Editorials

CHRISTIAN travelers in countries where men still bow down to idols of wood and stone, are sure to experience a mingled sense of humiliation and pity in the presence of such a strikingly manifest subjection of intelligence to nonintelligence, of mind to matter, and they have returned to their native shores with a keener realization of what Christianity has accomplished in doing away with the grosser forms of religious superstition. That the mental attitude behind any type of idolatry is peculiarly degrading and destructive of the moral sense, and thus at war with all true self-interest, is indicated by the fact that the Scripture writers lay so much emphasis upon their condemnation of it.

IN these days of social, economic, and political unrest, the advocates of each particular doctrine, which for the time being holds the stage of public interest, making its bid for popular acceptance and ratification, are inclined to believe that the peace and prosperity of the world, or at least of their own country, depends entirely upon the adoption of the doctrine or measure which has secured their allegiance and support. Without disparagement of any one of these proposed panaceas for so-called public evils, it may be helpful to call attention for the moment to the doctrine of the greatest reformer and philanthropist, the wisest social and political economist the world has ever known, and epitomized in one brief exhortation to his followers: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

WRITING to the Corinthians, and with pertinent reference to the polytheism which shaped the religious thought and practice of their city and nation, Paul said: "To us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him. " This spiritual monism was the fundamental statement of the Hebrew Scriptures, it was the basic teaching of Christ Jesus, and it is the insistent note of Christian Science.

IN the great English classic "In Memoriam," the poet says. — Our little systems have their day; They have their day and cease to be: They are but broken lights of Thee, And Thou, O Lord, art more than they.

THE advent of the Messiah was signalized by the angelic prophecy of peace and good will to the children of men, the "glad tidings" that he whose coming was thus heralded was the long-looked-for "Prince of Peace," through whom God's chosen people were again to possess the kingdom. But when, thirty years later, Jesus entered upon his work of redemption, preaching the coming of the kingdom of God, and healing the multitudes of their sicknesses and infirmities, there were comparatively few who grasped his teaching that the kingdom to which they were heirs was a heavenly one, that it was within themselves, and that the enemies to be subdued before dominion could be declared were the evil thoughts which again and again strove to assert their claim to place and power.

IF there is one thing more than another which calls forth the admiration of all men, it is the calm courage which bravely faces danger and difficulty and endures without murmuring the buffetings of adverse fate. Without characters of this type, the pages of history would be barren of any real interest to the one who desires inspiration for true living, and the wonder is that so few of those who are thrilled in the records of others' heroism are themselves willing to take the steps which lead to a place among the immortals.

IN no respect, perhaps, is the teaching of Christian Science more significant to the advance of religious thought, than in its statement of the nature of evil. Considered from the human point of view, the problem of evil seems to have compassed all times, places, and events, and to have secured the service of all that selfishness and fleshly appetite, the love of power and the pride of life, stand for.

In  Science and Health ( p. 233 ) Mrs.

IF one were to note the things which men think of as having immediately to do with the issues of life, the circumstances, conditions, and possessions to which they look for success and satisfaction, he would find an interesting and reliable basis for human classification. The number of those who pay tribute to the insignificant is surprisingly large, and they give proof thereby that either ignorance or an educated bias has robbed them of a due sense of proportion.

IT is an interesting fact, too little known, that what are termed miracles are rejected by professed Christians almost as much as by those who deny in toto the Scriptural statements and who take the position that miracles would be violations of law, and therefore impossible. It is also interesting to note that the reasons assigned by scholars, philosophers, and natural scientists for their rejection of so-called miracles, are repeated by those who are not acquainted with their writings, but who fail to see that they are thus not only denying revealed truth but placing an entirely needless and foolish limit upon man's possibilities.