DANGER OF PAGANISM.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 172, 14 April 1908, Page 4

DANGER OF PAGANISM.

VIEWS OF AN AUCKLAND VICAR. THE CLEROY BLAMED. . (BY TELEGItAFIr.—SI'ECIAr, CORRBSrOSDENT.) Auckland, April 13. A great controversy is raging-through tho medium of the correspondence .columns of the "Herald" upon the references to paganism in New Zealand by Bishop Ncligan in a rccejit' uttorance at Homo. The Rev. William Beatty, vioar of St. Mark's, Runiuera, always a plain-spoken' preachcr and a fearless critic, made an important contribution to tho discussion in a sermon delivered last night. His' opinion boldly stated is that if people arc becoming pagans tho Bishops and clergy aro to blame. "I am quite convinced," ho said, "that tho main responsibility for the exclusion of religious teaching from tho public schools of tho Dominion lies at tho door of religious people in general, and of ministers of religion in particular. It is a matter of history that endowments for educational purposes were misused or perverted by different religious bodies, and that grants of money were secured by dishonest means.' It'is a matter 1 of expcrienco that religious divisions and tho ill-will, jealousy, suspicion, and contempt which lllow from them, hinder any general agreement in tho direction of a safe and efficient method for providing religious instruction in the public schools, and it is well known that ministors of religion in general make no attempt to avail themselves of the opportunities afforded under the present Education Act for Scriptural teaching outside!school hours, but prefer to declaim in the Press, in tho pulpit, or on tho platform against the dofects of the law, to exaggerate the evils, and depreciate _ the benefits of the existing system. In my judgment tho agitation for tho introduction of the Bible into the schools is largely insincere:and artificial, and has little solid earnest conviction behind it,"

"There is very littlo- evidonco," continued ?rlr. Beatty, " that ministers of religion themselves know'tho Bible,' reverence-it',' seek to understand. or obey it. If they did tlioy would: see and confess the evils of religious divisions, and ;they would sot -themselves to repent of' their own sins and amend their own faults,• instead of attacking others;,for the Bible all through bears witness that'tile spiritual and moral condition of a. nation depends upon the spiritual and moraK condition* iof religious teachers and' professors; that tho sins of the priest are the chief causes of the sins of 'the.people; that judgment must begin from the House of God."

: Ho went on to remark that if what was called scoular education was seriously dofcc-tivo-_it did not- follow that what was called religions. education • must necessarily bo good and wholesome.'That depended entirely upon., the nature of the religion' taught, as thero had always been religious teaching that was : falpe, , superstitions, irrational, 1 which enfcobled the mind, and perverted :; tho conscience, which; bred ■ hypocrisy, ; dishonesty, cowardice, slavishness, t inhumanity, and conempt of others. ' ■

".For. my ''otto- partj" declared Mr. Beatty, " I say deliberately that I would rather sond a child-' to-'a school 'where he received no religions teaching at all; but where', : by precept, example and. influence; -lie -was trained'to be obedient, brave, -Imselfish, and 'public-spirited, thaii'send. liim'to'a semin-ary-where his mind was filled with:religious trivialities," where' the principles of abject submission to human "authority wereMncul-; cated,' and' where lie was encouraged to con : ' sider himself ; possessed of: exclusive spiritual 1 privileges; and to hate or. despise-thoso who held different rites of worship.: A child might be taught at- home to'love; @od, ..thussupplying some of tho deficiencies of secular education, but :no 'parent»'could reasonably' hope to-correct . the subtlo . and. profoundly demoralising. influences , of : bad ' religious teaching:.'-. No child .noed grow, up a pagan oven if he does not learn tho Bible at school, bnfeNif. I had; to choose . between the two I would' rather be. aii'-honoit;. kindly, 'useful, jmanly'i pagan-' : thani a't crooked, •'■ "shuffling, treacherous,..-cruel'ipharisee,-,!^So far.as .my pspericnco paf.ents-jn :New ;Zealaiul desire their, children-, to receive k, religious training in.'public schools.,'' ,and in privato' sohrols Bible, classes, coricjuctcd .by Christian' ministers;- are;freely attended by .children, of all denominations, , and no right-minded man would take advant'ago of. .tho opportunity: 1 to draw children from:the faith of their fathers, to win prosel.rtes to.his own.body. ' ~ •••; " The religious difficulty,." he concluded. " which /originally called into existence, and still maintains; thesystem of secular education, is'nininly'duo to tho-want of confidence, between tho ministers of the. various Christian bodies,' - arid; the,\ want of confidence' on 1 the , part', : of .'the public in ••ministers generally. If the people are becoming /pagans it is Bishops and clergy who ajo. doing most to make and to keep them pagans."