When intelligently understood, there is no other literature extant that makes such a strong moral and religious appeal for social justice and political righteousness as the prophets. The writings of the great prophets of Israel constitute a practical _sociology_, founded on the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man; a sociology so enriched by a wealth of historical materials as to make it a treasure-house for all workers in social betterment. To save the ordinary Bible reader from confusion, I have purposely avoided all questions of origin and composite character, along with many other interesting and useful facts concerning the Scriptures. This simple approach to the Scriptures is for the purpose of helping the average person to find the soul of the Bible. For it is the soul of the Bible, and not its incidental features, that enriches the soul of the reader. 4. The New Testament in general In the New, as well as in the Old Testament, the letter kills while the spirit makes alive. As the historical and literary methods of study have imparted a new beauty and a new significance to the messages of the Old Testament, the same methods will, in like manner, affect the messages of the New Testament. The personal Christ is the _soul_ of the New Testament. In Jesus, righteousness is more than a decalogue or a catalogue to be followed; it is a character to be possessed. In Jesus, God is more than a Divinity to be obeyed; the Infinite Will is an indwelling Spirit,--the soul of man's soul. While the Old Testament never recognizes God as dwelling in man, the New Testament takes the God of Israel and the righteousness of Israel and places them in human life; not as a theory, but as personal experience. This is the old righteousness and the old religion made new. When we say that Jesus is the soul of the New Testament, we have no reference to perplexing questions about how He came or how He went. We mean that the God-filled Jesus is the soul of all the New Testament teachings. The pure, strong Son of God is the lodestone of the Gospels and the Epistles. It is He that draws honest souls into divine fellowship with the Father and His family. To see the character of Jesus in its most lovely aspects, and to feel His love that heals and transforms, is to receive the very best that the New Testament has to give.