Public Enemies

W. Stuart Booth

Department of Justice officials in the United States have recently designated certain criminals as public enemies and have numbered them according to the heinousness of their crimes. When he who was the first to be regarded as public enemy number one had been disposed of, another was given that unsavory designation, and this has continued until several have been so marked. It is obvious, therefore, that the actual culprit—public enemy number one—has not been apprehended and restrained. In effect it is somewhat as though a captured thief had slipped out of his coat which was in the grasp of his captor; directly, the criminal has appeared under another cloak only to have the process repeated.

This condition concerns every Christian Scientist because of Mrs. Eddy's clear designation of their privilege and duty in this connection. On pages 96 and 97 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," in writing of the mental fermentation which has even now begun in the world thought, she states: "During this final conflict, wicked minds will endeavor to find means by which to accomplish more evil; but those who discern Christian Science will hold crime in check. They will aid in the ejection of error. They will maintain law and order, and cheerfully await the certainty of ultimate perfection." Evidently those who discern God's law are expected to be peace officers in the highest sense, for through their understanding of the omnipotence of God, divine Principle, and the consequent impotence of evil, they are to deal with the thought conditions which lie back of and impel lawlessness and crime.

In all things Christian Scientists look to Christ Jesus as the Exemplar, the Way-shower, that they may see what to do and how to do it—how to think, speak, and act. Consideration of the words and works of the Master, in the light of Christian Science, leads to the conclusion that he thought from the spiritual premise of God as the only Father or creator of man and of all that is real. He was the premier proponent of the fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man. He not only knew the truth about God and the universe, including man, but was acquainted also with the illusive nature, delusive arguments, and subtle methods of error—of the carnal or mortal mind. Thus the Master was able to expose evil as false and thwart its machinations; thus he was empowered to forgive sin by destroying it and thereby free the erstwhile sinner.

The spiritual understanding conferred by Christian Science enables us to regard sin, discord, disease, death—all evil—as did Christ Jesus. By learning to think from the spiritually logical basis of God as the only Mind, whence emanate all true ideas, we are able to obey, in an encouraging degree at least, the Scriptural injunction, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." By this means we are led to see that public enemy number one is not a person, not a class or a race of people, but is the false belief that life, causation, and consciousness are in and of matter. This error, in turn, breeds further falsities, such as the belief that pleasure, substance, sustenance, and satisfaction can be realized through material ways and means; and from this spring such unwholesome traits as selfishness, fear, jealousy, greed, animality, dishonesty, and hate.

With its mask thus removed, public enemy number one is readily apprehended and safely restrained by divine power and law. Its rendezvous and place of operation is found to be the human consciousness, and its victims are they who believe and accept the false claims that there is life, substance, intelligence, and influence apart from God, divine Mind, and that evil and matter are real, powerful, and attractive. Due to wrong education and the consequent general acceptance of these false beliefs, the student of Christian Science needs to watch most carefully the door of his own consciousness that no intruding and marauding thoughts gain admittance. He knows that if he should permit such enemies to enter his thought, they would attempt to stupefy him and then rob him of health, happiness, and peace. And so the alert Scientist challenges the thoughts which come to him that he may ascertain whether they are from Satan, the liar, or from God, Truth.

In our work as officers of the peace we are supported and protected by the omnipotent and ever-active law of divine Principle, Love. As we conform our thinking and living to this law of universal harmony, justice, and good, we are blessed and are able to bless others, for Christian Science enables us to prove that evil has no power to use us or to make us believe it can use anyone against us. Thus is public enemy number one detected, denounced, and dethroned, for it is proved to be nameless nothingness. Fear of evil is destroyed when, through spiritual understanding and demonstration, the conviction is established that "the Lord God omnipotent reigneth."

W. Stuart Booth

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Items of Interest

March 16, 1935

Contents

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit