Editorial June 10, 1922 Issue

Right Condemnation

Ella W. Hoag

When Jesus said to his disciples, "Condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned," he set before them a great duty and the possibility of a great reward. Christians evidently have not realized the full meaning of this statement of Jesus, or the way to obey it; for nothing seems more rife in the world to-day than personal condemnation. Many men condemn their neighbors, and yet all men desire not to be condemned by their neighbors. One reason why men have failed to understand the way to stop condemning their fellows is that everything has been considered from a strictly personal standpoint.

Feeling convinced that all that is wrong deserves condemnation, and seeing their neighbor indulging in wrong, how could it be possible to condemn the sin without condemning the sinner? Because of this question mankind has been thrown into extremes,—it has either condemned the sinner without mercy, or it has gone to the other extreme and practically condoned the sin. Christian Science explains the teaching of Jesus on this subject in so wonderful and withal in so simple a manner that, when universally accepted and practiced, all the world will be able to rejoice in the overcoming of one of the worst foes to human peace and progress.

In the first place, Christian Science shows that the place where this foe—personal condemnation—must be overcome is in each individual consciousness, since there is where all one's sinning as well as one's condemnation of sin goes on. Christian Science says: Condemn sin, but not the sinner; and then goes on to explain how this is to be done. It recognizes the impossibility of separating the sinner from his sin so long as the latter is consciously and willfully indulged; for, as Mrs. Eddy says positively in "Retrospection and Introspection" (p. 64): "You cannot separate the sin from the sinner, nor the sinner from his sin. The sin is the sinner, and vice versa, for such is the unity of evil." It also shows that this applies primarily to the one sinning. Indulging a sin, one must always acknowledge that he is the sinner; for it can be readily seen that the instant the sinner recognizes and forsakes his sin there can be neither sin nor sinner so far as that individual and that specific claim of evil are concerned.

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Among the Churches
June 10, 1922
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