Editorial December 3, 1932 Issue

Love's Liberation

W. Stuart Booth

Many students of the Bible have been encouraged and inspired by the account of the experience of Paul and Silas in Philippi, where they made converts to Christianity by their healing and preaching. One of those healed was a woman "possessed with a spirit of divination ... which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying." Paul's understanding of divine Mind's omnipotence rebuked and annulled that phase of human belief and the woman was freed. Those who had been exploiting her were so resentful that they were instrumental in having Paul and Silas cast into prison. But even there those Christian worthies were undaunted and undismayed, for it is recorded that at midnight they sang praises to God and prayed; "and suddenly there was a great earthquake, ... and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed."

Thus Paul and Silas acted Christianly and scientifically. They were true Christian metaphysicians, dealing with thoughts, not with men or matter. Their spiritual and scientific understanding protected them from being resentful towards those who had persecuted them, for they recognized that the cause of their unjust imprisonment lay in such mortal mind thoughts as hatred, selfishness, greed, human will, and fear. Although these errors had found response in and had used their persecutors, Paul and Silas must have seen evil as false belief, entirely separate from man, which enabled them to deal with it successfully.

Since hate, selfishness, and the like were responsible for their incarceration, it was evident that their liberation could come only through the opposite spiritual ideas. So they prayed, communed with God, who is the source of all true ideas, and sang praises to the Giver of all good. Their resultant deliverance proved that evil thoughts have no Principle, and are supported only by human belief; whereas the spiritual ideas of forgiveness, mercy, peace, and trust in good, being expressive of God, divine Principle, are always supported and enforced by omnipotence. The reflection of divine Love or expression of Love's qualities by Paul and Silas served to bring them into line with Love's law of liberty, which is ever operative in behalf of all mankind.

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