How Some People Read by Editor

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · May 17, 1883

How Some People Read.

By Editor

A FEW weeks ago we copied a paragraph from a daily paper, in which a prominent gentleman of this State was quoted as saying that "wine and brandy are getting to be great staples," and that "the crops of wines and brandies will more than make up for the shortage of the grain crop." The idea that plenty of wine and brandy could make up for a deficiency in the grain crop was too absurd to be passed by without some comment. And now a letter comes to us expressing deep sorrow that we are upholding liquors as a staple equal to grain, and advertising for the rum traffic. This reminds us of the man who, after listening to a sermon from the text, "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God," said to the minister, "Notwithstanding all you have said, I can't help thinking that there is a God."

And this is but an illustration of how some people always do. There are many who read their Bibles in the same loose manner. Very familiar they are with the Bible, yet they manage to quote nearly everything with some variations which obscure or else entirely pervert the sense. Still they are always sure that they are right, and a reference to the Bible itself will scarcely convince them of their error. We are confident that a great deal of the false doctrine in the world is the result of a careless reading of the Bible. To be sure such error is unintentional, yet it is inexcusable. No matter how indifferent we are about other writings, we have no business to read God's word in such a manner. We make a plea for a careful and reverent reading of the Bible.