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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 137
Chapter
13 - Some Aspects of Religious Training That We Don't Usually Consider
Authority
in Religious Education
Before I begin, I'd like to clarify that what I'm going to say about
religious education is in no way exhaustive. My aim in discussing this
topic is to give some practical methods, and I hope my readers won't
find that I've left things out or said things that I shouldn't have
said.
First, let's consider how the principle of Authority relates to
teaching religion. The sense of duty, whether it's been taught or
whether the person is ignorant of it, always relates to the person in
authority, the one whose place is to say what the rules are. Most of us
realize that we who are in authority are representing a higher
authority, and ultimately, the Supreme Authority. A child can't have a
true, lasting sense of duty until he's brought into contact with that
Supreme Authority. He is the source of the law, and pleasing Him turns
duty into joy. In our progressive times, perhaps no aspect of religious
teaching is more important than the immediate presence and continuous
going forth of God.
pg 138
'You're everywhere I walk, and around my bed, and You see everything I
do,' should be a thought that brings comfort, not dread, to every
child. This constant awareness of the presence of God's authority will
inspire the dual response of submission and reverence towards God. Some
people say that the children of our time are distinguished by their
defiance, and by a certain flippant attitude and lack of reverence. If
this is true, and in proportion to how much it's the case, it's because
children are brought up without the conscious realization of their
relationship to God, who should be as a Father to them. His divine
title of Father reminds us that authority is wrapped up in the One who
created us, and He is kind, compassionate, foreknowing, strong enough
to care for us, and wise enough to rule. These qualities are reflected
only very weakly even in the best human fathers.
Questions
on People's Minds
But there are questions on everyone's minds about the authenticity of
Scripture and things like that. We're all pretty much at the mercy of
words. So-called 'higher criticism' finds a lot to criticize and
question about the verbal accuracy of Scripture passages, which gives
us a vague idea that God's authority itself is in doubt. Part of the
PNEU's work is to encourage and strengthen parents by comforting them
with a sense that God's authority is behind theirs, always supporting
them in their role as authority over their families. Another notion
people are talking about is against the principle of authority itself,
favoring greater respect for individual personality and the right of
each individual to develop and evolve according to his own unique
character. But the truth is, authority isn't adverse to
pg 139
individual development unless it's a morally wrong kind of development.
How
Authority Works
God's Supreme Authority and all other deputies in roles of authority
work in the exact same way that fair, good governments do who make it
their job to defend the liberties of their people in every way, even if
they have to limit, repress and punish the license of those who
interfere with the rights of others and with the real freedom of the
criminal. The law, which is the stated form of authority, is for the
punishment of evil-doers and for the approval of those who do what's
right. When we associate harshness, punishment, force and arbitrary
rules with the concept of authority, even divine authority, we exhibit
the confusion of thought that most of our faulty actions can be traced
to. The truth is, it isn't authority that punishes. The penalties that
plague us throughout our lives [of which those in the family are a
faint foretaste] are the inevitable natural consequences of laws that
are broken, whether those laws are spiritual/moral or physical.
Authority, strong and good, is there to save us by preventing us from
breaking laws, and, when needed, to use lesser penalties in order to
teach us.
I think that reading and teaching about some of the following subjects
might help us to get our focus on the vitally important aspect of our
relationship to God's authority. It's not a relationship we choose to
enter into. It's as inevitable as the family relationships we're born
into. The subjects include the obligation to loyalty and the disgrace
of unfaithfulness; the duty of being reverent; the responsibility to
submit to God's will; incidences in the Bible where God is revealed as
the ruler of men such as telling Abraham, 'Go, and he goes,' or to
Cyrus, 'Do this, and he does it;' historical revelations that show that
God is the ruler of nations and the kind ruler of people and
pg 140
He makes His servants' ways prosper; how a sense of God's authority can
be instilled at home; how reverence for holy things can be imparted;
and direct Bible teaching about the principle of authority. This whole
subject has a lot of aspects to consider, and suggests rabbit trails
that are very important in these days.
Habits
of the Religious Life
The next thing we need to consider is laying down the habits that
distinguish a religious life. We don't need to go over the physical
evidence for the power that habits have. My purpose right now is to
look at how much we can use this power to help develop the religious
life of our children. Let's consider how religious habits relate to
thought, attitude, life, and words. Those are all actually the same
thing because everything we do and say starts in our thoughts, even
though we may not be consciously aware of what we're thinking.
The
Habit of Having God in our Thoughts
The Bible says that the wicked 'don't have God in all their thoughts.'
But it might be said that children have God in all of their thoughts: their
restful thoughts, their dutiful thoughts, their thoughts of loving and
giving and serving, and the abundance of beautiful thoughts that
overflow from their hearts. We tend to think that children are a little
bit morbid and unusually advanced when they ask questions about God and
imagine spiritual things, so we try to distract them and get them to
think about something else. What children need is to be guided into
thinking true, happy thoughts. Every day should bring them 'new
thoughts about God and new hopes about heaven.' They understand
spiritual things better than we do because they haven't had to conform
their ideas to conventional dogma, and thoughts about God seem to them
like a way to escape to the infinite realm, away from the limitations
that
make them anxious, and from their perception that some of their bitter
experiences
pg 141
can seem like prison bars. We must keep children in the habit of always
having God in their thoughts so that losing it, even for a little
while, will be like returning home to find that their mother has gone
out.
This is a very delicate part of a parent's work.
Reverent
Attitudes
We tend to overlook the importance of reverent attitudes these days.
We're extremely sincere and that makes us hesitant to insist on 'mere
formality.' We feel that it's best to leave children free to express
their own heartfelt emotions naturally. But we might be wrong about
this. It's as true that formality can inspire feelings as it is that
feelings can result in form. Children should be taught to take the time
to be reverent while saying grace before meals, during family prayers,
as they pray on their own, and in church when they're old enough to sit
through the service. Maybe some of us remember standing beside our
mother every day with an attitude of reverence while reciting the
Apostles' Creed, and the memory of that childhood reverence set the
tone for our attitude towards God all our lives. 'Because the angels
will see' should be a thought that keeps children from misbehaving.
We're wrong when we assume that forms of reverence are always boring to
children. They love little ceremonies. If they were taught to kneel
properly while saying their little prayers, it would help to instill a
feeling of reverence in their later lives. We can't expect reverent
feeling and formalities from children in church if we take them when
they're too young, or make them sit through services that are too long,
or expect them to pay attention for the whole time. If children are
taken to long services, they should be allowed to have a Sunday picture
book, and they should be told that the songs and
pg 142
memorized rituals, such as the Lord's Prayer, are parts of the service
that children can participate in.
Doing
Devotionals Regularly
It's important to develop the habit of regularity in devotional time. A
mother may not always be with her children, but I've seen children
who are more determined about doing their devotions on time when
they're away from their mother because they know that's what she would
want, than they are when she's with them. One four-year-old friend of
mine said, 'Mommy, I always worship idols.' 'You do, Megan? When?'
'When I say my prayers to the chair.' It's wonderful for all of us to
get into the habit of 'saying our prayers' at a specific time and in a
specific place. Wherever that may be, it will become like a holy place
for us. Whether it's a chair, the side of the bed, a little prayer
table, or, best of all, the mother's knee, that place will play a major
part in guiding the child's soul to develop a habit of devotion. While
I'm on the subject, it's worth mentioning that children's prayers, even
for school aged children, shouldn't be left until they're so tired that
they nod off before they're finished. After evening tea [or dessert?]
is a good regular time for prayers if it can be managed.
The
Habit of Bible Reading
The habit of reading the Bible should be established when the child is
young enough that his Bible readings need to be read aloud to him. This
presents a challenge because the Bible is actually an entire library,
and some of its books and passages aren't suitable for children. Many
parents get around this by using little compilations of devotional
Scriptures. But I'm not sure this is such a good idea. I think that a
pg 143
narrative teaching of the Scriptures is a lot more helpful for children
than the isolated texts chosen to stimulate morals and spiritual
devotion. The Bible Society publishes [at
least, they did in 1904 when
this was written] inexpensive copies of individual books of the
Bible. Those are a nice resource for parents. A child who's old enough
to enjoy reading for himself would probably love reading through the
whole book of the Gospel of Mark or another book of the Bible little by
little as part of the morning devotion, using a nice copy of the book.
Children
Naturally Love Formality
But, while emphasizing the importance of developing the habits of
prayer and devotional reading, we need to remember that children
are little formalists by nature. They shouldn't be encouraged to
read long passages or pray long prayers with the erroneous idea that
there's some inherent benefit in those things [i.e., praying longer prayers doesn't make
them a better person].
The
Habit of Praise
We probably don't place a high enough priority on the habit of praise
in our children's devotions. Praise and thankfulness flow freely from
the young hearts of children. It's natural and good to be glad, and
music is fun. Singing hymns at home and singing worship songs at church
should be something to enjoy. The habit of singing soft, reverent songs
and offering our very best when we praise should be deliberately
formed. The best hymns for children are probably the ones that tell a
story, such as 'A
Little Ship Was on the Sea,' 'I Think When I
Read That Sweet Story of Old,' and 'Hushed Was the
Evening Hymn.' Children should be trained to pay attention and have
an attitude of sincere devotion during short services, or during parts
of the service. Instructing children to find their places in the prayer
book and Bible during the service helps them to pay attention to what's
going on during the service, but it might be better to have children
even as old as 10 and 11 occupy themselves during
pg 144
the prayer or sermon by going over the hymns they
know silently in their minds.
The
Habit of Observing the Sabbath
The habit of keeping Sunday observances that are special and reverent
without being severe or dull is very important. Special Sunday stories,
Sunday songs, Sunday walks, Sunday conversations, Sunday painting,
Sunday knitting, even Sunday card games, should all be suitable for the
Sabbath--quiet, enjoyable, peaceful. The people who want to make Sunday
like any other day don't realize how healing the change of pace of a
weekly rest can bring to a weary soul. One of the most precious
inheritances we can hand down is the traditional English Sunday,
especially if we can hand it down without its strictness but still
retain its quiet joy and communion with Nature and God. But I can't
pursue this subject any further. The topic of religious habits
provides lots of subjects that will be beneficial to teach and reflect
on. For example, there's the habit of thinking about God as a family,
the habit of having reverent thoughts, attitudes, actions, and words,
the habit of praying about certain things at a certain time and in the
same way or the same place, the habit of praise and thanksgiving, the
habit of an attentive and devotional attitude during church services,
things that can help devotional habits, and the habit of devotional
reading.
Inspiring
Ideas of Religious Life
Now we come to the most important aspect of our subject--the inspiring
ideas we'd like to give children about the things in a life devoted to
God. We sometimes tend to leave this to chance. But when we consider
how vitalizing an idea can be, and how one single idea can change the
course of a whole life, we realize how important it is to carefully
consider which ideas of
pg 145
spiritual things are the most suitable for children, and how they can
best
be presented to seem inviting. It's sad that so many children's first
concept of God as toddlers is of a Being who's always watching for them
to be naughty so He can punish them. We may never know how much this
kind
of concept can alienate children's hearts. Another danger is that
spiritual things can be made too familiar and worn out until the name
of God is used without reverence. Or, children might get the notion
that God's blessed name exists to serve them and what they can get from
God, instead of them existing to serve God.
The
Fatherhood of God
Perhaps the best concept to introduce children to first is that God is
a kind Father and they live and move and exist within His divine loving
arms. If children are allowed to grow up with this joyful assurance,
then being unfaithful to this, the closest of all relationships, would
be as shameful to them as it was to the Church during the medieval era.
Christ
as King
The next concept, the kingship of Christ, will inspire them to do the
right thing and will rouse children's eager loyalty, since we all know
that children naturally bestow heroic devotion on anyone they find
who's heroic. Perhaps we don't take advantage of this human tendency of
hero-worship as much as we could in teaching religion. We tend to make
our religious goals subjective [focused
on what it will do for me] instead of
objective [focused on God].
We're tempted to think of Christianity as a 'plan of salvation'
designed and carried out for our individual benefit. But the very
essence of Christianity is passionate devotion to a Person who's worthy
of adoration.
pg 146
Our
Savior
Even when we recognize this, we can still fall into the trap of
adopting a rose-water kind of treatment with children. Unfortunately
for us, very few adults have as keen a sense of sin as a child of six
or seven who has done something wrong. Many naughty, angry, sulky and
hardened young offenders are that way simply because they don't have a
personal understanding that there's a Savior of this world who has
immediate forgiveness and ready love for them. But even in this
respect,
children's thoughts need to be focused outside of themselves, on Jesus
the Savior, rather than their own personal feelings about the Savior.
The
Indwelling of the Holy Spirit
I have space to mention one more obvious Christian truth. Most
Christian parents teach their children to recognize the indwelling of
the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. They elaborate on the concept expressed
in this poem:
'Enable with Your constant light
The dullness of our blinded sight.'
'Anoint and cheer our dirty face
With the abundance of Your grace.'
It would be good if we could prevent our children from having the
concept that there's some kind of a separation between sacred things
and so-called secular things. We should help them to recognize that all 'sound learning,' even if it
isn't designated as 'religious instruction,' comes under the
jurisdiction of God, the Holy Sprit, who is the supreme teacher of all
mankind.
Parents and teachers will be able to think of lots of other inspiring
ideas that are more valuable than any I could suggest--for instance,
teaching, reading and meditating on any of the sections of the Lord's
Prayer or the Apostles'
pg 147
Creed, or any of the Duties Towards God in the [Anglican] Catechism.
Anyone who accepts the Old and New Testaments should find that
worthwhile.
I haven't mentioned everything that's necessary to bring up children
'in the nurture and admonition of the Lord,' but I've discussed a few
of
the principles that seem essential to me, although I've done it very
inadequately.
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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