THE fact that mankind worships that which it believes has power is shown by the many gods proclaimed and worshiped of which history bears record. Because of human belief in and fear of pestilence and war, there were supposed to be gods who inflicted or withheld these and other evils. It might seem, perhaps, that such idolatrous beliefs were more consistent than the claim that there is one God, who, however, is not wholly good, inasmuch as He sends or permits evil as well as good. The teachings of Christ Jesus and his perfect demonstration of the omnipotence of good afford Scriptural authority for Mrs. Eddy's oft-repeated declarations as to the reality and power of God, good, and the consequent unreality and impotence of evil.
Human reason coincides with spiritual revelation in the assurance that God, the infinite creator of the infinite, eternal universe, must be good —good in nature, good in influence, good in effect. Evil is not creative, but, contrariwise, as a belief, is destructive in its nature, influence, and effect. Christ Jesus knew this to be true; and he proved this knowledge by overcoming every phase of evil, including sin, sickness, sorrow, limitation, and death. His brave words to Pilate indicate that he permitted himself to be placed in the hands of his persecutors only that God, good, might be glorified in his subsequent triumphant resurrection from the tomb, which was followed by his ascension above all beliefs in matter and evil. He proved good to be eternally triumphant over evil!
Through reason and spiritual understanding Mary Baker Eddy discerned Christ Jesus' consistent and definite teaching that God is good in the sense that He is the only good. In "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 286) she writes: "In the Saxon and twenty other tongues good is the term for God. The Scriptures declare all that He made to be good, like Himself, — good in Principle and in idea. Therefore the spiritual universe is good, and reflects God as He is." Thus Christian Science logically classifies evil as merely the supposed absence of good; it is not a positive reality and verity. If evil were true or a part of Truth, it could never be overcome or displaced, and mankind would be helpless and hopeless. The natural resistance to evil on the part of the normal individual betokens an innate sense of evil's illegitimacy and unreality.
