BIBLE IN SCHOOLS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2137, 1 May 1914, Page 10

BIBLE IN SCHOOLS.

Sir,—l note that the Rev. E. Wood criticises at lengtui his osvn compariBon of my statements on the Bibie-in-schools policy and the report of the annual meeting of the National Schools Defence League.

His chief point seems to be that he wishes the public to believe his opponents are opponents ■of the Bible, and that the main object of tiic National Schools Defence 'Lcsgue is to .shut out the Bible from the .State schools. His object, of course, is to present tho Biblc-in-schools party as tlie friends of tho Bible, and us as its enemies. Tiiis is merely bluff. What the National Schools 'League opposes is the attempt to make ijhe Stats a teacher of religion. There is abundant scope, otherwise, for Bible teacliing for all who wish to uuitertaisc it. \A'e object to the State teaching religion cither with or without the iiible, because-it cannot be done with justice. The Bible-in-Schools League's Bible teaching would: make our sauonal schools denominational schools, since there would be one uniform system acceptable, to four denominations, and opposed ta the beliefs of several deiioniinauone. The latter would have to take the league's scheme or go without, and yet pay te what they disbelieved in.

The Kov. R. J. I'orter, of Oamaru, declared at the Presbyterian Assembly in Wellington that it was owing to sectarian ditforer.ces that the Bible had been kept out of the schools for the past thirty-live years. Yet now that his sect and three others have devised a scheme to suit them, they deny' tho right of other sects to have their claims ior an alternative scheme sa.tisiied. Tho Rev. 11. E. Davies at the same meeting declared that if he were in England he would be in the front rank of passivo resisters. Yet he would set up here a system of roligieus isistruction against which four or .five denooiinations would be in tlve position of tli-e passive resisters. .Dean Fitcbott declared in Dmiedin that if tho Nelson system were made legal and part of our system, the State schools would be impossible k> Roman Catholics, and their claim for grants hi aid would be irresistible. The State would have taken a side, arid their claim for grants would be irresistible. Yet the Bible-in-Schosls League's scheme is infinitely mota repugnant to the Roman Catholic and other Churches than a legalised Nelson system would be. Therefore if tta Bible-in-sohoota scliemo were adopted, "their claims for grants in aid would become irresistible. The State would' liavo taken n side." ' . All the above are Bible-in-schno}s advocates, yet their own utterances stamp their policy as unjust. Will tho fiev. R., Wood claim that the JBiblo ran he helped by injustice? Those who advocate this unjust policy are violating the fundamental commandfiicnt, known as the Golden Rule. Bishop Sadlier has declared that it is tho right of entry Ijo is after, and that ho would not tenth the BiWe-iu-fichools movement if the. right of entry were not added. Strange zcat for tno Bible. Tho Bible-reading in schools which tho Rev. R. Woeld is so fccen about is not only to be aou-sbctaran, non-denominational, but hon-reli.?ious. So all tho exponents say, from Canon Garland downwards: Non-religious Bible teaching! AVho are the frieuds of the Bible? Again, Bishop Julius has declared that "undenoffjiiiational religious teaching is not Christian, teaching at all, nor anything liko it." Tims the Bible-in-Schools League wants tiro teachers to give uoii-denominaticmal, non-Christian Bible teaching! One word concerning the Rer. Woods's reference to myself: ' In Diincdin, last September, in rtv sponse to a challenge by Dean 'iTitehett, I gave for o.vor an hour a> series of unimpeachable, , '.unbiassed, mostly official, condemilatioiis -of 'the working of tho Bible in selioob and right of entry in Australia, and the evidences I gave was almost entirely from Australia. Dean Fitchott, in response to our offer, took the ■ platform for halt an hour at cur meeting to refute the condemnatory evidence , I produced. The Rev. R. Woods can testify to tho picture of ludicrous hclplessticsg that the Dean presented. Neither die ehaiMiiau nor the audience could induce the Dean to touch tho evidence he came to disprove. A few d_ays later the Pean stated in tho "Otago Daily Time , .?" that he would, at a public meeting, deal fully with the evidence I pr-odtieed. That meeting lias never been. held. The Rev. R. Woods wrote yards ami yards of letters for several weeks on "Mr. Caughley's -authorities/ , note tlio plural, "authorities."' Now, although I gave dozens of statements from witnesses in Australia, and gave chapter and page and namo for reference, the Rev. R-. Woods could only fix oli a verbal error of two words in one quotation, and this mad-o net the slightest difference to the value of tho quotation. Yet, for weeks, the Rev. Woods, over the heading "Mr. Caughby's Authorities," made as much parade «s if he lind broken up the v.lwfe of the evidence I produced. Canon Garland,. Dean Fitdictt, and others have .admitted that if their scheme) is unjust it should be dropped. Tho National Schools Defence Loagu-o hereby challenges any supporter of the Bibln-iu-Soiiools League to discuss at it public meeting the question of "tho justice or injustice of the BiWe-in-ScUocls League's policy." Will the I!cv. R. Wood accent? Me Ciui fix almost any. rcasonabltt- conditions ho chooses.—l' am, etc., JNO. CAUGHLBY.