The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1909-05-25
SOME Bible MYTHS
EXPLAINED BY w. NJ. MAUPIN
IN THE COAINlONER
For the Benefit Of Young Men Who
Won't Believe Things They Can't
Fully Understand.

Won't Believe Things They Can't
Fully Understand.
And so Rinaldo, says w. M. Maui
pin in the Commoner, you don't
take any stock in what you call
those religious myths You are
too wise and too knowledgeous to be
caught by those old wives fables.
You are not going to accept any
thing you can not understand.
All right, Rinaldo. We know just
how you feel about 1T. Something
like thirty or thirty-five years ago
we knew almost as much as you
know now. And we wouldn't be-
lieve any such stuff as that-then.
Good enough, it was, for the simple
minded, but they had to show us.
You know a whole lot now, Rim
aldo; a whole lot more than you
will know twenty-five or thirty years
from now, if you live that long. And
by that time you will not be so in
sistent on having the ocular, visible
proof submitted. Then you will take
a great many things ror granted.
But you want the proof, eh? Well,
so do we.
By the way, did you ever see
| watermelon seed? OF course. Well,
will you kindly explain how that lit
tie black seed can produce the big
melon with its lucious core of red,
it's cushion of white and its skin I
green, together with few hundred
more black seeds like itself? Where
is the green in that ripe seed? How
| does the growing melon draw red
heart and white rine and green skin
from the black earth and the white
rain? When you tell us that we'll
take a few minutes off and explain
to your satisfaction a whole lot OF
those religious myths that do not
now appeal to your youthful knowl-
edge.
A few years agpb Rinaldo, we
strutted around with head so full
of knowledge that it made up walk
lop-sided. We had many a quiet
laugh at those deluded old folks who
had an abiding faith in a lot of
things that appear to you to be moth
ing but foolish superstition. All of
us boys go through that sort oi
things. But you'll get over 1t If you
live long enough.
Some of these days, dear boy, you
are going to be called upon to stand
by the side of some loved one who
has spent a lifetime in that abiding
faith. And when you see that loved
one walking down into t he Valley
of the Shadow, with never qualm
of fear, and with face illumined by
smile of joy-then is when you
are going to receive rough jolt
in your philosophy department. You
insist upon having everything ex-
planned to you, but when you go
through that experience you'll be
content to accept something without
the explanation.
Won't believe anything you can
not see, eh? Humph! We've never
seen your brains, Rinaldo, but we
are not going to insist upon that fact
as being proof that you are mentally
deficient. We know better. We
know you have got brains. Anil
some Of these days you are going
to give those brains chance to
assert themselves-and then you are
not going to be so cock-sure of all
these things. You are going to take
all you can on reason, and the rest
on faith.
Yes, we heard you say, Rinaldo,
that the Bible was poor reading.
But that was because you newer
read it. Or if you did, you did not
read it in the proper spirit. We used
to be just like you, my boy. But
that was some years ago. Now,
when we want to read a war story
we know to a certainty that we can
find none more thrilling than the
war stories in the Old Book. There
is Gideon, for instance. AS warrior
he was what boys Of today would
call a "beaut." And Joshua-ah,
there was a general who knew
thing or two about strategy. And
David was the possessor of some
knowledge along military lines,
thank you.
And love stories-say, Rinaldo,
did you ever read the story of Ruth
and Boaz? Or the story Of Jacobs
love affair? Don't talk to your old
uncle about Laura Jean Libbey, or
Bertha NJ. Mudd. They never could
have framed up as fine plot as
that revealed in the concise story of
Jacobs little love affair with Rachel
and the subsequent battle of wits
between Jacob and his father-in-law,
Laban.
Political stories? Now we've got
it for you, Rinaldo. When we want
to read a masterpiece of political lit
erature we turn to the book of
Esther and read how that Esther
thwarted the pDlitical schemes Of
Haaman and put her own favoritcs
in the place of authority. A lot OF
much-touted political manipulators
of modern times would have to go
| cnnn To l.nan In with that little