Sin and evil are never necessary. In contrast to the traditional theological view that humanity is descended from Adam, born with the taint of so-called original sin, Christian Science teaches that each of us is actually God's idea, not Adam's kin. We are made in God's image and likeness, as the book of Genesis declares. See Gen. 1:26 . And since God is perfect and is Spirit, as the Bible also teaches, it follows that His image must be perfect and spiritual. This fact overrules the supposed right of evil to be regarded as real or powerful. God is all-powerful; and He creates and maintains the universe, and everything in it, as completely good and harmonious. This is the spiritual reality of existence.
It is necessary, however, to demonstrate the reality of good in daily experience. The precedent for such demonstration is likewise Biblical; it is to be found in the teachings and ministry of Christ Jesus. Jesus consistently healed sickness, freeing people from all sorts of physical suffering. He didn't regard suffering as necessary or appropriate. In fact, when questioned about who was to blame for the plight of a man born blind, the Master answered, "Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him." John 9:3. Then he healed the blind man.
In all that he said and did, Christ Jesus showed people the way to escape the evil that claimed attention and place in their lives but that was contrary to God's will for them. He showed them how "the works of God should be made manifest" in them. Not only did he destroy the so-called authority of sickness; he also overthrew the sin in individual human experience, transforming a tax collector, a prostitute, and a host of others whose view of themselves needed improvement. In the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health, Mary Baker Eddy explains how this transformation came about: "Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour saw God's own likeness, and this correct view of man healed the sick. Thus Jesus taught that the kingdom of God is intact, universal, and that man is pure and holy." Science and Health, pp. 476-477.
