Article August 13, 1910 Issue

Christian Science denies the reality of sin, sickness, and...

John M. Dean

Chattanooga (Tenn.) Times

Christian Science denies the reality of sin, sickness, and death in the sense that they are not God-made entities and consequently are not indestructible, for "whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever;" but it does not deny that these things have become a part of mortal experience, though it is constantly proving their nothingness by overcoming their asserted claims through the power of the simple gospel of Jesus. By recognizing the unreality of sin we destroy sin, and "where the spirit of God is, and there is no place where God is not, evil becomes nothing" (Science and Health, p. 480). When evil is seen as nothing, there can be no possible pleasure in its indulgence.

"God is a Spirit," says John, and Spirit cannot be personal in the sense of corporeality, or as a being with bodily form and parts, which is evidently the gentleman's conception of a "personal God," though he would doubtless assert his belief in God as omnipresent, a self-evident impossibility, if God is humanly circumscribed.

So far from denying the facts of the death and resurrection of Jesus, Christian Scientists accept the Bible narrative literally and prove their faith by their works. They accept Jesus as the Wayshower, and endeavor to follow him every step of the way. This is their practical idea of the atonement, and this definition helps them to work out their own salvation, instead of "pinning one's faith without works to another's vicarious effort" (Ibid., p. 22).

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