BIBLE-IN-SCHOOLS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 9 April 1913, Page 5

BIBLE-IN-SCHOOLS.

. ADI>RJESS BY BISHOP SPIEOTT. -f~ - (•.His Lordship, Bishoip Sprotf, of Wellington} addressed about 200 people in th© Master ton Towo Ha."' last evening on the aims of the Bible in State Schools League. Mr P. It. Holiings presided, aid mtroduc.d the Bishop in a .few b H :e.*: remarks relative to the question to be dealt with. In opeoiAg his address, Bishop Sprbtt said he would first state. the > V 'motives'w&ch he.supposed actuated the promoters of the Bible in Stite Schools League. . He was not speaking officially on behalf of the League, ;' iand so would' confine himself to giving his own' .rksons for' supporting thp : too vemerit.very community, nation ; or state had some. code ->f morality. • ' sbme by ; itli:cli to judge the " conduct of its members. !i wus rea- ■ sonable to suppose, and he believed it ifrhe true, that each rising generation • be made acquainted with the moral code of the community. As member of that commtin.ty took "' the responsibilities of. life, a definite moral code should also be tskon up. The community of this Dominion had chosen, from amongst many morai codes, the Christian code. Eyeryo'ie recognised the Christian code of n-or- : . ality as the standard of conduct. It was true to say that the greatest re- . one could make would be to one's conduct as- un- :; christian. • The .quinquennial co . sus ■ «Uowed that; the vast majority .--tato themselves to be Christians. It was, ' • therefore, to be assumed that they ac- j C&ristfen' standard. If v thai _was• to be ; was it to he doneP He maintained ' that the .only way was through the . , Tlafe was' fid mor6 sounder book' that the Bible through vvluc^.] code co'ilu taugbt.^any subject to be taught -^'-vell," the clissical expre&aiok of that (y'Subject must bet applied.. In order, -y therefore, tq And the highest exjpres- ( sjoit morality, we must J loot to the Bible for the true classic exposition. Experience has shown i -[ that morality -cannot be effectually • taugKt, unless it is emotionally i taught. The teachings of ..the nigral .] i; > law are not obeyed in all their full- i v Hess, ; unless are reverenced. -No 1 1 in .the world gayeVsticii;a.:fealisa--God. as the Bible, I which: alone gave the true sense of 1 ' God. NowhGr.&eke could one get that i .. vivid consciousness of God. Christian 1 'i morality - must, therefore, be taught vthe Bible. How, -than, cotild 1 ihjjf morality be best conveyed, to the g] here "that the%ro- ] ; in Schools . League members agreed • o£ education wa® best. They also tfejrecbgftwed'that- parent is respon- s the, training, and well-being 1 bis own. child. The problem before ' 'vtbesLeague' was io# best to combine fe; "these three, principles. H? believed the svsteihltnown As the Austra- ? s Ifian system-, .was able to meet - ~ ,these conditions- A text-hook would prepared, Containing lessons from . the Bible; appropriate to children, and Containing mwal teachings.'. This :- : book would' be placed in the "hands of the; teacher, who would read and knew the teacfiear *ould ' not be - * dr s ; :sftion of the lesson. The story would k fce told anS sliooild be remembered ■• -•■■ Mist a lesson in history or any other ' subject. He thougjit this would have /great weight on the mind of th n r- vchild. The function of the teacher J would bee in and end with teachinc: the lesson. % The other part of the system : - allowed lor authorised teachers of the I- various without limitation, liberty during, school ; hours of -getting the children together % and.- teadnng them their own religion. TTt would not be necessary to have cr---ministers, but laymen and V- Jaymen must be authorised, befor:; .proceeding tosthe schools. Tlie parv «nts would, of course, have their. ! t rigl?tg preserved by means of a con-;-v 'science]. clause.- (No lessons need he* ' diildren whose parents object-: Umbsb;; said the speaker.; ir : ; ; were the r obiects of the League. The ; ■ "New South Wales text book had hew- • .©bj&rted to by some, on account oi thA. aiotes in the book not .being scientific-< ' ally up-to-date, and had been held^np! to ridicule." It was proposed that TSew - Zealand should adopt the principle i"n ; loarce in Australia, and not the ac-! text "book. The Bible in Schools : system was not new, and was in forco: ; in New South Wales, Tasmania, We^ : i . tern Ans-iralia and Queensland. It- ' * vas unreasonable to raise objections j to a system TV'hich had been accspted ; •in other States. The League was; ; not proposing something which had; ; not already T)een tried and proved ; *;' He -SOQild -commend the proposals off.| "- the lieague k to those present, and; would ask them to think over hisj - - words.- The "immediate object of thoi League was the securing of a.-refer-; • on the subject, so that the; ' would, 'have the right to" ac--cept or reject 'the proposals of the /I ; . Or N. Prior moved a hearty vote £" ? -of thanks to the "Bishop for his able <i4dress, the resolution being carried k ; acclamation. "'His Lprdship prononnced tlie Ppii:- - T ' which terminated the meeting , ~