This is #22 in a series of posts looking at the 26 Christian Science Weekly Bible Lesson subjects, chosen by Mary Baker Eddy, and rotated twice per year. These lessons are the sermon at each Christian Science church worldwide, and are read by Christian Scientists daily. Today’s subject is “Doctrine of Atonement”. Look for other posts in the category “Lesson Sermon Subjects“.
Atonement is an interesting, and sometimes loaded topic. I often go down the rabbit hole in my Facebook newsfeed of various summary re-postings from the AITA (Am I The Asshole) sub-reddit on Reddit. The general premise of this sub-reddit is people who have done (or are thinking of doing) various things, coming to the Reddit community for judgement on whether or not they’ve made an asshole move. Some stories are quite interesting, and I find myself grateful for the family that I have, and its general lack of assholery.
What is “atonement”?
ATONEMENT (noun):
Reparation for a wrong or injury.
(Oxford Languages Dictionary)
We all have our various notions of what atonement is. For me, it is the simple act of acknowledging and owning the bad (assholish) things we do, and if possible, seeking to make amends if I have caused harm to anybody. I know a lot of people who are in the Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step communities, and a big part of their process is making “amends” for wrongs they have committed to others during the course of their addictions. This is embodied in steps 8 – 10 of the Alcoholics Anonymous program: “(8) Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. (9) Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. (10) Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.”1 While I feel that there are a lot of toxic aspects of the 12-step movement and the culture that surrounds it, not to mention the “higher power/God” piece, the concept of atonement that they practice is, in my opinion, a good one.
Where I think atonement becomes a contentious issue, is when it becomes a one-way street. By that I mean where one party or the other imposes conditions, or weaponizes the situation. For example, if the person seeking to atone defines and puts parameters on the process without taking into consideration the impact their actions had on the party they harmed; or the aggrieved party unreasonably putting someone who is genuinely trying to atone through humiliating or dangerous exercises as a form of revenge or spite. Honest and blunt conversation is fine, but I feel like hurting someone back doesn’t achieve much in the end, except for the petty pleasure of revenge. The effort needs to be reasonable and genuine on both sides. The goal here is healing. Most importantly, a person wanting to atone or make amends, as step nine instructs, must not cause injury, and by extension to walk away if someone refuses to engage them, and be willing to accept that. They also need to be willing to accept and face the anger and/or resentment of the aggrieved party.
Also, nobody should ever be coerced into forgiving if that is not something they want to do. I absolutely abhor those who say “you need to just forgive!” No, you don’t. Forgiveness is something only the aggrieved party can or should choose to do.
Christian Science’s “Doctrine of Atonement”
The doctrine of atonement, in Christian Science, is different from the practice of atonement that I just discussed. The doctrine of atonement in Christian Science is a practice in which one examines themselves, their life, their thoughts, and works to see or manifest a more perfect, sinless, and eternal version of themselves as they supposedly truly are as a so-called “reflection” of God. In passages relating to this subject from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy talks about the idea of a progression from mortal/material version of humankind to a more “spiritual” sense of “man” (in the now arcane generic use of the word “man”). In fact, she directly defines what she means by atonement in this passage: “Atonement is the exemplification of man’s unity with God, whereby man reflects divine Truth, Life, and Love.” (Science and Health, p. 18:1-3) Another passage that illustrates quite well what atonement is in Christian Science is this one: “The scientific unity which exists between God and man must be wrought out in life-practice, and God’s will must be universally done.” (Science and Health, p. 202:3)
Atonement in Christian Science, somewhat as it is in the conventional sense, is a process, and it can be ongoing throughout life. I would say that the big difference is the end goal. Generally, the conventional sense of atonement is to right a wrong that has been committed, whereas in the Christian Science “doctrine” of atonement, the goal is more of a reconciliation between “God” and humankind (I don’t like the generic term “man” so I try to avoid using it), in which people work to find their true “identity” and “perfection” as reflections of God.
Concluding thoughts…
As you harm none, do as you will. This is an axiom I always try to live by. I have said it before, if Christian Science is your thing, have at it. Do what you want, just don’t hurt someone else (like say, a dependent child by withholding lifesaving/life-preserving medical care because you think aligning your thought with “God” is going to cure your child’s diabetes). Practiced honestly, the Christian Science concept of “doctrine” of atonement isn’t a bad thing, if it makes you a better, more honest, empathetic, and compassionate person. The conventional idea of atonement can heal a lot of wrongs, and replace hate, anger, emotional hurt, and misunderstanding with love, understanding, and empathy. Honest atonement and reconciliation, where everyone has a glimpse into the path the other person walks, would heal a lot of the hate in this world, and that is definitely not a bad thing.
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Footnotes:
1 “The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.” Alcoholics Anonymous. Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. n.d. Web (PDF). 18-October-2023.
Emerging Gently 