Article February 1, 1969 Issue

The Burden of Proof

HARRIET C. ROBERTS

In the prosecution of a person accused of a misdemeanor or a crime, the burden of proof is always on the accuser, not the accused. The prosecution must produce evidence to back up accusations.

An accused person knowing an accusation to be completely without foundation and having faith in truth and justice can remain undisturbed even though his accuser claims to have absolute evidence of guilt. In Ecclesiastes we read, "Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions."  Eccl. 7:29; And Christian Science reveals that the man God made upright is upright still. He is not the same as the "they" who "have sought out many inventions." "They" might refer to unjust accusers or calumniators whose identity is unseen and whose falsity remains unproved, but how could that which God has ordained upright ever be changed or affected by false accusations !

The five material senses are false accusers. Long before a mortal is born, the insidious groundwork of lies against God's creation is formulated by mortal mind, or falsely educated belief. Tradition, heredity, education, and popular opinion all testify falsely to the validity of these lies.

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