474                 A. M. E. REVIEW.

"Christian," is therefore the center of all the discussion on
this question, and the Church must not seek to evade or to
minimize the real issue. She must not be disturbed by the
accusation that she is intolerant or narrow, because she will
not for one moment ignore the Kingship of her Lord "as
the Way, the Truth, and the Life."  "Other foundation can
no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ."  The
Church is an open dogmatic advocate of the reality of the
spiritual, the unseen, the eternal, and she cannot agree that
any education is proper, or fair, or just to her children
which does not make God in Christ and man's relation to
him, to-day, to-morrow, and forever, fundamental facts and
motives in all schemes of education, and all character devel-
opment. Christ is the Head of all things to his Church, and
a genuine Church of Christ can never agree that her chil-
dren shall be given over to a system of education, either by
the State or by private individuals, which talks sweetly of
"religious education," and yet minimizes or ignores Christ
as the Hope, the Pattern, the Saviour of men.
  The condemnation of Belshazzar was, "The God in whose
hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou
not glorified." At the close of his wonderful oration, the
angel of God smote Herod "because he gave not God the
glory;" and that system of education cannot, indeed will
not, be commended or approved by the Church of God which
does not have as its foundation principle, "Wherefore,
whether ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the
glory of God," and which does not properly relate the powers
and the work of life to the eternal life with the eternal God.
  It is not strange, therefore, that with such a mission, and
with such a conception of education, the Church, through all
of her history, has declared that it is her duty to own, con-
trol, and support her colleges for the proper training of her
young life.
   Has the Church in the past life of our country shown edu-
cational efficiency?  Has her work been a hindrance or a
help to the cause of education?  Even  our  most  hostile




			

OHS/National Afro-American Museum & Cultural Center Serial Collection

African Methodist Episcopal Church Review, Vol. 28, Num. 1

Volume:  28
Issue Number:  01
Date:  07/1911