Bible in Schools and Crime.

Auckland Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 55, 4 July 1887, Page 2

Bible in Schools and Crime.

(To the Editor.)

Sib, —As it appears to be the determination of certain persons to force in some -way the Bible into the schools, kindly allow a little plain talk to tho gentlemen concerned. At the meeting reported in Tuesday's Stab, Rev. MvHillsaid, " Out of the 578,000 persons in the colony, 452,000 were claimed by the Church of England, Presbyterians and Wesleyans. Juvenile crime had increased by 53, Ay.bile crime among adults had decreased ■Si per cent." Ml , Buchanan said, "They were in a free country, and had a right to educate their children as they wished ; 'and, what was more, they would have it," and said, " they only wanted permission, to have the Bible read, and not explained." How far this may be the " only want," time can only tell, if they should succeed in their efforts. When this question came up in Dunedin some five years since, the present writer was one of the ministerial gathering which had this matter under discussion. Certain Anglican clerics openly announced their determination not to be hindered from teaching their own dogmas, even Apostolic succession. But, sir, what is the evil complained of by Mr Hill, Button, Buchanan and others, and what is the cure proposed ? The evil is an increase of juvenile criminality, arising out of the absence of the Bible from the public 'schools, and a godless education as the result; the cure proposed is* the public reading of selected portions of Scripture without note or comment or explanation. They either mean just this, or they are drivel-

ling, one and all of them. Look, then, at Mr Hill's facts. We are are a people in number, some 578,000 persons, in these colonies, 452,000 of whom are members of the Anglican, Presbyterian and persuasions, and of the remaining 126,000, the vasb shoal of other "persuasions" ivill claim a very large proportion. These all, of course, have the unspeakable privilege of hearing the Bible publicly read in their churches and chapels and explained ! Being, of course, godly men and women, this vast number have the additional tremendous factor in their education of Bible-readings at home, to say nothing of Sunday-schools and other meetings, and in all of which the Bible is or may be explained. What is the result? —An increase of juvenile criming ality ! The cure for this is the most transparent piece of human simplicity this writer has seen for a long time, it is an unconscious proclamation, in the first place, that children are so straightforward, simple-hearted, and clear-headed that the only thing needed for their moral and spiritual ennobling is to hear the Divine Word read without note or explanation, and the work is, or has a good chance of being done. This surely gives the place of supreme honour to that Word of God which itself is "Spirit and Life,'"' but ifc'afc the stoic time declares that if this is its power -in the school, the ceaseless " explanations " of Mr Hill and the whole host of mutually contradicting "explainers" arc a shameful failure. I suggest to Mr Hill and nil his confreres that a meeting be called of all the ministerial corps, of all the " persuasions" in and around Auckland, from Bishop CWie to the humble Salvation Army " exhorter," and there:and then appoint someone to read the suitable portions of the Bible touching their miserable divisions and bickerings. It may be news to them that the Divine One, whom they profess to follow, once prayed in a very agony of earnestness that all his followers '"may be one." Let it be read without explanation, and read and re-read, and there will bo a fluttering in tho parsonic dovecot not seen for many a day. A short time ago, there appeared a leader in the Star, in which it was stated that of 238 children fallen into bad courses, 100 belonged to the Church of England (think of that, Mr Hill), and !M to tho Roman Catholics, 25 to the Presbyterians, 10 to the various Methodist bodies, 1 Baptist, 1 Congregationalist, and 1 Lutheran. All religious, and all victims of teachers who explain the Bible. A similar proportion of criminality attaches to tho above churches both in England and America, and that for many years past, from a report lying before me, I find the tabulated statements from 66 prisons, gaols, &c, in the United States of America ; the criminal element stands classified as follows, of men and women, boys and girls :—Out of 44,034 prisoners, 16,438 belong to the Roman Catholics, 9,975 to Church of England, Methodist 3,931,' Presbyterian 3,703, Baptist 240, Lutheran 92, Congregational 11, Jews 106. The remainder, scattered amongst many denominations, make the religious element a classified total of 41,343, out of 44,034, including one Chinaman and three scoptice. At a recent Roman Catholic mission held in Liverpool, it was stated that during 18S5 there were 13,070 Roman Catholics committed to the city prisons, and from the other denominations, 7,048. Talk about larrikinism an 4 juvenile criminality ; if such things are the fruit of the religious "green tree," what can you expect to find .in the "dry?" Mr McPherson, if memory is not at fault, at one of their Presbyterian gatherings a few months ago, made tho startling statement that a house -to - house visitation to ascertain the strength of Presbyterianism revealed the fact that about 6,000 people were of that persuasion, and divided about thus: 2,000g00d, faithful members ; 2,000 somewhat indifferent; and 2,000 lapsed ! From what had these wanderers " lapsed '!" Did they belong to the " sublapsarians " or " supralapsarians ?" At another of their ministerial gatherings Mr McPherson made the remark that the parents of the larrikin clement were found chiefly amongst the lapsed masses ! Are the lapsed Presbyterians the parents of the larrikin element ? It is in vain to bemoan the " lapsed " and " larrikin " condition of society, when the churches are so fruitful of evil and society tolerates and encourages public-houses at every street corner, and horse racing and gambling at almost every little village. The young are initiated into gambling in the churches. No more veritable gambling is done in the billiard saloon than in the "church bazaar." At home in England more than half of the public-house property in the kingdom is the property of the Church of England ; and many of the vilest dens of infamy also. Your own columns in ■ their ceaseless reports of "successful concerts," " fairs," etc., give evidence' that the churches of Auckland, whatever good or evil they are dding, are at least a perpetual "sponge" on the hard earnings of the people, and the results are—what ? Almost absolute sterility. How can it be otherwise when, in the short distance between Shelly Beach Road and Pitt-street corner we have some 14 different — irreconcilably different — somethings called churches ? But Ido not forget that all this is in porfect harmony with the Sacred Record, Acts xxix., where all these things aro specially commanded, and with the recently discovered third Epistls of Peter, iv. eh. 1-4 v. In these sacred writings they are exhorted thus :~"Be ye called ' Reverend,' and ' Right Reverend, , and ' Venerable,' and ' My Lord Bishop,' " and they are tenderly enjoined to take care of the nock, even the fleece of the flock—especially of the golden fleece. These writings,' however, are not for the eyes of the laity, that is, the clergy's lot, but for the clergy, who are the Lord's lot. Until these reverend gentlemen give evidence that they themselves understand the Gospel of Christ, at least enough to lead them to build up the one body of Christ, instead of mocking the world with their arrogant, pretentious, contradictory creeds, aud__ often shameful bickerings, until they cease to corrupt our youno , people with their gambling church mil's, and until they are ready to enter with united , hearts and hands into the work of sapping up the sources of sin, sorrow, aiid suffering all around us, instead of building up rival and hostile sects— let them cease bewailing tarrikinism and the absence of the Bible from the common schools ; let them cease to be, what Edward Miall long ago laid to their charge, '' seekers to be respectable rather than useful." The vast sums of raonojr put into their hands by the people ougnfc to have a different result. The conviction grows that it is. almost high time that as " clergy," as "explainers" of the Bible, they " stepped down and out," and give both in the schools and in the churches the New Testament unexplained a chance.—Yours,' etc., H. Exley.