The Tucson citizen., 1902-08-25
The BIBLE IN NEWSPAPERS.

The editor of newspaper pub
lished at Pana in the State of Illinois, |
proposes to print the Bible as serial.
The Chicago Chronicle, newspaper Of
ability and discernment, commends
this proposition to the home missionary
bodies of the country as worthy of
their serious consideration, suggest
ing that they make arrangements with
other newspapers to devote some part
of their space to the publication of the
Scriptures in serial way. This the
Chronicle indorses because it would
bring the Good Book "to the daily at
tention of hundreds of thousands Of
people who have not looked into a BIZ
Bile since their Sunday-school days"
In support of this plan of campaign
against infidelity and Indifference, our
Chicago contemporary submits the fol-
| lowing:
There are some people foolish enough
|
the victims of their religious-or nom
religious prejudices. For whatever
may be thought of the claims to divine
inspiration made for the book, no one
who reads it can deny that it COM
mands a place among the highest
types of English literature. "The En-
glish Bible" said Thomas Darlington
Macaulay. ''is book which, if every
thing else in our language should per-
ish, would alone suffice to show the
whole extent of it's beauty and power"
The missionary people could do no
greater service to literature as we'll as
to religion than by making the Bible
popular rather than an esoteric
book. The Pana man has pointed out
the way.
The fair presumption is that our
Chicago contemporary intends to be
serious. as BELTS the theme of it's dis
course. We credit it with the best of
motives-a sincere desire to do good to
mankind. But one must be permitted
to smile at the sober remark that the
Bible commands a place among the
highest types of English literature"
Has our contemporary forgotten that
the Old Testament was translated from
the original Hebrew, the New Testa-
ment from the original Greek? Are
English translations of Homer and
Virgil true types of English literature?
Shall we credit Goethe, Hugo, Dumas
and Cervantes to English literature
because English scholars have trans
lated them into our NOTWITHSTANDING
language?
But that is not the important point
in the argument of our Chicago con-
temporary. What we wish to notice
particularly is its appreciation Of the
Pana project. it's conclusion that 'the
Pana man has pointed out the right
way With all due reverence to the
} Book of Books, and with due respect to
; the Chronicles motive, we feel deep
) conviction that the daily publication
of the Scriptures seriatim, from the
first chapter of Genesis to the last
| chapter of Revelations, would be in
: juicious, and quite likely to do more
harm than good. We are confident
: that the most intelligent and devout
= clergymen of all denominations would
object to it. They know that there is
great deal of matter in the Old Tes-
t ament which, printed in that way
} could not possibly inspire devotional
4 sentiment Its publication would
t make the judicious grieve. While
: there is much that is indescribably
n beautiful, and could not be printed OF
: read too frequently, in the printed
books of the Old Testament, there are
n many chapters in other books that, IL
Y our opinion, no educated Christian
e would care to see in the daily papers
- The God of the Christians is thu
e Father Of all men, the Creator anC
@ Ruler of the universe. The God of tn
b Old Testament is the God of singh
J. race-the God of Israel.
n The Old Testament's chief value t,
/, the Christian resides in the fact tha
It it leads up to the new dispensation
n Selections from the poetry of the OF,