Christian Science: The Truth about God and Man Which
Produces Peace
Gavin W. Allan, C.S.B., of
Member of the Board of Lectureship of The
Introduction
Delivered in Convention Hall,
Friends:
It is my privilege on behalf of
First Church of Christ, Scientist,
"As adherents of Truth, we
take the inspired Word of the Bible as our sufficient guide to eternal
Life," This is the first tenet of our Church, and is found to be a mighty weapon
in this present world-wide turmoil. This promise or rule can be applied to each
and every experience of daily living, and is the remedy for all fear.
Aggressive mental suggestion has
come forth in final combat, determined to rule or ruin; but Isaiah tells us the
government shall be upon the shoulders of the right idea, or Prince of Peace,
as expressed in Christian Science; and this idea shall prevail against the
dragon, or world resistance to the Truth.
Hypnotic human will or belief of
intelligence apart from God, may seem to dictate for a season, but John the
Revelator foresaw that it would prove its inability of defying immortal Mind,
or interfering with the harmony of man; for man is spiritually free; a
reflector of all that is beautiful, good, pure, and fine in character, not in
bondage to conceit, falsehood, or barbarism; he is complete and satisfied.
We have with us this evening a
guest who is amply qualified to tell you of these truths about God and man. May
I present Gavin W. Allan, C.S.B., of
The Lecture
Peace is a subject in which
everyone is interested. It is one of those subjects about which many people say
much, but, unfortunately, do little. Most persons think of peace as a cessation
of hostilities between nations, as an absence of war. Peace may have, however,
a more intimate signification. Peace, like charity, begins at home. There may
be, for example, individual peace, peace of mind. In this connection
Is such a peace a human need
today? Ask anyone. You will be told that, because discord in some form seems to
have come into the experience of everyone, peace is unquestionably a human need.
Every human being has a problem, and the person with a problem on his hands is
the one to whom Christian Science makes its appeal. The person with a problem
is looking for something which will help him to solve it, and the more pressing
the need, the greater his effort to find a remedy.
If, as I have said, we all have
problems, and if we admit our helplessness to solve our problems by human
methods alone, then there is a place in human affairs for an understanding that
shall be equal to the human need.
The student of Christian Science
is convinced that the Principle by which any human problem can be solved has
been revealed through Christian Science. So, whatever the discord may be, he
devotes himself to the gaining of a better understanding of God through a
diligent study of the Bible and the Christian Science textbook, "Science
and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy, and so doing he
finds his way out of the tangle of his troubles just as fast and as far as he
obeys the truth he sees.
The omnipotence and omnipresence
of God, understood, is the remedy for every human discord; and to the one who
is struggling with any phase of error Christian Science offers relief, and
healing, and peace.
But let us go back a bit. We were
speaking of the evils which seem to invade human experience. Where do they come
from? What is their source? Where do they originate?
Origin of Evil
Let me illustrate. Suppose, for
example, that a friend rushed into your house some night and besought your protection
and help. You saw that he was flushed and trembling and evidently fearing some
pursuer who was not in sight; and upon inquiry as to what was his trouble, he
told you that he had been chased by a ghost up in the park. Now, what was his
trouble, and what will set it right?
If you know there is no such thing
as a ghost, you will be in a position not only to detect his trouble but to
help him. You will see that his plight arose from supposition. True, he may
have seen some reflected moonlight or a newspaper, but he is not afraid of
either of these. He supposed it to be something else. Then he believed that
that something had life to chase him, intelligence to follow him, and power to
harm him, or he would not have run. Then he became afraid and ran, and at the
time you saw him he was manifesting some of fear's effects, which might have
resulted in sickness, or even death.
In this story we have an
illustration of the whole process of evil's supposed inception and
development. First, a supposition: a supposition that there is something beside
God and His good creation. Second, a belief: a belief that that something has
life and intelligence. Third, a fear: a fear that it can harm us. Fourth, the
effects of that fear.
Now, before we go any farther I
should like to ask, How would you heal this friend of yours? He is evidently
quite disturbed. How would you pacify him or heal him? Would you go about it
this way? Would you wipe away his perspiration, paint his face a normal color,
and attempt by some mechanical means to adjust the beating of his heart? Would
that heal him? Remember his disease is not perspiration or palpitation. It is a
belief in and fear of ghosts. No, that treatment will not heal him. But if,
through your knowledge of the truth about ghosts, your desire to help your
friend, and his desire and willingness to be helped, you assist him to see and
accept that which is true, he will be freed not only from the false belief, but
from the effects also.
Another question. How long will it
take to heal him? The very moment your friend really accepts the truth about
the event he will be healed. Just so it is with the healing of sickness. It can
disappear as readily as darkness before light. When under the light of Truth
one sees the folly, the unreality of his false belief, turns from it, and
wholeheartedly accepts in its place that which is eternally true, he can be
free. I have known it to occur. I know a number of people who have been healed within
a few minutes, even after the disease had been pronounced incurable.
It is true that in many instances
healings have been slow, due possibly to a lack of receptivity on the part of
the patient, or a lack of understanding on the part of the practitioner. Such
failure should not be attributed to Christian Science. It is due to our lack of
spirituality, of spiritual growth. Every delayed healing, however, urges us to
press on; for as our textbook points out (p. 368), "When we come to have
more faith in the truth of being than we have in error, more faith in Spirit than
in matter, more faith in living than in dying, more faith in God than in man,
then no material suppositions can prevent us from healing the sick and
destroying error." However meager may be our present perception of the
great truths about God and man, does not this statement urge us to press
diligently on?
"The Christian Scientist has
enlisted to lessen evil, disease, and death" (Science and Health, p. 450).
Mrs. Eddy does not say the Christian Science practitioner. She says, "the
Christian Scientist." Every Christian Scientist "has enlisted to
lessen evil." How can this be done? In only one way: through a knowledge
of the absolute truth about God and man. You remember in the illustration we
used a few moments ago you were able to help your friend through your knowledge
of the truth about ghosts, your knowledge of their unreality. So you will be
able to help your fellowmen to overcome their fears of disease through an
understanding of the absolute truth about man, an understanding of the
unreality of disease, in a word, an understanding of Christian Science.
You see there may be a vast
difference between what men appear to be, and what man really is. Appearances
are deceptive. Let me illustrate. Suppose that you were out for a stroll with a
group of children, and came to a pond out of which slanted a straight stick,
partly in and partly out of the water, and the children exclaimed: "Oh,
look at the stick. See how it is bent just at the top of the water!" And
you say, "Yes. It appears to be bent." "Appears to
be," they say; "don't you see that it is bent?"
"Yes," you say; "it appears to be; but I have been studying a
science which deals with just such an occurrence, and I know that the apparent
bend is not in the stick." That is to say, you reach your conclusion not from
the appearance, but from the standpoint of the science you have been studying;
and you could stand before that stick with all its apparent bend, and say,
"I know you are a straight stick." In other words, you saw the
straightness of the stick, not in the appearance, but in the natural science
that related to the situation.
Now you and I are going to judge
men in either of these two ways: either from appearance, whereby we may
conclude that they are material beings, discordant, diseased, and mortal, or from
the standpoint of the Science which relates to man, the first Scriptural
statement of which is, "God created man in his own image, in the image of
God created he him; male and female created he them."
You do not doubt that Jesus knew
this, knew that man is the very image of God. Was it not through just such
knowing, such righteous knowing, that his healing work was done? Hear this
statement from our textbook (pp. 476, 477): "Jesus beheld in Science the
perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals.
In this perfect man the Saviour saw God's own likeness, and this correct view
of man healed the sick."
Health, happiness, and peace are
normal conditions for man; and because this is true they can be brought into
the experience of each one of us. Someone has said, "All the water in the
world cannot sink a boat unless it gets inside the boat." So all
the evil in the world cannot sink a person unless it gets inside his
mind. In this connection how pertinent is Mrs. Eddy's admonition (The First
Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p.210): "Beloved Christian
Scientists, keep your minds so filled with Truth and Love, that sin, disease,
and death cannot enter them. It is plain that nothing can be added to the mind
already full. There is no door through which evil can enter, and no space for
evil to fill in a mind filled with goodness. Good thoughts are an impervious
armor; clad therewith you are completely shielded from the attacks of error of
every sort. And not only yourselves are safe, but all whom your thoughts rest
upon are thereby benefited."
God's Will
You may have heard it said
regarding some difficult experience, whether it was an illness against which
the person had been contending, or an inharmonious environment which had been
wearing on his sensibilities, "This is God's will, and I must resign
myself to it." How did it ever come about that distressing situations were
attributed to the will of God? Was it because that which is difficult to
endure is supposed to be good for one? As a child said about some medicine he
was told to take, "This must be awfully good for me, it tastes so
bad." Or, was it because that which could not be satisfactorily explained,
was attributed to God?
In this age Mary Baker Eddy has
revealed God's will clearly. Let us review briefly her experience. Those of you
who are acquainted with the events which attended the beginning of the
Christian Science movement may recall that on the evening of Thursday, February
1, 1866, Mrs. Eddy was on her way, with a group of friends, to a Good Templars'
meeting in Lynn, Massachusetts; that she fell upon the icy street and was
severely injured; that the doctor who was called by her friends found her
injuries to be internal and of a serious nature; and that she was removed to
her home the following day, though in a very critical condition.
On Sunday she called for her Bible
and began reading the account of the healing, by Jesus, of the palsied man, and
as she read she had a great spiritual experience - the
realization then and there of the presence and power of God.
In that moment all pain vanished. She rose from her bed, dressed, and walked
into the parlor where her clergyman and a few friends were waiting. In that moment,
Mrs. Eddy did more than experience a relief from physical suffering. She
received a revelation of God and His will for which she had been fitting
herself for many years.
During a number of years previous
to this time Mrs. Eddy had been at times quite ill, and had tried in various
ways to recover her health, but when she found herself in a condition which
"neither medicine nor surgery could reach" (Retrospection and
Introspection, p. 24), she turned to the Bible to study the healings of our
Master. There was the record of Jesus' healing "all manner of sickness and
all manner of disease among the people," and the question doubtless arose
in her mind. In thus healing the sick, was Jesus acting in defiance of, or in
accordance with, God's law? She thought this question through to its logical conclusion,
and has given us the answer in our textbook. This is it (p. 168): "Because
man-made systems insist that man becomes sick and useless, suffers and dies,
all in consonance with the laws of God, are we to believe it? Are we to believe
an authority which denies God's spiritual command relating to perfection, - an
authority which Jesus proved to be false? He did the will of the Father. He
healed sickness in defiance of what is called material law, but in accordance
with God's law, the law of Mind."
When the truth about God and His
will dawned upon Mrs. Eddy, it revealed the infinite goodness and love of God,
and dispelled any false belief that God was the producer of sickness, or that
it was any part of His plan. It revealed also that evil of every kind is not of
God, and is therefore destructible, unreal. Mrs. Eddy then accepted the
spiritual fact about herself that she was well; and the result was, as she
tells us in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 24), "I rose, dressed
myself, and ever after was in better health than I had before enjoyed."
Mrs. Eddy then began to put her
new-found understanding of God to the test. One of her earliest demonstrations
was the healing of a boy of what was called a bone felon. Shortly thereafter
she healed a young man of fever, and a little later a woman who had not walked
for sixteen years. If you would like to read about these you will find them in
"The Life of Mary Baker Eddy" by Sibyl Wilbur. She proved that health
and peace are natural and normal conditions for man.
God's will concerning man is not,
then, something terrible from which we should shrink, but something glorious
toward which we should aspire. To one who is equipped with an understanding of
God and man as revealed to the world today through Christian Science, "Thy
will be done" becomes no longer a sigh of resignation, but a challenge to
anything and everything which would attempt to preclude its realization. The
Christian Scientist therefore joyously prays daily, as outlined in the Manual
of The Mother Church (p. 41),
" 'Thy kingdom come;' let the reign of divine Truth,
Life, and Love be established in me, and rule out of me all sin; and may Thy
Word enrich the affections of all mankind, and govern them!"
Society
But to return to the subject of
"peace." We human beings do not live unto ourselves. We live with
others, in families, in communities, in nations; and in such groups peace is a
requisite. So much so indeed that our Master left this definite command,
"Have peace one with another." Paul in his letter to the Romans
referred more than once to the duty of the individual to maintain peace with
his fellow men. I quote from Moffatt's translation (Romans
In the past warmakers have been
praised and honored for their defense of home and fatherland, but it is the
peacemakers more than the warmakers who defend the community or the country.
Peacemakers strike at the very root of the discord and destroy it in its
inception. Were we all to follow our Leader's example, what a power for peace
we should be! Hear this quotation from one of her books (Miscellany, p. 220):
"Each day I pray for the pacification of all national difficulties, for
the brotherhood of man, for the end of idolatry and infidelity, and for the
growth and establishment of Christian religion - Christ's Christianity."
Religion is not confined to the
family, the community, or even the nation, it overleaps them all. Even nationalism
is not humanity's ultimate vision. The concern of religion is not with
nationalism, it is with humanity. It goes beyond race, creed, or boundaries.
Its domain is the world of humanity's needs.
In our relationship with each
other today, what a need there is for vision - vision of what is eternally
true. That alone can save us from belief in the discordant and untrue. The
writer of the Proverbs warns us, "Where there is no vision, the people perish."
"Perish" means "break up" or "go to pieces," like
a doll that has been left out in the rain overnight and has become undone. The
pieces are all there, but they have lost cohesion. The only thing that really
unites people is an understanding of God. As Mrs. Eddy has pointed out in our
textbook (p. 340), "One infinite God, good, unifies men and nations;
constitutes the brotherhood of man;" etc. Only a spiritual understanding
of the brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God can truly bring men to live
and work together as they should. To illustrate. The nearer the spokes of a
wheel get to the hub, the closer they get to each other. So in life the closer
individuals get to God, the closer they get to each other. This is "the
tie that binds," spiritual understanding.
In human relations, strange as it
may seem, the way to peace is frequently by warfare, true warfare, warfare with
evil, warfare with self. In this connection Mrs. Eddy has written
(Miscellaneous Writings, p. 118), "Be of good cheer; the warfare with
one's self is grand; it gives one plenty of employment, and the divine
Principle worketh with you, - and obedience crowns persistent effort with
everlasting victory."
Jesus said, "A man's foes
shall be they of his own household." This does not mean that his foes
shall be the other members of his family, but that his foes may be found in his
own mental home, in his own mentality. In other words, his enemies are wrong
thoughts, false beliefs, evil suggestions. Because his enemy is not a person, but
evil itself, the only place he can handle it successfully is where it appears
to present itself - in his own thinking. Now we see what Mrs. Eddy meant in the
passage we quoted a few moments ago, "The warfare with one's self is
grand; it gives one plenty of employment." Indeed it will give us so much
to do we shall have no time to condemn others.
The "Rule for Motives and
Acts" (Church Manual, p. 40), which is read in all Christian Science
churches once a month, urges us to resist the temptation to judge erroneously,
to criticize destructively. But this does not imply that we should stop
criticizing. To criticize means to estimate, to choose, to separate. So
criticism rightly exercised is a good thing. It is essential to progress. Indeed
you might as well ask a man to stop thinking as to stop criticizing, because
every idea that comes into the realm of consciousness must and does pass before
the judgment seat of the human mind. Our Master instructed us to "judge
not according to the appearance," but to "judge righteous
judgment"; and the difference between what might be called destructive
criticism and constructive criticism lies largely in the motive behind it.
While what is called destructive criticism separates the evil from the good, it
dismisses the good and remembers the evil. It stresses the fault. It dwells
upon the failure. It is always personal. Constructive criticism, on the other hand,
is impersonal. It points to a fault only that it may be remedied. It rejoices
in the correction of anything wrong. It judges by pointing out a better way.
It, too, separates the evil from the good, dismisses the evil and remembers and
exalts the good. This is the judgment Christian Science is urging us to
exercise every moment of every day, in order that evil be ruled out, not only from
our doings, but from our thoughts of men, of ourselves or of our fellowmen. You
see Christian Science not only holds before us a standard, but it is showing
its students how to reach it.
We human beings have been educated
to believe that good and evil are personal; that good belongs to some persons,
and evil to others. So a few individuals are thought of as little less than
gods, and others as something akin to devils. But Christian Science is showing
us that the good qualities we see in our friends do not originate with them,
but are reflected by them. They come from the source of all good, God.
Likewise, the evil qualities which seem to be manifested by some are not
created by them. Such persons are simply allowing themselves to be temporarily
controlled by what Paul called "the carnal mind." When we awaken to
see the impersonal nature of good and evil, we shall recognize the futility of
fighting each other in order to destroy an impersonal evil.
Every human being must deal with
the belief that evil is present in human consciousness, and he must deal with
it either from the basis that it is true or that it is false. Many people deal
with evil as something that is real and true. The Christian Scientist has
chosen to deal with evil as something God did not make, hence neither real nor
true. Let us see how our Master dealt with it. Was it the purpose of Jesus'
mission to support the claim of evil's reality, or to deny it? To make
something of it, or to make nothing of it? Did not his every act tend to prove
that man is designed to be free from every phase of evil?
But someone may say, Did not our
Master say quite definitely that he "came not to send peace, but a sword?"
Yes, as our textbook points out (p. 19), "His teaching set households at
variance, and brought to material beliefs not peace, but a sword." Jesus
statement shows the conflict between materiality and spirituality which every
one of us must face. His teachings were revolutionary.
This reminds me of a story told by
a well-known writer. Two young sisters were having an argument about which was
the last book of the Bible, and one was heard to exclaim, "Barbara, I tell
you the Bible does not end in Timothy; it ends in Revolutions." And
I am sure you will admit that history confirms the fact thus unwittingly
stated. Yes, the teachings of our Master are revolutionary. They demand a
complete transformation of our mental outlook. Paul puts it thus, "Be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good,
and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
But to continue our discussion of
the necessity of peace between individuals. Our word "family" is
derived from a Latin word meaning "servant." May not this imply that
a true sense of "home" rests upon mutual obligations, and their
fulfillment through love? In dealing with errors which claim to disturb our
homes, the utmost tact may be found necessary. Tact does not imply, as many
people believe, deceit or flattery. Webster defines "tact" as "sensitive
mental perception; nice discernment of the best course of action under given
conditions; esp., ability to deal with others without giving offense." We
shall best succeed in helping others to correct faults of disposition if we
regard the error impersonally, that is, if we do not attach it to the person,
but recognize it as a falsity which is claiming power to express itself through
someone. Then we may be able to show the individual the utter powerlessness of
the temptation, and his God-given power to resist and overthrow it.
Thus our "sensitive mental
perception," which is an outgrowth of our understanding of Christian
Science, will enable us to "deal with others without giving offense."
In other words, we shall prove our God-given ability to promote harmony and
peace in our own homes. In such endeavors to assist our friends in overcoming
faults of disposition, or mental or physical distresses, how pertinent are the
words of A. E. Hamilton which our Leader has quoted with approbation in
"Retrospection and Introspection" (p. 95):
"Ask God to give thee skill
In comfort's art:
That thou may'st consecrated be
And set apart
Unto a life of sympathy.
For heavy is the weight of ill
In every heart;
And comforters are needed much
Of Christlike touch."
Nations
The interest of the individual
should, however, extend to an even wider circle - the nation. However distant
he may be from his country's capital he may be informed these days by newspaper
or radio not only of national but of world events. Today the thoughts of the individual
encompass the world. Too seldom do we recognize that world affairs are only an
expression of humanity's thoughts. Whether the world is passing through what is
called a crisis, or is for the time at peace, these conditions are but an
expression of the mentality of human beings. If today every human being in the
world were to go to sleep for a week, there would be a complete cessation of
international complications, notwithstanding the fact that not a single thing
has been altered except that men's thoughts had been stilled. War is a state of
mind. The world's state is a mental state, with a mental cause, and requiring a
mental remedy.
If you were asked today, What are
the causes of war? you would not likely say, guns, planes, and bombs. Rather
would you say fear, greed, pride, jealousy, or hatred. These are mental
qualities. So the question comes home to each one of us: Am I in any way
contributing to the cause of war? Am I guilty of war? The answer to that
question is, If I am expressing such qualities, I am in that measure
contributing to the cause of war. In this connection a newspaper correspondent
has said: "Before I thought of this I could complacently blame someone
else, and feel that I could not possibly be held responsible for what they did,
but now I must set about putting my own house in order, - a task that will give
me no spare time. . . . Guns, battleships, airplanes and shells could cause no
war if there were no war-thoughts in existence." But while such thoughts
continue to exist there may be wars, with sticks and stones, even though all
other weapons had been destroyed. Would it not, then, be a great contribution
to the cause of world peace were you and I to begin right now to eliminate from
our minds all war-producing thoughts? This is not only within our power, but it
is one of the most practical contributions we are privileged to make.
Because there are boundary lines
between countries they need not necessarily bristle with bayonets, or be lined
with fortifications. The North American continent has proved this. Between the
Disputes over boundary lines,
especially between farms, have been frequent in newly settled districts. This
reminds me of such a dispute between two farmers some years ago. It had been a
source of bitterness and loss to both of them for years. Finally one of the
farmers decided that he would obey Jesus' admonition as recorded in Matthew
5:41, "Whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain."
And further he determined that he would no longer continue to harbor any ill
will toward his neighbor. The next day they chanced to meet at the line fence,
and the neighbor again demanded that the fence be moved. "Where do you
think the fence should be?" said the farmer. "Well," said the
neighbor, "it is two feet on my land at this end, and one foot at the
other, and I am going to move it." "All right," said the first,
"while you are at it, move it four feet toward me at this end, and two
feet at the other." That is, he told his neighbor to take twice the amount
of land he demanded. The fence has not been moved, but the bitterness and the
loss were ended.
Peace between nations means vastly
more than a cessation of hostilities, a reduction, or even a complete absence
of armament. Peace is a mental attitude. Its companions are frequently
security and good will. With a feeling of security at home, and good will among
neighboring nations, there will be no need for fortified borders.
Emphasizing good will, Jesus said:
"If ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even
the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in
heaven is perfect." Or, as Dr. Torrey has translated the last sentence,
"Be therefore all-including (in your good will) even as your heavenly
Father includes all."
This recalls a conversation heard
some years ago. Someone asked, "Could all the people in the world get into
the state of
In order to maintain an attitude
of good will toward a neighboring country we should ever be on the alert to
detect and dismiss any temptation to harbor national prejudice. On this point
Mr. H. G. Wells is quoted as having said: "I am convinced myself that
there is no more evil thing in this present world than race prejudice, none at
all. I write deliberately, - it is the worst single thing in life now. It
justifies and holds together more baseness, cruelty and abomination than any
other sort of error in the world."
Now there may be a vast difference
between good will in theory and good will in practice, or between good will in
general and good will in particular. This was the subject Jesus touched upon
in his talk with the lawyer as recorded in the tenth chapter of Luke. You
remember Jesus told him a story, and chose, perhaps deliberately, a Samaritan
as the hero of the narrative, "for the Jews have no dealings with the
Samaritans." The lawyer was driven by logic to admit that his racial enemy
was the only one of the three to show neighborliness. That is, the lawyer
admitted this as a general proposition, but when Jesus told him, "Go, and
do thou likewise," we hope his good will was equal to the occasion. You
see Jesus landed squarely upon the lawyer's inherited prejudice. He could
admit without even mentioning the Samaritan that "he that shewed
mercy" was neighborly, but could he go out and act in that neighborly
fashion toward a Samaritan? That was another question, and we hope he measured
up to the standard set by the Samaritan.
Inherited prejudices and racial
animosities must be overcome. These mental heirlooms and intellectual antiques
humanity has been harboring and exulting over must be cast aside; and there is
nothing but an improved knowledge of God, faithfully adhered to and practiced,
that can effectually accomplish this. Were humanity to awaken to the truth
about God and man as it is being revealed through Christian Science, the false
and foolish notions of inherited enmity between races and nations would fall
away as an outworn cloak. Hear this statement from our textbook (p. 340):
"One infinite God, good, unifies men and nations; constitutes the
brotherhood of man; ends wars; fulfils the Scripture, 'Love thy neighbor as
thyself;' annihilates pagan and Christian idolatry, - whatever is wrong in
social, civil, criminal, political, and religious codes; equalizes the sexes;
annuls the curse on man, and leaves nothing that can sin, suffer, be punished
or destroyed."
There is the remedy - spiritual
understanding. Repeating the words I have quoted is not sufficient. The spirit
of this message must be understood and put into practice in our daily lives. If
we are to prove that intelligence is the master of prejudice, that Love is the
master of hate in international affairs, we must be willing to take up one by
one the many phases of the problems which confront us, acquaint ourselves
intelligently with humanity's needs, and then help not only to declare, but
patiently to prove, the efficacy of Love day by day to adjust all human
relations.
Many people take the peace
movement too easily. They think they are for peace simply because they
are against war. But almost everyone is against war. Even ardent
militarists avow that they are against war. Peace is not a condition the world
is going to fall into. It is a positive achievement which we must want so much
that we shall be willing to pay the cost, and the cost will be high.
For instance, would you be willing
to have the largest business in the world wiped out? Today there are a number
of very large industrial organizations in the world. You know some of them.
There may be a branch of one of them in your vicinity. Such organizations are
meeting the material needs of the people. They give employment to many. You
would not like to see one of them close its doors, and I do not blame you. But
the war business is today the largest business in the world. Are you prepared
to have it wiped out? Yes, peace will cost much. Are you prepared to pay it? If
not, you will pay the cost of war, which is much, much higher.
Disputes between nations can be
settled peaceably. This has been done many times. If we attempt to settle them
by an offensive war we may not succeed. Such wars have settled few disputes. In
most cases settlement has been effected after the fighting had ceased, by a few
men around a table. Why not, then, have the round table first?
Would you know the antidote for
war? Here it is in our textbook (p.467): "It should be thoroughly
understood that all men have one Mind, one God and Father, one Life, Truth, and
Love. Mankind will become perfect in proportion as this fact becomes apparent,
war will cease and the true brotherhood of man will be established."
In every country in the world
"the man in the street" wants peace. You and I want peace. We want
peace in order that civilization may continue and come to full flower. War
would arrest if not destroy it. We want peace in order that democracy may
expand. War is one of its enemies. It is true that democratic government has
not reached perfection. No system of government can be any better than the
people who devise and enforce it. As men grow in their understanding of true
government, that understanding will be reflected in their government of
themselves, their communities, and their nations. Again, we want peace in order
that scientific Christianity may extend its sway until "the earth shall be
full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea."
Christianity as it is being
revealed through Christian Science is today uniting the peoples of the earth as
no other system has ever done. It is revealing to people of every nation the
truth about God and man, and this is giving them a common understanding of how
to solve the various problems which may arise, whether such problems are
personal, social, or national. When the nations of the world envision and
accept the brotherhood of man under the government of God, we shall have peace.
"Then let us pray that come
it may
(As come it will for a' that)
That Sense and Worth o'er a' the
earth
Shall bear the gree an' a' that!
For a' that, an' a' that,
It's comin' yet for a' that,
That man to man the world o'er
Shall brithers be for a'
that."
- Burns,
So today we continue to pray in the
words of our Leader's poem (Poems, p. 6):
"Brood o'er us with Thy shelt'ring
wing,
'Neath which our spirits blend
Like brother birds, that soar and
sing,
And on the same branch bend.
The arrow that doth wound the dove
Darts not from those who watch and
love.
"Thou to whose power our hope
we give,
Free us from human strife,
Fed by Thy love divine we live,
For Love alone is Life;
And life most sweet, as heart to
heart
Speaks kindly when we meet and
part."
From a
Date Unknown