Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-09-13
WRITER EXPLAINS
UNHEALTHY OF EVIL
KNOWLEDGE OF WRONG IS
N0N-ESSENTIAL
Christian Science Advocate Shows
IndlspensablIlty Of Correct Inter-
probation OF Bible to Solve
LIfe's Problems
az JOHN cARvETH

HT HAT is called worldly wisdom
w says that a knowledge of evil
is essential to proper knowl-
edge of good; Also that good and evil
coexist in primal forms. because near
Nv If not every identity In the ma
teriaI world in some degree manlIests
both good and evil The serpent Sor
Satan) first announced the theory OF
dual nature in the garden of Eden'
declaring that the tree of the knoWi-
edge OF good and evil brought fortn
fruit that made it's partakers wise. II
will be agreed that 1t Is OF the nlsh-
est Importance to humanity that
right perception of true knowledge De
attained, IL possible This attainment
is not only Indispensable to the cor.
rect INTERPRETATION of the Bible. put
"A equally SO to the solution or the
problems of life. To solve the ques-
ton a right comprehension Oh the ma
ture of good and of the supposed ma
ture of evil is primary; only from
right premise can correct conelusions
be drawn. e..
Christ Jesus taught that God Is fun
! fiamental causation, the ultimate
premise or source of all that In fact
exists. He taught that GOD IS spirit
and that God Is the only good; hence,
that Spirit is the only good. lie taugnt
EVERY good tree bringeth forth good
fruit: but a corrupt tree bringeth
forth evil fruit" The statement of
the serpent and the teaching of Christ
Jesus do not agree. Which should be
followed? 1t is evident that there Is
nothing but the truth to know. Tor IL
we know the truth about anything we
cannot even believe, much less know,
any lie or false statement about 1t.
TO illustrate: We may know that
twice three is six, but can never know
that twice three is seven. To know
that twice three IL six silences every
misstatement about II. Again. Jesus
said HE (the deviD was a murderer
from the beginning, and abode not In
the truth, because there Is no truth
in him for he Is a liar, and
the father of It," A lie is always a
false statement about some fact, and
by accepting lie about anything, we
lose the truth about it. A falsehood
about a good man is that he Is bad
man. A lie, to him that accepts IT,
reverses to him the nature and charac-
ter of everything the lie touches; then,
70 know the truth about anything that
q lie has touched and perverted, is
to correct this perverted false sense.
II the statement of Jesus is true that
evil is liar and lie with no truth in
Il, II must be lie or false statement
about some fact or truth.
Good Comes from Experience
AS the terms good and evil embrace
all there is or can be known or be-
lieved, 1t irresistibly follows that evil
is a lie about God. good, for 1t coulu
only lie about itself by calling itself
good. and this lie would be edualed
only by calling good evil. III evI
should call itself evil, or a lie, 1t would
be telling the truth about itself, and
this would contradict the statement of
Jesus that 1t had no truth in 1t. 1t
follows> that to know both good and
evil as facts, is to know both the truth
and a lie about good at the same time.
We have already seen that to accept
lie about anything as the truth, rem
ders 1t absolutely impossible to know
the truth about it, The belief that
the knowledge OF evil is essential TO
a knowledge OF good is, according to
the statement of the serpent and the
worlds standard, true intelligence;
hence. that a knowledge of evil is
part of true intelligence. AS the world
greatly values what 1t calls "intelli-
gence," so II must greatly value evil,
which 1t claims is an essential element
of intelligence. Is II any wonder the
world INDUCES and clings to evil, which
it regards of such indispensable merit!
Suppose the Christian who Is so
earnestly engaged in the destruction of
evil should succeed in his effort? Then,
according to the worlds logic, he would
seriously impair, If not wholly destroy,
the worlds intelligence. There is no
other conclusion. for II every one were
to cease practising evil IN any degree.
then evil would cease to be known ana
would soon pass out of human memory.
again, the best thinkers agree that ex-
detrimental knowledge is the best and
In fact the only true knowledge. VINO
will deny that he who knows most
about good is he who most Thoroughly
practises it, both from within ana WIN
out? No real knowledge OF good can
come to one except 1t be experimental
1t must become vital anu loving ex-
perience to him II he would know It's
real benign nature. He must pursue
it for its own sake. Il
What is the result of the experimental
knowledge of evil? When men practise
evil and thereby imbibe its demoraiiz-
ing nature, their perception of good be-
comes so blunted that they have little
i. any real conception of its nature ana
obligations. They believe thu they md
good in evil and to their sense eVll is
good. No one would think of submit
ting to the hardened sinner a questlon
involving the moral and spiritual ad-
vancement of the race. Thus we see
that a knowledge of evil, If gained IN
the only way In which a knowledge OF
good may be gained, is fatal to a
knowledge of good, for to the evil
minded good Is absolutely Destroyer,
How completely the experiences OF
mankind, In this regard, prove the
statement of our great Master, mat
evil is and was from the beginnlng' TO
mortal sense, a murderer or gooo. II
is impossible to know both good anu
evil as reality. because good, IN It's very
nature and in every element, quarry,
and law of It's being, contradicts every
supposed quality and law OF evii; ana
vice versa.
Contradiction Of Evil
If. then, good is fact, evil. which is
an emphatic and complete contradic-
ton of it, cannot be fact. but Is lie
about the fact, as Jesus Christ at
firmed. It is entirely beyond the range
OF ones ability to know that twice four
Is eight and also that twice four Is nine,
because one statement contradicts the
other; hence we learn that things, OPP
poslte ! their very nature cannot both
be true. We can never recognize lie
as such until we know the truth about
that OF which the falsehood Is assert
ed, and therefore we can never COM
prehend the supposed statements and
claims of the falsehood until we learn
the truth. Does the one who practises
evil and accepts its alluring promises
understand the suppositional nature OF
evil? Not until he learns by sad ex-
perience that all of the promises OF
good that evil Offers turn to ashes, and
all its sunDOsed exDeriaf1caa Of Measure