SUNDAY READING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 184, 21 December 1912, Page 2 (Supplement)

SUNDAY READING.

BIBLE IN SCHOOLS. Sermon preached by Rev. T. H. Roseveare in St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church. ''Thou shalt diligently teach these laws unto thy children."—Deuteronomy, 6-7. The most effectual way of making our children good, upright and moral is by teaching them the principles of Christianity. Our present standard of morality has been attained as the result of the Christian religion. It is quite true that other religions have their moral precepts, but these are imperfect, and often hidden away among much that is of a very contrary nature. The Christian religion is satisfied with an ideal of nothing less than perfection. After this ideal men have been striving for generations, and are as yet but in the process of attaining. Still, we have to thank the Christian religion for the highest morality that we know. It was from this source that we learned the value.of individual life, and came to see that no person has any right to use another perI son as a means to an end, whether that end be for pleasure or profit. Out of this moral and fundamentally Christian principle arose the campaign against slavery, and concubinage, and the sacred st-ate of matrimony wag held in greater honor. The conditions of women's life were completely altered, and child life was preserved. Out of Christianity, too, has grown the spirit of brotherhood with all its attendant social benevolence, and sense of justice. Disputes are not now settled by means of duels, but in courts of law, and the time is coming when national disputes will not be settled by war but by peaceful arbitration. Much more of our social and individual morality we owe to our religion, but we must pass on.

The.text book of Christianity is the Bible. The moral principles are all contained in that book, and if we wish our children to be moral then "we shall diligently teach these laws unto thy children." Benjamin Franklin once said: "I think Christ's system of morals and religion as He left them with us, the best the world ever saw, or is likely to see." Thomas Jefferson said: "The studious perusal of the sacred volume will make better citizens, better fathers, better husbands." Professor Huxley also said: "I must confess that T have been seriously perplexed to know by what practical measures the religious feeling, which is the essential basis of moral conduct, is to be kept up without the use of the Bible.'" Such opinions from such men are worthy of grave consideration in the above connection.

A PURELY SECULAR EDUCATION i INCOMPLETE.

, For a long time the importance of mental training has been recognised, and great care has been taken that a suitable selection of lessons should foe made for this purpose. But in time it was recognised that the child is more than mind, and that the body should be carefully developed as well, and so gymnastics and extension exercises were introduced, and now we are making provision to have medical inspection of our school children to see that their teeth, and eyes are not defective. But even yet our educational system does not cover the whole ground of the child's nature for we are from the beginning religious beings. Shall we not. then, do something to train the religious side of the child's nature? We do not want to produce merely counting machines, but well-developed men and women.

It may be claimed that morality is taught. But why, I ask, do we hold up the heroes and heroines of history as concrete examples of nobility of character and .refuse to place the picture of Jesus Christ before the child mind? At best, our system in this respect is sadly defective.

THE NELSON SYSTEM. But have not the churches always been at disagreement over the religious lessons that shall be given to the children? Yes, that was true until what is known as the Nelson system was introduced. That is the system under which Bible instruction is given in our New Plymouth schools. The various ministers of all the Protestant Churches visit the schools and give the children a Bible (lesson for half an hour a week. So far as this system goes, it works perfectly harmoniously. But there are certain serious defects in the system. In the first place, to say nothing of the small amount that can be taught in half-an-hour a week, it is impossible for country ministers to visit all the schools in their districts, especially where there are five or six schools to one minister as is often the case.

Again, Ministers have the night to give this lesson only on condition that first the Board giants permission, and secondly the school committee grants permission for him to do so. The conscience is that whole areas are deprived of Bi'jle lessons altogether. This is not as it should be. And some system must be adopted to get over the difficulty of ministers going cap in hand to I ask permission to give religious instruction in the schools.

THE NEW SOUTH WALES SYSTEM. There has beon recently formed in New Zealand a Bible in State Schools' League, whose executive consists of representatives of the various churches, and whose object it is to secure the introduction of the New South Wales system. Briefly the system secures (1) simple Scripture lessons read during school hours under the ■supervision of the teacher. (2) The churches may send in their ministers or accredited teachers during school hours to instruct children in the faith of their fathers. (3) A conscience clause by which no child shall read the Scripture lessons or receive a visit from a minister contrary to the wishes of his parents.

This is the system that has been in existence in New South Wales since 1866, in Tasmania since 1808, in Western Australia since 1893, and in Queensland since 1010, and we ask you to consider the advisability of asking Parliament to allow it to be introduced here in New Zealand. This is not a matter to be rushed into without due consideration. It is not claimed by any means that this system is perfect, but what system is? Yet. perhaps this one is much better than some would have us suppose. The charge is made against it hat our teachers are not the fit and proper people to handle religion. Tt may be pointed out that they are not asked to do so. They simply supervise the scripture reading to see that the children have an intelligent grasp of the meaning of what they are reading as in an wlinary reading lesson. It is left to the ministers to come in ind give the religious instruction Moreover, I ]\nv? greater faith in our teachers as a class than to believe tlvn will teach this le=son other than in a suitable manner. Again, this is the best system, so far as T know, that has yet been devised to meet the conscientious difficulties of our Roman Catholic friends. They have always strongly maintained that a secular education is incomplete, and yet it is against their convictions to have the Bible interpreted by any other than their priests. Tn this system, their difficulties are met as it is within their power to withdraw their children from the scripture reading lesson given by the teacher, and yet the priest has as much rigbt as any other minister to give the children of his faith that religious instruction which is in accordance with

sneir conscience. There need be then, no further claim for State aid for denominational schools.

Once more, it is claimed that this system will introduce an objectionable denominational ebment into our schools. This does not necessarily nor actually follow. In the case of country schools, for example, where the minister of only one denomination can visit, it is not open to him to give denominational instruction to the whole school, but simply to those of his own denomination, or else he may and in most cases will give undenominational teaching the same as we trust the various ministers to give at present under the Nelson system. Ij; will be also quite open even in towns for arrangements to be made for grouping the children and teaching them thus. But even in the case of denominational instruction being given, do you object to Mr. Hales teaching the Baptist children "Immersion," if he wants to and their parents want him to, or Mr. Colvile teaching the Anglican ckildren their catechism if he wants to and their parents want him to. I have not yet reached the stage of believing that all our church doetrines are wrong. I belive they all contain some aspect of truth, and I prefer that our children should be taught that-aspect of truth rather than nothing of religion. That this is not going to bring in any objectionable element is seen from the fact that the system has worked harmoniously now in New South Wales for 46 years, and we are not more quarrelsome than New South Wales "people, I am sure. i Christian people, who care for the souls of your children, whenever Parliament has been approached in the past on the matter of Bible in Schools, they have always said: 'Wait till your churches can agree on the matter." At last they are agreeing. The Primate of New Zealand is the President of the League, the vice-presidents are the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church, the President of the Methodist Conference, the Chairmen of the Baptist Union and Congregational Unions respectively, and the Commissioner of the Salvation Army. Now is our opportunity to effectively ask Parliament to replace our Bible in our schools from which it never should hare been excluded.