The Bible records many events which illustrate the power of good over evil, and Christ Jesus knew that God alone is good and all-powerful. Since Bible times there have been many occasions in human history in which the power of good has been proved. But it was not until Mrs. Eddy discovered Christian Science in 1866 that humanity was again made aware of the true nature of good and of the unreality of evil. Taking the Bible as her guide, she has through her writings made it possible for mankind to understand and demonstrate that good is all-powerful and ever present and that evil is powerless, unreal, and never present. An understanding of the nature of good and evil is essential to the practice of healing as taught in Christian Science, because it forms the basis from which the student must work.
Christian Science reveals God as ever-present, infinite Mind, Life, Truth, and Love, All-in-all, infinite good. Because God is all good, He cannot know evil. As we read in Habakkuk (1:13), "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity." Since God knows all, there is no possibility of anything unlike God having reality or existence. Therefore evil, or error, is neither person, place, nor thing. It is nothing. But if we are to benefit from this truth, error's nothingness must be clearly understood and demonstrated.
Mrs. Eddy writes on page 92 of Science and Health, "Until the fact concerning error—namely, its nothingness—appears, the moral demand will not be met, and the ability to make nothing of error will be wanting." Among the definitions of the word "moral" in one dictionary are these: "Characterized by excellence in what pertains to practice or conduct," and, "Dealing with, or concerned with establishing and disseminating principles of right and wrong in conduct or behavior." Do not these definitions show that the moral demand necessitates a high standard of conduct, in other words, a state of thought or mental approach based on motives of the highest quality?
