The Young Man and His Bible.
N.P. [self-published?], 1926. 7½” x 5”. Stapled wrappers. Pp. 192. Very good: moderate wear and dust soiling to wrappers; small losses at spine tips; a couple small spots of surface loss to the title page.
This is an unrecorded book by a Black author which simultaneously promoted and taught Bible study. We find nothing in secondary sources about Louis R.W. Johnson but contemporary newspapers show he graduated from Lincoln University in 1902 and was the pastor of the Court Street Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia, from 1908 to 1919. As of 1926 Johnson was the editorial secretary for the BYPU and a member of the Faculty of The American Baptist Theological Seminary.
Based on the book's forewords, this text was born after Johnson wrote an article under the same title that was published in 1917 and,
“since the time of the appearance of the article many have been the letters complimentary, requesting that the same be put in pamphlet form for wider distribution. But it seemed too short to be pamphleted. Therefore, we have attempted a little enlargement . . . our aim is simply to get the young people to see the Bible from an easy, helpful viewpoint. If from the study of these chapters they but fall into greater love with the Bible itself, we shall not have shot at random.”
The book is broken up into 24 chapters including how the Bible was made up, the Bible as literature, the Bible and civil law, “Gospel Truths from the Chemist's Table,” and “Science the Bible, and the Young Man.” An excerpt from “The Bible and the Races”:
“You have, perhaps, heard it said, that the name Africa does not appear in the scriptures. Well, so let that be; and it is natural, for the word Africa is a latin or Roman word from Afer, Afri; Africus, a, um. We know that the Romans did not have anything to do with the making of the Bible; therefore their title or appellation for Africa could not have been inserted.”
A previously unknown African American Bible study guide. OCLC and Google searches reveal no copies. Very good. Item #8499
Price: $1,750.00