[Henry Geerlings, in the Evening Sentinel, Holland, Michigan]

The Bible is the inspired record of God's ever-enlarging revelation of Himself to men. It contains the wisdom of God and it shows how men and nations have prospered when they have followed His wise guidance, and how they suffered when they have willfully gone their own way. It reveals the lasting value of goodness and the ultimate triumph of right and the sure punishment of wrong. It records His promises and gives the account of how these have been fulfilled or are being fulfilled....

There is a difference between tolerance and toleration. One may tolerate without being tolerant. To tolerate has the meaning of putting up with a thing or person while not approving or trying to understand. To be tolerant means to have a charitable attitude and to try to be helpful and to understand. It recognizes that others have a right to their views. It concedes that there may be truth in their position....

The Bible does not use the word "tolerance," but the idea is found in a great many passages. Far back in the days of the poets of Israel there was manifest a desire that the blessings of God might be available to all peoples. In the sixty-seventh Psalm there is ... a surprisingly tolerant attitude toward all nations.

The prophet Isaiah expresses a prophetic hope that all peoples shall gather one day to worship God, with differences and national animosities forgotten in the common belief in the one God....

We are neighbors. The world is one great neighborhood. We ought to be tolerant and neighborly. The Master taught tolerance. We must practice it.

[Dr. A. Holmes, in the Canadian Churchman, Toronto, Ontario, Canada]

There are so many different ways in which the Bible may be read that no hard and fast rules should be laid down. The devotional reading of the Bible is primarily a matter for the individual. It demands privacy and quietness when one's spiritual ears may be attuned to catch the message that comforts, strengthens, and inspires....

"But I don't understand the Bible." How often we hear that remark! However, the same people do not understand Shakespeare either, and for the same reason—they have never tried. The Bible is easier to understand than Shakespeare. To my mind it is easier than the daily newspaper. But even if there are parts that the reader cannot understand, why not read them and leave them? How often we have to read a letter or a passage in a newspaper more than once in order to get the meaning! Why should we expect the Bible to be any different? The other day I heard the parable of the laborers (Matthew 20) read. A friend said to me, "I don't understand that." I asked him a few questions. To my surprise I found he had thoroughly grasped the content of the parable, though it is doubtful if he had ever heard it before. The trouble was not that he did not understand the parable, but rather that he understood it so well he could not imagine the change that would come over the whole world if such principles were carried into effect. That seems to me to be the difficulty with most people who do not "understand" the Bible. It is so clear, so direct, so simple, they take refuge in the quibble, "I don't understand." But even if one comes across passages that are obscure, the world will not come to an end, nor will the beauty of the language be dimmed, nor will the mental picture we form be distorted, if we read such passages, and leave them.

What I am suggesting is not Bible study, but Bible reading. I believe that Bible reading must come before Bible study. I believe that Bible reading will do more to fill our churches, to increase the understanding of sermons, to enhance the beauty of our liturgy, and to fill the coffers of our missionary society than any other religious exercise at present open to members of our church. At first, it probably will do no more than open the eyes of non-Bible readers to the beauty and value of the Bible as literature, but in the long run it cannot fail to bring to some readers a sense of the deep and abiding spiritual value the Bible has for all seekers after God.

[From the Journal-Herald, Dayton, Ohio]

A certain woman said that she read daily from the Bible because its words brought her comfort, and she then quoted passages such as, "Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep."

Perhaps, had she been questioned a bit, this student of the Scriptures might have said that she needed the Bible because it gave her strength as well as comfort. It does give strength. There are passages which, if held in mind and often repeated, rout timidity and bring moral courage; vanquish dismay and bring an end to fear.

The horsemen of the Apocalypse are riding and a whirlwind of destruction follows in the wake of their terrible steeds. Many a man who has felt secure in home and savings and city and nation wonders now if these are not to be caught up into the high wind which is bringing destruction. He who thought himself powerful finds himself small, indeed, and, reaching about for something to which to cling, he recalls, say, this passage: "And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed."

The Old Testament is full of such counselings. There was desolation among the nations then, and there were poets and prophets who, knowing where help could be found, set down their vision and their wisdom in ever-living words. The New Testament has even more to give. Man, knowing himself helpless, then knows himself strong. Having become willing to turn to greatness, he finds his habitation and knows what the Psalmist meant when he sang, "I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress."

[Edith Johnson, in the Daily Oklahoman, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma]

Progress based upon academic knowledge alone is a snare and a delusion. As we all know, it is being employed in certain parts of the world today to torture, to oppress, to starve, to spread terror and create havoc.

Nations that laugh in scorn at the Golden Rule and discard the greatest of all commandments, "Love thy neighbour as thyself," are doing their utmost to destroy civilization as we understand it....

If religion means anything, now is the time to make it real to people; the kind of religion that inspires the true Jew to cry out, "Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth," and the Christian to pray, "Thy will be done."

This country is full of people who for a long time have been out of touch with organized religion, but whose hearts are by no means cold to the commandments of God and the teachings of Christ [Jesus].

They long to know, to listen to, and to trust God-inspired ministers, teachers, leaders, and friends. Their need is an opportunity for any who can show them that religion is not something strange and remote and mysterious, but a way of life that is guided by love and mercy and justice. And such a religion must be taught and practiced if we would keep "the American way of life," meaning that in its highest and finest sense.

[Thelma Evans, in the Sheboygan (Wisconsin) Press]

Would we not feel very priviledged, indeed, if some great men and women of our day would come into our homes to interview us in regard to the problems and perplexities of life, or perhaps for just a friendly chat? Would we not count it a great honor to have among our friends the wisest, noblest, and best of earth, and have their friendship so intimate that we might at any time converse with them and have their opinion upon matters of importance? Through the pages of books we may be introduced to the men and women who belong to the ages....

We who profess to be Christian should know more of God's Word than unbelievers. We should know the truths found therein which bring heaven and God into our hearts and lives.... Dare we allow this source of light, of power, of life, and of happiness to lie unused? Never! Every one of us ought to have this slogan in life: more of the Bible! In an age when men and women are losing much of the romance of the past, the glory of the present, and the promise of the future by not reading better books, the young people of the church should have a clear and unfaltering vision ... in this important field of human endeavor....

Am I reading the right kind of literature? Is it wholesome and thought provoking? Will it help me to live a better life, or will it lower my ideals? In order to raise the standards of reading in a community, we must begin with ourselves....

And let us in all our work cling to that marvelous book, the Bible, that liveth and abideth forever. Today this Bible walks more bypaths and travels more highways and knocks at more doors and speaks to more people in their mother tongue than any other book this world has ever known.... Let us live up to the high ideals set for us by Jesus Christ.

[J. L. Newland, in the Frederick (Oklahoma) Leader]

The first element of happiness is unselfishness. There is an old saying: "Think about self, trouble grows. Think about God, trouble goes." ... When one is constantly complaining that this or that friend has done him an injury, you may be sure he is thinking more about himself than he is about his friends....

It is immensely helpful to realize that the laws of God, the teachings of the Bible, the precepts and the life of Jesus were meant for our happiness. It is vital to our happiness to become aware that the chastening that we bring on ourselves is necessary for our salvation from the destruction which results from utter selfishness. It is inspiring to know the road to happiness lies along the way of development of our own talents in the service of mankind—that this is the real way in which to serve God, after the manner that Jesus and all the great benefactors of men have done.

When we become conscious of this important element of happiness, we begin to approach to that supreme happiness which has been called the kingdom of heaven. We are building on the rock of love. We are overcoming the harmful elements in our lives with Godlike attibutes.

Let a man submerge himself in the business of making someone else happy, and he begins to lay hold of the secret of imperishable joy.