Hungarian Church Press, 1949 (1. évfolyam, 4-13. szám)

1949-10-16 / 13. szám

7/HAT HUNGARIAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE TEACHING ABOUT THE BIBLE,

THE PROPHETS AND THE CHURCH

By means of the newly instituted public schools the doors of education have been widely thrown open in Hungary. It is compulsory for all Hungarian girls and boys from the age of 6 up to 14 to attend this type of combined grammar and public school, after*which high-schools or technical schools for higher on special instruction can be entered.

It is in the VII. class of public schools where children are taught the introduction into the general and Hungarian history up to the rule of Francis Rákóczy II. /L705JL711/ The parts of the book referring to

the Church of both the Old and the New Testament are cure to be of interest to our readers and therefore we are going to bring some portions o-f the book.

In the outline of ancient history we find the following:

"The first place among the written records is taken by the 3ible.

This work got into being in the Land of the Jews, a small people, wedged between great empires. The Bible, and numerous other records bear witness of the fact* that things Were far from being in order on this earth

even at that time. It is true that man conquered fire, and water, even

the wind was made instrumental to him. He understood agriculture, bred animals, there were even carriages, houses, villages and cities, churches and palaces, writers, scientists and artists. Yet there was no perfect happiness on this earth. There were always more and more poor and suppressed and the rule of the privileged grew always more and more cruel.

In the empires and countries of ancient times it was the peasants, but namely the slaves that bore the burdens and no wonder that their ombittorment often broke out into bloody revolts.

Man became master over nature, but the trouble remained that he could not yet become master over society, he could not yet conquer miser;', poverty, suppression, ~;ars and the rule of the privileged.

Of the greatest figures of ancient times it was the prophets that rose their voice against social injustices and_proclaimed Ihat: "7/oe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no.place. that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!" /Isaiah 5:8/ "Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievoousness which they have prescribed: To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless! /Isaiah 10:1-2/

And the prophets also saw, that neither war is an internal law of the earth, that sooner or later the time of eternal peace is sure to come, when:- 7 •

13. Hungarian Church Press