Part 13 (2/2)

91:9 It is difficult for the sinner to accept divine Science, because Science exposes his nothingness; but the sooner error is reduced to its native nothingness, the 91:12 sooner man's great reality will appear and his genuine being will be understood. The destruction of error is by no means the destruction of Truth or Life, but 91:15 is the acknowledgment of them.

Absorbed in material selfhood we discern and reflect but faintly the substance of Life or Mind. The denial of 91:18 material selfhood aids the discernment of man's spirit- ual and eternal individuality, and destroys the erroneous knowledge gained from matter or through what are termed 91:21 the material senses.

Erroneous postulates

Certain erroneous postulates should be here considered in order that the spiritual facts may be better 91:24 apprehended.

The first erroneous postulate of belief is, that substance, life, and intelligence are something apart from G.o.d.

91:27 The second erroneous postulate is, that man is both mental and material.

The third erroneous postulate is, that mind is both evil 91:30 and good; whereas the real Mind cannot be evil nor the medium of evil, for Mind is G.o.d.

The fourth erroneous postulate is, that matter is in- 92:1 telligent, and that man has a material body which is part of himself.

92:3 The fifth erroneous postulate is, that matter holds in itself the issues of life and death, - that matter is not only capable of experiencing pleasure and pain, but also 92:6 capable of imparting these sensations. From the illusion implied in this last postulate arises the decomposition of mortal bodies in what is termed death.

92:9 Mind is not an ent.i.ty within the cranium with the power of sinning now and forever.

Knowledge of good and evil

In old Scriptural pictures we see a serpent coiled around 92:12 the tree of knowledge and speaking to Adam and Eve.

This represents the serpent in the act of commending to our first parents the knowl- 92:15 edge of good and evil, a knowledge gained from matter, or evil, instead of from Spirit. The portrayal is still graphically accurate, for the common conception of mor- 92:18 tal man - a burlesque of G.o.d's man - is an outgrowth of human knowledge or sensuality, a mere offshoot of material sense.

Opposing power

92:21 Uncover error, and it turns the lie upon you. Until the fact concerning error - namely, its nothingness - appears, the moral demand will not be met, 92:24 and the ability to make nothing of error will be wanting. We should blush to call that real which is only a mistake. The foundation of evil is laid on a belief 92:27 in something besides G.o.d. This belief tends to support two opposite powers, instead of urging the claims of Truth alone. The mistake of thinking that error can be real, 92:30 when it is merely the absence of truth, leads to belief in the superiority of error.

The age's privilege

Do you say the time has not yet come in which to 93:1 recognize Soul as substantial and able to control the body? Remember Jesus, who nearly nineteen centuries 93:3 ago demonstrated the power of Spirit and said, ”He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also,” and who also said, ”But the hour 93:6 cometh, and _now is_, when the true wors.h.i.+ppers shall wors.h.i.+p the Father in spirit and in truth.” ”Behold, _now_ is the accepted time; behold, _now_ is the day of sal- 93:9 vation,” said Paul.

Logic and revelation

Divine logic and revelation coincide. If we believe otherwise, we may be sure that either our 93:12 logic is at fault or that we have misinterpreted revelation. Good never causes evil, nor creates aught that can cause evil.

93:15 Good does not create a mind susceptible of causing evil, for evil is the opposing error and not the truth of creation. Destructive electricity is not the offspring of in- 93:18 finite good. Whatever contradicts the real nature of the divine _Esse_, though human faith may clothe it with angelic vestments, is without foundation.

Derivatives of spirit

93:21 The belief that Spirit is finite as well as infinite has darkened all history. In Christian Science, Spirit, as a proper noun, is the name of the Supreme Being.

93:24 It means quant.i.ty and quality, and applies ex- clusively to G.o.d. The modifying derivatives of the word _spirit_ refer only to quality, not to G.o.d. Man is spiritual.

93:27 He is not G.o.d, Spirit. If man were Spirit, then men would be spirits, G.o.ds. Finite spirit would be mortal, and this is the error embodied in the belief that the infi- 93:30 nite can be contained in the finite. This belief tends to becloud our apprehension of the kingdom of heaven and of the reign of harmony in the Science of being.

Scientific man

94:1 Jesus taught but one G.o.d, one Spirit, who makes man in the image and likeness of Himself, - of Spirit, not of 94:3 matter. Man reflects infinite Truth, Life, and Love. The nature of man, thus understood, includes all that is implied by the terms ”image” and 94:6 ”likeness” as used in Scripture. The truly Christian and scientific statement of personality and of the relation of man to G.o.d, with the demonstration which accompa- 94:9 nied it, incensed the rabbis, and they said: ”Crucify him, crucify him ... by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of G.o.d.”

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