Article March 21, 1908 Issue

Christian Scientists are not so much concerned as to the...

Lindley Fogg—Youngstown, O.

The Vindicator

Christian Scientists are not so much concerned as to the "mystery concerning the origin of evil" as they are in learning how to dispose of it quickly and in the most effectual manner. Jesus' method of dealing with the problem of evil was to effect its practical destruction in human consciousness and experience, and the Christians of to-day surely can do no better than follow his example. . . . Christian Science teaches that so long as sin is indulged and practised by an individual, to that individual sin is a very great reality, and his condition is not bettered by merely saying "there is no sin," for such a statement is not true to his sinful consciousness; but what is known as sin and evil in the human consciousness should be cast out and displaced by righteousness and good: and to the extent that this is done will the world be advancing toward that ultimate perfection which the Bible promises. . . .

The struggle between good and evil, between truth and error, has been going on for centuries, and so long as the leaders of religious thought regard "evil as just as real and operative as good is." — so long as Satan is regarded as possessing equal power with God, — there will be slight hope for the complete and permanent redemption of mankind, and the final destruction of all evil referred to by St. Paul when he says, "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death," which certainly includes the destruction of all lesser evils. Jesus of Nazareth recognized evil not as an eternal creation of God, whose works endure forever, but as a temporal discordant condition which could be destroyed, for he came "to destroy the works of the devil," not to destroy anything that was God-created or God-given. So Christian Scientists to-day recognize the apparent manifestation of evil, for "the servant is not greater than his lord," and they set about trying to destroy these discordant conditions in the way which they are thoroughly persuaded Jesus taught and practised.

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