The nineteenth century had but recently been born--a century that was destined to be forever memorable because of its achievements in the realm of spiritual things, a century that was to witness the rise on American soil of a religious movement that would have for its aim nothing less than the restoration to the world of "the ancient order of things," the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, with "its doctrine, its ordinances and its fruits."

      A saintly man had just delivered a remarkable discourse in which he had

W. S. PRIEST.

uttered the now familiar sentence, "Where the Bible speaks, we speak; where the Bible is silent, we are silent." Little did he then know where that statement, followed to its logical conclusion, would lead him and his associates; how it would revolutionize their whole religious teaching and practice; and yet, brave man that he was, he did not hesitate to say that he refused to acknowledge as obligatory upon himself, or to impose upon others, anything as of divine obligation for which he could not produce a "thus saith the Lord," either in express terms or by approved precedent.

      Presently, submitting himself in obedience to a plain commandment of the Lord, a commandment hitherto not seen in all its relation to the preaching of a full gospel, the author of the "Declaration and Address," his family and some friends were baptized and formed a group of earnest advocates of that simple faith once for all delivered unto the saints.

      From the utterance of that sentence, "Where the Bible speaks, we speak; where the Bible is silent, we are silent," may be dated, as Dr. Robert Richardson says, "the formal and actual commencement of the Reformation." And thus came into being the great religious body represented in this city at the present time by thousands of men and women from almost every quarter of the globe.

      The Disciples of Christ are just closing, in these opening days of the twentieth century, a hundred years of wonderful achievement. The hand of the Lord has been with us in a marked degree. It is in no spirit of vainglory or boasting, however, that we, during this Centennial celebration, shall recount what God has wrought in us and through us for the ongoing of his kingdom, but with grateful recognition of the leadership of the Captain of our salvation and with devout thankfulness that we have been deemed worthy to be good soldiers of Jesus, we come to rejoice together and to plan and to pray for yet greater victories in the century upon which we have entered.

      If one were to ask, "What, from a human standpoint, has contributed most to your rapid growth and to your influence upon the religious thought and teaching of the present day?" we would answer without a moment's hesitation, "Because our leaders were, and are, Bible-trained men." And this is true, for we have always been, distinctly and peculiarly, people of the Book--the Bible. Whatever else we may know, or may not know, We do seek to know the word of [558] God, its divisions, its books, their authorship, the purpose of their writing, and, vastly more than this elementary knowledge, we would seek to know the deep purposes of God in his revelation of himself through the centuries, by men and by events, and thus properly interpret him to the world of our day.

      From the beginning, we have been students and critics of the Bible. One name, among others, we delight to wear--"disciples of Christ"--means that we are learners of Jesus and as such are pledged to follow where the teachings of Jesus lead us. Our knowledge of the Bible, therefore, must be increasing all the time. We need not fear the most searching investigation of the truth. In many Christian homes the Bible is a sadly neglected book. With days filled with exhausting tasks, the evenings are given over to amusements which call for no thought. Let us not too harshly judge these toilers for so doing, but lay a large share of the blame upon the condition of the times in which we live--the struggle for existence, the competition in trade, the miserable "wage" system, by which many laboring men are deprived of a large part of the profits of their labor, rendering them dissatisfied, restless and breathing out threatenings and maledictions against the churches and the preachers whom they charge with being wholly on the side of the capitalistic class! The saloon, too, that arch-destroyer of the home life, while it does not attract many really Christian men, does, nevertheless, draw many men away from the fireside at nightfall, where, in jest and ribald song, long hours are spent which ought to be spent in the home with the wife and children, seeking to improve the mind and helping to teach the children something worth while.

      Of course, it is the chief business of the Bible school to teach the Bible; to train boys and girls, men and women, in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and to fit them for active Christian duties. We all rejoice at the wonderful movements now going on in the Bible schools in the way of grading the pupils; in organized adult classes; better equipment in buildings and appliances; a deeper interest on the part of all the members of the church in this teaching department of the church's work. And we must not rest satisfied until all the members of the church--"and as many more"--are actively identified with some department of the Bible school. And, yet, it must be confessed that we have not attained the highest efficiency in Bible-school work. A competent teaching force is still lacking--too much of it falling into the hands of immature, illy fitted young men and women. We do the best we can, but we need more of the business and professional men, men of intellectual power and keen insight, men of affairs, fathers and mothers, too, who will give time and thought to the preparation of the lesson--people who will reach and hold young men in the Bible school.

      Then we need a comprehensive and connected course of study. Teaching of the Bible has been very "scrappy" in days gone by. There was little, if any, attempt made at a thorough understanding of the Bible as containing a revelation from God, as literature, as history, as bearing on the nations, as influencing the heart and life of mankind. Our fathers and mothers did the best they could under the circumstances and with their training. The International system of lessons was an attempt to meet the demand for consecutive study, and, with all its imperfections, looks that way. But there is room for improvement. The same lesson should not be taught the same Lord's Day to all the classes, any more than in the public schools algebra should be taught to all the classes at a given period. All the classes should be graded, having a regular, well-planned course, leading from the most elementary to the higher instruction in Biblical knowledge. The committing to memory of passages of Scripture, the naming of the books of the Bible in order, a proper division of the Word--all of this is very good and worth while, but it is far from being the whole of Bible knowledge. Something more than this is demanded, and that something more is to acquire an understanding of the contents, the purpose, of the books of the Bible and of the Bible as a whole.

      Especially must we look to those schools which have been founded and are maintained by religious people for [559] the supply of Bible-trained men. A series of sensational articles has been printed in one of the recent monthly magazines in which the leading universities are charged with teaching things calculated to undermine faith in the Bible, destroy confidence in the marriage relation, the democratic form of government, and several other dreadful things. This charge "is important, if true!" Without entering into any discussion as to how far these articles represent, or misrepresent, the professors who are named therein, let it be here stated, with all the emphasis possible, that no college, no university, no professor, can afford to teach anything to young men and women which would lessen their regard and love for, and their belief in, the divine origin and authority of the Bible, the faith of their fathers and the Christianity of Christ. But let it be said, also, that many of the wretched interpretations of the Bible, the horrible caricatures of God, the traditions and superstitions of men ought to be exposed and rebuked--interpretations of the Bible which, in the light of modern scholarship, can not be maintained for a moment; representations of God which have been repugnant to every enlightened soul and which have filled the ranks of the unbelievers; the traditions and superstitions which old-time theologians, clergy and lay members have believed and taught and by which they have obscured the pure word of God--all these things should be held up to the classes by the professors, and their folly shown; and the professors would not be true to their position and opportunity if they did not do so.

      But no belittling of the authority of God and of Christ and of the divine Word; no slurs cast upon the bride of Christ, the church founded by him; no ridicule of the marriage tie, or other things held most dear, and rightly so, by the great majority of people, shall be tolerated and go unchallenged. College presidents and professors should realize--and I presume they do--the importance of their position and the immense responsibility resting upon them. They should go before their classes with fear and trembling, realizing that before them are plastic minds to be moulded into forms for good or evil.

      There need not be any antagonism between the church and the higher institutions of learning. There is nothing incompatible between the highest culture and the most reverent faith. It is only between knowledge that is not knowledge and a faith founded upon ignorance and superstition that there is conflict, and this conflict will, and ought to, go on until the truth is revealed in all its glory and power.

      I have thus set forth where and how Bible-trained men may be produced for places of power; viz.: in the home, in the Bible school and in the college and university. The thought thrills me! Bible-trained men in the church, in the college, in the business and political world! Men who know the Bible and have the mind and Spirit of Christ at the head of great business enterprises; who sit in the chairs of Governor and President and in the halls of legislative enactment; who, because they are Christ's, seek to do good unto all men; who are unselfish, kind, loving and forbearing toward all. Surely this would usher in that "Golden Year" of which Tennyson sings:

[CCR 558-560]