Our Goodly Heritage (CBS Television Program)

On November 16, 1952, CBS debuted Our Goodly Heritage, a Sunday morning Bible study broadcast hosted by William Rush Baer of New York University. In the early years of American television, the program helped set a pattern of opening the Lord’s Day with Scripture, prayerful reflection, and moral clarity. At a time when many households were learning how to live with the television set as a new “guest” in the home, this broadcast invited families to let God’s Word be the first voice they heard.

William Rush Baer

Baer brought a steady, thoughtful presence that resisted both showmanship and vagueness. His leadership modeled reverence without retreating from careful teaching, demonstrating that faith is not threatened by honest inquiry, but strengthened by it. In an age eager for novelty, there was a quiet heroism in simple faithfulness: week after week, opening the Bible, speaking plainly, and trusting God to work through ordinary means.

New Media, Old Message

Our Goodly Heritage aired as American life shifted—postwar growth, new suburbs, and new routines. Sunday mornings could easily become another time slot for entertainment, yet this program treated the living room as a place where worship and instruction could take root. It echoed the promise that God uses proclamation to awaken belief: “Consequently, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). For parents seeking to shepherd children, and for viewers without a church home, it offered a doorway into Scripture’s light.

Legacy and Significance

Running a little over five years, the program stands as a witness that emerging tools need not hollow out the soul; they can serve hope when submitted to God. Its enduring lesson is not nostalgia for early television, but confidence in the enduring Word: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). By treating public airwaves as a field for faithful sowing, Our Goodly Heritage encouraged courage, humility, and perseverance—Christian virtues that still strengthen hearts and homes.