Sickness erroneous
Sickness is part of the error which Truth casts out.
482:27 Error will not expel error. Christian Science is the law
of Truth, which heals the sick, on the basis
of the one Mind or God. It can heal in no
482:30 other way, since the human, mortal mind so-called is not
a healer, but causes the belief in disease.
True healing transcendent
483:1 Then comes the question, how do drugs, hygiene, and
animal magnetism heal? It may be affirmed that they
483:3 do not heal, but only relieve suffering tempo-
rarily, exchanging one disease for another.
We classify disease as error, which nothing but Truth or
483:6 Mind can heal, and this Mind must be divine, not human.
Mind transcends all other power, and will ultimately su-
persede all other means in healing. In order to heal by
483:9 Science, you must not be ignorant of the moral and spir-
itual demands of Science nor disobey them. Moral igno-
rance or sin affects your demonstration, and hinders its
483:12 approach to the standard in Christian Science.
Terms adopted by the author
After the author's sacred discovery, she affixed the
name "Science" to Christianity, the name "error" to
483:15 corporeal sense, and the name "substance" to
Mind. Science has called the world to battle
over this issue and its demonstration, which
483:18 heals the sick, destroys error, and reveals the universal
harmony. To those natural Christian Scientists, the an-
cient worthies, and to Christ Jesus, God certainly revealed
483:21 the spirit of Christian Science, if not the absolute letter.
Science the way
Because the Science of Mind seems to bring into dis-
honor the ordinary scientific schools, which wrestle with
483:24 material observations alone, this Science has
met with opposition; but if any system honors
God, it ought to receive aid, not opposition, from all think-
483:27 ing persons. And Christian Science does honor God as
no other theory honors Him, and it does this in the way
of His appointing, by doing many wonderful works
483:30 through the divine name and nature. One must fulfil
one's mission without timidity or dissimulation, for to be
well done, the work must be done unselfishly. Christianity
484:1 will never be based on a divine Principle and so found to
be unerring, until its absolute Science is reached. When
484:3 this is accomplished, neither pride, prejudice, bigotry,
nor envy can wash away its foundation, for it is built upon
the rock, Christ.
Mindless methods
484:6 /Question/. - Does Christian Science, or metaphysical
healing, include medication, material hygiene, mesmer-
ism, hypnotism, theosophy, or spiritualism?
484:9 /Answer/. - Not one of them is included in it. In di-
vine Science, the supposed laws of matter yield to the
law of Mind. What are termed natural
484:12 science and material laws are the objective
states of mortal mind. The physical universe expresses
the conscious and unconscious thoughts of mortals.
484:15 Physical force and mortal mind are one. Drugs and
hygiene oppose the supremacy of the divine Mind.
Drugs and inert matter are unconscious, mindless. Cer-
484:18 tain results, supposed to proceed from drugs, are really
caused by the faith in them which the false human con-
sciousness is educated to feel.
Animal magnetism error
484:21 Mesmerism is mortal, material illusion. Animal mag-
netism is the voluntary or involuntary action of error
in all its forms; it is the human antipode
484:24 of divine Science. Science must triumph
over material sense, and Truth over error, thus putting
an end to the hypotheses involved in all false theories
484:27 and practices.
Error only ephemeral
/Question/. - Is materiality the concomitant of spirit-
uality, and is material sense a necessary preliminary to
484:30 the understanding and expression of Spirit?
485:1 /Answer/. - If error is necessary to define or to reveal
Truth, the answer is yes; but not otherwise. /Material
485:3 sense/ is an absurd phrase, for matter has no
sensation. Science declares that Mind, not
matter, sees, hears, feels, speaks. Whatever contradicts
485:6 this statement is the false sense, which ever betrays
mortals into sickness, sin, and death. If the unimpor-
tant and evil appear, only soon to disappear because
485:9 of their uselessness or their iniquity, then these ephem-
eral views of error ought to be obliterated by Truth.
Why malign Christian Science for instructing mortals how
485:12 to make sin, disease, and death appear more and more
unreal?
Scientific translations
Emerge gently from matter into Spirit. Think not
485:15 to thwart the spiritual ultimate of all things, but come
naturally into Spirit through better health and
morals and as the result of spiritual growth.
485:18 Not death, but the understanding of Life, makes man im-
mortal. The belief that life can be in matter or soul in
body, and that man springs from dust or from an egg,
485:21 is the result of the mortal error which Christ, or Truth,
destroys by fulfilling the spiritual law of being, in which
man is perfect, even as the "Father which is in heaven
485:24 is perfect." If thought yields its dominion to other '
powers, it cannot outline on the body its own beautiful
images, but it effaces them and delineates foreign agents,
485:27 called disease and sin.
Material beliefs
The heathen gods of mythology controlled war and
agriculture as much as nerves control sensation or
485:30 muscles measure strength. To say that
strength is in matter, is like saying that the
power is in the lever. The notion of any life or intelli-
486:1 gence in matter is without foundation in fact, and you
can have no faith in falsehood when you have learned
486:3 falsehood's true nature.
Sense /versus/ Soul
Suppose one accident happens to the eye, another to
the ear, and so on, until every corporeal sense is quenched.
486:6 What is man's remedy? To die, that he may
regain these senses? Even then he must gain
spiritual understanding and spiritual sense in order to
486:9 possess immortal consciousness. Earth's preparatory
school must be improved to the utmost. In reality man
never dies. The belief that he dies will not establish his
486:12 scientific harmony. Death is not the result of Truth but
of error, and one error will not correct another.
Death an error
Jesus proved by the prints of the nails, that his body
486:15 was the same immediately after death as before. If death
restores sight, sound, and strength to man,
then death is not an enemy but a better friend
486:18 than Life. Alas for the blindness of belief, which makes
harmony conditional upon death and matter, and yet
supposes Mind unable to produce harmony! So long
486:21 as this error of belief remains, mortals will continue mor-
tal in belief and subject to chance and change.
Permanent sensibility
Sight, hearing, all the spiritual senses of man, are
486:24 eternal. They cannot be lost. Their reality and immor-
tality are in Spirit and understanding, not in
matter, - hence their permanence. If this
486:27 were not so, man would be speedily annihilated. If the
five corporeal senses were the medium through which
to understand God, then palsy, blindness, and deafness
486:30 would place man in a terrible situation, where he would
be like those "having no hope, and without God in the
world;" but as a matter of fact, these calamities often
487:1 drive mortals to seek and to find a higher sense of happi-
ness and existence.
Exercise of Mind-faculties
487:3 Life is deathless. Life is the origin and ultimate of
man, never attainable through death, but gained by walk-
ing in the pathway of Truth both before and
487:6 after that which is called death. There is more
Christianity in seeing and hearing spiritually
than materially. There is more Science in the perpetual
487:9 exercise of the Mind-faculties than in their loss. Lost
they cannot be, while Mind remains. The apprehension
of this gave sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf cen-
487:12 turies ago, and it will repeat the wonder.
Understanding /versus/ belief
/Question/. - You speak of belief. Who or what is it
that believes?
487:15 /Answer/. - Spirit is all-knowing; this precludes the
need of believing. Matter cannot believe, and Mind
understands. The body cannot believe. The
487:18 believer and belief are one and are mortal.
Christian evidence is founded on Science or
demonstrable Truth, flowing from immortal Mind, and
487:21 there is in reality no such thing as /mortal/ mind. Mere
belief is blindness without Principle from which to ex-
plain the reason of its hope. The belief that life is sen-
487:24 tient and intelligent matter is erroneous.
The Apostle James said, "Show me thy faith without
thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works."
487:27 The understanding that Life is God, Spirit, lengthens
our days by strengthening our trust in the deathless
reality of Life, its almightiness and immortality.
Confirmation by healing
487:30 This faith relies upon an understood Principle. This
Principle makes whole the diseased, and brings out the
488:1 enduring and harmonious phases of things. The result
of our teachings is their sufficient confirmation. When,
488:3 on the strength of these instructions, you are
able to banish a severe malady, the cure shows
that you understand this teaching, and therefore you re-
488:6 ceive the blessing of Truth.
Belief and firm trust
The Hebrew and Greek words often translated /belief/
differ somewhat in meaning from that conveyed by the
488:9 English verb /believe/; they have more the sig-
nificance of faith, understanding, trust, con-
stancy, firmness. Hence the Scriptures often appear in
488:12 our common version to approve and endorse belief, when
they mean to enforce the necessity of understanding.
All faculties from Mind
/Question/. - Do the five corporeal senses constitute
488:15 man?
/Answer/. - Christian Science sustains with immortal
proof the impossibility of any material sense, and defines
488:18 these so-called senses as /mortal beliefs/, the
testimony of which cannot be true either of
man or of his Maker. The corporeal senses can take no
488:21 cognizance of spiritual reality and immortality. Nerves
have no more sensation, apart from what belief be-
stows upon them, than the fibres of a plant. Mind alone
488:24 possesses all faculties, perception, and comprehension.
Therefore mental endowments are not at the mercy of
organization and decomposition, - otherwise the very
488:27 worms could unfashion man. If it were possible for the
real senses of man to be injured, Soul could reproduce
them in all their perfection; but they cannot be dis-
488:30 turbed nor destroyed, since they exist in immortal Mind,
not in matter.
Possibilities of Life
489:1 The less mind there is manifested in matter the better.
When the unthinking lobster loses its claw, the claw grows
489:3 again. If the Science of Life were understood,
it would be found that the senses of Mind are
never lost and that matter has no sensation. Then the
489:6 human limb would be replaced as readily as the lobster's
claw, - not with an artificial limb, but with the genuine
one. Any hypothesis which supposes life to be in matter
489:9 is an educated belief. In infancy this belief is not equal
to guiding the hand to the mouth; and as consciousness
develops, this belief goes out, - yields to the reality of
489:12 everlasting Life.
Decalogue disregarded
Corporeal sense defrauds and lies; it breaks all the
commands of the Mosaic Decalogue to meet its own de-
489:15 mands. How then can this sense be the God-
given channel to man of divine blessings or
understanding? How can man, reflecting God, be de-
489:18 pendent on material means for knowing, hearing, seeing?
Who dares to say that the senses of man can be at one time
the medium for sinning against God, at another the me-
489:21 dium for obeying God? An affirmative reply would con-
tradict the Scripture, for the same fountain sendeth not
forth sweet waters and bitter.
Organic construction valueless
489:24 The corporeal senses are the only source of evil or
error. Christian Science shows them to be false, be-
cause matter has no sensation, and no organic
489:27 construction can give it hearing and sight nor
make it the medium of Mind. Outside the
material sense of things, all is harmony. A wrong sense
489:30 of God, man, and creation is /non-sense/, want of sense.
Mortal belief would have the material senses sometimes
good and sometimes bad. It assures mortals that there
490:1 is real pleasure in sin; but the grand truths of Christian
Science dispute this error.
Will-power an animal propensity
490:3 Will-power is but a product of belief, and this belief
commits depredations on harmony. Human will is an
animal propensity, not a faculty of Soul.
490:6 Hence it cannot govern man aright. Chris-
tian Science reveals Truth and Love as the
motive-powers of man. Will - blind, stubborn, and head-
490:9 long - cooperates with appetite and passion. From this
cooperation arises its evil. From this also comes its pow-
erlessness, since all power belongs to God, good.
Theories helpless
490:12 The Science of Mind needs to be understood. Until
it is understood, mortals are more or less deprived of
Truth. Human theories are helpless to make
490:15 man harmonious or immortal, since he is so
already, according to Christian Science. Our only need
is to know this and reduce to practice the real man's di-
490:18 vine Principle, Love
True nature and origin
"Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings."
Human belief - or knowledge gained from the so-called
490:21 material senses - would, by fair logic, anni-
hilate man along with the dissolving elements
of clay. The scientifically Christian explanations of the
490:24 nature and origin of man destroy all material sense with
immortal testimony. This immortal testimony ushers
in the spiritual sense of being, which can be obtained
490:27 in no other way.
Sleep an illusion
Sleep and mesmerism explain the mythical nature of
material sense. Sleep shows material sense as either
490:30 oblivion, nothingness, or an illusion or dream.
Under the mesmeric illusion of belief, a man
will think that he is freezing when he is warm, and that he
491:1 is swimming when he is on dry land. Needle-thrusts will
not hurt him. A delicious perfume will seem intolerable.
491:3 Animal magnetism thus uncovers material sense, and
shows it to be a belief without actual foundation or va-
lidity. Change the belief, and the sensation changes.
491:6 Destroy the belief, and the sensation disappears.
Man linked with Spirit
Material man is made up of involuntary and voluntary
error, of a negative right and a positive wrong, the latter
491:9 calling itself right. Man's spiritual individual-
ity is never wrong. It is the likeness of man's
Maker. Matter cannot connect mortals with the true
491:12 origin and facts of being, in which all must end. It is only
by acknowledging the supremacy of Spirit, which annuls
the claims of matter, that mortals can lay off mortality and
491:15 find the indissoluble spiritual link which establishes man
forever in the divine likeness, inseparable from his creator.
Material man as a dream
The belief that matter and mind are one, - that mat-
491:18 ter is awake at one time and asleep at another, some-
times presenting no appearance of mind, -
this belief culminates in another belief, that
491:21 man dies. Science reveals material man as never the real
being. The dream or belief goes on, whether our eyes are
closed or open. In sleep, memory and consciousness are
491:24 lost from the body, and they wander whither they will
apparently with their own separate embodiment. Per-
sonality is not the individuality of man. A wicked man
491:27 may have an attractive personality.
Spiritual existence the one fact
When we are awake, we dream of the pains and pleas-
ures of matter. Who will say, even though he
491:30 does not understand Christian Science, that
this dream - rather than the dreamer - may
not be mortal man? Who can rationally say otherwise,
492:1 when the dream leaves mortal man intact in body and
thought, although the so-called dreamer is unconscious?
492:3 For right reasoning there should be but one fact before
the thought, namely, spiritual existence. In reality there
is no other existence, since Life cannot be united to its
492:6 unlikeness, mortality.
Mind one and all
Being is holiness, harmony, immortality. It is already
proved that a knowledge of this, even in small degree,
492:9 will uplift the physical and moral standard
of mortals, will increase longevity, will purify
and elevate character. Thus progress will finally destroy
492:12 all error, and bring immortality to light. We know that
a statement proved to be good must be correct. New
thoughts are constantly obtaining the floor. These two
492:15 contradictory theories - that matter is something, or
that all is Mind - will dispute the ground, until one is
acknowledged to be the victor. Discussing his cam-
492:18 paign, General Grant said: "I propose to fight it out on
this line, if it takes all summer." Science says: All is
Mind and Mind's idea. You must fight it out on this
492:21 line. Matter can afford you no aid.
Scientific ultimatum
The notion that mind and matter commingle in the
human illusion as to sin, sickness, and death must even-
492:24 tually submit to the Science of Mind, which
denies this notion. /God is Mind, and God is
infinite; hence all is Mind/. On this statement rests the
492:27 Science of being, and the Principle of this Science is di-
vine, demonstrating harmony and immortality.
Victory for Truth
The conservative theory, long believed, is that there
492:30 are two factors, matter and mind, uniting on some im-
possible basis. This theory would keep truth and error
always at war. Victory would perch on neither banner.
493:1 On the other hand, Christian Science speedily shows
Truth to be triumphant. To corporeal sense, the sun
493:3 appears to rise and set, and the earth to stand
still; but astronomical science contradicts this,
and explains the solar system as working on a differ-
493:6 ent plan. All the evidence of physical sense and all the
knowledge obtained from physical sense must yield to
Science, to the immortal truth of all things.
Mental preparation
493:9 /Question/, - Will you explain sickness and show how it
is to be healed?
/Answer/. - The method of Christian Science Mind-heal-
493:12 ing is touched upon in a previous chapter entitled Christian
Science Practice. A full answer to the above
question involves teaching, which enables the
493:15 healer to demonstrate and prove for himself the Principle
and rule of Christian Science or metaphysical healing.
Mind destroys all ills
Mind must be found superior to all the beliefs of the
493:18 five corporeal senses, and able to destroy all ills. Sick-
ness is a belief, which must be annihilated by
the divine Mind. Disease is an experience of
493:21 so-called mortal mind. It is fear made manifest on the
body. Christian Science takes away this physical sense
of discord, just as it removes any other sense of moral or
493:24 mental inharmony. That man is material, and that mat-
ter suffers, - these propositions can only seem real and
natural in illusion. Any sense of soul in matter is not the
493:27 reality of being.
If Jesus awakened Lazarus from the dream, illusion, of
death, this proved that the Christ could improve on a false
493:30 sense. Who dares to doubt this consummate test of the
power and willingness of divine Mind to hold man forever
494:1 intact in his perfect state, and to govern man's entire
action? Jesus said: "Destroy this temple [body], and
494:3 in three days I [Mind] will raise it up;" and he did this
for tired humanity's reassurance.
Inexhaustible divine Love
Is it not a species of infidelity to believe that so great
494:6 a work as the Messiah's was done for himself or for God,
who needed no help from Jesus' example to
preserve the eternal harmony? But mortals
494:9 did need this help, and Jesus pointed the way for them.
Divine Love always has met and always will meet every
human need. It is not well to imagine that Jesus demon-
494:12 strated the divine power to heal only for a select number
or for a limited period of time, since to all mankind and
in every hour, divine Love supplies all good.
Reason and Science
494:15 The miracle of grace is no miracle to Love. Jesus
demonstrated the inability of corporeality, as well as the
infinite ability of Spirit, thus helping erring
494:18 human sense to flee from its own convictions
and seek safety in divine Science. Reason, rightly di-
rected, serves to correct the errors of corporeal sense; but
494:21 sin, sickness, and death will seem real (even as the ex-
periences of the sleeping dream seem real) until the Sci-
ence of man's eternal harmony breaks their illusion with
494:24 the unbroken reality of scientific being.
Which of these two theories concerning man are you
ready to accept? One is the mortal testimony, changing,
494:27 dying, unreal. The other is the eternal and real evidence,
bearing Truth's signet, its lap piled high with immortal
fruits.
Followers of Jesus
494:30 Our Master cast out devils (evils) and healed the sick.
It should be said of his followers also, that they cast fear
and all evil out of themselves and others and heal the sick.
495:1 God will heal the sick through man, whenever man is
governed by God. Truth casts out error now
495:3 as surely as it did nineteen centuries ago. All
of Truth is not understood; hence its healing power is not
fully demonstrated.
Destruction of all evil
495:6 If sickness is true or the idea of Truth, you cannot
destroy sickness, and it would be absurd to try. Then
classify sickness and error as our Master did,
495:9 when he spoke of the sick, "whom Satan hath
bound," and find a sovereign antidote for error in the life-
giving power of Truth acting on human belief, a power
495:12 which opens the prison doors to such as are bound, and
sets the captive free physically and morally.
Steadfast and calm trust
When the illusion of sickness or sin tempts you, cling
495:15 steadfastly to God and His idea. Allow nothing but His
likeness to abide in your thought. Let neither
fear nor doubt overshadow your clear sense and
495:18 calm trust, that the recognition of life harmonious - as
Life eternally is - can destroy any painful sense of, or
belief in, that which Life is not. Let Christian Science,
495:21 instead of corporeal sense, support your understanding of
being, and this understanding will supplant error with
Truth, replace mortality with immortality, and silence dis-
495:24 cord with harmony.
Rudiments and growth
/Question/. - How can I progress most rapidly in the
understanding of Christian Science?
495:27 /Answer/. - Study thoroughly the letter and imbibe
the spirit. Adhere to the divine Principle of Chris-
tian Science and follow the behests of God,
495:30 abiding steadfastly in wisdom, Truth, and
Love. In the Science of Mind, you will soon ascertain
496:1 that error cannot destroy error. You will also learn
that in Science there is no transfer of evil suggestions
496:3 from one mortal to another, for there is but one Mind,
and this ever-present omnipotent Mind is reflected by
man and governs the entire universe. You will learn
496:6 that in Christian Science the first duty is to obey
God, to have one Mind, and to love another as
yourself.
Condition of progress
496:9 We all must learn that Life is God. Ask yourself:
Am I living the life that approaches the supreme good?
Am I demonstrating the healing power of
496:12 Truth and Love? If so then the way will
grow brighter "unto the perfect day." Your fruits
will prove what the understanding of God brings to man.
496:15 Hold perpetually this thought, - that it is the spiritual
idea, the Holy Ghost and Christ, which enables you to
demonstrate, with scientific certainty, the rule of healing,
496:18 based upon its divine Principle, Love, underlying, over-
lying, and encompassing all true being.
Triumph over death
"The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is
496:21 the law," - the law of mortal belief, at war with the
facts of immortal Life, even with the spiritual
law which says to the grave, "Where is thy
496:24 victory?" But "when this corruptible shall have put
on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on im-
mortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that
496:27 is written, Death is swallowed up in victory."
/Question/. - Have Christian Scientists any religious
creed?
496:30 /Answer/. - They have not, if by that term is meant
doctrinal beliefs. The following is a brief exposition of
497:1 the important points, or religious tenets, of Christian
Science: -
497:3 1. As adherents of Truth, we take the inspired Word
of the Bible as our sufficient guide to eternal Life.
2. We acknowledge and adore one supreme and in-
497:6 finite God. We acknowledge His Son, one Christ; the
Holy Ghost or divine Comforter; and man in God's
image and likeness.
497:9 3. We acknowledge God's forgiveness of sin in the
destruction of sin and the spiritual understanding that
casts out evil as unreal. But the belief in sin is pun-
497:12 ished so long as the belief lasts.
4. We acknowledge Jesus' atonement as the evi-
dence of divine, efficacious Love, unfolding man's unity
497:15 with God through Christ Jesus the Way-shower; and
we acknowledge that man is saved through Christ,
through Truth, Life, and Love as demonstrated by the
497:18 Galilean Prophet in healing the sick and overcoming
sin and death.
5. We acknowledge that the crucifixion of Jesus and
497:21 his resurrection served to uplift faith to understand eter-
nal Life, even the allness of Soul, Spirit, and the noth-
ingness of matter.
497:24 6. And we solemnly promise to watch, and pray for
that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus; to
do unto others as we would have them do unto us; and
497:27 to be merciful, just, and pure.
KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES
These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it. - REVELATION.
CHAPTER XV - GENESIS
And I appeared unto Abraham,, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob by the name of God Almighty; but by My name Jehovah was I not known to them. - EXODUS.
All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. - JOHN.
Spiritual interpretation
501:1 SCIENTIFIC interpretation of the Scriptures prop-
erly starts with the beginning of the Old Testa-
501:3 ment, chiefly because the spiritual import of
the Word, in its earliest articulations, often
seems so smothered by the immediate context as to
501:6 require explication; whereas the New Testament narra-
tives are clearer and come nearer the heart. Jesus il-
lumines them, showing the poverty of mortal existence,
501:9 but richly recompensing human want and woe with
spiritual gain. The incarnation of Truth, that amplifi-
cation of wonder and glory which angels could only
501:12 whisper and which God illustrated by light and har-
mony, is consonant with ever-present Love. So-called
mystery and miracle, which subserve the end of natural
501:15 good, are explained by that Love for whose rest the
weary ones sigh when needing something more native
to their immortal cravings than the history of perpetual
501:18 evil.
Spiritual overture
502:1 A second necessity for beginning with Genesis is that
the living and real prelude of the older Scriptures is so
502:3 brief that it would almost seem, from the
preponderance of unreality in the entire nar-
rative, as if reality did not predominate over unreality,
502:6 the light over the dark, the straight line of Spirit over
the mortal deviations and inverted images of the creator
and His creation.
Deflection of being
502:9 Spiritually followed, the book of Genesis is the history
of the untrue image of God, named a sinful mortal. This
deflection of being, rightly viewed, serves to
502:12 suggest the proper reflection of God and the
spiritual actuality of man, as given in the first chapter
of Genesis. Even thus the crude forms of human thought
502:15 take on higher symbols and significations, when scien-
tifically Christian views of the universe appear, illuminat-
ing time with the glory of eternity.
502:18 In the following exegesis, each text is followed by its spiritual interpretation according to the teachings of Chris- tian Science.
502:21 EXEGESIS
/Genesis/ i. 1. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Ideas and identities
502:24 The infinite has no beginning. This word /beginning/
is employed to signify /the only/, - that is, the eternal ver-
ity and unity of God and man, including
502:27 the universe. The creative Principle - Life,
Truth, and Love - is God. The universe reflects God.
There is but one creator and one creation. This crea-
503:1 tion consists of the unfolding of spiritual ideas and their
identities, which are embraced in the infinite Mind and
503:3 forever reflected. These ideas range from the infini-
tesimal to infinity, and the highest ideas are the sons
and daughters of God.
503:6 /Genesis/ i. 2. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Spiritual harmony
503:9 The divine Principle and idea constitute spiritual har-
mony, - heaven and eternity. In the universe of Truth,
matter is unknown. No supposition of error
503:12 enters there. Divine Science, the Word of
God, saith to the darkness upon the face of error, "God
is All-in-all," and the light of ever-present Love illumines
503:15 the universe. Hence the eternal wonder, - that infinite
space is peopled with God's ideas, reflecting Him in
countless spiritual forms.
503:18 /Genesis/ i. 3. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
Mind's idea faultless
Immortal and divine Mind presents the idea of God:
503:21 /first/, in light; /second/, in reflection; /third/, in spiritual and
immortal forms of beauty and goodness. But
this Mind creates no element nor symbol of
503:24 discord and decay. God creates neither erring thought,
mortal life, mutable truth, nor variable love.
/Genesis/ i. 4. And God saw the light, that it was good:
503:27 and God divided the light from the darkness.
God, Spirit, dwelling in infinite light and harmony
504:1 from which emanates the true idea, is never reflected by
aught but the good.
504:3 /Genesis/ i. 5. And God called the light Day, and the
darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morn-
ing were the first day.
Light preceding the sun
504:6 All questions as to the divine creation being both
spiritual and material are answered in this passage, for
though solar beams are not yet included in
504:9 the record of creation, still there is light. This
light is not from the sun nor from volcanic flames, but it
is the revelation of Truth and of spiritual ideas. This
504:12 also shows that there is no place where God's light is not
seen, since Truth, Life, and Love fill immensity and are
ever-present. Was not this a revelation instead of a
504:15 creation?
Evenings and mornings
The successive appearing of God's ideas is represented
as taking place on so many /evenings/ and /mornings/, -
504:18 words which indicate, in the absence of solar
time, spiritually clearer views of Him, views
which are not implied by material darkness and dawn.
504:21 Here we have the explanation of another passage of
Scripture, that "one day is with the Lord as a thousand
years." The rays of infinite Truth, when gathered into
504:24 the focus of ideas, bring light instantaneously, whereas
a thousand years of human doctrines, hypotheses, and
vague conjectures emit no such effulgence.
Spirit /versus/ darkness
504:27 Did infinite Mind create matter, and call it /light?/
Spirit is light, and the contradiction of Spirit is matter,
darkness, and darkness obscures light. Mate-
504:30 rial sense is nothing but a supposition of the
absence of Spirit. No solar rays nor planetary revolutions
505:1 form the day of Spirit. Immortal Mind makes its own
record, but mortal mind, sleep, dreams, sin, disease, and
505:3 death have no record in the first chapter of Genesis.
/Genesis/ i. 6. And God said, Let there be a firmament in
the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from
505:6 the waters.
Spiritual firmament
Spiritual understanding, by which human conception,
material sense, is separated from Truth, is the firmament.
505:9 The divine Mind, not matter, creates all iden-
tities, and they are forms of Mind, the ideas of
Spirit apparent only as Mind, never as mindless matter
505:12 nor the so-called material senses.
/Genesis/ i. 7. And God made the firmament, and divided
the waters which were under the firmament from the waters
505:15 which were above the firmament: and it was so.
Understanding imparted
Spirit imparts the understanding which uplifts con-
sciousness and leads into all truth. The Psalmist saith:
505:18 "The Lord on high is mightier than the noise
of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of
the sea." Spiritual sense is the discernment of spiritual
505:21 good. Understanding is the line of demarcation between
the real and unreal. Spiritual understanding unfolds
Mind, - Life, Truth, and Love, - and demonstrates the
505:24 divine sense, giving the spiritual proof of the universe in
Christian Science.
Original reflected
This understanding is not intellectual, is not the result
505:27 of scholarly attainments; it is the reality of all things
brought to light. God's ideas reflect the im-
mortal, unerring, and infinite. The mortal,
505:30 erring, and finite are human beliefs, which apportion to
506:1 themselves a task impossible for them, that of distinguish-
ing between the false and the true. Objects utterly un-
506:3 like the original do not reflect that original. Therefore
matter, not being the reflection of Spirit, has no real en-
tity. Understanding is a quality of God, a quality which
506:6 separates Christian Science from supposition and makes
Truth final.
/Genesis/ i. 8. And God called the firmament Heaven.
506:9 And the evening and the morning were the second day.
Exalted thought
Through divine Science, Spirit, God, unites under-
standing to eternal harmony. The calm and exalted
506:12 thought or spiritual apprehension is at peace.
Thus the dawn of ideas goes on, forming each
successive stage of progress.
506:15 /Genesis/ i. 9. And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
Unfolding of thoughts
506:18 Spirit, God, gathers unformed thoughts into their
proper channels, and unfolds these thoughts,
even as He opens the petals of a holy purpose
506:21 in order that the purpose may appear.
/Genesis/ i. 10. And God called the dry land Earth; and
the gathering together of the waters called He Seas: and
506:24 God saw that it was good.
Spirit names and blesses
Here the human concept and divine idea seem con-
fused by the translator, but they are not so in the scien-
506:27 tifically Christian meaning of the text. Upon
Adam devolved the pleasurable task of find-
ing names for all material things, but Adam has not yet
507:1 appeared in the narrative. In metaphor, the /dry land/
illustrates the absolute formations instituted by Mind,
507:3 while /water/ symbolizes the elements of Mind. Spirit duly
feeds and clothes every object, as it appears in the line
of spiritual creation, thus tenderly expressing the father-
507:6 hood and motherhood of God. Spirit names and blesses
all. Without natures particularly defined, objects and
subjects would be obscure, and creation would be full of
507:9 nameless offspring, - wanderers from the parent Mind,
strangers in a tangled wilderness.
/Genesis/ i. 11. And God said, Let the earth bring forth
507:12 grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding
fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth:
and it was so.
Divine propagation
507:15 The universe of Spirit reflects the creative power of
the divine Principle, or Life, which reproduces the multi-
tudinous forms of Mind and governs the mul-
507:18 tiplication of the compound idea man. The
tree and herb do not yield fruit because of any propagat-
ing power of their own, but because they reflect the Mind
507:21 which includes all. A material world implies a mortal
mind and man a creator. The scientific divine creation
declares immortal Mind and the universe created by God.
Ever-appearing creation
507:24 Infinite Mind creates and governs all, from the men-
tal molecule to infinity. This divine Principle of all
expresses Science and art throughout His
507:27 creation, and the immortality of man and the
universe. Creation is ever appearing, and must ever con-
tinue to appear from the nature of its inexhaustible source.
507:30 Mortal sense inverts this appearing and calls ideas mate-
rial. Thus misinterpreted, the divine idea seems to fall
508:1 to the level of a human or material belief, called mortal
man. But the seed is in itself, only as the divine Mind
508:3 is All and reproduces all - as Mind is the multiplier,
and Mind's infinite idea, man and the universe, is the
product. The only intelligence or substance of a thought,
508:6 a seed, or a flower is God, the creator of it. Mind is the
Soul of all. Mind is Life, Truth, and Love which gov-
erns all.
508:9 /Genesis/ i. 12. And the earth brought forth grass, and
herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding
fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw
508:12 that it was good.
Mind's pure thought
God determines the gender of His own ideas. Gen-
der is mental, not material. The seed within itself is
508:15 the pure thought emanating from divine
Mind. The feminine gender is not yet ex-
pressed in the text. /Gender/ means simply /kind/ or /sort/,
508:18 and does not necessarily refer either to masculinity or
femininity. The word is not confined to sexuality, and
grammars always recognize a neuter gender, neither
508:21 male nor female. The Mind or intelligence of produc-
tion names the female gender last in the ascending order
of creation. The intelligent individual idea, be it male
508:24 or female, rising from the lesser to the greater, unfolds
the infinitude of Love.
/Genesis/ i. 13. And the evening and the morning were
508:27 the third day.
Rising to the light
The third stage in the order of Christian Science is an
important one to the human thought, letting in the light
509:1 of spiritual understanding. This period corresponds to
the resurrection, when Spirit is discerned to be the Life of
509:3 all, and the deathless Life, or Mind, dependent
upon no material organization. Our Master
reappeared to his students, - to their apprehension he
509:6 rose from the grave, - on the third day of his ascending
thought, and so presented to them the certain sense of
eternal Life.
509:9 /Genesis/ i. 14. And God said, Let there be lights in the
firmament of the heaven, to divide the day from the night;
and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days,
509:12 and years.
Rarefaction of thought
Spirit creates no other than heavenly or celestial bodies,
but the stellar universe is no more celestial than our earth.
509:15 This text gives the idea of the rarefaction of
thought as it ascends higher. God forms and
peoples the universe. The light of spiritual understand-
509:18 ing gives gleams of the infinite only, even as nebulae indi-
cate the immensity of space.
Divine nature appearing
So-called mineral, vegetable, and animal substances
509:21 are no more contingent now on time or material struc-
ture than they were when "the morning stars
sang together." Mind made the "plant of
509:24 the field before it was in the earth." The periods of
spiritual ascension are the days and seasons of Mind's
creation, in which beauty, sublimity, purity, and holiness
509:27 - yea, the divine nature - appear in man and the uni-
verse never to disappear.
Spiritual ideas apprehended
Knowing the Science of creation, in which all is Mind
509:30 and its ideas, Jesus rebuked the material thought of his
fellow-countrymen: "Ye can discern the face of the
510:1 sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?"
How much more should we seek to apprehend the spirit-
510:3 ual ideas of God, than to dwell on the objects
of sense! To discern the rhythm of Spirit
and to be holy, thought must be purely spiritual.
510:6 /Genesis/ i. 15. And let them be for lights in the firma-
ment of the heaven, to give light upon the earth: and it
was so.
510:9 Truth and Love enlighten the understanding, in whose
"light shall we see light;" and this illumination is re-
flected spiritually by all who walk in the light and turn
510:12 away from a false material sense.
/Genesis/ i. 16. And God made two great lights; the
greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the
510:15 night: He made the stars also.
Geology a failure
The sun is a metaphorical representation of Soul out-
side the body, giving existence and intelligence to the
510:18 universe. Love alone can impart the limit-
less idea of infinite Mind. Geology has never
explained the earth's formations; it cannot explain them.
510:21 There is no Scriptural allusion to solar light until time has
been already divided into evening and morning; and the
allusion to fluids (Genesis i. 2) indicates a supposed for-
510:24 mation of matter by the resolving of fluids into solids,
analogous to the suppositional resolving of thoughts into
material things.
Spiritual subdivision
510:27 Light is a symbol of Mind, of Life, Truth, and Love,
and not a vitalizing property of matter. Sci-
ence reveals only one Mind, and this one shin-
510:30 ing by its own light and governing the universe, including
511:1 man, in perfect harmony. This Mind forms ideas, its
own images, subdivides and radiates their borrowed light,
511:3 intelligence, and so explains the Scripture phrase, "whose
seed is in itself." Thus God's ideas "multiply and re-
plenish the earth." The divine Mind supports the sub-
511:6 limity, magnitude, and infinitude of spiritual creation.
/Genesis/ i. 17, 18. And God set them in the firmament of
the heaven, to give light upon the earth, and to rule over
511:9 the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the
darkness: and God saw that it was good.
Darkness scattered
In divine Science, which is the seal of Deity and has
511:12 the impress of heaven, God is revealed as in-
finite light. In the eternal Mind, no night is
there.
511:15 /Genesis/ i. 19. And the evening and the morning were
the fourth day.
The changing glow and full effulgence of God's infi-
511:18 nite ideas, images, mark the periods of progress.
/Genesis/ i. 20. And God said, Let the waters bring forth
abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl
511:21 that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of
heaven.
Soaring aspirations
To mortal mind, the universe is liquid, solid, and aeri-
511:24 form. Spiritually interpreted, rocks and mountains stand
for solid and grand ideas. Animals and mor-
tals metaphorically present the gradation of
511:27 mortal thought, rising in the scale of intelligence, taking
form in masculine, feminine, or neuter gender. The
fowls, which fly above the earth in the open firmament
512:1 of heaven, correspond to aspirations soaring beyond and
above corporeality to the understanding of the incorporeal
512:3 and divine Principle, Love.
/Genesis/ i. 21. And God created great whales, and every
living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth
512:6 abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after
his kind: and God saw that it was good.
Seraphic symbols
Spirit is symbolized by strength, presence, and power,
512:9 and also by holy thoughts, winged with Love. These an-
gels of His presence, which have the holiest
charge, abound in the spiritual atmosphere of
512:12 Mind, and consequently reproduce their own character-
istics. Their individual forms we know not, but we do
know that their natures are allied to God's nature; and
512:15 spiritual blessings, thus typified, are the externalized, yet
subjective, states of faith and spiritual understanding.
/Genesis/ i. 22. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruit-
512:18 ful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas; and let
fowl multiply in the earth.
Multiplication of pure ideas
Spirit blesses the multiplication of its own pure and
512:21 perfect ideas. From the infinite elements of the one
Mind emanate all form, color, quality, and
quantity, and these are mental, both primarily
512:24 and secondarily. Their spiritual nature is discerned only
through the spiritual senses. Mortal mind inverts the true
likeness, and confers animal names and natures upon its
512:27 own misconceptions. Ignorant of the origin and opera-
tions of mortal mind, - that is, ignorant of itself, - this
so-called mind puts forth its own qualities, and claims
512:30 God as their author; albeit God is ignorant of the ex-
513:1 istence of both this mortal mentality, so-called, and its
claim, for the claim usurps the deific prerogatives and is
513:3 an attempted infringement on infinity.
/Genesis/ i. 23. And the evening and the morning were
the fifth day.
Spiritual spheres
513:6 Advancing spiritual steps in the teeming universe of
Mind lead on to spiritual spheres and exalted beings. To
material sense, this divine universe is dim and
513:9 distant, gray in the sombre hues of twilight;
but anon the veil is lifted, and the scene shifts into light.
In the record, time is not yet measured by solar revolutions,
513:12 and the motions and reflections of deific power cannot be
apprehended until divine Science becomes the interpreter.
/Genesis/ i. 24. And God said, Let the earth bring forth
513:15 the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing,
and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
Continuity of thoughts
Spirit diversifies, classifies, and individualizes all
513:18 thoughts, which are as eternal as the Mind
conceiving them; but the intelligence, exist-
ence, and continuity of all individuality remain in God,
513:21 who is the divinely creative Principle thereof.
/Genesis/ i. 25. And God made the beast of the earth after
his kind, and cattle after their kind, and everything that
513:24 creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that
it was good.
God's thoughts are spiritual realities
God creates all forms of reality. His thoughts are
513:27 spiritual realities. So-called mortal mind - being non-
existent and consequently not within the range of im-
514:1 mortal existence - could not by simulating deific power
invert the divine creation, and afterwards recreate per-
514:3 sons or things upon its own plane, since noth-
ing exists beyond the range of all-inclusive
infinity, in which and of which God is the
514:6 sole creator. Mind, joyous in strength, dwells in the
realm of Mind. Mind's infinite ideas run and dis-
port themselves. In humility they climb the heights of
514:9 holiness.
Qualities of thought
Moral courage is "the lion of the tribe of Juda," the
king of the mental realm. Free and fearless it roams in
514:12 the forest. Undisturbed it lies in the open
field, or rests in "green pastures, . . . beside
the still waters." In the figurative transmission from the
514:15 divine thought to the human, diligence, promptness, and
perseverance are likened to "the cattle upon a thousand
hills." They carry the baggage of stern resolve, and
514:18 keep pace with highest purpose. Tenderness accompa-
nies all the might imparted by Spirit. The individ-
uality created by God is not carnivorous, as witness the
514:21 millennial estate pictured by Isaiah: -
The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
And the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
514:24 And the calf and the young lion, and the fatling together;
And a little child shall lead them.
Creatures of God useful
Understanding the control which Love held over all,
514:27 Daniel felt safe in the lions' den, and Paul proved the
viper to be harmless. All of God's creatures
moving in the harmony of Science, are harm-
514:30 less, useful, indestructible. A realization of this grand
verity was a source of strength to the ancient worthies.
515:1 It supports Christian healing, and enables its possessor
to emulate the example of Jesus. "And God saw that
515:3 it was good."
The serpent harmless
Patience is symbolized by the tireless worm, creeping
over lofty summits, persevering in its intent. The ser-
515:6 pent of God's creating is neither subtle nor
poisonous, but is a wise idea, charming in its
adroitness, for Love's ideas are subject to the Mind which
515:9 forms them, - the power which changeth the serpent
into a staff.
/Genesis/ i. 26. And God said, Let us make man in our
515:12 image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over
the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over
the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping
515:15 thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Elohistic plurality
The eternal Elohim includes the forever universe.
The name Elohim is in the plural, but this plurality of
515:18 Spirit does not imply more than one God, nor
does it imply three persons in one. It relates
to the oneness, the triunity of Life, Truth, and Love.
515:21 "Let /them/ have dominion." Man is the family name
for all ideas, - the sons and daughters of God. All that
God imparts moves in accord with Him, reflecting good-
515:24 ness and power.
Reflected likeness
Your mirrored reflection is your own image or like-
ness. If you lift a weight, your reflection does this also.
515:27 If you speak, the lips of this likeness move in
accord with yours. Now compare man before
the mirror to his divine Principle, God. Call the mirror
515:30 divine Science, and call man the reflection. Then note
516:1 how true, according to Christian Science, is the reflection
to its original. As the reflection of yourself appears in
516:3 the mirror, so you, being spiritual, are the reflection of
God. The substance, Life, intelligence, Truth, and Love,
which constitute Deity, are reflected by His creation;
516:6 and when we subordinate the false testimony of the
corporeal senses to the facts of Science, we shall see
this true likeness and reflection everywhere.
Love imparts beauty
516:9 God fashions all things, after His own likeness. Life
is reflected in existence, Truth in truthfulness, God in
goodness, which impart their own peace and
516:12 permanence. Love, redolent with unselfish-
ness, bathes all in beauty and light. The grass beneath
our feet silently exclaims, "The meek shall inherit the
516:15 earth." The modest arbutus sends her sweet breath to
heaven. The great rock gives shadow and shelter. The
sunlight glints from the church-dome, glances into the
516:18 prison-cell, glides into the sick-chamber, brightens the
flower, beautifies the landscape, blesses the earth. Man,
made in His likeness, possesses and reflects God's domin-
516:21 ion over all the earth. Man and woman as coexistent
and eternal with God forever reflect, in glorified quality,
the infinite Father-Mother God.
516:24 /Genesis/ i. 27. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.
Ideal man and woman
516:27 To emphasize this momentous thought, it is repeated
that God made man in His own image, to reflect the
divine Spirit. It follows that man is a generic
516:30 term. Masculine, feminine, and neuter gen-
ders are human concepts. In one of the ancient lan-
517:1 guages the word for /man/ is used also as the synonym of
/mind/. This definition has been weakened by anthropo-
517:3 morphism, or a humanization of Deity. The word /an-
thropomorphic/, in such a phrase as "an anthropomorphic
God," is derived from two Greek words, signifying /man/
517:6 and /form/, and may be defined as a mortally mental at-
tempt to reduce Deity to corporeality. The life-giving
quality of Mind is Spirit, not matter. The ideal man
517:9 corresponds to creation, to intelligence, and to Truth.
The ideal woman corresponds to Life and to Love. In
divine Science, we have not as much authority for con-
517:12 sidering God masculine, as we have for considering
Him feminine, for Love imparts the clearest idea of
Deity.