s fall and need of redemption,
the wonder and significance of the atonement, and gracious effects of
divine regeneration working in the heart--all of which he needs finally
to know--but _not as a child just beginning the study of religion_. The
child must arrive at the general plan of salvation through realizing the
saving power at work in his own life; he must come to understand the
fall of man and his need of redemption through meeting his own childhood
temptations and through seeing the effects of sin at work around him; he
must understand the atonement and regeneration through the present and
growing consciousness of a living Christ daily strengthening and
redeeming his life.

Chronological organization.--The _chronological_ order of material is
desirable at the later stages of the child's growth and development. But
in earlier years the time sequence is not the chief consideration. This
is because the child's historical sense is not yet ready for the concept
of cause and effect at work to produce certain inevitable results in the
lives of men or nations.

The sequence in which certain kings reigned, or the order in which
certain events took place, or in which certain books of the Bible were
written is not the important thing for early childhood. At this time
the great object is to seize upon the event, the character or the
incident, and make it real _and vital_; it is to bring the meaning of
the lesson out of its past setting and attach it to the child's
immediate present.

Psychological organization.--It is the _psychological_ organization of
material that should obtain both in the curriculum as a whole and in the
planning of the individual lessons. We must not think, however, that a
psychological order of material necessarily makes it illogical. On the
other hand, the arrangement of material that takes into account the
child's needs is certain to make it more logical _to him_ than any adult
scheme or plan could do. That is most logical to any person which most
completely fits into his particular system of thought and understanding.
If we succeed in making our plan of presenting material to the child
wholly psychological, therefore, we need not be concerned; all other
questions of organization will take care of themselves, and _the
psychological will constantly tend to become logical_.

What is meant by a psychological method of arranging material for
presentation has already been discussed (Chapter III). Suff