Christian Science is the Comforter promised by Christ Jesus when he said, "I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth" (John 14:16, 17). That Christian Science is bringing comfort to mankind today is being constantly proved by those who understand its teachings, for it is supplying their needs often in truly marvelous ways. It could not fail to do this, since it reveals God as the source of all good, of all blessedness; as the Father who cares for man with infinite tenderness. That is the message which Christian Science brings to humanity, to meet its needs and to comfort it. Mrs. Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, says in "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" (p. 186), "Rest assured that He in whom dwelleth all life, health, and holiness, will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory."
Now the needs of humanity appear to be many. What are some of them? Is not one of its most crying needs the vanquishment of sin? No one surely will dispute that sin—evil thoughts entertained and practiced—is productive of the majority of mankind's saddest experiences. Probably most of the sickness experienced by mortals is due to it; most of the sorrow also. How sin ravages home life, blasting human affections and hopes! How it undermines the spirituality of those who indulge it, blurring their sense of beauty, harmony, and love! Christian Science never condones sin; rather does it expose its altogether sinister nature, its altogether unspiritual nature, calling upon the sinner to repent and sin no more. Our Leader writes (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 10), "Christian Science reveals a necessity for overcoming the world, the flesh, and evil, and thus destroying all error."
How does Christian Science meet this need—the need of vanquishing sin? By making known the true nature of God and the unreal nature of matter and evil. Christian Science reveals God as infinite Mind, infinite Spirit, infinite good. Since God is Spirit, and infinitely good, what men call matter and evil have no real existence—they are unreal. Sin cannot be dissociated from matter or the flesh, or, in other words, from the so-called carnal mind, which, as Paul told the Romans (8:7), "is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." But when divine Mind is understood to be the only Mind, and the carnal mind seen to be a myth, the way becomes plain for the overthrow of the belief that matter and evil are real, with the resultant demolition of sin's foundation. Once the knowledge of the unreality of matter and evil is established in human consciousness and the inability of sin to confer real pleasure and happiness is realized, the incentive to indulge in sin is lost, and thought thus released turns to the contemplation of spiritual reality, which is altogether good and satisfying.
