The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1905-01-10

stratifed people given over to a mega
tive subiectivily. Persias dualism
sought TO line up every man on the
! size Of light against darkness, and
therefore develop only moral 1uds-
ments for sharp discrimination ana
physical strength for war. to tna ne
! sicct OF Ill else. The result was L
race OF high moral ideals-strons mar
tial spirit and Of short life.
! The caste spirit in ancient Egypt
! produced 4 priest-cr that maze iilrse
! contributions to civilization, but plant
! cd seeds OF disintegration and decay
! that finally blghted all her education
al work and wiped her off the 1ace
! OF the earth. In Sparta the God OF
! War ruled supreme. and the making OF
soldiers was their chief effort ana
achievement. Athens Worshlpped lhe
! beautiful and set the standard for Ger
tain forms Of art for all time, but
went 10 pieces on the moral side. IN
Rome, the glory Of the state was the
religion Of all, and practical training
for service TO the state was tneli,
only national purpose. and naelonal
disaster was therefore inevitable.
+; In Mohammedan land the religion
! OF the will produces L discipline when
organized heterogeneous tribes into
! powerful people making them the I'M
personation of force. but whose eno
is even now in sight.
! Coming to later times, education IN
!! France had so suffered from effete
religion, that in 1900 Henry ~ reor-
ganized the University Of Paris anu
so, first in modern times. brought the
state into the field of higher educa-
ton. This was the beginning of a
formal protest against ecclesiasticisml
which, later, helped on the horrors OF
! the Revolution, and led the world IN
throwing the Bible out Of the schools.
The same trend Of things in England.
which promised like results was
thwarted by the Wesleyan revival.
Had Voltaire been a Wesley there
might have been no French ReEolu-
tion-no Napoleon-no Louisiana FUR
chase. and a far different history OF
Europe and America during the last
century and half.
During all these ancient and moo
ern revolutions and evolutions there
has been e despised people wandering
over the face Of the earth-honeless,
| misunderstanding themselves holy
worshipping one holy and righteous
God. basing all the education of their
children upon His revelations record
ed in Holy Book; making religion the
centre of all their society. What but
this religious training preserves them
alone, of all the nations they touched
| to tell the story, and gives fhem an
abiding place among men?
So that the relation Of education and
religion in America is of tremendous
moment to every American. It is not
education that is to solve our COM
plex problem. but the right kind OF
education. With all our boasting, our
only progress since Pericles has been
on the religious rather than on the
culture side, for the masses OF today
are even below those of his day IN
intelligence. If we are so unWlse as
to shift the emphasis from the rellg-
ious to the intellectual, none can be
so bold as to guess what thousand
years may bring forth. If history
teaches anything, it establishes the
primacy Of religion-not only in edu-
cation but in social, economic and IN
dustrial life as we'll. Even the pres
ent reign Of homicide is traceable to
the religious unrest abroad in the land.
For back Of all our homes-back OF all
our institutions, laws and customs
back of all our reasoning-back OF all
our strenuous moral endeavors-bac ok
of all of our earnest social service
back Of everything that is worth know
ing-of everything that, in the long
run, is worth doing, is this universal,
all-powerful religious instinct. Not
more education, therefore, but more
religious education, and education that
is more religious, is the pressing need
| of the hour.
Nor is it enough to claim that the
home and the church provide the re-.
ligious training, while the mission OF
the school is to the intellect, and, IN
| o fn q
years of student life are spent largely
away from these influences in sepa-
rate community with distinct tradl-
tions and customs, and If reached at
all, must be reached by the college.
Are we to give religion a place in
our State universities which are the
logical outcome of our democracy! 1
! answer:
! l. The true American spirit, presup-
poses it. The American doctrine of
separation of church and state, and Of
religious freedom has been perverted
into a pseudo-Americanism The sep
aration of religion and the state, deny
ing the former a place in our schools,
ard seeking to discredit 1t in our So
ciety. This movement originated not
here, but in France, whose influence
was strong during our formative pc
riod, and whose revolt against ecclesl-
asticism went to the extent OF a re-
volt against religion. Nothing is
palmer than that the foundations of
| our government and democratic insti-
tutions were laid in religion. This
fundamental, social force was in
tended and expected to hold the first
place, not only in the colleges, but
| everywhere. Even our silver dollars
are now preaching our national faith
in God, and we, by decision of our
! highest court, are a Christian nation
! g The momentous issues involved i'm
peratively demand it. The purity of
: our national life. the permanence Of
our institutions and of our government
| as we'll as our place in universal his
tory, all await anxiously the answer
g. If half T have said is true, the
State has greater reason to teach re-
! ligion than anything else. For which
makes you a better citizen, to be able
to think and subscribe to. theory OF
ethics or Ito do justly, and to love
mercy, and to walk humbly with thy
God7'
! q. While the difficulties are great they
are not lnSurmountable. 1t can be
done! Do you ask how?
First: Require that every teacher be
religious. The deepest things in life
are, after all, caught and not
taught" The personal element is the
most powerful factor in the classroom.
No man can help giving off the things
dearest to him: to be a teacher at
all is to be teacher of religion, and the
religion taught will be the one lived
whether one of assertion or mega ton.