New-York tribune., 1918-01-27
ne 1@ Billy Sunday Puts Pep Into the Bible
DULY SUNDAY has published

' AAo 4 HoreWOru, is the de-
Ve'opmeht OF project to clothe the out
seandlng characters and lessons Of the
olole IN the language and environments Of
.o-oav' he is we'll aware, he SAYS, "that
.he charge will at once be made that am
irreVerent. But Billy Sunday objects to
the criticism of people who don't ",vant r.
see themselves as God sees them: people
VINO are looking for "a talcum powder.
Vloiet-scented, ladylike proposition" There
are plenty of fellows, he argues, who will
pass out the gospel done up in tissue
paper and pink baby ribbons" But the
blole, contends the Rev. Billy Sunday. ais
a mirror of life-not the life of one period,
but OF all periods" So he sets out to do =
new Revised Version, regarding the men
and women of the Bible "from the view
point of the men and women of the twen-
tleth century" He insists that he would
rather blast peoples sensibilities than see
their souls blasted
All the love stories he retels are de-
cldedly interesting. But perhaps the two
that stand out with the greatest pognancy
tpunch, one should rather say in this con-
nection) are the stories of Adam and Eve
and OF Samson and Delilah. The former
runs in part like this:
1>HE world is about ready to admit that
Il when Adam made goo-goo ewes at Eve
IN the Garden of Eden, and told her she was
the only woman he had ever loved, he started
something
Or was it Eve who spilled the tender words
to Adam?
The best authorities don't seem to be able
to get together on the exact details
1t was probably fifty fifty break
Most courtships generally are-even if
later on the parties most Intimately con-
cerned try to dodge the responsibility. and
blame 1T on the other.
Anyhow, Adam and Eve corralled the first
love microbe in captivity, and its descendants
have never lacked employment since, or have
never had to complain of business being dull.
Adams work was crude in spots. Even his
warmest admirers will admit that.
But he had no precedents to go by.
All of his work was original No one has
ever accused him of being a plagiarst.
And ne certainly handed out the real es-
sence double strength.
Into that first love clinch of the world he
put enough thrills to last right up to the
present generation, and then some.
Few kinks in the love game have been
invented since
For beginner, without the benefit of any
OF our modern improvements, he was there
with the goods,--and he didn't buv the ring
on the instalment plan, either
1t was the greatest love match of history
and no one has been able to improve upon it
TO any extent.
For rural affair, far from the dizzy lights
Of great city and where the chief actors
we're so primitive they didn't know how to
get money except by working for it, the ro-
nance of Adam and Eve wasn't as slow as a
lot of folks seem to think.
The modern e-firts, who think they know
were pikers compared to him.
And he never claimed at any stage of the
game that he knew women.
In fact, he admitted at the start-off that
he didn't know the first thing about them
They were a new and untried proposition.
But everything that the rest of us think we
know about women we got from Adam
lie was the first man to learn to hold hands
We have been trying to initiate him ever
since.
But nobody has been able to improve upon
his performance.
Eve was the first woman in history to say,
This is suddcn!"
She was the first woman who couldn't make
her eyes behave.
She was the first woman to wipe her tai
cum powder off on mans coat.
Adam the first to suggest the momen~
Gus experiment which has changed the des-
my of the world, that two can live as chcaply
IS one.
We can afford to discuss Adam with free
lom because he the granddaddy of us
Ill.
If there is anything in family pride, the
gord ought to treat Adam as gently as pos
;ible.
He was good old soul who got in bad.
He good old wagon, but he broke ,
iown.
We all make mistakes.
When Eve put up her sob-talk Adam fell |
or it.
She was the only mirror on the mantel piece
or him, and there nobody to step in
and give him the benefit of his own cxpe-
rience, and to tell him to go easy.
And remember always that with all his
faults Adam is still your grandfather. .
w 7HEN God made the Garden of Eden
w which, in general way, represents this .
BEAUTIFUL world of ours, He as much as said:
Here is real home, and there is in
talment plan mortgage on it. 1t has modern .
a southern exposure, open
lumbing, hot and cold running water mag
iticent view from the front porch.
"What more can you ask? 1t is yours, Mr..
Ian, as long you obey me-"
God did His part. He always does.
He is the old reliable contractor who lives
lp to all His plans and specifications and
ever breaks a promise
What happens yfterward is not His fault