We learn from the Scriptural record that virtually all Christ Jesus' brief ministry on earth was devoted to proving to mankind the perfection of God's spiritual creation and the utter powerlessness of evil in all its aggressive phases. Jesus frequently spoke of God, divine Love, as his heavenly Father. He was aware of man's spiritual status as the perfect reflection of God's being. This knowledge of his spiritual selfhood alerted Jesus to the spuriousness of the aggressive suggestions of the carnal mind, which he often referred to as Satan.

The teachings of Christian Science show that evil is neither person, place, nor thing. Through these teachings mankind are provided with a scientific means of proving the nothingness of aggressive claims, even as Jesus did centuries ago. When his way is emulated by Christian followers in the destruction of all that is ungodly, the kingdom of heaven is found at hand, just as Jesus taught his disciples that it is.

Our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, recognized how important it is for students to handle, that is, to scientifically overcome, aggressive mental suggestion. In one of the By-Laws of the Manual of The Mother Church, of which she is the author, she instructs students to deal specifically each day with this evil. This By-Law, familiar to Christian Scientists, is entitled "Alertness to Duty" and reads as follows (Art. VIII, Sect. 6): "It shall be the duty of every member of this Church to defend himself daily against aggressive mental suggestion, and not be made to forget nor to neglect his duty to God, to his Leader, and to mankind. By his works he shall be judged,—and justified or condemned."

Evil often tries to assert itself as an entity wherever there are sources of enlightenment. The press, radio, and television are very helpful instruments for good, yet from these sources is voiced and portrayed the aggressive mental suggestion of many minds and of Satan "going to and fro in the earth" (Job 1:7).

To be conscious of one's true, spiritual identity and to maintain full assurance of the nothingness of evil, a daily study of the Lesson-Sermon in the Quarterly is essential. Also a prayerful compliance with the By-Law just quoted is required; otherwise one would be neglecting and overlooking a most important provision for guidance and protection.

One must be awake to the insidious claims of the carnal mind, though realizing that there is no reality in them. In encounters with others and through the mass media which are daily before the public thought, one need not be victimized by error if he is equipped and fortified with Truth. Spiritual creation is here, to be discerned by all in its perfection; but students must deal with error's denial of this fact.

There have been occasions when Christian Scientists have traced problems of disease and inharmony to failure to handle a belief of aggressive mental suggestion which has been accepted in thought.

Several years ago a teen-age boy became quite ill with what appeared to be a feverish cold. Awaking from a restless sleep, he called to his mother, stating in an extremely fearful voice that he could not see anything. Prayerful work revealed to the mother's thought that one or two nights before, the boy had watched a television program in which a man had been viciously attacked and had been made blind.

Believing that the boy had taken in this aggressive mental picture of evil and the mortality of man, the mother quieted his fear and worked to know that man is spiritual and cannot take into consciousness anything that is erroneous, for he is subject only to God's laws of harmony. The boy responded quickly and soon was completely free. Mrs. Eddy states (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 284), "Evil let alone grows more real, aggressive, and enlarges its claims; but, met with Science, it can and will be mastered by Science."

Christ Jesus, our Way-shower, and the prophets of old knew they were amenable to God and to divine law alone. Through their ceaseless prayers, they communed with God for guidance in the way of Life. Jesus taught us to pray (Matt. 6:13), "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." In a song of the Psalmist are recorded these words (Ps. 67:1, 2): "God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; that thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations."

How blest are the seekers of Truth in this age, for they have a spiritual source of illimitable riches to counteract the supposititious evils of the day, not only in the Bible, but in the inspired writings of our Leader and in the Christian Science periodicals!

Let us be alert to the aggressive encroachments of evil and be faithful to the teachings of Christian Science, which set forth the way of handling error, bearing in mind our Leader's counsel in Science and Health (p. 392): "Stand porter at the door of thought. Admitting only such conclusions as you wish realized in bodily results, you will control yourself harmoniously."

Our means of defense in handling aggressive evil may be summarized in these beautiful lines from a poem by John Greenleaf Whittier: