BACKGROUND TO THE BIBLE

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27148, 18 September 1953, Page 7

BACKGROUND TO THE BIBLE

LUNCHTIME SERMON IN CATHEDRAL

“In the 66 books of the Bible, you will find the whole gamut of human experience recorded; you will read about politics, ethics, international affairs, stories about dreams, essays on love, sex instruction and peace, to name only a few of the topics with modern application,” said the Dean of Christchurch (the Very Rev. Martin Sullivan) yesterday, in the first of a series of lunch-time talks at the Cathedral, before a congregation of about 600, . . ’ From a literary point of view, there were poetry, drama, novels, letters and biographies in the books, but to understand the Bible it was necessary to have some idea of the background against which it was written, he said. The Bible was a record of the religious, experience of one people—the Hebrews —through whom the message of the Bible was handed on, Dean Sullivan said. The Hebrews were the chosen people because they had a genius for religion, and their religion and literature were deeply rooted in history. “The story of Dunkirk has been written in verse and prose, but it has no real meaning unless you know the history of what happened there,” he said. “The Old Testament, in 'particular. is the record of a constant crisis, of frequent Dunkirks, because the ancient Powers that surrounded the Hebrews were war-like and ambitious. Hitler had very little on the ancient totalitarian States.”

Some people treated the Bible like a talisman or book of charms, and flipped through its pages looking for an apt text for the day, said Dean Sullivan. Others stuck pins in the pages to find lucky texts. But this was not the way to study the Bible; it should be read with the brain and the heart and it was never too late to begin. Most people did not read the Bible because they could not understand it. They became confused, bogged down, and gave In. Dean Sullivan’s course of six lectures is entitled “Let’s Look at the Bible," and will be repeated from October 29 for those who have the 1-2 p.m. lunch hour.