MANY QUESTIONS.

Southland Times, Issue 25307, 10 June 1935, Page 5

MANY QUESTIONS.

To the Editor. Sir, —In your issue of the Ist inst Mr Niederer writes giving his reasons for the view that Bible reading should not be introduced into our schools. The gist of his argument is that the child will ask questions which the teacher will be unable to answer. The same argument could be applied to the teaching of almost any subject. For instance, the child would ask: What was before the beginning of the Universe? Whence comes the power of gravitation? - (physical geography). What is Life? What is Death? What makes plants grow upward to the light? (botany). What and where was the beginning of man? Are we different from the animals? (history). Could a teacher give a more definite and final answer to these childish questions than to the “perplexities” quoted from the Bible? All life is a “puzzle,” and it is the endeavour to satisfy the urge to search out reality or the “unknown” and “unknowable” which will develop the mind (whatever mind is) of Mr Niederer’s child. All this is quite apart from the literary and ethical merits of the Bible. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.—l am, etc. “STILL A CHILD.”