— ' -'f .=•-¦.£- J , -^.^r^-'-iV.^iia

'-e-jv-i-v..

(.,-->,.

Ji^^--

.: , K... ..-t. .

"I^ive the/t Boaki
\ fan #Se ftm^nUn^ if a. College m^^^ Ciifetiy"

DIVINITY SCHOOL
TROWBRIDGE LIBRARY

HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
L. WENDELL FIPIELD

HOW TO USE THE
BIBLE

BY
L. WENDELL FIFIELD
Pastor of the First Congregational Church of Sioux Falls,
South Dakota

THE WOMANS PRESS
NEW YORK
1920

Copyright, 1920, by
THE NATIONAL BOARD OF THE
YOUNG WOMENS CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONS OF THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
NEW YORK

CDSO

CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAQO
Foreword  7
I. Modern Attitudes Tow abd the Bible  9
II. Methods op Making the Bible Effective  28
III. The Great Verses and Chapters op the Bible. . 45
IV. Book by Book in the Bible  58
V. - Significant Sections of the Bible  71
VI. Fundamental Topics and Their Biblical Inter-
pbetation  83
Bibliogbapht  96

FOEBWOED
The world of to-day needs the message of religion as no age
has needed it in thp past, yet never has there been a time when it
has been more difficult for some to find a reasonable and helpful
faith. Especially among younger people do we find an honest
skepticism regarding the Bible as the basis of an adequate faith
for life to-day. This is a condition that cannot lightly be dis
regarded. Were the skepticism less honest, it might he pushed
aside or ignored, but when so many in college and business life
are facing genuine doubt the situation must be confronted
seriously. To say, "It must be accepted because it is in the
Bible, whether it agrees with your o-wn best knowledge or not,"
is to cripple a growing faith. To say, "We should not think
about these things," is to deny to our minds the supreme office
for which God created them.
It is the purpose of this book frankly to face the facts of
modern life, and the traditional reverence for the Bible as the
Book qf books, in the hope that the great spiritual values of the
Bible -will be seen to be as vital and reasonable as ever in the
past, when re-interpreted in terms of our own generation.
There is the further hope that the methods for Bible study
herein suggested -wiU serve as keys to open the treasure chests of
the Bible's ideals. There is no attempt to present the actual
results of Bible study; the desire has been rather to stimulate
interest in the Bible itself and to suggest means by which this
interest can be satisfied. In order that the student may think
through the suggestions of each chapter, questions for review and
further study are placed at the end of each chapter.
7

8 FOEBWOED
The material in this book was given in lecture form at con
ferences of the Young Women's Christian Association. The
author owes a sincere debt of gratitude to the Conference
Department and to the members of his summer classes who
were responsible for the development of these pages.
L. W. F.
March 1, 1920.
Sioux Falls, S. D.

CHAPTBE I
MODERN ATTITUDES TOWAED THE BIBLE
If we grant that the Bible has a place in the life of to-day, and
can evolve an attitude toward it that we can hold without doing
violence to our o-vm intellectual integrity or our sense of moral
values, then the study of it can be undertaken conscientiously
and with real joy. If, on the other hand, our attitude toward
the Bible is uncertain, and if we premise that the acceptance of
its truths is sure to involve a conflict between reason and religion,
there is little value in trying to ascertain the great truths which
it contains. It is of the greatest importance that as we approach
the -whole realm of Bible study, we have a clearly defined atti
tude toward the Bible itself.
This close relationship between attitude of mind and method
of study will appear as we consider some of the reasons for the
failure of so many people to make the Bible a guide for life
to-day. Let us consider four of these. We will note that in
each case the difficulty is the result of a preconceived attitude of
mind. A great many people do not study the Bible to-day because
they believe that they must hold a certain definite intellectual
position as the key to its investigation. They feel, for example,
that they must affirm the "verbal inspiration" of the entire book
before they can study it, claiming that the validity of the truth
it contains is wholly dependent upon the method by which it
came into existence. This preconceived attitude, carried over
9

10 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
from a less questioning age, is so at variance with the method
used in other branches of study that it frequently discourages
people from undertaking any study of the Bible at all.
A second difficulty growing out of an attitude of mind is the
fact that the material in the Bible seems to conflict with other
branches of knowledge and even to contradict itself. As an
example of this, the difference between the God revealed in
Genesis and the God revealed by Jesus may be cited. The story
of the Creation and the story of the big fish in Jonah are other
familiar stumbling blocks. Many of us have been taught to
believe that the Bible is infallible in every part. But the rest
of our education seems to deny this, and so, purely because of
an attitude of mind, we cease to study the Bible at all. We do
not realize that possibly there is a larger point of view to be
attained, that will prove to be consistent with our maturer
thought. Another reason for a lack of interest in Bible study, especially
on the part of young people, is found in the law of inertia. We
are unwilling to make the effort necessary to realize the real
signiflcanee of the Bible. Things that are worth while cost,
in time and effort. We cannot expect the truths of the Bible
to be mere surface truths, wholly self-evident, yet how many
times we become discouraged in our study because we do not at
once penetrate the literary form and arrive at the eternal truth !
We are like the little boy of whom Dr. Fosdick tells, who when
he was asked by his mother why he fell out of bed, replied, "I
guess I went to sleep too near where I crawled in." In many
cases we go to sleep in Bible study almost as soon as we begin.
Here again, the failure to find a vital interest in Bible study
grows out of a preconceived attitude of mind.
The fourth of the current reasons for a lack of interest in

MODEEN ATTITUDES TOWARD THE BIBLE 11
the Bible lies in the acceptance of the idea that it has no vital
relationship to life to-day. We grant that it is aU very well to
study it as a part of ancient literature, but the idea that it may
have practical value now, that one can actually live more happily
and efficiently as a result of its study, seems absurd. Again we
see that it is an attitude of mind with which we have to deal in
meeting this point of view.
It will be the purpose of this entire book to answer, at least
indirectly, this last proposition. President Wilson once said,
"I expect to find the solution of the problem before me as
president in proportion as I am faithful in the study of the
Word of God." Marshal Foch has been widely quoted as saying,
"The best preparation that you can give an American soldier to
sustain his magnificent ideal and his faith is certainly the Bible."
Quotations might be multiplied to indicate that the great men
and women of the world to-day do not subscribe to this current
attitude that the Bible is antiquated and out-of-date.
There have been at least eight periods in the history of Bible
study that have been characterized by well defined attitudes
toward the Bible itself. It is not our purpose to discuss them
here. The student may desire to study each period more care
fully in reference books dealing -vrith the subject, and we merely
enumerate them as further indication of the importance of a
right attitude toward the Bible.
The periods were as follows: (1) the Jewish period of
reverence for the Old Testament alone; (3) the addition of the
New Testament to the Old, with no thought of the New Testa
ment as sacred; (3) the recognition of the unique value of the
entire Bible; (4) the belief in the Bible as available to the priest
hood alone; (5) its emancipation, at the time of the Eeformation,
as the book for all the people; (6) its establishment as an

13 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
infallible book in controversy with an infallible pope; (7) the
period of skepticism toward it as a result of the Eationalistic
movement; (8) the belief in the present value of the New
Testament alone. So far as our practical life is concerned most
of us are in this last period.
One more preliminary statement should be made before we
come definitely to consider a satisfactory modern attitude. It
is not necessary to have a complete theory about the Bible in
order to use it. Every one should seek to have such a theory,
but first he should experience its power in solving the problems
of life. We do not need to know all about electricity in order to
use electric light. Our use of medicine is not dependent upon a
complete comprehension of all the component parts of a prescrip
tion. No more is the use of the Bible determined entirely by a
complete intellectual appreciation of it. On a dark night in the
country the farmer starts from the house to go to the barn. He
carries in his hand a lantern. Its rays do not reach his destina
tion. He cannot see the bam. But if he goes as far as the
rays of his lantern wiU guide him, when he seems to come to the
circumference of their radiance he -will always find that they
reach on a little further, and as he follows on, he finally reaches
the barn. In some such way we study the Bible. We do not
find all truth at once illumined, but as we use what light we
have, and take the truth that is made plain, we discover that
new and larger truth is continually opening up. So we are
finally led into the heart of all truth itself.
With these preliminary thoughts in mind, let us turn to
consider an attitude toward the Old Testament that will be true
to its nature and also reasonable to our own minds. We note
at the outset that the Old Testament seems to a certain extent
to have lost standing. As Professor Kent has suggested, it

MODEEN ATTITUDES TOWAED THE BIBLE 13
seems totally eclipsed by the New. There are thiee reasons
for this situation. The first lies in the fact that as the trained
minds of the scholars have thus far been chiefly focused upon the
Old Testament, and only long enough to present the destructive
rather than constructive results of their study, we get the impres
sion that the more we shall study, the more completely the Old
Testament is to be overthrown. We hear many long words used
with reference to it, and in the face of imposing words and
involved definitions, we are apt to lose the spiritual message of
the Book itself.
The pendulum is beginning to swing in the other direction,
however, and the constructive results of the critical process are
becoming available. We are coming to see the Old Testament
freed from many of the misconceptions that have climg to it
through the ages, no longer unable to stand in the face of honest
criticism, but vindicated by the most searching investigations of
the world's keenest minds. It is such an Old Testament that we
shall seek to present in this chapter.
The second reason for the failure to appreciate the true value
of the Old Testament lies in the difficulty which the Western
mind has in recognizing fundamental religious truths in
oriental literary forms and against an oriental background.
In order that the Old Testament might be intelligible to
the race for which it was originally -written, it was neces
sary that it be expressed in a manner comprehensible to the
Eastern world. Many Bible students have failed to realize,
however, that the value of the Old Testament did not depend
upon these forms in which the truth was necessarily expressed,
but rather upon the truth itself. The fact that Abraham, in
accordance with Eastern custom, was sitting at the door of his
tent in the evening time contains no signifi.cant suggestion for

14 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
us to-day. But the fact that while there, God sought him out
because of his concern about a man in the city of destruction,
is of tremendous importance for us.
New light is pouring in upon the Old Testament as a result of
the investigation of the customs, language and traditions of the
Eastern peoples. We are coming better to understand the life
out of which the Old Testament came. Consequently its truth
is far more available to-day than ever in the past. Professor
Kent has well summed up the results of this investigation in
the following words : "Freed from the misconceptions and false
traditions which have gathered about it, the true Old Testament
rises from the dust and din of much digging and delving. Its
literary beauty, its naturalness, its dignity, its majestic authority
are a surprise to those who have not followed its unveiling. Its
human as weU as divine qualities command our interest, through
it God speaks with a new clearness and authority."
The third reason for the loss of standing on the part of the
Old Testament is the feeling that it has been completely super
seded by the New. Since Jesus HimseK revealed to us religion
in its fullest form, why consider the Old Testament at all? As
a result we confine our reading and thinking to the New Testa
ment. But the modern attitude toward the study of the New
Testament itself is rapidly overcoming this idea. The applica
tion of the historical method to the study of Jesus' life, neces
sitates a consideration of his environment and his racial ideals.
The Old Testament contains the history of his race. It is the
book of his ideals. As a result we are coming to realize that
we cannot intelligently study the New Testament -without a
consideration of the Old Testament as well.
The three great reasons for the temporary lack of interest in
the Old Testament are rapidly being eliminated. In their place

MODEEN ATTITUDES TOWAED THE BIBLE 15
is developing a new sense of the importance of the Old Testament
and its significance as a guide for life to-day.
A hasty glance at the Old Testament reveals the fact that
it is a collection of thirly-nine different books. If we look a
little closer we will discover that these books are written in
various literary forms. In many cases an entire book is in one
form. In others different forms of literary expression are
combined in a single book. We find here poetry and prose,
argument and exposition, story and fable, history and song.
Indeed, almost all of the known forms of literary expression are
contained in these thirty-nine books. Moreover, if we read a
little more carefully we -will discover that these various books
deal -with different periods in the history of the Hebrew people.
Their production covers a period of many centuries. They deal
¦with the political, social, moral and religious experiences of a
race. So varied are the forms employed, so long the period of time
covered, so multiplied are the experiences considered, that we are
at a loss at first as to the central unity of it all. Why shotild
these thirty-nine books be collected into one? We are even
more perplexed when we realize that the divisions as we have
them to-day, were not those of the original Hebrew Bible. We
find that then there were three great di-visions, the Law, the
Prophets, and the Writings. Why this new combination of
books into one Testament?
The unity that we are seeking, a unity which contains the
suggested attitude toward the Old Testament itself, is found
in the original name for the Book. It was known as the Old
Covenant. It is because these various books in their varying
forms present a record of God's personal, vital relationship
with the Hebrew people, that they are collected together in our

16 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
Bible. It is, then, their central purpose to tell us about God
and how He relates Himself to human life and its practical
problems. It is to discover this that we study the Old Testa
ment. And it should be perfectly clear that if the Bible does
teU us more about God than we already know, or confirms an
ideal that we have already grasped, it is making a real and
authoritative contribution to our religious lives. If as we study
the working out of God's purpose in the practical problems of
this race, we are enabled better to solve our own problems, surely
we may feel that the Old Testament is serving as a guide for
our daily lives.
We are therefore to consider the Old Testament as the record
of a covenant between God and man. The early stories teU us
of the origin of this relationship. Some of them may seem
strange to us in their oriental garb, but the great religious
truths which they contain are vital to-day, ' The books of
the law-givers seek to make clear the various obligations in
cumbent upon those who live in a state built upon a religious
ideal. Again we may feel that the specific application of the
religious principle to the exactions of Hebrew law contains little
of modern significance. At the same time we cMinot fail to
recognize the great principle that the highest expression of law
must relate itself to God. The sages of the Old Testament,
i. e., the authors of the Wisdom Literature, seek to interpret
the ethical implications for the individual which are inherent in
this thought of life as a covenant vrith God. If we but examine
them closely we are surprised to find how much ithese ancient
moral maxims apply to life to-day. , The prophets sought to in
terpret this relationship with God in its bearing upon national
and international affairs. Many of the great principles that are
necessary for permanence and progress within and among the

MODEEN ATTITUDES TOWAED THE BIBLE 17
nations were formulated by the religious statesmen of the
Hebrew race. Through its many different forms of expression,
therefore, the Old Testament converges to a constant emphasis
upon God and his relationship to human life. It was to help
people in their search for God that its pages were first lived and
then -written. It is in our search for God that we come to
them to-day.
The nature of the authority of the Old Testament thus be
comes clear. It rests upon the life that it reveals. A given
statement in it is true, therefore, not primarily because it is in the
Old Testament, nor because it is supported by the authority of
the church, nor because it was originally recorded by an inspired
writer, but for a deeper reason than these. It is the record of
the working out of definite human situations and the facing
of definite problems as to the relationship to God, by a people
peculiarly fitted to discern his will. It is the literature of the
religious history of a uniquely religious people.
Just why the Hebrews possessed their astonishing capacity for
realizing religious truth need not detain us. It is as futile as to
ask why Shakespere was Shakespere, or why Lincoln had the
abilities which he possessed. The fact is that there are races
with distinctive characteristics just as there are individuals with
peculiar abilities, and the distinctive characteristic of the
Hebrew race was its capacity for religious insight. The thought
of Eome centered in the Imperial city, where government was
glorified. The mind of Greece gravitated toward Athens, where
wisdom sat enshrined. The heart of the Hebrew turned toward
Jerusalem, where religion reigned supreme. All of liZe was
interpreted by this people in religious terms. In fi.em the
Semitic genius for religion, which has produced four of the
five great religions of the world, reached its highest expression.

18 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
Their early nomadic life, their national isolation, their contact
with the great religions of antiquity, all played a part. The
experiences of national suffering through which they passed,
suffering which in its intensity has not been equaled in any other
nation, deepened and strengthened their reliance upon the
Unseen Qod.
Here, then, is the history of a people who possessed unique
ability to understand religion. We do not say that they were
always right in their interpretation of truth. We know that
they made mistakes. Jesus Himself made that clear in the
course of his ministry. At the same time wo realize that their
history constitutes the supreme revelation of the endeavor of a
race, to relate its life to God. This is our problem as individuals
and as a nation, hence in personal and national life we seek to
express and apply the wisdom which they discovered.
We must carry the matter one step further. Not only is it
true that the Old Testament is the record of the religious
history of a distinctly religious people, but it is a selected
history. The men who wrote the books of the Old Testament,
who compiled and interpreted Hebrew history, who composed its
songs and spoke its prophecies, were the supremely religious men
of the race. In the Old Testament, then, we have a race with
distinctive religious insight, speaking through its own picked
men, the leaders of religious thought, those who in supreme
measure possessed the ability to realize and interpret the will
of God. Their words carry with them the authority of the race
and of their o'wn preeminent experience.
This is the real nature of authority in every sphere of life.
We seek the greatest of the world's musicians if we would know
the interpretation of a song, and we accept his interpretation
as authoritative. In the realm of art, we turn to that race of

MODEEN ATTITUDES TOWAED THE BIBLE 19
the greatest artistic temperament and selecting its greatest
men of art, we acknowledge their authority in this realm. So
must it inevitably be in religion : we cannot but feel the power
of authority in the Old Testament, for it represents the highest
thoughts of the supreme representatives of the greatest of all
the religious peoples of the world.
Does this mean that there is no inspiration in the Old Testa
ment? Does this eliminate the responsibility of God for the
great truths therein set forth ? Not at all ! The inspiration of
the Old Testament is found, not in the superhuman production
of the book itself, but in the inspired lives whose record it con
tains and who were responsible for its production. Our assur
ance that God inspires the steps in indi-vidual and racial char
acter development is of far greater importance than any theory
of his inspiration of the mechanics of book production. God
is just as present in it all as we thought He was when we held
the older theories. The great truths revealed in the Bible are
his truths ; He was responsible for their presence in the lives of
men. We cannot take the position, however, that all parts of the Old
Testament are equally true and accurate. If we held God
directly responsible for the actual production of the book itself,
we should be forced to this assumption, yet we know that God
would not record that which was not true. On the other band,
if we think of the Old Testament as the work of men under the
inspiration of God, this difficulty is overcome. We all know
that there are degrees of inspiration. At times we more per
fectly realize an ideal than at other times. The -writers of the
Old Testament made mistakes, let us frankly acknowledge it.
Jesus Himself said they did. They were not perfect men, nor
was their capacity for the realization of religious truth perfect.

20 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
The author of the imprecatory Psalms did not adequately or
correctly present the attitude that God would have us take
toward our enemies. The author of the Song of Songs did not
possess the religious insight of Isaiah. We must recognize the
fact that there are degrees of ability to understand and reveal
religious truth and that not all of the writers of the Old Testa
ment are upon the same plane.
The life of the children of Israel developed through a long
period. The religious experience of the simple nomadic tribe
wandering toward the promised land was far different from
that of the developed Hebrew kingdoms of later times. In the
Old Testament we have the record of ten centuries of effort on
the part of these people to find and carry out the will of God.
The question at once arises, how are we going to know what
part of the Old Testament best reflects the will of God? To
this question we can give two answers. The first is this : if in
the Old Testament we find a religious truth that is better than
any that we had before, we should at least accept it as authori
tative until we find a nobler expression of truth to supersede it.
The application of this principle in our study of the Old Testa
ment will reveal to us something of its tremendous authority
for life to-day. For if we eliminate all that seems to us incom
prehensible or incorrect or contradictory either -with itself or
with modern knowledge, it is safe to say that there will still
remain in this group of books more genuine, self-evidencing
religious truth than can be found anywhere else, -with the single
exception of the New Testament.
The second answer to our question is this: in the life and
teaching of the supreme leader of the Hebrew race a standard of
the truth has been established for us. We learn from Him the
real character of God. In the light of that character we can

MODEEN ATTITUDES TOWAED THE BIBLE 21
reverently and carefully evaluate for ourselves the spiritual
accuracy of the Old Testament. Such a method will once more
vindicate significantly the religious authority of the Old Testa
ment. The necessary attitude toward the Old Testament should by
this time be clear. ' We come to it because we feel that it can tell
us something about God that we need to know. The search for
God is the fundamental quest of human life, and all that aids
in the search is of the greatest value. Here is the literature of a
race that succeeded as no other race in that search. ; Here we
have set forth by her most deeply spiritual men, the great
religious experiences through which the race passed and the
religious ideals which it developed in consequence. We come to
the Old Testament, then, to find spiritual truth. This is our
attitude, and it is a fundamental one. We come to it not
primarily to discover some law in physical science, some fact of
history, or principle of philosophy, but to know God as He was
interpreted in a whole gamut of human experience by this
supremely religious race, i
Let us apply this attitude to two of the passages in the Old
Testament that have frequently been of greatest difficulty to
Bible students. First we will take the story of the creation.
In approaching its study, we come seeking its spiritual message.
What can it tell us about God, is the question in our minds. We
soon discover that its great religious truth is the presence of
God in, and the responsibility of God for, the world. It is this
far-reaching affirmation that the story of the creation makes to
modern life. We must be agreed that a story that makes this
clear to us, should not be cut out of the Bible. Now note the
fact that we can arrive at this spiritual truth regardless of our
ideas about the method that God used in creation. If we hold

22 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
that the first chapters of Genesis are strictly accurate from a
scientific point of view, as many do, the only valuable contribu
tion to modern life is the spiritual message already indicated.
If, on the other hand, we hold that these first chapters of Genesis
give us the old tradition of the creation of the world, a tradition
which as far as method is concerned we believe to be non-scien
tific, we still have the great religious message of the story, valid
and powerful in life to-day. The Old Testament was -written to
present a spiritual message. If we take an attitude in our
study of it that leads us to seek that message as primary, many
of our perplexing problems will disappear.
We will use the story of Jonah as a further illustration of the
value of the attitude developed thus far in this chapter. We
ask ourselves at once this question : what does the story of Jonah
teU us about God and man's relationship to Him? God had
work for Jonah to do. Jonah did not wish to do God's vrill; as
a result he tried to get away from God. It seemed easy at
first, but the very method used proved his undoing. As a
result of this attempt to get away from God, Jonah found him
self in the most disagreeable situation imaginable. When a
man tries to thwart God's will disaster is bound to follow. We
recognize this as a spiritual truth of value in our own lives. It
is of sufficient importance to merit the place that it holds in the
Old Testament. Now note this. All that we have said thus far
is true whether the story of Jonah is the record of an historical
fact, or an allegory illustrating a spiritual truth. Assume for
the moment that it was an historical fact, that Jonah, a real
character, passed through the experiences narrated. What does
that add to the spiritual message of the book of Jonah? Assum
ing on the other hand that it is a story presentation ot truth,
the situation is just the same. This but serves to emphasize the

MODEEN ATTITUDES TOWAED THE BIBLE 23
importance of our insistence that the proper attitude toward
the Old Testament is to consider it as a source of spiritual
truth. Since our attitude is to determine our method of study,
we shall seek to set forth in succeeding chapters those methods
which will enable us to arrive at the great authoritative religious
statements which the Old Testament contains.
We come, then, to the Old Testament to know about God.
As we recognize of ourselves that the experiences therein
recorded are the best that we know, and as their validity is
confirmed for us inasmuch as they conform to the ideal
revealed by Jesus Christ, they become authoritative for us.
When this occurs, the goal of our study has been achieved. For
study is the process by which the experiences and ideals of
others are transformed into character.
The significance of the Old Testament centers around the
religious capacity of a race; that of the New Testament centers
in the spiritual insight of a Person. We come to the New
Testament as we did to the Old, wishing to know about God.
We find in Jesus that complete revelation of his wiU which was
given in broken measure in the Old Testament. The New
Testament, as was the case with the Old, thus projects itself
into all the problems of life, for knowledge of God and his laws
is necessary to the solution of all of life's problems.
It is not necessary to consider at any great length the attitude
that we shall take toward the New Testament as the basis of our
study. The principles that we have sought to develop vdth
regard to the Old Testament apply equally to the New. We
come to it because we feel the need of kno-wing God. As we
study it we come to realize that in it we find Him in such a
simple and practical way that we are able to relate his life to all
of our experiences.

24 HOW TO USB THE BIBLE
Here, as in the Old Testament, the real authority of the
book rests back upon the inspired life which it portrays. In
the synoptic Gospels we have the facts of Jesus' life and the
content of his teachings. In John we have the supreme spiritual
interpretation of his life. In the various Epistles we find the
application of Jesus' message to the problems of Christian think
ing and living.
Two facts should be noted concerning the New Testament.
First, the books included in it were chosen by a selective process.
Many Gospels were written in the days of the early church that
did not receive a place. We know that some of the Epistles
which Paul wrote were not included. A great mass of Chris
tian literature was produced in the period immediately following
the life of Christ. Out of it our New Testament was selected.
The student will find it interesting to investigate the history of
the Canon of the New Testament and to become familiar with
the various steps in the process of elimination and selection.
He will discover that, broadly speaking, those books which were
included by the selective consciousness of the Christian church,
were so selected because of their spiritual value. The decisive
factor was whether they were helpful in revealing God to men.
Hence we find that the New Testament is something more than
the literature gathered about the life of Christ. It is the
selected literature dealing -with Him, and the basis of the process
was the inherent spiritual power of the included books.
The second fact is this. We must recognize that different
parts of the New Testament are not upon the same level in their
spiritual power. Paul had a far more comprehensive grasp
of truth than did the author of the Petrine epistles. John's
Gospel reflects a far more significant interpretation of Jesus'
life than does that of Mark. Luther referred to the Epistle of

MODEEN ATTITUDES TOWAED THE BIBLE 35
James as a "book of straw" and insisted that it should not
have been included in the Bible at all. We should therefore
be discriminating in our study of the New Testament as well as
the Old, and seek rightly to evaluate the truth in terms of our
own religious consciousness, and the standards of judgment set
by Jesus Himself.
We come to the New Testament, then, as we did to the Old,
for religious instruction and spiritual guidance. In the life
therein revealed we find God in a supremely satisfactory way.
Here is set forth the best life that we know. If we adopt this
attitude toward the New Testament certain problems at once
faU into their proper place. Consider the question of the
authorship of certain books. We read the Gospel of John and
we find in it an adequate Christ and a sufficient God. We find
them regardless of our ideas regarding the authorship of the
Fourth Gospel. If some other than the Apostle John was
responsible for it, its religious insight is not impaired.
Critical investigation has brought forward many questions
relative to the authorship of books, the date of their writing,
the question as to whether each book was originally a unit.
Some have thought that these questions have served to invalidate
the books themselves. We need to realize that the spiritual
value of the New Testament books is independent of problems
such as these. They are interesting and helpful but not vital.
The same principle should be applied to various critical prob
lems within the books themselves. All of these questions should
be subordinated to one primary question : does the section under
consideration contain spiritual truth? If it does, it has a right
to its place in the New Testament and merits our careful study.
It has not been our purpose in this chapter to consider in any
detail the problems associated with the study of the Old and

26 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
New Testaments. Such a study would require a book in itself.
We have endeavored, however, to establish an attitude toward
the Bible that will bring us to its study with open and alert
minds, conscious that our investigation will be worth while, and
that the results obtained will be lasting. Our attitude briefly,
then, is this. The Bible presents the history of a religious race
in its efforts to find God, through its historical development, its
song, the revelation of its sages and prophets. This search
culminates in the ideals and personality of Jesus Christ. It is
applied to the problems of the Christian community and indi-
•vidual experience by the authors of the Epistles. Since the
search for God is universal and fundamental, culminating in the
need of a personal Saviour and the application to life of his
ideals, the Bible is an adequate guide for life to-day.
QUESTIONS FOR STUDY AND REVIEW
1. Formulate a brief statement of what you believe to be the real
nature of the Bible. How does this attitude determine your method of
study? 2. Give several reasons that you have heard against Bible study.
How would you answer each of them?
3. Someone has said that each of us has a Bible within the Bible.
What is really your Bible? What should be your attitude toward the rest
of it?
4. Collect a number of quotations from prominent men and women
concerning the importance of the use of the Bible. What lives have you
studied that have shown the influence of Biblical ideals?
5. What is the difference between a theological position about the
Bible and a working knowledge of it? Why is each important? Which
is primary?
6. Do you find the Old Testament helpful in practical life? Why?
7. Give several illustrations from the Old Testament of the fact that
"its value does not depend upon the form in which the truth is expressed,
but upon the truth itself."
8. Tabulate the various literary forms in the Old Testament. How

MODEEN ATTITUDES TOWAED THE BIBLE 27
many are used to-day? Do you know of any forms of expression not
used in the Old Testament?
9. Discuss the view of the authority of the Old Testament which has
been developed in this chapter. What do we mean by authority? In this
connection do we use the word in other than the ordinary sense? Com
pare the authority of the Old Testament with that of Pilgrim's Progress,
Hamlet, some great poem with which you are familiar.
10. Discuss the reasons for the religious genius of the Hebrews.
(Valuable suggestions will be found in Professor Kent's book, "The Origin
and Permanent Value of the Old Testament.")
11. Would you call the Old Testament a unique book? Why? Was it
an inspired book? In what sense?
12. Compare the authority of the Old Testament with that of the
New. Discuss the proper attitude toward the New Testament.
13. Find and read some of the early Christian literature not included
in the New Testament. Do you notice any difference between it and the
New Testament books?
14f Give several reasons for the proposition that the Bible is an
adequate guide for to-day.
15. Discuss the bearing upon our attitude toward the Bible of Augus
tine's famous words, "Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our hearts are
restless until they find rest in Thee."
16. Assuming the attitude discussed in this chapter, consider the
question of the practical relationship of the Bible, to school problems, to
home life, to civic responsibilities, to professional and business life.

CHAPTEE II
METHODS OF MAKING THE BIBLE EFFECTIVE
Our method of the study of the Bible will be determined not
alone by our attitude toward it, but also by our purpose in using
it. If we think of the Bible as the great text-book of spiritual
truth, it is natural to assume that our purpose in its study will be
to ascertain that truth and apply it to our lives. There are,
however, certain aspects of life which are related, and yet varied
enough to serve as distinctive channels through which the truth
may come. They serve to sub-divide the general purpose of
Bible study. We turn to their consideration.
Psychology discloses the fact that personality expresses itself
in three distinct, yet related, phases. Our consciousness reveals
itself emotionally, intellectually, and volitionally. These three
words cover the conscious life of man. In them we find the
three-fold purpose of Bible study. We use the Bible for devo
tional guidance. We use it for intellectual development. We
use it for volitional stimulation. It makes its -tremendous
appeal to the mind, the heart, and the will of man. Let us con
sider each of these inter-related purposes.
Possibly the most commanding of all the various causes that
have led men to study the Bible has been its devotional power.
The history of the race is replete with incidents in which uplift
of soul has resulted from contact with this book. The student
wiU be interested to read a little book in the Everyman's library
entitled, "The Psalms in Human Life," which is a study of the
influence of a single Old Testament book. The student of
28

METHODS OF MAKING THE BIBLE EFFECTIVE 29
religious psychology tells us that we develop in religion from a
"sense of God" to a "knowledge of God." Just as the first rela
tionships in the home between parent and child are in the realm
of the emotions and intuitions, so our first relationship to our
Heavenly Father is in the realm of our emotional life. By this
we do not imply a sentimental relationship, but rather a reaching
out of the divine spirit in us to unite with God Himself. It is
the experience of the man whom Jesus healed of his blindness.
He was confused about a great many things, but a new devotion
had developed in his life as he cried out, "One thing I know, that
whereas I was blind, now I see." Whittier's familiar lines
express this same trust :
"I know not what the future hath
Of wonder or surprise,
I only know that life and death
His goodness underlies."
Here is set forth a great experience of the reality of a relation
ship to God. In the eternal quest for God by which life alone is
satisfied, we must seek Him through the channels of our devo
tional experiences.
This means that one of our purposes in the study of the Bible
is devotional guidance. Here at once we have a selective prin
ciple. It is apparent that a great many parts of the Bible are
not suited for this form of study. The custom in many homes
of reading the entire Bible from Genesis to Eevelation and
calling it devotional exercises is obviously a misnomer. We
should not expect to find passages of great inspirational value
in such books as Leviticus or Second Chronicles. There are,
however, verses, sections and books in the Bible that have tre
mendous devotional significance. There are great mountaia
peaks of religious experience, the very reading of which s«ems

30 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
to lift us above the perplexing problems of daily life. In them
we feel, -with the psalmist, that we are lifting up our eyes unto
the hills, the source of our strength. The twenty-third Psalm
is a notable example of this, as indeed are most of the Psalms.
The fifty-fifth chapter of Isaiah is another of these outstanding
passages. The devotional uplift of the book of John has proved
one of the greatest sources of power in the Bible. The fourteenth
chapter especially is one of the most helpful spiritual statements
that has ever been -written.
It should be said at this point that there is a peril in using
the Bible for devotional purposes alone. Emotional experiences
are as a rule of short duration unless they develop into something
deeper and more permanent. Feelings rapidly disappear unless
they become the basis of thought and the inspiration of the -wiU.
To use the Bible wholly for the stimulating of religious emotion
is to miss much that is worth while. The sense of God must
become knowledge of God and finally life with God, if spiritual
development is to be complete. There is an especial danger that
in the enthusiasm of youth we shall think that the whole of
religion is summed up in the way we feel, rather than involving
as well the way we think and the manner in which we live. Con
sequently while we seek to use the Bible for our devotional study,
we shall realize that its possibilities have not been exhausted
until we have found it an intellectual and volitional guide as
well. The second of the three purposes of Bible study is intellectual
development. It is this that makes permanent the emotional
experiences of religion. That life is defective which refuses
to face the intellectual significance of religion. In a period of
world history such as ours, the obligation upon men and women
to think and to think correctly is tremendous. The development

METHODS OF MAKING THE BIBLE EFFECTIVE 31
of a faulty philosophy of life constitutes a tremendous peril.
We have seen it curse the world, as it expressed itself among
nations. We have seen it break down honesty and loyalty in
business. We know how it creeps into schools and colleges and
makes futile the whole process of education. We know that it
can disrupt the home. A large percent of the destructive forces
in the world come from wrong thinking.
There are after aU two fundamental attitudes toward life, the
one materialistic, the other spiritual. Every one of us thinks
primarily in one or the other of these terms. We know that a
materialistic philosophy has cursed the life of the world. The
tremendous need of the present is to face intellectual problems
from the spiritual rather than material point of view. This
obligation was emphasized by Jesus in the words, "Ye shall know
the truth, and the truth shall make you free." One cannot
escape the conviction that the future of the world really rests
upon the direction which the thought of our young people in
educational and business life -will take in the next few years.
It is then of paramount importance, for the sake of our own
personal happiness and for the sake of others as well, not only
that we develop intellectually, but that this intellectual develop
ment be toward an idealistic or spiritual interpretation of life.
We indicated in our first chapter that the Bible is the standard
of the spiritual life. How essential it is, therefore, that we
study it in order to think through our problems upon the basis
of "those things which are eternal." In college and early busi
ness life we establish permanent trends and habits of thought.
The intelligent study of the Bible will insure that these are of
the highest order. ^
Here again we find a selective principle. All parts of the
Bible will not be found equally helpful in carrying out this

32 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
purpose. The careful study of such books as Esther or Second
Kings would not make any great contribution to our standards of
thought. On the other hand, there are many great and chal
lenging passages which do. Almost all of Paul's writings
furnish the greatest mental stimulus when properly studied.
Chapters such as Eomans eight and twelve, the Sermon on the
Mount, the works of many of the Prophets, notably of the
pre-exilic group, furnish us with the highest intellectual as well
as moral standards.
In this connection, as in the case of using the Bible for devo
tional study, a word of caution is necessary. The student is in
danger of coming to think that the intellectual contribution of
the Bible is the only one that is really worth while. This is espe
cially the case among coUege students. They naturally meet
everywhere a tremendous emphasis upon mental development.
Everything is measured in terms of its intellectual value. The
tendency is to carry this same emphasis over into religion.
Therefore we must in our study of the Bible realize that religion
is more than a creed, it is conduct.
One of the greatest perils to civilization is the highly educated
person whose powers are misdirected. One of the greatest disas
ters in the history of Bible study has been the application to it of
purely rational methods. The whole history of Bible study
during the Eationalistic period of philosophy indicates the
futility of such a course. Due regard must be paid both to the
devotional and the volitional factors in life. If we pride our
selves upon the fact that we are "intellectuals" in our attitude
toward the Bible, we inadvertently confess that in this important
field we are only about one-third developed.
The third of the purposes which we have suggested as de
termining factors in our study of the Bible, is that of volitional

METHODS OP MAKING THE BIBLE EFFECTIVE 33
stimulation. One of the tremendous needs in life to-day is for
a stimulated -will that shall "put across" one's noble intentions.
The difficulty with the religious life of most of us is not that we
do not know what is right, but we lack the power to achieve our
ideals from day to day. In this connection, James emphasized
the need of the stimulated will in the words, "Be ye doers of the
word, not hearers only." The almost universal assent to some
form of pragmatic philosophy as necessary for the present age,
makes this purpose of Bible study of special importance. Here
we seek to interpret in spiritual terms the insistence of our
generation upon the primacy of the -will.
If in the spiritual as well as the material realm we are going
to assert the power of our -wills, this means that we must connect
our lives with the great revelations of power in the Bible. The
Bible has always been such a source of power. Under its sway
men have gone forth into every form of sacrifice, along every
conceivable path of ser-vice. In contact with its truths, every
type of personality has been recreated, every kind of human
problem solved. To-day when the great insistence is upon living
efficiently, upon producing effectively either commodity or
character, we must seek through right methods of study to
achieve this volitional stimulation.
Here, again, we find a selective principle. Our emphasis -will
be upon those portions of the Bible that reveal achievement.
The great characters of the Old Testament -will be found of real
value in this connection. The deeds of the leaders of the early
church as set forth in the Book of Acts will, if permitted, stimu
late the same qualities of energetic service in our lives. The
Bible's discussions of life's fundamental motives will also make
their contribution. A notable example of this is the passage
in the eighth chapter of Mark beginnimg with the thirti=feas*fe-

34 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
verse. What a challenge to action this great discussion of
sacrifice contains ! The thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians
is another chapter that is especially helpful.
Once more we pause to emphasize the peril of the assumption
that a volitional study of the Bible represents the entire sweep
of Bible study. There are many modern lives that are char
acterized by a shallow enthusiasm. They lack "depth of earth."
Phillips Brooks has given us this splendid word, "A talent shapes
itself in stillness, but a character in the tumult of the world."
There must be the impression as well as the expression of life.
Most of us in spiritual things are cisterns, and not artesian wells.
One of the insidious perils in life is that we shall exhaust our
selves so completely in doing things, that we shall lack time and
energy to deepen life. The pragmatic interpretation of life is
futile -without an idealistic background. An idealistic phil
osophy of life is impotent without a pragmatic emphasis. We
must come to the Bible to develop our devotional life and to
guide our intellectual life as well as to stimulate our -wills.
These, then, are the three purposes which help to determine
our method in Bible study. We have shown the importance of
each one. We have indicated the type of Biblical passages that
will be helpful iu achieving them. We have emphasized the
necessity of studying the Bible in accordance with aU three of
them, in order that we may feel its power in all of the related
spheres of our lives.
We now turn to consider the methods of using the Bible in
order to realize this threefold purpose. In the remainder of
this chapter we will consider four general propositions as to
method, while in succeeding chapters we will study different
methods in greater detail. The four fundamental propositions
of Bible »tudy, growing out of the attitude we have established

METHODS OF MAKING THE BIBLE EFFECTIVE 35
and the purposes we have discussed, are these: (1) To know
the history of the Bible itself; (2) To know the life and history
out of which it came; (3) To study its teachings in continuity;
(4) To study it to find its eternal spiritual significance.
Among the first steps in the study of any significant book is a
knowledge of the history of the book itseK. The student of
Shakespere, for example, seeks to familiarize himself with the
various forms and editions of the play that is under considera
tion. By tracing its history back step by step he can arrive
at certain conclusions concerning the accuracy of the copy which
he is investigating.
The history of the Bible from the .time of the writing of its
original manuscripts down to the present is of the most intense
interest and significance to the student. Are we reasonably
sure that the material which we are studying in the Old Testa
ment is a correct translation of the ancient Hebrew manuscripts
now lost for many centuries? How certain can we be that the
words of Jesus are recorded just as He spoke them by the author
of Mark's Gospel? Through what steps have these Old and
New Testament books passed in the long period from the time of
their original production in the Greek and Hebrew languages to
their present translation in the English language? Has the
translation been accurately done? What is the difference be
tween the King James version of the Bible, -with which we are
all familiar, and the American Standard version, used so ex
tensively by Biblical students to-day? These and many other
questions inevitably suggest themselves to the student. Their
answer is found in the study of the history of the Bible itself.
There are three main branches of this history of the Bible,
concerning which we should be informed. The first deals with
the process of the collection of the various books that make up

36 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
the Old and New Testaments. This is called the History of the
Canon. A discussion adequate for general needs will be found
in any good Introduction to the Old and New Testaments.
Through such a study we become familiar with the selective
process that was responsible for the inclusion of the various
books in our Bibles. We come to know something of the
relative values and relationships of the books themselves. We
see the reason for the present order of the books, which is far
from chronological. We catch a glimpse of the many years of
patient endeavor on the part of the early Christian church to
make possible for the future a Bible whose authority should be
final. The second of the three steps in the history of the Bible itself
is the study of the manuscripts. The student -will find this
extremely fascinating. Few more thrilling stories have been
written than that which teUs of the discovery by Tischendorf
of the Sinaitic manuscript. We will discover that our Bibles
give more than one reading for a certain passage. Why is this ?
A knowledge of the manuscripts answers the question. We
know that none of the original copies of the books of the Bible
still exists. How accurate are the copies that we have at
present ? We learn oi this from a study of the manuscripts. A
serious student of the Bible should be familiar with the great
primary manuscripts, and know the problems associated with
them. The third step is the study of the history of the translation of
the Bible from the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts. This is the
history of the Versions. Here, again, is history that quite
apart from its contribution to Biblical knowledge is of the
utmost fascination. The first translations into the Latin, beset
with many difficulties because of a faulty knowledge of Hebrew

METHODS OF MAKING THE BIBLE EFFECTIVE 37
and Greek, the influence of the version of Jerome upon all subse
quent religious development, the achievement of William Tyn-
dale and his associates, and many other significant facts make
this study replete with interest. Confidence in the authority
of the Bible depends to no small degree upon knowledge of its
accuracy. A study of this long history of translation gives a
reasoned basis for belief in the essential accuracy of our present
English versions.
The student will find it very helpful in connection -with the
study of the Bible, if he seeks to familiarize himself -with the
life and history out of which it came. We have pointed out
that the Bible is the literature of life. Anything that wiU make
life more intelligible will render the Bible increasingly vital.
Several illustrations -wiU make our thought clear. We have
all studied the life of Abraham, yet how many have really
appreciated the significance of this character in the history of
religion ? We think of him as a man -with a great vision, which
led him to do many unselfish and splendid things. But we
cannot really understand the significance of his great new ideal
of religion until we familiarize ourselves with the form of
religion of Ur of the Chaldees, and the type of life out of which
he came. The significance of the new contribution he made to
life and thought is rendered intelligible by the contrast. We
come to a real appreciation of Abraham's character when we
see the significance of his thought of one God as contrasted with
the polytheism of ancient times.
Most of us are familiar with the ninety-first Psalm. Even
studied superficially, it has great spiritual power. Yet if we
know the situation which lies back of its writing how much
more significant it becomes ! It was written in a time of fear
on the part of the people. From the north had come the news

38 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
of the spread of a dreadful pestilence. There were no means,
such as are known to modern medicine, to combat the disease.
From village to village it spread. The people to the south were
terrified. In the face of what promised to be a great calamity
the psalmist spoke the great words of confidence in God which
are recorded in this Psalm. It is not the fancy of a passing
hour, but the cry of a strong man to God in the face of a real
peril. How much more significant its every phrase becomes,
when we know of the life whose experience it records !
The twenty-third chapter of Jeremiah may seem to possess
little of interest to the casual reader. If we realize the historical
situation back of it, however, it at once commands our attention.
Grave issues were confronting the nation. There was the most
insistent need for wise counsel and advice. On the one hand
were the false prophets, men who had caught the current fancy.
They prophesied the thing that was popular, not the thing that
was true. Because of unwillingness to challenge the people to
progress, and because they sought to aUay their fears with
flattery, these men were in the ascendency. Over against them
was Jeremiah. He had an unpopular message. The people did
not listen because his words were not those which they -wished
to hear. But they were true. In this chapter Jeremiah seeks to
formulate certain tests that can be used to distinguish true from
false prophecy. In these modern days of conflicting advice these
tests are of the greatest service as we seek from a multitude of
counsel to determine the truth. Again we note how the fruitful
ness of our study is increased by knowledge of the life out of
which the message of the prophet comes.
This principle is equally true when applied to the New Testa
ment. We have already alluded to the historical method of
the study of the character of Christ. A knowledge of the life

METHODS OF MAKING THE BIBLE EFFECTIVE 39
and times of Palestine is necessary to understand his character.
Consider, for example, the historical and geographical allusions
in his teachings. The teachings themselves become intelligible
only when we understand the illustrations that Jesus uses.
We cannot think adequately of Him as the great Shepherd unless
we know the characteristics of the shepherd of the far East.
How can we hope to appreciate the healing ministry of our Lord
among the blind unless we know of the prevalence and loathesome-
ness of this disease in Palestine? We might go on into almost
aU of the teachings of Jesus and the incidents connected with
his life and show how necessary it is to have an adequate back
ground in studying Him. Most important of all, if we would
appreciate his character and understand his problems, we must
become familiar with the great background of religious thought
in the Hebrew race. Without a knowledge of the Messianic
hope and its various forms of expression in Jewish life, mmch
of the significance of Jesus' life is lost.
The same principle holds true as regards the life of Paul. It
is futile to study his Epistles apart from a knowledge of his
personality, the characteristics of the churches to which he wrote,
the particular problems facing them at the time of writing.
The greatest of all the miracles of Christianity was the spread
of the Gospel of Jesus from the time of the crucifixion until -the
close of the first century. We have a partial account of this
in the book of Acts. We have a supplementary account in the
various Epistles of the New Testament. The student of the
Bible is unable to understand the real meaning of it all, however,
imtil he is familiar with the life of the Mediterranean world of
the first century. He must know something of the homo
geneous Grasco-Eoman civilization and its characteristics. He
must see how the imperialism of Eome, the culture of Athens,

40 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
the religion of Jerusalem were all preparing the way for the
spread of Christianity. He must see the union of the best of
all these national contributions in Paul, born a Eoman citizen,
trained as a rabbi at the feet of Gamaliel, steeped in Greek
methods of thought and expression at the University of Tarsus.
Only as we become familiar with the life and history which
produced them, do we come adequately to appreciate the char
acters of the New Testament.
In the study of at least one New Testament book, this histor
ical approach is vital. This is the book of Eevelation. A great
many propositions concerning religion have been deduced from
this strange book. This has been made possible by an unhistor-
ical attitude toward it. From generation to generation men
have claimed that it was -written to foretell certain impending
events. When their deductions have failed to materialize, they
have reappeared -with a totally new series of prophecies based
upon this book. The difficulty Mes in the fact that many have
failed to realize that Eevelation is the literature of a very
definite historical period. They do not know that a study of
that period -wiU make clear the reason for the peculiar style of
this book as well as indicate the significance of the various
incidents contained therein.
Our second definite suggestion, then, regarding the study of
the Bible, is that we should study the life and history out of
which it came.
A third principle, which will be emphasized over and over
in succeeding chapters, is that we should study the teachings
of the Bible in continuity. The use of uniform lessons in the
Sunday school has developed a peculiar idea -with regard to the
Bible. We came to think of it in small unrelated sections. In
the lessons that we remember there was a certain amount of

METHODS OF MAKING THE BIBLE EFFECTIVE 41
space for Bible passages, together -with the commentary. We
received our Bible by the inch. If the passage was too long, it
was cut at one end, or possibly part was eliminated from the
middle and some stars placed across the page to indicate the
omission. The result is that from our study of it we gain a very
partial and insignificant vision of truth. We form our ideas
with regard to its spiritual message concerning an important
subject from a single passage dealing -with that subject. The
result cannot but be unsatisfactory. The Bible to be understood
must be studied in continuity.
Consider the history of the Hebrews as set forth in the histor
ical books of the Old Testament. Many of the stories that make
up this history have value in themselves. Incidents associated
with Samuel and David and other great characters have inde
pendent significance. Yet all of these stories relate themselves
to the developing life of a people. The stories of the founding
of the Kingdom have their sequel in the stories of its division.
The messages of the prophets relate themselves to the historical
experiences of the nation. The full sweep of Hebrew history
must be felt if we would study our Bibles adequately.
The same principle is true when we come to consider the
New Testament. One of the great impediments to the reahza-
tion of the fundamental truths of the Christian religion has been
the insistence upon partial interpretations of Jesus* teachings.
The socialist holds in the foreground the parable of equal
compensation for all, forgetting the parable of the ten talents.
The premillennialist regards as of greatest significance the
prophecies of the return of Christ, neglecting the many teachings
concerning the slow, evolutionary development of the Kingdom.
All of the teachings of Jesus bearing upon a given problem, not
just isolated teachings, should be considered.

42 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
We must also apply this principle to the study of the character
of Christ. No one book of the New Testament gives a completa
interpretation of his character. In Matthew we see Him related
to the history of his people. In Mark, we see Him as the man
of action. Luke presents primarily the universal and benevolent
aspects of his character. The author of the fourth Gospel re
veals the spiritual significance of his life. Paul interprets his
life as a practical saving force in the world. Only as we study
the Bible in continuity do we find an adequate presentation of
the fact of Christ.
Our final principle is this. We must study the Bible to find
its eternal spiritual significance. It is more than a piece of
literature. It is a source of life. We must seek through our
study to realize the truth of the statement by Coleridge that "the
Bible meets man at his deepest need." The history of the Bible
reveals the fact that it has been the great prophet of social
reform. It has been the inspiration of liberty and democracy.
Its part in the development of education, language and free insti
tutions has been a large one. It has proved equally powerful
in transforming human life. A single verse turned the course
of the life of Joseph Hardy Neesima, as it did that of Augustine,
Luther and many others. The reason for this fact is clear.
Power is the result of a rightly equipped life brought into rela
tionship with the source of power. The electric engine is
connected -with the dynamo, the source of power, by a great
cable, and the result is that it in itself become^ a source of
power. The Bible is in a sense a cable that connects our lives
with the source of all spiritual power, God. As through its
study we come to know Him and to reflect his life we become
powerful men and women, whatever the circumstances of our
lives may be. Consequently in the mechanics of our study of

METHODS OF MAKING THE BIBLE EFFECTIVE 43
the Bible we must not forget the great dynamic fact that justi
fies it all. We express our attitude toward the Bible and realize
our purpose in its study only when we seek to find its eternal
spiritual significance. We must use all of the powers of investi
gation that we have, but let us take care that we do not become
academic in our attitude. The letter MUeth, but the spirit
giveth life.
In this chapter we have indicated the three related purposes
in Bible study, devotional guidance, intellectual development,
volitional stimulation. We have also formulated four general
principles: (1) to know the history of the Bible itself, (2) to
know the life and history out of which it came, (3) to study
the continuity of its teaching, (4) to study its eternal spiritual
significance. In succeeding chapters we wiU take up these
methods in detail, considering the study of the Bible by verses
and chapters, by books, by significant sections, and finally by
topics. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY AND REVIEW
1. Find a number of passages in the Bible particularly suitable for
devotional use ; for intellectual ; for volitional. Find several that com
bine all three.
2. Discuss the peril of a purely devotional, intellectual, or volitional
type of religion. Illustrate each by examples from life as you know it.
3. Give illustrations of the peril of a materialistic interpretation of
life, in home, school or college, in the business world, in international
relationships. How does Bible study relate itseU to this peril?
4. Give several statements of spiritual interpretations of modern
problems based upon Biblical suggestions.
5. How far is your church or Christian Association definitely project
ing its Christianity into practical life? What connection is there between
this question and the suggestion of the study of the Bible for volitional
stimulation? 6. Investigate the field of the history of the Canon ; the history of the
manuscripts ; the history of the versions. (S«e bibliography.) Tabulate

44 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
the facts discovered that are of value for Bible study. On the basis of
this investigation answer the questions suggested in this chapter.
7. Give several illustrations other than those above, of the principle
that we should "know the life and history out of which the Bible came."
8. Read a short history of the Hebrew people. Note the suggestions
of value for Bible study. What was the "Messianic hope"? How does
a knowledge of it make the study of the Gospels more significant?
9. What were the main characteristics of the Grseco-Roman civiliza
tion? What is the relationship between them and the rapid spread of
Christianity as indicated in the Book of Acts and the Epistles?
10. What salient features in the life of Paul are essential to a study
of his Epistles?
11. Outline the historical setting of the Book of Revelation.
12. Investigate the contribution of the Bible to (1) education, (2) the
social status of women, (3) current reform movements, (4) character
transformation.

CHAPTBE III
THE GEEAT VEESES AND CHAPTEBS OP THE BIBLE
A great truth can be expressed in few words, if one possesses
sufficient insight and ability. We have already seen that the
authors of the various books of the Bible were men of great
insight into religious truth. We have seen that many of them
possessed the highest ability in literary expression, hence we
would naturally expect to find in the Bible a great many sig
nificant statements of moral and religious truth in very compact
form. Before turning to consider some of these outstanding verses
of the Bible and the method of studying them, a word of warn
ing must be given. Truth is many-sided. Partial truths are
perilous. The student will do well to guard against a peril all
too frequently characteristic of Bible study, that of seeking to
derive the entire truth concerning religious experience from a
verse or group of verses that sets forth only one aspect of it.
Many of the queer doctrines which, claiming the authority of
the Bible, have masqueraded in the name of religion, have
represented a partial view of truth. A great deal of the so-called
"conflict" between science and religion has come from a dogmatic
insistence upon the complete authority of certain verses -without
reference to further statements concerning the same truth.
Most of us remember the story of the three blind men who
went to see the elephant. The one who seized his trunk thought
an elephant like a tree. The one who encountered his body
46.

46 HOW TO USB THE BIBLE
thought of him as a wall. The one who seized his tail thought of
him as resembling a rope. Each was right, but only partially so.
The Bible student must guard himself against the use of partial
truth. During the war, the pacifist quoted Jesus' admonition
to "love your enemies"; the militarist responded -with the
statement, "I come not to bring peace, but a sword." By the use
of single verses two distinct philosophies were built up, neither
of which was correct because they were both the expression of half
truths. Similar illustrations are the insistence by Wesley in
1769 that witches should be executed, because of a passage in
Exodus to the effect that a witch should not be permitted to live ;
and Calvin's refutation of the modern explanation of the uni
verse because of the statement in the ninety-third Psahn, "The
world also is established, that it cannot be moved." Only
recently there came to the desk of the writer an argument for
the adoption throughout the world of a uniform system of
weights and measures, based upon Proverbs 20 :10, which reads,
"Diverse weights and diverse measures both of them alike are
an abomination to Jehovah."
Enough has doubtless been said to place the Bible student
upon guard against the peril of partial truth growing out of the
use of single verses or groups of verses. The fact remains, how
ever, that there are many great outstanding verses in the Bible,
verses that are worth remembering, verses that bring a definite
and adequate suggestion for life to-day.
Prom the statements made -with regard to the attitude that
we are taking toward the Bible itself, it will be evident that in
this connection only one type of verse will reward our study.
Since we come to the Bible to find God, and the relationship of
his nature to the problems of human life, we -will not select for
our study those verses that are primarily historical, scientific, or

THE GEEAT VEESES AND CHAPTEES 47
descriptive, we will rather seek those that record the e:?;periences
of men and women near to God, verses such as that great word
at the close of the fortieth chapter of Isaiah, "They that wait
upon Jehovah shall renew their strength; they shall mount up
with wings as an eagle; they shall nm and not be weary; they
shall walk and not faint."
Bach student of the Bible should seek to discover these verses
for himself, and thus build up a store of great spiritual state
ments that he is continually setting before himself as ideals to
be achieved. The best way to discover verses such as these
is in connection with the regular reading of the Bible. It is
necessary first to secure an edition that can be marked. A Bible
that is intelligently marked is of great value. When such an
edition has been obtained, the verses which seem especially help
ful, such as those used in connection with a sermon or address,
may be underlined. If this method is continued for a period of
time, our Bibles will gradually come to contain a great many
verses that have impressed us with their intrinsic value, and by
marking have been made available for future study.
Another helpful method for finding verses that will reward
study, is the use of various devotional helps. These are pub
lished in many forms, and are generally made up of brief pas
sages of Scripture that in the judgment of the compiler are
worthy of special study. Discrimination should be shown in
the use of these selections, however, as frequently they are
hastily prepared and many passages are included that should
be studied only in relationship to other passages.
When a verse or group of verses which the student wishes to
master has been found, there will prove to be three steps in the
process. In the first place the verse should be studied in its
setting. Secondly, the central spiritual truth should be ascer-

48 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
tained. And in the third place, the verse should be made -vital
by the application of that truth to life to-day. Let us glance
briefiy at each of these steps.
It is very important in studying a verse to know its setting.
What precedes it and what follows it ? What was the purpose of
the author in recording it ? If a quotation, why was it originally
given? Under what circumstances, by whom, and where were
the words spoken? The answer to these and similar questions
will help in the intelligent appreciation of the verse under con
sideration. Just as a picture gains in suggestive power because
of its frame and proper place in the room, so does a verse gain
in spiritual significance if considered in its relationship to the
larger whole of which it is a part. Consequently, we -will do
more in our study than read the verse. We wiU read the chapter
of which it is a part. We will seek to find out the elements in
the setting that enhance the value of the verse. We will endeavor
to learn what we can concerning the religious experience of
which the particular verse under consideration represents the
culmination. Let us take the first verse of the Bible as an example. We
find upon investigation that this is the key verse to ihe Old
Testament story of the creation. Succeeding verses and chapters
deal with the method of creation as it was thought of at the time
when these chapters were written; the first verse sets forth the
fact of it. This verse contains, then, the statement of the
spiritual significance of the great Hebrew story of the creation.
It answers, from the Hebrew point of view, the eternal question
as to who is responsible for things as they are. It gives the
religious statement of the type of philosophy which underlies
the universe.
The second necessar.y step in verse study is to find the central

THE GEEAT VEESES AND CHAPTEES 49
spiritual truth. There are frequently interesting and subtle
suggestions connected with a verse that are not germane to the
real experience that it contains. The treading of these by-paths
may be worth while, but first we should find the main road that
leads to the truth at the heart of the verse : what experience of
spiritual value does this verse primarily set forth ? Por example,
returning to the first verse of Genesis, we easily discover the
great spiritual truth here revealed. The thought is the presence
of God in, and the responsibility of God for, the universe. A
religious meaning, a spiritual not a materialistic philosophy,
underlies aU of life. A great religious truth is therefore re
vealed to us in this verse. If we permit ourselves at the outset
to be led astray into speculation with regard to the scientific
or historical truth here set forth, we lose its essential meaning.
Once we have realized its spiritual power, we can face the
scientific and historical problems -without fear, knowing that its
great religious message is permanently ours.
The process of the study of a verse is not always completed,
however, -with the discovery of the central spiritual truth. In
most cases, sooner or later, this truth must be made vital by
application tO life to-day. The trouble that a great many young
people have -with religion in general, and the truths of the Bible
in particular, is due to the fact that for them all spiritual values
are in the abstract, because they have not yet become a part of
their real experience. The Psalmist of old enunciated a scien
tific road to knowledge when he said, "Taste and see, that the
Lord is good." The pathway of experience is ever the straight-
est road to knowledge. The great truths of the Bible were
spoken to people of a definite race, of definite ideals, in a definite
historical period, consequently they were clothed in language
suitable to their times.

50 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
In the second step of our study we sought to penetrate through
the form of statement shaped for a given age, in order to grasp
the ageless truth. We follow this with the third step, as we
re-express the truth of the Bible verse for our o-wn time. Once
more we turn to the verse already used in illustration. What is
its message to life to-day ? Is it not the message which above all
others is needed by our generation, the challenge to spirituaHze
the whole of life ? We do not need to think a great deal about
the creation of the world. The world is here. But we do need
to know the nature of that power which is beneath and around
and in the world. We need to know whether a materialistic or a
spiritual philosophy is correct. And once kno-wing, we make
this verse our own, by expressing that spiritual interpretation
of life in store, oh campus, in factory and in the life of the home.
In order that we may clearly understand the process that we
have just described, let us apply the three steps briefiy to two
other important passages of the Bible. It is not our purpose to
develop the complete analysis of each of these, but rather to
illustrate the method to be employed. We wiU take Micah 6 :8
and Euth 1:16, 17.
The setting of the passage in Micah is the great invective of
the prophet against the moral and religious corruption of the
people. Morality has reached a low ebb, in spite of the elaborate
religious ceremonies that have been developed. Indeed the
religious practices have but stimulated the general unrest and
corruption of the nation. The pure, practical religion of earlier
times has been smothered in ecclesiastical pomp and ceremony.
The author is seeking to set forth the essentials of a true worship
of Qod in the verse under discussion. In contrast to the elabo
rate ceremonies spoken of in verses six and seven, he cries out,
"He hath showed thee, 0 man, what is good; and what doth

THE GEEAT VEESES AND CHAPTEES 51
Jehovah require of thee, but to do justly, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with thy God ?"
The central religious truth is clear. Eeligion is not a thing
of external show or performance; it belongs to the inner life of
men. It expresses itself in qualities of character, not quantities
of ritual. It is not expressed only upon stated occasions, but is
found in the continued evidence of a just, kind and humble life.
Here is indicated the relationship between religion and morality.
Moral qualities are the channels through which religion expresses
itseK in human life. There should be no morality apart from
religion ; there can be no religion apart from morality.
Our third step is to apply the truth, discovered in this verse,
to life to-day. Eeligion must be translated into terms of daily
life if it is to be real. It is not an adjunct to life. Its spirit
is not to be fulfilled merely by attendance upon church, gifts to
missions or formal prayers. These all have their part, but
most important of all is the fact that to be real, religion must
express itself in the spirit that we show day by day, toward our
families, toward friends, toward employers and business associ
ates. Through the three steps already indicated we find in this
verse a great truth that makes a real spiritual contribution to
our lives.
The setting of the passage in Euth is a familiar one. It will
be perfectly clear to the student that without a study of the
setting, verses sixteen and seventeen would be unintelligible.
The story of the early part of the book of Euth, which Goethe
has called "the loveliest little idyU that tradition has trans
mitted to us," is quickly told. Forced from his native land by
famine, a native of Bethlehem, with his wife and -two sons, settles
in Moab. After the death of the father, the two boys marry
women of Moab, Orpah and Euth. The subsequent death of the

52 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
two sons leaves the mother alone with her two daughters-in-law.
Soon she decides to return to her native country and suggests
that the two daughters remain in Moab. They accompany her
for some distance and come to a place where they must either
go on into a strange country or return to the land of their
fathers. They stand facing a decision common to all people. Behind
them is a land which represents for them custom, habit, tradi
tion, the conforming life, and oblivion. Toward this land,
Orpah turns back. Before them is a land of uncertainty and
strangeness, but a land of a new ideal, toward which love is
leading. Led by this spirit, Euth makes the choice of faith.
The statement of her choice is given in the passage under con
sideration. "And Euth said. Entreat me not to leave thee, and
to return from following after thee; for whither thou goest, I
will go; and where thou lodgest, I wiU lodge; thy people shall
be my people, and thy God my God ; where thou diest will I die,
and there will I be buried ; Jehovah do so to me and more also,
if aught but death part thee and me."
Here is set forth the essential nature of progress. There must
be the decision to turn from the certain methods and ideals of
past experience, to the uncertainty and perplexity of new ideals.
Every transition experience is marked by just this decision. As
with Euth the venture of faith was justified because of her love
of Naomi, so in the decisions of life it is the spirit of love that
makes progress into the unkno-wn future, safe and sure.
Now we seek to make this great spiritual truth our own. The
decisions of faith must be made to-day. Love of home, of school,
of country, of Christ makes them possible. The decision that
this young woman of ancient times was forced to make, is a
decision that confronts all young men and women. We face the

THE GEEAT VEESES AND CHAPTEES S3
decision of a career. Are we going to sink into the routine of
a complacent life or are we going to achieve our highest -visions
of usefulness? We face the decision of commitment to the
Christian religion. Are we going back into a condition of in
difference or forward into a new religious experience ? We face
the inevitable decision between allegiance to a traditional re
ligion and the struggle for a vital progressive faith. Are we
going to sink back into religious inertia, content to mumble
phrases and defend antiquated definitions, or are we going to
face the issues of modern life and think our way through to a
larger and nobler faith? The decision between inertia and
progress must be faced in our intellectual, our emotional, and
our volitional life. The great force which challenges us to
progress is love — love of truth, love of ideals, love of people and
of God.
The method of the study of a chapter is very similar to that
of the study of a shorter passage. The chief difference is due
to the greater amount of material involved in its consideration.
Before dealing with the different steps in this kind of study,
however, both the advantage and peril of study by chapters
should be emphasized. The peril lies, as in the case of verse
study, in the development of religious principles based upon
partial truth. The different chapters of the Bible do not always
possess complete unity in themselves. They are part of the
development by the author of some religious idea. We should
no more expect to gain a complete idea of what the writer is
expressing by reading a single chapter than we should, by
reading a single chapter in the midst of a modern story, expect
to get a knowledge of the entire plot, 'y Moreover, it is frequently
necessary to compare the ideals set forth in one chapter with

54 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
those of a chapter in another book. Truth is many-sided, and
the various chapters of the Bible are like search-lights focused
upon it from different angles. They are limited because each is
written from a definite point of view. Hence to secure a com
prehensive view of the truth, we must seek to consider the
message of different chapters that bear upon a common spiritual
experience. When we have clearly recognized this peril of partial truth, we
realize that there are a great many chapters in the Bible which
have a definite message to life to-day. Certain great chapters
of the prophets, many of the Psalms, and a large number of the
chapters of the Gospels stand out as great mountain peaks of
religious experience worthy of independent study.
Little time need be taken in discussing the method of the
study of a chapter, as in the main it was covered in the consider
ation of the steps in the study of a verse. Here we have four
steps instead of three. First we study the chapter in relation
ship to the entire book. Second, we make an outline of it.
Third, we seek to determine the central thought of the chapter
and relate the parts to it. Fourth, we make this spiritual truth
our o-wn by applying it to our experience.
The only new step suggested is the preparation of an outline,
which -will help us to arrive at the central truth of the chapter.
It need not be long or comprehensive. Care should be taken,
however, to see that it contains every important idea included in
the chapter. The student will find that it -wiU be of greatest
value if in its development the regular rules for the preparation
of an outline are followed. If the main points of the chapter
are set forth in a clear and unified manner, material assistance
will be obtained in the mastery of the chapter and the determina
tion of its central truth. Frequently this will be much more

THE GEEAT VEESES AND CHAPTEES 55
difficult to find than in the case of a verse. Unless there is such
a unifying truth, however, we may conclude that the chapter
division is purely arbitrary and so discontinue ita study as a
separate unit.
In order that this process may be clear, we will illustrate it by
a brief study of the forty-second Psalm. The setting of the
Psahn is the period of darkness in Hebrew history known as
the Exile. The people were far from home in a land of slavery.
Many had found great difficulty, in the face of this sundering of
all accustoiped ties, in keeping alive their sense of God. They
had thought of God as connected with the temple ; it was hard to
worship Him in a strange land. They had associated his rule
over them with constant protection and prosperity; it was hard
to feel his relationship to them in times of servitude. Such an
experience is that of the writer of this Psahn. It portrays the
struggle back to God of a man who has lost Him.
The first two verses show the terrible sense of despair that
has come -with this loss of a sense of God. Verses three and
four indicate the fact that this man's despair has been increased
by the memory of a better past. Verse five takes the form of a
chorus, recurring in the eleventh verse, in which the writer
secures a temporary grip upon his -will, and reasserts his better
self. The next two verses record the continued meditation upon
his present condition, in which his own pitiful situation is con
trasted with the power of God. The eighth, ninth and tenth
verses indicate an increasing spirit of determination on the part
of the writer. The knowledge of the continued activity of God
returns, and he determines to face definitely the reason for his
loss of the sense of God's presence. The chorus in the eleventh
vSrse adds to that of the fifth the great renewed suggestion of
this new hold upon God, in the addition of the words "and my

56 HOW TO USB THE BIBLE
God." It should be noted that the same experience is carried
on through the forty-third Psalm as weU.
Almost all of the Psalms deal with the devotional aspects of
religion, and -with the tremendous heart problems involved in
human life. Hence we naturally expect to find the central truth
of a Psalm in the great experience therein set forth. This is
true of the forty-second Psalm. J Here is a man away from
God. His bitterness is increased because of his past experiences.
He finally makes the resolve of will to face the issue and to reach
out after God. In this act of will his problem is solved. God
once more becomes for him a rock, j As long as he thought of
the past alone, and meditated upon what had once been, God was
not real. As soon as he faced the present, God again became a
reality to him. \ The great central truth, then, is this : that when
an individual is away from God, -with all the sorrow that such
a condition implies, the way to feel the reality of his presence
again, is to face the situation squarely, seek to relate the present
to Him, and the consciousness of his presence -will return. [
Many a young man or woman who has gone away to schod
finds it difficult to keep alive a sense of God. The home ties,
the early church associations are broken. New experiences and
friendships are crowding in. Old methods of thought are
rapidly giving place to new. Somehow in the process God is
lost. There is still a longing to know Him. There is still the
desire to have that same sense of harmony with the universe
which characterized the time when at home and in church God
seemed real. It is the experience of the psalmist repeated in
modern life. We may well let his solution be ours. We may
well realize that God is still present in the world and a reality
to many people. We need but look about us to discover this fact.
We can then cease to think of religion entirely in the pas.t„ tense,

THE GEEAT VEESES AND CHAPTEES 57
With him we can speak to God our rock. And soon He will
become once more for us the help of our countenance and our
God. It will be noted that we have taken this Psabn and have passed
through the four steps indicated for the study of a chapter. We
have become familiar with its contents. We have grasped its
central truth. We have sho-wn a definite application of that
truth to life to-day. Thus we have achieved the goal of all true
study, which is to make truth function in life.
QUESTIONS FOB STUDY AND REVIEW
1. What is the great peril in the independent study of the verses and
chapters of the Bible? Give several illustrations of the misuse of
Biblical quotations.
2. What qualities in a verse make it worthy of independent study?
Give several verses that should be studied in this way.
3. When asked to quote a verse, what one comes most quickly to your
mind? Why? Does it possess the qualities given above?
4. What are the three steps in the study of a verse? Do you think of
more that should be given? Could any be omitted?
5. Why is it necessary to apply the truth of a verse to life to-day?
Do we do this in other fields of study?
6. How does the study of a chapter differ from that of a verse? Give
a chapter that should be studied in relationship to another chapter.
7. What are the rules for a good outline? (See a book on Epglish
composition.) 8. Prepare by means of the steps indicated a brief address based upon
some verse for use in a religious meeting for young people.
9. No'te the sermons that you hear. How far have they used the
methods for verse study which have been developed above?

CHAPTEE IV
BOOK BY BOOK IN THE BIBLE
Any book that is worthy of study possesses a fundamental
unity. Unless we study it in its entirety we fail to get its
complete message. The books of the Bible are no exception to
this rule. If we would become Bible students in any adequate
sense of the word we must add to the methods discussed in the
last chapter, the study of the Bible by entire books.
I There are certain obvious values in such a study. In the first
place by this method we recognize and seek to maintain the
continuity that was in the mind of the author. The reason that
there is a certain amount of material in a given book is because
the original author thought it all necessary to the development
of the spiritual truths that he was seeking to set forth. The
author of the book of Genesis, for example, had clearly in mind
the presentation of a certain period of development in the life
of the Hebrew people, j He carried the narrative to a certain
essential point. For us to stop short in our study of a book
or to study it by fragments here and there, is to miss much of the
power of its contents. The books of the prophets need to be
studied in their entirety to appreciate the power of these men
and the complete sweep of their message. We must study the
books of the New Testament in their complete form if we would
share the sense of their unity possessed by the original authors.
; A further advantage of the study of the Bible by entire books
Hes in the fact that we are thus guarded against the danger of
58

BOOK BY BOOK IN THE BIBLE 59
partial truths. We have already indicated the danger that
lies in the deriving of a spiritual truth from a single statement
regarding it. If we study an entire book, however, we become
familiar with the complete thought of the -writer as expressed
upon the subject under consideration, j
We may go still further, however. In the study of a given
book, except one of composite authorship such as the Psalms, we
come into contact -with the ideas of only one man regarding a
truth. Other writers will view the same subject from different
angles, wiU focus an illuminating light upon it from other
points of -view. Furthermore, we must realize that the experi
ence of the authors of the books of the Bible changed. Paul, for
example, developed from stage to stage in his religious life and
his religious thinking. This development is mirrored in the
progressive grasp upon truth shown in his Epistles. Conse
quently when we have ascertained his position concerning a
certain truth as set forth in one of the earlier books, it -will repay
us to study it in connection with other books written during his
later life.
Certain books of the Bible are naturally more profitable for
study than others. For the assistance of the student, the books
which are generally found more profitable are listed here. In
many instances others will have been found exceedingly helpful
in individual cases, hence each -will wish to supplement this
list for himself.
Jj The book of Genesis, because of the character studies which it
mtains, and because of its relationship to the development
of religious thought as incarnated in the Hebrew race, is very
rewarding. ^ Other outstanding books in the Old Testament are
the following:! Deuteronomy, because of its presentation of a
legal code formulated from a religious point of view; Job,

60 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
with its eternally significant study of the problem of suffering;
the Psalms, containing a presentation of all human interests
as related to the divine; Proverbs, with its practical statement
of religious principles; Ecclesiastes, with its refutation of the
glory of things in themselves. Among the prophets Isaiah and
Jeremiah are pre-eminent for their constructive religious states
manship, Hosea and Amos for their keen delineation of the
results of corruption and superficial religion, Jonah and Micah
for the international point of view which they set forth. Malachi
is historically significant as the last of the Old Testament books.
While the student will probably -wish to study aU of the books
of the New Testament, he will doubtless spend the major part of
his time upon the Gospels, Paul's Epistles, the Acts, and
Hebrews. I
We must emphasize the fact that the above books are by no
means the only ones that will be found profitable for study book
by book. The fact that each of the books of the Bible was tested
for many years as to its ability to tell us about God, before its
final inclusion in the Canon, means that each -will in some degree
be foimd helpful. We have merely indicated some that seem to
be of especial importance.
Four steps may be suggested for the study of a given book:
/ (1) To find out the time and place of writing, the characteristics
' of those to whom it was -written, and the author of the book.
(2) To make an outline of the book. (3) To formulate a brief
statement of its central truth and relate the various points in the
book to it. (4) To make the truth our own by application to
present practical problems.
The preliminary step cannot be carried out in its entirety for
each of the books. We do not know when some of them were
written ; we do not know the authors of others ; we do not know

BOOK BY BOOK IN THE BIBLE 61
the supposed audience of still others. But when possible to
ascertain these facts concerning a book it is sure to prove helpful.
Almost all of the books of the Bible contain allusions to histor
ical occurrences. Frequently they aid us in the establishment of
the time of the writing of a book. At other times, however, if
we know the date of authorship through collateral study, we
are able to understand many references that were not clear before.
This also throws light upon the development of truth itself. We
find, for example, that two of the prophecies contain two differ
ing presentations of truth. Our knowledge of the dates of both
enables us to determine which presentation of truth represents
the maturer judgment. By this same means we are able to
determine some of the perplexing points concerning the develop
ment of the religious thought of Paul. Again, the knowledge
of the date of a book sometimes clarifies the purpose of the
book itself. We learn that the book of Euth was written at the
time of the movement in the Hebrew state to rid the nation of
foreign wives. At once the larger purpose of the book, the
significance of the portrayal of the fidelity of a foreign woman,
becomes apparent.
If we can determine the place in which a book of the Bible
was written, we will be helped in its interpretation. This will
be found especially true of the books of the New Testament.
The Epistles sent by Paul from Corinth were penned in sur
roundings far different from those at Ephesus. In the former
case something of the atmosphere of the great commercial city
of the Mediterranean, with all of its industry and sensuousness,
forms a background for his Epistles. In the latter the back
ground is furnished by the religious life of Ephesus, character
ized by oriental mysticism and fanaticism.
It is helpful in the study of a book of the Bible to under-

62 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
stand the type of people for whom it was written. This is espe
cially true in the case of the prophecies and the Epistles. A
skillful writer will seek to adapt his message to the people
for whem it is written. This will govern to a certain extent
allusiong used, the illustrative material selected. A comparison
of the attitude of Matthew and Luke toward Jewish customs and
ceremonies will illustrate this point. Matthew is writing to
Jews. He realizes that they wiU be familiar with the meaning
of Jewish traditions and customs, consequently he uses many
of them with very little explanation. Luke, on the other hand,
is writing to Gentiles, and as a result we note as one of his char
acteristics a continuous attempt to make clear various Hebrew
terms and traditions. The book of Amos gains greatly in
significance when we realize that its message was given before the
religious leaders of the nation at their great religious festival.
An interesting study can be made of Paul's Epistles in regard to
the various methods of the presentation of truth which he used
because of the different types of people whom he had in mind.
The principle that we are developing holds true of a knowledge
of the personality of the author of the book as well. The large
place that character plays in literary productions is gradually
being realized by the students of literature. One of the avenues
of interpreting a book is that of the personality of its author.
The Gospel of Luke is a case in point. When we know more of
the "beloved physician," we understand the reason for his record
ing many of the stories of Jesus' life which are not mentioned by
the others. We catch the purpose of the broad, humanitarian
point of view of Luke's narrative.
The second step in our study takes us to the book itself. We
suggest that an outline of it be made. This need not be ex
haustive; much that is minor can be eliminated; much that is

BOOK BY BOOK IN THE BIBLE 63
not applicable to modern life can be omitted. At the game time
we should be careful to see that all of the imjportant facts and
significant spiritual truths are included. If we seek to produce
an orderly unified outline of the entire book, we wiU make its
contents permanentiy our own. It wiU be helpful if this outline
is made in such form that it can 1»e preserved and used for future
reference. Valuable suggestions as to outlines will be found in
the various Introductions to the Old and New Testaments. If,
however, we rely upon this work of other people as final, we shall
deny ourselves that familiarity -with the book which can come
only through careful, first-hand study.
J When the content of the book has been mastered, the next
step is to formulate its central truth. The statement of the
great central truth of the book wiU represent its unifying spir
itual message. If we are to feel its drive and be conscious of its
spiritual power, such a statement should be formulated./ If
we carefully work out such a statement we vriU in the highest
sense be studying the book itself, for this -will necessitate the
proper evaluation of its various parts and a consideration of
their relationship to the purpose of the author himself.
/The final step is to appropriate, for our own lives, those
spiritual truths which have thus been discovered, by seeking to
apply them so far as possible to our present practical problems, jt
This may well represent the culmination of the whole process of
Bible study, hence we may ask ourselves, as we conclude the
study of a book, many practical questions. iWhat contribution
do the truths of this book make to my personal life? How do
they affect my habits of living and attitudes toward life? If
carefully applied how -will they infiuence my personal relation
ships ? What suggestions do they make regarding the problems
of the social order iu which I live? Do they indicate valuable

64 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
truth available for the solution of national and international
problems ? .
In order to illustrate the significance of the four steps just dis
cussed, we will apply them briefly to an outline study of the book
of Amos. If we turn to our Introduction to the Old Testament,
we find that the date of its origin is given as 755 B. C.
Jeroboam was the king in the northern kingdom, while Uzziah
was upon the throne in the southern kingdom. Forty years had
passed since the stirring times of Elijah and Blisha and the
great re-vival of monotheism that they had brought about. The
nation had entered into a period of peace and prosperity; there
was no present danger from external foes. This period of
quietness had brought about certain definite changes in the
country. Gradually the little group of nomads who had come
up from Egypt had become a great nation. The rigors and
perils of earlier life had given way to the comparative ease and
security of a strong nation. Life in the fields had been re
placed by life in the cities, and as a result the moral and religious
ideals of the people had changed. With the rapid expansion of
national interests came a decline in moral and spiritual ideals.
Wealth, oppression, immorality and religious corruption were
prevalent in the land. Superficial religion was more highly de
veloped than ever before in Hebrew history, but piety was
divorced from righteousness. Formalism had supplanted genu
ine spiritual ideals. The condition of the people is well sum
marized by Amos himself. "I hate, I despise your feasts," he
records God as saying, "and I -will take no delight in your solemn
assemblies. Yea, though ye offer me your burnt-offerings and
meal-offerings, I will not accept them ; neither will I regard the
peace-offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from me
the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy

BOOK BY BOOK IN THE BIBLE 65
viols. But let justice roll down as waters, and righteousness
as a mighty stream."
In the study of this particular book we are not so much inter
ested in the place where the great message of Amos was reduced
to -writing as we are in the place where his prophecy was
originally given, where his great message was molded and shaped.
The culmination of the formal religion of the nation was the
autumn festival at Bethel. Here were gathered together the
exponents of Je-wish culture, the priests and followers of the
Jewish religion, the persons of wealth and prominence from the
entire state. It was an impressive assembly, representing the
highest point in the life of the nation. The site of the gather
ing was Bethel, one of the great historical shrines of the Hebrew
people. From the time of Abraham it had been a cherished spot,
for the celebrating of significant religious occasions. To this
spot, hallowed by the history of the purely spiritual religion of
the founders of the Hebrew state and now desecrated by all the
pretensions of formal religion and depraved morals, Amos comes
with his ringing message. We can at once appreciate something
of the powerful effect that his words must have produced
when given under such conditions. Instead of approaching
this book as a bit of dead and curious literature, we are
now able to feel something of the significance it originally
must have had as it fell like a thunderbolt upon the ears of the
great assembly.
We have already noted the type of people to whom this mes
sage was given. They represented the highest classes in Jewish
society. Especially should it be noted that this arraignment of
current religion was delivered in the presence of the leaders
of religion themselves. Amos was no coward; he appeared
before them personally and presented his accusations. If we

66 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
desire to understand the characteristics of these people more
completely, we will find in the many statements of Jesus con
cerning the leaders of formal religion in his time a reflection of
a similar situation.
The very fact that Amos chose the time that he did to deliver
his message indicates something of his personality. He was a
man of courage carried almost to the point of audacity. We
learn that he was one from among the shepherds of Tekoa and
a pruner of sycamore trees. His life was untainted by the ener
vating influences of the city. He was an exponent of the rugged,
noble, uncorrupted religion of earlier times. His life close to
nature gave him a grasp upon natural laws which are used
¦with telling effect as illustrations of his message. He was a
man of considerable skiU and diplomacy. Witness the clever
way in which he gained a hearing by denouncing the enemies
of the Hebrews. How the throngs must have laughed with
glee as they heard his arraignments ! Yet the careful student
¦will discover that all of this time Amos was establishing certain
principles that he was soon to use against his own people with
telling effect. Combined with this courage and skill was a
sense of a God-given mission. "I am neither a prophet nor
the son of a prophet," he cried out. "From behind the herds,
Jehovah sent me forth." With the natural indignation born
of a life of morality, -with the courage due to sound character and
confidence, -with skill in presentation, and with a sense of the
power and help of God Himself, Amos was superbly equipped for
his task.
Our second main step is the formation of an outline. This is
prepared from the book itself. It is not intended to be full or
complete, yet it is sufficient to afford a knowledge of the content
of the book.

BOOK BY BOOK IN THE BIBLE 67
Introduction. 1 :1 to 2 :4.
A. The ascription of the book to Amos. 1 :1.
B. The judgment of God against the nations. 1 : 2 to 2 : 3.
I. Judgment against Damascus. 1:3-5.
II. Judgment against Gaza. 1 : 6-8.
III. Judgment against Tyre. 1:9, 10.
IV. Judgment against Edom. 1 :11, 12.
V. Judgment against Ammon. 1 :13-15.
VI. Judgment against Moab. 2:1-4.
Main section :
A. God's judgment against Judah and Israel. 2 : 4-16.
I. Reasons for judgment against Judah. 2:4, 5.
II. Reasons for judgment against Israel. 2 : 6-16.
1. Oppression, immorality, religious breakdown. 2 : 6-8.
2. The intensification of this condition by the past goodness of
God. 2:9-12.
3. The inevitable punishment to come. 2 : 13-16.
B. The reasons for the judgment. 3 to 6.
I. The fate of Israel intensified because of her religious oppor
tunities. 3 :l-8.
II. Reasons for this impending doom. 3:9 to 4:5.
1. The oppression and rapacity of the people. 3 : 9-12.
2. The luxury of the rich. 3 :13-15.
3, The intemperance of many. 4:1-3.
4. The futility of expecting extravagant worship to save the
nation. 4 : 4-5.
III. The failure of past warnings, necessitating a more terrible
revelation of God. 4 : 6-13.
IV. A renewed appeal for the return of the people to God. 5:1
to 5:27.
1. Preliminary lamentation over Israel's condition. 5:1-3.
2. An appeal to turn from evil and to seek God. 5 : 4-15.
3. Statement relating to possible darkness of the longed-for
"day of Jehovah." 5:16-20.
4. Further emphasis upon the moral rather than ritual de
mands of religion. 5 : 21-27.
V. Denunciation of the luxuries of the people. 6:1-6.
VI. The impending exile as a result of moral and religious break
down. 6 : 7-14.

68 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
C. The visions of destruction. 7 :1 to 9 :15.
Note. These illustrate in pictorial form the results of a
moral and religious decline.
I. The locusts and the drought. 7 :l-6.
IL The plumbline. 7:7-9.
III. Inserted material. The controversy between Amos and
Amaziah. 7 :10-17.
IV. The summer fruit. 8:1-3.
V. Further exposition of the evils of Israel. 8 : 4-14.
VI. The ruined temple. 9 :l-7.
Conclusion. The picture of the redemption and prosperity to come in the
Messianic Age. 9 : 8-15.
The central spiritual truth is now apparent. Justice and love
are essential characteristics of true religion and the only stable
foundation upon which a state or society can be founded. This
is the burden of the message of Amos to his age and to ours as
well. Every part of the book is seen to be clearly related to it.
The importance of such a presentation appears when we seek
to study its practical application to our modern life. One of the
constantly recurring problems is the relationship between re
ligion and morality. Frequently we make no connection
between these two in our lives. Eeligion means for us church
attendance, formal prayer, spasmodic reading of the Bible, the
contribution of a little money. It scarcely affects our daily life
at all. It is all too customary to be active in the work of our
church on Sunday and not quite dependable or honest in class
room or office or store during the week. The great message
of Amos is that morality and religion are inseparable. Eeal
religion is a seven day in the week proposition. It deals with
the way in which we do our work from day to day. Jesus
emphasized this principle when He said, "By their fruits ye shall
know them."

BOOK BY BOOK IN THE BIBLE 69
The result of such a breakdovm of morality and a formalizing
of religion is, according to Amos, the collapse of the individual
or society itself. For the Hebrews the form this was to take
was the exile. For us the form would be different, but the spir
itual result would be the same. Only as we keep our moral and
religious life strong and coordinated -will we be laying the
foundation of real success in Mfe.
We have been able to arrive at some practical and pertinent
modern suggestions from this study of the book of Amos. The
same methods, with similar results, can be applied to most of the
other books of the Bible.
At the beginning of this chapter we indicated some of the
most helpful books to be studied in this way. The student may
¦wish, however, to find a book dealing with some specific subject,
hence, we suggest the following broad classification. For the
contribution of religion to history, the historical books of the
Old Testament and the book of Acts will be found helpful. The
devotional life will be best stimulated by the study of the Psalms
and the Gospel of John. A religious interpretation of life's
common problems is offered by Job, Proverbs and Ecclesi
astes. The life of Christ is, of course, best studied in the
Synoptic Gospels. The practical implications of Jesus' life will
be found in Paul's Epistles, together with the Epistle to the
Hebrews. A helpful discussion of practical church problems is
contained in First Corinthians. High moral standards in indi
vidual and national life are set forth in the Old Testament
Prophets. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY AND REVIEW
1. Select your three favorite Biblical books. Give reasons for selection.
2. Discuss the value of the study of the Bible book by book.
3. Make a list of all the books in the Bible that you think worthy of

70 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
study. Why were soma omitted? Why did you includa those that you
did? 4. Of what books in the Bible are the authors unknown? Why are
the statements of authorship at the beginning of the books not to be
entirely relied upon.
5. Give illustrations from modern literature of the value of a knowledge
of the author, time of production of the book, people to whom it was
written, the place where it was written.
6. Prepare a chart giving the facts suggested in Question Five as
applied to the books of the Bible, as far as you can ascertain them by
using an Introduction to the Old and New Testaments.
7. What books did Paul write at Corinth? What books at Ephesus?
What were the characteristics of the two cities? How did they affect
his books?
8. Discuss the value of the making of an outline of a book.
9. Discuss the value of formulating the central truth of a book and of
applying it to present problems.
10. Select some Biblical book and work out the four steps suggested
for its study as illustrated by our analysis of Amos.

CHAPTEE V
SIGNIFICANT SECTIONS OP THE BIBLE
The study of the various sections of the Bible is based upon'
its study book by book, and is merely the extension of the method
that we were considering in the last chapter. By sections we
mean certain natural groupings of books which because of a
common authorship, historical sequence or similarity of thought
possess unity. An example of the first group is the Pauline
Epistles, of the second group, the historical books of the Old
Testament, of the third, the Gospels. The method of study is to
seek to become familiar with the contents and central spiritual
truths of the various books that compose a given section. Then
by comparison and the contrast of ideas, by forming the proper
sequence when the material is chronological, by the relating of
the different ideas presented when the unity is that of authorship,
we are able to focus the power of many books upon spiritual
truths. This method is necessary, for we face, even in the study of
individual books, the peril of partial truths. Different writers
think very differently upon the same subject; all may be cor
rect as far as they go, but their statement of truth is only partial.
Furthermore, an individual writer develops in his thought. At
certain periods in his experience his attitude toward a great
religious subject is very frequently different from what it was at
other periods. If we would understand the complete contribu
tion which he has to make, we must therefore seek to become
71

72 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
familiar -with the evolution of his thought so far as the contents
of the Bible make this possible.
Truth may be expressed in many and varied forms. By
temperament and training people differ greatly as to the form
which is most helpful to them. Some find the clearest road to
truth through the narrated experiences of others. Some ap
proach it through the challenging thought of others. Still
others are reached most effectively when the truth is told in story
form, or when it is set forth in poetry and drama. All of these
various forms are used in the Bible. In the Old Testament
especially we are in the presence of a great many different
literary forms bearing upon religious truth. The danger is that
each of us will cultivate that method of presentation which we
best enjoy to the exclusion of all other forms. Certain of us will
have our "Bible within the Bible" composed of the historical
books alone. Others will choose the poetical parts, stUl others
the philosophical, and so on. To guard against this following
of the line of least resistance in Bible study, we need to study
it by sections.
In addition to the value of this study of sections in making
truth intelligible and complete, a certain power is given to the
spiritual realities of the Bible that can be secured in no other
way. There is strength in numbers. Any movement which has
a large number of adherents attracts attention and evidences
power. Any case that has a great number of reliable -witnesses
is a good case. Any great ideal attested by many different
people from diverse points of view comes -with compelling au
thority. Hence as we study the Bible section by section, and
topic by topic as we shall do in the next chapter, we feel the'
irresistible power of those great ideals of religion that recur
over and over again on its pages. Now they are expressed in a

SIGNIFICANT SECTIONS OF THE BIBLE 73
man's way of thinking. Again they are incarnated in a stirring
biography. A poet catches them and makes them the burden
of his song. The hfe of a nation is built around them. So it
goes until one feels the grip of the great principles of religion
as revealed in the Bible, the power of that force underneath its
principles, which is the very life of God. It is just a step to
yield to this great appeal, and make the ideals of the Bible the
practical guide in life.
It wiU be apparent, then, that for the sake of clarity, compre
hension and knowledge of power, there is a value in the study
of the Biblical material by sections. This is especially impera
tive in the case of the Old Testament, for it originally possessed
but three divisions. Those who wrote and preserved it felt that
each of these three parts, the Law, the Prophets, and the Writ
ings, contained sufficient unity to be considered as a whole. The
careful student of the Bible ¦will therefore feel that his task is
not complete until he has investigated the relationship between
the books which make up these three sections. The divisions of
the New Testament are less apparent but they are none the less
real. In order to make clear this form of study, we will give a brief
analysis of the more important sections of the Bible. This
survey is in no sense comprehensive. The student should seek
by the study of each book in the suggested sections and the
relating of them to each other to fill out and expand this short
outline. The first natural section in the Bible, originally known as the
Law, is made up of the historical books of the Old Testament.
Technically this division is composed of Genesis, Exodus,
Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. For practical purposes,
however, the student will find it helpful to include in this

74 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
group the so-called Former Prophets, Joshua, Judges, First and
Second Kings and First and Second Samuel. Though th«
contents of these books were by original classification considered
prophetic, yet as they carry on the history of the children of
Israel they may be included in our first section.
In the historical books we find set forth the developing life of
a religious people. The Hebrew state evolves from a patriarchal
family, through a nomadic group to an involved kingdom. The
kingdom in turn breaks to pieces through internal dissension
and discord. Each book makes the contribution to this histor
ical development, but to comprehend it fully we must consider
them all.
The various historical situations which arise in the course of
this development grow out of the attempt of the children of
Israel to interpret the events of life religiously. As we noted in
our first chapter, this is one of the reasons that the Bible has
a real contribution to make to life to-day. The historical situa
tions have changed but the principles of religion discovered by
these people are still applicable.
We can study this religious development in the historical
books from two points of ¦view. We can consider it in the lives
of the characters of importance, and we can view it in terms of
the changes in national life. Historians continually insist upon
the important relationship between leadership and national
evolution. This principle is finely illustrated in the Old Testa
ment histories. The high points in Hebrew history were those
of her greatest leadership; the ebb times in her history came
when her leadership disintegrated. The whole story, for ex
ample, of the rise and the decline of the Hebrew state is bound
up in the story of Saul, David, Solomon and their immediate
successors. Consequently we wiU find it helpful to study the

SIGNIFICANT SECTIONS OF THE BIBLE 75
historical characters of the Hebrew state, not in isolation, but
as related in character and policies to each other.
At the same time we must remember that the history of a
nation is greater than the biographies of her great men, though
closely related to them, hence we should seek to familiarize
ourselves -with the outstanding events in the life of the Jewish
people. And remembering the fact that "through the ages an
increasing purpose runs," we shall relate these events to each
other. No great crisis comes ¦with complete suddenness. Its
causes are far-reaching and penetrate back many years in the
history of a nation. The great events in the history of the
Hebrews are related to each other. To understand the prin
ciples involved, therefore, we must study the national develop
ment in its entirety.
Such a study of the history of the Hebrews will reveal at least
three fundamental spiritual truths. The student will at once
notice their practical application to life to-day. First, such
qualities as humbleness, honesty, sacrifice and faith are the ele
ments in national or individual life that bring people near to
God. Second, pride, deceit, selfishness and distrust are the
elements that estrange people from God. Third, the greatest
personal force in the world is consecrated leadership. The very
division and fall of the kingdom was the result of a faulty and
narrow leadership.
We indica^ted at the beginning of this discussion that our
purpose in the study of the Bible was to find God as He relates
Himself to the problems of human life. The student of the
Bible will recognize at once the great importance of these three
principles when they have the authoritative backing of the
history of a nation. There are, of course, many other great
spiritual truths contained in the historical books of the Old

76 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
Testament. We have suggested these as possibly the most im
portant in order to indicate the possibilities of the study of the
Bible by sections, when applied to the historical books.
We noted at the beginning of this chapter the value of con
sidering the truth when set forth in different literary styles.
The section especially fitted for this form of study was called
by the Hebrew people in their threefold division of the Bible,
the Writings. Included in this group are thirteen of our
present Old Testament books, Euth, I and II Chronicles, Ezra,
Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Lamentations, Psalms, Proverbs, Ec
clesiastes, the Song of Solomon, and Daniel.
Within the general section known as the Writings we have
certain natural subdivisions. The first of these is the Wisdom
Literature. This is made up of Proverbs, Job, the Song of
Solomon, and Ecclesiastes. In these books we have set forth
the problem of the individual as he seeks normally to relate his
life to God, to men, and to life's experiences. Each of these
books approaches the problem from a different point of view,
hence it is of the greatest value to compare them one ¦with
another, determining the great spiritual ideals set forth in some
form by them all.
The second group of the Writings is made up of Lamentations
and the Psalms. These two books are of the same literary form.
They cover the entire sweep of the emotional life of the indi
vidual both in his religious and irreligious experiences. Here we
find set forth in the highest degree the devotional development of
life. The book of Psalms is to a great many people the most help
ful of the books of the Old Testament. It is well to compare it
with the book of Leviticus. We are likely to feel that the authors
of the book of Psalms were men of vision and inspiration, but
somewhat lacking in practical activities and ideas. On the

SIGNIFICANT SECTIONS OF THE BIBLE 77
other hand we think of the authors of Leviticus as men of exact
ing and calculating temperaments but with no idealistic inter
pretation of life. It is interesting to note that both books come
from the same class of people, the priestly group. These men
were capable of the great spiritual experiences recorded in the
Psalms, but at the same time they sought to carry their religious
ideals into every part of their daily hfe. Eightly to evaluate the
truth for which they stood, we should study it in both its forms
of presentation.
The third group of the Writings is made up of Euth, Esther,
and Daniel and is characterized by the story presentation of
truth. The fourth section is composed of the historical-
prophetic narratives. To this group belong Ezra, Nehemiah
and First and Second Chronicles. The study of these groups
by units is not so rewarding as that of those already mentioned,
but the student will find it profitable to contrast the universal
spirit of the book of Euth with the provincial tone of the book of
Esther. First and Second Chronicles can well be related to the
material which they contain in common with other of the Old
Testament histories.
The last of the important sections of the Old Testament
which we shall use as an illustration of the study of the Bible
by combinations of books, is the Prophetic section. Excluding
the books of the Former Prophets, which we have already con
sidered, this group includes the three major prophecies of
Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, together with those of the
twelve minor prophets, originally contained in one book known
as the Book of the Twelve. Again the student will find it help
ful to study these books in relation to each other as well as
separately. An interesting contrast is indicated and light upon
proper international attitudes secured by the comparison of the

78 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
attitude toward Nineveh which is set forth by the authors of
Jonah and Nahum. Throughout these prophetic books, one
may find a progression of thought, nor is it always upward.
Indeed, the evolution of Hebrew idealism from Amos and Isaiah
through to Malachi has occasional downward trends. Yet it is
all related to the history of the Hebrew nation.
The principle that we are setting forth here is accepted in
other departments of study. In the realm of philosophy, for
example, the student investigates the work of John Locke by
itself, yet his research is not complete or satisfactory until he
has studied the development of thought in Locke, Berkeley and
Hume. Each pre-Elizabethan dramatist is studied as a sepa
rate literary contributor, yet the work is not complete until the
entire pre-EHzabethan period is studied in its relationships of
literary and idealistic development. So we may study the
Prophets independently, yet we also will seek to know the evo
lution of truth as it appears through the three great epochs of
prophetic vision, the pre-exilic, the exilic, and the post-exilic
periods. These men, who had acute perception of actual conditions and
a vital sense of contact with God, spoke their message to the
nation. They gave it in times of luxury and ease, and in the
face of impending disaster. They recorded the spiritual ideals
of pre-exilic times, and proclaimed their message as the nation
was passing through the darkness of the experiences of the
exile, seeking to illuminate this darkness with a constant procla
mation of the presence of God and the ultimate rebuilding of
the Hebrew state. They reiterated their great spiritual chal
lenge, though in less trenchant and more complex terms, during
the time of rebuilding after the exile was past, urging the people
to build in accordance with the will and purpose of God.

SIGNIFICANT SECTIONS OF THE BIBLE 79
The experiences of the Hebrew nation are the experiences of
individuals and nations to-day. We face periods of comparative
ease and prosperity when it is hard to keep aUve a sense of God
because of his very goodness to us. We stand in the presence
of impending disaster, the disappointment of hope, the loss of
vision. We need to learn the secret of strength as revealed by
these prophets of old, and to learn to seek to cooperate with the
inevitable. We, too, pass through the darkness of exile. It is not in a
far country, to be sure ; the most terrifying of exiles are not those
of physical separation, they are the times of loss of moral
courage, spiritual power, and a sense of the keeping care of
God. Then, in turn, we come to the time of rebuilding. We
view the walls of no desolate Jerusalem, but the broken bulwarks
of purposes, hopes, and ideals. We seek to rebuild, and to us
there comes the message of these great prophetic books, ¦to build
into f otmdation and superstructure the principles of the Living
God. We know how these problems come to us in the life of the
school and the home and the office. We know that we need a
strength greater than our own, if we would be the masters of our
fate. To us, then, as individuals and as nations, for nations
face these problems too, there comes the united insistence of the
Prophetic books of the Old Testament. Surely such a message
is adequate reward for their study as a whole.
We now turn briefiy to the New Testament for further
illustration of the method of study that we are suggesting in
this chapter. Let us consider two main sections of the New
Testament, the Gospels, and the Epistles of Paul.
Every Bible student is familiar with the fact that while each
of the Gospels deals with the life of Christ and contains much
material in common with the others, no one of them furnishes

80 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
an adequate or satisfactory account of his life and words. This
can most readily be seen by glancing through a Harmony of the
Gospels in which the common portions are placed in parallel
columns. If we notice the material that is peculiar to one
Gospel, Luke, let us say, we at once see how much we would lose
if we studied Matthew alone. Some of the greatest of the teach
ings of Christ would be lost to us. Only as we consider the
Gospels as a section of the Bible and study them in relation
ship each to the other will we secure an adequate picture of the
Christ of the New Testament. Matthew, ¦with his emphasis
upon the fulfillment of prophecy, relates the life of Jesus to his
historical environment. Mark, portraying Jesus as the worker
of wonders, presents Him as the man of action. Luke, ¦with his
insistence upon the Christ's universal significance, relates Him
to all the history of man. John, with his revelation of Jesus
as the Incarnate Son of God, presents the supreme spiritual
interpretation of his life. The study of no one of these books
is complete in itself ; each must be considered in relation to the
other three.
We must emphasize the same point concerning the Epistles of
Paul. In sequence and in thought they are related to each
other. Different phases of truth are set forth in different
Epistles. Frequently the same truth is considered from differ
ent angles in several books. This is true, for example, in
Eomans and Galatians. In Galatians, Paul is ¦writing in the
midst of controversy. With all of the intensity and emphasis
that he can command, he is seeking to set forth great spiritual
truths. In Eomans he is writing with all of the maturity of his
powers during a period of comparative quietness, yet in the main
he is developing the same truths. Hence to study Galatians
without Eomans or Eomans without Galatians is to eliminate

SIGNIFICANT SECTIONS OP THE BIBLE 81
the very valuable commentary which each furnishes for the
other. Paul's Epistles are divided into three groups : the Missionary
Epistles, made up of First and Second Thessalonians, Galatians,
First and Second Corinthians, and Eomans, so called because
written upon his missionary journeys; the Imprisonment
Epistles, Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon and Philippians; and
the Pastoral Epistles, First and Second Timothy and Titus, so
called because they deal with the duties of pastors. The very
fact that scholars have seen fit to make these divisions should
indicate that the Epistles within them bear some relationship to
each other. The Imprisonment Epistles, for example, were
written at almost the same time. Three of them, Ephesians,
Colossians and Philemon, were dispatched by one messenger and
were intended for one community. Ephesians and Colossians
are related in thought and purpose to each other. Philemon is
of especial interest when contrasted with the formal tone and
presentation of Ephesians.
Just as within these divisions, Paul's Epistles are related to
each other, so each of the thirteen bears a relationship to all of
the rest. If we would grasp the full significance of the thought
of the Apostle, than whom there has been no greater interpreter
of Christianity, we must study his ideals in their complete
presentation. We have sought to emphasize this form of Bible study at the
expense of constant repetition because it is the method least
likely to appeal to the busy young person. Perhaps sufficient
has been said to indicate that it will be found extremely reward
ing. In these days of colossal expansions of power, we need as
never before the presence in the world of that spiritual force
which comes from the unified message of the entire Bible.

82 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
QUESTIONS FOR STUDY AND REVIEW
1. Make a list of the main sections of the Bible. What constitutes
the unity of the section in each case?
2. 'What are the values of the study of the Bible by sections? Illustrate
from the field of the study of literature.
3. What three books did you select in answer to question one of
chapter four? How far was your choice determined by their literary
form? Do you note a sameness of ideas in the books selected? Com
ment upon the value of this similarity.
4. Read a brief history of the Hebrew people. Formulate a statement
of several religious truths as illustrated by this history. Apply these
truths to present-day problems.
5. Make a list of the principal historical characters of the Old Testa
ment. Indicate several whose lives are definitely inter-related.
6. Give illustrations of the three fundamental spiritual truths revealed
by the history of the Hebrew race. Apply these truths to the school or
business problems of to-day.
7. What prophetic books of the Old Testament are pre-exilic?
Exilic? Post-exiUc? How are these prophecies affected by their rela
tionship to the exile?
8. Apply the outstanding messages of the prophets to current personal
and national problems.
9. Study an Introduction to the New Testament or to the Gospels and
formulate a statement of the outstanding characteristics of each of the
four Gospels. What characteristics do they share? In what is each
unique? 10. Prepare a chronological table of the Epistles of Paul. Record in
connection with it the main events of his life. How complete a biography
can be obtained from the study of the Epistles as a whole?
11. Prepare a plan for the study of the Bible by sections, to be used
either in Bible study classes or for personal study.

CHAPTEE VI
FUNDAMENTAL TOPICS AND THBIE BIBLICAL
INTEEPEETATION
The final method of the study of the Bible to be suggested in
this book is topical study, whereby we take, for example, such a
topic as prayer, and seek to find out the various ideas that the
Bible contains regarding it. This method differs decidedly from
those that we have considered thus far. Our other methods were
essentially inductive. We started in each case with the Bible
itself and sought to find the spiritual message contained in a
certain part of it. It might concern prayer, faith, or a multi
tude of other subjects. In each case, however, the practical
truth was not predetermined. In the topical study of the Bible,
however, the process is reversed. Our method is essentially
deductive. We move from the general practical problem back to
the various illustrations of it and the points concerning it which
are in the Bible itself. Through this method we in reality study
the entire Bible as it bears upon a given subject.
The values of this method of study are at once apparent. It
brings the Bible very definitely into the problems of life to-day.
This is ine'vitable, as we begin with a problem regarding which
we wish spiritual insight and go from that to the passages bear
ing upon it in the Bible itself. We should not for a moment
make this our only method of study. We need to know the spir
itual significance of a great many more things than we realize.
To use the topical method of study alone, is to make the Bible
a BOurcB to satisfy our deiires for the things we want to know, not
8S

84 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
to stimulate our minds by telling us the things that we need to
know. At the same time, it is of greatest value in this busy
world in which we live to be able to come directly and definitely
at the Bibhcal message upon a given subject.
In addition to bringing the Bible very definitely into the prob
lems of life to-day, topical study focuses different points of
view upon it. We have discussed already and at sufficient length
the value which comes from knowing the ideas of men who ap
proach spiritual ideals from different points of view. The
method here suggested furnishes the greatest opportunity to do
this. Suppose, for example, that we are interested in the ques
tion of faith. By the topical method we are able to learn the
part that faith played in the history of the Hebrew people. We
find the attitude of the writers of the Psalms toward it. Each
of the prophets has his contribution to make. We study the
statements of Christ Himself concerning it. We see it presented
by the practical mind of Paul. We find the splendid discussion
of it by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews. When we
have finished such a study and in a discriminating way have
arranged the results, we have a rich contribution bearing upon
the subject of our study from many different sources. The
various positions taken by these different writers are like so
many windows, all admitting further light upon the truth.
The third value in the topical study of the Bible is closely
related to the one just considered. It enables us to feel the
power of the testimony of the entire Bible upon a given subject.
In the realm of spiritual things we are dealing with those sub
jects that most vitally affect life and its relationships. The
authority for the positions that we take should be of the very
highest, consequently it is of the utmost importance to feel that
our ideas about these great realities of the religious life have

FUNDAMENTAL TOPICS 85
behind them the united testimony of the ¦writers of the Bible.
Faith, prayer, the divine destiny of man, the Hfe eternal, the
reality of sin, the possibility of redemption, are of such supreme
importance to the human race that in our interpretation of them
it is of paramount necessity that they should be backed by the
adequate authority of the entire Bible.
The first step in the study of the Bible by topics, is, of course,
to find the various verses and groups of verses bearing upon the
subject in question. One extremely familiar with the Bible
¦will be able to turn at once to the important sections dealing with
a given subject. Most of us, however, will need some kind of
assistance in finding the scripture references. We ¦will require
some sort of index of the Bible in which the various verses are
listed by topics. The most practical form of topical index for
our purpose is a concordance. If the study is to be cursory, a
very simple concordance, such as is found in the backs of some
Bibles, will serve the purpose. If the student wishes to go into
the matter of topical study more completely, however, it ¦will be
necessary to secure a larger and more carefully planned con
cordance. Using this topical index, then, we turn to the subject that we
¦wish to study. Here we find many references bearing upon the
subject. Once we have located them in our Bible, we ask our
selves what contribution they make concerning the subject under
investigation. It will be found helpful to apply the suggestions
for the study of a verse or chapter, as the case may be, to each of
the sections found in the concordance. This need not be done
so completely as in the case of their independent study. Prob
ably the application of the central truth to life to-day may be
omitted, but the other steps should be carried out with some
degree of thoroughness.

86 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
The next step is to group and classify the references. The
requirements of logic hold in the realm of Bible study as in other
departments of investigation. Let us say that the subject under
investigation is prayer. We find that some of our references
deal with different kinds of prayer. Others deal ¦with the proper
spirit in prayer, still others will consider the question of answers
to prayer. By this method we find that we have in reality pre
pared an outline upon the subject of prayer based upon the ideas
of the Bible itself.
The outline that results from this process may be of several
different forms. Its unity may be a result of the logical arrange
ment of various sub-topics as indicated above. On the other
hand, it may illustrate the actual development of an idea in the
history of the Hebrew race. For example, consider the thought
of internationalism. After we have discovered the various pas
sages that have bearing upon this subject, we find that there are
five well-defined stages in the development of the thought of
internationalism in the Bible. What might be called the fore-
gleam of internationalism appears in the earliest books of the
Old Testament. The monotheism of the early stories, the ideals
revealed in the life of Abraham bearing upon the balance between
self-development and international influence in national life,
contain the germ thought of this great principle. The second
stage is that of the time of the conquest, when we find interna
tionalism stifled by militarism. A belief in a tribal God brings
a sense of invincible power, a desire to dominate the world, the
development of unsocial attitudes, cruelty, ruthlessness, slavery,
deceit. The third step is the prophetic view of internationalism. In
the face of the breakdown of the Hebrew state, the great mono
theistic ideal with its corresponding belief in one purpose and

FUNDAMENTAL TOPICS 87
one people, is again proclaimed. The high point in the Old
Testament is reached in the book of Jonah and in the passage
in Micah beginning with the first verse of the fourth chapter.
The fourth well-defined step in the development of the message
of the Bible around this topic is the ideal for the new interna
tionalism. This is set forth by Jesus Himself in his threefold
message of the fatherhood of God, the brotherhood of man, and
the kingdom of God. The final step is revealed in the words and
life of Paul. Here we have the practical expression of the new
internationalism. We see the supreme method for its extension,
the missionary, or to use a better expression, the world states
manship method.
We have made no attempt to give a full outline of the message
of the Bible upon this important subject, but have tried to indi
cate that the outline which comes as a result of our arrangement
of the available material may take the historical as well as the
logical form. We ¦will illustrate this method still further with
a topical study of the revelation of God in the Bible, with which
this chapter will be concluded.
The final step in the topical study of the Bible needs little
comment. We should find the great unifying truths that under
lie the various points revealed by our outline and then apply
them to life to-day. We have dwelt sufficiently upon the neces
sity of such application in order to make our study vital. Such
application is of paramount importance in topical study because
the very purpose of it is to take some subject that is of prac
tical importance and bring the message of the Bible to bear
upon it.
The method that we have sketched above will be foimd of
especial value for those who are called upon to give addresses
ppon religious or semi-religious themes. We can always be sur§

88 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
that talks based upon this method will be helpful, because they
will set forth not our own imperfect ideas, but the great spiritual
truths of the Bible itself.
We will close our discussion of this method with a topical
study of the Bible's idea of God. This subject is selected be
cause the thought of God and the correct appreciation of his
character are fundamental to all rational life. It contains the
basis for the adjustment of all of life's problems.
We find upon investigation that the Bible presents a four
fold development in the interpretation of the character of God.
The earliest books of the Old Testament present the primitive
God of a primitive people. The books dealing with the conquest
interpret Him as the warrior God, Jehovah. The prophets set
forth the character of God in ethical terms. The New Testa
ment reveals Him as the Father of Jesus Christ. Let us glance
at each of these stages.
F^ur elements emerge in our outline as characteristic of the
first period in our study. First, God is thought of as possessing
human attributes. He walked in the garden in the cool of the
day. He appeared to Abraham as that patriarch of the Hebrew
race sat in the door of his tent. He wrestled, as an angel, with
Jacob by the ford of the Jabbok. .Furthermore this thought of
God expressed itself in a localized deity. The construction of
the first tent synagogue at Sinai indicates this. The back part
of the tent was enclosed and kept dark. God was in there, and a
man could not look upon the face of God and Mve. How
reminiscent this is of the childhood problem of some of us, who
could understand why prayer could be offered to God in church,
where He Uved, but were puzzled about the offering of prayer in
our homes, where we lived! During the long slow journey up
through t-be wilderness and toward the promised lan^^ ^Ije 4pk

FUNDAMENTAL TOPICS 89
was carried with greatest care and reverence, for the people
beheved that in it they were carrying their God.
The third characteristic of God that we discover is that He
was thought of as one among many gods. This is especially true
from the time of Abraham's successors. To be sure, the Hebrew
people had Jehovah as their God, but other nations had their
tribal deities as well. One of the great causes of religious and
moral corruption was the action of some of the Hebrews in seek
ing to install some of these other gods in competition with
Jehovah. It was only natural in view of these three character
istics that the worship of God should be characterized by external
and formal relationships. Sacrifices and oblations rather than
personal righteousness were considered most necessary to satisfy
Jehovah. When we come to examine the passages that present the idea
of God, the warrior, we find the children of Israel changed from
the simple nomadic people who went forth from Egypt to a
nation of militarists, bent upon conquest. As they themselves
developed, their ideas about God changed. God Himself was
of course constant, but the terms in which they sought to express
his character were made intelligible to an age of conquest. We
find Him thought of, therefore, as the great invisible ally of
the children of Israel. He it was who led them into battle,
watched over their interests and brought victQry to rest upon
their banners. When defeat came, they felt that God had
deserted them, and sacrifices were intensified in order to insure
his renewed aid. They evaluated his character and the results
of his touch upon a man's life in terms of military success.
Furthermore, we will discover as we pursue our study that
they considered Jehovah as superior to the gods of other nations.
The Hittites, Jebusites, Canaanites, and the rest of the "ites"

90 HOW TO USB THE BIBLE
had their gods but Jehovah was the strongest and so overcame
them in battle. Here, of course, is a thoroughly provincial
interpretation of God, yet none other would have made Him
vital to the life of the people of that time.
The principle of monotheism begins in this period to re-assert
itself. Some of the greatest of the statesmen and prophets of
these times revolted against the narrow and shallow religion
that resulted from the worship of a tribal deity. As a result we
have the great scene between Elijah and the prophets of Baal
upon Mt. Carmel. Here Elijah, as the representative of the
higher type of religious leaders, presents clearly the issue of one
or many Gods, and is vindicated in a startling way.
The third period in the thought of the character of God, which
we discover as a result of our analysis of the passages bearing
upon the subject, may be termed the period of the ethical God
of the prophets. The time of the conquest was over. The chil
dren of Israel were caught in the grip of world events. The
great nations to the north, moving toward Egypt, must conquer
Palestine as well. The exile became an imminent and then an
actual fact. God had been thought of as living in Palestine.
His home was in the temple. Here alone could He be adequately
worshipped. The children of Israel were led away from the
temple, however, and out of the land of their religious associa
tions. Either they must again think through their ideas about
God and find some new basis for relationship to Him, or abandon
Him entirely in the period when they needed Him the most.
How like our own experience when new things come to us and
we are forced either to think through our religion again or
lose it!
In this connection the prophets of the exile made their great
est contribution. They substituted an ethical for a provincial

FUNDAMENTAL TOPICS 91
interpretation of God. God was not to be worshipped in ex
ternal ritual but in righteous li^ving. Eighteousness, not nation
ality, is the key to relationship to Him. It is not where you are,
but what you are, that counts. Through the activity of the
prophets, the Old Testament closes with a picture of God as
righteous and sovereign over all.
The contribution of Jesus to the thought of the world concern
ing the character of God, is familiar to us aU. The conception
of his character which marks the highest point in the Old Testa
ment is transformed in the thought of his fatherhood. A new
personal significance is given to the abstract idea of a God of
righteousness. It seems as though Jesus looked about Him and
found that relationship which speaks preeminently of love and
loyalty. Then He said to his generation and to all ages. Look
into a true home, see there the relationship between a father and
his son, free that relationship from the imperfections which
are inherent in human life, and you will understand the charac
ter of God.
We now ask ourselves whether there is any great central unity
in these differing ideas. This is an important question for our
religious thinking, because upon its answer hangs the answer
to the charge that the Bible is inconsistent in its portrayal of
God's character. Dr. Fosdick has given to us the words which
sum up the entire Biblical picture of God, "a God who cares."
The God of the Bible is not one who can be lost in definitions
and amid the apt recital of many-syllabled words. He is a God
who is vitally interested and concerned in the affairs of human
Hfe. What great spiritual truth was in the mind of the one who
presented God as walking in the garden in the cool of the day?
It was the truth that God was interested and vitally concerned

92 HOW TO USB THE BIBLE
in the affairs of his children. Why did God appear to Abraham
as he sat in the door of his tent? Because down in the cities
of destruction there was a man, and God eared what became of
him. Why did He wrestle with Jacob in the night? Because
Jacob had tremendous though misdirected talents, and God cared
whether he wasted his life. Each of these, and many other of
the stories of the Bible, are the attempt of men to make real to
their generations this great fact about the character of God.
The same sense of unity is found in the second period of
thinking about God. Why was it that the children of Israel
thought of God as their great military guide ? Because the main
interest of their life was military and they believed that God
was interested in the things that were vital to them. Bead
through the first chapter of Isaiah and the same point is indi
cated concerning the ethical message of the prophets. Isaiah
represents God as definitely telling the people that He was little
interested in their formal religious practices. The very savor
of their incense was an offense to Him, because He was inter
ested in the practical affairs of life. He was concerned about the
unfortunate widows and the lives of little children. The God
of the prophets is one who tremendously cares about our daily
life. When we come to the teaching of Jesus we are conscious of
this same fundamental unity. The relationship between father
and son is one of universal human interest. The true father
cares about his boy. This is supremely indicated in the story of
the Prodigal Son. The father cared enough for the moral devel
opment of the boy to let him go away. He sent him out into the
country of disillusionment about which he may have known too
well. But Jesus does not indicate that he forgot the boy. He
cared that the boy W9,s away. There was the constant longing in

FUNDAMENTAL TOPICS 93
his heart for his return. When the foot-sore, ragged, and
humble boy came wearily up the path, seeking to be a servant in
his former home, his father ran to meet him with joy. The
central characteristic of the teaching of Jesus about God is this
thought of the vital interest of the Father in his children.
We see then that we have the united testimony of the various
parts of the Bible upon this vital thought about God. God
is in ¦vital contact with our lives. He cares.
Belief in the God of the Bible means something in our daily
life. We cannot understand all about Him. A God whose char
acter our minds could completely comprehend would be less
than we ourselves. You remember how well Tennyson indicates
the limitations of our knowledge in his "Flower in the Crannied
Wall." If we cannot explain the fiower or comprehend our own
personalities how foolish to insist that we must know all about
God before experiencing his power in our lives ! A study of the
Biblical idea of God teaches us, however, that while we cannot
know all about God, yet we can know Him. We can experience
the reality of his life as we seek to relate ourselves to it from
day to day.
Some months ago the writer was in a home where a little child
was being questioned by a group of adults. The little fellow was
just old enough to talk and was densely ignorant on a great
many subjects. He was being asked about his father. The
group asked how tall his father was, and the little boy did not
know. They asked where his father was, and still he was
ignorant. Questions about age, weight, business and the like
followed. None received a satisfactory answer. Finally the
boy seemed to feel that thfey were insulting his father. Tears
came to his eyes, his little chin began to quiver. He turned upon
his inquisitors and said, "I don't know all those things, but I

94 HOW TO USE THE BIBLE
know my daddie." His father had held him, picked him up
when he fell, guided his steps as he learned to walk, come to him
¦with courage when he was frightened in the darkness of the
night. In a real sense he knew his father.
So the Bible would have us think about God. We are ignorant
of a great many things about Him. But the united testimony of
this book is that we can know Him in the common experiences of
daily life. He is interested in the things that we do and the
life that we live. It is a great thing to realize that God cares.
It strengthens us to know that he is concerned in the outcome of
our struggles. It makes life purposeful, powerful, and perma
nent to plan our careers in accordance with the principle that
God is in earnest with our lives. Here then is a great spiritual
truth that comes to us as a result of the topical study of the
Bible. The same method may be used with other subjects and
¦with equally helpful results.
We bring this little course of studies to a close ¦with this
thought of God. We indicated at the beginning that our study
of the Bible would be of value if it would satisfy the hunger of
our hearts to know God. We have seen the various methods that
can be used to find and make real the great spiritual truths con
tained in the Book of books. For many of us the suggestions
herein contained wiU not solve all of the problems that we feel
concerning the Bible. We can at least come to it, and find in it
some truth by the various methods here described. Let us
remember, however, that as we honestly face the difficulties and
perplexities of the adjustment of faith in this wonderfully new
and trying age, the message of the whole of the Bible is that God
Himself is supremely interested in us and will cooperate vrith us
in the achievement of that larger faith which comes with the
overcoming Hfe. If we thus trust Him, we can go on -with our

FUNDAMENTAL TOPICS 95
study of the Bible honestly, hopefuUy and courageously, reaHzing
that aU things work together for good to those that love God.
QUESTIONS FOB STUDY AND REVIEW
1. Contrast the topical method of Bible study with the other methods
suggested in this book. What are its chief values? Its weaknesses?
2. Select three subjects of vital interest to you. Study each one of them
in accordance with the method indicated in this chapter.
3. Review the steps in the study of a verse and apply them to verses
selected under question 2.
4. Study the message of the Bible about the following : prayer, faith,
sin, sacrifice, business ideals, the value of an education.
5. Work out in detail the Biblical ideal of internationalism as suggested
in this chapter.
6. Prepare a brief address upon some helpful topic in accordance with
the method suggested above.
7. Find various passages in the Bible that Ulustrate the four steps in
the developing idea of the character of God.
8. Apply the thought of "a God who cares" to the every-day problems
of life as you know it.

BIBLIOGEAPHY
The list of books given here does net include all that ¦will be
found helpful in Bible study. If the student wishes to secure a
more complete list the report of the committee appointed by the
Association of Biblical Instructors in American Colleges and
Secondary Schools will be found very suggestive ; this contains a
list of two hundred and fifty books that "should find a place in a
college Biblical reference library."
Old Testament
An Introditction to the Old Testament, McFadyen.
The Origin and Permanent Value of the Old Testament, Kent.
A Short History of the Hebrews, Ottley.
A Critical Introduction to the Old Testament, Gray.
A History of the Hebrews, Sanders.
New Testament
The Life of St. Paul, Leacock.
History of New Testament Times in Palestine, Matthews.
Introduction to the Literature of the New Testament, Moffatt.
A Harmony of the Gospels, Stevens and Burton.
The Story of the New Testament, Goodspeed.
A Critical Introduction to the New Testament, Peake.
An Introduction to the Books of the New Testament, Allen
and Grensted.
Introduction to the Life of Christ, Hill.
The Life of Paul, Eobinson. General
The Bible as English Literature, Gardner.
The Historical Bible (6 Vol.), Kent.
How the Bible Grew, Lewis.
The New Appreciation of the Bible, Selleek.
The, Story of our Bible, Hunting.
Our Bible and the Ancient Manuscripts, Kenyon.
96

— -tP

32: J?"-.* - _- -"-VsB j:

ji'^ -",'?- w~ I
¦!-i:^%
^fji/4»
- 3 r- wrrP"Mff*»?i» '
^1
¦'^Hf >
ilSi''*
--I #!¦:
r— ¦ — V-
in:;?
¦nr •'¦^- ¦>^:
,r". -i:
- J- .... w J . ^^Jl.
1, .I *
— -^ -uCiT-O: „  ^„_ _
m
i-\ in
^^-^s.^^— fuZ--.:^- %i!g.flj,3-
^W-e-'""' r-?^'5^;-'-^4^5P:''='"TWhp'ir' ^^¦''^•--'•'^t
- '^ ^- -¦aQWie-.,*^!' .{"r'*'-* ,.. »¦ ' il'_ J^ *-- T( ' „ -. 1 1 iijl
¦ .E'?--''''S
 r .M. .4f ./-in.T.^.3u->j
Sl^ _j;£-(H!--«i:_.S_ ,  .. pSSa
_^=H^--=?^^
^gjgiL rf^-*!.^^^^ ^¦-*- 't- -^ >---¦-
'-3-i.'-„';;j— tHiptji.i»sUi
"o. i "^^c
-trior %. jF'-'v_-^T^-ni.^_ -1 -*j
— ^-irt .a
i ¦'nJ-'
¦ii-ll .Mi-"
 i — jF'HE