The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-06

sions would be comical if it were not so tragical. Experts in Virgil, experts in Shakespeare, experts in natural sciences, but few the experts in Biblical knowl- edge. Hours and days consumed in pa gan literatures, learnedly styled "classi- cal" that are often worse than worth less, and only a few crumbs of time doled out to the Word of God. It is the story of the Fleshpots of Egypt and the heavenly mama; of the old man told of by Bunyan in Pilgrims Progress who stood undertaking in the straw while he will not see the angel who offers him a crown of gold.
 TEACHING THE BIBLE
 Now, in the first place, of course, we shall all agree that the supreme agency and machinery for the propaganda of the Bible is the organized church. How shall we hear without preacher; and it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things" The pulpit is only the platform for the Christian pedagogue and today the church of America is rich in good preachers who are good teachers. Thanks to our denominational colleges and uni versailles, we have many men for our spiritual leaders who are broadly read thoroughly educated, thoughtful, helpful men, and they do truly edfy.
 , A man, young or old, who deliberately absents himself from the church serv- ices, deliberately starves his higher life of the best food possible to be served for Its nourishment and development. Often this fatal habit prevails through sheer self-conceit and oftener through mere indolence.
 The following calculation Is an easy one: course of two sermons a week for 50 years is solid, liberal education, affording 5000 hours of credit work or entrance units, equal to eight years of college work, four hours day, six days in the week. I cannot overstate my own 1 indebtedness to this phase of my purely intellectual training. Indeed, the ethical consciousness of the people of America has been profoundly influenced by the close introspection and consequent self knowledge effected through the preach ing of the doctrines of the Bible.
 KNOW HIMSELF"
 Know thyself' is a golden proverb, and this close self-analysis of standards, ideals, principles, and the comparison herewith of daily life and conduct has been a most rigorous mental training for the people at large who wait on Christian services. Luther was a profound student of the gospel; Knox was equally pro- found and Protestant Germany and Protestant Scotland were the rich fruit age of their mental discipline. And was not the old circuit rider, astride of his saddle bags on his gray mare, the pioneer of American civilization? Yes, he was indeed the chief founder of the sense Of law and order and straight thinking in this republic.
 Says Walter H. Page, himself man sprung from the Joins of the people anu now ambassador of our great nation to the court of St. James: T doubt if we have ever produced other men as great as our pioneer preachers; they dealt so directly with the fundamental emotions of men and with some of the great facts of the spiritual life that they almost ranged themselves with the giants. I had rather have known one of these men than all of the political and military heroes that we have since bred. The politician has been the greater popular hero, but the preacher has had much the greater influence
 Tn short, the Bible has indeed trained the intellect of the human race, and has been efficient in educating the masses of men even when it has furnished little formal intellectual culture"
 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
 But the particular agency that we in recent years have fashioned for the teaching of the Bible, of course in the great organization, the Sunday school, or the school held on Sunday for the