The Indianapolis journal., 1893-12-31
BIBLE STUDY.

In social discussion in this city few
days ago the question raised whether
the Bible was as much read by the present
generation of young people as it was by
the last, and the preponderance of opinion
among those old enough to have intelli-
gent opinion on the subject was that it was
not If this is the case, knowledge of the
Bible as literary work, as well as knowl-
edge of its moral and religious teachings,
is on the decline. Are our children, when
they grow up. likely to know as much
about the Bible or of what it contains as
their parents or grandparents did? We
doubt If they will. In considering the ques-
ton it must be remembered that children
do not read the Bible voluntarily as they
do not take naturally or kindly to serious
resdirg. They do not care for spiritual
II ings, and have conception of higher
life or a future state of existence. They
may accept some of these doctrines on the
representation Of their elders, but generally
speaking, they have personal appre-
citation of them and take no interest in
them. The Bible has no interest for them
either as a code of morals. rule of con-
duct, a basis of religion or a literary work.
There are thousands of books I'm the public
comparatively mature judgment can appre-
ciate the Bible. Children can get much good
out of II If they will read and study it, but
they will not do this voluntarily. They
must be forced to do it. put to it as a task
or induced to do 1t from a sense Of duty
In this regard study of the Bible is not
different from the study of arithmetic or
grammar The average child does not study
them from choice, but because he is sent
to school and required to study them. If
children were in the same way required to
unwillngly and perfunctorily. perhaps. but
Trey would do it nevertheless, and would
get a good deal out of it. And right here is
the point Children of the present genera
ton do not read the Bible as much as those
of the last generation did because they are
not required to. They are not subjected
to the same degree OF compulsion in this
regard as their fathers and grandfathers
were when young The duty of attending
Sunday school is not made nearly as OBJ
Iigatory on children nowadays as it used
Oft
school, ard most of those who do attend
quit at a very early age. Not half the
children Of school age in Indiana attend
Sunday school The number of children of
school age in the State in 1892 was 776,97S,
and the total number of Sunday school
scholars enrolled was S71,602 There are
more than 100000 children in the State of
school age who do not attend Sunday school
at all. and of those who attend the majority
quit as soon as they are permitted to do
so. Boys quit sooner than girls. 1t is a
rare thing to find boys in Sunday school
above the age of twelve or thirteen years.
4 few continue longer and some pass into
Bible classes, but the number of these is
snail The knowledge that child gets of
the Bible during few years of desultory
attendance at Sunday school is limited and
superficial. In fact, the Sunday school
teaching of the present day tends in that
direction Its aim seems TO be towards
making the study of the Bible entertaining
II runs to surface culture instead of deep
blowing. The old fashion OF memorizing
verses and chapters of the Bible has gone
out. The modern theory is that memoriz-