Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1896-11-05
IGNORANCE OF THE BIBLE,

Are the people of the country
losing their knowledge of the
Bible9
The Waterman, q religious
weekly published in Boston be-
lieves that they are. It is con-
WINGED that a greater proportion
of people who 60 to church regu-
larly, and even of Sunday school
pupils, are wofully unfamiliar
with the sacred book.
The Waterman says:
GA generation is growing up in
our Sunday Schools which is
practically unacquainted with the
Bible. Literary men of high
standing deplore the popular ig-
norance of the scriptures; minis
ters say they al no longer take
it for granted that the simplest
Biblical illusions will be under
stood by some of the members of
their congregations, who have
spent ten years or more in the
Sunday school; the religious
press teens with complaints that
Christian people do not know
their Bibles, the daily papers,
during the last two or three years
have repeatedly emphasized the
unfamiliarity of the people with
the Scriptures: and educational
institutions have found it neces-
sary to make special provision for
acquainting their pupils with the
Bible, deeming it at least a re-
proach to an educated person not
to be familiar.with the Bible. If any
one doubts the extent of the pop
ular Ignorance of the Bible among
the young people, sven of Chris
tian families, let him test an av-
erage class of boys or girls, and a
few questions will convince the
most skeptical.
The Waterman, in its anxiety
to prevent a popular neglect of
the Bible, has probably o~veresti-
mated the case. 1t is certain that
more people go to church and
Sunday school than ever went be-
fore. A majority of our preach
ers still preach the gospel and
read lessons from the Bible at
every service. The instruction in
Sunday schools is far more prac-
teal and more interesting than it
formerly was, and it still sticks
close to the Bible.
The American Bible society is
doing a great work in distributs
ing Bibles among the masses. In
this cause it spends a vast
amount OF money every year. and
the sales of Bibles are increasing
constantly. The number of cos
pies issued in tho last year COW
cred by the society's report
amounted to 1850, 2s3, and al
though about oneshalf of them
were distributed in foreign coun>
tries in languages other than the
English. we yet have the better
part of q million copies left for
the United States. That is for a
single year. During the 80 years
of the society's existence the
number of Bibles printed by it
has been very nearly 81, 600, 600,
and, even if we allow less than
one-half OF them for our own
country, that number is great
enough to furnish q Bible for
every family in the land. Be-
sides, the publication of the book
in the United State is not con-
fined to the American Bible sos
ciety. and we must add to its is
sue those that are made by
other societies and publishing
houses, as well as those Bibles
that are imported From England,
q large number.
Bibles are sold cheaper than
any other books. They are not
only offered in all book stores,
but thousands of colporteurs go
alike through the cities aud the
thinly populated rural regions
selling and giving away Bibles.
It is easier to get a bible than it
ever was before, and If the po~
pular ignorance of the good book
is increasing it is because the
masses Of the people are less in
terested in it's teaching than they
used to be-and that we do not
believe.