412 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULT U HE. 



Aug. 



tie, Ileddon, and, say. Prof. Cook, think they 

 might jneet after a while, if we carry them 

 far enough. Now, inasmuch as these men 

 have just as much good common sense as I 

 have (remember, 1 don't say how much 

 more), would it not be reasonable to conclude 

 that the chances of their being right are just 

 as good as oursV The older i grow, the 

 more I feel the need of having respect for 

 the beliefs and opinions of others ; and es- 

 pecially do I pray that God may help me to 

 be careful about judging hastily and harsh- 

 ly those who do not see things as T do. Do 

 you not know a great many, friend L., who 

 are good honest men, men of talent and edu- 

 cation as well, who feel that the Bible is a 

 precious gift from God to the children of his 

 creation ? Again, there are many different 

 ways of expressing our vievvs, and still more 

 ways of detining the words used. We are 

 taught that the commandments were writ- 

 ten by God on tables of stone; but I am not 

 sure that the idea is generally held, that God 

 wrote the rest of the Bible. It may and it 

 may not be; but I confess I do not know 

 just how it is. As for myself, I do believe 

 the Bible was written by good men, and men 

 Avhom God raised up and inspired for the 

 work ; and I believe, too, that he has all 

 along seen to it that no mistakes of any vi- 

 tal importance have by, any means crept in- 

 to it. If you think dilTerently, I am per- 

 fectly willing ; but before being greatly in- 

 fluenced by your opinion in the matter, I 

 should want to know all about you. If you 

 are loved, honored, and respected by all 

 about you, and your wisdom, judgment, and 

 integrity are so well known that you are 

 sought for, for positions of trust and honor, 

 I should be much more inclined to be influ- 

 enced by you than if I found you were one 

 who studies to be contrary, to call forth at- 

 tention and remark, and the like. 



Without doubt, the Bible is much better 

 understood now than it was a few years ago, 

 and I believe God intended we should re- 

 ceive new light and help from making it our 

 earnest study, just as we do in the study of 

 bees. Do you not remember my talk a short 

 time ago about making it our delight, and 

 meditating day and night in regard to the 

 law laid down therein y The New Version 

 has given us much light on many points, 

 and I feel sure that God is pleased with the 

 study that has been recently directed to the 

 matter, and that it is going to bring bless- 

 ings on our land and people. 



One of the most comforting thoughts to 

 me in the study of the Bible is, that the men 

 who wrote it, and those whom we read of 

 there, were men like ourselves ; and al- 

 though I am not glad that they had faults 

 and failings, it gives me courage to hght my 

 own, when I find they had like weaknesses. 

 John, who wrote the verse you have just 

 quoted, was one of tlie two who petitioned 

 Jesus to permit them to sit, one on his right 

 hand and the other on his left, and that, too, 

 just after Jesus had been telling them of the 

 death he must die. The disciples felt indig- 

 nant at the selfishness of the two brothers, 

 and I presume almost every one who reads 

 it feels the same. John had a good deal of 

 Adam about him, just as we have ; and when 



he wrote, he wrote a good deal as men talk. 

 If I should say that Medina County is at the 

 present time full of white clover, I hardly 

 believe you would expect to find clover- 

 heads piled up as high as the tops of the 

 fences; and yet you might take me to task, 

 and declare I said so. After all the apostles 

 had written in regard to Jesus' words and 

 sayings, John felt, in looking back, that so 

 much there was that had not and could not 

 well be told, that it would, as he said, fill the 

 world with the books. Friend L. , how many 

 books would it take to write out all your 

 sayings and doings V You know a book was 

 a pretty large affair in those times. If I 

 found nothing in the JJible more difficult to 

 understand than this little innocent speech 

 of our good friend John, I slfould be happy 

 indeed. By the way, friend L., you i)ut in 

 one word tiiat we don't find in "any of our 

 Bibles. You have got it tlie whole world; 

 but we don't find whole in any of our ver- 

 sions. 



If the Christian people in your vicinity de- 

 clare they are going to heaven, and others 

 are going to hell, I should feel that the spir- 

 it of Christ was far from them. I have nev- 

 er heard any such talk, and I meet Christian 

 peoi)le of all denominations, and the pastors 

 of ail our different churches are my personal 

 friends. Do you not remember what Jesus 

 said of the man who thanked God he was 

 not as other men are V 



When you declare so positively that " be- 

 lief is the result of education aiid circum- 

 stances," I begin to feel again that it is a 

 hopeless task for us to t;v to reason togeth- 

 er. It seems to me you p.it the bars up, and 

 stop further discussion. Sui^pose you say, 

 "■ As I see it, belief is tlie result of education 

 and circumstances ; is it not so, Mr. Boot V " 

 By the last form, you give me a courteous 

 invitation to reply and give my views; but 

 by the former, I should almost feel that I 

 was taking a liberty to answer at all. Do 

 you think I am too sensitive V True Chris- 

 tianity should make us kind, courteous, and 

 obliging. My experience with infidelity has 

 been that it is a rude and hard doctrine. 

 Presuming you wish mo to speak of believ- 

 ing, I will go on. Suppose you and I are 

 pleading with a young man to give up to- 

 bacco. He says he does not believe he can. 

 His education, and the circiuiistances under 

 which he lias been brought up, are such that 

 he does not believe it is of any use to try. 

 Further, he has tried, and he knows he can 

 not. Christianity says to him, '' You can 

 believe, and you can give it up ; " and for 

 the proof that Christianity does save such as 

 he, I will refer to cases of the kind right 

 around the homes of every one of you. I 

 should say, in regard to the wine matter, 

 that Amos and Timothy had different opin- 

 ions in regard to the danger of wine, just as 

 men do nowadays ; but very likely my opin- 

 ion in the matter is a wrong one. 1 think 

 both were temperate, and friends of temper- 

 ance. Surely these are not difficult passages 

 to reconcile. 



Y ou make light of my efforts to save souls, 

 friend L.,and yet the whole trouble seems 

 to be that you attach a different meaning to 

 the words from what I do. Saving the boys 



