1.—13b.

4

[h. w. clkaky.

"heathenism" of which they mm complain 1 Is the Parliament of New Zealand going to be awuyed by such idle clerical threats to " wreck " what is called the " national system (i. Yet another argument for this Hill has been put forward by a number of prominent members of the League. For instance, the Anglican Bishop of Waiapu mow of Auckland), and other members of the League executive, complain of the decline of family piety and worship among then- people (see, for instance, the Hawke's Bay Herald, Huh .[une, 1913). Religion should begin in the home. And the League denominations should look first within themselves for the cause —and for the remedy. Thus, at a meeting of the Dunedin Presbytery on the 4th July, 1905, the liev. James Chisholm, an able and learned minister, made this phase of the League agitation the subject of pointed reference. He did not disparage the effort "to introduce Bible lessons into public schools." (Catholics favour this, on fair conditions.) Hut he said, "The most effective way of meeting the necessity that exists for the religious training of children lies in-ihe direction of using all available means which the Church can command to quicken the sense of parental responsibility, and revive family piety, and make the Lome what it was meant to be, and what all Scripture and history proves it capable of becoming —even the seat of the < bristian discipline and nursery of noble youth,," ''I Feel strongly," said the Rev. Mr. Chisholm, in the same discourse, "that the agitation that has been carried on for so many pears has diverted the attention of our people from the much more important matter of Christian training in the home. ... It seems to me that the real weakness of our whole church life —the weakness that is undoubtedly growing amongst us—is just a defective family life and training; and all the agnation that has existed in this or other matters seems merely to have diverted the attention of our people from that. I think that if half the amount of energy that has been spent in trying to introduce Bible lessons in schools had been spent in endeavouring to revive fainih piety, our Church would have been vastly the better now." (Otago Daily Turns-, sth July, 1905.) ' At a meeting of the Dunedin Presbytery on the 7th October, 1913, the Rev. A. Whyte (Port Chalmers) is reported as follows in the Outlook (the Presbyterian organ) of the 14th October, 1913: " He said there was one supreme danger of the Protestant Church, and that was that it should lose the spirit of sacrifice. In the Roman Catholic Church the sacrifice was tremendous. Men. women, and estates were magnificently offered for the win]; of Christ and the Church. . . . He refused to entertain the thought that the Church of John Calvin and John Knox would be behind the Roman Catholic Church in self-sacrifice lor the religious education of its youth. They were told that the Roman Catholics had given 62,000,000, and the, believed that the Presbyterian Church would not be behind them." 7. Passing reference may lie here made to two causes which contribute in a serious measure to the spread of indifferent ism and irreligion among the League denominations in various lands. These are: (n.) The spread, among League denomination clergy in various lands, of fuzzy modernistic views of the Bibli — the paring-down, for instance, of its character as a Divine revelation in the old orthodox Protestant sense; the doubting or outright denial of the Virgin-birth of Christ, of His true Godhead, of His resurrection and ascension, &o. All this has enormously lowered the Bible in the estimation of their people, (b.) The other factor contributing to indifferentism and irreligion among League denominations is this: The discussions, in various places, as to whether clergymen may properly continue to officiate in a denomination in whose doctrinal standards they have in part ceased to believe. Evidence of this will be produced on demand. In New Zealand, the League proposes to force such double-mindedness and insincerity upon conscientiously objecting and even unbelieving teachers. Two members of the League executive, for instance, expressly approve of agnostic teachers teaching biblical lessons to children—Bishop Averill in the Hawke's Bay Herald (19th June. 1913) and Dean Fitchett (in the Otago Daily Times of the 14th June, 1913). Such double-mindedness is described as " sinful," '' doubly a sin," and "lowering to conscience" by two such noted Anglicans as Archbishop Whately (in his "Lessons on Morals") and Thomas Arnold (in his "Christian Life"). It is highly calculated to render the clergy and the pulpit suspect, to palliate or encourage the habit of defying conscience, and to extend the practical "heathenism." ivc, which the League clergy now so vehemently condelnn in the secular system. So far as the clergy have been shown to be blameworthy foi the decline of faith and family piety, the direct and obvious remedy is a change of lieart in the clergy that ma\ be at Fault. Such defaults as have been referred to here are not to be cured, or even palliated, by a Bill having for its object to enable a section of the clergy to abdicate one of the most sacred functions of the Christian industry and force it upon the shoulders of unwilling State officials. As will be shown later on. New South Wales (the oldest Government Bible-extracts State) is. herein, a warning example to New Zealand. V. A Contrast. 1. In one other way the League's argument for this Bill—based upon the League's denomina tional incapacity — fails signally. It emphas'zes, too. I>\ a vivid local contrast, the degree of blame to be attached to the League clergy for so much of "paganism," "heathenism," &c, as inav exist among their respective flocks. Tt is to contrast their action (or inaction), and its calculable results, with that of the Catholic clergy. Briefly stated, (a) the Catholic clergy ami their people believe intensely in the Bible as in very deed and truth Cod's revelation to men: they would give blood and life for the literal truth of those fundamental Christian dogmas (mentioned above) which .re being questioned or denied among League denominations: and (b) with an intense and living faith and love, they have flung themselves into the work of religious education of the little ones for whom the Saviour gave Lli» <l and life. What are the results.' " Such the pastor, such the flock." We, too, have to mourn sons that leave us for the husks of