Empires rise and fall and are forgotten—There it stands.

Dynasty succeeds dynasty—There it stands.

Kings are crowned and uncrowned—There it stands.

Emperors decree its extermination—There it stands.

Despised and torn to pieces—There it stands.

Storms of hate swirl about it—There it stands.

Atheists rail against it—There it stands.

Agnostics smile cynically—There it stands.

Profane prayerless punsters caricature it—There it stands.

Unbelief abandons it—There it stands.

Higher critics deny its claim to inspiration—There it stands. Thunderbolts of wrath smite it—There it stands.

An anvil that has broken a million hammers—There it stands.

The flames are kindled about it—There it stands.

The arrows of hate are discharged against it—There it stands. Radicalism rants and raves about it—There it stands.

Fogs of sophistry conceal it temporarily—There it stands.

The tooth of time gnaws but dents it not—There it stands.

Infidels predict its abandonment—There it stands.

Modernism tries to explain it away—There it stands.

Devotees of folly denounce it—There it stands.

It is God’s highway to Paradise. It is the light on the pathway in the darkest night. It leads businessmen to integrity and uprightness. It is the great consoler in bereavement. It awakens men and women opiated by sin. It answers every great question of the soul. It solves every great problem of life. It is a fortress often attacked but never failing. Its wisdom is commanding and its logic convincing. Salvation is its watchword. Eternal life its goal. It punctures all pretense. It is forward-looking, outward-looking, and upward-looking. It outlives, outlifts, outloves, outreaches, outranks, outruns all other books. Trust it, love it, obey it, and Eternal Life is yours.

A. Z. Conrad (1855-1937)