America 250 Semiquincentennial Bible Celebration

This episode of Celebrate the Bible explores the use of comic books to engage young people with Bible stories, particularly focusing on M.C. Gains’ 1940s series, Picture Stories from the Bible, which sold over one million copies. The episode highlights the story of the Tower of Babel from Genesis, discussing its significance.

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PODCAST TRANSCRIPT:

Today on Celebrate the Bible, we’ll take a look at a very unconventional way of bringing the Bible to young people. That method is comic books.

If you are listening to this as a podcast and would like to see the photos for this episode, just go to my WordPress page at celebratethebible250.com. If the story is no longer on the front page, just type the word “comics” into the search box.

Let’s begin:

As far as I’m aware as a collector, Bible stories didn’t appear in traditional comic books before the 1940’s.

A gentleman named Max Gains — more affectionately known as M.C. Gains to comic book aficionados — published a series titled: Picture Stories from the Bible. This series went on to sell over one million copies when it was first published in the 1940’s.

Gains was the founder of a company called EC Comics; and a co-founder of DC Comics. He was also co-publisher of All-American Publications. Through All-American he introduced characters as Green Lantern and Wonder Woman.

For today’s selection, I have an example from one of his Picture Stories of the Bible series. This one deals with what is referred to as the Old Testament in the Christian Holy Bible. The story is one known by many people: The Tower of Babel.

I have this comic book page because I’m a collector of everything to do with the Tower of Babel. I have given presentations covering it, including a display of my collection items. Perhaps I’ll give an online presentation at some point.

For many people this story of the Tower is just a myth. But not so for me. I am a Bible literalist, so — for me — this is an actual historical account … just as with the stories of Creation and the Flood.

It is, of course, taken from the first book of Moses, known as Genesis.

As a side note, did you know that the Nobel prize-winning field of Genetics was named after the Biblical book of Genesis? It was named as such.

What I would like to do is read the comic book page to you. I want to show how well the comic book text follows the Biblical account. If you would like to see for yourself, just open your Bible to Genesis chapter 11.

As follows, from the comic book page that I have:

Stories from the Bible
The Tower of Babel by Creig Flessel

After the flood waters had subsided, the sons of Noah journeyed to the land of Shinar.

Here they mixed mortar, made bricks, and built homes for themselves, for here on the plains they would settle.

Then they said, one to another, “let us raise a tower whose top may reach up to Heaven and make a name for ourselves — lest we be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

And so they bean building the great Tower.

Higher and higher it rose, tier upon tier, reaching for the clouds and Heaven itself.

Then the Lord looked down upon the Tower which the children of men were building and he said, “Behold, the people of the Earth are one people and have one language, and this is just the beginning. Soon, nothing will be too much for them to attempt. Let us go down and confuse their language so that they may not understand one another’s speech.”

And because they could not understand one another’s speech they called the place Babel. And stopped building. To prevent man’s evil from spreading, God divided mankind into nations, speaking these difference languages. Each nation would restrain the other’s wrongdoing, and thus the growth of evil in the world would be checked.

End of page.

So, until we meet again, and for Celebrate the Bible 250, this is Francis Douglas.

If you would like me to give a presentation at your church, school, gallery, or organization, please let me know. My contact information is below.

The topic I cover is the History of the Christian Holy Bible in America.

Your group will not only learn about it. They will also see, on display, pages from the most significant Bibles in American history.

I will be available for Southern New Jersey, Southeastern Pennsylvania, and Northern Delaware.

CONTACT (for presentation inquiries only please):

Available for Southern New Jersey, Southeastern Pennsylvania, and Northern Delaware.