Article September 11, 1971 Issue

The Dilemma of the Monkey or the Cat

THOMAS DOUGLAS SUTTON

In one of the Eastern religions a controversy developed concerning the nature of salvation. On one side, God's care for mankind was likened to a mother cat and her kitten. A kitten is carried to safety by its mother without any effort on its own part. This illustration taught that men are kept under God's care irrespective of their own doings.

The other side likened God's relationship with mankind to that of a mother monkey with her baby. When a mother monkey takes her baby to safety, the baby has to cling tightly to her. This observation was used to show that men need to cooperate with the supreme power to be safe.

The controversy has been paralleled in the history of Western religious thought by the contradictory doctrines of free will and predestination. Quotations from various parts of the Bible have been used to support one argument or the other. What has been the Christian Science position on this question? Is man a free agent to do good or evil as he consciously chooses? Is each individual life predestinated to be an expression of good unto salvation or of evil unto damnation?

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