CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS do well to ponder the words of Christ Jesus. The great Master grasped, profoundly, "the deep things of God." Knowledge of eternal realities characterized his utterances. Christian Scientists likewise do well to ponder the words of Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science. She was a willing disciple of the great Teacher, and she demonstrated the same Truth which Jesus lived and loved.
On a number of occasions, Christ Jesus used the terms "offend" and "offended." He warned his disciples against permitting themselves to become offended because of the truth. A dictionary meaning of the Biblical meaning of the word "offend" is "to cause to stumble or sin."
A study of the use of the word "offend" in the four Gospels gives us much upon which we may reflect with profit. From this study and from our own experiences as Christian Scientists we find, generally speaking, that the followers of Christ Jesus might possibly become offended for two reasons: one, offense because of unwillingness to follow Christianly scientific teaching; the other, offense because of the persecutions and assaults of the hatred of the world for Truth.
