The Monroe journal., 1922-02-24
THE BIBLE IN THE
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Why Not Teach Greatest of All
Books in Our Lower lnsti-
tuti0ns of Learning
THE INJUNCTION TO ISRAEL
Should Read Inspired Word With the
Understanding That the Writers
Said What They Meant
By Noyus Homo

Waxhaw, N. c., Route 1, Feb. %.
1t seems that question has arisen
in the minds of some of our folks as
to whether or not we had better take
up the teaching of the Bible in the
public schools.
Some think it would be an excellent
thing to do this, while some evidently
believe it would not do at all TO inn
pose upon the children of the public
schools this additional study.
In the meantime, if the heather
whom we have been trying to per-
suade to come to our way of thinking
and acting could be permitted to take
''peek" into the situation they
would evidently conclude that we had
been very slow in adopting the prin,
ciples among ourselves that we had
been insisting that they adopt.
II seems to me that it is rather a
blotch on a christian nation, and es-
pecially one that has been trying SO
hard to proselyte other nations, for il
to expose to public view the fact that
it has been afraid so far, and is still
pretty much scared to teach, in its
institutions of learning covering its
common school branches, the doc
trines set forth in the one greatest
of all books, and the book upon which
we rely for all the higher moral pre-
cepts of life.
Imagine, if you please, the conster-
nation that would spread over the
faces of men and women of other
countries who had been brought un-
der the influence of the teachings OF
our missionaries, if it should suddenly
be revealed to them, that the coun-
try from which the missionaries came
did not teach their own children these
things in their schools at home, be-
cause there was a question among
them as to the propriety of so doing
The people of the Mosaic dispensa-
ton, those to whom God gave His
law, were especially commanded to
teach these things to their children
II was not even question with them
as to whether to teach the Bible or
not. They of course did not have
the book as we have it, but what they
did have was considered of sufficient
Importance to be instilled into the
minds Of their children and as more
light developed before them, they ac-
cepted it and impaired it.
In Deut 6:7, we have these words:
"And thou shalt teach them 1.-THE
lawsl diligently to thy children, and
shalt talk of them when thou sittest
in thine house and when thou walkest
by the way, when thou liest down
and when thou riseth up"
IL this injunction had been faith
fully carried out, do we not all be-
lieve it would have been different
with Israel, to what it was?
If this practice had been adopted
with us, as regards the teachings of
both the old and new testaments, who
of us do not believe conditions would
b. different with our own country
today?
What is there to be feared from
teaching the Bible in the public
schools? Are we opposed to it be-
cause the Catholics do it? Are we
afraid to follow, even good exam
pie, unless we, ourselves, inaugurate
it? We may not like the Catholics,
and yet they are doing at least one
thing right How could we make a
mistake by doing that same thing?
But someone says we have got so
many different interpretations of
what the Bible really does teach, that
maybe we would get tangled up in
some of our efforts and would thereby
confuse the children. Well, if that's
the trouble, the sooner we get to
studying the old book with the honest
intent to know just what it does say,
the sooner we will get by this OBJ
lection. There is no doubt but what
we are lost, and badly in the brush.
on good many points of doctrine
that even the children would agree
on, if we would teach it to them in its
simplicity, in their childhood days.
while their minds are unincumbered
with "high falunten" theology that
undertakes to teach the unteachable,
and unknowable things of science
that disputes the only dependable ac-
count Of creation, and generation we
have and would have us believe in
stead, that the earth came by chance
and produced monkeys naturally, and
developed the monkeys into men sci
entifcally.
II it isn't already too late, that is
if we haven't neglected the matter
too long already, it would be well for