The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-10-17

Judges, would not hold us long in rapt attention to the blood stained pages, if on those battlefields of yesterday we did not find Deborah's footprints, if We did not see a scarlet line that Ranab fastens in a window in Jericho's wall,
 if Joer did not steel her heart to murder Sisera, and Calebs sunny haired daughter urge her lover to hls bravest deeds. Why the very flower of chivalry is rooted in that romance Of Achsah and Othniel written by close student of human passions into the lat ter paragraphs of the book of Joshua.
 "The foreword of a wise mothers faith and the preparation of her own lile to be the mother of mighty dellVerer interests us in the career of Samson long before we see his gigantic frame outlined against the sky on the hill country hlsn- ways of southern Canaan" pr. Slmp- son said. "We may forget the tribe that Jephtha conquered, but we can never forget the daughter who went out to meet him, not knowing that her father had vowed to sacrifice as thank -o1fer- ing the first living creature he met III the homeward path--a rash VOW TOT tne making and keeping of which the Blple does not extol that fmpulsive Judge oi Israel. Eli, the priest Of Shiloh, does not enchain your attention by any out standing masculine trait or genus, put because he is in your line of vision, when a wonderful mother draws the search ing of your eyes as Hannah brings It, tie Samuel to the house of God. Ana thus we might sift the chronicles or those ancient kingdoms of Israel ana Judah and show woman's power in saw ing ,the record from being as unread able as a monks diary.
 '.There is no woman's voice In the prophecies nor in the Psalms, and you cull few chapters from those volumes' and leave them in the main untouched" pr. Simpson declared, but when Eliza beth's lullabies sound in your ears. and Mary's prayer, like rhapsody rom the harp-strings of a favored virgins heart, and the broken voice of Anna IS lifted in praise and prophecy; when Martha's voice is pitched high in com plaint or vibrant with the passion of sublime faith in Bethany's graveyard, when Bethany.s Mary forgets her do- mestic tasks in the presence of Jesus you rejoice In the finding of a New Testament resonant with woman songs and moist with woman's tears
 pr. Simpson continued: 'The Bible would be illogical without it's contradic- tories in feminine characters. Nothing would more completely refute the claim of inspiration of the Scriptures thah the absence from the narrative of char acters like Potiphars wife and Delilah, Jezebel and Athaliah and Herodias. You like to put over against these Sarah whose faith was every whit as strong as Abraham's, mother of kings like the strong minded wife of Jesse, Ruth farther back in the line, and an Esther whose refinement and courage saved from oblivion a race that has blessed the world. Contrast the widows David married. Bathsheba and Abigail. the city-bred woman and the countryman wife. one welded to brave soldier or the Royal Guards, the other to des- picable churl-two women far apart III character and their influence upon Da- vid. Of course, you find the Bible tear stained with woman's sorrows; the tears of Tamar and Dinah over broken gir- dies of honor, the tears of Rizpah over her crucified sons. the tears of Madonna and Magdalen, the tears of Bethlehem mothers whose lullabies the red-handed Herod made to stick in their throat. You could not conceive of harp whose strings did not give the tones that hu- man hands struck from them; and book recording the life story Of an an cient people which reflected naught put culled emotions. select traits or char