The Great Problem

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Volume 58, Issue 215, 11 October 1929, Page 8

The Great Problem

Special to Telegraph.

youth and religiqn

90,000 Children Without Spiritual Teaching FOUNDATION OE LIEE.

ALX'KLAND, This day. ."We want to cease talking and get down to bedrock, and bedrock in this question is liome." Thus Bishop Averill summed up, "the prohlem of the chikl," in continuing his cliarge to the Diocasan 'Synod in St. Mary's Cathedral yesterday morning. Pointing ont that there were thousands of children iu the country who had not been baptised and were receiving 110 religious instruction whatsoever, tlie A l'chbisliop asked if the Church was alive to tlie problem and was is really faeing it? lie said that, it was- e.stimated that thare were 90,000 children in New Zealand wlio were receiving no religious teaching. "We have not got very far toward a solution of the problem with all our academic discuss'ions ancl confei'ences, and it is not particularly helpful to pass pious a'csolutions deploring youthful delincjuency," said the Arclihishop. What eould they expect from children who received no religious training at horne, nnne at school and are not even encouraged to pick up the crumbs availahle in Sunday school. "Because the fetish of free, secular and compulsory education has cauglit |Jie popular imagination and provided a popular political slogan, the church has heen unsuocessful in its efforts te obtain the reading or teaching of the Holy Scripture in the state primary schools," said the Archhishop. ."For years we have -endeavoured to get ilefinite, acknowleclgment of Almighty God." added His Graco. "We are not so foolisli as to sup- . pose that the millennium would he in sight, evcn if the State amendecl tlie Education Act and provided for_ tlie education of the child by recognising the value and impertance of the spiritual side of the chilcl's nature, but we do state that they would be equipped to face the temptations and pitfalls of life if tliey had some solid reason and foundation for living a moral . life and some nohler vision ot the meaning and opportunities of life." The executive of the Bible in State Scliools League was not submitting its hill to the present Parliament, said tlie Archhishop, but was still carrying on its work and would endeavour to secure such amendments ro the Hon. G. M. Thomson's hill, which advocated the Victorian svstem that it might to a large extent cover the same ground as the Church's own hill. "As far as tlie Churcli is concerned we have a solemn responsibility to guard our metliods from any appearance of evil, especially our metliods ot • caining adherents or raising funds foi the support of the 'church's work, said Archhishop Averill. "The end docs not justify tlie nieans, and laxitv in tliis direction on thc part of the cli'iircli may convev suggestions and sanctious to thc imnds of the young which will sow seeds of a deartly harvest in tlieir livcs. The duty of the church is to he a witness to the ldeals and standards of Chrisfc. and not ^ 0 make compromises witli the world.