falling below the divine ideal but not a transgression of the divine will. Now since God understands all things perfectly and since his understanding gives existence and reality to all that is, he has no idea of discord, inharmony or evil. Therefore God does not know evil. If he had the notion of it even it would be real.[1] And the less knowledge of it we have the more divine-like we become and when we become wholly divine we will not have even a conception of it.
We have seen that Mrs. Eddy holds that Christ whose mind was perfect had no knowledge of sin.[2] The very idea of it would render his mind imperfect. This is not a visionary, illogical fancy of Mrs. Eddy; she has got to hold to such a theory. Neoplatonism compels her.
How now does the notion of error or evil arise in the mind? It arises from a partial or incomplete view of things. It indicates no viciousness of will or disposition. It is simply a falling short in knowledge. It is not something positive and contrary to the will or wish of God, for God has neither will nor wish. Nor is it something contrary to his knowledge, for his knowledge constitutes all reality. As error is not knowing something contrary to divine knowledge but failing to have divine knowledge; as, for example, to split fine hairs still finer, error is not thinking that two and three make four but failing to see that they make
- ↑ Cf. No and Yes. p. 24.
- ↑ Cf. No and Yes. pp. 39 and 45.
