As a teenager, I attended a church that taught that everyone is a miserable sinner. I often cried myself to sleep at night, thinking I was a horrible person steeped in sin. I even wondered if there was any point trying to be good. This deep feeling of unworthiness continued until I began earnestly studying Christian Science. Through my study of the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, I was lifted out of the view that we are sinners. I began to gain a clearer understanding of my—and everyone’s—worthiness.
One idea I love most that I discovered in my study is the concept of the real man. Science and Health states: “The real man is spiritual and immortal, but the mortal and imperfect so-called ‘children of men’ are counterfeits from the beginning, to be laid aside for the pure reality. This mortal is put off, and the new man or real man is put on, in proportion as mortals realize the Science of man and seek the true model” (p. 409).
This was such a freeing explanation to me. I began to understand that the real or new man is our spiritual identity based on our oneness with God. The old man is a way of thinking steeped in matter, fear, and sin. I saw that I could let go of any thoughts that would suggest that sin is an inevitable part of me or of anyone.
