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ANDYS .IB IMBER 14, 1935. AN APPEAL TOREINSTATE IN ALLHIE PUBLIC SCHOOLS THE AUTHORIZED VI SION OF THE ENGLISH BIBLE AS A UNIFORM CODE OF GOOD MORALS FOR THE SCHOOL, STATE AND NATION IN AMERICA (Reprinted from a booklet by the Rev. Robert Elliott Flickin ger, D. D., Rockwell City, Iowa.) (Continued from page 1) FOUR SCHOOLS OF ETHICS Article XVII In. a recent text-book on Eth ics by E. S. Brightman, entitled "Moral Laws/' there is found .this definition: “Ethics is the normative science of the prin ciples (or laws) of the best type® of human conduct." Explaining this definition the author proceeds to analyze the four types of ethical theo ries that have been historically influential: those of Aristotle, Epicurus, Kant, and Christian Ethics. Aristotle The Aristotle type holds that the good life is one in which the powers, of man come to their fullest most harmoni pus and balanced development. This is sometimes called perfec tionism. The ethical theories of Aristotle in Greece, and of Con fucius in China, were very sim ilar; and Thomas Aquinus add ed to them these three Chris tian virtues: faith, hope and charity. Epicurus The Epicurean, type holds that pleasure is the supreme good and the best life is the one that embodies that which the rich man of the Bible said to himself, “Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many drink and be merry. But God said unto him. Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be re quired of thee; then, whose shall these things be, which thou hast provided?” (Luke 12:19-20.) Kant . The Kant theory of ethics taught that morality is essen tially a matter of the humani will. If the mind and will are s^f•'Cops.-stent they <• are all right. This self-consistent idea led Emerson to politely remark, “With consistency a great soul has nothing to do.” Christian Ethics The cultural \ principles of Christian Ethics are love and sacrifice. “God is love. He that dwelleth in him dwelleth in God and God in him.” “We love him because he first loved us.” (I John 4:16.) “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth [ in him, should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16.) “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.” (Matt. 10:37.) “Love your enemies, bless them that urse youfc do good to them that hate you and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you, that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.” (Mt. 6:44.) Jesus made love so central and radical by loving one’s en emies, his teachings have been more influential by making hu manity gentle than all other forces in history. Hie maxims in the Sermon on the Mount have not been practiced by all readers, but they do not die. They have been providentially preserved and transmitted from one generation to another. Ever since Stephen, the first Chris tian martyr, was stoned to death, offering the prayer, “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge,” Acts 7:60, others like Wickliff and Tyndale, translat ors; John Huss, of Bohemia; Bishops Latimer and Ridley and thousands unnamed, have been thrilled with the heroic spirit of martyrs for the truth. That was the spirit of Jesus when, expiring on the cross, he prayed for his cruel enemies, “Father, forgive them, for they Know not what they do." (Luke 23:34.) Primeval Instincts Lead to War “One thing thou lackestmay be said of all civilizations and systems of ethics, that are not Kased> upon the Scriptural stand ard of good morals. Such civili zations are superficial. , Wher ever the primeval instincts have prevailed, ignorance, su perstiLon, vice and dissipation havfe also prevailed. The Wisdom of Men The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God; for it is written, “He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.” “The preaching of the cross is to theim that (perish, foolishness; but to them which are saved, it is the power of God.” I (Cor. ! 1:18.) Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? j “For after that, in the wis dom of God, thp world fey wis dom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them t,l#at be lieve. “For the Jews require a sign, an4~the~Greeks seek after wis dom. i “But.we preach Christ cru cified; unto the Jews a stum bling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness.” “But ,unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. “God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confount the wise; that no flesh shad glory in his presence. (I Cor.~l: 18-29.) The Wisdom of God a Mystery The apostle wrote the Cor inthians in one of the capital cities of Greece: “I determined not to know anything among you, save Jes us Christ and him crucified; “That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. “We preach not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princ es of this world, that come to naught; “We speak the wisdom of God in ja mystery); fcven the hidden wisdom, which God or dained before the world, unto our glory; “Which none of the princes of this world knew; for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glo ry. “But, as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. “God hath revealed them un to us by His Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, even the deep things of God.” “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spir it of man which is in him? Ev en so the things of God know eth no man, but the Spirit of God.” (I Cor. 2:7-11.) The same apostle in writing the Hebrews, said: “God, ;who at sundry times and in divers manners, spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets; “Hath in these last days spoken unto Us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom he made the worlds.” (Heb. 1: 1-2.) , No philosophers or psycholo gists, no founders of religious systems, like Mahomet, Buddha pr the Pope at Rome or Con stantinople have ever stated re ligious truths so Wisely and comfortingly as did Paul in these letters to the Hebrews and Cor inthians. It was stated of John the Baptist: “He was* burning and shining light.” He was il lumined by the light of the Spin it of God. Pray for that light. The Apostler found some who Were ashamed of the gospel; but he had common sense enough to note the uuference oetween the unquenchable chatt Which the wind bioweth away and Uie good seed of the king dom, that brought salvation u> every soul that believed it^ the human heart cries out lot God, and finds no rest until it finds rest in the living God who is everywhere present. Confucius and Buddha never thought of a revelation from their idolatrous writers. But t Holy Bible reveals the hvi God, the Creator of the wor as the source of light and ii; everywhere present source of light and life, and in finite in all his perfections, i “God is a Spirit, infinite, eter nal and unchangeable in hia being, wisdom, poWer» holiness, justice, goodness and truth.’ — (S. C. 4.) Supernatural Keveiauewy The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments form an in spirepd, (supernatural revelation from God. Their supernatural elements are duo to the invisi ble spiritual nature of God, and the two-fold nature of man, con sisting of soul and body. Knowledge and Duty “The Scriptures principal toach-whatjnan concerning God and what dirty God requires of man.” (S. C. 3.) The Bible begins with a knowledge of God as the Crea tor of the world and man to ex ercise authority over All the other creatures. It claims to he a messenger from God and to have a message for all nations. There is no other book like it anywhere. It is now published in 800 languages or dialects to meet the needs of the people in all lands. The Church of God The Scriptures have been preserved from one generation to another in the Church of God. Many things are transito ry: nations, kingdoms and em pires rise and fall; hut the Church of God, which had its origin in the covenant made with Abraham, has continued with the Holy Scriptures as a saving message and sacred treasure through all the ages, since. In the Church the Scriptures have proven “a lamp to the feet and a light to the path” of every believer. The Scriptures have illuminated the Church in all ages, and made it a light in the world) When the. Holy Spirit descended with power from on high at Pentecost, both Jew and Gentile were blessed and became faithful witnesses to their risen Redeemer. Through the public reading of the Scriptures in the Church and the preaching of the gospel, every hearer now has the op portunity to believe and obey the gospel call. “Effectual calling is the work of God’s Spirit, whereby con vincing us of our sin and mise ry, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, he doth per suade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ freely offered to us in the gospel/* (S. C. 31.) Enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ is the work of God’s Spirit while we read and meditate upon the Ho ly Scriptures, as at church on the Sabbath. “In all thy ways acknowledge the Lord, and He shall direct thy paths.”—Solomon. EDUCATION FOR CHARAClElT By Dr. Kelly Miller j President Eliot has stated ! that this is the first generation in the history of } the human race which is being educated without religion. Hie world awaits the outcome. Until now the world relied upon religious dogma a» the chief means of imparting morality. I once heard Resident Patton, of Howard University, say that theology is always laxity in morality, ts have all but intellectual peda religious incen expense of moral based upon the is of the soul. We ed head and hands but phazard and chance ion of the heart, ag of a wit once sa. les Darwin had ell out of religion. iThis is but a blunt and profane Way of Impressing a significant truth. William Jennings Bryan, peefrlfiss apostle of the com ' ' devoted, his last days the doctrine of f because it cut the nerve out of religion. He could not bring himself .to the recon ciliation. of the ages of rocks and the Rock of Ages. No Ein stein has yet arisen in the phil osophic worjd ..yrcfcp can., simpli fy and recoifdle science1 ‘aii&je ligion and fuse them into a pe " formula which would mind and imagination verage youth of our day eration. Some tm knocked I once wrote an essay for one pf our educational journals en I^Pedagogy” in subsftrtitutefor sacred lore as' a means >of imparting morality;' and building up character in youth* The gap between education and character is growing, deep er and wider as the doctrine of evolution has made all but uni versal headway. It is needless to attempt to combat the doc trine of evolution which forced itself upon us with all but axi omatic conviction. But the chief task devolves upon our educa tionalists,—to find a moral pe dagogy which can be ! main tained in harmony with the teachings of Darwin. Educational discussion today is concerned chiefly with secu lar curricula, with the sacred el ement either left out entirely or handled only with the little finger of the left hand-And yet the age-old admonition contains an everlasting fact and present truth : “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.” We are appalled at the plain facts of observation. Education and crime grow apace. Theft, graft, racketeering, lynching, burglary, kidnapping and gang sterdom outrun our boasted ed ucational statistics. We have lost the value of religious disci pline but have gained nothing to take, its place. Our schools are not only secular, but Pagan and Godless. The Roman Cathc lie Church, with logical consist ency, cries aloud against our Godless .schools which threaten the foundation of civilization. The Mother Church still tries to safeguard the educational development of her own adher ents by throwing around them the proper religious influence. But this is almost impossible in the midst of a non-religious minded age. Without further developing this theme along general lines, let me hasten to apply the ill effects of a Godless education upon the mind of Negro youth. The Negroes are basically a reli gious folk, motivated chiefly by a deep-seated spiritual emotion. The Northern missionaries who founded our schools mid colleges, hypothecated the de velopment of the Negro on this basis. They relied upon the spiritual dynamic as the chief agency of Negro uplift. With this end in view, they brought !to him the Bible in their right hand and the spelling book in their left. They sought to make education the handmaid of reli gion. In the earlier days of Howard, Fisk, Atlanta and Lincoln Universities, the facul ty would adjourn school for a week to conduct a revival of re ligion. There was more joy over one sinner who professed repen tance than over ninety-nine Students who got their lessons well. These devoted apostles of humanity have done their work well and gone to their reward. They have been succeeded by secular educators with mot competent teaching; and better facilities for imparting the let ter; but, alas, they lack the se cret and method of enkindling the spirit. | After fifty years of careful observation, I am convinced that the early educators did more to plant in the Negro the fundamental principles of char acter and to lay an enduring basis upon which the future of the race can be safely and se curely built than their present day successors Whose chief re liance is upon an adequate and 'efficient pedagogy. ' While this shift from sacred I to secular interests in educa tion have played havoc •_ with the minds of American youth i^ general, it has played double havoc with ambitious Negro . haxe forsaken things that lbok Godward and are engrossed in,things which are of the earth, earthy. When a boy in South Carolina, I used to hear the white people say, if you want anything run iinto the ground, let the Negro iget hold of it. Our college youth have gotten hold of a smatter ing of science and philosophy which has gone to the head and intoxicated the brain. Not be ing able to appraise and appre ciate the true value and func tion of science ■ and religion, they have gone to the ex tremes of agnosticism and ir reverence. Langston Hughes in his “Good-jbye, Christ” has more or less accurately expressed the mind of the average Ne gro intelligentsia: “A little learning is a danger ous thing; Drink deep or taste not the Py «, erian Spring.” A race which is just entering the equation of civilization for the first time, without the back ground or ballast of sobering ex perience, is apt to be swept off its feet and carried away with every new fad and “ism” which promises to upset ancient or existing order and reconstruct the world anew. The educators of Negro youth today are confronted with the most momentous prob lem in the history of the up ward struggle of the race—how to develop in youth placed in their charge, the fundamental character which will enable them to endure and withstand the stress of an arrogant and intolerant civilization. The evil effect of the lack of moral education is lamentably manifesting itself in the con duct of graduates from our schools and " colleges. I once heard the President of Howard University, the premier institu tion of higher Negro learning, say that not a single graduate of this institution could be found in jail or the penitentiary. But, alas, too sad tb relate, this can no longer be said either of this institution nor any other de voted to the higher education of Negro youth. Here in Wash ington we have the largest ndm per of Negroes bearing collegi ate and professional degrees to be found anywhere in the jworld. Our court calendars are jcrowded and our prisons are !well familiar with inmates bear-* ing insignia of the higher learn ing. The same thing is true, In a greater or less degree, in all parts of the country. Negro doc tors are too frequently accused and convicted of malpractice. Negro lawyers too often abuse their trust. The itui quoque flfrjgumentj that educated whites are sim ilarly accused is no sufficient re^ joinder. The number of educat ed Negro convicts is sadly out of proportion to the whites xn the same category. Allowance must be made for the economic stress and strain which they have not the character to re sist. Let me hasten to say that I make no wholesale condemna tion. The vast majority of Ne groes with higher education are upright and well-behaved icitizens; but the majority is not sufficient. A few rotten ap ples will give an evil reputation jto the whole barrel. Harvard University must have fifty thousand graduates in the Unit ed States. It is so seldom that a single one °f them is lodged in prison that when that happens it becomes a matter of univer sal report, and comment. Why can not the same be said of Negro graduates of colleges and universities ? Our colleges and universities 'must find some method of im buing their students with the fundamental principles of char iactey, or else— STUDYING FOOT BALL RULES EVEN FROM A SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS. ' Hampton Institute, Va., No vember 7, 1935.—Those who witness the Hampton-Virginia ,Union foot ball game at the Polo Grounds, New York City, on Thanksgiving Day, will see a foot ball game played strictly “according to Hoyle,” by two of the nation’s most outstand ing Negro College foot ball (teams. But they will witness, more than that: They will see two teams, one of which—Virginia Union University—will have as active “rooters” hosts of that school’s ministerial graduates; and the other—Hampton Insti tute—a. team which studies so exhaustively the rules of suc cess in foot ball that a few years ago, learning that a Sun day school lesson contained some instructions in sports, they examined that lesson. Of Interest to Church and Clergy The story of this Sunday school lesson will be of interest to ministers and church-goers 6f Harlem, as well as to regular sport fans: The teacher of a voluntary College Sunday school class at Hampton of about 100 mem bers, presented one morning a symposium of the secrets of success in major sports, as giv en by stars in each of them. These he compared with a di gest of “Bible Rules for Suc cess in Sports.” These and the place where each could be found were placed on a blackboard ind discussed. Players must, the rules said, be temperate in food, drink, work and play. They must pre pare themselves so that their bodies will be strong and their minds alert. They are to be sin gle-minded, able to endure hardness, play a clean game, do their best; act co-operatively, be patient, fight vigorously. The ||$an for the coach was: “Quit yourselves like men and fight.” Each player was to re mind himself in Paul’s words, that “Every man that strivetfc for the mastery must be tem (Continude on page 4)
Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.)
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Nov. 14, 1935, edition 1
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