Upfront July 18, 2011 Issue

Love marches on

Jenny Nelles

A lot of talk has been given to getting at the roots of global terrorism—stamping it out for good. How can something so complex be accomplished?

The mythic Greek “hydra” is an image that’s helped me see how evil attempts to operate. It’s described as a monster with many heads that had the ability to regrow not one head, but two, after being confronted in battle. I find it so compelling that the creature is mentioned in Science and Health in relation to “hatred, which lifts its hydra head, showing its horns in the many inventions of evil” (p. 563).

Engaging with evil on its own level doesn’t always work. But happy thoughts and naive assumptions about the danger of malicious intentions aren’t good enough either. Thankfully, Christian Science points to the fact that hatred and violence can be defeated through brotherly, Christly, love.

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