Article April 8, 1985 Issue

Innocence— weakness or strength?

WILLIAM MILFORD CORRELL

In our world today we often hear of cases where the innocent suffer. They seem to be victims of circumstance. In many instances children are innocent victims of crime. It's obvious that there's need for a better method of protection, a better way of defending the innocent from imposition, from the wolves in our society.

We need never concede that we're helpless before evil. The whole thrust of the Bible is the overcoming of evil with good. Christ Jesus was pictured as the Lamb of God, the representative of true innocence. And yet he overcame the world, the flesh, and the devil. Discussing the overcoming of evil portrayed in the Apocalypse, Mrs. Eddy says in Science and Health: "The beast and the false prophets are lust and hypocrisy. These wolves in sheep's clothing are detected and killed by innocence, the Lamb of Love." Science and Health, p. 567. How is this practical in our experience today?

The answer begins with an understanding of the presence and power of God and of man's relationship to Him. Christian Science teaches that God is almighty, that He is absolute good, that He has made man in His likeness, entirely free from any taint of evil. Hence man as the child of God is completely innocent of evil. Because God created all and called it good, there is no room for evil. It was by understanding the power and reality of God, good, and the unreality of evil that Jesus made his marvelous demonstrations of protection and deliverance from his enemies. And so in applying Christian Science, we're seeking to establish this same understanding in our consciousness and to see it made evident in our experience. When we grasp the unreality of evil, we are well on the road to conquering it and finding our freedom from imposition.

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