ARE WE PAGANS?

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 6495, 15 April 1908, Page 7

ARE WE PAGANS?

BISHOPS AND CLERGY TO BLAME. AN OUTSPOKEN VICAK. AUCKLAND, .April 13. The Rev. William Beatty, vicar of St. Mark's. Roinuera. always a plain-spoken preacher and a fearless critic, stated in a sermon last niglit that if people aro becoming pagans the bishops and clergy aro to blame. "I am riuito convinced," lie said, "that the main responsibility for the exclusion of religious teaching from the ipunlic schools of the Dominion lies at the door of religious people in general, and of miuisteis of religion in particular. It is a matter of history that endcuvnieuts for educational purposes were misused or perverted by different religious bodies, and that grants of money were secured by dishonest means, it is a matter of experience that religious divisions and the ill-will, jealousy, suspicion, and contempt which liow. fioni them, hinder any general agreement in tho direction of a safe and efiiirient method for providing religious instruction in tho public schools, and it is well-known that mi:iiste « of religion in general make no attempt to avail themselves of the opportunities afforded under tho present Education Act for Scriptural teaching outside school hours, but .prefer to declaim in the press, in tho pulpit, or on the platform against the defects of the law. to exaggerate the evils, and depreciate the benefits of tho existing system. In my judgment the agitation for the introduction of the Bible into the schools is largely insincere and artificial, and little solid earnest conviction behind it."

"There is very little evidence." continued Mr Bearty, "that ministers of :eli™ion themselves know the Bible, reverence it, seek to understand or obey it. If they did .they would see and confess the evils of religious divisions, and th 'y would set themselves to repent of their own sins and amend their owti faults, instead of attacking others; for the Bible all through bears witlires that the spiritual and moral condition of a nation depends upon tho spiritual and moral rendition of religious teachers and professors; that the sins of the priest are the chief causes of tho sins of the people; that judgment must begin from the House of God."

H,a went on to remark that if what was called secular education was serious'ly defective it did not follow that what was called religious education must necessarily be good and wholesome. That depended entirely upon the nature of the religion taught, as there had always been religious teaching that was false, superstitious, irrational, which enfeebled the'mind, and perverted tho conscience, which bred hypocrisy, dishonesty, cowardice, slavishnees, inhuinaiiity, and contempt of others. "For my own part," declared Mr Beatty, "I say deliberately that I would rather send a child to a school where he received no religious teaching at all, but where, by precept, example and infuence, lie was trained to be truthful, honest, obedient, brave, unselfish, and public-spirited, than send him to ( a seminary where his mind was filled with religious trivialities-, where the principles of abject submission to human authority vrere inculcated, and where he was encouraged to consider himself nossessed of exclusive spiritual privileges, and to hate or despise those who held different rites of worship. A child might be taught at home to love God, thus euipplying *aome of the deficiencies of secular education, but no parentcould reasonably hope to correct the subtle and profoundly demoralising influences of bad religious Nn child need grow tin a pagan even if ho do"s not learn the Bible at school, but if T hud to choose between the two I would rather hi an honeist. kindly, useful, manly pagan titan a crooked, pbnfflino'. treacherous, cruel pharisee. So far ns my experience goes, most parents in New Zealand desire their children to receive a religious training in oublic schools, and in private schools tiihin classes, conducted bv Christian ministers, are freely attended hy children of all denominations, and no righfTiinded man would take advantage of tho oonortunity to draw children from fhn of th-ir fr.+iioT=. to win proselvtes to his own body." "The religious difficulty," he eoncludnd. "which originally called into existence, and still maintains the system of secular education is mainly due to the want of confidence oetween the ministers of the various Christian bodies, Jind the want of. confidence on +h° nart of the nnWic in» ministers frpnernllv. Tf Hi f> peonle are becoming paqrans it is l-d«hOTis and clergy who are d-oing most to make and to k. »n them pagans."