Article December 25, 1909 Issue

Nowhere does Christian Science teach that sin can be...

J. M. Jackson

Toronto (Ont.) News

Nowhere does Christian Science teach that sin can be ignored, as your correspondent again infers, and a more careful reading of the text-book would have shown him (p. 29) that Christians "must grapple with sin in themselves and others, and continue this warfare until they have finished their course." To the Christian Scientist, sin exists much in the same manner as darkness does—not as an actual entity, but as the absence, in the one case of light, and in the other of that which is good and true. If sin exists as a positive entity, then it must have been made by God, who made all that was made and declared it good, which places us in the ridiculous position of asserting that sin is good. On the other hand, if sin is God-made, hence eternal, what is the use in a man's trying to overcome it?

As the critic has read the text-book, it will be sufficient to remind him that, far from ignoring the subject of the atonement, Mrs. Eddy has devoted an entire chapter to the elucidation of this subject. With regard to the meaning of the word "atonement," it is possible your correspondent may not be aware that the present generally accepted meaning of this word is by no means its original or true meaning. According to The Christian Science Monitor of Jan. 8, 1909. "The verb 'to atone' is simply a later form of the old English 'to one' or 'to unite.' The substantive was originally 'onement,' and was used by Wyclif in this form. In the days of Tyndale and of Coverdale, it still retained its original meaning, as may be seen by a reference to Shakespeare, to Spenser, or to Bishop Hall, nor was it until the year 1611 that its meaning began to be changed to that of propitiation and expiation, in which last sense it is used by Dryden." Mrs. Eddy uses the word in its strictly correct meaning.

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