Material which may be omitted.—­This point of view implies the omission, at least from the earlier part of the child’s religious education, of much material from different parts of the Bible; these irrelevant sections or material not suited to the understanding of childhood may remain for adult study.

For example, we may leave out such matter as the following:  The detailed account of the old Hebrew law as given in Leviticus; much of the Hebrew history which has no direct bearing on the understanding of their religion; details of the institution of the passover, and other ecclesiastical arrangements; the philosophy of the book of Job; genealogies which have no especial significance nor interest; the succession of judges and kings; dates and chronological sequences of no particular importance; any stories or matter clearly meant to be understood as allegory or myth, but which the child would misunderstand, or take as literal and so get a mistaken point of view which later would have to be corrected; the theology of Paul as set forth in his letters; matter which shows a lower state of morality than that on which we live; and such other matter as does not have some direct and discoverable relation to the religious knowledge, attitudes, and applications which should result from the study.

After all such material of doubtful value to the child has been omitted, there still remains an abundance of rich, inspiring, and helpful subject matter.

The principle on which to select material from the Bible is clear:  Know what the child is ready for in his grasp and understanding; know what he needs to stimulate his religious imagination and feeling and further his moral and religious development.  Then choose the material accordingly.

Bible material for earlier childhood.—­For the period of earlier childhood (ages three or four to eight or nine) we shall need to omit all such material as deals with the broader and deeper theory of religion.  This is not the time to teach the child the significance of the atonement, the mystery of regeneration, the power of faith, nor the doctrine of the Trinity.  Those sections of the Bible which deal with such far-reaching concepts as these must wait for later age and fuller development.

The child is now ready to understand about God as the Creator of the earth and of man; he is ready to comprehend God as Father and Friend, and Jesus as Brother and Helper; he is ready to learn lessons of obedience to God, and of being sorry when he has done wrong; he is therefore ready to understand forgiveness; he is ready to learn all lessons of kindliness, truthfulness, and honesty, and of courage; he is ready to learn to pray, and to thank God for his care and kindliness.  The Bible material taught the child should therefore center upon these things.  The simple, beautiful story of the creation; stories of God’s love, provision, and protection and of Christ’s care for children; incidents of heroic obedience and of God’s punishment of disobedience; stories of forgiveness following wrongdoing and repentance; stories of courage and strength under temptation to do wrong; lessons upon prayer and praise and thanksgiving—­this is the kind of material from the Bible which we should give our children of this younger age.