Editorial March 28, 1925 Issue

"Love as brethren"

Duncan Sinclair

It is very evident from a study of the epistles written to the early Christian church by the apostles, that many of the failings apparent among Christians in those early days are still rampant among us. Disagreements were not uncommon then; lack of courtesy, lack of charity, lack of mercifulness, lack of compassion were unfortunately too frequent; evil was often met with evil; while murmurings and disputings played their miserable part where naught but good-will should have been manifested. Accordingly, Peter found it his duty to write, "Be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing." Paul, pleading with the Philippians, said, "Do all things without murmurings and disputings." And John, his heart full of love to the brethren, argued: "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth."

What lessons the words of these saintly men hold for all students of Christian Science to-day! For is it not too true that in spite of the fact that Christian Science reveals incontrovertibly that evil is unreal, since God, good, is infinite, even among Christian Scientists, in Christian Science churches and societies, there is sometimes far too little of the genuine spirit of Christianity,—the Christ-spirit? Might not one expect that there courtesy, charity, and good-will would predominate to the exclusion of all else; that there, each would wish to give fullest consideration to every other's conscientious opinions, refraining from all unkind and, therefore, unjust criticism? There, surely, one would look for—and rightly so—the spirit of the Master to be the ruling spirit; or, in other words, there all should manifest the Mind of Christ and "love as brethren."

Christian Science cannot possibly condone conduct which is in any way unchristian. Every admonition given by the Founder of Christianity himself and by his apostles holds as strongly to-day as in the earliest days of Christianity. Mrs. Eddy emphasizes this in innumerable passages in her writings. Certainly there is no ambiguity in these words of hers, to be found in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 32): "Love alone is admissible towards friend and foe"! Christian Science is the religion of Love; for God is Love. If, then, any one be unloving, he is unfaithful to the religion of Christian Science, and is unworthy of the name of Christian Scientist.

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