Article July 21, 1934 Issue

True Armament

OSCAR GRAHAM PEEKE

A study of the recorded letters written by St. Paul to the Christian churches of his day reveals that great apostle as a deep spiritual thinker, as well as a metaphysician versed in the art of conveying a lesson of spiritual truth by means of illustrative phraseology. In a letter to the faithful Christians in Ephesus, after warning them against various evils and pointing out certain duties, he admonishes them to "put on the whole armour of God," and forthwith gives an illuminating description of that armor, piece by piece. He stresses in particular the shield, which he designates "the shield of faith;" and the weapon he commends is "the sword of the Spirit." In the entire equipment there is nothing that could deteriorate or disintegrate, for it consists of enduring spiritual substance.

Christian Science not only unreservedly indorses both the armor and the weapon described by St. Paul, but also proves them to be eminently practical. They far excel anything that could be devised by human ingenuity, for the armor is impregnable and the weapon irresistible. The importance of the shield may be readily recognized in the light of Christian Science teaching. In designating it "the shield of faith" Paul certainly referred to something far higher than blind faith or mere belief in God, for such faith can give no definite assurance of protection. As is stated in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy (p. 23): "Faith, if it be mere belief, is as a pendulum swinging between nothing and something, having no fixity. Faith, advanced to spiritual understanding, is the evidence gained from Spirit, which rebukes sin of every kind and establishes the claims of God." It is "faith, advanced to spiritual understanding," or demonstrable faith, to which Paul refers. Nothing short of this could insure safety from "all the fiery darts of the wicked."

The true Christian soldier well knows the value of the armor and the weapon described by Paul. He also knows that by keeping himself equipped with them he is ready for any emergency. He stands with God, and thus defeats his enemies. And what are his enemies? They are not persons, but impersonal evil. They are the lying claims of the carnal or mortal mind that matter and evil are real. They are also the wicked, aggressive suggestions of this same so-called mind which incite malice, hatred, suspicion, dishonesty, lust, and greed, and appear to set aside the divine law of universal brotherhood and love. Spiritual understanding exposes the falsity of mortal mind and all its claims, and with "the sword of the Spirit" its evil suggestions may be proved powerless and their effects destroyed. Against the mighty shield of faith mortal mind can do no more than spend its so-called energy, and in so doing the power with which it claims to invest matter is seen to be wholly illusory. Thus it is proved that mortal mind and its phenomenon, matter, have only a supposititious existence, and that what is termed material law has no validity.

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