By the NORTHERN PRESBYTERY.
AS the Secretary for Scotland requests suggestions to be offered in connection with the training of pupils in what pertains to citizenship, the Northern Presbytery of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, at a meeting held at Dingwall, on 23rd March, 1943, respectfully remarks as follows, mainly as regards Problem I.: 1.—It is the unfeigned belief of the members of this Court that the best contribution which can be made to the training of pupils in the duties of citizenship is to return to the Bible, to study it, by the blessing of God, to receive it, and seek to live according to it. To adapt a phrase of Lord Craigmyle, we would thus put the Golden Rule before the Rule of Gold. “By the fear of the Lord, men depart from evil.” By understanding the Word of God, and in virtue of being indoctrinated, in a manner suitable for young people, in the faith once delivered to the Saints, they would thereby be given a solid grounding in the principles of honesty, truthfulness, and of all which makes for the building up of mental and moral integrity and sincerity of heart. Teachers of religious knowledge should be permitted to teach only what is plainly according to the Word of God. They should not make insinuations nor reflections upon the Divine Word which are calculated to sow needless suspicions in the minds of young persons, or to convey to them the impression that fault morally is to be found with Biblical narratives, or that the supposed “assured results” of destructive critical scholarship are either tenable or final. It has been amply proved by such Orientalists as Prof. R. Dick Wilson, Prof. Sayce, Dr. Wm. Henry Green, etc., that such “assured results” are assumptions, the “ipse dixits” of men like Wellhausen. 2.—This Court would respectfully emphasize their sense of the blessing which would ensue by the due teaching of the Shorter Catechism in schools. The Larger Catechism, in addition, might most profitably be read through gradually in higher classes. We are well aware that the cavil is made that the Shorter Catechism is too difficult and abstruse for the young. The answer to such a prejudiced cavil is given by Dr. McCrie:—”The pupil must learn the rudiments of Greek and Latin long before he can comprehend the use of them, or apply them as a key to unlock the treasures of ancient learning (in fact, in all Churches he is first taught his Christian creed in this way), and experience has shown that few who have been carefully instructed in our Shorter Catechism have failed to discover the advantage of becoming acquainted in early life, even as a task, with that admirable form of sound words.” 3.—There is a volume on Christian Ethics which should be most useful for teachers as a reliable basis for simplified instruction in such subjects as come within the ambit of the duties and privileges of citizenship. The name of it is “Perfect Freedom,” by Princ. T. C. Hammond, Moore College, Sydney. Without endorsing every view set forth or statement made, we cordially recommend it to all interested in the subject for their careful perusal. Under Section D., the following relevant subjects are discussed:—Christian duty and virtue; the Christian in relation to the Community; to Moral Institutions; to the Economic Order; to the State, etc.
We respectfully state our opinion that the intellectual side of education is unduly, almost disastrously, emphasized in the educational curriculum, while the subject which is most essential, namely, instruction in the truth of the Bible, which would rebound to the glory of God, our Creator, and be for the welfare of the soul, for time and for eternity, has been largely ousted. “These things ought not so to be.” By seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, the young would be equipped for the battle of life, and for the worthy discharge of the duties of citizenship. “Righteousness exalteth a nation.”
We give, in conclusion, the following quotations from addresses of men of outstanding influence in the sphere of Christian ethics and public morals:—1. Lieut-General Sir Arthur Smith, Officer Commanding the London Defences, stated recently (March, 1943), at a meeting in London on the education question, that what was required was an undiluted and undeleted Bible. He further addressed the meeting on how the Shorter Catechism was taught in Scotland. 2. Dr. Lloyd Jones recently stated that he dreaded unsuitable teachers for religious instruction. Teachers, he said, should undergo some examination, for if the attitude of such persons is not favourable, then such teaching is mockery. 3. Quotation from report of the General Committee of the British and Foreign Bible Society, Bible House, London:—”The Committee, which is inter-denominational and widely representative, is unanimous in believing that a sound understanding of the Bible, and a faithful response to its message, are the foundation of Christian education, life, and character. . . . What the nations of the British Commonwealth owe to the fact that the Bible has been for centuries their chief source of light and inspiration cannot be over-estimated”(1943). 4. Our closing quotation is from an address of Prebendary Spencer Leeson, Headmaster of Winchester College, given in London. It is:—Prebendary Spencer Leeson declared that there could be no question that the Bible still had a very powerful hold upon our people. Christian teaching in the schools must be founded upon the Bible, and that conviction, he believed, was shared by a great number of our countrymen, even by those who sit very loosely to any form of institutional religion. He had, however to admit that at the present time there was cause for anxiety. We could not now assume even an elementary knowledge of the Bible, such as we might have assumed thirty to forty years ago, and that was in spite of the excellent work done by the Scripture Union, and similar bodies, in helping children regularly to read the Bible. The Prebendary maintained that England still loved the Bible, but it was by no means certain that she loved it for the right reason. He was not sure whether the nation loved and honoured it as the revealed Word of God. He attached great importance to the learning by heart of carefully selected passages of Scripture. It was also important to preserve the continuity of the story of the Life of Christ. Teachers should beware of using books about the Bible as a substitute for the Bible itself. They must help boys to understand what the Bible said about God, the soul, sin, redemption, and the work of the Holy Spirit.”—The Christian.