[From the Times, London, England]

The religious value of the Bible patently outweighs all its other qualities. Religion is the dominant note of the Bible itself, giving unity to what else must seem an almost bewidering variety of literature. Widely divergent as they are in date, in outlook, and in character, the history, poetry, drama philosophy, stories, and letters here brought together were all written with a definitely didactic purpose. They were designed to set forth, in very different degrees and ways, the relationship between God and man. . . .

The making of the Authorized Version was a literary achievement without parallel. Its profound influence upon subsequent English literature is a matter of common knowledge. It may be hoped that modern authors will not allow the influence to cease, because, as Coleridge remarked, "intense study of the Bible will keep any writer from being vulgar in point of style." But it is not our literature alone which has gained from the Bible. Much of its vocabulary has passed into normal talk, and furnished it, to a degree which perhaps few people realize, with useful phrases, such as—to name a few only from scores—"broken reed," "clear as crystal," "hip and thigh," "a word in season." Probably many of those who use such saying colloquially would be startled to learn that they are quoted from the Bible.

Yet to recall the effect of the Bible upon our literature and language—striking as this effect has been, and deep though gratitude for it should be—is not to remember the most important result of its influence upon English history. It has shaped not merely the national literature but the national life; it has contributed, as no other force has done in a like degree, to what is best in the national character. The Bible, it is true, is a heritage common to the Christian people of all nations, yet it is also true that in no other country has the Bible been read over so long a period by all classes of its citizens. . . . Faults in the national character and a lamentable divergence at times between its ideals and its practice are evident enough. Yet the ideals were never quite forgotten, and through centuries they actuated, more perhaps than he realized, the average Englishman. He was taught the Bible in childhood, he read it at home, he listened to it week by week in church, and by degrees its cumulative message became part of his being. . . . If . . . younger people can be encouraged not merely to discuss the Bible but to read it, and to read it until they are familiar with it as were their forefathers, they also will be able to declare in days dark with perplexity, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."

[From the Monitor, Denver, Colorado]

People are, I think, more generally studying their Bibles. Christian Scientists were the first group to have a current . . . outline for Bible study. The Episcopalians came along with their "Forward Day by Day," and it is good.

The Methodist Church South is sending out a million copies of their "The Upper Room," for daily reading. Fine.

I pick up Major Nelson's Fairmont, Minnesota, Sentinel and read: "Page 8 must apologize that one day recently the 'Bible Thought' was inadvertently omitted. . . . It was commented on by many readers."

About three years ago I tried out a Bible verse, with my own simple comment, in the "Window Seat." Was not sure it would take. It's the most popular part of the "Window Seat" today.

"Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."

If fifty per cent of the "civilized" of the world would obey this verse fifteen minutes daily—yes, thirty per cent—yes, twenty per cent—there would be no war or world mess. Diligent Scriptures searching means right living.

Agree? Then it's your business to do it, enjoy its benefits, and set the example to help save the world in the only way to save it—right thinking and living.

[From Nonpareil, Council Bluffs, lowa]

Many years ago a young minister entered the pulpit of a Kentucky church to preach his first sermon. The church was well filled and he had prepared a message which he hoped would not only satisfy but inspire and guide his congregation. But after he had read his text he found himself unable to preach. His carefully rehearsed discourse had gone completely out of his mind. He felt like turning and running away. Resisting this impulse, he read the text again, slowly and carefully. Then he looked squarely into the eyes of his congregation and said simply: "That is a good text. Go home and think it over."

Some churches would have ended that pastorate then and there. This one didn't. The members filed out quietly and went home. They thought the text over more earnestly than if the new minister had preached a brilliant sermon. People of that community have never forgotten that service. They still speak of it, not as a curious incident, but as one of the most powerful sermons ever preached in the church.

Perhaps this anecdote contains a lesson for these times. We are busy teaching, preaching, writing—straining every nerve to say something that may improve conditions and get the world out of its difficulties and despondency. We are not succeeding very well. Perhaps it is because we are saying too much, and not giving folks enough opportunity to think for themselves. . . .

Perhaps the reason the teachings of Jesus have exerted such a profound influence upon the world is that we know as much about what he did as what he said. It was what Jesus did that set people to thinking and doing. It is so today.

[From the Wooster (Ohio) Daily Record]

Current "best sellers" in the book line have their day of glory, live for a time and then go the way of other "best sellers," and a new crop comes forth to go through the same routine, but, year in and year out, the Holy Bible remains the book which is the most widely distributed on this earth. This is shown in a recent survey in this country by a well-known firm, which checks political issues, financial matters, and other things of moment. Dr. Gallup is the head of the survey investigators.

It is reassuring in these days of world turmoil to learn that the Bible is not outsold by any other book or literary production.

Connected with the recent survey was a series of questions as to how many people read the Bible, either occasionally or as a daily habit. The Bible is printed in every language used in this country. The survey shows that older people are in the majority in reading the book. Younger people, those under thirty, are in a minority in the reading. However, this is not discouraging, because many people who read the Bible now did not do so in a systematic way when they were in their teens and were giving their time to educational work and social affairs that always crowd young lives. These young folks will turn to the Bible as the years come upon them.

In close connection with the above statement is the announcement by the Federal Council of Churches of Christ that church membership in the United States is growing twice as fast as the gain in population. This, also, is a reassuring sign of the times. Not all the world is going to the dogs just because one or two nations in the world are trying to uproot history and turn back the pages of civilization. History will probably record the events in the present disturbed nations as only an incident in the progress of civilization, and in the years to come will look upon the present unrest as a minor misunderstanding, such as were many of the events in early Greece, Thrace, Persia, and the tablelands of Asia. To the people of those days, the events were doubtless of momentous importance. The march of the Persians was probably thought by some people to mark the end of the world. Yet, the world moved on to greater accomplishments. It is probable that such will be the case after the present uprooting of civilization in two or three nations settles down.

The Bible remains the "best seller," and church membership is growing, and the world will continue to progress in spite of the temporary blasts that are hurled against the church and the Book upon which the church is founded. It is well to remember that most people go to church and are acquainted with the teachings of the Bible.

In the United States more young people are now connected with the church than ever in the history of the country, and the young people are given more leadership in the church than ever before. This is a significant change, and it means much to the future of the church. In a generation the young people will have changed the form of worship in several respects, . . . but the change will be within the meaning of the teaching of the Bible. . . . The form of worship may change, but the meaning will remain.

[From the St. Louis (Missouri) Globe-Democrat]

There is hope for the world when the American Bible Society can report, following its one hundred and twentythird annual meeting, that nearly seven million volumes of the Scriptures were in circulation in 1938. In war-torn China, Bibles and Testaments were published at the rate of twenty thousand a month. A truckload of Bibles moving west from Hongkong plunged into a river. The books were rescued and artificially dried and sold to the people of central China. That country bought more complete Bibles from the society than ever in its history. The Bible was read by the people of forty countries, in one hundred and eighty-two languages. The Bible "outsold 'Mein Kampf' in Germany last year by two hundred thousand copies." The ability of Brazil to absorb the Scriptures "is limited only by the ability of the society to supply them," and the same is true of other Latin-American countries. The circulation of Bibles in the United States increased slightly. . . .

But the Bible is still a great force, and a growing force, in the affairs of the world. The report of the Bible Society shows that where the destructive acts of military regimes are most appalling, the comforting and inspiring messages of the Scriptures are more widely read than ever before. It shows that beneath the startling events caused by leaders who think only in terms of armed might, is a moral force which as it grows may ultimately become ascendant and control the developments that now, unfortunately, seem to be in the hands of men who hold Christianity in contempt.