THE RELIGIOUS DIFFICULTY IN EDUCATION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14447, 13 February 1909, Page 4

THE RELIGIOUS DIFFICULTY IN EDUCATION

Hi- li, w.

iv.—the alleged atheism, nr. .AIOUAUTY, AXIJ INTOMiUANCH OK Ol'it PI'ISMO SCHOOL SYSTKM: AUK 'nil', liOMAN CATHOLIC CHANCES THUE?

Srd—TITE AI.LKUKD ATHEISM OF 01*11 ITIiLIC SUIIOUI, SVSTKM. Tli'.i |iiu-ii-<! "Our no-Cud Niliools" Hows Glibly Ji'oiii tlio li|M of :i certain Kc!ir>ol of Our sysiwn i.; tliouri'ticilly

'"fii.vul-.tr," whatever ihat may mean; but the New South V.'ale-., syste.ni in some reb|«ci,! resembles Ihe old (lingo syslein-it has the liible anil prayer and the open deer lor the minister of religion; and yet the distinguished Fatiiur Hciniel-org said, according to the Sydney Mail report, that "such luou as l'iirkcs and those, who voted for him will bo damned in such a hell for tho scandal they have put upon religion by voting for such a law." Tho public .schools, according to liennebr.rg. were distinelly anti-Christian. Tho worthy editor of tho Tabb I simply repeats the commonplace.; of bis school when he says, in so many word,, Hint the Hug of Atheism (lies over our schools, mid. tho fhg u f f.'hrht has been pulled down. IIi s words are:

"Thirly ye, V s ago tho New Zealand Co-wi-iuiiwil. found tho || a .r 0 f Christ, || v j„g upcn Ihe schools. It tool; the flag down'. 15y a po.sifivo and fcimal onaelment. it in elfect, bauisln-1 (!,,,! from the place, which, on Christian principles, He holds by natural right." 1 dealt in my first article in the Tunes with Iho misrepreseulalion of history ill this slafoinenl. I wish now lo show that it i :; a slander oii s onr school syfitem. Are our whtols atheistic? Is Dr'Clcary's Pblcmeni thai "God is banished." from our schools— true? An answer lo this qltestiou can li-. got. | n - lookiie/-(l) (it the teaching flalf; 12) at the 10-sou hooks. J. Willi regard to the teachers. Must they I" K-eiilanVls <■', the a'Aeistic stamp, or even of the ff. ,J, Holvoako kind? I have come in contact, with a. very large number of our public school teachers, and I ii'-vor met n " secularist " of that kind a »»«iS them; further, I may say that, f never met a Iwielior oppo-ed lo' reli«ion, and nearly all Ihat 1 have known have !,«n n;-,-n ami ipnra of a. very high | vpo oi CurisLiau chamcler. Some lime ii"o a young man applied to a Christian ~]m lx. |, tor iiieiula rship. and it. came out in 00111=0 of Ins sinlomont lo tho mini.sler tluit. ho iu<l been led U> lake a decided stand as a (hrisliau m.-in through the high type of eharael-T of his rdlow leacliers, Are. W" <o |K a.v thai a school will, such an at mo" "peer:' is a. school from which "Cod is banished." All over Ihe country the rank and lib of our |„dilir. school leacliers ave j.ol men who svorn tho flpiritual side of lite, hut men who vultio it and foster j| there may 1.-e exceptions here and there but whal ] b:ne said is lr lw , r cnerally. J rohably i|. v.-ouhl I*, found, if the teachin-, s'flll 'M our Dunedin public G( ..| lo o|s were nnr.-lmlM alon-side Ihe clerical (lor.uneinlors of our public schools, if we Jiad tne power of vision, Ihat in moral and rcl.irinus «•„,.,I, lll( , | ( ~,,|l ((re wpr(j in uay !.-ehind tl,» c-lesiastirs. The mcro preseni-e of .-,ii ecelcsiaslie in a school does not mean Ihat Cod is specially present; the absence of Ihe ecclesiastic decs not mean the ab<Mice of Hod.

2. With regard lo lesson hooks in our public schools: Are I boy compiled to conform lo an Afheisiic or Agnoslie creed' Are our school books aJili-refigious or even lion-religion-! 1 will lei Kir llohort Stout answer lh-,1 question. On July 21, 1235, wnen speaking In the House of iicprofonlatiyes as Mi under (l f Kihicalioti, .he said: lo the object ion to our fsvslem, that religion is nof taught, I would first say. from a secular point of view, that hero oimoflhe !,!.,:„ 0 „ ,„„. sv , to .„ is disclosed; lor religion is tatighf. Our system is sup-po.-'d lo l:o free, seculltl", ,'imi c'ominilsory. .11 is free, it is compulsory in many (lisIruls, hnf I do nof know that it is recular iii any one. Our school books are full of weal may be Tonned religious lessons. If one lakes up Nelson's Kuyal Header, which is I lie se.re-s of school books in greatest use throughout Iho colony, ho will iiud, on page after page, religious lessons." Sir 'Jioborl Slilut w.-nt on to cite what lie called a few examples, and ho mentioned '?A h'SSoi:-:.

Our less,,!, p, 00 | ;s ] mvn rtlnn j n! , fl ]ro „, r ], fliem valu.-d,!.-. leaching of a ' distincf.lv nirrsluin kind. One- of our leacliers lias furnished mo with a li«it_ wilh about two (leoro of allusions In religion in the series u-"d in Ilunedin 10-day. I havn before me one of our le.-son books and two ltoniau ('alholic books of religious inslruclion for young people. I,et me make exlracls from tleve ihree hooks, and rai«.e Ihe question which of fhesc books am lh« most likely fo do good. I lake the Southern Cross IseHih-r No. 4, used in our schools, from which l).r (.'lean- saw "(led is banished." .1 find in ils .Mrs llemans's " Hotter Land" and other poems distinctly religious and Cbrrsihin. Take ihe following exirtict from Lowell.—

1 bad a lilllf. clmurlifcr. Awl "he WHS given 1(> 1110 To kv.d me gently backward To the Hcnvon'v Knlhor's knee; Tiu*: I, by fore;' of Nature. Jiighf. in some dim wise, divine The denlli of Kis inliniU. patience Tn this wayward siml of mine. Or tnkt* the opoiiii'ig words from a fc-\=on On obedience :~ Ob.diciuo is o duty which every child owes t.'j its parents. 'This in the' Divine command: " Honour thy father and thy mother"; and again, " Olu>y your parent's in all things." Tho conlouis of (.In; lesson books give a crushing contradiction to the statement. that "(.!<i(l has been Iwnished" from our schools. 1 turn now to the two volitions lesson books of l)i- Cleary's Church. The books w.'.ro purchased in Duiiodiii some years ago. Tho one in entitled "nooks for Cliiklfoli Jin l'irsl Communions, Minions. IMrents, Sunday .School-;, hy the Ilev. .1. Kumiss, ('..S.S.K. Stipi-iionini peruu'rtu," and pubJUied by iV wcll-knowi Ho.naii Catholic publishers. Dully ami Co., Dublin. Iloro is tho wiiv Vallier b'tirniss teaches ihe chil«livn t.» !«.vo and respect, tlioir folhnvWiriilians: "fiiulc children, they want you 1o conic to Iho S~ui|>ors' School in order Ui iiwlv' you a Protestant. I; cannot be lxvuise th'.'y believe Mm Protestant religion to h> tin- religion of Jesus Christ that they v.ajn i,i make von a Protestant: for thcy l;nw right well that flie Pri.tc-tiuit religion ■was made, no: by Jesus Christ, hilt 15C0 years afterwards by a. wicked man called Luth'.'r, who broke his vows to flod and «!iifosi"d thai he umlo tho Protestant re-li-ion i<> 1'!«;>" tin* devil and ."pile tho IV.'." p. 10, Hook XIII. Hero is another extract from Father Kumiss, lie gives tho rliiWro.ii in lloox X a. sicht of IMI. He

;:ivis first the Eeocrapliv of ll.'il and then iKseribos the fire. the lUrkliess, tbo smoke, tile noise. ;miil the snmll of Hell. He take.-, the children through the various dim-

!;co„< ,-f Hell. IK' asks th. Mii ..11 i>a<:c 19 io "Look into this room. Wh.it a dreadfill place it is! The roof is rod hot; tlio v.v.li.. are iv.l hot: the floor is ll tliii-tc shoo!■ <.f rod-hot iron. See, on the middle of ilia' ml-eot floor stands ;v grrj. .She. looks about JO y.'ivrs old. Her foci arc. !tu>' . . . h"r bare foot .'.land <m iho lV\il, ' t.ool; jii my burnt and bleeding foot. Lot m-.'oil' [or one moment.' ''No,' says iho lk'vil, 'not for one (angle. ii'.oni.iKt. daring the nover-cnding eternity, of years shall you over leavo this red-hot floor.'"' Tho-v awful logons, worthy of a. madhouse, arc spread over 5?. paws. The dhr Ik-o'c I have Mori' mo is "The Catechism ..I I'orM'vvM'aiice,'' from tlio FivneU of .Mi'-' (iinttno. ft. i.s eordiullv rccom-mo-i'.'d hy ilio laic Canlin.il Culler., o' Dublin, and four American Bishops as

", dcii'mod to impart .solid historical, lilurgiivt, moral, and doctrinal iustjwiiou in an agreeable form, and particularly well suited for the purixvc of Jiigher religious i:t-;nu'tion in Catholic schools r.ud academic,." As tlio historical part of this Ivol; is mentioned first in this eulogy, T I urn Io it. On lia-iro 32 Luther's life is s!;olcb.'.l. and Ihe .■.'ketch ends thus: "After having lived a scandalous life, ho died on leaving the bible wlk.ii he had as usual gorged bim.-'oif wrlli and meats." In the steic.li of Calvin we learn that ho had " biuiii to deatJi MioJiael Servotus. who had (lie (ourago to dilt'er from hini. and, finally died himself of a shameful disease." On the following i>ngo w read as follows:' " In order to show thai Prototaittism is a false rolicion, or rathej- no religion at all, :( could be Kiillicienl. to bear in mind: j'V.-i. ilrat it. was CNlahliimod by four great lilvrii:"-.-.: ioe:.:id. that it owes its orbrin to the love of honours., wvi'totwiess of tho jto;>'!.-s ~.' (.'there, and the love- of sensual p'cas-.irv:-, ibveo tbings forlmldeji by the (.;<>:<;>l; third, that it permit'; you to be'ievo ,vhat'>ver you please, and to do -.vli.v.ever you lyliove: that it. has caused inirn-M!.-» (>\'Af. ilL'htg..'d Germany, France, Swii:'.-.'jk!!id. and Kagland with blood: it, loads to impiotv. and dually k. imlinVwnr.", the source of all revolutions past atid prejvio. \\'t\ must therefore lie on our guard ••"■'■ins! ■!h(i.--o who preach it. and cherish a jorwr fur tiro Iwis.jviiioU djsscmiijate. it."

These extracts can speak for Ihemselvoi. II tlrre Iwoks are still circulated with tho aulliorty of the prckrics of the Church it will be diflicith io fee how eit,hcr the causa of Cod or man will he hehj. .1 by them. Whatever grievance our Koman C'aliic-iic brethren may think tliey labour itmbr. relief will no! come by the way of hurling harsh and untrue <-jum againi-l ins.filnliens that at" doing good work in the kind. Our educational syslem is o|teit lo Ice/iiimaro criticism, ami open lo room for improvement. It .is absurd. Tor «xainp!", that asjyem that is practically f!hriati.in should he ever oi>oti to all th" taunts <if being either anti-religious or anli-ChrisuaJi. There is an iiiccnsistoncy hero that should be removed.