SCRIPTURE LESSONS

Evening Star, Issue 24331, 21 October 1942, Page 2

SCRIPTURE LESSONS

INSTRUCTION IN SCHOOLS RECOMMENDATION BY BOARD : The heed for Scripture instruction, in the State schools was again emphasised, when, at the monthly meeting of the Otago Education Board to-day, a motion standing in the name of Mr Jacobsen that the “ recommend to the Education Department that the lime is opportune' for Scripture lessons to have a definite place in State schools” came up for discussion. All members of the board spoke to the motion, which was carried without a dissentient voice. Mr Jacobsen, moving his motion, sa;d there was a Christian campaign on at the present lime, and they should give some tangible assistance. There were children attending the Stale schools, he maintained;' •who wore not getting any Christian education at all. Without it, as a nation, we could not grow, he said, for Christianity was the bulwark of civilisation. It was necessary to bring back love and unselfishness to the front. We had seen what instruction of youth in hate had been done by Hitler. Mr Oolquhoun, seconding the motion-in principle, said we had become too materialistic in our outlook. If we were to take religion out of life it would not be worth living. However, we had to have some definite method of imparting Scripture knowledge to the children in State schools, and he did not think it should be on the syllabus as stated iu Mr Jacobsen’s original motion. He was definitely of the opinion that it should not be given by the teachers, but rather by those more qualified, by their beliefs, to so instruct. They had lo acknowledge that Christianity was the greatest of civilising factors, said Mr W. B. Brugh, but they could not put it in the syllabus. He suggested the slight amendment, embodied in the motion already quoted above. This, he said, would foster the voluntary movement which was now afoot.

Mr D. 0. Cameron supported the motion. It was a tragedy, he said, that the Scriptures wore barred from many of our schools. There were a large number of young people growing up entirely ignorant of them. Instruction in the Scriptures formed a part of the ordinary school instruction when the Otago education system was established in 1856. said the chairman (Mr J. Wallace), and this instruction was 'until the national system of cducation'came into effect in 1878. tinder the Otago system there was the daily Scripture lesson, and all the children took part in the reading of the Bible. He was nleased to see that all members bad exercised their right and spoken to the motion. It was one with which he was in entile agreement.