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2 (1082) THE
EDUCATIONAL ADDRESS.
BY REV. W. L. BOWLING, BEFORE MIDLAND COLLLEGE
AND THE PRESBYTERY OF EL PASO.
One who has radical and bold things to say
ought to be sure of his footing, his environments,
resources of experience, and logical
premises and processes. I have one or two radical
propositions to enunciate. Surrounded
by this fraternity of educators and of Christians
of all churches, and by the members of this
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ecclesiasticism, and an educational history and
record of world illumination which for ascendency
cannot be challenged, I feel doubly sure
of supporting environment.
As to resources of experience something may
be said. Having been forty years in the school
room as student and teacher, nearly twenty as
an educator, in five states, in private and public
schools in common and high schools, colleges,
university, secular and Christian schools, state
and church schools, schools for the fortunate
and for the unfortunate and defective, I feel
that I know something at least of the matter.
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me putcssco. me cuus ui msirucuou, someming
of the science and philosophy of education.
As to logical footing, my syllogism is: God
said let there be light, and there was light?all
kinds of light.
Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy
him forever.
Therefore man must glorify and enjoy God
in educational light.
My convictions, as follows, are hxed:
it is an abnormal thing and a distress to
have our whole system of popular education
divorced, as it is, from the most primary propositions
and teachings?life principles of the
Christian religion. No claim that our schools
teach morality and justice without giving a
Christian basis for such instruction can be considered
as relevant to this proposition.
There is no deep and broad and soundly cultural
education that is not inlaid and inwrought
wiin me me irutns 01 tne isibie religion?
Christianity directly inculcated in the school
room from the law and gospel of Uod in JJLis
Word. This does not mean that the primary
business of the common school is to teach religion,
nor that education need be directly
under the auspices of the church?but it does
mean religious recognition of the Bible and its
right and authority as God's Word in the
school room?whether the literal Book is
daily in hand or not. The church may or may
not bring the schools, or any of them, into its
organism. But it has a God given right and
commission to invade with its Gospel messages
and truths, the very citadels and strongholds
of educational empire. Whether admitted or
not admitted, it should claim for its membership,
its sons and its daughters, and for all the
children of every school under the authority
of its Divine Constitution and commission, the
right to be admitted; not with sectarian claims
and credal distinctions, but with the Bible's
simple, thus saith the Lord.
It is God'8 Word that makes cnaracter and
moulds for good the lives of boys and girls and
young men and women.
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aiiuuguiiui ana earnest unristians are tired
and sick of hearing the laudations of purely
secular and state schools and universities which
by their constitutions and essential provisions
can not possibly have any output of Christian
character. Exterior and incidental relations
and influence often occurring are not to be
counted.
We have indeed fallen upon evil days when
Christian truth, as such, is legislated out of our
PRESBYTERIAN OF THE SC
educational programs, except by mere common
and local consent after an unwritten fashion.
When men say education has nothing to do
with religion, and vice vtrea they are blind to
a patent fact: that purely secular schools must
make abnormal character; can only make men
and women big in thought, little in conscience,
and with no spark of tiame or religious convic
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one says: train the mind in school and the conscience
and heart in the church. But this divorcement
of training, even if both are given, is
impossible without abnormal results. A boy
needs geography and history exercises in Sunday
school to enable him to grasp and hold religious
truth. The same boy needs in his day school the
light of religion to shine on his pages of science
and history to enable him to grasp the thought
and get most soul stirring conceptions of infinity
and of the material universe. He cannot take
these apart?the one from the other. The day
school and the Sunday school are dealing with
the same subject matter?the same boy. Use a
figure; the two schools are to observe arbor day
in planting one and the same tree. Bui one
school observes Wednesday; the other Sunday.
The pit is prepared, the tree is placed. The
Wednesday school fills one side of the pit?
the Sunday school arriving four days later finds
the tree pressed to one side with the Wednesday
filling. It can't be made to grow straight without
doing the work all over; nor should there be
an interim between the first half-filling and
the second.
Education and religion both deal with the in
tellect, the emotions and the will. They must
deal with them jointly and simultaneously, each
of course places the emphasis where rational
partnership and Divine appointment provide.
The State and district schools, as we have
them, are by legislation essentially non-religious
institutions. The question as to whether they
should or should not teach elemental truths of
religion from the Bible is not before us. The
fact is, none of them at best do more than permit
devotional exercises. Even this is not an
essential feature. Hence they can do only abnormal
work. It therefore remains for the
church directly or indirectly, through Christian
schools to do the only normal educational work.
The church lias a right, and owes its children
and youths a duty to, at least erect protective
walls around so many and such institutions of
learning as it, of choice, of circumstances, or of
necessity patronizes and supports. And that
protection must be against non-Biblical ideals,
and a morality divorced from the Christian religion.
Some philanthropists and educators
assume the attitude of approving Christianity
and deprecating ecclesiasticism in education.
But the church is the institutional exponent of
Christianity; and those educational foundations
wnicn discriminate agamst church schools and
the opposing cry of secularists, regardless of
motives or ends, operate as negative and annulling
forces in Christian education, and are
menaces to the Christian religion and spiritual
development in educational empire.
Everything depends on where we look in the
running of this great race of life. And the su~
preme comfort, the comfort of all comfort is
that, in looking to Christ, we are not looking to
an example only, or to a written word, a code
of instructions. We have something more and
far more precious. We have a living friend
and saviour, close at hand every day, a friend
with whom we may hold actual fellowship, with
whom we may live, by whose strength we may
be made strong.?Charles Brown.
I U I H [November 15, 1911
AN OPEN LETTER TO MR. THEODORE
ROOSEVELT.
BY JUAN OBTEZ Y. GONZALES.
Not long ago you accused the Y. M. C. A. of
unfairness because its constitution does not
place Catholics on the same footing nor grant
to them the same privileges as to Protestants.
1 myself would consider it a better and wiser
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provided they would pledge themselves both
to maiuatin its Christian aud uusectarian constitution
and to accept the Christian Bible.
1 believe that such a policy would accomplish
far-reaching and incalculable good, bringing
into closer relation Catholics and Protestants,
dispelling mutual misunderstandings and
prejudices, and promoting the universal brother
hood of man so long and earnestly desired
by Christians throughout the world.
At the same time, 1 must say in passing that
as a Koman Catholic theologian I cannot explain
the conduct of Archbishop Ireland in this
matter except by thinking that he was playing
a very shrewd trick in order to mislead public
American opinion and to expose as sectarian the
Y. M. C. A. A great many Americans taking
the words and acts of Archbishop Ireland on
their face value may be induced to believe
that if the Y. M. C. A. should grant to Catholics
the same privileges as to Protestants, the
former could become members of this institution,
when Archbishop Ireland knows as well
as 1 do that such is not the case. Even admitting
the hypothesis that the Y. M. C. A. should
grant not only the same privileges but even
greater ones and should give the leadership of
the organiation to Catholics, Catholics could by
no means become members of the institution.
Every Catholic who goes to hear heretic
preachers on religious topics or joins with them
in the acts of worship commits not a slight offense
and one easily forgiven but he commits
a heinous and mortal sin. Archbishop Ireland
knows as well as 1 do that 1 can corroborate my
assertion by the testimony oi' hundreds of the
soundest and most reliable ltoman Catholic
authorities; which testimony I am ready and
willing to furnish if you desire it. It is really
astonishing to me how easily the Roman Catholic
hierarchy succeeds in concealing the ugliest
and narrowest aspects of the Roman Catholic
doctrines and how easily they are able to
mislead keen politicians and alert public writers
as they often do in the United States.
But rather than put any stress on that incident,
already past, 1 intend to point out to you
some cases of plain unfairness, which no one
criticizes because they are committed by the
ltoman Catholic Church.
The Roman Catholic Church dares to say to
a Protestant, by no means can you marry a
Catholic, unless the marriage bo performed by
a Catholic priest, and an oath taken that all
children born of the union shall be instructed
in the doctrines of tho Roman Catholic Church
and be reared as Catholics; and neither you nor
any important paper in this country accuse it of
unfairness, narrowness and sectarianism.
Catholics are taking the Bible out of our public
schools whenever and wherever it is possible
for thoin to do it and thon discrediting this
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.wan iiimiiuiions by calling it
ungodly and pernicious. They Are establishing
their Parochial Schools, wherein the most
bigoted Romanism is taught sineo foreign friars
nnd foreign nun* nre largely the teachers.
Bishop* have been known to compel, under penalty
of mortal sin, pnrants to take their children
out of the public NcbnolN and send them to the
Parochial Schools, and neither you nor any im