TEN COMMANDMENTS

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 485, 15 October 1928, Page 13

TEN COMMANDMENTS

*■ PARTS COULD BE e DELETED FOR CHILDREN g l d e NEW CATECHISM WANTED What was referred to by members as one of the most vital measures that had been placed - before the Church for a consider--0 able time was a proposal brought J forward by Canon Percival James 3 that a supplementary catechism be e provided for use in the Auckland r Diocese. The suggestion was 1 adopted by the Diocesan Synod on t Friday. Speakers said that while it was admitted that its adoption would mean the sounding of the death-knell of the present catechism for all practical purposes, the new and simplified book would at last enable children to understand what they were called upon to believe. Archbishop Averill completely agreed with the scheme, and a special commission will compile the new catechism for his approval. Canon James said one of the Church’s greatest problems was that of educating the young, but the great difficulty among children was the lack of definite knowledge as to what the actual teachings of the Church were. A great part of the adherents of the Church did not know what they should believe and why they should believe certain things. It was to overcome this difficulty that he brought forward his proposal. He proposed that a new catechism should comprise about 150 questions and answers, simple and direct, which could be used for early training. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS The learning of the Ten Commandments by rote was cited by Canon James as an instance of the present system of instruction. There were manv passages that he did not think desirable or even necessary for children. He certainly did not think it necessary to teach children that the sins of the fathers would be “visited' upon the third and fourth generations ” .Neither could he understand why in the Tenth Commandment, it should be found necessary at the conclusion to I class a man’s wife with his ox and his maidservant. People who went to church for years did not understand the meaning of many words they heard year after year, and the significance of such words as grace, salvation, absolution, catholic and sanctification were almost entirely lost. It had been suggested the ■should wait for a lead from England, but England had been debating the ! question since 18S6, and had got no further ahead. The education of the young was essential. The motion was seconded by the Rev. H. T. Steele, of Whangarei, who said that children were taught many things in Sunday Schools that had no direct bearing on the life they were called upon to lead. Archbishop Averill said it was merely desired to make the catechism intelligible and not to revise the old catechism, even if it were posible to j do so. j Canon James said, although he was i sounding the death-knell of the present catechsim for all practical purposes, it J would still be taught to children when ! they could understand it properly. The ! necessity for a new catechism was ! shown by the use at present being ! made of so many unauthorised books, j The resolution was adopted with applause.