Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1881-04-15
The Bible in the Public Schools,
A FAST-DAY SERMON,
PREACHED AT THE CENTRE CONGREGATIONAL
CHURCH, BRATTLEBoRo, APRIL s, 1881,
ny REV. Geo. ID. Cow.

PREACHED AT THE CENTRE CONGREGATIONAL
CHURCH, BRATTLEBoRo APRIL s, 1881,
ny REV. Geo. II. Cow.
MATHEW VII :12.-Thereforo all things whatso-
ever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye
even so TO them for this is the law and the prophets
On an occasion when citizens are invited
| by the chief magistrate Of their state to as
semble for the worship of God, especially If
the prevalent conception Of worship with the
citizens makes the contemplation of truth the
chief element of worship, it seems appro-
pirate that some question involving the func-
tions Of civil government should receive their
attention. l have ventured, therefore, at
this time to call attention to a subject Of the
| gravest importance to the American people,
a subject which is forcing itself with increas-
| ing persistency upon their attention, which
| is indeed a vital question with the people of
all the civilized nations of the earth In an
noUncing this subject have described 1t by
what is really one Of its accidental phases,
rather than by its great underlying principles.
have done this because this is the phase of
the subject which has been forced most
prominently upon public attention. The
question which l raise to-day IS, What use
should be made of the Bible in the public or
state schools? But / hope TO be able to re-
fer the question to the fundamental princi-
Piles of civil liberty and universal justice
which underlie our government. For this
reason have made the golden rule my text.
When Jesus said to his hearers, in his sum-
mary Of his teaching in the sermon on the
Mount, 'All things therefore whatsoever ye
would that men should do unto you do We
| even so unto them" he certainly did not
mean to make their individual caprices of
feeling the rule in equity Of their conduct
one toward another. Rather he intended TO
say to them that If they wished men to treat
them according to the principles which he
had been inculcating they themselves must
acknowledge the authority of those princi-
Piles. II they would receive justice they
must do justice if generosity, they must be
generous. Let us bring the question before
us TO the test of this broad principle Of jus
tice.
II we are TO decide what use should be made
of the Bible in state schools we must first of
all inquire what government has TO do
with education. This inquiry throws us
back upon the previous question, What is
government, what are its legitimate func-
tions, and what the natural limits of its pow
ersg
The statement in the preamble to the Dec
laration of Independence that governments
derive their just powers from the consent of
the governed, can be accepted as true only
when by ''the consent Of the governed" we
understand those necessities of human social
life which compel men TO consent to the ex-
istence of government and the exercise of It's
Just powers. Paurs declaration that the
powers that be are ordained OF God is radical,
thorough and comprehensive. Government
is a necessity of mans nature aud circum-
stances. II deriyes therefore, both its au-
thority and the limitations of its authority
from that necessity. Human society cannot
exist except upon the principle that each
member of society shall SO restrain his free
dom of action that every other member shall
enjoy equal freedom with himself Govern
ment gives expression to this principle. 1t is
the restraint which society as a whole exer-
cises over each individual member of society
in order that each and all may possess the
largest measure Of liberty. 1t is in this sense
that the governed consent to be governed, in
order that they may be free. Ii is the con-
sent of those who are constrained by the ne
cessity of their being and the desire to attain
the highest possible good. Thus it is that
the authority of government is derived from
Him who is the author Of our being.
This has indeed been AN almost universally
recognized principle among men. In the ap-
plication of it, however, individuals and
classes of men in society have assumed supe-
rior rights and converted government into
royal and aristocratic tyranny. But since
the dawn of modern liberty the Christian
doctrine of equal rights and mutual obliga-
tions expressed in our text has been recog-
nized more and more among the nations. It
is the great boast of the free people of Amer
lea that it is radically and thoroughly recog-
niZed in their civil institutions May il new
er be q vain boast
But it is not easy for men to keep this
fal r.ripairla Of civil lhsr
ually and clearly before their minds. Every
impulse Of human nature which government
exists TO restrain, prompts men TO forget it,
to confound it with the demands of their own
self-interest, TO tTample on it in the pursuit
OF personal and class advantage, TO lose sight
of it and convert government into tyranny in
the supposed interest even of liberty and re-
ligiop. Eternal vigilance is the price Of lib
erty, and this vigilance is as much needed by
the defenders of liberty over themselves lest
they blindly, not to say wilfully, destroy their
own free institutions by violating their under
lying principles, as against the open and
avowed enemies Of freedom. They who
would defend liberty must themselves main
tain her principles.
The sole end for which government exists
is, as we have seen, to secure TO each indi-
vidual the largest possible liberty Of action
consonant with equal liberty for all in 9TH
er words the protection Of men in their nat
ural rights. If we will adhere consistently to
the idea Of government involved in that word
protection, in relation to the universal and
common rights of men, We shall be sure TO
maintain our liberties equally against the
usurpations of class legislation and the mad.
ness of blind, false communism. When
government assumes any other function than
this of the protection of the citizen in the
exercise of his natural rights it becomes tyr
amy. When ii assumes any other II under
takes to create advantages for some at the ex-
pense of others, which is the very essence of
tyranny.
The principle thus stated is simple and
clear. II rests upon the golden rule. 1t is
the fundamental principle of political moral
ity. But the practical difficulties of states
manship arise in the application of this prin-
ciple TO governmental affairs. Indeed many
intelligent and thoughtful persons do not
readily see how all the commonly recognized
functions of government can be derived from
this principle of protection. little rehec-
tion, however, makes the general theory of
its application plain. II is easy to see that
the establishment of a police force with its
courts and jails is provided for by this prin-
ciple of protecting the individual but what
has this principle TO do with lighting the
streets of town, providing water by govern
ment works, or building parkf The an
swer is plain. Long rows of buildings set
thickly together on the highways shut out
the light of the stars and furnish concealment
to ruffians by night to such an extent that a
mans natural right to the aids and privileges
of nocturnal travel are impaired. Society,
therefore, protects the individual in his nat
ural right by repairing this damage with gas
light. Hence, too, if the opera house or the
church wants more light before its door for
its own purposes it must not ask the govern
ment to provide it. The orowding Of men
together in a community impairs in many
ways the natural supply of water. Society,
this want of its own creation, and so protect
the individual in his natural rights. Every
man has a natural right to the beauties of
nature for their moral and spiritual uses to
him. When, therefore, the houses and fac
inriaa of iha fnwn hnva daafrnved thasa