I do not read newspapers much. Most are so long and broad that they are cumbersome to handle. It is mostly for this superficial reason that I avoid them. Every news baron wants his paper to be a ‘broad-sheet.’ As if the shape of a paper could guarantee substantial content! Anyway, a newspaper article is usually not worth the time and patience it takes to read it. I prefer to take my news passively—over the radio. So these one-page commentaries—The Bible and the News—have been prompted by interesting news articles happened upon during those rare occasions when I let the newspaper occupy my precious time. There is no plan except to connect the news items to those Bible verses that crave to be their interpreters. To guard against an incorrect interpretation of each Bible verse or passage that I use, my conclusions, which are arrived at by meditation and study, are then compared beside traditional, conservative, pre-1900 evangelical scholarship. I find, usually, that my sense of Scripture agrees with the consensus in that milieu. I am very careful to avoid what the ‘divines’ of former ages used to call innovation. Also, I do not use a news article like a piece of circus furniture from which to springboard to an unrelated theme. I deal directly with the theme each article speaks of.
Much of the content here is dark, for events become news chiefly because of their miserable character. Even so, no writing has been more enjoyable to me than the creation of these little articles. And this for two reasons: the element of discovery and creation involved; and the enlarged faith resulting from the ancient Book’s ability to speak, for the benefit of Man, to things contemporary.
The idea for doing these news commentaries originated from my discovery of Spurgeon’s book, The Bible and the Newspaper. I have decided to stick mainly to articles of the most serious complexion, and to fit (usually) each piece on one page before I post, in the event that any or all should be distributed on the street some day, which was my original intent.
You will find that these news articles are often outdated. This is because of my aim to address themes, not recent events, which I choose to treat whenever the mood strikes. Themes are more important than what is reported on just because it happened yesterday.
