Article January 15, 1990 Issue

But what about evil?

Christian Science does not ignore the evil in the world. But it does offer a radically spiritual answer to life's tragedies.

Florence E. Berg

The small town was stunned. A kindergarten child who had been missing was found dead—the victim of a crime. The mother of another child in the same kindergarten class lamented, "In Christian Science Sunday School my son has been taught that all is good. Now this happened. What can you say to a five-year-old child under these circumstances?"

This mother's concern over how to explain murder to a five-year-old is understandable. But the idea that Christian Science teaches that "all is good" is really a misconception. Christian Science teaches that all that is real is good—and all that is real is spiritual, not material. It does not claim that evil does not exist as an error, or false belief, to be dealt with and overcome. The very purpose of Christian Science is to heal and save from sickness and sin. But it does this through the understanding of evil's ultimate nothingness in the light of Truth.

This is an extremely important point to understand about Christian Science. Most religions teach, as does Christian Science, that God is Spirit, all-power, eternal, perfect, the source, or creator, of all that exists. But Christian Science reveals the logical sequence to this fact—that all that really exists must be spiritual and perfect, since God is Spirit and His creation only reflects His perfect nature. But what about the material world with its apparent evils?

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