THE book of Job, that great religious drama, written thousands of years ago, deals with the problem of human suffering and attempts to explain the presence of evil, supposed to be permitted in a world created and governed by a wholly good God.
All through the ages what is termed the "problem of evil" has ever been a disturbing factor in human experience. What evil is, where it comes from, and how it can be overcome are questions which have engaged the thought of philosopher and religionist down through the centuries. Christian men and women, ignorant of its unreal nature, have sought to overcome evil by striking at its material and personal avenue of expression, but have found their efforts to a large extent frustrated. Many profound thinkers have evolved theories attempting to give a reasonable explanation of evil's presence and a method for its annihilation. That such theories were for the most part speculative, and therefore inadequate to deal practically with the problem, is evidenced by the want and woe, the sin and disease, which continue to be so prevalent in the world today.
In I John we read, "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." That our Master, Christ Jesus, understood the correct method of effecting the destruction of the false claims of evil, his words and works recorded in the New Testament afford ample proof. Never did Jesus acknowledge that evil had origin, existence, or reality; he defined the devil, evil, as a lie and a liar. Because of his knowledge of the spiritual origin of all things real, he was able to declare the utter falsity of evil. To his consciousness filled with Christ, Truth, the light of the world, evil had no real presence.
