Article July 4, 1970 Issue

Refuse to Admit the Criminal

GRACE ARCHER DUNBAR

Newscasters in the United States, as a public service, often give a complete physical description of a criminal wanted by the local police or the F.B.I. Sometimes they warn that he is dangerous. Certainly it would never occur to anyone to invite an individual fitting such a description into his home and entertain him. But do we consider how important it is not to admit into our consciousness the depraved thoughts that make a person a criminal?

Such thoughts as anger, resentment, envy, revenge, impatience, jealousy, selfishness, fear, and human will are destructive, and they constitute the real evildoer. If we accept them as our thinking or claim them as the thoughts of others, they become part of our experience. In the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy asks the questions: "Can matter commit a crime? Can matter be punished? Can you separate the mentality from the body over which courts hold jurisdiction?" Then she says, "Mortal mind, not matter, is the criminal in every case; and human law rightly estimates crime, and courts reasonably pass sentence, according to the motive." Science and Health, p. 105;

The real criminal, mortal mind, is described in detail not only on radio and television but also in the Bible and our textbook. From Genesis to Revelation mortal mind's method of operation is exposed in countless examples. It has many aliases, such as serpent, dragon, Satan, devil, adversary, and carnal mind. All of these names describe the criminal in mental terms, never as a physical personality.

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