Editorial January 17, 1970 Issue

Overcoming Guilt with Innocence

William Milford Correll

One of the methods that mortal mind, the accuser, uses to effect its penalties is to convince an innocent person that he is guilty of doing something wrong and that he deserves a penalty or punishment. Then as the individual feels guilty or accepts the erroneous sense of fault, he lays himself open to the penalty. Thus this negative mentality seeks to flagellate its victim, mortal man. But a strong, clear sense of the real man's innocence as the child of God will stop this process and turn the lie upon one's accuser. Thus uncovering the error as baseless, the individual can come free of any sense of guilt and annul any penalty or suffering involved.

Such a method of accusation has its roots in the terrible theology that teaches that man is a miserable sinner, that he is under condemnation, and that this is the theme of human life—suffering under divine penalty to atone for sin. Christ Jesus came to explode such a theory, to reveal the fact that man is the perfect idea of God and to arouse individuals to acknowledge this fact, live it, and claim the rewards of sonship. The Bible states this fact: "God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."^{John 3:17;}

God is Love. He is the source of good only. His nature is pure, and man derives his whole being from this divine source. There is nothing in the real man that deserves to be punished. He is innocent. Mary Baker Eddy says in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: "Innocence and Truth overcome guilt and error. Ever since the foundation of the world, ever since error would establish material belief, evil has tried to slay the Lamb; but Science is able to destroy this lie, called evil."^{Science and Health, p. 568;}