Bible Crusade

>Chicago's Fourth Presbyterian Church displayed a rare 1617 "Breeches Bible," so called because it says that Adam & Eve "sewed figgetree leaves together and made themselves breeches."

>Carson Pirie Scott, a leading Chicago department store, displayed the weatherworn New Testament which Sergeant John Bartek read to buoy up Captain Eddie Rickenbacker and his raftmates adrift on the Pacific.

>Nahigian Brothers' rug store exhibited a 70-lb. Bible, each of its 31,102 verses handwritten by visitors to Chicago's 1933 World's Fair.

>On "L" platforms, in stores, lobbies of office buildings, hung posters showing a helmeted U.S. soldier reading his Bible in a foxhole. Chicagoans were urged to go and do likewise.

Even more arresting was Mayor Edward J. Kelly's proclamation calling upon Chicagoans to "read and study their own Sacred Scriptures." Said Dr. Robert T. Taylor, secretary of the Chicago Bible Society, who presented Mayor Kelly with a Roman Catholic prayer book: "You'd be surprised, how many Bibles there are in City Hall."

This 15-day Bible Crusade was Chicago's special prelude to Bible Sunday, a national event celebrated last Sunday by 55 U.S. Protestant denominations in 120,000 churches. Purpose: to get more people to read the world's most widely read book.

Back of Chicago's drive was a business men's committee headed by Kraft-Cheeseman and Baptist Sunday-school Superintendent James Lewis Kraft. To help, Manhattan's American Bible Society lent one " of its secretaries, handsome Rome Betts, who specializes in publicity drives for the Bible. With Betts came 20 co-workers who made some 200 exhortations, distributed about one million pamphlets (Worthwhile Ways of Reading the Bible, The Bible in the Home). Most popular was The Scripture, containing "Fifteen Loved Chapters." Over 500,000 Chicagoans pledged themselves to read a chapter each day of the Crusade.

For children, Chicago churches held Bible baseball games. There are two teams. Pitcher of the team in field throws a question from a given Bible assignment. If the batter of the opposing team gives the right answer, he goes to base; otherwise he is out. Bible Society Secretary Taylor has added refinements to the game, given each question a particular base-hit value. Examples: What kind of a crown did the soldiers place on Jesus? The answer (thorns) is good for one base. What relation was Annas to Caiaphas? rates a home run if answered: father-in-law. There are sacrifice flies (Give another name for Simon. Answer: Peter), and bunts (Who betrayed Jesus? Answer: Judas). The rules had to be changed when one smart boy pitcher started throwing sacrifice questions for every third out.

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