The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-07-18
The Old Turkish City Of
SaLonica-- History Old and New

| adversely, as flowers before the frost
Let II be written large in all teachings,
that a few friends are one OF LIES
greatest achievement. Whose has
won them 10 richer than the man who
has piled up . mountain Of dollars. 1t
takes more character, and a higher
order OF ability. to make friends than
IT does to make money. These COM
panions Of Paurs life whom we find
with him at every stage of his journey
are a real proof Of his greatness.
An EARLY BfbIe-Study Movement.
A sight better worth seeing than the
pyramids greeted Paul at Berea, for
there he found what was rarer on the
map OF his day than II Is at present
and IL Is stiil rare enough--a commu-
nifty Of open-minded people. How
exhilarating and refreshing to the
ftfnerant apostle this must have been ).
Accustomed to prejudice and blind
sectarfanism. II was a Joy to him to
md city where the people wanted to
know the truth. The fadeless record
OF the Bereans Is Now these were more
than those in Thessalonica, in that they
received the Word with all readiness
Of mind. examining the Scriptures daily
whether these things were So" The
synagogue constituency set earnestly
to work to prove the new teachers
StotcMSht W tuciT bdcTcQ VIKINGS.
That Berean trait IL the modern
tendency. This IL q Bible studying
age. There are probably more popu-
lar Bible classes toady than ever be-
fore in the worlds history-Bible
classes OF men, of women, OF young
people, of college students. of working
men. Everywhere, at all times, we
may find men and women turning to
the study Of the Scriptures. Also there
never were 80 many earnest theolig-i
ians at work as there are today.
thought to close scrutiny of these
sacred pages.
In the realms Of theology, however,
an observer finds tendency at work
which has in II seeds OF great evil
The old Berean attitude of reverence
for the Scriptures Is absent from any
of the theological studies. The new
scholastic attitude 10 not one OF rever-
ence. man goes at the Bible with
the air of one who says, My surmise
and my Interpretation are quite as
good as yours" For thef authority
of the inspired Word there Is now a
tendency to substitute the authority
of some bespectacled German. We
hear Harnack. and Wellhausen and
Ritschl with more difference than we
hear the Apostle Paul or the historian
Luke. This is the peril and the mad
ness OF modern progressive theology.
Let men study as deeply and range as
widely as they will. That is the debt
which scholarship owes to the Bible;
but let them keep a sense of proper
ton and reverent mind. The theo-
logical world OF today is filled with the
clamor of conflicting and strident
voices Scripture agrees with itself,
but these theological savants do not.
Each discredits the other, and the be-
wildered student quickly finds himself
at sea.
A Book for Plain People
Beyond all other writings. the Scrip
lures have the peculiar quality of be-
Ing plain to the mind of the earnest
every day man. Simple faith can often
apprehend what is clouded to the the
ologian. God is his own Interpreter,
and He will make 1t plain" In this
unique book the reverent heart may
search and find treasures of wisdom.
Even more; this book imparts life.
OF this there is no doubt. A myriad
OF witnesses testify to 1t. In every
mission land there are converts whose
characters have been transformed by
reading this sacred volume.
No other book SO carries it's power
into all translations. Shakespeare
ceases to be Shakespeare when taken A
out of English. But in the more than
500 TRANSACTIONS Of the Bible which the
world is today studying. varying, Of
course, in their fidelity to the original,
there still remains this same,;vital fa-'
cultyyof Importing a divine life to the
reader. That is why the study in the
Sunday school is of more Importance
to the church than, the study in the
theological seminary The latter may
produce parties and schools but the
reverent study or the word Of God
by the plain people produces newness
of life and holiness OF conduct. The
Berean method Is method for all
times and for all who would know the
mind of God.