Editorial August 22, 1925 Issue

"None of these things move me"

Duncan Sinclair

Probably none of the apostles had a more strenuous career than Paul after his conversion to Christianity. Both his epistles and the Acts of the Apostles would seem to bear witness to the fact. But amid the persecutions which beset him as he delivered his message, he retained a marvelous serenity and poise, to be accounted for only by his understanding of the Christ. Addressing the elders of the church at Ephesus he said, "I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me;" continuing in that brave strain so characteristic of him, "But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God."

There is a lesson in these words of Paul for every Christian Scientist. It may not be that to-day the same kind of persecutions attend our efforts to bring the knowledge of God and His Christ to the notice of men, but not for a moment can it be forgotten that so-called mortal mind is as bitterly opposed to Truth now as ever it was. Indeed it would seem as if its methods were becoming more hidden and subtle. In the past its attacks were frequently openly material, its endeavor being to drive its victims to the prison, and thence to the cross, the stake, or the scaffold—and often in the name of religion. Now the despicable practice of mental manipulation is more commonly resorted to, the belief being that it is possible to suggest evil to another, even to the extent of destroying him.

Whether it be the persecutions in times past or in our own days that are considered, one thing stands out clearly: evil is believed to exist and to have great power. That belief underlies every deed of persecution which has ever disgraced humanity. Sometimes it has actually been suggested that an evil deed could produce a good result. And so, bolstered up by such utterly fallacious theories, evil has continued its sinister and oftentimes diabolical course.

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