Burroughs 
 
 Study of i:hc> English 
 Bible 
 in Colleae 
 
 LB 2365 
 .54B97 
 
•»0| 'COMfl OMmAVQS 
 
[Reprinted fro7n The Interca/i^jfitij ^^ ^^^HCt} 
 
 arfield Lthratf 
 
 Tie StMy of tlie Eiiilish BiWe in Collep. 
 
 7 
 
 By Professor George S. Burroughs, Ph.D., 
 • Amherst College, Mass. 
 
 MT>V 
 
 ITS PURPOSE. 
 
 Bible study in college is a many-sided 
 problem. It can be solved only by the co- 
 operation of instructors, students and those 
 interested in the moral and religious welfare 
 of our institutions of higher learning. 
 Moreover, its solution can be reached only 
 (by moving carefully along the paths of ex- 
 periment and observation. Let him who 
 ntertains the most promising theories remain 
 ilent, until he has submitted them to the test 
 f practice. What can be done is largely 
 iscoverable by noting what is being done. 
 First we ask. What should be the aim of 
 ollege Bible study ? The answer wall 
 (^greatly simplify matters. Its purpose can 
 not be to divert the student from the Sunday 
 pursuit of secular knowledge, while the in- 
 
stitution withal reaps the benefit of a repu- 
 tation for religious instruction and influence. 
 Possibly the intimation of such an end may 
 be thought unfair and misleading, a carica-' 
 ture of the religious teaching of some of our 
 colleges. It may, however, I think, be con- 
 tended that the outcome, if not the aim, of 
 Bible study in the college may, to a con- 
 siderable degree, be determined, in a given, 
 institution, by the view which the average 
 student entertains concerning it. Without 
 question, what it is accomplishing may be 
 best ascertained by the practical results. 
 Thus judged, it may be considered quite 
 certain that a Monday morning exercise in 
 the Greek Testament, or a recitation, either 
 from a text-book or upon a Biblical lecture 
 of the previous day, proves a doubtful ex- 
 periment in reaching any result commensu- 
 rate with that which is to be desired. Indeed 
 an induction, exhaustive enough for the pur- 
 pose, leads to the conclusion that the value 
 of much that is called Bible study, in both 
 school and college, can not be rated highe* 
 than a conscientious attempt to do somethin. 
 — which is after all often little better than ' 
 nothing — toward meeting what is seen to be ^ 
 a pressing necessity. For it may be perti- 
 
— 3— 
 
 nently asked, are these weekly exercises 
 sufficiently intellectual to command the re- 
 spect of the students' mind for the sacred 
 writings which are their subject? How do 
 they compare with those other exercises, in 
 the same institution, in which the training of 
 the intellect or the imparting of exact knowl- 
 edge is unquestionably aimed at? But it 
 may be objected, in reply, that these exercises 
 are not intended to be intellectual so much 
 as devotional or practical. Very well. Are 
 they, then, devotional, either in conduct or 
 result? Do they inspire reverence for the 
 source of Bible truth? Are they found im- 
 parting inspiration for righteous living? In 
 a few instances, very possibly. But what of 
 the majority of cases? The truth is, a col- 
 lege or school exercise which deals with the 
 Scriptures should be either markedly intel- 
 lectual or markedly devotional. The attempt 
 to mix the two elements is calculated to pro- 
 duce something very dilute in character 
 which is neither intellectual nor devotional, 
 and which certainly is not practical. What 
 indeed it is, it is hard to determine. A 
 method which appears to be doubtfully suc- 
 cessful in the Sunday school, is almost cer- 
 tainly doomed to failure in the college. 
 
We ask, then, is the purpose of college 
 Bible study simply a devotional use of the 
 Scriptures? Should it aim only at the pro- 
 duction of the worshipful spirit? Should its 
 goal be found in reverential feeling? At 
 once, let it be emphasized that the evoking 
 of religious feeling, especially for a practical 
 influence on conduct, is a high and important 
 end of the study of the Scriptures, anywhere 
 and everywhere. It is certainly to be sought 
 in the college. But, how ? Not only is it 
 questionable whether it can be directly at- 
 tained, but whether, indeed, it can be directly 
 sought. To illustrate what I mean, let me 
 refer to some instances of most successful 
 use of the Bible in the college — a use, how- 
 ever, which ought not be called Bible study. 
 In not a few institutions, classes meet — some- 
 times during the week, oftener on Sunday ; 
 in some instances without a leader other than 
 a student, more frequently under the guidance 
 of a professor — for such practical considera- 
 tion of Bible truth as proves most helpful. 
 It is to be noted that the success of these 
 leatherings is in proportion to the previous 
 knowledge of the Scriptures on the part of 
 their members. In so far as it is necessary 
 to turn aside, during the hour, from the 
 
— 5— 
 
 practical to supply the lack of the intel- 
 lectual, the result is marred. In other words, 
 the intellectual is the foundation upon which 
 the practical structure is reared ; it is, also, 
 the material out of which this structure, if at 
 all substantial, is fashioned. Now, if we 
 could but assume, in the case of the young 
 man entering college, an understanding of the 
 Bible in any degree commensurate with his 
 knowledge of other subjects, the situation 
 would be quite other than it is. Under such 
 circumstances, the problem of the Bible in 
 the college would be entirely different in 
 character, and much less complicated. But 
 such an assumption is out of the question. 
 The fact is, there is not sufficient knowledge 
 of the Scriptures among our college students, 
 themselves being judges, to admit of exten- 
 sive and thoroughly successful devotional or 
 practical Bible study. An understanding of 
 this fact makes clear what has been, and is, a 
 puzzle to outside friends interested in the 
 religious welfare of the college. Why, it is 
 asked, do various plans for devotional and 
 practical use of the Scriptures, which in 
 theory seem so workable, fail in college 
 practice, so soon as their novelty has worn 
 off. The explanation is not found in the fact 
 
— 6— 
 
 that college students are " so changeable," 
 but in the sadder fact that they are deficient 
 in intellectual grasp cf the Bible. This de- 
 ficiency they bring with them into the college 
 life ; the causes of the situation and the re- 
 sponsibility for it are to be sought outside 
 the college. Where lies the fault ? With the 
 home ? With the Sunday school ? With the 
 preparatory school ? Or -with all these to- 
 gether ? Be the reply what it may, the col- 
 lege must do what it can to remedy the defect. 
 It must try to do what ought to have been 
 done long before. It must aid the student in 
 obtaining a knowledge of what the contents 
 of the Bible are. 
 
 What has been said, however, justifies a 
 prompt negative reply to the inquiry as to 
 whether the purpose of College Bible study 
 be simply an intellectual grasp of the Scrip- 
 tures. It is, of course, true that such knowl- 
 edge as the mind may attain regarding the 
 Bible is an end worthy to be aimed at in a 
 college training. To desire simply to know 
 the Scriptures is a good motive — and also a 
 high one — for entering upon their study. 
 But it is evident that the present situation 
 demands intellectual study of the Scriptures, 
 especially as a means to the use of the volume 
 
— 7— 
 
 for the up-building and the maintenance of 
 the moral and spiritual character of the indi- 
 vidual student. It demands it for such a use 
 not only during the college days but through- 
 out life, for which, in this respect as well as 
 in others, these college days should be a 
 preparation. 
 
 Thus do we arrive, from a study of the 
 existing situation, at the answer to our 
 inquiry. The pui-pose of College Bible Study 
 should be intellectual knowledge of the Scriptures^ 
 7iot as an end in itself^ but as a means, all-essential, 
 to their practical use, throughout life, in the up- 
 building and maintenance of moral and spiritual 
 character. 
 
 II. ITS PURPOSE HOW BEST ATTAINED. 
 
 The inquiry arises, Will a class, gathered 
 on Sunday, under the direction of a compe- 
 tent instructor, with the intention of empha- 
 sizing the intellectual element in the study 
 of the Scriptures, meet the end in view 1 In 
 other than a college community, this might 
 seem quite feasible. But here peculiar diffi- 
 culties are met, in that intellectual pursuits 
 are every-day duties and make up the staple 
 of life. The faithful student, therefore, needs 
 a day of mental rest on Sunday, while the 
 
less ambitious one will be quite sure to take 
 it, as far at least as Bible study is concerned : 
 the former ought not expend the mental 
 energy requisite to the success of the exer- 
 cise, the latter will be little inclined to do so. 
 Moreover, a competent instructor is not so 
 readily secured. No task is more arduous 
 than Bible teaching in college : it can not be 
 taken up as a pastime. In all likelihood, the 
 professor best calculated to achieve such suc- 
 cess as may be possible under the circum- 
 stances, needs his rest-day even more emphat- 
 ically than the most faithful student who may 
 take up the study. Moreover, the best quali- 
 fied teacher soon finds so many special diffi- 
 culties attendant upon the work, that the 
 amount of preparation required becomes a 
 burden well-nigh too great to be borne. If 
 it be thought that this preparation may be 
 scattered through the week, and thus the dif- 
 ficulty, so far certainly as -the student is con- 
 cerned, be greatly lessened, it must be remem- 
 bered that in most institutions each day's 
 duties are fully proportioned to the time and 
 ability of at least the average student. At all 
 events, I have yet to find either the earnest 
 and judicious Christian student or the pro- 
 fessor who, face to face with the situation, 
 
advocates that such intellectual mastery of 
 the Bible as the college student needs, be 
 sought through a voluntary, or through a 
 required, Sunday exercise. 
 
 Increasingly, therefore, it is becoming evi- 
 dent that such study as is necessary can only 
 exist as it finds a place for itself in the col- 
 lege curriculum. Here again, it is true, em- 
 barrassments are at hand. No make-shift 
 work, of course, will be of service, whether 
 occurring Monday morning or any day and 
 hour of the week. Time for thorough prepa- 
 ration and thorough instruction must be allot- 
 ted from the regular work of the college ; and 
 time is what each department of existing in- 
 struction is already seeking for itself in 
 larger measure. The only way of meeting 
 the difficulty would seem to be to show, in 
 actual practice, that work which demands 
 time and which, considered as a mental disci- 
 pline alone, is worthy of the time demanded, 
 can be done by the student. And here 
 another obstacle suggests itself. To carry 
 on successful work which shall thus show, 
 by its results, both its need and its value, is 
 not possible for any instructor who is the 
 incumbent of an existing chair of instruction, 
 calling for its own specific duties. To divide 
 
the work among several teachers increases, 
 instead of diminishing, the embarrassment. 
 For there must be unity in the teaching : one 
 mind must plan, direct and execute. There 
 must be one method, inspired by an undi- 
 vided personality. In but one way can the 
 situation be met. Special professorships of 
 Biblical instruction must be founded and 
 filled with men fitted by natural endowments 
 and special training to carry on this difficult 
 yet important work. Little can be accom- 
 plished until this step is taken. Already two 
 or more of our leading institutions have such 
 chairs. Other institutions feel their need 
 and are plainly saying so. Thoughtful and 
 generous benefactors must see to it that no 
 institution of importance as a center of 
 education is left destitute in this partic- 
 ular. 
 
 • How then shall Bible study, as a part of 
 the curriculum, under the direction of a com- 
 petent and efficient instructor, devoting his 
 entire time to the task, be carried on ? This 
 question must be answered in each individ- 
 ual case according to the circumstances. Each 
 of our colleges has its own peculiar individ- 
 uality. Each has its own traditions, its own 
 methods, mutually adjusted, of thought and 
 
work. Each has its peculiar mission to soci- 
 ety. To attempt, therefore, to answer in any- 
 abstract fashion, what shall be the line along 
 which a given department of instruction shall 
 be conducted in every institution in whose 
 curriculum it may share a part would be the 
 height of absurdity. Peculiarly would this be 
 so regarding a department of Bible study. 
 For many questions at once suggest them- 
 selves. Shall this study, for example, extend 
 throughout the course or shall it be confined 
 to certain classes, and shall these be the 
 lower or the higher } Shall the study be 
 required or shall it be elective.? Or shall it 
 be required for the lower classes and elective 
 in the case of the higher.? Again, what as to 
 the method of instruction } Shall it be uni- 
 form for all classes or so varied in character 
 as to be adapted to the stage of mental develop- 
 ment attained by the student at a given time } 
 It is very evident that common sense and 
 experiment must answer these queries accord- 
 ing to the situation in each particular case. 
 Certain things will, however, I believe, be 
 found true in general everywhere. Certain 
 principles, therefore, as we may perhaps call 
 them, may be laid down, the application and 
 illustration of which are the privilege of the 
 
teacher in each individual case. Let me 
 briefly indicate a few of these. 
 
 First, the work should be made as thor- 
 oughly a means of mental discipline as any 
 other part of the curriculum. Painstaking, 
 accurate, thorough scholarship should be ex- 
 pected and required by the teacher. The 
 work should be as exacting and exhausting 
 as any other study occupying an equal por- 
 tion of time. Bible stud}^, so called, has been, 
 in the past, made easy. The result has been 
 demoralization and degeneracy, not only in 
 the matter of the mastery of the Scriptures, 
 but also, indirectly, in the general tone of 
 scholarship in the institution where the evil 
 has existed. Let the study be made a difficult 
 one and the best results may be anticipated. 
 
 Second, Bible study, as a part of a college 
 curriculum, should be conducted from the 
 points of view of history and literature. True, 
 philosophy and social science are also to be 
 legitimately found in the Scriptures, and 
 legitimately are these to be drawn from 
 them ; but, first of all, the Sacred Library 
 must be studied with the historic and literary 
 sense ; otherwise all further work is vain. 
 The teacher, therefore, must be one possessed 
 of aptitudes, at least, for instruction in both 
 
—13— 
 
 history and literature. The wider his re- 
 searches in these fields and the more mani- 
 fold his resources as the result, the better. 
 The student also must have attained such a 
 degree of mental development, that a personal 
 insight into historical movements and some 
 intuitive perception of literary forms may 
 reasonably be expected of him. Indeed, no 
 adequate Bible study can be engaged in until 
 the scholar has had some previous training in 
 the study of history and literature, at least in 
 their English and American manifestations. 
 Third, the same general considerations 
 which would influence the allotment of time, 
 together with its arrangement, in the case of 
 any other college discipline, should prevail 
 regarding this one. Who would think of 
 extending a course of philosophy or of social 
 science through the four years of a college 
 course as a weekly Monday morning exer- 
 cise.^ Who would advocate such an arrange- 
 ment for a course in history or literature ? 
 That this has been a method much in vogue 
 in Bible study only shows the point of view 
 from which the Bible in the college has been 
 regarded. Without question, it has been 
 primarily considered a matter of religious 
 and devotional concern ; it has not been, to 
 
-14— 
 
 any marked degree, thought of as a mental 
 discipline. Increasingly, in preparing a 
 schedule of exercises for a given college 
 term, the tendency prevails to " bunch " the 
 hours of a given study. Better results can 
 unquestionably be thus obtained. It would 
 seem far better, therefore, to permit a student 
 to study the Bible during a single term of a 
 college year, allotting from two to four hours 
 a week to the exercise, than to make the 
 study a weekly exercise throughout the year. 
 If so much time can be commanded for the 
 subject, a four-hour course, extending through 
 one term, might well be arranged, either as 
 required or elective work, for each class. 
 And if the example of other disciplines be 
 followed in this particular also, it might be 
 quite proper to expect that the work at the 
 outstart should be required and later on be- 
 come elective. 
 
 Fourth, and most emphatically, Bible study, 
 as demanded by our colleges at present, should 
 be scientific in character. Its method must 
 be inductive. Its highest form, for most ad- 
 vanced work, should be the laboratory or 
 German seminary system of instruction. Its 
 lower forms should approximate, so far as 
 may be, to this. The great object of the dis- 
 
— 15— 
 
 cipline is to develop independent and orig- 
 inal students of the Scriptures. The general 
 road, therefore, to this goal must be that uni- 
 versally accepted to-day as the proper one 
 along which to proceed in the effort to pro- 
 duce original scholars in the sciences, while 
 the special pathway may well be that method 
 which is increasingly meeting with large suc- 
 cess in the pursuit of the historical sciences, 
 to which Bible study certainly belongs. 
 
 III. — BIBLE STUDY IN AMHERST COLLEGE. 
 
 Only as we consider college Bible study 
 from the point of view of existing condi- 
 tions, can we make actual advance toward the 
 solution of what is confessedly a question of 
 utmost importance and peculiar difficulty. 
 In this concluding paper, the facts stated 
 concerning Bible study in Amherst College 
 are to be regarded simply as so much data 
 for further thought and experiment. 
 
 It will be necessary, at the outstart, to em- 
 phasize the distinction, already incidentally 
 alluded to, between the use of the Bible in 
 religious instruction in college and college 
 Bible study. Repeated conversations with. 
 those interested in the subject and experience 
 with the student in the class room have led to 
 
— 16— 
 
 a sense of thenmperative need of discriminat- 
 ing between Bib\e-/isfefn;ig, Bible-r^^^/;/i^ and 
 Bible-i///^'. Confusing the two former, in 
 their place valuable and important, with the 
 latter, has, perhaps, done more than anything 
 else to conceal genuine need and to hinder 
 genuine progress. Much religious instruction 
 may be given, much use of the Bible exist, 
 where, in reality, no Bible study is found. It 
 is not purposed in the present paper, to speak 
 of religious instruction in Amherst College — 
 this were another and far wider theme — , but 
 simply to deal with the s^ii^y of the Scriptures 
 in the institution. 
 
 In the beginning of its history Amherst 
 planned for Bible study. The first printed 
 statement of its course of instruction includes 
 *'a critical recitation in the Greek Testament, 
 once a week, during a part of the year, for 
 each of the classes." Five years later, a 
 weekly exercise, for each class, in the English 
 Bible was made a part of the curriculum. 
 The Freshmen studied the historical books, 
 the Sophomores the prophetical, the Juniors 
 the N. T. Epistles, the Seniors the Assembly's 
 Catechism in connection with the Scriptures. 
 By far the larger part of the faculty partici- 
 pated, in turn, in the instruction of the three 
 
—17— 
 
 lower classes, while the president took charge 
 of the work with the Seniors. The hour of 
 instruction for all was assigned to Thursday 
 afternoon, in order, thus, to bring religious 
 influences into the mid-week. Evidently a 
 devotional result was the end specially 
 sought. Later on, this arrangement was so 
 modified, as regards the three lower classes, 
 that each professor taught something in, or 
 concerning, the Scriptures kindred to his 
 own department. At this period Bible-listen- 
 ing was taking the place of study on the part 
 of the students and lecturing that of active 
 class instruction on the part of the teacher. 
 The difficulty of finding instructors who 
 could and would conduct these exercises 
 with profit, the comparative inutility of a 
 single meeting with a class during the week, 
 together with the fact that all work, on the 
 part of the student, in preparation for the 
 exercise, had disappeared, led to the gradual 
 abandonment of this plan of instruction, 
 until the only Bible study remaining in the 
 curriculum, except the Catechism and Bible 
 exercise with the Seniors, was that of the 
 Sophomores and Juniors in the Greek Testa- 
 ment. The former passed, with the Greek 
 professor, in consecutive lessons, through a 
 
— 18— 
 
 gospel or the Acts, the latter through one of 
 the epistles. Finally, this also was, tor good 
 reasons, omitted. Meanwhile, another force 
 for religious instruction in the college had 
 begun to make itself felt. A professorship in 
 Biblical history and interpretation having 
 been founded, the president became its first 
 incumbent, and, in connection with his con- 
 duct of the regular morning prayers, consecu- 
 tive Bible readings and expositions, neces- 
 sarily limited as to time, were carried on. 
 Subsequently this professorship was separated 
 from the presidency, and, although still con- 
 nected with the college pastorate, opportunity 
 has been afforded through it for the reestab- 
 lishment of a systematic course of Bible 
 study, as a part of the regular instruction of 
 the college, quite unlike, however, in charac- 
 ter and manner of conduct, that pursued in 
 the early history of the institution. It should 
 be understood, that, aside from this class- 
 room work, a use of the Bible, separate from 
 stated religious exercises, exists at present in 
 connection with the religious life of the col- 
 lege, wisely varying in character from year to 
 year, such, for example, as a Sunday evening 
 Bible exercise, open to all classes, exercises 
 at the close of the Sunday morning service 
 
—19— 
 
 for students of individual classes or for the 
 college as a whole, and private gatherings, of 
 small numbers of students, for Scripture read- 
 ing and practical application. These ought, 
 however, to be placed under the heads of 
 Bible-listening and Bible-reading, inasmuch 
 as there has been found to be little or no 
 study on the part of students, otherwise inter- 
 ested and faithful in attendance. 
 
 The present development of Bible study in 
 the curriculum may be largely attributed to 
 the earnest request of students of the upper 
 classes that time for such study might be 
 allotted to those who desired it from the 
 other work of the college, and that this study 
 in its methods and its thoroughness might be 
 placed on a level with other studies of the 
 last two years of the course. The insufficiency 
 of the results attained in the work attempted 
 on Sunday, doubtless, contributed largely to 
 the request. An elective, of four hours a 
 week, running through the winter term, and 
 open to Juniors and Seniors together, was 
 the first step taken. The work was so planned 
 that a different course should be presented 
 alternate years. The first year O. T. history, 
 poetry and prophecy were studied in selected 
 books and also certain of the N. T. epistles. 
 
The aim of the O. T. work was largely to 
 show the prophet in his historical setting and 
 the historic progress of O. T. religion under 
 his guidance. At the same time, the literary 
 form in which his deeds and words have been 
 transmitted to us commanded careful atten- 
 tion. The Semitic genius and the theocratic 
 elements in O. T. literature were considered. 
 Personal peculiarities of temperament and 
 education, and their expression in the lan- 
 guage employed, were noted. Back of the 
 book was seen the living man, thinking, mov- 
 ing, a great factor not only in Hebrew, but 
 also indirectly and subsequently, in world 
 progress. The study of the N. T. epistles, 
 pursued along the same general lines, was 
 designed to give an insight into the personal 
 elements in the development and history of 
 primitive Christianity, together with a care- 
 ful consideration of the points of contact 
 between this new life and the older religious 
 civilizations, Jewish, Greek and Roman, 
 among which it found the soil for its growth 
 and its place of influence. The second year 
 of the course was devoted to the historical 
 and literary study of the Gospels, with the 
 attendant problems. The synoptic Gospels, 
 the Question of their literary similarities and 
 
differences, their relation of dependence upon 
 one another and their relative date, their 
 authorship, genuineness and authenticity, 
 including the question of the supernatural 
 historically considered, occupied attention 
 first. Then followed the study of the Fourth 
 Gospel, at first by itself, along the same lines, 
 subsequently in comparison with the synop- 
 tics. Thus the whole field of early Chris- 
 tianity was passed over, the foundation for 
 the study having been laid in the investiga- 
 tion of the epistles, especially the four undis- 
 puted Pauline ones, the previous year. 
 
 Soon, however, it was manifest that much 
 better results could be obtained by separating 
 the Juniors and Seniors, permitting the former 
 to elect work in the Biblical history and 
 prophecy, together with the epistles, and 
 opening the critical study of the Gospel to 
 Seniors alone. The influence of the studies 
 of Junior year, especially those of English 
 literature and history, was found very helpful 
 in connection with the former course, and 
 considerable progress in these quite desirable 
 as a preparation for the latter. Moreover, the 
 qualities of mind developed by such Senior 
 studies as political economy, constitutional 
 history and philosophy were seen to be very 
 
helpful in the work of Gospel criticism. 
 Thus two separate terms of work, of four 
 hours each, were opened, the one for Juniors 
 only, the other for Seniors alone, while, in all 
 ordinary cases, no one would be expected to 
 take the work of the Senior elective who had 
 not previously taken the Junior course. This 
 division of the study, which is the existing 
 condition at the present, has led to some 
 modifications in the work of both years. 
 While naturally the Junior work is prefaced 
 by remarks on method, and practice work 
 making certain the student's understanding 
 regarding it must be done at the threshold, 
 these can be omitted Senior year. Moreover, 
 there is now opportunity for the profitable 
 giving of supplementary lectures, applying, 
 in their larger relations, the facts and princi- 
 ples which the student is discovering and 
 putting into practice in his own personal 
 inductive work. The lectures cover in the 
 Junior year the entire field of O. T. literature 
 giving a fair survey of the ground, although 
 certain questions, as for example that of Pen- 
 tateuch criticism, can not be entered into in 
 detail. Little, if anything, however, is lost 
 here, as the student at this stage is not fitted 
 to handle such a problem, nor, in the opinion 
 
of the writer, are final results yet clearly 
 enough attained or formulated to permit of 
 its profitable consideration at any length in a 
 college course. In the Senior year, the lec- 
 tures deal with the entire N. T. literature, the 
 development, historically viewed, of apostolic 
 Christianity, the personal and historical fac- 
 tors tending to the unity, while rendering 
 necessary the variety, of Christian thought 
 and practice in the first days. Thus many 
 subjects for further investigation are marked 
 out before the student and the lines along 
 which they may be approached are indicated. 
 He is taught to believe that he is to be 
 throughout life an independent, yet hum.ble, 
 investigator of truth as it presents itself in 
 living form in the literature of the Scriptures, 
 and to find in the Christ its highest and com- 
 plete personal manifestation. 
 
 But it must be emphasized that these lec- 
 tures are supplementary ; they presuppose 
 and rest upon the personal inductive work of 
 the student, which is the essential part of the 
 course. This requires some extended ex- 
 planation. 
 
 First, as has been stated, the characteristics 
 of inductive Bible study are emphasized in 
 introductory lectures, and practice work is 
 
— 24— 
 
 assigned each student, in the doing of which 
 he is most carefully watched and searchingly 
 criticised. The class then begins to apply 
 what has been thus learned to a single book, 
 characterized by unity and limited in scope. 
 The revised version is the single text-book, 
 the student being encouraged in N. T. work 
 to make constant comparison with the origi- 
 nal Greek. The special book selected is 
 studied by paragraphs ; the contents of a 
 given paragraph are concisely stated in writ- 
 ings occasionally its condensed sense is written 
 out ; thus by generalization the scope of the 
 book as a whole is determined. This work is 
 daily submitted to the instructor. Mean- 
 while, questions of importance are. as they 
 occur to the student, briefly noted and classi- 
 fied. Next, an inductive study, prepared by 
 the teacher, is put into the hands of the 
 student. It consists entirely of questions, 
 standing in close connection with one another 
 and intended to bring out the leading 
 thoughts and topics of the book, thus prepar- 
 ing the student to appreciate its marked indi- 
 viduality. While this study is being worked 
 through and the results are being submitted 
 to the teacher, the time in the class-room is 
 occupied with a brief survey of the book, 
 
—25— 
 
 paragraph by paragraph, following after, but 
 never preceding, the inductive study, and 
 consideration is given to the most important 
 questions which have been raised by the 
 students individually. After the inductive 
 study has been completed, a list of topics, 
 suggested by it, is submitted to the class ; a 
 given one is assigned to each student for per- 
 sonal investigation, a thesis upon which, 
 short and concise, is the goal of his work 
 upon that individual book. Interviews are 
 had with each student privately regarding his 
 topic; suggestions are made and inquiries 
 answered. While the theses are in prepara- 
 tion, the bibliography bearing upon the topics 
 as a whole is treated, and the supplementary 
 lectures, which have been described, proceed. 
 Upon these matters, written recitations are 
 held at least once in two weeks, and in these 
 the student is encouraged to present freely 
 his own views and any difficulties which have 
 occurred to him along the line of his personal 
 research. These difficulties are met in private 
 conference with each student. The theses, 
 when completed, are read before the class 
 and each is criticised by the teacher in private, 
 general criticisms only being given in pub- 
 lic. 
 
—26— 
 
 Of course only a limited number of books 
 can be taken up in this exhaustive way, yet 
 after the first has been handled, the work be- 
 comes much more rapid. In the Senioryear but 
 four, the Gospels, are to be considered ; in the 
 Junior year four to six, according to their 
 size, may be passed through by each student ; 
 but these will be representative books, e. g. 
 in prophecy Amos or Micah, in the epistles 
 Galatians or Romans. The class is generally 
 divided this year, after passing over the first 
 book, into two or more sections, each working 
 a separate book. Thus the results of work 
 upon eight or twelve books at least may 
 come before the class in the theses. In mov- 
 ing from book to book, comparative study is 
 insisted upon ; thus the conception of the 
 organic character of Biblical literature is 
 brought out and the development of revela- 
 tion in historical movement and inward ex- 
 perience is seen. 
 
 What students elect such work.? Generally 
 those who are good scholars in other depart- 
 ments. Not alone those who are professing 
 Christians; by no means those only who are 
 looking forward to the ministry. These are 
 always in the minority. They may postpone 
 their Bible study for the theological course ; 
 
—27— 
 
 others can not. With these it must be a part 
 of the college course or something, in most 
 cases, never done. Inquiring minds are 
 attracted ; those who have religious diflS- 
 culties are often met with. This is well. It 
 fis better to meet a difficulty squarely and 
 with help than to evade it or struggle with it 
 alone. Students of literary and historical 
 tastes are specially attracted. In number, 
 from twenty to tw^enty-five per cent, of a 
 given class are found to elect the study. 
 
 What are the observed results? Increased 
 respect for the w^ealth of beauty and the 
 power of truth found in the Scripture litera- 
 ture. Increased humility before great sub- 
 jects, whose magnitude and difficulty are 
 clearly seen. It is not easy, after passing 
 through the course, to decide against the 
 Bible or Christianity in an off-hand way. 
 Increased reverence for the personalities of 
 Bible history, profound reverence for the 
 Christ. Fortified, intelligent Christian faith ; 
 a mind open to the evidence of experimental 
 religion. Increased reading of the Bible in 
 private ; increased devotional appropriation 
 to self of the life which it contains. These 
 results are not the opinions of the instructor, 
 but of students themselves. 
 
-28- 
 
 It is hoped in the near future to extend the 
 course yel more fully, opening it to at 4east 
 one, if not to both, of the two lower classes. 
 This would involve other changes and modi- 
 fications. But these are in the future. Only 
 what has been already done is of value for- 
 the working out of our problem, the study of 
 the English Bible in the college. 
 
 George S. Burroughs. 
 

 Date 
 
 Due 
 
 
 Ae? '46 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
LB2365.B4B97 
 
 The study of the English Bible in 
 
 ,'![;""/°;,];,^'f°l°9'cal Semmary-Speer Library 
 
 1 1012 00079 3218