Editorials

THE frequent warnings to be found throughout the Scriptures against heedlessness or disobedience, indicate the possibility that men may lose what of truth they have perceived, unless they "hold fast" to it and guard it as a priceless treasure. This is declared in words of solemn import in the book of Deuteronomy, where the curses and the blessings are outlined; and again in Proverbs, where we read that long life and prosperity will be the sure portion of those who seek wisdom from its divine source and then hold it as the one thing of value.

THE eighth chapter of St. John may be thought of as a kind of epitome of the gospel teaching.

IN these days of so much agitation for compulsory "preventive medicine," we find some few things which need explanation. The first of these in pertinence would seem to be, Why this furore, this zeal for the welfare of the public in general, in view of the fact that there is apparently no public demand for the laws which are sought to be passed.

IT is apparent that there can be no state, experience, or event which is not related to and affected by our sense of life, and that the old saying might be fittingly rephrased so that it would read, "As a man thinketh in his heart about life, so is he. " This seen, it follows that when a right sense of life is wanting, everything must inevitably go awry, and this is one explanation of the disharmony, disease, and defeats of human history.

IN the book of Deuteronomy we find many admonitions to the children of Israel to "remember all the way" by which they were led through the wilderness up to the promised land. It is deeply interesting to note the reminiscences of different people in our own day, what they treasure up in memory and what they recall of their past experiences, and it is fair to assume that mortals have not changed their ways of thinking to any great extent since Moses' time, since we may observe everywhere a tendency to dwell upon the bitter things of human experience without gathering the lessons which these teach, even where the divine guidance is at all recognized.

WITH the recurring seasons we have naturally come to associate the springtime with seedtime,—the preparation of the soil and the sowing of the seed, that in due course the harvest may be gathered in. It brings to thought, too, the Master's parable of the sower who "went forth to sow," with its manifold lessons.

Christian Scientists soon discover that the sayings of Christ Jesus must be unreservedly applied to themselves as individuals, and that it matters not to them how much those of another day violated the law of right. The question really is, To what extent are we obeying divine law and thus blessing all mankind? In the Sermon on the Mount we read: "Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven;" also these words: "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

Christian Science teaches that there is and can be no genuine gain without giving; that in every ethical transaction, whether between man and man or between man and God, a just balance must be maintained. The disposition to ignore this morality always means degradation of character, whether expressed in the cleverness of the gambler, the scheming of the stock manipulator, or the ignoble attitude of those beneficiaries of endowed institutions who have been most unwisely educated into a spirit of contented mendicancy.

In a recent issue The Christian Work and Evangelist very pertinently asks, "Have we ever thought of what it means to be a Christian, fully to accept Jesus Christ, take him at his word, believe the New Testament?" This may seem to be a peculiar question to ask of Christian people, but the fact that it has been asked is at least indicative of a wellsettled doubt as to whether professing Christians of the present day are fully accepting Jesus Christ, are really taking him at his word, and entirely believing the New Testament. This in itself is a serious arraignment of the Christian churches, and it is one that merits and requires a serious and definite answer.

In no way, perhaps, has Christian Science more significantly contributed to the advance of Christian thought than in its institution of a higher apprehension of the meaning of law. With a very large number this word has awakened little more than a rather vague sense of an irresistible order of phenomena.