Life, 1926-04-01 · page 18 of 46
Life — April 1, 1926 — page 18: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes religious conversion through a humorous narrative. The comic panels show a man's transformation from atheist to Bible-buyer after a clever bookstore clerk's sales pitch. The satire targets both casual atheism and consumerist religion. The protagonist initially dismisses the Bible, but becomes enchanted when shown "The Busy Man's Bible"—a handsomely bound, illustrated abridgment marketed as practical and accessible. The joke centers on how commercial packaging and salesmanship convert him, not genuine spiritual conviction. The dialogue emphasizes material aspects: the book's attractive binding, its "three hundred and fifty-six pages," and the clerk's persuasive marketing. The final panels mock consumerist behavior—the narrator frantically searches bookstores for specific Bible editions, treating religion as a consumer product rather than a meaningful belief system. The satire suggests early-20th-century American religion had become commodified.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
- LIFE - So Softly Burns Bituminous a certain pleasure, but WAS an atheist. Yes. My skepti- cism gave me this wa not complete, You see, I had never read the Bible. At ler felt that I must do so. I wou chase a copy, digest and in the process of digestion reduce the stuff to the essential absurdity I knew it must be 28 I should become a con- nt out-and-c unbeliever. “I want a Bible,” I told the clerk at the bookseller’s. He smiled pleasantly. “Here you are—the best thing in the field.” The book was handsomely bound, handsomely colored—I shan't deny that. But its cover read: ANCE or THE Brave Van Lunken” “Three hundred and fifty-six pages— clever drawings by the author,” the clerk was saying persuasively. “Plain language. . .reads like a newspaper, livelier Five dollars.” “But I want a Bible,” said I, “—the — How | Got Religion kind you sce in church, or in the parlor “Yes, but I want a— on Si “H field,” th fervor, The clerk smiled graciou: “I understand. Now, here’s just the for you. ‘The Busy Man's Bible,’ see. One hundred and forty-seven id plenty of pic- delicious, Read it another sensation in the Jerk went on with growing ld three hundred thou strong. ‘The Plain Man's Bible’ by — tures. It's positivel Jacob Van Truss. One of the most a voks I've ever read. Sane Bible—the—the King r I cried firmly, The clerk smiled again. “Look—here's someth —tabloid—written so even a could enjoy it Take it home—read it to the kiddies...” that'll open your eyes. ‘The Straphanger’s Bible.’ Clever titke—what? It’s of the—" I fu e place. At the end of three hou had visited all the bookstores in town. I had been offered “The Romance of the Bible,” “The Straphanger’s Bible,” “The Busy Man's Bible,” *‘The Pla: Man's Bibl The Pl. Woman's Bible,” and what not. The King James Bible was nowhere in ste ig myself out of t s or so I a ar i I took b spring coat of » store and bought y of sitk pajamas in inally I had an idea. I registered at a leading hotel, and burst into my room with the bellboy at my heels. But two-thir of the pages in the comicbooks.com