God as an ' Extra'

New Zealand Tablet, 9 July 1908, Page 9

God as an ' Extra '

Bishop Keane said many years ago that careful thinkers, both Catholic and Protestant, recognised this .'-. fact : that, to build up a thoroughly Christian generation, three agencies must co-operate— the Christian Church, tho Christian home, and the- Christian school. This is, in effect, the burden of an address delivered a few weeks ago. by the Anglican Bishop -of Auckland, at the Albert Hall, London. For his cabled re- . marks on the prevalence of white paganism in New •. Zealand, most of our secular newspapers hosed him at long range with more or less vitriolic ' back-talk ' at pretty high pressure. The mailed report, of .his speech, however, contains some observations' in regard to the absence of religious training in the schools of young nations, to which we add a cordial- Aincn. He is reported to have ' appealed to -his hearers, for the sake of God and for the sake of the Empire, -to keep their schools religious.' ' Xo greater menace to the British Empire exists ', said his Lordship, ' than that of bringing up 'children in secular schools where they are taught to treat God as an extra. If that belief is instilled in the children and grows up with them as adults, then God help the British Empire ! For- the 4 sake of the Empire, for the sake of keeping the white man Christian, keep your religious teaching in your schools.. Those from the Old Home when they go into far-distant lands are the men who, through God and tha Church, should help the young nations to keep the white man from learning how to do without God.'