Article July 29, 1922 Issue

Evil, from the Christian Science point of view, is the...

Brigman C. Odom, Committee on Publication for the State of Texas,

El Paso Times

Evil, from the Christian Science point of view, is the negation of good; it denies that God is supreme; it has no relation whatsoever to the eternal Mind, infinite good, and does not exist in it; it is therefore not true, and hence not real. Evil is entirely mental; under certain conditions (beliefs) it would say that its name is anger; at other times it labels itself malice, hate, impatience, strife, revenge, and so on. Evil has the elements of destruction; hence that which appears as evil is of short duration; it is temporal, and is constantly changing; it is one thing to-day, and something else to-morrow. Good is ever good; it knows no evil; it does not change; it is the same yesterday and to-day and forever. Evil is, therefore, without entity; it has no real origin, no source, no intelligence, no existence.

The thing that appears to worry the opponents of Christian Science is the fact that Christian Science has gained the recognition of thinking people everywhere; that it has flourished for half a century under the lash of intolerance, prejudice, and bigotry; and it will survive all such future attacks, because it possesses the inherent vitality of demonstrable, spiritual truth. If Christian Science were what its critics would mislead the public to believe, it would have lapsed into oblivion before the close of the first decade of its history. No modern historian of repute fails to accord it its rightful place as a potent factor in the religious life of to-day. A rector of the Episcopal church, speaking of Christian Science, says: "The denunciation by many ministers reveals a lack of thought and kindness, which raises a suspicion that the fear of losing members rather than the love of truth may account for their hostility."

Christian Scientists never attack, either from their pulpits or through the press, the religious teachings of their neighbors, but are willing that all the theories in regard to God be put to the test of demonstration, and rise or fall on their own merit. Every uncalled-for assault on Christian Science serves to awaken an interest in its teachings, redounds to the good of the Cause, in that it causes fair-minded people to seek information in regard to a world-famed movement, which critics are endeavoring to overthrow by superficial criticism. Christian Scientists strive to live godly, Christian lives, gaining by degrees greater immunity from sickness and sin than they have known before.

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