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FORGIVENESS
WHAT a wealth of hope, tenderness, and compassion lies enfolded in the thought of forgiveness. There is probably no human heart, however seemingly sunk in selfish wrongdoing, that does not have its longing for a forgiveness that would wipe out the unlovely picture of the past and allow a fresh, unsullied start.
The world, as it has with most things, has many differing concepts of forgiveness. Some seek forgiveness from an unknown, undefined God, with little assurance of His disposition to grant it. Others seek it from those who, because they believe themselves to have been unpardonably wronged, often seem unwilling and unable to bestow it. It is sought at a price by those who believe it can be bought and who thus, in a false sense of security, fall an easy prey to the temptation to repeat the offense.
A dictionary definition reads, "Pardon remits the outward penalty which the offender deserves; forgiveness dismisses resentment or displeasure from the heart of the one offended." Generally, however, forgiveness is thought of in the sense of God bestowing pardon on a sinner or of one person forgiving another person who has wronged him. This concept has caused confusion. Many, indeed, must have been the prayers on this basis that seemed to meet with no response, and many the vain struggles on the part of some sincere followers of the master Christian, Christ Jesus, to forgive from this point of view, only to fail because believing themselves inexcusably wronged by another.
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September 2, 1950 issue
View Issue-
PERSISTENT EFFORT BRINGS VICTORY
JOSEPHINE STANLEY KANN
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TO A PRACTITIONER
Adilene Ratigan
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DISEASE "NEITHER MIND NOR MATTER"
HERBERT E. RIEKE
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FORGIVENESS
ELSA S. LULL
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RIGHT UNDERSTANDING OF IDENTITY DEMONSTRATES HARMONY
MEREDITH RUSSELL
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THE VALUE OF MODESTY
CLARA ARMITAGE BROWN
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DESIGN
Helen Palmer Henley
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REMEMBERING THE HUMAN RACE
NEIL MARTIN
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THE SEARCH FOR TRUTH
IRIS SINDING
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CALM
Grace B. Myaida
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THE BASIS OF REAL JOY
Richard J. Davis
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CITIZENS OF THE KINGDOM
Robert Ellis Key
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READING ROOM
Barbara D. Sand
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I hereby express my heartfelt love...
Margaret Ohlman Desosa
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This testimony is from one whose...
Emma Jefferson
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I am indeed grateful for Christian Science...
Charles L. Peckinpaugh, Jr. with contributions from Daisy J. Peckinpaugh
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It is my desire to express deep...
Ethel K. Huebner
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Christian Science came to me...
Esther Hannevold
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About twelve years ago I turned...
Bertha E. Hoare
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Because the testimonies of gratitude...
Lacy Bell Richter
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I attended a Christian Science...
Elsie M. Blair
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Through the years I have been...
Henry Walter Fleming
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Signs of the Times
with contributions from Leslie E. Cooke, William E. Gilroy, Byron K. Chalker, M. B Jose, Robert A. Magill