Article January 1, 1944 Issue

Ancestry: Divine and Human

EMMA EASTON NEWMAN

It is evident that the attribution of one's good or undesirable physical conditions and mental traits to immediate or remote human ancestry is an ancient fiction in the history of the human race. From certain words uttered by the prophet Ezekiel, some centuries before the Christian era, it may be seen that the oppressive belief that a person's life could be overshadowed by sins committed or diseases experienced by an ancestor, is without basic spiritual foundation.

In the picturesque symbolism of the Orient, Ezekiel tells us that the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, "What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge?" With the query came the divine answer, "As I live, saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel."

The word of the Lord as given to Ezekiel continues, "Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right, ... and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly ... he shall surely live, saith the Lord God."

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