Article March 28, 1942 Issue

Spiritual Alertness Antidotes Apathy

W. STUART BOOTH

Paul , in writing to the Christians at Ephesus, was desirous of arousing them from the apathy occasioned by animality, from the mesmerism associated with material-mindedness; and so he sounded this rousing call (Ephesians 5:14): "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." In a letter previously written to the Romans, Paul had pointed the fact that death is not a physical condition, but is a state of human or mortal consciousness. He stated explicitly that "to be carnally minded is death;" and then he added, "but to be spiritually minded is life and peace" (Romans 8:6). Thus we see that the apostle recognized the tendency of men to fall readily under the spell of material beliefs, even though these men had been touched by the Christ, Truth, and had taken the name of Christian.

Doubtless if Paul were personally with us today he would voice a similar and perhaps an even more rousing appeal to Christian believers, for the world is facing a most flagrant and far-reaching attempt at mass mesmerism, which aims to stupefy, intimidate, dominate, and enslave men and nations. In spite of repeated instances of duplicity and deceit, tyranny and terrorism, achieving temporary advantage and accomplishment, some men and nations have indicated that they are handled by the same claim of mesmerism, for they have endeavored to build around themselves a mental wall of selfish isolationism instead of recognizing that, as the Bible states (Romans 14:7), "None of us liveth to himself."

Students of Christian Science, more than all others, should be awake to the claims of mesmerism, and should be dealing with them intelligently and successfully, because their means are Christian and their method is scientific. In the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mrs. Eddy devotes an entire chapter to the unmasking and denunciation of animal magnetism. And, acting under divine direction, our inspired Leader provided that every six months we have a Lesson-Sermon in the Christian Science Quarterly to study, assimilate, and demonstrate on the subject of "Ancient and Modern Necromancy, alias Mesmerism and Hypnotism, Denounced." The thought which is always emphasized in these Lessons is expressed in the last word of the subject, for the evident purpose of this and every one of our Lesson-Sermons is to glorify God, to point and prove the omniscience of divine Mind, the omnipresence of Truth, the omniactivity of Life, the omnipotence of Love, and the consequent never-presence, non-intelligence, and impotence of evil and error, of whatever is unlike divine Principle and its harmony.

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