Insidious crimes are reported daily by the press. What are we doing about it? What can be done to lessen crime, hold it in check, and hasten the day when the affections of all men are governed by God's law and crime is destroyed? The study and practice of Christian Science not only give us satisfactory answers but also demonstrable ones.

The world in general needs to know how to cope with crime in a sensible and effective way. It needs to recognize that the criminal and his crime are both the result of the sinful, ungodlike thinking of the carnal, or mortal, mind, which God's law as explained in Christian Science destroys. The criminal is not separate from the wicked mentality that moves him to commit the offense. Sinful thinking, sinister motives, wicked and immoral desires and practices, unbridled and unchecked in human thinking, grow and increase until the individual entertaining them becomes their victim.

We learn in Christian Science that mortal mind, the opposite of the only real Mind, or God, is the criminal. Christian Science exposes the nature of the one evil and teaches mankind how to defend themselves from its false suggestions and influence. Science explains that the crimes mortal mind fabricates are variations of the one evil, which counterfeits God's good qualities that man in Science reflects.

The physical condition of the brain does not reveal the quality of an individual's consciousness. Matter cannot and does not determine the quality or condition of a person's thinking. But the quality of one's mentality, whether it is good or bad, does determine what sort of person he is.

Mrs. Eddy asks these questions in Science and Health: "Can matter commit a crime? Can matter be punished? Can you separate the mentality from the body over which courts hold jurisdiction?" ^{Science and Health, p. 105;} Then she adds, "Mortal mind, not matter, is the criminal in every case; and human law rightly estimates crime, and courts reasonably pass sentence, according to the motive."

Christian Science teaches that the consciousness of each individual as God's idea is wholly good. It is exempt from any sense of evil. The fundamental nature of this consciousness is spiritual innocency. The supposition of evil manifest as sinful thinking, wicked motives, or immorality never penetrates the atmosphere of true consciousness.

In the degree that one understands that genuine selfhood reflects God, divine Mind, whose thought-forces are entirely spiritual and good, he can successfully refute and destroy the erroneous sense of the immoral so-called forces, or aggressive mental suggestions, of the carnal mind. One possesses a scientific basis from which to bridle wrong desires when he understands the real nature of man as revealed in Christian Science.

As one gains spiritual understanding, it exposes any mistaken sense of identity he may have with errors and discords and arouses him to correct this sense. Repentance brings about the necessary change of human character from error to truth and makes available to him the healing and regenerating power of God. The degree of his reformation determines the effectiveness of his appeal to God's law of justice, which destroys the sense of sin and cancels out the punishment that sin inflicts.

We must refuse to identify ourselves with or further any sort of unspiritual thinking, intentional or unintentional. We need to be alert and not indulge in subtle mental crimes. Such errors as hatred, deceit, jealousy, dishonesty, and sensuality would undermine the sense of health and integrity and deteriorate our morals. Every evil thought must be challenged and destroyed with the Christlike thinking that reflects God, divine Mind. In the degree that this is done, crime is held in check and we make a worthy contribution to our community.

The infinite power of God reflected in good spiritual thinking is the healing presence of the Christ that liberates men from the devilish influence of mortal mind. When we express the nature of God, divine Love, we are not vulnerable to the insidious temptations that plague the human race.

In a sermon delivered at Boston, Mrs. Eddy said: ''The Science of Christianity makes pure the fountain, in order to purify the stream. It begins in mind to heal the body, the same as it begins in motive to correct the act, and through which to judge of it. ^{Christian Healing, p. 7;} She added farther on: "Jesus knew that adultery is a crime, and mind is the criminal. I wish the age was up to his understanding of these two facts, so important to progress and Christianity."

In the measure that we bear witness in thought and deed to the continuous, constructive action of good that is in accordance with divine Mind's law, we overcome the weaknesses in human character. Wrong tendencies are destroyed by the moral, spiritual power of true being. When spiritual good is identified and cherished, the sense of evil is impersonalized, rejected, and destroyed. How successful we are in challenging and destroying the animal magnetism or active evil, in our own thinking determines our ability to free others of sinful, degrading, or wicked tendencies.

The Apostle Paul understood the importance of utilizing the power of spiritual dominion. He wrote to the Romans: "Know Ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.'' ^{Rom 6:16, 17;} Emphasizing that right thinking liberates, he added, "Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness."

Christian Science reveals the immaculate, spiritual nature of all true individuality, the reflection of God's being, and on this basis destroys material sense, the false accuser which erroneously influences men. The words in St. John's Revelation are being demonstrated today, "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night." ^{Rev. 12:10.}