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2 (098) THE
Why the Synods Should Wit!
for the Religious Care of
State Institutions of tf
\VM. E. BOUGH,
(Continued fror
Attention liu^ been culled to the Autions invaluable
asset in tlie great company ol about l.tfll,534
college men and women, wlio are pursuing the
higher education in non-denominational institutions.
Each {State has a snare iu this great host
ol young people, Georgia's portion, lor example,
being 5,513. Hut the Church ol Christ has also a
deep and abiding interest in these collegians, lor
she realizes that were tiiey but consecrated to Cod s
service, 110 similar number ol" Christian workers in
llltfefl PAllIll l\0 illit W?1 li i*?i I nit 1.1 nlViMit *lki *1111..11
lor the Master, who has laid 011 her the solemn
charge, "Feed My lambs."
It being conceded, then, that to the Synods tins
charge lias, for the present, at least, been committed
by our branch oi the Church, speaking
through her highest court, let us next consider how
this trust may be carried into elleet. Seeking the
answer to this question in the oracles ol Cod, we
shall not fail to see that the Master's lirst step
toward the initiation ol' the New Testament dispensation
was to quality and send out a company
of men as his messengers. And when the door to
the Centiles had been supernaturally opened
through the Apostle of the Circumcision, we read
in axis mat li&rnauas ana saui, tne
Apostles to the Dentiles, were supcrnaturally eallea
to this work. Tims men specially qualified are
lirst sent out, and through their labors the other
things needful are to be provided.
The Divine procedure, therefore, suggests that
our Synods will be moving along the line of wise
precedent if they shall lirst with prayer and due
care select the messengers of Christ to "make disciples''
of these young people, who are exposed
not only to those temptations that are common to
youth, but also to that subtle danger of having
their minds and hearts unconsciously secularized
by the educational process which largely ignores
the spiritual element in a complete training for life
on/1 VtAi*an f^a?
iiti t aim
And in Luke's sketches oi' apostolic labors we
cannot fail to discover, if we observe carefully, that
the great apostle to the cultivated Greeks as
well as the barbarians, always makes a point of
seeking to enlist in his work whatever help may be
providentially prepared before his arrival, for
God's holy providence had anticipated his coming
by scattering the .lews over the Greco-Roman
world. The messenger of Christ and his Church
will, therefore, be following a safe precedent if he
looks carefully about him for suitable helpers.
And first of all he should call on the presiding
officer of the institution and explain the purpose
of his visit, particularly emphasizing the fact that
his mission, while primarily to Presbyterians, it
is in no proper sense sectarian or proselyting; and
that it is his purpose to conform his activity in
every respect to the established regulations of the
college or university, so that he will not interfere
with the studies and recitations. And if mv
somewhat extended experience can be depended on
as a guide, the brother will find no men more appreciative
of his work than are the State's instructors.
They know full well that above all
qualifications for citizenship stands moral char
acfer, and that as a means for giving authority and
controlling power to the moral code, no text-hook
on ethics can compare with the religion of the
Bible. Let the confidence and co-operation of
the faculty, then, he hy all means sought, and
especially the personal help of the Christian men
in it.
"Nor should this messenger fail to secure the
PRESBYTERIAN OF THE SOI
rout Further Delay Provide
Presbyterian Youths in
le Higher Education
D. 1>., LL. 1>.
11 last issue.)
sympathy and eo-oueration ot tlu? C'ln-istians
among the students. The} can put linn in possession
of the real conditions that exist as to religion.
They can tell him who can he depended on
to lead in prayer, who can give aid in the singing,,
who can speak privately to their fellows on personal
religion. And when there is a V. M. C. A. or
V. W. C. A. let the co-operation of its olliccrs
and members be secured.
.N or should lie overlook 01 neglect sucii help as
may be found 111 the immediate environment ot
the college. The local pastors and Christian people
should be promptly advised us to his mission.
And their piayers, good will and co-operation
should be sought. For while these Christian 111111
inters and people do not in any wise render the
visits of the students' evangelist unnecessary, yet
when he comes they can help lam, and when he
goes away they can continue the good work.
And besides, tiie messenger ol Christ should also
look beyond the locality lor sueli Help as can be
found elsewhere. There arc gifts bestowed 011
ministers and other Christians, which once called
into action, might elfcct great good. Let the
search he made and the gilts should be put to
work for tiie Lord. One may be found specially
adapted to sermons or addresses for the young;
another muy be gilted in personal work with in
dividuals; another i'or speaking on themes thai
bear upon Christian citizensiiip; others capable
of a discourse before the whole college on the
evidences of Christianity, the proof for the existence
of an almighty, wise and good Creator,
viewed in the light of science and philosophy.
And if it should be true that tiie students' evangelist
himself possesses such gifts, especially the
last mentioned, he will lind such lectures, thoroughly
digested and made as condensed and brief
as may consist with perspicuity, greatly helpful in
opening liir way, both to the instructors and
students.
Hut let it he understood once lor ail that in his
own sermons and "talks" to these young people,
he must study to be brief and to the point. To
make a real sermon 01 "taik," that is worth listening
to not more than 20 minutes in its delivery, requires
more thorough preparation, as all of us
know, than is needed for a discourse nf twice Hint
length. But mere brevity will not of itself answer
with these somewhat fastidious collegians. The
"talk* must have instruction as well as rhetorical
form. Their text-books and their teachers call
their attention to these qualities of speech. Moreover,
this messenger must be content with small
audiences when the occasion requires it. Like his
Master, he must be willing and also able to give
the gospel to oue hearer at a time. Millions have
been edified by the Master's interview with Nicodemus
and with the woman at Jacob's well. And
in a far more limited degree, of course, the winning
of one college man 01 woman mav. in the
providence of God, lead multitudes to God. Probably
a large proportion of one's gains in this
peculiar field will be what has been termed "'handpicked
fruit," which, if less in quantity, is with
respect to quality of highest value.
And in conclusion, it seems clear to the writer
that the thoughts of this messenger and of those
who send him ought all the while be directed to
bringing the work for college men and woiuen into
some more permanent form. And so far as my
reading or observation may have extended, nothing
hitherto proposed seems to supercede the wise suggestion
put forth by Thomas Jefferson. His plan
JTU [July 30, 1913
was that the churches should place "Bible chairs'*
al the State institutions of higher education, but
not exactly in them. These "Bible chairs" should,
he thought, be equipped, maintained and conducted
wholly by the denomination, while the State furnishes
all the equipment needed for giving the
secular elements in education to her citizens. Thus,
he contended, those two great societies, the Church
and the State, remaining, according to the American
theory, entirely distinct from and independent
of eahc other, eun yet co-operate harmoniously in
securing the complete training of our youth, in
whom both have a deep and abiding interest.
Some years ago on a public occasion, President
Alderman was heard to say that one of these "Bible
chairs" was in* successful operation. in Thomas
Jefferson's noble university. And in conversation
with others it was learned that this chair, founded
by tiie Ohurcn of Disciples, otherwise styled the
r\\ 1 *> 1?- i '
uiinsuun vyiiurcii, was couuucieu 111 sucn a ni.winer
as to he entirely agreeable to other denominations.
And for reasons not known to the writer,
this branch of the Church has been moved to do
more of this work at .State universities in the
South than the rest of us. And everywhere the
same kind of things are said of them. North
of Mason and Dixon's line very much more
seems to have been done along the lines of Jefferson's
suggestion. At some of the larger universities
several "Bible chairs" have been established.
And they are found co-operating in entire accord
in giving spiritual care and instruction to.
students. Moreover, the relations between the "Bi
hie chairs" and the university are in many instances
so very cordial that the work done by them is accepted
by the university, and, viewed as attainments
made in literature, it receives full credit
on the student's diploma. The same credit is
given to work done in another nuiversity or in a
reputable preparatory school, though the institutions
remain entirely distinct, of course.
Regarded as a solution of the relations of an
American Commonwealth and the Church of
Christ, respectively, to the complete training of the
individual citizen, the great Virginian statesman's
plan seems to be a complete success. It assigns to
each society its appropriate share of the work and
calls them into a friendly co-operation which takes
away nothing from either. And as regards the
Church, it can be safely said to relieve it of a
heavy burden, both theological and financial. The
former consists in the plain difficulty of the Church
while acting under His "great commission" as recorded
in Mt. 28:19-20, from the somewhat labored
and perplexing effort of harmonizing the teach
ing of such secular subjects as biology, chemistry,
geology and political economy, with the
Lord's command expressed in the words, "Teaching
them in observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you." These things he certainly did
not teach. The financial burden, of course, is
raising large funds wherewith to equip, endow and
administer secular branches even though more religious
work like home and foreign missions must
be greatly curtailed.
line minor addition may be suggested to Jefferson's
great plan?the furnishing of really Christian
homes for our college men and women in the
foim of dormitories affording everything needed.
With regard to the usefulness of any one of
these "Bible chairs," very much as a matter of
course, depends on the qualifications of him who
occupies it; that is to say, upon his learning, his
teaching'ability, his personal magnetism, and his
f-onseeration to God's work. But precisely the
same thinsr i3 true of evorv nustoratp in nhristpn
(lorn, of every chair in a denominational college,
of every seat on the judicial bench or in Congress
and upon the occupants of the presidential chair
ilseif. And this i3 but another way of saying that
very much depends upon the ability, the fidelity
and conscientiousness of the electorate. The great