Whatever is not of God, whatever is not of Truth, is an unreality, a false belief, untrue; and one has dominion over the suggestions that evil is necessary to one's well-being and can control one against one's will. One has Scriptural authority for this dominion, for the Bible states plainly that God created man in His likeness, or image, and that He gave him dominion.

Evil, whether it calls itself an illness, a difficulty, sin, or sorrow, is a lie, a belief in a power, mind, and life apart from God, Spirit. But evil is never a person, a place, or a thing; it is an impersonal nonentity. Separated from an individual, evil is rendered helpless, harmless, inoperative. And always evil is falsely mental, a supposition, but always an illusion, a base deception.

Healing in Christian Science is the demonstration of man's dominion. Healing is spiritually mental, always a change from material finite thinking to some degree of spiritual understanding of the perfection of God and of man plus a life consistent with such realization.

One demonstrates man's dominion primarily in dominion over his own thoughts and actions. Since whatever is evil is subjective, a false mental state, spiritually-minded men and women prove their dominion over the aggressive suggestions which present themselves. In Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy writes (p. 392), "Whatever benefit is produced on the body, must be expressed mentally, and thought should be held fast to this ideal." Then she adds in the same paragraph: "If you decide that climate or atmosphere is unhealthy, it will be so to you. Your decisions will master you, whichever direction they take."

It is never the circumstance, then, but what one makes of the circumstance, that will affect him harmoniously or unpleasantly. The experience of a young student of Christian Science verifies this. She and her husband met in a distant city two former business associates and invited them to share Thanksgiving dinner. They accepted the invitation, and then one of them said that he had several bottles of champagne which he would contribute to the dinner.

Since the student was the only one who was interested in Christian Science, she deemed it wise to say nothing at the moment. But every time she thought about the dinner, she prayed for guidance; and she felt assured that her prayers would be answered.

A verse from the Bible came to her, and she applied it to her home. It was this (Rev. 21: 27): "There shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie." She understood this to mean that nothing could enter her home, her consciousness, which could defile the purity of the Christ, which she was striving to keep uppermost in thought and to emulate, that nothing could enter her thought which was not glorifying God.

She was also inspired by Mrs. Eddy's spiritual definition of "wine" in the Glossary of Science and Health (p. 598), "Inspiration; understanding." She felt very clear after praying over these angel messages that only heavenly inspiration and a better understanding of God's presence and power would result from this experience.

When the guests arrived, they had brought no wine to be served. The dinner was a happy occasion, without a discordant note of any kind.

The student learned many lessons from the experience, one of which was that silence need not always denote acquiescence; rather it may well denote a radical reliance upon God to govern in whatever way is best for all concerned. Leaving all to God is a lesson all mankind must learn at some time, sooner or later.

Man's dominion is evidenced in one's power to express God and to demonstrate His divine control. The dominion over evil includes the dominion over every thought which would tempt one to believe himself liable to attack from sickness, fear, and limitations of every kind. One learns that limited health is no less evil than is limited honesty, limited love, or limited endeavor.

One exercises dominion over evil, over his thinking and subsequent actions, when he rejects evil suggestions and holds steadfastly to the truths of God and man until he gains and retains his peace and joy. He thus permits, ensures, and demonstrates true spiritual self-knowledge and self-control under divine Principle at all times.

One's dominion over evil lies in one's capacity to be the man whom God made, to show forth God's majesty, power, and glory and in the ability to express perfectly what God is, has, and does. This is one's privilege and heritage now and forever. Christian Science enables humanity to discard its finite limitations and thereby demonstrate man's dominion over all the earth.