Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-10-21

The Bible is not IA generally read
-, =. the homes OF the people who pro.
.sss 10 accept X as the inspired word
vi COO as 1t used to be. Whether
" this fact is to be attributed the
.o'hPEtint. which is pretty general
loushout the country. that our young
theh are losing interest in religion and
are wandering on into SIN and crime.
Il question that presses upon So
ciety Tor an answer
IL Ia nothing unusual to hear the
assertion that the boy of sixteen is
ore familiar with the vices OF the
axe iran his father or grandfather was
NJ sixty. There is Il reason--what "a
=, hay we not be permitted 10 remark
tnat though the Bible Is not so gen
eIaily read In this generation AZ in
.ne past. the lessons it is intended to
convey are better understood by those
VINO 90 read 1t. and in their eeposl-
tioh or It's truths the world somehow
VI other liz coming into clearer know
Ieose or how to live. True. with the
many devices that are in a mans hca RI.
alton. N'' ee
a.. but the light is slowly breaking
through the barriers of ignorance, and
.he truth. which makes men free. is
, aorcing itself upon the world.
TRUTHS WORKING THEIR
'ohn Burroughs. the great natural
is'' says: Man never loved as he does
now. lie has Withdrawn his Enzc from
heaven and fixed 1t upon the earth
Az MS interest III other worlds has
u..min:shed. his interest in this mas
increased. AZ the angels have de-
parted. the children have come in"
mat Is condition for which Jesus
IN his ministry, sought to lay the
1ouneation. The truths He enunciatcd
are at last working their way into
the hearts OF mon.
Search the scripturcs. for I'm ,hor
We think ye have eternal life; and they
are they which testify Of me-"
Goa wants us to have knowledge Of
fi'tnseiI. that we may have life more
ABUNDANT, and to that end He has
revealed Himself through q long line
OF holy messengers and prophets erae
ciously endowed with wisdom TO teach
the children OF men whatever OF HIS
truth they were capable of under
standing The message they all bore
was essentially the same. glowing with
the hre and vehemcncc of inspired truth.
yet II Is largely true that dogma and
false Interpretation have so encrusted
and obscured their teaching that the
power and purity OF the original utter
ance is scarcely recognizable. For this
reason men refuse to accept all OF
their statements. Their literal inter-
probation accords not with Gods i'm
muntable law.
Scriptures A REVELATION
OF SPIRITUAL TRUTHS
The average Bible reader fails TO
grasp tho truth that the prophetic Ian
guase of Scripture largely employs
symbols. Even as late In history as
Christ, It was necessary for Him to
speak in parallels for the Oriental mind
to comprehend his teachings. The
Scriptures are revelation OF spiritual
he -I,rt,t
whose value in teaching how to live is
above computation. Those who read
them intelligently may exclaim with the
Psalmist: 1T have rejoiced I'm the way
of Thy testimonies. az much as in all
riches"
We talk about this movement and
that movement for tho betterment Of
humanity. We can conceive of no
movement OF greater Importance than
the revival OF interest in the Bible. In
which the rising generation shall be
thoroughly and ntell!gertly grounded
In It's precious truths ana unfailing
preccpts.
In a recent address. President Wood
row Wilson said: Il am sorry for the
men who do not read the Bible every
day. I wonder why they deprive them
selves OF It's strength and of the pleas
ure. It is one OF the most singular
books In the world. for every time you
read a score of times suddenly beams
with a new meaning. Evidently the
mood and the thought OF that day.
bred by the circumstance that you can
not analyze. has huddenIy thrown it's
light upon that passage. and there
springs out upon the page TO you some
thing that you never saw lie upon 1t
before. There Is no other book that 7
know OF which this is true; there Is
no other book that yields its meaning
80 personally. that seems to At itself
so intimately to the very spirit that
is seeking its guidance. And so when
we teach our children we do not teach
them, I hope. dogmaticaily. We must
not try to make them read the Scrip
ture as we read it. but merely try to
bring them into such contact with the
Scripture that 1t will yield it's meaning
to their hearts and to their minds.
Make 1t their companion make it their
famimliar textbook. and the rest will
take care of itself"