Editorial August 2, 1941 Issue

Evil Has No Origin

George Shaw Cook

Speaking in the name of God, the prophet Isaiah said, "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else."

One of the fundamental teachings of Christian Science is that God is the only cause or creator, and that He is infinite good. On page 587 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," the Christian Science textbook, its author, Mary Baker Eddy, defines "good" as follows: "Good. God; Spirit; omnipotence; omniscience; omnipresence; omniaction."

Since God, infinite good, is the only cause or creator, and is, therefore, the origin or source of all that actually exists by way of creation, it follows logically that evil, the suppositional opposite of good, has no origin and no real entity. Mrs. Eddy, however, recognized that mortals, believing as they do in the reality of evil, are often curious regarding its supposed origin. Therefore, on page 346 of "Miscellaneous Writings," she says: "The origin of evil is the problem of ages. It confronts each generation anew. It confronts Christian Science. The question is often asked, If God created only the good, whence comes the evil? To this question Christian Science replies: Evil never did exist as an entity. It is but a belief that there is an opposite intelligence to God."

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