Denies
Atonement is not blood sacrifice; Christ demonstrates Life conquers sin
Christian Science rejects the substitutionary or penal atonement theory. The atonement is not a legal transaction in which Christ's blood cancels the guilt of sin, nor is it a ransom paid to evil powers. Instead, Christ's atonement is His demonstration that Life, Truth, and Love are absolute and that sin, sickness, and death have no real power.
Through His spiritual understanding and actions, Jesus showed that sin and its consequences are illusions of mortal mind that yield to the recognition of God's allness. True atonement means 'at-one-ment'—the restoration of harmony with God through understanding that our true nature is already one with infinite good.
Key Distinctions
- Primary theory:
- demonstration of Truth over sin — Christ's work shows that sin and death have no ultimate power
- Scope of atonement:
- universal — God's healing Truth is available to all
- Propitiation affirmed:
- no — blood atonement and penal substitution are rejected
Scripture References
Sources
- Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy