Generation after generation, mortals have asked the questions, Where did evil come from? What is its origin? Even those who, through the study of Christian Science, have gained some knowledge of the allness and ever-presence of good may have been perplexed by the so-called problem of evil.
Let us consider the first question referred to above: Where did evil come from? This question may be inferentially answered by asking another question: Where did the erroneous belief that two and two makes five come from? Obviously, it did not come. Two and two is not five, but four. From the standpoint of mathematical truth, two and two is five does not exist. And so it is with all kinds of mathematical mistakes. They have no actual existence, no entity, no presence. They can only be regarded as ignorance of the science of mathematics—as mathematical myths, so to speak.
Where did the belief that the earth is flat come from? It did not come. It has no actuality. The earth is not flat; it is round. It has always been round, and will doubtless continue to be round so long as it exists. The belief that the earth is flat, like the belief that the sun rises and sets, is an illusion; hence it has no scientific entity. It is a mistake, or error, without foundation, origin, or existence. No person in possession of the knowledge of this fact would be likely to waste time wondering how the belief in the earth's flatness originated; hence, those educated in physical geography do not in the least concern themselves with this ignorant belief about the earth, nor with the origin of the belief.
