Conversations on the Bible

It is the design of the following Conversations to co-operate with many other works now in circulation, in assisting the young to acquire a thorough and a connected knowledge of the sacred Scriptures. It was the original design of the writer to discuss the following subjects in addition to those presented in this work, viz. the times and circumstances in which some of the principal books of the Bible were written ;-the lives and characters of their authors ;—the manner in which the books were at first written, preserved and circulated;-an account of the principal versions and translations which have appeared ;-degree of circulation which the Bible has had at different periods;-efforts which have been made to oppose its influence, or to destroy its authority ;-extent of its present circulation and influence in the world;-and finally, the efforts now making to translate it into every language, and to carry it to every family upon the globe.

This was the original design; but the writer of these sheets is unavoidably prevented from completing it. It is highly desirable that some one should present these subjects in a familiar manner, to the throngs which are now collected around Sabbath school libraries.

CONTENTS.

CONVERSATION 1.

DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE.

Occasion of these conversations. Sunday school class. Names and

characters of the boys. Nature of inspiration. Proofs of it.

(1.) Presumption in its favor from internal evidence; comparison of

the Bible with the Koran in this respect. (2.) Proof from

prophecy. Striking examples of prophecy, viz. predictions of the

destruction of Jerusalem, and of the coming of Christ. Some

predictions not proofs of miraculous power. (3.) Proof from

miracles. Different ends accomplished by miracles and prophecy.

Recapitulation of the whole subject, by the boys, on their return

home.

Page

CONVERSATION II.

NATURAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE SCENE OF SCRIPTURE HISTORY.

Meeting of the class. Map. Distinction between Natural and Civil
Geography. Scene of Scripture History. Five principal seas;
Mediterranean, Black, Caspian, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea. Four
principal rivers; Tigris, Euphrates, (Mesopotamia; sources of
rivers.) Nile, (its peculiarities; crocodiles; Moses,) Jordan.
Natural divisions of land. (1.) Fertile regions pointed out and
described. (2.) Deserts. Mode of travelling through deserts.
Abraham's journeys. (3.) Mountainous regions; Lebanon, Cau-
casus, Ararat. Uncertainty about the position of Mount Ararat.

Degree of dependence to be placed upon maps of ancient countries.

The teacher's questions. Examination of the mouths of rivers.

Evidence of the real age of the world, derived from them. Extract

from Mr. Wood's travels across a desert. Walk with the teacher to

see the mouth of a brook. Illustration of the reasoning from the

mouths of rivers. Reasoning of the boatman. Degree of accu-

racy attainable in such calculations.

Page

CONVERSATION III.

FIRST PERIOD OF SCRIPTURE HISTORY.

Object of going over the Scripture history in these conversations.

Explanation of the map illustrating this period. The creation. The

Sabbath the first divine institution; its intended perpetuity. Adam

and Eve. Nature of their sin. The guilt of disobedience. Flood.

Questions about the antediluvian world. Method of calculating from

the Bible the time of the flood. Conduct of men after the flood.

God's design in separating Abraham and his family from the rest

of mankind. Time of the call of Abraham. Uses of the chapters

of names. Abraham's journey. A famine. Tents. Isaac. Ja-

cob in Egypt. Bondage and escape of the Israelites. Their

journey. Laws of God. Manner in which they were written and

preserved. Arrival at Canaan. Right of the children of Israel to

Canaan. Tribes. The snow storm. Morning. John's morning

prayer. Cruden's Concordance; description and use. Search for

a list of the tribes. Lists compared. Difficulty. Explanation.

Thirteen tribes.

CONVERSATION IV.

SECOND PERIOD OF SCRIPTURE HISTORY.

The double map. Description of Canaan. Tribes which settled
east of Canaan. The camp at Gilgal. Original inhabitants of
Canaan. Judah and Benjamin. First form of government;
judges. Circumstances of the appointment of Saul, the first king.
Saul's character; his gradual declension and final ruin. Delay of
Christ's coming; possible reasons for it. David. Jerusalem,
Solomon. The temple; its structure and use. Secession of the