Editorial May 8, 1937 Issue

The Letter and the Spirit

George Shaw Cook

When Abram parted from Lot at Beth-el, he said, "Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren." The dispute between them and between their herdsmen having been about cattle and the land on which to sustain them, it was settled by the simple proposal made by Abram to divide the land in sight, one company going to the right and the other to the left.

Strife between mortals is not always settled so satisfactorily. And the contention is not always about what is ordinarily referred to as property, but often about hours of work, remuneration, living conditions, and frequently about political theories or about religious dogmas. Perhaps nothing is held to more tenaciously by mortals than a firmly fixed theory of government, unless it be an equally firmly fixed religious doctrine.

At the time of Jesus, for example, there was constant contention between the existing sects—especially the Sadducees and Pharisees—about matters pertaining to the law of Moses. Jesus settled the whole question very quickly and simply, so far as his own teaching was concerned. He said: "My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself."

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The Lectures
May 8, 1937
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