Image provided by: Silverton Country Historical Society; Silverton, OR
About Torch of reason. (Silverton, Oregon) 1896-1903 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 6, 1900)
Q T H E TOUCH OF REASON, S IL V E R T O N , OREGON, D E C E M B E R 6, E. M. 300 (1900.) placently resumes the newspapei one has well said, the utm ost th a t under the im pression th a t all is as severity can do is to m ake hypo- it should he: most unfortunate mis- crites; it can never m ake converts, [Social Statics. takel If the thiug wanted had been the m ere repression of noise, or the me The Bible an d th e P u b lic School, chanical transfer of a plaything, The opinion rendered by A ttorn- perhaps no better course could have been ursued H ad it been of no ey-G eneral B lackburn, in which he p nseouence un der w hat im pulse upholds the reading of th e Bible consequence the child acted, so long as it fulfill as part of the religious exercises of ed a given m andate, nothing would a public school, in which all the rem ain to be said. But som ething pupils are obliged to participate, else was needed C haracter was includes a good deal th a t is not to the t h i Z to be changed rather than the point. Nobody aupposes th a t conduct. It waa not the deeds, but the reading of the Bible as p art of the feeling from which the deeds the religious exercises of our pub- sp ru n g th at required dealing with. lic schools is objected to by Roman H ere were palpable m anifestations C atholics, by Jew s or by Agnostics, of selfishness— an indifference to on the ground th a t the passages the wishes of others, a m arked de read inculcate im m orality, or on sire to tyrannize, an endeavor to the ground th a t the passages read m ay not be p art of a fine body of engross benefits intended for all in short, here were exhibitions on literatu re. The plea of the Roman a sm all scale of th a t unsym pathetic Catholic dissenters is th a t the Bi n ature to which our social evils are ble, known as the P ro testan t Bible, m anifestly attrib u tab le. \\ hat,then, “ King Jam es’ version,” is held and was the thing wanted? E vidently believed by the C atholic church to an alteratio n in the ch ild ’s dispo be incorrect and incom plete, and it sition. W hat was the problem to is further tau g h t by the Roman be solved? Clearly to generate a Catholic church and believed by s ta te of m ind which had it pre its mem bers th a t the scriptures viously existed would have p r e ought not to be read in d iscrim in vented the offending actions. W hat ately , since th e church has divine was the final end to be achieved? authority as the only infallible U nquestionably the form ation of teacher and interpreter of thesam e; ch aracter which should sp o n tan e th a t the reading of the sam e w ith ously produce great generosity of out being expounded by the only conduct. Or, speaking definitely, authorized teachers and in terp re it was necessary to strengthen that ters is likely to lead to the adopt sym pathy to the weakness of which ion of dangerous errors, irreligious faith, practice and worship. This th is ill behaviour was traceable. is the position of the Rom an C ath B ut sym pathy can be stre n g th olic church, and in the light of this ened only by exercise. No faculty exposition the P ro testan t Bible is w hatever will grow, save by the perform ance of its special function clearly a sectarian book to a Rom — a muscle by contraction; the in an C atholic pupil. So to the orthodox Jew, the P ro t tellect by perceiving and thinking; moral sentim ent by feeling. Sym estan t Bible is clearly a sectarian h o o k , because while fcr* recognizes pathy, therefore, can be increased the Old T estam ent, he rejects the only by exciting sym pathetic em o New T estam ent, denies th a t Jesus tions. A selfish child is to be re n was the Messiah, and holds th a t he dered less selfish, only hy arousing was nothing more than a gifted in it a fellow-feeling with the de sires of others. If this is not done, social ag itato r put to death by P il ate as a d istu rb er of the public n o th in g is done. peace. To an Agnostic th e Bible T hus we have but to reduce the would be a ttra c tiv e as fine lite ra subjection theory to a definite form ture, but offensive as a p art of re to render its absurdity self-evident. ligious exercises in which he has no C ontrasting th e m eans to be em faith, and which he ought not to ployed with the work to be done, be obliged to endure in a public we are a t once struck with their u t school which is legally no place ter unfitness. Instead of creating for sectarian religious exercises. a new in tern al state which shall The question of Bible reading as •exhibit itself in better deeds, coer a religious exercise in the public cion can m anifestly do nothing but schools was exhaustively argued forcibly mould externals into a before the Suprem e C ourt of W is coarse sem blance of such a state. consin in 1890 on appeal from the In the fam ily, as in society, it can C ircuit C ourt of Rock County. sim ply restrain; it cannot educate. Mr. Justice Lyon held th a t the Ju st as the recollection of Bridwell, j reading of any version of the Bible and the dread of a policeman, in the public schools as a religious whilst they serve to check the thief’s text-book is sectarian instruction. depredations, effect no change in He quoted from the reports of the his morals, so, although a father’s Am erican Bible Society the state- th reats may produce in a child a inent th a t through th e reading of certain outside conform ity with rec- the scriptures alone several persons (Rode, they cannot generate any were converted from Rom anism . real attachm ent to it. As some |I n this case, Bible reading was sec- tarian instruction, and Bible read- accordance with th a t of the highest ing in the schools is sectarian in- court of W isconsin— th a t the Bible struction. The learned Judge said is a sectarian book, and its reading th a t these views do not banish in schools is sectarian religious in- from the public schools such text- stru ctio n .[— Oregonian. books as are founded upon the fundam ental teachings of the Bible, Too M any By Half. or which contain ex tracts there- Ivan Chen, secretary to the C hi from. Such ex tracts pervade secu- lar literatu re, are rig h tly included nese M inister in London, sent a in text-books for secular instruc- capital letter to the London Daily tion as standing for noble lite ratu re Mail in reply to Mr. Ju lia n R a lp h ’s and the code of good m orals, con- article on “ All the T rouble in Chi cerning whose fundam ental princi- n a.” The Mail did not “ like eith er pies the religious sects do not disa the tone nor the m a tte r” of the gree. Mr. Ju stice Lyon held th a t C elestial’s reply, which contained the tru th s of the Bible are best “ m any unnecessary sneers a t C hris tau g h t to our youth in th e church, tia n ity .” Poor d ear C hristians! in the S unday schools, the social How sensitive they are! How they religious m eetings, and, above all. w rithe when a little— ever so little by parents in the home circle, where — of the sauce which they dish the the tru th s m ay be explained and “ h eath en ” is poured over them - enforced, and the sp iritu al n atu re selvesl Mr. R alp h described the directed and cultivated in accord way in which the ig n o ran t Chinese ance with the dictates of the pa scare aw ay devils, p artly by m eans rental conscience. The co n stitu of em pty beer-bottles. W ell, said tion of W isconsin does not in te r the bland Celestical, supposing this fere with such teaching and cu l is all true, are there not ignorant, ture. It only banishes theologic superstitious people everyw here, polemics from the district schools. and is not an em pty beer-bottle “ as The court held th a t reading of the good for keeping off devils as the Bible in the public schools is relig largest bells ever erected in any ious worship;* th at it constitutes tow er?” A hit, a hit, a palpable the schoolhouse for the tim e beii.g hit! No wonder the Mail is wild. a place of worship, and th a t such The bland Celestial goes on to reading in school houses as a school say th a t C hina contains nine tim es exercise against the consent of the as m any people as the U nited tax-payer compels him to support a States, but th ey don’t spend nine place of worship. tim es 200,000,000 d allars a y ear in The court also said th a t no child “ propitiating th eir gods and dev should be compelled to retire from ils.” They do it just as effectively school because of the reading of a for less th an half th at sum. Good, version of the Bible in schools of thou bland Celestial, very good! fensive to the parents. T he fact You are too m any for these C h ris th a t the reading of the Bible in the tians. They could do with half schools was a source of religious your cleverness. and sectarian strife was held suf Then the bland Celestial goes on ficient reason for its banishm ent. to explain th a t the educated, in te l The court was unanim ous in ho ld ligent people uf C hina follow the ing the Bible to be a sectarian book. teaching of th e great Secular p h i P rotestants are a sect to the C atho losopher, Confucius. “ Confucius” , lic church, and so is th eir version he says, “ has ta u g h t us to respect of the Bible sectarian as against our ancestors and leave the gods the C atholic version of it, which alone. Confucius teaches us to includes as p a rt of th e inspired have nothing w hatsoever to do with canon books om itted from the P ro t anyone who pretends to have any estant version. The constitution intercourse with the su p e rn a tu ra l.” of Wisconsin provides th a t “ no sec We have am ongst us, however, he tarian instruction sh all be allowed says, a silly lot of people called in the public schools,” and the B uddhists, w h o h a v e “ a religion a l court was unanim ous in the op in most identtcal with the C hristian ion th a t the reading of the Bible religion”, and the trouble in C hina therein is contrary to the rights of is ju st w hat would happen in E n g conscience, and th a t th e tax p ay ers land if B uddhist m issionaries tried of any d istrict had a rig h t to ob to su p p lan t th e Catholics and P ro ject to the reading of the Bible testants. “ Suppose” , he says, “ a therein, since th e constitution de Chinese priest should come to E n g clares th at “ no m an shall be com land, and it should be know n th a t pelled to support any place of wor every burglar, pickpocket an d thief, ship.” by becoming a B uddhist, would be The contention of A ttorney-G en come exem pt from arrest by the eral B lackburn th a t th e reading of police. Suppose th a t tho in tro d u c the Bible as a school exercise is not tion of a new faith into E n g lan d sectarian is clearly not well taken. should give the crim in al classes li To a Jew or a C atholic our P ro t cense to ply th e ir trad e in London estan t Bible is clearly a sectarian with com plete im m u n ity from the book. The sam e question cam e action of the laws W ould the E n- before A ttorney-G eneral Jones, of glish peopie su b m it to such a state W ashington S tate, about eight affairs?” C ertaialy not. Then whv years ago, and his opinion was in should the Chinese? F in ally , th e