Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1909-07-25

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE
TEACHES BELIEF IN
EVIL POWER FALSE
GOOD CAN NEVER PRODUCE
ITS OPPOSITE
Mrs. Eddy Holds with Apostle, "The
Creator Is Light, and in Him
Is No Darkness at
Alp

Alp
In his first general epistle the be-
loved disciple declares his intention OF
making known to his readers that
which was from the beginning, which
we have heard, which we have seen
with our eyes, which we have looked
upon, and our hands have handled OF
the word of life" His purpose in so
doing was that their joy might be full.
The keynote of the message he had to
deliver was that God is light, and in
him is no darkness at ALL When THIS
message is received it is Just as ef-
fectual today as when John wrote
these words out of the richness of his
own experience,
We have here presented a thought of
God which, if comprehended, would
lift humanity out of all darkness, men
tai, moral and physical Mortal mans
concept of God wherein he believes
that the Supreme Being sees all things
as he sees them, and is conscious of
all that has even a seeming existence
10 him, is not one that is destined toI
save humanity from the discords of
earth. This material concept of God
makes it possible for mortals to be
lieve as firmly in the reality of evil as
in the reality Of good. The struggle
between good and evil is prolonged
and the time when the conflict will
cease appears to be in the far distant
future SO long as two powers appear
to contend for place and recognition
in human consciousness the warfare
will continue.
Evil Not a Power
Strange as it may seem, it is never
theless true that people are sometimes
inclined to doubt ones loyalty to good
if one disputes the reality of evil. Many
feel that they are in duty bound to sup
port the sense Of sin and sickness in itsI
claim to reality and power They are
persuaded that God looks on evil in
the same way they do and for them to-
take any other view of 1t would be to-
dishonor God. The struggle against
evil has been in the main an effort to-
resist it as though it were as real and
powerful as good. When the ChristianI
is awakened to the fact that he is not
required to look on evil as power nor
as reality, he will find that his faith in
good grows stronger and his ability tol
master evil increases accordingly.
What the world needs is to under
stand that God is infinite good and in
Him is no sense of evil. This was evil
IDENTIFY Johns concept Of God when he
declared that "God is light and I'M
him is no darkness at all" Light Is a
symbol of good and darkness is the op-
posite or absence of good. How can
good be absent from itself? 1t cannot
be. If God is infinite good, there can be
I'm Him no sense or consciousness OIL
the opposite of Himself To say that
God is conscious of evil is to say that
God recognizes the absence of Himself.
Evil an Unhealthy
Good can never produce it's opposite.
Good is the creator of all that really Is.
The teaching of the Scriptures is en-
Dhatic on this point. And Cod saw
everything that he had made; and, be-
hold it was very good. mus
the heavens and the earth were nm
ished. and all the host Of them" Moth
ing remained to be created, for creation
is the full and complete expression of
infinite mind. The New Testament
writer's are just as definite on this point
as was Moses, who gave the first au-
thentic account Of creation. John says,
"Al things were made by him; and |
without him was not anything made
that was made Paul writes, But to
us there is but one God, the Father, of
whom are all things" 1t is certainly
not unscriptural TO refuse to acknoWl-
edge any reality in that which God did
not create.
God is infinite intelligence and that
which he does not know does not exist.
He knows all that is real and reality is
all that can be known. The unreal
may be accepted as reality, but 1t
cannot be known. Even God cannot
know that which does not exist. The
unreal can never even seem to be 10
that consciousness which knows. There
Is no darkness, no ignorance, in God
He cannot be deceived by a false sense.
"Thou art of purer eyes than to behold
evil and Canst not look on inlquity,"
was the prophets declaration.
God is life. God is ever present and
everywhere present. Therefore the
sense Of his absence must be an illu-
sion. Since God is infinite, eternal life
there can be in him no sense Of death.
All that God is responsible for is the
direct manifestation of the divine will
There is no death in life and the life
that is God is never responsible either
directly or indirectly for the human
experience called death. If God were
responsible for death there would be
death in Him and the apostles declara-
ton "in Him is no darkness at all,
would not be true.
God is Omnipotence all the power
there is. There can be but one all
power and since this is good there is mol
evil power. The belief IN an evil pOWerI
is delusiOn and has no reality. Mem
can never escape the sense of evil SO
long as they believe it to be a power
The statement that God is umuipoteut
leaves no room for another power called
evil; and when it is understood thatI
there is no sense or consciousness Of
evil in infinite good, the supposed power
Of evil is proven pCWcTless and hui
manity is delivered theretrOm
But One All-Power
The thought of God expressed in
Johns statement is scientific and it isl
practical as every man can prove for.
himself. Instead Of contending for the
power and reality Of that which opposes
itself to good. evil should be left 10 it
self. If it has no support outside of
itself it will fall, for it cannot stand
alone. Christian Science is in perfect
accord with Johns declaration that
Good is ieht and i'm Him is no darkness
at an If one honestly orders his life
according to this teaching he can
demonstrate its truth. He viii recog
nize God as The only source Of being
and that which seems to have another
origin win be rejected as worthless.
As a result of adhering to the teach
ing Of Christian Science. that God isl
infinite good and all He creates is like
Himself; that He is Life present.
and never absent; chat He is the only
power and never works eyil; that lie isl
infinite intelligence and knows all that
is real and nothing else, one becomes