Only gradually does “the-world-as-a-vale-of tears” and “the-remnant-that-shall-be-saved” idea give place to a faith that claims for God the entire world with its present life as well as individual immortality in future felicity.  Miracle and cataclysm and postmortem glory—­the ever-ready recourse of baffled hope and persecuted Christianity—­are giving place more and more to a Christian conquest that is orderly and inclusive of the whole sweep of human life.  The church is but dimly conscious, as yet, that through the aid of science she has attained this magnificent optimism; much less does she realize its full implication for social service and the saving of the individual, both body and soul.

The minister as the herald and exemplar of such an imperial salvation cannot ignore the exceptional opportunities which the play interests of boyhood offer.  He whose task has been to reconcile men to God, to bring them into harmony with the universe in its ultimate content, cannot neglect those activities which more than anything else in the life of the boy secure the happy co-ordination of his powers, the placing of himself in right relation with others and in obedience to law.  These are the moral and religious accomplishments aimed at in the teaching of reconciliation which bulks so large in Christian doctrine; and by whatever means this right adjustment to self, to others, and to the will of God is brought about, it always produces the sure harvest of service and joy.

To some undoubtedly it will seem sacrilegious to suggest that play can have anything to do in a transaction so deeply moral and so fundamentally religious.  Yet a psychological analysis of both play and worship at their best will reveal marked similarities in spontaneity, in self-expression for its own sake and free from ulterior ends, in symbolism, semi-intoxication and rhythm, in extension and enrichment of the self, and in preparation for the largest and most effective living.  That such a claim is not altogether extravagant may be demonstrated in part by canvassing the moral reactions of a well-organized group engaged in some specific game.  For in merely discussing the play attitude, which is applicable to every interest of life, there is the danger of so sublimating the value of play that its importance, while readily granted, will not affect pastoral or educational methods.  This mistake is only comparable with another which dwells upon the religious life of the boy as dependent upon the use of some inherent religious faculty that is quite detached from the normal physical and mental processes.  Such an attitude favors an easy escape from both the labor of character building and the obligations of environmental salvation.  Recognizing these dangers and remembering that morality and religion are most valid when acquired and incorporated in actual conduct, one may analyze a standard game in search of its ethical worth.