Article September 21, 1998 Issue

How to stop hate and its effects

Self-defense is your divine right.

By Elise L. Moore

How can God, who is perfect, divine Love, permit hateful acts to occur? Those who do not believe that God is infinite Love shrug and say, "Evil happens." But those who have experienced something of God's power know that God is good. They expect more of God, including protection and safety. It is possible, and important, to prove the ability of God's power to combat evil effectively—to prove that God creates only good.

It's not people we are battling. We are battling blind and selfish thinking that would lead someone to justify doing evil. These aggressive thoughts, like bolts of lightning on a hot summer night, often flash without warning. What is our defense against unseen thoughts that erupt suddenly into violence? For me, the answer is prayer and a deeper acquaintance with Christ.

It is Christ, the Messiah, or "God with us," that saves from sin, whether our own or another's. Christ is "a divine influence ever present in human consciousness ..." (Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. xi). By cultivating an ability to listen to the divine influence, the Christ in human consciousness, we are engaging a divine defense system. This active listening is an aspect of prayer. Such prayer can alert us to impending aggression and even help defuse evil impulses and hatred.

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