It is doubtful whether good comes from the use of the Bible as a riddle-book, nor do the "Bible games" tend to develop a natural appreciation of the book. There is no new light but rather a confusing shadow thrown on the character of Joseph by the foolish conundrum concerning Pharaoh making a ruler out of him. Sending a child to the Bible to discover the shortest verse, the longest, the middle one, etc., trains him to regard it as an odd kind of book, to think of it as a dictionary, and to use it less. We assume too readily that a knowledge of the separate details of biblical information, such as the date of the Flood, the age of Methuselah, the names of the twelve tribes, the twelve apostles, the books of the two Testaments, is the desired end. But one might know all these things and many more and be not one whit the better. For the child surely the desirable end is that he may feel deeply the attractiveness of the character of Joseph or of Jesus, may say within himself, "What a fine man; I want to be like him." Be sure the persons are real, that you see them living their lives in their times, just as you live your life now. I. References for Study T.G. Soares, "Making the Bible Real to Boys," in _Boy Training_, pp. 117-40. Association Press, $0.75. W.T. Lhamon, "Bible in the Home," _Religious Education_, December, 1912, p. 486. G. Hodges, _Training of Children in Religion_, chap. x. Appleton, $1.50. II. Further Reading _The Bible in Practical Life._ Religious Education Association. Numerous references to the use of the Bible in the home in this volume. Patterson Dubois, _The Natural Way_, sec. iv. Revell, $1.25. III. Methods and Materials "Passages of Bible for Memorization," _Religious Education_, August, 1906. Louise S. Houghton, _Telling Bible Stories_. Scribner, $1.25. Johnson, _The Narrative Bible_. Baker & Taylor Co., $1.50. Hall and Wood, _The Bible Story_, 5 vols. King, $2.00 by subscription. Courtney, _The Literary Man's Bible_. Crowell, $1.25. The above are but a few of the many collections of biblical material. IV. Topics for Discussion 1. What are the conditions which seem to make the reading of the Bible different from other reading? Is there a sense of unreality about it as a book? What are the causes? 2. Try the experiment of reading the story of Joseph at one sitting. Try to retell this to children. 3. What biblical material stands out in your memory of childhood? In what degree is this due to the art of the story-teller or the reader? to the character of the material? FOOTNOTES: [21] See M.J.C. Foster, _The Mother the Child's First Bible Teacher_. [22] Mackie, _Bible Manners and Customs_. Chamberlin, _Introduction to the Bible for Teachers of Children_. Worcester, _On Holy Ground_, 2 vols.