Much of the world's literature is written by men who have no experimental knowledge of God and His word. Their thoughts are expressed in their writings, and as we read, their thOughts become our thoughts. "In the study of these objectionable books, the minds of teachers as well as of students become corrupted, and the enemy sows his tares. It cannot be otherwise. By drinking of an impure fountain, poison is introduced into the system."—"Testimonies.," Vol. VI, p. 164.
You may say, "Surely, Brother Johns, you do not think for a moment that our teachers spend their time with Robert Ingersoll or Thomas Paine. We do not read infidel authors." Much of the infidelity of today is cleverly veiled. Many a book by a supposed Christian author is marked by the trail of the serpent. Modernism is veiled infidelity. It is not for us to read the writings of men who deny the atonement, the virgin birth, the deity and the miracles of Jesus. Their writings may contain brilliant gems of thought, but in their setting of philosophical error, these gems are the lure of the serpent. Harry Emerson Fosdick, the professed preacher, is more to be feared than Robert Ingersoll, the out-and-out agnostic. I care not to fill my shelves with books from the press of the school of divinity of the University of Chicago. I fear the Christian Modernist press, with its hands of Jacob and voice of Esau, more than I fear the blatant and boastful words of the atheist.
We live in perilous times. Satan appears as an angel of light. You would not take into your kitchen unclean meats just because the can bears the word "pure." Why should you bring into your library unclean, corrupting mental food because the title bears the name "Christian"? Our minds are not equal to the task of wandering through a maze of speculative philosophy in order to find a scintilla of truth. Some of our greatest thinkers in the beginning of this century could not discern the pantheism of the book "Living Temple." Are the men of 1940 wiser than they? To their eternal loss and the sorrow of the church, some of our Bible teachers have toyed with the serpent and his subtle philosophies.
I would not contend for a moment that all our reading should be confined to the Bible and the writings of the Spirit of prophecy.
There are great men of God with whom we may associate in our libraries, from whose writings we may delete some statements or ideas or inferences that do not accord with truth. There are those whose hearts were right with God, who loved His word. It is a pleasure to partake of their spirit of devotion. In large measure the older books and commentaries are safer than those of more recent publication. There is inspiration in John Wesley's sermons; there is wisdom in Neander's history of the church; there is certainty of knowledge in McClintock and Strong's Cyclopedia. But too many of the modern commentaries and sermons are so colored with unbelief that their very atmosphere is dangerous. Any interpretation they give to the Bible is Modernistic. However, the men of an older generation breathed loyalty and devotion to the word of God. These great reformers of yesterday are our spiritual fathers, and we delight to be in their presence. But with the Fosdicks and the Bruce Bartons and their fellows we do not choose to keep company.
These words should not be necessary to a group of Bible teachers. But my very soul cries out against the destructive, poisonous philosophy of Modernism. I cry out against it because it has brought ruin to some of my friends who have played with it. Let the messenger of the Lord speak to us of the perils in books and magazines that are permeated with error :
"The Messenger of God then took from the hands of several teachers those hooks which they had been making their study, some of which had been written by infidel authors and contained infidel sentiments, and laid them aside, saying: 'There never has been a time in your lives when the study of these books was for your present good and advancement, or for your future, eternal good. Why will you fill your shelves with books that divert the mind from Christ?
. . Human authors can never supply your great need for this time; but by beholdim, Christ. the author and finisher of your faith, you will be changed into His likeness ' . .
"Had you the knowledge which comes from God, your whole being would proclaim the tru'h of the living God to a world dead in trespasses and sins. But books and papers that contain little of present truth are exalted, and men are becoming too wise to follow a 'Thus saith the Lord.' "—Id., pp. 165, 166.
The technical training of a Bible teacher should be inferior to none. Our men should be authorities, not only in the Word, but in various related subjects, such as church history. Nor should our knowledge of the sciences be superficial. The Bible teacher who speaks with authority on various subjects carries the respect of the students and extends his own influence. The mind of the Bible teacher should be symmetrically developed. One-sided men, one-track minds, one-key preachers or teachers, are anything but desirable. The teacher who rides a hobbyhorse never gets far, though often he works hard at his self-made task. Some men overemphasize certain themes and neglect others. We should be great enough to include all the themes of present truth in our teaching, with partiality to none and emphasis for all. We should know our health message, practice it, and preach it, but not make a hobby of it. We should search out the meaning of the great prophetic portions of the Word, but we dare not overemphasize some interpretation that is peculiar to the individual teacher.
The simple fact that the words we speak in the classroom will find echo through our students to the ends of the earth, should convince us that we must be guarded and careful in the interpretation we give to the Word. Listen to a young preacher, and you will hear the reflected thought of his college Bible teacher. Let us determine that so far as in us lies, our students shall go forth with a full message, a symmetrical message, a message that rings true to the Word of Truth. The Bible teacher is .a keyman. He molds the thought of the church. He decides the destiny of his generation.
My subject and presentation deal largely with the preparation for teaching, the character of the teacher, his habits of study, his zeal for the truth, his evangelistic outlook. And my conclusion has been that what we are as teachers is more dependent upon the material with which we feed our minds and our souls, than upon any native teaching talent we may possess. The practice of teaching opens up another field of discussion.
Our manner in the classroom, and even our methods, must be individualistic. Peter and John had each spent more than three years in the inner circle of the school of the Master Teacher. But these men were as different in their style of writing, and, no doubt, in their way of preaching and teaching, as two men could be. Our personality is a possession to be prized, and never should we seek to imitate the ways of others. However, it is well to study the methods of other men in classroom instruction, and profit by their experience. There must be continued improvement in our ways and our methods. And, above all, we must strive to imitate and emulate the ways of the Great Teacher. In "Medical Ministry" these words are found:
"Faithful teachers should he placed in charge of the Bible classes, teachers who will strive to make the students understand their lessons, not by explaining everything to them, but by requiring them to explain clearly every passage they read. Thoughtful investigation and earnest, taxing study are necessary to an understanding of this word."—Page 70.
Surface study is valueless. To inspire our students with a desire to dig deep into the mine of truth, for the very love of the task, should be our aim. In the school of medicine, our teaching must needs follow largely the lecture method, with little required in outside preparation. Were it possible to make substantial requirements, I would minimize the mere memorizing of texts and outlines, and require original outlines and papers, with the student gathering his own material from various sources. The requirements we make of our medical students are all for the preparation of outlines for sermons and talks, and the writing of papers that will be of value to them in their future work. The objective is this—to teach them that they may teach others. This, it seems to me, is far better than to crowd so much material upon our students merely to increase their knowledge.
Were I teaching in either an academy or a college, I would move the desk off the platform and require the students to give talks before the class. Our schools are woefully weak in their public-speaking training. I would make the Bible classes forums of public speech, with sermonettes and Bible studies a daily requirement. This in itself would change the nature of the student's study from mere preparation to answer test questions, to a preparation for service. We do this with our ministerial students—why not do it with all our students? Time and again we have had students at Loma Linda who have never given a public talk before coming to our school. This is pathetic.
Every Bible student, from the very first year of academic work, should be trained to teach and preach that which he hears in class. Thus our schools would become schools of evangelism. This is what they should be. We must stir the souls of our students to greater soul-winning service. Our task is the greatest that is committed to men. To save our students, that they may serve Christ and humanity, is our precious privilege.
