Imperial Valley press., 1917-01-15

Of course those who have aban-
doned the hoOfed and horned concept
Of devil. only to substitute belief
in an incorporeal or bodiless power or
influence opposed to God, have not
really advanced very far, though
they may be said to shine as YER
table fountains Of light in compari-
son with those who still hold evil to
he a part Of the divine plan and cs-
sential to its proper COnsurmatlo1
Some Of the advocates Of this latter
theory do not seem to catch the sig
rfilaacc Of the fact that an inherent
sense Of right often prompts them to
try to stem the tide OF the very ovi!
which. # their belief be correct, Is to
serve the ultimate purposes Of good.
In Christian Science it is shown that
the term devil is properly sT2ony-
nous with the term evil. and tha.
evils source. origin and field Of OQ-
eration IS in the human mind. To at
tempt to persorify evil is to lose sigh
Of what it IS. and consequently Of how
to combat it. BY presenting an eX-
planation Of evil that is consistent
with the Scriptural assurance that
God who made all things" IS Love.
Christian Science has made it pos
sible for many thinking persons 70
come out Of unbelief.
Surely evil must be accounted foE
in a manner entirely in accord with
mans natural and rightful desire to
acouit Infinite intelligence Of having
committed a blunder that would he
inexcusable even on the part Of the So
called human mind. namely, Of na7-
irq established q universe and then
Deliberately put into that universe
the elements Of self-destruction. Wha1
would Won think Of an inventor who
= working out an elaborate device
for the accomplishment Of cherlshea
purpose should knowingly insert II
te delicate mechanism something tnat
--9ald he certain TO disturb the haf-
n7orv Of its action and eventually re
1gcn il to wreck and ruin W0ula
anyone regard that as an act Of in
tellirance or even of sanity? e
Us not attemDt to derv to Infinite
wisdom the attributes Of at least o.
diparv common sense.
DISPOSING OF : NEGATlON.
Since it Is obvious that ~ iHteil.-
gent and good God could not have
made evil and that to attribute to
evil any other positive sourc 9 Is
equivalent to contendinC for The IN
ross:h,e theory Of there being morc
than one primal cause or creator. tae
conclusions necessarily is this: Ira
evil Is not an entity At all. but re
cation. This may be illustrated N
sir-pIe way. IGNORANCE Is one Of the
most prorounced types of evil. =
very considerable proportion Of hu-
man endeqvor Is directed to the over
coming Of ignorance. THOUSANDS O.
schools and COLLEGES. hundreds Q.
thousands Of teachers, the trenoen-
dorS facilities of modern prlnl3lg,
publishing and distribution, are d.
voted largely TO this service. The
rrrfez-ior OF the educator IS honore
ar7or~ rner. and the business Of edu
cation is supported by untold wealth
of public and private funds. And 2. :.
this vast expenditure Of talent and
time and treasure is directed agains.
what? Against ignorance, nothing.
ness.
Would the educator succeed if he
were to regard that against which ne
contends rs positive thing, with q
real source and an actual presence
and power? Is there a school any
where whose curriculum includes &
course Of Instruction in the origin
and clements Of ignorance? "n9t
would he the opinion Of college. o.
university conducted or the theory that
The hest way to make a pupil wise
Is to keen his attention fixed on the
ornosire Of wisdom? Though all edu-
catiOral effort Is eXerted to the over
coming Of ignorance. such effort !.
based on full recognition Of the 1ac'
that ignorance is not Of itself any
thing. but merely the lack Of some
thing. and that the one practical wa.
70 disDose Of lack is by the positive
process Of supplying the needIu'
thing. .,
Of ignorance on its victims, the ham
rarinc and demoralizing influences a.
tributed to it in the conduct and a.
fairs Of those about Us. Therefore
can We truly say We are unable to
comprehenl the idea of Il merely ne%-
ativc evil ard vet needs to he pos.
lively and vigorously handled a2r
overcome?
In Considering how divine Science
Is ~el0ced 10 hJmar apprehension W
find oyr-e,vas now. therefore, in tha
rreqorcc If TWO fact r. rho utmo7'
practical value to each end al Of u7
namely. that every quality Of every
element Of good IS positive, a0a. fh"'
o--rr-- o~al;v of evegv phase II eV.
is negat;ve. Good only is the pre-
l~o- Of -,-ro-Fi~c' evil always 10 II
final Analysis, is the absence Of .onoo
thing. No one need ac"not this
p mere theory. II you will take thi.
e;,,-,,re ,r,'D a~1 aur,v II ae best To1
can to your daily problems. yon ",
f;Id rc,r tue Il is and you vii. he
agreeablv surprised. / am sure at
the change that shall come over Yo'
and vovr affairs.
SICKNESS NOT TO BE IGNORED
Sickness is phase q evil ald II
therefore needs to be considered from
the standpoint Of evils essential 1e@-
if it is to re handled in
tellieently. This Of course docs not
mean that the practice Of Christian
Science consists Of reiterating in q
sick ,DreOr'g ear that there Is moth