St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1905-09-20
New Methods in Sunday School
Work.

gram and propose to offer some sug-
gestions for older scholars along some
what new lines of Bible study. l do not
want to appear antagonistic to any
well. tried system or scheme of lessons,
but thoroughly believe if my sugges-
tions were carried out, or work along
similar lines adopted the attendance in
our Sunday schools would be increased
and new zeal awakened, for the beauty
and life lessons of the book of books.
have asked several adults why they did
not attend Sunday school and they have
given as an excuse that they had been all
over the G: ound of the weekly lessons
from their youth up and wanted some
thing broader and more in keeping with
the spirit of the times. Perhaps this was
an excuse for non-attendance, but the
excuse is theirs and not mine.
To especially interest young men or
young ladies / want to suggest first a
class for the study of the Bible as
literature, just as a course in English
literature is arranged in a school or
college.
1t is by no chance or ace; 'ent that the
great collection of books Ill the British
Museum begins with the Bible. 1t is not
only the best selling book on the market
| today, but every master of literature
acknowledges that it has exerted
tremendous influence upon his writings.
A writer in recent Congregationalist
enforces this statement with illustrious
testimony.
Horace Greeley, prince OF editors, had
read the Bible and Pilgrims Progress
through before he was six years old.
Henry Ward Beecher at FIVE years old
had committed twenty.seven hymns and
two long chapters in the Bible. Goethe
read the Bible through several times in
his youth. He says, The plain-spoken
naturalness OF the Old Testament and
the tender naivete of the New, had in in
dividual sections taken strong hold of
me- Lincoln had read and reread Bun
vans Allegory-saturated with Biblical
truth and phraseology-until he could
repeat much of it. Ruskin could not
recollect the time when he did not know
the Bible.
Modern English classics are dipped in
Bible truth, diction, analogy, and allu-
sion. To remove the sacred dye would
leave them coloress. More than this,
the Bible had furnished warp and woof
not only OF Millions epic and Bunyan's
allegory, but also of Shakespeare's TRACE
dies, Tennysons and Browning's verse,
Ruskin's and Hawthorne's prose, not to
multiply examples"
am aware that the Hearst syndicate
OF newspapers are considered as yellow"
journalism and they are considered so
rightly, but occasionally find In Editor
Brisbane's writings an inspiration. A
few years ago some one wrote the New
York Journal asking for the ten speeches.
Mr.. Brisbane named them but before he
gave the list he penned this tribute to
this particular theme of the Bible as
| literature:
First among all utterances heard on
this earth stands the Sermon on the
Mount, preached by Jesus of Nazareth.
Leaving entirely out of consideration its
inspiration and divine origin this is the
greatest expression OF thought and senti-
ment that man has ever heard. Because
of its incompatible compactness, its
clear, simple method of expressing the
deepest and most elusive truth, its COM
plete coherency ofidea, from the sublime
exordum to the formidable warning in
| Liz pSLOldI IL otohhS iLuhlSoobl oDiS
superior to any other utterance. 1t
must stay at the head, but outside Of
any list, since nothing can be compared
with it.
Many Of us have studied fragments Of
the Sermon on the Mount from year tc
year, but has any one ever studied it fol-
period OF weeks as you may Shakes
peare's Hamlet or Tennyson's Idylls o
the King.
In the busy life of Thomas Jefferson
;. when he wrote that he was overwhelmed
! with public business he not only founC
time to read the Bible, but actually t
> compile book on the moral precepts O
Jesus, which he said are more pure, cor
: rect and sublime than those OF the ancien
r. philosophers. Ten years later he finished
> this compilation which is known to tn
= world as the Jefferson Bible. | hold il
: my hand an exact fac-simile OF the book
j., the original OF which is in the Unitet
:. States National Museum. II Presiden
= Jefferson, Webster and the great poet
u felt the need of studying the Bible a
literature why should we of a NOR
enlightened age so persistently neglect i
/, and conhne our study to fragments ant
Is too often depend on the ably edited lessor
- helps for our answers.
Commenting on the proposal of Rev
=, Henry Marsh Warren, the chaplain c
a the New York hotels, to place the Bibl
- in every hotel room in New York, tn
~ Springfield Republican says,
And why not? Any one who find
the Bible at night when he can't slice
. has at hand library of works as var
~ Gus as the interests of humanity-legen,
Is history, law, philosophy, ethics, IL
rr drama, the novel, poems of nature,
- worship, of human love-they are a
aI there"
Mt But do we study the Bible as Iiteratur,
40 Do you ever study the Psalms as Tyr
81 poetry, or find the war ballads, al
thems and triumphant odes in the OF
IT, Testament? The story of Joseph and h
at brethren is a finer epic than Homer
a Illiad, and the book of Ruth is the fir
"a and the best love story ever written.
Prof. Moulton in his series of bool
US called the Modern Readers Bible h;
IN done more to call attention to t
.rs literary charm of the Bible than al
other man and a class studying alo1
these lines could very prohtably take
the book Of Job for its dramatic powt
the book OF Psalms for the beauty
raj Hebrew poetry, or Proverbs and Eccle
3. astes for wisdom and moral phosoph
q At fifty cents volume any one G.
In afford TO have n few Of them and w