All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made." - John 1:3.

This statement, one of the most positive in Sacred literature, has been accepted by an infinite number of people as conclusive evidence that there is no such thing as evil. Those who believe in the non-existence of evil reason thus:

God has created all things and He, being all good, can create only good. It therefore follows that there can be no such thing as evil. That which appears to be evil is neither more nor less than an illusion of sense.

Admittedly, God, or Jehovah the Creator, being all good, all loving and all wise, i.e., without evil, could not Himself create evil as such. Therefore, insofar as He and His works are concerned, it is correct to say: No evil was created by, or emanates from, God.

All things in themselves were good. There is no denial of this. Man, given free Will, inventive ability and freedom of choice, has made evil use of agents otherwise good. He has abused or misused, and continues to abuse or misuse, that which is good and constructive.

In doing this, man has brought evil out of good. Even so, these agents, powers, forces and abilities, are not in themselves evil; it is their application that becomes evil, or productive of destructive results.

Two fundamental factors enter into man's activity. Each of these must receive its full share of attention in the solution of the difficulties that have arisen from man's birth on earth and his free Will or right of choice.

First is the fact that man was endowed with Divine powers and possibilities. This is made plain in the Scriptural text: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him";... Gen. 1 :27... "and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life." Gen. 2:7.

To be made in God's image - after His likeness - signifies being blessed with all the faculties and creative ability that God Himself possesses, though naturally in a lesser degree and within a restricted territory.

The other factor is the inheritance of free Will and the ability to make use of all things and in any manner desired. Although this receives second place in the order of presentation, the characteristic of free Will can in no sense be regarded as secondary in importance.

Man, being made in the Divine image, constitutes one part in the two-fold purpose of His creation. He has been honored with the power of choice and decision, and at the same time entrusted with individual responsibility in relation to his thoughts, desires and acts under the command:

"Choose you this day whom ye will serve." __John 24:15.

This makes man co-responsible with his Creator and constitutes the second part of the purpose of creation. His creation is Divine, but his responsibility is unlimited and on a par with his rights, privileges and possibilities.

As each part in man's being is of equal importance, so is each of these qualities (powers, abilities, etc.) essential in order that he may either realize his Divine inheritance; or his utter fall. The choice is altogether his.

The choice given man: "Choose you this day whom ye will serve," is the "key" to our problem. Man has the choice, because of his free Will. He can use all things for good and so glorify the Creator; or he may choose to misuse the good for ignoble purposes, thus becoming the symbol of evil, i.e., that which debases and destroys.

Any number of self-evident conclusions may be deducted from this two-fold proposition, among them:

First: God is responsible for our experiences only because He gave man freedom of action, this freedom including that of thought, desire and action.

Second: This freedom of choice permits the use of everything that is good, elevating and constructive. Every power, faculty, and potentiality inversely used, i.e., for other than a "good" purpose, is MISuse and constitutes evil and all that follows.

Third: Man alone, of all created things, because of his carnal desires, perverted appetites and ignoble feelings, IS HELD RESPONSIBLE AND MUST PAY UNTO "THE UTTERMOST FARTHING" FOR THE EVILS THAT FOLLOW HIS ACTIONS, AND HE CANNOT BE FREE UNTIL HE HAS SO PAID. Were it otherwise, there would be no Law; hence no order, and universal chaos would result.

These propositions may be considered from another angle: First of all, there are not two distinct powers, forces or beings (the word "beings" is used for want of a better one) in the Universe; one good, known as Good, and another evil, all too familiar to us as "His Majesty, the devil." Second, the struggles of life are not between gods and demons, divinities and satanic forces. There is but one, an all-inclusive conflict.

This conflict IS CONSTANTLY IN MAN'S HEART; BETWEEN THE INCLINATIONS OF HIS OWN DUAL NATURE. This may be expressed in another positive statement: There is only ONE force active in the universe; THE APPLICATION OR DIRECTION OF IT DETERMINES ITS CHARACTER, WHETHER FOR GOOD OR EVIL.

The basic proposition can be restated, with emphasis on "creative ability - man's activity." God is a Creative Being. He is known as Jehovah. Man, made in His image, was endowed by Him with creative ability; and, in addition, that he might gain experience, and learn to know GOOD FROM EVIL, he was also invested with the right of choice in the use of these powers and faculties, these energies and abilities.

Evil was first brought into existence as a result of man's ignorance; by the necessity of groping in the dark; his experimenting with, and wrong application of, creative forces and abilities; the inherent potentialities entrusted to him by both God and Nature.

The term "creative power or ability," as here used, implies much, infinitely much more than the ability to reproduce the specie. It includes the ability to bring about new conditions, to effect changes in environments, to visualize and bring into manifestation all the new things which we classify under the term of "man's inventions" - all that we know of the fine arts: music, painting, sculpture and poetry.

Our creative power contributes everything which constitutes the practical arts of every description, such as mechanics, architecture and the production of varieties of foods unknown to nature; in short, everything man now possesses other than the creation of the species.

On a higher level, it embraces religion and the development of man's inner being or self, the Christos, into a God-Conscious individuality; an Illuminated being; "mortal must put on Immortality" - I Cor. 15.53 - and the attainment of Sonship. All of these actualities and possibilities are included in the term Creative power and ability.

Creative energy and its companion, Creative ability, are the highest attributes of the Divine in man. This Creative instinct and power, understood in the fullest meaning, constitutes the most sublime characteristics of man's nature and when rightly used actually makes him a coworker with God. Degraded, lower than the lowest demon in Hades; hence the question: "Whom will ye serve?" a question every human being must answer at some time or other.

Man possesses one agent or medium which he must always use in his creative capacity and with which God is not encumbered; this is his physical body. True, we may think of the Universe as God's body; Mother Earth as His spouse, and man as His physical expression. Of the three parts, man must be the greatest encumbrance. Nevertheless, in the Universe, the Divine Will is supreme. These several creations are of no hindrance to Him, since the Cosmos in itself has no sense-desires; the Creative Energy being free from the desires native to the flesh.

Man, on the contrary, is possessed of a physical organism upon which he is entirely dependent. It possesses demands in the form of appetites and physical requirements. It is constantly overwhelmed by a multitude of desires and tendencies. These naturally blind him to the truth, hence hold him in bondage until, by his search, he finds "truth that saves," thus freeing himself from his delusions and illusions and bringing him to the Light and a rightful supremacy in his sphere of action.

God, or the Creative Jehovah, uses His creative powers only for good and constructive purposes. Being Himself impersonal, there can be no selfish, partial or destructive motives prompting Him to a misuse of the Divine creative ability.

Man, forgetful of the Divine Ideal, in whose likeness he is fashioned, employs and directs his manifold forces, powers and abilities for selfish purposes. Herein is the sourced of evil. He employs all that which was given to him, or which he inherited, in the creation of conditions which appear beneficial for himself and those of his immediate circle.

However, these possessions are all too often obtained at the expense of others, and to their sorrow and suffering. Herein again is a source of evil.

To bring about conditions or environments to the benefit of the self, regardless of the effect upon the general, hence universal, welfare, constitutes a great evil, irrespective of the fact that for a time we may succeed in deluding ourselves that we have committed no evil.

Also, and worst of all evils, man makes constant use of his creative ability solely for the pleasures of the flesh, thus he is in slavery to the urge of the gross carnal self, particularly when the evils are unnatural and destructive to the physical body. This constitutes a great and fundamental evil, because it is the evil of "the Soul that sinneth."

Neither the flesh, nor its desires, are in themselves evil; but to permit the carnal self and its desires to dictate the use of a holy ability, this is an evil of the first magnitude.

It cannot be said too often that GOD DID NOT CREATE ANY EVIL THING. HE DID NOT ENDOW MAN WITH ANY DESTRUCTIVE FACULTY OR ABILITY. On the contrary, MAN BROUGHT ABOUT EVIL though the misuse, misdirection and misapplication of powers, energies and forces normally good, noble, beneficial and constructive.

How and in what manner is man held accountable for evil? What department of his being is to be held responsible? To answer these questions logically, it is necessary to consider man in his fourfold nature: body, mind, spirit and Soul.

Man possesses a body; the product of Mother earth. This body, being of the earth, is naturally earthy in its inclinations; the earthly turned to flesh, it is fleshly in its tendencies; being also on the plane of sense, it is sensual or carnal in its desires.

The body - the human - recognizes nothing that is like its creator except the generative ability. Even the incentive of the body is purely a desire to satisfy the flesh or carnal self for the moment. The body and its normal, natural demands are not in themselves evil; but it is evil to permit the body to dictate the actions of life, because it is based on the purely temporal and its tendencies are often destructive.

Besides the body, there is the mind, and generally speaking, evil originates, or has its source, in the mind. The root of evil is in the desires of the body communicated to the mind, and the mind, recognizing the desires, seeks ways and means of satisfaction. The mind must eradicate all that is not beneficial. The mind has reason and can be trained to choose between that which is good or constructive and evil or destructive.

It is to be emphasized that the mind is not in itself an entity. It is not eternal. It is not Immortal and does not possess the possibility of Immortalization. It is an agent in the building of that which may be Immortal. The mind is the activation spirit of the brain. The brain is a medium between the body, the temporal, and the Soul, the eternal.

The mind is eternal only in the sense that nothing is actually destroyed but only loses its identity or nature. The elements of things other than the Soul come into formation, are active as such, then through a process of disintegration return to the Universal storehouse to be used again and again.

The substance of things become formations. These substances differ only in their use, application or activity. They continue to exist so far as their essences are concerned, but change in form to accomplish definite purpose. The vegetation of today is an example. It is plucked or uprooted, made into food and becomes the life of man. Tomorrow it is refuse and decaying, changing constantly, returned to the soil to enrich it, and comes of life as other vegetables to again be the food of man and give him life and strength.

One day a life-giving substance to man and animal; a few days hence a poison to both; shortly thereafter transformed by the earth and given a renewal of life; then the substance of life-giving plants and once again the food of man.

In this classification of non-individualized agencies belongs the mind of man. It is active and the governing power of man while on earth and results from the coming together of body (the earthy), the spirit (the life principle) and the Soul (from the Eternal).

After the body has become sufficiently developed for it to "come forth" out of the "darkness and the waters," and does so (at birth), the spirit which is life, is inhaled; while at the same time the Spark from the Divinity enters the body and the combination of the material, the earthy or body, of the spirit which is life, and the Divine Spark or Soul Essence, brings about a functioning of the brain, with the resultant activity we term the "mind."

Body, the spirit which is life, and the mind are to be thought of as mortal, changeable, transitory and evanescent. The embryonic Soul, the Divine Spark, is the only part of the being called "man" which possesses the possibility of Individualization, therefore Immortalization, IF the mind can be activated to bring this Divine Spark into its own Consciousness.

The Divine Spark, of which we speak as a "Soul," is neither Individualized nor an Immortal entity, until by means of an awakened mind, it is developed and brought into Illumination or the Light.

The body is activated by the force which we know as "life" and which is breathed in with the first inhalation of air. With the first breath, containing the "spirit" of life, the body becomes ALIVE and is, from that time on, an entity in itself. This spirit is Divine in the sense that it comes from God; nevertheless, it cannot attain to a self-consciousness because it is not peculiar to man.

Every living creature, every animate object, in fact, everything that exists - even vegetables and mineral forms, each to its own degree of development - breathes in this same spirit which is life. This life is a principle and not an entity. It animates, but does not control, every living thing.

Spirit is neither personal nor individual. It is an essence; neither good nor evil; it simply IS. At the change called death, this "spirit" leaves that which it inhabited and returns whence it came, to its original storehouse, to again become the "life" of another object. It is to be emphasized that the Life principle, called the "spirit" in the Biblical narrative, is NOT to be identified or confused with the "Divine Spark" which may, or is, to become an Immortal Soul.

The Divine Spark a "seedling" from the Infinite, becomes a part of man at the birth of the body. This Spark - we know it as the Christos - possesses in latency all the attributes and potentialities of the Cosmos or creative Jehovah. In its latent, unawakened state, as an unaroused Spark of the Divine Flame, it must wait until the mind is awakened to the Christic concept and then be brought into the Consciousness of its eternal nature.

Like the little acorn lying in the ground, ungerminated, contains within itself all of the potentialities of the giant oak, so this Spark, lying in the "ground" of the earthly man, thought unawakened, contains within itself all the attributes of the Cosmic Soul. In one instance the combination of earth, water and warmth brings about germination; in the other it is the warmth, i.e., desire, the activity of the mind, through desire, and the compliance of the mortal which brings about its awakening and final "growth" of Consciousness.

In accordance with the laws of the Divine economy, each department of man's fourfold nature has been given its own particular functions or offices to fulfill. To the mind has been delegated the office of Architect or builder; building within the body it inhabits a King Solomon's Temple as a habitation of the Soul, then bringing the Divine Spark into Christic Consciousness to take charge of that Temple.

The mind must awaken to its possibilities, become the creative agency and direct the Work to be accomplished; hence the mind, because of its abilities and powers, its various activities and means for the accomplishment of a given effort, is the seat of responsibility in the application of creative energy.

The destiny of the Soul of man is to become an exact prototype of its Creator, the Infinite. God, as creative being and all-Father of His family, embodies, as chief characteristics, the two eternals: Love and Wisdom, which assures, insofar as He is concerned, that all creative ability and energy will be eternally directed into channels of usefulness or constructiveness.

In one manner of expression He is the impersonal personification of the Divine Law of Love; the Ideal or ultimate of Infinite goodness. Man, being an expression of the Infinite, embodies these expressions in potentiality. Man, in toto, created after the Divine likeness, is an embryonic embodiment of the Cosmic Creator. Whether or not he will manifest this supreme attainment is left to his own choice.

The Divine Law in one of its highest aspects is not to be thought of as an external authority, something outside of man, but as the incentive of qualities and tendencies inherited in the Soul itself. It comprises the intricate parts which cannot be separated from the Soul and must become aroused, unfolded and grow as normally and naturally as the embryonic seedling locked up in the acorn, which under normal and natural conditions will germinate and become an oak. THE LAW OF THE OAK IS WITHIN THE ACORN ITSELF.

It has a choice of only one of two things: the seed, which contains the picture or image of the oak, either dies and rots, or the seed germ sprouts, grows and BECOMES AN OAK. The law governing the Soul of man and the seed germ of the oak are identical. "Each must produce after its own kind, or die.

Once the mind is conscious of its abilities and possibilities and is wisely directed, the Divine Spark may easily be quickened into activity. Its first manifestation is the incentive toward what we call "goodness," and toward obedience to the demands of the Divine Law in its various aspects.

Its inclination is toward the Light, because its own nature is The LIGHT. Within itself is the "still small voice" we know as "conscience," directing and guiding to the extent that man is willing to listen and obey.

As the promptings of the Infinite urge are heeded, the Spark of Light which is, in truth, the Christos, the babe within its "manger" or earth environment, will gradually become aroused to full activity. In turn, the mind and its concepts will change and become more fully aroused and enlightened by the Light within and the Soul still more awakened.

Mind and awakening Soul react one upon the other, until finally Consciousness on both planes is established.

When the mind is awakened it becomes thoroughly imbued with the desire to obey the Divine Law. It receives guidance from the awakening spiritual nature. It thus becomes a conscious agent, replacing the former state of darkness or lack of Light.

Gradually it becomes the builder of both the spiritual temple and the Soul which finds a home in that temple. The mind will consciously utilize all its forces in this direction, intelligently using all the laws which apply; thus the mind deliberately and intentionally directs the invisible forces toward the execution of its lofty ideals; these being felt within itself are communicated or impressed upon the Soul for its own upliftment.

In this manner the awakened mind consciously directs its creative faculties toward the fulfillment of a noble ideal. It conscously accepts its responsibilities for the accomplishment of this Great Work.

Although possessing in potentia divine attributes and possibilities, man as he ordinarily exists, lives and has his being, has lost all recollections of his first estate - before his "fall." He is governed by his animal tendencies because he gives thought to little or nothing else.

To express this more accurately, man is purely a carnal, sensual being, governed by the desires of these natures. Certainly he is given possession of a "Soul" or, more correctly speaking, he is entrusted with the Divine Spark which MAY ultimately become A Soul, but which is now all but dead; little else than a possibility.

Instead of recognizing the promptings which the Law itself sends out from its station or center, much as the radio station sends out its waves, he is bewildered by the dual inclinations of good and evil, both arising within him and creating a constant conflict in his nature and inclinations.

The Spark of Divinity is smouldering beneath the ashes of carnality and selfishness. The desires of the body have been so constantly gratified from infancy that by the time the child attains the age of accountability he recognizes no higher appeal than the flesh. His Soul nature is buried beneath earthly desires and tendencies, and his Divine heritage virtually lost.

The body, having no Divine impulses, holds supremacy over the entire being. Flesh and fleshy desires are in control. The carnal nature is supreme. The mind, unawakened to the dictates of a higher plane of thought, meekly favors selfish and sensual interest. Man's love nature, which is in itself good, but which in this case expresses love of self instead of love for humanity, is utilized for ignoble and selfish purposes. Accordingly, in his dealings with men, arise wars, murders, strife and all other destructive conditions.

In the unawakened man, we find the center and the source of evil. Through the carnal man, the man of flesh, are born crimes and distress. On all sides we touch undesirable social and economic conditions.

The innocent are betrayed and the weak and the helpless are exploited and victimized daily - in short, there is all manner of evil. God did not create these conditions. they are man-made and, because they are destructive, they are evil. To claim that God had anything to do with their creation is to libel Him and to bring His divine Attributes down to the level of the brute.

The unawakened mind can recognize but one law - the demands of the carnal self - to which nothing, except material interests, seems real or worth-while.

Let it be repeated with emphasis: God does not create evil or destructive conditions. The unawakened man has brought about these things by the misapplication of that which is good, by non-compliance with the law of his own stifled, though Divine, nature.

When the Soul nature is in this condition of inertness and the mind is still unawakened to its Divine mission of nurturing the spiritual ideal, much effort is necessary to arouse it from its sluggish habits. External influences, warnings, admonitions, inculcations from those who understand the higher Law, and, above all suffering, are required to arouse the individual from this inertia to a recognition of his true responsibility.

"Repent ye, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." This warning must be sounded with convincing force. "Seek ye the Kingdom of God and its righteousness." This great Law must be brought to man's attention again and again, with increasing emphasis.

Convinced that it is his duty to put forth every effort to find the Kingdom of God within his own being, his conscience becomes aroused to activity, and a conflict quickly commences between the lower self with its ignoble demands and the Soul nature with its idealistic tendencies.

This war of the two natures is to be regarded as an omen of health rather than of disease and is not cause for discouragement. It indicates that the Soul and its monitor, the conscience, are being awakened, and that the mind is becoming alive to its true function of utilizing its powers and faculties, its thoughts and desires, in furthering Soul growth.

During this stage man requires careful guidance that he may skillfully train his mind to become the redeemer of his own spiritual nature. Through firm and steady use of Will power, by directing his mental activities and faculties into constructive channels in harmony with an exalted and ennobling Ideal, man will bring about the eradication, or rather, the Transmutation of all evil tendencies and desires of his mortal nature. By doing this "mortality has (will have) taken on Immortality," the fulfillment of the Law.

Evil has its origin in man's carnal nature. IT CONSISTS IN USING FOR EVIL PURPOSES THAT WHICH IS GOOD IN ITSELF. The redemption from evil, i.e., the elimination of evil, can be brought about only by the direction of an awakened mind. The transmutation of evil is the reversal of indulgence in it.

This accomplishment is not merely of religious or spiritual importance. The practical application of this Law is the basis for ALL true success in EVERY avenue of life.
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