The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1902-10-24
Want your nousiache or beard beautiful
brown or rieh black k? Then use
BUCKIhGHAM'S DYE tSh sSe

we have, to supplement its lack Of ser.
vice, is humiliatipg and shameful. We
will trust and ask no tax-paid, haphaz-
ard teachers to do the work Of parents
AMI the church.
The evils of this perfurctory religious
teaching is positive as well as negative.
We know of multitude of public
schools in our cities where large ma
jority OF the pupils are Jews, and yet
they have been required to sing Christi, n
songs, TO the indignation Of their par
ents. Such requirement makes the
people foes TO the public school system.
In the time of Archbishop Hughes there
was carried on great conflict between
Protestants and Catholics in this coun.
try, the Catholics protesting against the
reading of the Protestant Eible as a re-
quired exercise. They were told that
this is Protestant country and that if
they did not like it they might stay
away. That is precisely what they did.
They started their parochial schools,
which grew to a great system which
seriously antagonize our public schools.
They were right in their objection, for
the King James version of the Bible is a
sectarian Bible, and must be so long as
the Catholic church forbids its use and
requires that a Catholic version be used.
Our American doctrine of utter sep
aration Of church and state is now
usually accepted, at least in theory, and
it is generally agreed that reading of
the Bible and religious exercises do not
belong to the free public school. But
some of those who with us would lead
the Bible out by the front door with all
honor, ask Us to open the postern gate
to let it creep in again unobserved.
They tell us-and we hear it from COL
lege presidents and from teachers con-
ventions-that the Bible, banished as
religion, must be brought back as liter
ature. The Bible, they tell us, is the
best and choicest of literature, and that
it will never do to let the children grow
up ignorant of it and before they have
the word literature out of their mouths,
they begin to talk about the import.
ance of the Bible to teach the elements
of religion and morals.
Which is it, literature or religion?
If it is religion we will have none of it.
There is curse upon state religion. 1t
makes men hate the church. This is
the persistent trouble in Italy, in: Spain,
in France, and now in England Give
Us free church in free state and let
their scope be kept absolutely distinct.
Trust no state to teach your children
religion, and do not think to impose
your new testament Bible and your
Lords prayer on old testament Jews.
Is it really literature and not religion
that these gentlemen want: We do
not believe it. 1t is not the literary
charm, nor the interesting stories, not
the grandeur or the wit that they are
thinking Of, but the sacred character of
the book, that is, its righteousness. In
deed, we do not hear of any such anx-
iety to have the "Iliad'' read, or para.
disc Lost" or even Shakespeare, until
we come into the higher schools in
which literature is special study.
But it is not as literature that we
chiefly value the Bible. 1t is degrading
to it TO lower it to that level and make
it lesson of style or story. 1t is not
the beautiful Bible but the holy Bible.
1t is impossible to put it on any other
basis. Call it literature if you will, but
it will be considered and treated as a.
religious book, and that will be the real
reason for introducing and teaching it.
We do not want to smuggle the Bible
into the public schools under a false
pretense. lis our one great book of
religion and as such let it be treated ,
the churcL's sacred book.-New York
Independent.
WANTED good girl for general