The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-08-09
Church and Sfat6.
Another Chapter to the Discussion Of State AID Tor H'gner
Fduratinn.
Education.

e+a+a aid va can inform It. We doubt
moi that many a Jesuit priest is laughing
In his sleeve at the ground hat = taken
Iv these Protestant enemies OF 1flSner
Education by the State. lhe Roman
Catholic church said, first, The blDle
must be banished from the pubic scioolS.
hecauSe ito use the Recorders exact Ian
! cuagel the State shall not support any
system of religious instruction" And
some States were foolish enough TO BAN
ish the Bible from the schools on that
ground. Now" says the same church
again. there is no religion taught III
these schools and we cannot send our
children to them. Hence 1t IS UNJUST
that we should have to support our
| own parochial schools and those Of the
State. too. by taxation. Therefore, either
Give US some of the public money or
down with the public schools" The only
difference is that the Recorders posi-
! ton is Il little more absurd, since Higher
Education deals with those Of matnrer
years, many Of whom are processing
Christians.
There are other underlying fallacies in
the Recorders position. Christian edl-
cation can only mean III the majority OF
studies, the influence of the Christian
teacher. There is no such thing rs Il
Christian course Of mathematics or an
evangelistic department of chemistry,
Though DIR. Whitsett's sad fate would
lead one to believe that there IS q Bap-
fist science of history, which is lndepen-
lent Of the facts.) And even the educa-
ton Of a man in theology does not make
Il Christian of him. We cannot ask
for anything better than the influence
Of Christian professors and the CHRISTIAN
ministry at our schools. both Church and
Nt+,,. .nI ,-, ,.,1,Ian tn Snn thnSn JnitH-
ences anywhere.
Another fanacy is the confounding Of
church education with Christian educa-
ton. We believe i'll denomfnatlonal
schools most heartily rs Davidson and
our excellent Presbyterian colleges for
@irls we'll know. Every church should
have them wherever possible. But
schools which are under the control Of
some denomination are not the only
Christian schools. And for our part, We
hope that as North Carolina refused to
Danish the Bible from the public schools
at the bidding of the Romish priesthood,
so it shall not close its State Institutions
OF refuse them the most liberal support,
under the p~retense, that because they are
not controlled in the interest of some
one denomination. they are therefore
'inimical to Christian institutions and
Christian denominations" We are not
afraid of any such result. In fact If the
Recorder and its allies keep up their CON
tention much longer we may be com
PEELED to protest against too great All in
crease i'll State appropriations and too
large an enrolment i'll the State institu-
tons. For according to the Recorders
own testimony, sine this agitation be
gan, both appropriations ana enrolment
have increased.
The Recorder evidently does not under
stand our reference to Presbyterian his
tory. We will let Thomas Carlyle ex<
plain:
There is an inspiration i'll such people:
one may say in Il more special sense, The
inspiration of the Almighty giveth them
understandings Honor to all the brave
and true: everlasting honor to brave ole
Knox. one of the trueSt of the true. That,
in the moment when he and his cause.
amid civil broils. in c~onvulsion and con
fusion, were still but struggling for life
he sent the SchooImaStcr forth to al
corners. and said, Let the people be
taught"