Editorials

Those individuals who rise above mere scholasticism find their church everywhere, because it is really in Mind, not in matter. Mrs.

Religious people in general are acquainted with the phrase "the promised land," and are accustomed to think of it in the first place as Canaan in the days when the children of Israel under the leadership of Moses and of Joshua were seeking to take possession of it. In the eighth chapter of Deuteronomy we find wonderful promises to those who would keep the divine commandments, and they read as follows: "The Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.

Jesus in his last discourse with his disciples made clear to them that they were not to be orphaned by his going away. He assured them that the unseen agency for blessing would continue to bear witness to him and would bring to remembrance his teachings, and this agency he spoke of as the Comforter, that is, the helper, the very "Spirit of truth" issuing from the Father.

A Great many people are accustomed to think of church and temple as meaning the same thing, yet in studying the Scriptures we find that these words have a different signification. Thoughtful people in general have come to see that the deeper meaning of both must be sought if we are to reach anything of real value to our spiritual unfoldment.

The ancient Greeks called all foreigners barbarians, the Jews classified outsiders as Gentiles and were forbidden by their traditions from associating with them. It was, therefore, a great shock to Peter's racial and religious susceptibilities when he was made to realize that "God is no respecter of persons.

We find that a servant is "an agent who is subject to the direction and control of his principal;" and so when Paul speaks about "being made free from sin, and become servants to God," we understand his metaphysical meaning to be that such a free man is an agent of Principle. The fact is, as the apostle brings out, that every man is the servant of that which he obeys.

The true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world is here, though the darkness comprehends it not. As many as receive that Light are given power to become the sons of God.

What a wonderful series of events we have in the fourth chapter of Matthew, in which Jesus' temptation in the wilderness is presented. The first of these deals with the problem of food, and when the tempter bade Jesus use his mental power, strengthened by a forty days' vigil, to produce bread from a stone, he resolutely refused because with clear vision he could see that man really lives, not by matter but by "every word" of God.

With longing and earnest desire the thoughts of men turn to peace at this time when conflict throughout the world is making confusion. As the hungry long for food and the parched ground for the dew, so do men and women desire to find once more the ways of peace.

A Cynic once said that a man is immortal until death; whereas popular religion declares that his immortality begins then. Certainly no one can be called immortal so long as he lives in the constant expectation of death, even if he believes that he may take up the broken threads of his existence beyond the grave.