Article September 16, 1911 Issue

As to the question whether God never made man capable...

Algernon Hervey Bathurst—Holywell, Eng.

Flint County Herald

As to the question whether God never made man capable of sin, the point is, Are we to accept the teachings of the Master or not? Nothing is more clear than the fact that he came, as he himself said, not to destroy but to fulfil the law of God. If man, that is, spiritual man, had been created subject to sin or sickness by the law of God, it is quite obvious that Christ Jesus would never have interfered with this law by healing the sick and destroying sin. Christian Science takes the Master as the great Exemplar, and Mrs. Eddy has pointed out on every page of Science and Health that our faith must be proved by our works; in other words, the healing of sickness and the destruction of sin are the natural outcome of an absolute spiritual understanding of what Jesus taught.

Again, it is generally accepted that there is but one creator, one cause. It is, therefore, impossible to imagine one infinite cause or creator producing evil, for this would clearly be a house divided against itself. It is true that the so-called testimony of the physical senses would bear witness to the contrary, but the fact remains that, in reality, the creation of God, good, the only creation, was, is, and always will be perfect, and it was the absolute knowledge of this that enabled Jesus and his disciples to do the works they did, and those works are being repeated all over the world today by earnest students of Christian Science to the extent that the teachings are understood by them. So long, however, as mankind is willing to cling to evil, whether it be sin or sickness, and affirm its reality, so long will it be impossible for it to accept the astounding promise given to the world by Jesus, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free;" and still more difficult for it to practise his teachings.

If, then, we admit the omnipotence of the one cause or creator, God, we cannot but admit the omnipresence of God as well. In view of this, is it therefore a very astounding statement to make that good cannot lapse into evil? Again, always bearing in mind that there are not two creators, is it illogical to state that man, the image and likeness of God. is incapable of sin? And would it not be difficult to prove that, as our critic says, such a statement is "not Christianity"? Christian Scientists know that they are daily becoming less subject to sin and evil, whether in thought, word, or deed, and that to the extent that they put into practice the teachings of Science and Health, they are able to prove, not only that man is not subject to these erroneous beliefs, but that he has dominion over them; and the Master was referring to this victory over the belief in evil when he said, "The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me."

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

As to the question whether God never made man capable...

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access