Religion: A Potterism

Unitarian Charles F. Potter’s contribution to the headlines last week was a proposal for an All-American Bible wherein American heroes and heroines would be substituted for Jewish, and wherein the writings of great Americans would become canonized. Thus for Jesus, substitute Lincoln; for Deborah (prophetess and campaigner against social wrongs), substitute Jane Addams; for Isaiah, Tom Paine or Thomas Jefferson; for the Psalms, our native verse. “If we are to have the Bible taught in our American schools, let it be the American Bible!” This proposal became at once the butt of many a merry jest.

When John Roach Straton, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, Manhattan, learned that Dr. Potter was planning to radio-broadcast his principles he cried : “If that fellow Potter keeps on I’ll have to get out a warrant for his arrest on a charge of grand larceny. He cribbed my idea of a Christian hotel and, like young Lochinvar, ran boldly away with it before we even had time to catch our breath after the first announcement of the project. Now he has just dodged into the limelight with the idea of broadcasting the Bible. We originated this at Calvary Church some months back. Potter is a pilferer !”