Article December 29, 1917 Issue

Smiting the Enemy

GUSTAVUS S. PAINE

It is recorded in the book of Joshua that as the children of Israel journeyed toward the promised land, even long after had passed through the Red Sea and later through the waters of the Jordan, after they had been fed by manna and after they had taken Jericho, even then one enemy after another appeared to block their progress. To many this particular portion of the Scriptures has seemed dry and unimportant; but to the Christian Scientist, considering the spiritual idea of which the material history is only a counterfeit, the account is a revelation of encouragement. For what did the children of Israel, under the leadership of Joshua, do in each case as the enemy presented itself? The record says laconically that they smote it "with the edge of the sword."

Barbarous material warfare such as this is of course the very reverse of true spiritual warfare. The ruthless killing of people and the razing of towns rests upon the mistaken supposition that one group of human beings is the enemy of another group. As a matter of fact the enemy is never a person or a group of persons, but always a wrong condition of thought. It is therefore to be defeated with vigorous right thinking, followed by right doing, which is true spiritual smiting and the only final solution for any seeming difficulty. Through much tribulation the children of Israel of to-day must ultimately see this in order to attain a satisfactory peace. In the meantime the Christian Scientist keeps his balance mentally in the midst of human warfare, and does his part in bringing that warfare to a close by substituting for it the true method, which will bring a sure victory for Principle.

As Mrs. Eddy says in the beautiful article "Love Your Enemies" (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 8), "Simply count your enemy to be that which defiles, defaces, and dethrones the Christ-image that you should reflect." Wrong thinking, originating in the supposition that there can be a power apart from good, is the one enemy which in our experience claims to defile, deface, and dethrone the Christ-image with the suggestion of disease, sin, limitation, hatred, greed, and evil of every sort. Fortunately, however, this enemy is supposititious, and a supposition of the opposite of the one infinite God, who is all there really is, must be an impossibility.

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