The Churches as Educators.

Feilding Star, Volume XIX, Issue 41, 5 July 1897, Page 2

The Churches as Educators.

(By Lady Cook.) It was beautifully said by Lord Bacon in one of his essays : " The first creation of God in the works of the days was the light of the lenae ; the last was the light of reason ; and His Sabbath woik ever dincc ia the illu* mination of his spirit. ..... Certainly it is heaven npon earth to have a man's mind move in charity, test ia providence, and turn upon the polei of truth." The Churchei have done much to inculcate the precepts of charity, even when they have themselves violated iti spirit. Tbey hate also been the authorised teachers of a belief in Providence and of the wisdom of submitting cheerfully to its decrees. But as regards "the poles of truth," te much cannot be taid. Yet thia is the illumination to which the great philosopher refers: the full en* lightenment of the whole man. Systems of theology may be true or false, but no one can be sure which are right and which are wrong, or whether there are any that are absolutely the one or tbe other, because all these rest npon tbe uncertain basis of metaphysics. Except in a few esientials even Morality differs from age to age. But truth is everlasting and invariable whether it be taught or not. To know it is to be illuminated by the Eternal Spirit. To " turn upon the poles of truth " would be (he attainment of the highest intelligence. It is the reproach of the Churches and their creeds that they are too narrow, that they have instituted too broad a line of demarcation between whet is religious and what secular, revolving upon the poles of theology and morality instead of those of truth. Tbe consequences of this policy have been fatal to themselves, causing innumerable divisions, variant beliefi, and a restricted influence. In their eyes one kind of influence only is divine, one species of knowledge only » to be sought after, or at least must precede all other, and this the least amenable to demonstration or proof. Bat we humbly think that ail truth is divine, that all intelligence is a spiritual illumination, and that the divisions between " secular " and " sacred " knowlege, and the supposed superiority of the latter are purely artificial and misleading. Indeed, it is questionable if priority should be given to either, whether secular knowledge should not stand first. A man, without being a fool, may not be able to believe in tbe Trinity, but he would be distinctly foolish who should deny that the earth goes round the sun. And the value of every sort of value must be judgad by its usefulness. The great writer already quoted remarked : "As it is a caution given in religion, that faith be shown in works, tbe same is excel* lently transferred likewise to philosophy : that it be judged by its fruits, and the sterile be connted in vain ; and the more so if, in place of fruits of the grape and olive, it produces but thistles and thorns of disputation and strife. We have been led to these reflections by considering the great opportunities of disseminating nsefnl knowledge and of promoting truth and morality which are possessed by our religious teachers, and wbicb, unfortunately, are systematically neglected, The thousands of stately piles that have been erected in this country at immense cost by tbe liberality of pious benefactors are, as a rule, closed to the public, except on Sundays. Any day in the week we may pass a hundred Protestant Churches and find them empty, with locked doors. The devout cannot even, as in Roman Catholic edifices, walk in to pass a few minutes in private devotion. On the other hand, on every evening in the week hundreds of thousands of young people of both sexes, after their work is over, do not know where to go or what to do with themselves. Their homes, perhaps, offer no inducements for them to pass their leisure time there. So they get out into the streets, the lanes, and parks, and are subject to great temptations. If the Churches are closed to recreation, there are other places which specially provide it. The theatres, music halls, and low danciig and concert rooms, have always an ample bill of Hare, too often coarse and sensual, and the flashy glitter of their surroundings is calculated to captivate the young and inexperienced. The public houses and billiard rooms are also in full swing. Everything that appeals to our lower nature is placed before them without stint. Bnt tbe means of intelligent and elevating recreation are comparatively rare. It is true there are many public libraries and reading»rooms in parts, and tbe usefulness of these can scarcely be realised, bnt after all, young people do not always want to read or to sit in a room where they must be still as mice. They like to gather together, where they can see and commune with each other. And we ask. what places would be more fitting for this than our Chapels and Churches ? There was a time when the Church was the sole, or almost tbe sole, educator of the people, and when her adifices were always open to all comers. These build* ings were not then regarded as the privileged property of a few, but as tbe heritage of all. Nor ware they invested with any extravagant notions of sanctity. Public meetings were held in them, the vestries sat there, schools were taught there, and on rainy or cold days the children played at marbles in their aisles or on their smooth flag stones. In the dawn of tbe drama, it was almost con* fined to these oonsecrated buildings. Pas> sion playa held tbe people ia awe and taught them scriptural incidents. As these degenerated in character they were succeeded by "moralities," or moral plays, in which the passions of mankind, good and evil, were personified, and played their parts upon tbe church stage. All these taught the people to reason for themselves, and prepared the way for the Reformation, civil freedom, and liberty of thought. For the writers of these dramas were frequently men of gnat intellectual power and, as snob, were enemies of superstition, and employed, all the art they dared to enlighten thi» people. It was not long ago that it was tho custom for the congregation to i*iva audible expression of their approval or disapproval of the preacher's sentiments. This, however, has been suppressed by Act of Parliament. A false notion ol sanctity has minimised the usefulness of these buildings, and the efforts of tbo Clergy. The only resemblance to tbo past is in tbe matter of Sunday schools, and even tbese are being confined to scoular places when possible. In the meantime, the Churches are oitber gradually becoming defenct, or are reverting to Catholicism. Why then, should we not imitate tbe practical wisdom of our forefathers and throw them open freely and gratuitously to the wants of the people ? What more suitable places could be selected for lectures-, and concerts of sacred music and Christian gatherings and every sort of innocent recreation, thai those bouses wbicb have been consecrated to tbe service of God P The early Christians feasted and had their " freeaud-easies " in their mooting houses ; why should wo be inure Gtjueauiisb tbau they? Dp vyj serve our Maker better by givjug t^Jia lip service and chanting measiagleis hymns, or by purifying our minds of ignorance and expanding our souls by a better knowledge of His works? Let those who are in authority be wise in time and arouse themselves to under, stand wherein tbeir true strength Ife'*." Let them realise the dangers that hese\ our youth and their need of rescue from the uunerooe forces at evil, lv ejery

district will he fouud educated and , intelligent laymen and women whose talents lie buried, bnt who will gladly co operate in any possible manner with the clergy in promoting the education and noral improvement of these around them. And in what a number of ways might this be done if they would only divest tbeic minds by false sentiment and resolutely organise all the forces of Good to overcome the Evil I