River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1908-03-05


accept it.
If you would trace the history of the
material universe, you may have any
| theory of evolution or. mutation, but
| you will come at last to a point where
you need and must have the first
words of Genesis: In the beginning
God" If you study the history of ma
tons and would trace them to their
origin and early developments, you
cannot do without the Bible. If you
would know the history Of jurispru-
dence and would be a well-eQuipped
lawyer or judge, you must study the
Bible, for it contains the foundation
Of law and all civilized nations.
History of Literature.
If you would study the history of
literature you must know your Bible,
for hundreds of thousands of volumes
in our great libraries were written be-
cause the Bible exists. Theology,
which is the science of God, the great
est science in the world, is unintel-
ligible without the Bible; and arch
aeology, that fascinating science,
which with pick and shovel has un-
earthed the buried treasures Of Egypt
and Assyria, is ineXplicable without
the Bible. The poets corner cannot
be appreciated without knowledge of
the Bible. 1t will be conceded by all
lovers Of poetry that among the great
est English-speaking poets are
Shakespeare, Tennyson, Longfellow
| ana Browning, and knowledge of
| the Bible is absolutely essential to an
understanding of any one of them.
They TEEN with Biblical illusions.
Milton and much of Byron are sealed
books to the man ignorant of the
Bible. Indeed, if you would write
! poetry, you cannot become great if
you ignore the great thoughts about
God, eternity, life, love and immortal
| ity which the Bible contains Take
out of English literature the classic
books that demand a knowledge of
the Bible for their proper apprecia-
ton, and you have blotted the sun out
| of our literary sky.
The History of Art.
Would you study the history of art
in sculpture and painting, you must be
acquainted with the Bible, for the
| best paintings of the old masters
and the finest statuary were inspired
for the most part by scenes and ideals
drawn from the Bible. You must re-
main ignorant of the genius of Raph-
ael and Michelangelo if you refuse
to know the Bible, for the scenes and
| characters they depicted with brush and
| chisel were Biblical. The paintings of
| DOre, TiSSot and Sargent, modern
| master artists, cannot be understood
without a knowledge of the Bible.
| The great musicians, whose master
pieces have thrilled the souls of mil.
| lions, cannot be interpreted and APP.
| preciated without a knowledge of the
| Bible. Handers oratorios of the
Messiah" Esther" Saul, Joshua"
"Jephtha" and Israel in Egypt" all of
them masterpieces of musical compo-
sition, cannot be understood without
knowledge of the Bible Mendels-
sohns Elijah" and Beethoven's
Mount of Olives are enigmas with
out Biblical knowledge.
| History of Education.
If you would know the his
tory of education, from the little
country schoolhouse to the great
university, you cannot ignore the
Bible, for these schools and uni
versities were founded by men who
read their Bibles and drank from it's
pages the love of knowledge as well as
of virtue and religion. The Pilgrims
and Puritans of New England built
first the church and then the school
house. Next came the college and the
university. The great universities of
the world were founded and fostered
by men whom the Bible inspired with
the love of learning and made self
sacrificing enough to provide for the
higher education of the future genera
tions. The Bible in the hand and
heart of the missionary has revolu-
tionized the educational systems of
China and Japan, while it has trans
formed cannibal tribes into civilized
communities. Charles Darwin frank
ly confessed that it had done for the
Tierre del Fuegians what he thought
was impossible. The study of great
modern movements which have eman-
cipated the human mind and given to
millions civil and religious liberty
compels us to take into account the
Bible as the mightiest factor in bring.
ing about these results.
He is the Son of Man" There is
something exceedingly emphatic in
that expression. 'Son of Man" writes
Frederick w. Robertson; "our Master
is not called the Son of Mary, but as
if the blood of the whole human race
were in his veins. He calls himself
the Son of Man. He was not the
Asiatic. He was not the European.
He was not the Jew. He was not
the type of that century stamped with
it's peculiarities. He was not the
mechanic He was not the aristocrat.
But he was the man." No one could
mistake Mohammed for such a "Son
of Man" He was a son of Arabia.
and nothing more. The Koran is.
therefore, a sectarian book, and Mo- |
hammedanism is cruelty sectarian.
Bnddha was son of India, and moth |
ing more No one could mistake him |
for a 'Son of man." His writings are
therefore, sectarian. They are not |
adapted to the occidental mind. Cen
fucius was a son of China, and moth