RELIGIOUS EDUCATION OF THE CHILDREN.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 452, 9 March 1909, Page 3

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION OF THE CHILDREN.

On Sunday evening at All Saints’ Church, the Rev. G. Y. Woodward delivered a sermon on the necessity of giving definite religious instruction to children. He took as bis text Deut. VI. 4-7. The words of the text were, he said, a command for service to God, not merely consisting ot respect aud reverence, but of the very passion of our hearts. Here we had laid before us the ideal of the Old Covenant, and our Lord confirmed this ideal when He brought in the New Covenant. It was our privilege to baud down from generation to generation this Statute of Isrel; but as we heard the words, “ Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children,” did not our conscience somewhat prick us with a sense of apathy and neglect? When Christ said, “ Suffer the little children to come unto Me,” we find it was not Scribes aud Pharisees that rebuked those that brought them to Him, but disciples. And was not that true to-day ? It was not the open sinner, not the athiest, but ourselves Christ’s disciples who were hindering our boys aud girls from coming to a loving Saviour. This attitude meant a decay in the nation, desecration of the Sabbath, a blunting of the moral conscience, so that men were coming to look on lust, not as a question of sin, but simply said to themselves “It is all right so long as lam not found out.” The preacher went on to say that never in the history of the world had there been so great a need tor earnest men and women as to-day. The warfare was no longer a battle between creeds, but a fierce struggle between Secularism aud Christianity. Secularism bad a tremendous ally in the Government, and soldiers of the cross had to fight against fearful odds, not only against Secularism, but against the dreadful indifference of Christians themselves. There seemed to be no power, no lever, to lift us up out of the terrible mire of neglectfulness; and yet did we but stop to think, would not the cry of the little ones be sufficient ? That cry was to parents and elders alike, “Come aud teach us!” The preacher then asked whether, if the children cried for food, it would not be given to them ? How much more should we give them spiritual food when the cry was made to conscience. On Wednesday morning he said he would begin religious instruction in the church at 8.45 o’clock and this would continue every Wednesday aud Friday. He appealed strongly to parents aud others to help him in this new work, to bring the little ones to some knowledge of a compassionate Saviour; so that knees which had never bent in the home might learn to bend in prayer, aud lips that had never uttered the sacred name might take upon them His golden words. The service wouid consist of the Lord’s Prayer and simple Bible teaching. They were accused of attempting to teach what was not in harmony with the national consent. He was not prepared to leach anything which was not in accordance with the Church of England. He could not leach in the State schools with a mutilated Bible, and rather than do that he would give instruction to the children in the Church, aud leave the teaching of the Bible in the State school to those were able and willing to give it there. This would prevent any friction. The preacher referred to his own religious training in England as a child at school beginning by a religious service and instruction. This was done all over England aud why not in New Zealand, too ? The sermon concluded with an earnest appeal to all to unite together and work as one church for the spread of religion among the children. The old question, which was yet ever hew, was, “Lord, to whom shall we go?” And the answer of Jesus was ever the same, “ Come unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”