COMPULSORY BIBLE READING
By LeRoy Edwin Froom
A Great Principle Menaced by the Present Program
THERE is nothing the true Christian parent desires more than to have his child daily read the Bible — and there is nothing more sadly neglected in this godless age. This is too apparent to be denied. Bible study seems to be dying out in the home, in the church, in the world. Boys and girls are reaching manhood and womanhood entirely ignorant of the sacred Scriptures. Where will the matter end? What will be the results? It is a grave problem; and an ever increasing number of sincere lovers of the Bible are urging that the public school teachers be directed by the state to read to their pupils a specific number of verses, without comment, each school day. One by one, the states are adopting this plan. A note in the Christian Herald of April 12, 1916, says, "The state of New Jersey has recently passed a law, approved by the governor March 5, requiring the reading of five verses from the Bible in each schoolroom of the state on every day of the school year." It is thought to stem thus the rising tide of godlessness. THE agitation has assumed such proportions that it has swelled into a loud cry. Many well worded arguments are presented in its favor. The charge is seriously made that spirituality appears to be decreasing in proportion as public school education advances. And so the present system is denominated "godless." There is a proposition to amend the three R's, "Reading, 'Riting, and 'Rithmetic," by adding a fourth,—Religion. Let it be distinctly understood that we are not of those who deliver bitter tirades upon persons who differ from us. We are in entire sympathy with every legitimate movement toward the study and reverence of the grand old Book. Let the word of God be revered and exalted; let it be read daily by all the people everywhere; but let it be by the power of love, and not by the power of human law. The promoters of the compulsory Bible reading movement are doubtless sincere, but therein lies the subtle danger of the measure. We must look at the problem from the viewpoint of principles involved, and not merely from that of the reading of the verses. Whenever Bible reading in a state public school is made compulsory, it thereby crosses the danger line. Public school attendance is compulsory; and logically, therefore, such Bible reading is compulsory. Conviction or Truant Officers — Which?
BUT compulsory Bible reading will never inspire love nor reverence for the Scriptures. The very purpose for which it is introduced will be frustrated. Force can make hypocrites, but can never make Christians. A perfunctory reading of the Word is not what is needed. Such men as Thomas Paine and Robert G. Ingersoll were frequent readers of the Scriptures, but neither of these men was bettered thereby. Let there be daily reading of the Scriptures; but let it be prompted by force of conviction, and not by the force of truant officers. Further, if the state has the right to compel the reading of the Bible, it has the right to decide which portion — the Old or the New Testament — shall be read. It would also have a right to decide which version shall be read, whether Catholic or Protestant. If the state is to decide which Testament and which version shall be read, would not the state thus be deciding which is the true religion and the true church? And if it may decide thus, would it not manifestly have the right not only to compel Bible reading, but to interpret the scripture read, and to teach religion? This is a serious question; and the seriousness of compulsory Bible reading lies in the precedent that will be eagerly seized by those who are not content with the reading of Scripture, but demand also the teaching of religion in the public schools. Were it to end with the Bible reading, God would take care of His word; but it will not end there. Let there be religious teaching, but let it be given by the church and the home, and in sectarian schools, by teachers who are not paid with money from the state treasury. Let the attendance at such institutions be optional, that the inalienable rights of each individual conscience be respected and guarded. This can be done, and is done, both in large and in small denominations. The one great purpose of the state educational system is the making of good citizens, and the prevention of illiteracy. Let us keep the state and the church forever separate.
L. E. F.