Article December 24, 1938 ISSUE

A recent article, written by a minister, contained certain...

John M. Dean, Committee on Publication for the State of Tennessee,—Memphis

Commercial Appeal

A recent article, written by a minister, contained certain criticisms of Christian Science. The article was courteous and friendly, and this spirit is appreciated. Another article was unusual because, while purporting to be a criticism of Christian Science, it was largely an admission of its truth. Both articles undertook to establish the following points: (1) That while God did not create sin, He made a creature capable of creating it. (2) That in numerous instances the Bible recognizes sin as an institution.

If evil is an entity, it matters nothing whether God created it firsthand or by proxy. In either event, He would be responsible for its existence. God's creation is not dual in its nature. He cannot logically be charged with originating two powers, one good and one evil, which war forever with each other. God, good, neither originates evil nor consents to it. In Ecclesiastes we read, "Whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it." This leaves no room for a supplemental creation. Temporal beliefs cannot be grafted on spiritual facts. Material inventions cannot supersede spiritual ideas.

Nobody knows better than the Christian Scientist that sin brings suffering. Sin is forgiven only as it is forsaken. The Christian Scientist does not flippantly ignore the general mortal claim that evil is a reality, any more than the teacher of mathematics would overlook the false belief that two times two is five. Both beliefs are mistaken concepts concerning a fact. They came from nowhere, go nowhere, and cease to have the appearance of something when dissipated by an understanding of God in one instance and the rules of arithmetic in the other. Christian Science merely contends for the perfect, spiritual, and "very good" creation of the first chapter of Genesis, and the declaration in Genesis 2:1, "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished." Surely this account precludes any assertion of the reality of evil as a God-made entity or actuality.

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