BIBLE IN SCHOOLS

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 144, 15 December 1913, Page 2

BIBLE IN SCHOOLS

CHURCH SUNDAY CANON GARLAND AT ST. JOHN'S. In most of the Anglican and Nonconformist Churches, as well as at the Salvation Army places of worship, in Wellington, Potone, and the Hutt, reference was made yesterday to the Bible-in-schools movement. At St. John's Church, in the evening, tho organiser of the movement, Rev. Canon Garland, preached, taking for his text, from St. Paul's second epistle to the Thessalonians : "Brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with us." "That message is applicable to-day,*^ said the preacher. "Throughout the whole of tho Dominion a great body were praying that tho word of the Lord might have free course, and that tho restriction preventing the story of Jesus Christ being taught in the schools might be removed. They should be thankful to God for tho spirit of unity which was being shown on the subject in this Dominion by the different Churches. He emphasised the fact that the words of the Education Act which said that education should bo entirely secular was the teaching of dogmatic secularism^ Sir Oliver Lodge, in his epochmaking address to tho British Association this year, had said that those who made denials were just as likely to bo wrong as those who made assertions j in fact, denials were assertions thrown into negative form, and the denial of the Bible to the children in the schools was an assertion that the State said, with all its weight behind it, that the Bible had no place in their lives. Dr. Fitchett, of - Melbourne, ono of the most successful educationalists in the Southern Seas, represented that secularism was as much a creed as was the Westminster Convention or the Thirty-nine Articles. Speaking on the question of the introduction of tho Bible into the schools, another great authority, Matthew Arnold, had said : 'Its introduction to the schools is the only chance for saving the one uplifting and inspiring element in the scanty instruction of our primary schools from being sacrificed to a politico- religious ■ difficulty." Dealing with the contention that the State had nothing to do with religion, Canon Garland quoted examples from ancient history, English history, and modern practice to show that the State was concerned with religion, and that the Bible had a recognised place in our national life, except in the primary State schools. The teachings of the Bible were included in the English Constitution by the King, and not by the Church. It was the State which saw that the Bible was placed in the hands of the Earl of Liverpool as ( a means by which he assumed his position as representative of the King. It was the State whose highest judicial functionary, clad in his official robes, was responsible for this recognition of the Bible, an incident which became significant, said Canon Garland, when it waa remembered that the Chief Justice was at ono time president of the Rationalist Association, and as Minister of Education had said in Parliament that the references to God which remained in the children's school books were a blot on the national system of education. The State also introduced the Bible into Parliament, into the hands of the Judges, into the gaojs, etc. It was only in their primary schools that it was excluded. It was even found in all tho Maori Stato schools. C&non Garland concluded with an earnest appeal to his hearers to pray that the word of the Lord might havo free course in the hands of their children in their school-books, that it might be glorified by the fruit of their lives in righteousness and true holiness. Canon Garland' also preached in the morning at St. Paul's Pro-Cathedral, and in the afternoon addressed the children assembled for their annual festival in the Salvation Army Citadel. METHODIST CHURCH. At the Donald-M'Lean-street Methodist Church, in the morning the Rev. J. Ward, who preached on the subject, referred to tho fact that in the days of the old Provincial Governments the Bible was taught in the schools, and stated that it had been cut out by tho General Government without consultation with the people. Education covered moral, as well as literary, training. To give literary without moral teaching was to give only half an education, and left out tho more important half. Some parents, it was said, objected to \hmt children receiving Bible instruction, but by means of a conscience clause they could prevent that instruction being imparted. In some districts in Australia where a similar system was adopted, tho number of parents who objected did not exceed 1 per cent., and I in no district did it exceed 5 per cent. SALVATION ARMY. At the Salvation Army Citadel, in yivian-etreet, Brigadier Hoare (National Young People's secretary) conducted tho service in the morning, Speaking on the Bible-in-school question, ho said: "There can be no question in our mind as to the desirability of the children receiving Scripture instruction in tho schools of our land, and the Salvation Army is in fufi accord with the proposals put, forth by the Bible-in-Schoofs League." Speaking from personal experience, he could say that many of tho fears entertaihed by those in opposition to the proposals would be found in actual fact to be groundless. "For a number of years I Was the Army's Young People's Secretary for the State of New South Wales," said the brigadier, "and my duties as such took me frequently to schools in all parts of that State. I found that, generally speaking, the system was held in high esteem by parents, teachers, and religious bodies. I have no hesitation in saying that such will bo tho experience of New Zealand in days to come." ' Special services were held in Wesley Church, Petone. The morning preacher was Mr. J. Jacobson, who spoke on I "the groundlessness of tho objections" 1 to tho movement. The Rev. J. J. Lewis preached in the evening, and showed that the only hope of getting the Biblo back into the primary schools was by 1 accepting a platform on which the leading Churches could unite. Those advocating other systems were weakening tho cause by splitting the vote. (BY TELEGRAPH— rREBS ASSOCIATION.) WANGANUI, 14th December. The Anglican, Presbyterian, and Methodist Churches and the Salvation Army held Bpecial services to-day in connection with the Bible-in-sohools propaganda.