Article October 27, 1934 Issue

Scientific Forgiveness

LAURA BOWLBY MASSEY

"FORGIVE and forget" has long been considered a gracious way of establishing peace after some misunderstanding; but Christian Scientists are gaining a sense of love far outweighing a concept of forgiveness which would claim to forget while continuing to believe in a past evil as having been real.

When a student of Christian Science is faced with injustice, dishonesty, or ingratitude, he must refuse to accept the suggestion of the adversary, mortal mind, that he believes in or is a witness to any evil. And in proportion to his cognizance of and consent to the reality of good alone will his attitude of tolerance and compassion be stabilized, so that Truth will destroy the belief that he has ever been injured, or that there ever was an injurer. This effort to reflect divine Love will bless both the student and the one who may have been regarded as an enemy. This is scientific forgiveness.

Christ Jesus gave us a prayer which, as its truths are realized, raises our thoughts above sin; and it is significant that the plea, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors," is part of it. Surely Jesus, who gave the prayer to his disciples, meant the type of forgiveness that he himself understood and practiced in his healing of Mary Magdalene, the impotent man at the pool of Bethesda, the woman taken in adultery, and others. This understanding of impartial divine Love, which healed and transformed these characters, could have come from nothing else than the Master's ability to prove love and purity real, and hate and sin unreal.

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