The ''Wordless Book'' is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

evangelistic book. Evidence points to it being invented by the famous

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon, in a message given on January 11, 1866. to several hundred orphans regarding Psalm 51:7 "Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." It is called a "

book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

", as it is usually represented with pages, although it can be shown on a single page or banner. The book consists of several blocks of pure color that, in sequence, represent a nonverbal

catechism A catechism (; from , "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of Catholic theology, doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult co ...

about basic Christian teachings for the instruction of children, the illiterate, or people of different cultures.. The presentation of the book is meant to be a verbal experience, however, providing the "reader" a visual cue to expound Christian doctrine extemporaneously or in

impromptu An impromptu (, , loosely meaning "offhand") is a free-form musical composition with the character of an ''ex tempore'' improvisation as if prompted by the spirit of the moment, usually for a solo instrument, such as piano. According to ''Allgeme ...

situations.

Variations on a theme

Spurgeon's concept contained only three colors: "first was black, the second was red, and the third was pure white". *

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

: representing the sinful state of humanity by nature. Usually referred to as the dark page. *

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

: representing the blood of

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. *

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

: representing the perfect

righteousness Righteousness is the quality or state of "being morally right or justifiable" rooted in religious or divine law with a broader spectrum of moral correctness, justice, and virtuous living as dictated by a higher authority or set of spiritual beli ...

that God has given to believers through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ his Son, usually referred to as the clean page. By 1880 at least, the book was being widely used in evangelism among

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...

Sunday school ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

s, and in cross-cultural missions. Different versions came about when Dwight Lyman Moody added another color: gold (after white) – representing

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

– in 1875.

Hudson Taylor James Hudson Taylor (; 21 May 1832 – 3 June 1905) was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China and founder of the OMF International, China Inland Mission (CIM, now OMF International). Taylor spent 54 years in China. The society tha ...

and missionaries of the

China Inland Mission OMF International (formerly Overseas Missionary Fellowship and before 1964 the China Inland Mission) is an international and interdenominational Evangelical Christianity, Christian missionary society with an international centre in Singapore. It ...

used the four-color version in

open-air preaching Open-air preaching, street preaching, or public preaching is the act of evangelizing a religious faith in public places. It is an ancient method of proselytizing a religious or social message and has been used by many cultures and religious trad ...

and individual evangelism. It has been used by missionaries and teachers such as Jennie Faulding Taylor,

Amy Carmichael Amy Beatrice Carmichael (15 December 1867 – 18 January 1951) was an Irish Christian missionary in India who opened an orphanage and founded a mission in Dohnavur. She served in India for 55 years and wrote 35 books about her work as a mission ...

, Fanny Crosby (who was blind), and the modern-day

Child Evangelism Fellowship Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) is an international interdenominational Christian nonprofit organization founded by Jesse Irvin Overholtzer (1877–1955) in 1937 at Berachah Church in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, which, after a split, one moved an ...

, which added a fifth color: green (after white, before gold) – representing one's need to grow in Christ after

salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

. Some modern

Baptists Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

add a sixth color: blue (after white, before green) – representing

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

etc. Blue can also represent faith, placed between red and white.

Color cosmology

The success of the Wordless Book in communicating with East Asian peoples is disputable due to the influence of "color

cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe, the cosmos. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', with the meaning of "a speaking of the wo ...

" (

Wu Xing Wuxing may refer to: Places in China Counties and districts * Huzhou, formerly Wuxing County, Zhejiang, China * Wuxing District (吴兴区), central district of Huzhou Subdistricts (五星街道) * Wuxing Subdistrict, Mudanjiang, in Dong'an Dis ...

) or color psychology in Chinese culture. For example, in Chinese symbolism, red is the color of good luck and success, and is used for decoration and wedding attire (during the traditional half of the wedding ceremony, while the bridal attire in the modern half is usually white). Money in Chinese societies is traditionally given in red packets; while white is the

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

color instead of black.

Different forms

Wordless books have been put into many forms for easy use and insertion into everyday situations. Among these are salvation bracelets and various sports gear, including soccer balls, basketballs, volleyballs and martial arts belts.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * {{Citation , first = James Hudson , last = Taylor , authorlink = Hudson Taylor , title = China's Millions , date = January 1892 , publisher = China Inland Mission , location = London

External links

''The Wordless Book'':
History, Availability, Exposition, and Story

Exposition by

Charles Spurgeon Charles Haddon Spurgeon (19 June 1834 – 31st January 1892) was an English Particular Baptist preacher. Spurgeon remains highly influential among Christians of various denominations, to some of whom he is known as the "Prince of Preachers." ...

1866 non-fiction books Christian missions Christian children's books Evangelical Christian literature 1866 in Christianity English non-fiction literature Religious symbols Christian genres 19th-century Protestantism Wordless books