The Southern herald., 1916-12-01
SEEKING FOR LIGBT
Men Turning to the Bible 10 Fi0a
Wisdom to Deal With Prac.
q cal Things.

It has come to be felt in these !.
Of efficiency demands and ~
servation energy that the BlbIo
stOrehouse Of wisdom for praes,...
life. And these stories have nj ~
sufficiently valued and applied r. a.
experience of men in society nv
swing Of the Protestant churaa
toward Bible study and partlculos.
mems Bible classes, indicates tbat Il.
men Of business affairs and work.a. III.
burdens are becoming zestfully ,nt..
ested in the application of bIbllsa,
truth to themselves and their enviroa
ment, Heaven is not made moyo a.
tant to the spiritual vision becau..
men are not using the churches slmnls
as astronomical Observatories from
which to descry the stars of hone ana
of faith and Of reward in the heavonls
planetary. The eternities do mot sns
fer because the temporalities are corod
for. One can be satisfied that the ~
caps at the poles of the earth we,o
much more extensive, if he has snSs.
cient geological knowledge to perceive
the glacial drift in the stone and
gravel deposits that run across tbo
continent at certain general parallel
So one can be assured of the fact II
heaven, because he has constant ev
dence to his eyes and experience II
graces and goodness in human hearts
that are not of the earth earthly and
must be of the heavens heavenly. "a
much pulpit labor is employed IN
painting heaven and its holiness when
there are so many of Gods children
garbed in the tatters Of sin and DOW
erty and ignorance who should be
clothed in garments as radiant and A,
pure as the petals Of the lily.
What the Bible Has to Say
The Bible classes are more and
more turning to the Bible with refer
enee to great topical lines Of INQUIRY
so as to apply the wOndeftHl words
Of life, the examples of living test-
mony and the experience of peculiarly
developed people to the conditions Of
modern living. What has the Bible
to say Of the many burning questions
Of the day? What are its suggestions
for the solution of the intricate rela.
tlons Of men with their fellOwmen in
the numerous contacts of life? The
Bible classes throw much light upon
these subjects, those that use the type
Of lesson series that are arranged
to give the study Of the word the ap-
plication to modern thought and eE.
perience that Is so much needed. "The
entrance Of thy word giveth light"
says the psalrist. A1d the light Of the
Word is the leading needed by man.
kind.
Much Taught by Sacred Book.
1t would be difficult to Overestimate
the effects upon society Of the hun
dreds Of thousands of men engaged In
Bible study, especially as this study
takes the form of seeking interpreta-
tons of biblical history experience
and wisdom IN the light Of modern
needs. The life of Moses, the lives Of
any of the Old Testament worthless
the underlying social laws that are
found in the books wherein are
framed the legislation for a new so
ciety-the Jewish theocracy-are re-
pAete with incalcuIable resources Of
material for present-day utilization
Above all else the life and the wOrds
Of Jesus offer to the world fund OF
practical suggestion, implication ana
mandate that should be employed
more in real, practical life, and with.
out diminution of their values In fela
Of inward spiritual experience. Hence
the Bible classes are doing WORK Of
tremendous potentiality. They DO hO'
create pharlsaism; they do not en-
courage hypocrisy; they are aimed a.
the extraction of truth from the WOla
Thus they are not trammelled by lns
limitations Of denomination or sec
tartan viewpoint. They are a fine Or
ganlzing agency and are promotlVe :,
true brotherhood and of pracuc1
Christianity in the life of the times