
children. The fact that an evil spiritual personality can get at their
thoughts and tempt them to be naughty is something they learn all too
soon, and understand perhaps even better than we do. Sometimes they're
grouchy, naughty, separate, sinful. They need to be healed as much as
the most hardened sinner, and they're much more aware of it because
their soul is like an infant's tender skin and chafes with any
spiritual soreness. 'It's so good of God to forgive me so often. I've
been naughty so many times today,' said one sad little six-year-old
sinner, and not because someone had been after her pointing out her
naughtiness. Even 'Pet Marjorie's' [Marjorie Fleming]
cheerfulness didn't shield her from this sad sense of falling short:
'Yesterday I was so bad in God's holy church. I wouldn't pay attention,
and I wouldn't let Isabella pay attention. . . and it was the same
Devil tempting me that tempted Job, I'm sure. But he resisted Satan
even though he had boils and all kinds of other misfortunes that I've
escaped.' And she wrote this at six!
We can't help smiling at these little 'crimes,' but we shouldn't smile
too much and let children be depressed about their naughtiness.
Instead, they should live in the instant healing forgiveness, and in
the dear Name of the Savior of the World.
Paraphrased by L. N. Laurio
Please direct any comments or questions to me by emailing me at cmseries-owner at yahoogroups dot com.
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