126 THE COLLEGE 



weakness, inefficiency, from those who look at the outside facts and 

 do not comprehend the inner spirit. But it is the only discipline 

 that fits the college stage of development; it does its work on the 

 whole effectively; it turns out as a rule loyal alumni, moral citizens, 

 Christian men. 



In its religious life the college should be as little as possible de- 

 nominational. The narrowness of sectarianism and the breadth of 

 the college outlook are utterly incompatible. Denominations may 

 lay the eggs of colleges; indeed, most of our colleges owe their in- 

 ception to such denominational zeal. But as soon as the college 

 develops strength it passes inevitably beyond mere denominational 

 control. Church schools are often conspicuous successes. Church 

 colleges are usually conspicuous failures. A church university is 

 a contradiction in terms. 



It is equally necessary that the college should be intensely Christian. 

 The administrative officer should believe in the power of the best 

 motives over the worst men and the application of great principles 

 to little things. He should know that persons are more than the acts 

 that they do. He should believe what most people practically deny, 

 - that a sinner can be saved and that he is worth saving. It is 

 only on such a profoundly Christian basis that a college can be suc- 

 cessfully conducted. A college which is not Christian is no college 

 at all. For the faithful, hopeful, loving treatment of persons 

 as free beings of boundless capacity and infinite worth is at once 

 the essence of Christianity and the distinguishing mark of the true 

 college. 



Christianity in the college, as everywhere else in the world, pre- 

 sents the two aspects which Jesus contrasted in the parable of the 

 two sons whom the father asked to work in his vineyard. There 

 is the conscious, professed, organized Christianity, which joins the 

 church and the association, attends and takes part in meetings, and 

 casts about to find or invent ways to make both the world and 

 one's self better than they otherwise would be. Sometimes, un- 

 fortunately, the Christian of this type neglects that devotion of 

 himself to such forms of good as are already established, - - the in- 

 tellectual tasks, the athletic interests, the social life, of the institution. 

 In that case the result is that, good as it means to be, good as in 

 many respects it is, this type of Christianity fails to be appreciated 

 by the majority of the students; the leadership of all forms of college 

 life passes into other hands, and this avowed, expressed, organized 

 Christianity lives at a poor dying rate, by faculty assistance and 

 student toleration. People who forget the lesson of the parable 

 that there are two types of Christianity, and confound this type with 

 the whole of Christianity, sometimes take a very discouraged view 

 of the condition of Christianity in our colleges. 



