Evil Unreal

Albert F. Gilmore

A correspondent asks how Christian Science can declare evil to be unreal since it is so commonly manifested all about us. And in support of his belief in its seeming reality he points to the frequent appearance of the word in the Scriptures, a fact which to his thought establishes it as having reality and entity. The problem thus raised is not a new one. It had its beginnings in the dim past when mortals first began to contemplate life, its source, its environment, and its meaning, and has persisted through all the ages.

Discussion of evil as to its reality must also include consideration of its seeming origin and an understanding of reality. What is reality? "That which is actual, true, authentic; that which is, which has being," are some of the dictionary definitions of the word. Being, that which is, is apparently the underlying fact of reality. Now this raises the question of being and existence. Christian Science teaches the allness of God, the Supreme Being, infinite Life, the source of all existence. There is, there can be, then, no existence, no being, no reality, apart from the infinite God. Reality inheres only in God and His creation. But God's creation is like Himself, the expression of the divine nature, character, qualities. Evil, then, can have no place in God's creation, the true universe, unless it has its source in Him. Christian Science holds emphatically to the proposition that God is both infinite and good; in fact, in many tongues God and good are derived from the same root and are in a sense interchangeable. Moreover, since the Scriptural assertion is that "God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good," the conclusion is justifiable that since creation is all good its source must be likewise good. Manifestly, then, evil is not a quality of Deity and has no place in God's creation.

A student of Mrs. Eddy's writings was once asked if it were true that Christian Science teaches that disease is unreal. He answered that Christian Science teaches that God did not make or cause disease, and the inquirer turned away quite satisfied. Apparently he did not associate reality alone with God's creation, for it was evident that he believed disease to be real, very real in fact, although willing to believe that it did not come from God. To mortal sense, evil in its manifold forms seems real, very real. But it must not be overlooked that material sense is not a reliable witnessbearer, for it can take no slightest cognizance of Spirit and its manifestation, which comprises all reality.

Truth, including all reality, is positive; that is to say, Truth is, has existence and entity. Evil being false is negative; it has no existence, is illusion, unreal. Mrs. Eddy states the case tersely on page 107 of "Miscellaneous Writings": "Evil is a negation: it never started with time, and it cannot keep pace with eternity." That evil has no source in good Jesus made very plain. "A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit," he declared, "neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit." Throughout his career the Nazarene constantly denounced evil, and moreover proved its unreality, its nothingness, by its destruction. He could have furnished no more convincing proof of the unreality of evil than in his repeated demonstration of the power of good, his understanding of reality, in the destruction of evil. Disease of many types, sin, hypocrisy, want, material law—all these falsities fell before his understanding of spiritual reality. His demonstration of the reality of good destroyed the claim of evil to entity and power.

These demonstrations served a twofold purpose. They proved both the unreality of evil and God's allness, that is, the allness of good. Our Leader proves her thesis by this logical reasoning: On pages 9 and 10 of "Unity of Good," in answering the query as to the difference between her system of metaphysics and all others, she says, "This: that by knowing the unreality of disease, sin, and death, you demonstrate the allness of God." And later as to these claims of evil she adds, "The reality of these so-called existences I deny, because they are not to be found in God, and this system is built on Him as the sole cause."

The reasoning is sound and the proof is complete. The false beliefs summarized in the generic term "evil" are being constantly destroyed in mortal thought. Their seeming hold is lessening, and ultimately will cease to claim existence. While the end of evil may not as yet be patent to human vision, yet, since to divine consciousness evil is unknown, it has no prospect but oblivion. The proof of its unreality is already sufficiently complete to justify the expectation, aye the certainty, of its final disappearance. Since evil never had even seeming existence apart from mortal belief, when that belief is transformed by the Christ, Truth, its very abiding place will have ceased. The end of evil is an assured fact, for in God, omnipotent and infinite good, inheres all reality.

Albert F. Gilmore

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Mind is Never Weary

November 30, 1929

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