The Biography of The Bible

Ernest Sutherland Bates (1879-1939)Knox County’s Ernest Sutherland Bates is introduced by Twentieth Century Authors as an “American biographer, historian, and educator.” He is further described as an “advocate of free speech, a respected critic, whose writings were lucid, readable, and soundly considered.” From his writings it is obvious that he had a vital interest in religion and the Bible.Bates was born in Gambier, Ohio, in 1879, the son of Cyrus and Lavern (Sutherland) Bates. His academic education includes A.B. and A.M. degrees from the University of Michigan. He taught English at Oberlin College from 1903 to 1905, and in 1908 received a PhD from Columbia University. Bates taught English and Philosophy at the University of Arizona from 1908 to 1915 and at the University of Oregon from 1915 to 1925. He resigned from the University of Oregon in 1925 over a free speech controversy, and moved with his family to New York. He spent the rest of his life in journalism and writing.His career included many assignments in the literary world. He was the literary editor of the Dictionary of American Biography, associate editor of Modern Monthly, and staff member of the Saturday Review of Literature. Ernest Sutherland Bates died in 1939 of a sudden heart attack a few minutes after finishing the last page of his book, American Faith.His writings include the following books:American Faith/Its Religious, Political, and Economic Foundations. 1940The American Hurley-Burley (with A. Williams). 1937The Bible Designed to be Read as Living Literature (ed.). 1936The Biography of the Bible (Life of the Bible). 1937The Four Gospels (ed.). 1932The Friend of Jesus (The Gospel According to Judas Iscariot). 1925The Gospel According to Judas Iscariot (The Friend of Jesus). 1929Hurst: Lord of San Simeon (with O. Carlson). 1936This Land of Liberty. 1930Life of the Bible (The Biography of the Bible). 1953Mary Baker Eddy: The Truth and the Tradition. 1932The Pageant of the States. 1938The Pocket Bible (ed.). 1951Oxford Companion to American Literature (ed.). 1956The Story of Congress 1789-1935. 1936The Story of the Supreme Court. 1936A Study of Shelley’s Drama. 1908Touring in 1600. 1911