Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1904-06-29
lmperisn. Source Of rrsIalss Nat Is Sally
Neglected.

u - = @f~r@ lhCt1"-Nt aRQh No tuuU
once the painful fact that amajority
of our young people are grossly ig-
norant of Scrip,ere. Not infre.
quently pupil, bright in other liues,
will be densely ignorant of the Bible,
Nor have they read it sufficiently 20
have become familiar with its style,
nor have its priceless passages fixed
themselves in their hearts and memo.
ries. We have found them utterly
unable TO distinguish familiar pro.
verb of Solomon from popular say
ing of Poor Richard, and often they
confound a beautiful, widely.used
passage of Scripture with the writ
ings of uninspired men. The igno-
rance of Scripture is widespread-sit
is appalling-it is tho crime Of the
century. The church must face this
palpable, though unpleasant fact, and
in the grace and wisdom of God
muat solve this problem of the cen
tury.
Bible study should be the all i'm
portant study of youth. Viewed
merely as a part of liberal eduoa-
tion, knowledge of the Bible is a
necessity. No man can lay claim to
culture, who has not made syste-
matte and thorough study of the
Scriptures of God. A thorough
knowledge of Gods Word may not
be essential to salvation, but to get
all the light God is willing to give us
from Revelation is our duty to Him,
to our fellowmen and TO ourselves. A
knowledge of Scripture, where it is
the servant of love and humanity,
honors God as its Divine Aathor, en-
larges our minds, strengthens our con-
victions, makes our religion an intel
ligent faith, instead of a blind super
stition, enables us to vindicate the
truth, when impuned, and is indis-
pensable to healthy religious life.
M ~ not this ignorance of Scripture
be the cause of the low state of piety
in the church, the lethargy in evan
gelical work, the lack of competent,
consecrated teachers in the home
and in the Sabbath school, and the
falling away in the number of candi.
dates for the ministry? In the DAYS
of good King Josiah, God blessed
Israel because there was revival of
the study of the Book of the Law.
The hope of the church is it's youth,
the hope of the youth is its faith in
the Christ of Calvary as revealed in
the Scriptures of God. Our youth
have no intelligent, helpful, vital
knowledge of Scripture. How shall
this ignorance be combattedp How
shall a knowledge of the Word be
made to cover the earth as the waters
cover the deep? The first and the
best place to teach the Scriptures is
the home. Moses says, "Thou shalt
teach them diligently unto thy chill
dren." Lois and Eunice taught the
child Timothy in the Holy Scriptures.
The command of God and the vows
of the church are upon us to train
our children in the knowledge of his
truth.
What are the facts? Parents do
not take time to give Scriptural in
struction to their children, or are
wholly incompetent to do so. The
child may be required to read a
chapter in the Bible on Sabbath
evening. Without any guiding and
encouraging help he does this in a
barren way. One hours listless
reading of the Scriptures a week,
fifty-two year will deepen but little
ones knowledge of the Word.
Another means of teaching the
Scriptures is through the Sabbath
school. This is a church service for
the critical and devotional study of
the Bible for moral and religious in
struction, and for the worship of the
true God. 1t is a most excellent
method of training the young and
ignorant in the duties we owe to
God and to our neighbor. We must
not only read the Bible to get a
knowledge of it, but we must study
it, and a good place to study it is in
the home and in the Sabbath school.
What are the facts? Possibly on an
average the Sabbath school meets
thirty times year for Bible study.
The average pupil spends forty-fve
minutes in preparing and reciting the
lesson. In the course of Sabbath
school year he would be engaged in
Bible study 1850 minutes, or twenty
two and.a half hours. Let me ask,
how much Latin or algebra could be
learned by a study of twenty-five
and half hours year?
Then the ordinary Sabbath school
teacher is incompetent he has made
no diligent, thorough study of the
Scripture. He cannot teach what
he does not know. His head may be
right, but his light is dim. -,
The pulpit is another divinely APP
pointed method for extending
knowledge of the Truth. The min
istry, as a whole, is cultured and
competent. On an average a man
may hear forty sermons a year of
thirty minutes each. Twenty hours
a year is not sufficient to give one
thorough knowledge of His Word.
Our remedy is teach the Bible earn
estly and continuously in the home,
in the Sabbath school and in the
pulpit, and then supple rnt and re-
enforce these methods by having the
Bible taught in our common schools
by competent, spiritually minded
teachers, who will teach it with sys-
tenn and thoroughness, with love and
reverence. With the Bible taught
by this fuller system there will be an
awakening in the next generation;
homes will have scripturally trained
parents, and Sabbath schools will
have competent Bible teachers.
If our churches were filled with O
youth having abundant knowledge
of His truth the places of their
abodes would become "too strait
for them," and they, with Glove of
Christ constraining them" would 90