IT was house-cleaning time, and furniture and bric-a-brac had been crowded on the porch in order that the new broom might reach every nook and cranny of the cottage home. Soon there was a great commotion in the front yard. The sparrows were first to detect a strange object of alarm. Then came the robins, out of sheer curiosity to see what this great ado meant, and greatly to their surprise they too caught sight of the same strange object on the porch. They certainly did see something ominous, and it was their duty to join in sounding the alarm. This aroused the bluejays, and soon there was an animated chorus which attracted the attention of the whole neighborhood. A monster enemy was in their midst! What was it? It was a most unusual and unlooked for arrival, and something must be done, for at any time they might all be put to flight by this imperious looking visitor. Other birds had joined in the council of war, all agreeing that the peace and safety of the feathered community was surely endangered, and the outcry and alarm became general.
At this point the busy housewife appeared upon the porch and soon discovered the cause of the hubbub. The dear birds were wild with fright over her pet horned owl, the finished product of the taxidermist. All explanation on her part was in vain, so she gathered him up and took him indoors in order to dispel the dreadful fear without. So long as they could see this ominous looking creature, they were sure it must have power, but upon its disappearance their fright gave place and they were soon as busy and songful as ever.
This experience of the birds may serve to illustrate the untold suffering and confusion resulting from the too general view of evil, and should furnish a helpful object-lesson for those who are inclined to make light of the Master's injunction to judge not according to appearances. Too often the one correct attitude of thought seems to be wholly disregarded by professing Christians when attempting to discredit the Christian Science definition of evil. Its powerlessness and unreality do not appeal to them, because they have been taught the very opposite. They have been educated to think and judge in accord with physical seeing and hearing, and they know that they see evil on all sides; hence the un-Christian conclusion that it has a real or God sanctioned existence, not to be disputed. Jesus demonstrated the fact that the corporeal senses testify falsely concerning God and man, that they cannot define the true nature of good or of evil; then why rely upon them to form a just estimate of a Science that is based wholly upon the reality and supremacy of that which is unseen? Why declare from the pulpit that Christian Science is a dangerous teaching when it defines evil as only a phenomenon of human thought and consequently devoid of spiritual reality and power? Why tell hungering mortals, famishing for the bread of life, that the tares are just as real as the wheat; why tell them that a mistake is just as real as truth, and then expect them to love and obey good only? Why tell them that malice and hatred are just as real as love, and then expect them to obey the Golden Rule? Why tell them that good and evil come to them through the same channel, and then demand of them that they shall discriminate between right and wrong? Would it not be far more rational to call things by their right names? Jesus called the devil, evil a liar, and the father of it." Are mortals worshiping or honoring God when they personalize evil, and embellish their concept with eyes and hoofs and horns?
