Chapter X - Science Of Being
Substance versus supposition
278:1
Is Spirit the source or creator of matter? Science re-
Is Spirit the source or creator of matter? Science re-
veals nothing in Spirit out of which to create matter.
Divine metaphysics explains away matter.
Spirit is the only substance and consciousness
recognized by divine Science. The material
senses oppose this, but there are no material senses, for
matter has no mind. In Spirit there is no matter, even
as in Truth there is no error, and in good no evil. It is
a false supposition, the notion that there is real substance‑
matter, the opposite of Spirit. Spirit, God, is infinite,
all. Spirit can have no opposite.
One cause supreme
278:12
That matter is substantial or has life and sensation, is
That matter is substantial or has life and sensation, is
one of the false beliefs of mortals, and exists only in a
supposititious mortal consciousness. Hence,
as we approach Spirit and Truth, we lose the
consciousness of matter. The admission that there can
be material substance requires another admission, –
namely, that Spirit is not infinite and that matter is self‑
creative, self-existent, and eternal. From this it would
follow that there are two eternal causes, warring forever
with each other; and yet we say that Spirit is supreme
and all-presence.
278:23
The belief of the eternity of matter contradicts the
The belief of the eternity of matter contradicts the
demonstration of life as Spirit, and leads to the conclu-
sion that if man is material, he originated in matter and
must return to dust, – logic which would prove his an-
nihilation.
Substance is Spirit
278:28
All that we term sin, sickness, and death is a mortal
All that we term sin, sickness, and death is a mortal
belief. We define matter as error, because it is the oppo-
site of life, substance, and intelligence. Mat-
ter, with its mortality, cannot be substantial
if Spirit is substantial and eternal. Which ought to