[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 113 (Thursday, September 21, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8938-S8939]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                          NATIONAL BIBLE WEEK

 Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I am honored to serve as one of this 
year's congressional co-chairs for National Bible Week, sponsored by 
the National Bible Association. This observance occurs during the week 
of November 19-26, 2000, the week during which Thanksgiving Day occurs. 
This is appropriate

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since many Americans will attend houses of worship during that week to 
give thanksgiving.
  As we gather to give thanks, let us remember that ``Man shall not 
live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of 
God.'' (Matthew 4:4) When we try to live by bread alone, we nourish the 
body but starve the mind. Members of Congress are called upon to right 
wrongs and correct injustice. There is no better way for all of us to 
satisfy our hunger and thirst for justice than by ``eating'' the life-
giving spiritual food found in the Bible. By ``eating'' the food of the 
Bible, I mean not just reading and studying the lessons found there, 
but to ponder those messages in our hearts and apply them to our own 
lives. John Quincy Adams, our sixth President, said, ``For years I have 
read the Bible through once a year. I read it every morning, as the 
very best way to begin the day.''
  We are all very busy people. Many of us think we do not have time to 
read the Bible every day. D. L. Moody once answered this common excuse 
by saying, ``My friend, if you are too busy to read the Bible every day 
you are busier than Almighty God ever intended any human being should 
be and you had better let some things go and take time to read the 
Bible.''
  The Bible has always been more than a doctrinal source book or a 
compendium of theological beliefs. People have turned to it time and 
time again for comfort, encouragement, guidance and direction. I have 
my Bible on my desk. Woodrow Wilson, our twenty-eighth President, said, 
``I am sorry for the men who do not read the Bible every day. I wonder 
why they deprive themselves of the strength and of the pleasure.''
  Read the Bible. Study the Bible. Ponder the messages contained in the 
Bible. By doing this you will learn of God's will for your life. Apply 
those message to your life and you will learn that there is salvation, 
there is forgiveness of sins and there is the hope of eternal life in 
the presence of God.

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