In considering how constant has been the human struggle against sin and its baneful effects; how universal and unceasing have been the prayers going forth from human hearts for freedom from the seeming power of evil in human affairs, yet with sin and its effects as apparent to-day as at any time in human history, the pertinency of the question is obvious: Can sin and its effects be overcome and destroyed? It may be truly said that what is called "sin" underlies all the misfortune and suffering in human experience. The Bible declares, "When lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." This declaration is so vivid that it is startling. It well behooves humanity to inquire earnestly, Can this ruthless foe to human happiness be met and mastered, and if so, how? That it can be overcome and its effects destroyed was fully demonstrated by Jesus about two thousand years ago. In this age, prior to the writings of Mrs. Eddy, there was no definite understanding in human thought of the real nature of sin or sin's effects, or how to overcome it and destroy its effects with scientific certainty; but now, through the teaching of Christian Science, sin in all its phases is being overcome and its effects scientifically destroyed.
The word "sin" is, in part, defined in Webster's dictionary as follows: "Transgression of the law of God; disobedience of the divine will; any violation of, or lack of conformity to, God's law, either in purpose or in conduct." This definition concedes the existence of God's law or divine will as a fact, and assumes the existence of a power to transgress that law or will as a similar fact; that is, it assumes the existence of a power opposed to God or that can be opposed to Him. It is lame logic to argue, as is generally done, that God is infinite— that is, omnipotence itself—and that God made all, and then to assume or believe in the existence of a power which can annul His law or will, or fail to conform thereto. God being omnipotent, such an assumption cannot be true, and being untrue is unreal, and hence can be met and mastered. The assumption or belief in the reality of sin is therefore all there is to overcome. This assumption or belief is itself sin, because it is a denial of the omnipotence of God, the real, and implies reliance upon the unreal, the mortal. No one ever has successfully contended or ever can successfully contend that a so-called violation of God's law could in any manner change it or make it less effective, any more than a failure to obey a basic law in mathematics could in the least annul the law or make it less imperative in the solution of a given problem. The only possible effect of this assumed violation would be the failure of the violator to perceive the desired good inherent in the law. The most that can be said of such a belief is that it is an error, and error ever leads to disappointment and therefore must be corrected if we would avoid its disagreeable fruitage.
When we admit that all good resides in God and His creation, we must then learn that to become conscious of good—receive it—we must not attempt to turn away from God and seek good from some suppositional source; for this is sin and brings disappointment, if no greater affliction. The only way is to turn wholly to God on the basis that Jesus turned to Him: "Not as I will, but as thou wilt." That the assumed or believed existence of a power that can transgress God's law or will is an assumption or belief only, is clear, from the fact that God is cause and man is effect; hence man, in divine Science, cannot annul His law. Can an effect annul or transgress the law on which its very existence depends and the effect still continue to exist? The only existence or power an effect can possess is in manifesting or expressing its cause, not in annulling it. Such a belief is of the nature of the tree symbolizing the knowledge of both good and evil, spoken of in Genesis, where it is declared: "In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
