Article November 18, 1996 Issue

"Like Father, like son"

Robert J. Rowan

As I was having a late breakfast with friends, the subject of heredity came into the conversation. They felt it helped to explain some characteristics about themselves or someone they knew. Traits, abilities, and human interests were identified as consequences of similar tastes and qualities found in a parent or even a remote ancestor.

While these connections with the past may seem harmless, they do have a negative side. How can we correct what we often assume are inherited faults or vulnerabilities? By challenging the belief that we live in matter and are governed by physical law. The supposed authority of heredity is refuted by Science and Health in this statement: "Heredity is not a law." A little farther down the page it continues, "In proportion to our understanding of Christian Science, we are freed from the belief of heredity, of mind in matter or animal magnetism; and we disarm sin of its imaginary power in proportion to our spiritual understanding of the status of immortal being" (p. 178).

This "immortal being" is our spiritual nature, which includes only good. It is the heritage we obtain from our Father-Mother God. Man, the son of God, Truth, expresses all of His attributes in multitudinous ways. The Apostle Paul expressed this thought when he wrote to the Romans, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ" (8:16, 17).

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

"Like Father, like son"

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access