Article March 11, 1950 Issue

GIVING UP THE SENSE OF ENMITY

[Original article in French]

MARCEL ANDRÉ VONNEZ

Many of us have been confronted with the problem of enmity. We may have asked ourselves, "What is this enemy which is attacking me?" It often happens that without hesitation we think of an individual or an entire nation as the cause of our trouble and consider one or the other as the enemy. Such thoughts produce hostilities, rivalries, disputes, and wars.

Since there seems to be an enemy, it is reasonable to ascertain scientifically what this enemy is, whether it is real or unreal, a person or merely an illusion. For, while it is proper and perfectly legitimate to combat an enemy, it is an evil thing to fight against an individual simply because we believe him to be an enemy. To solve the problem logically, we must start with the law of God, as revealed through Christian Science, which provides the solution to every problem.

From this basis let us see if it is possible for man to be our enemy. First of all, what is man? He is not, as many believe, a material mortal. He is what Christian Science reveals him to be, the image of God, of Love, hence loving and lovable, spiritual and perfect. Christian Science also makes clear what an enemy is, for Mary Baker Eddy says in her "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 8), "Can you see an enemy, except yon first formulate this enemy and then look upon the object of your own conception?" And she explains in the next paragraph. "Simply count your enemy to be that which defiles, defaces, and dethrones the Christ-image that you should reflect." These descriptions of man and enemy are so different that it is impossible to apply them to the same object. Man, made in the image and likeness of God, cannot be an enemy, Therefore, the enemy can only be our false assumption that God's man can be an unloving, mean, hateful, and quarrelsome mortal, unlike God.

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