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Literary
August 4, 1932
Western News And The Libby Times
Libby, Lincoln County, Montana
What is this article about?
A boy's childhood rebellion against stern religious teachings evolves into an adult's rediscovery of Jesus as a strong, successful leader who built a world-conquering organization, inspiring the man to write a book about him. Serialized in newspaper by Bruce Barton.
Clipping
OCR Quality
80%
Good
Full Text
The little boy's body sat bolt upright in the rough wooden chair, but his mind was very busy.
This was his weekly hour of revolt.
The kindly lady who could never seem to find her glasses would have been terribly shocked if she had known what was going on inside the little boy's mind.
"You must love Jesus," she said every Sunday, "and God."
The little boy did not say anything. He was afraid to say anything; he was almost afraid that something would happen to him because of the things he thought.
Love God! Who was always picking on people for having a good time, and sending little boys to hell because they couldn't do better in a world which he had made so hard!
Why didn't God take some one his own size?
Love Jesus! The little boy looked up at the picture which hung on the Sunday-school wall. It showed a pale young man with flabby forearms and a sad expression. The young man had red whiskers.
Then the little boy looked across to the other wall. There was Daniel, good old Daniel, standing off the lions. The little boy liked Daniel. He liked David, too, with the trusty sling that landed a stone square on the forehead of Goliath.
Sunday was Jesus' day; it was wrong to feel comfortable or laugh on Sunday.
The little boy was glad when the superintendent thumped the bell and announced: "We will now sing the closing hymn."
Years went by and the boy grew up and became a business man.
He began to wonder about Jesus.
He said to himself:
"Only strong magnetic men inspire great enthusiasm and build great organizations. Yet Jesus built the greatest organization of all. It is extraordinary."
He said, "I will read what the men who knew Jesus personally said about him. I will read about him as though he were a new historical character, about whom I had never heard anything at all."
The man was amazed.
A physical weakling! Where did they get that idea? Jesus pushed a plane and swung an adze; he was a successful carpenter. He slept outdoors and spent his days walking around his favorite lake. His muscles were so strong that when he drove the money-changers out, nobody dared to oppose him!
A kill-joy! He was the most popular dinner guest in Jerusalem!
A failure! He picked up twelve men from the bottom ranks of business and forged them into an organization that conquered the world.
When the man had finished his reading he exclaimed. "This is a man nobody knows."
"Some day," said he, "some one will write a book about Jesus."
So the man waited for some one to write the book, but no one did. Instead, more books were published about the "Lamb of God" who was weak and unhappy and glad to die.
The man became impatient.
One day he said, "I believe I will try to write that story, myself."
And he did.
[OCR garble: dea-to write that story. You will y... a sequence of weekly chap- ld and inspire you ... These chap- VEoK in this newspaper. .. Look d them;]
BY BRUCE BARTON
This was his weekly hour of revolt.
The kindly lady who could never seem to find her glasses would have been terribly shocked if she had known what was going on inside the little boy's mind.
"You must love Jesus," she said every Sunday, "and God."
The little boy did not say anything. He was afraid to say anything; he was almost afraid that something would happen to him because of the things he thought.
Love God! Who was always picking on people for having a good time, and sending little boys to hell because they couldn't do better in a world which he had made so hard!
Why didn't God take some one his own size?
Love Jesus! The little boy looked up at the picture which hung on the Sunday-school wall. It showed a pale young man with flabby forearms and a sad expression. The young man had red whiskers.
Then the little boy looked across to the other wall. There was Daniel, good old Daniel, standing off the lions. The little boy liked Daniel. He liked David, too, with the trusty sling that landed a stone square on the forehead of Goliath.
Sunday was Jesus' day; it was wrong to feel comfortable or laugh on Sunday.
The little boy was glad when the superintendent thumped the bell and announced: "We will now sing the closing hymn."
Years went by and the boy grew up and became a business man.
He began to wonder about Jesus.
He said to himself:
"Only strong magnetic men inspire great enthusiasm and build great organizations. Yet Jesus built the greatest organization of all. It is extraordinary."
He said, "I will read what the men who knew Jesus personally said about him. I will read about him as though he were a new historical character, about whom I had never heard anything at all."
The man was amazed.
A physical weakling! Where did they get that idea? Jesus pushed a plane and swung an adze; he was a successful carpenter. He slept outdoors and spent his days walking around his favorite lake. His muscles were so strong that when he drove the money-changers out, nobody dared to oppose him!
A kill-joy! He was the most popular dinner guest in Jerusalem!
A failure! He picked up twelve men from the bottom ranks of business and forged them into an organization that conquered the world.
When the man had finished his reading he exclaimed. "This is a man nobody knows."
"Some day," said he, "some one will write a book about Jesus."
So the man waited for some one to write the book, but no one did. Instead, more books were published about the "Lamb of God" who was weak and unhappy and glad to die.
The man became impatient.
One day he said, "I believe I will try to write that story, myself."
And he did.
[OCR garble: dea-to write that story. You will y... a sequence of weekly chap- ld and inspire you ... These chap- VEoK in this newspaper. .. Look d them;]
BY BRUCE BARTON
What sub-type of article is it?
Prose Fiction
What themes does it cover?
Religious
Moral Virtue
What keywords are associated?
Jesus
Sunday School
Religious Doubt
Leadership
Bruce Barton
The Man Nobody Knows
What entities or persons were involved?
By Bruce Barton
Literary Details
Author
By Bruce Barton
Form / Style
Narrative Sketch
Key Lines
"This Is A Man Nobody Knows."
"Only Strong Magnetic Men Inspire Great Enthusiasm And Build Great Organizations. Yet Jesus Built The Greatest Organization Of All. It Is Extraordinary."
Love God! Who Was Always Picking On People For Having A Good Time, And Sending Little Boys To Hell Because They Couldn't Do Better In A World Which He Had Made So Hard!