Article June 14, 1993 Issue

"Ethnic cleansing"—can it prevail?

The Christian Science Monitor

"Ethnic cleansing," a current euphemism for attempts to annihilate specific populations, is an evil. It is never a solution to conflict, and it cannot prevail, because there is something more powerful at work in the world than prejudice and hate—and that is Conscience.

Conscience—the ability to discern and do what is right—is behind every caring and constructive activity in the world. Conscience impels charity, decency, reformation. Conscience holds us to the truth; it is the inner voice that pricks us when it detects a lie. A conscience guided by God, divine Truth, not only condemns "ethnic cleansing" but conquers it.

Over a century ago, Mrs. Eddy was a vigorous proponent of man's inherently spiritual rights. Her study of the Bible convinced her, as she writes in her book Science and Health, "God has endowed man with inalienable rights, among which are self-government, reason, and conscience."

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