Chapter VII - Physiology
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If materialistic knowledge is power, it is not wisdom.
If materialistic knowledge is power, it is not wisdom.
It is but a blind force. Man has "sought out many inven-
tions," but he has not yet found it true that knowledge can
save him from the dire effects of knowledge. The power
of mortal mind over its own body is little understood.
Sin destroyed through suffering
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Better the suffering which awakens mortal mind from
Better the suffering which awakens mortal mind from
its fleshly dream, than the false pleasures
which tend to perpetuate this dream. Sin
alone brings death, for sin is the only element
of destruction.
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"Fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body
"Fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body
in hell," said Jesus. A careful study of this text allows
that here the word soul means a false sense or material
consciousness. The command was a warning to beware,
not of Rome, Satan, nor of God, but of sin. Sickness,
sin, and death are not concomitants of Life or Truth.
No law supports them. They have no relation to God
wherewith to establish their power. Sin makes its own
hell, and goodness its own heaven.
Dangerous shoals avoided
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Such books as will rule disease out of mortal mind, –
Such books as will rule disease out of mortal mind, –
and so efface the images and thoughts of dis-
ease, instead of impressing them with forcible
descriptions and medical details, – will help
to abate sickness and to destroy it.
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Many a hopeless case of disease is induced by a single
Many a hopeless case of disease is induced by a single
post mortem examination, – not from infection nor from
contact with material virus, but from the fear of the
disease and from the image brought before the mind; it
is a mental state, which is afterwards outlined on the
body.
Pangs caused by the press
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The press unwittingly sends forth many sorrows and
The press unwittingly sends forth many sorrows and
diseases among the human family. It does this by giv-
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ing names to diseases and by printing long descriptions
ing names to diseases and by printing long descriptions
which mirror images of disease distinctly in thought. A
new name for an ailment affects people like a
Parisian name for a novel garment. Every one
hastens to get it. A minutely described dis-
ease costs many a man his earthly days of comfort. What
a price for human knowledge! But the price does not ex-
ceed the original cost. God said of the tree of knowledge,
which bears the fruit of sin, disease, and death, "In the
day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
Higher standard for mortals
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The less that is said of physical structure and laws, and
The less that is said of physical structure and laws, and
the more that is thought and said about moral
and spiritual law, the higher will be the stand-
ard of living and the farther mortals will be re-
moved from imbecility or disease.
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We should master fear, instead of cultivating it. It
We should master fear, instead of cultivating it. It
was the ignorance of our forefathers in the departments
of knowledge now broadcast in the earth, that made them
hardier than our trained physiologists, more honest than
our sleek politicians.
Diet and dyspepsia
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We are told that the simple food our forefathers ate
We are told that the simple food our forefathers ate
helped to make them healthy, but that is a mistake.
Their diet would not cure dyspepsia at this
period. With rules of health in the head
and the most digestible food in the stomach, there would
still be dyspeptics. Many of the effeminate constitutions
of our time will never grow robust until individual opin-
ions improve and mortal belief loses some portion of its
error.
Harm done by physicians
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The doctor's mind reaches that of his patient. The
The doctor's mind reaches that of his patient. The
doctor should suppress his fear of disease, else his belief
in its reality and fatality will harm his patients even more
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than his calomel and morphine, for the higher stratum of
than his calomel and morphine, for the higher stratum of
mortal mind has in belief more power to harm man than
the substratum, matter. A patient hears the
doctor's verdict as a criminal hears his death‑
sentence. The patient may seem calm under it, but he is
not. His fortitude may sustain him, but his fear, which
has already developed the disease that is gaining the
mastery, is increased by the physician's words.
Disease depicted
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The materialistic doctor, though humane, is an art-
The materialistic doctor, though humane, is an art-
ist who outlines his thought relative to disease, and then
fills in his delineations with sketches from text-
books. It is better to prevent disease from
forming in mortal mind afterwards to appear on the
body; but to do this requires attention. The thought of
disease is formed before one sees a doctor and before
the doctor undertakes to dispel it by a counter-irritant,
– perhaps by a blister, by the application of caustic or
croton oil, or by a surgical operation. Again, giving an-
other direction to faith, the physician prescribes drugs,
until the elasticity of mortal thought haply causes a
vigorous reaction upon itself, and reproduces a picture
of healthy and harmonious formations.
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A patient's belief is more or less moulded and formed
A patient's belief is more or less moulded and formed
by his doctor's belief in the case, even though the doctor
says nothing to support his theory. His thoughts and his
patient's commingle, and the stronger thoughts rule the
weaker. Hence the importance that doctors be Christian
Scientists.
Mind over matter
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Because the muscles of the blacksmith's arm are
Because the muscles of the blacksmith's arm are
strongly developed, it does not follow that
exercise has produced this result or that a
less used arm must be weak. If matter were the cause
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of action, and if muscles, without volition of mortal
of action, and if muscles, without volition of mortal
mind, could lift the hammer and strike the anvil, it
might be thought true that hammering would enlarge
the muscles. The trip-hammer is not increased in size
by exercise. Why not, since muscles are as material as
wood and iron? Because nobody believes that mind is
producing such a result on the hammer.
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Muscles are not self-acting. If mind does not move
Muscles are not self-acting. If mind does not move
them, they are motionless. Hence the great fact that
Mind alone enlarges and empowers man through its
mandate, – by reason of its demand for and supply of
power. Not because of muscular exercise, but by rea-
son of the blacksmith's faith in exercise, his arm becomes
stronger.
Latent fear subdued
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Mortals develop their own bodies or make them sick,
Mortals develop their own bodies or make them sick,
according as they influence them through mortal mind.
To know whether this development is produced
consciously or unconsciously, is of less impor-
tance than a knowledge of the fact. The feats of the gym-
nast prove that latent mental fears are subdued by him.
The devotion of thought to an honest achievement makes
the achievement possible. Exceptions only confirm this
rule, proving that failure is occasioned by a too feeble
faith.
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Had Blondin believed it impossible to walk the rope
Had Blondin believed it impossible to walk the rope
over Niagara's abyss of waters, he could never have
done it. His belief that he could do it gave his thought‑
forces, called muscles, their flexibility and power which
the unscientific might attribute to a lubricating oil. His
fear must have disappeared before his power of putting
resolve into action could appear.
Homer and Moses
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When Homer sang of the Grecian gods, Olympus was
When Homer sang of the Grecian gods, Olympus was
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dark, but through his verse the gods became alive in a
dark, but through his verse the gods became alive in a
nation's belief. Pagan worship began with muscularity,
but the law of Sinai lifted thought into the
song of David. Moses advanced a nation to
the worship of God in Spirit instead of matter, and il-
lustrated the grand human capacities of being bestowed
by immortal Mind.
A mortal not man
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Whoever is incompetent to explain Soul would be wise
Whoever is incompetent to explain Soul would be wise
not to undertake the explanation of body. Life is, always
has been, and ever will be independent of
matter; for life is God, and man is the idea
of God, not formed materially but spiritually, and not
subject to decay and dust. The Psalmist said: "Thou
madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy
hands. Thou hast put all things under his feet."
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The great truth in the Science of being, that the real
The great truth in the Science of being, that the real
man was, is, and ever shall be perfect, is incontrovertible;
for if man is the image, reflection, of God, he is neither
inverted nor subverted, but upright and Godlike.
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The suppositional antipode of divine infinite Spirit
The suppositional antipode of divine infinite Spirit
is the so-called human soul or spirit, in other words
the five senses, – the flesh that warreth against Spirit.
These so called material senses must yield to the infinite
Spirit, named God.
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St. Paul said: "For I determined not to know any-
St. Paul said: "For I determined not to know any-
thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified."
(I Cor. ii. 2.) Christian Science says: I am determined
not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and
him glorified.
Chapter VIII
Footsteps Of Truth
Remember, Lord, the reproach of Thy servants; how I do bear in my
bosom the reproach of all the mighty people; wherewith Thine enemies
have reproached, O Lord; wherewith they have reproached the footsteps
of Thine anointed. – PSALMS.
Practical preaching
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THE best sermon ever preached is Truth practised
THE best sermon ever preached is Truth practised
and demonstrated by the destruction of sin, sickness,
and death. Knowing this and knowing too
that one affection would be supreme in us and
take the lead in our lives, Jesus said, "No man can serve
two masters."
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We cannot build safely on false foundations. Truth
We cannot build safely on false foundations. Truth
makes a new creature, in whom old things pass away
and "all things are become new." Passions, selfishness,
false appetites, hatred, fear, all sensuality, yield to spirit-
uality, and the superabundance of being is on the side
of God, good.
The uses of truth
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We cannot fill vessels already full. They must first be
We cannot fill vessels already full. They must first be
emptied. Let us disrobe error. Then, when
the winds of God blow, we shall not hug our
tatters close about us.
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The way to extract error from mortal mind is to pour
The way to extract error from mortal mind is to pour
in truth through flood-tides of Love. Christian perfec-
tion is won on no other basis.
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Grafting holiness upon unholiness, supposing that sin
Grafting holiness upon unholiness, supposing that sin
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can be forgiven when it is not forsaken, is as foolish as
can be forgiven when it is not forsaken, is as foolish as
straining out gnats and swallowing camels.
The scientific unity which exists between God and man
must be wrought out in life-practice, and God's will must
be universally done.
Divine study
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If men would bring to bear upon the study of the
If men would bring to bear upon the study of the
Science of Mind half the faith they bestow upon the so‑
called pains and pleasures of material sense,
they would not go on from bad to worse,
until disciplined by the prison and the scaffold; but
the whole human family would be redeemed through
the merits of Christ, – through the perception and ac-
ceptance of Truth. For this glorious result Christian
Science lights the torch of spiritual understanding.
Harmonious life-work
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Outside of this Science all is mutable; but immortal
Outside of this Science all is mutable; but immortal
man, in accord with the divine Principle of His being,
God, neither sins, suffers, nor dies. The days
of our pilgrimage will multiply instead of di-
minish, when God's kingdom comes on earth; for the
true way leads to life instead of to death, and earthly
experience discloses the finity of error and the infinite
capacities of Truth, in which God gives man dominion
over all the earth.
Belief and practice
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Our beliefs about a Supreme Being contradict the
Our beliefs about a Supreme Being contradict the
practice growing out of them. Error abounds where
Truth should "much more abound." We
admit that God has almighty power, is "a
very present help in trouble;" and yet we rely on a drug
or hypnotism to heal disease, as if senseless matter or err-
ing mortal mind had more power than omnipotent Spirit.
Sure reward of righteousness
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Common opinion admits that a man may take cold in
Common opinion admits that a man may take cold in
the act of doing good, and that this cold may produce
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fatal pulmonary disease; as though evil could overbear
fatal pulmonary disease; as though evil could overbear
the law of Love, and check the reward for do-
ing good. In the Science of Christianity, Mind
– omnipotence – has all-power, assigns sure
rewards to righteousness, and shows that matter can
neither heal nor make sick, create nor destroy.
Our belief and understanding
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If God were understood instead of being merely be-
If God were understood instead of being merely be-
lieved, this understanding would establish health. The
accusation of the rabbis, "He made himself
the Son of God," was really the justification
of Jesus, for to the Christian the only true
spirit is Godlike. This thought incites to a more exalted
worship and self-abnegation. Spiritual perception brings
out the possibilities of being, destroys reliance on aught
but God, and so makes man the image of his Maker in
deed and in truth.
Suicide and sin
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We are prone to believe either in more than one Su-
We are prone to believe either in more than one Su-
preme Ruler or in some power less than God. We im-
agine that Mind can be imprisoned in a sensuous body.
When the material body has gone to ruin, when evil has
overtaxed the belief of life in matter and destroyed it,
then mortals believe that the deathless Principle, or
Soul, escapes from matter and lives on; but this is not
true. Death is not a stepping-stone to life, immortality,
and bliss. The so-called sinner is a suicide.
Sin kills the sinner and will continue to kill
him so long as he sins. The foam and fury of illegiti-
mate living and of fearful and doleful dying should
disappear on the shore of time; then the waves of sin,
sorrow, and death beat in vain.
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God, divine good, does not kill a man in order to give
God, divine good, does not kill a man in order to give
him eternal Life, for God alone is man's life. God is at
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once the centre and circumference of being. It is evil
once the centre and circumference of being. It is evil
that dies; good dies not.
Spirit the only intelligence and substance
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All forms of error support the false conclusions that
All forms of error support the false conclusions that
there is more than one Life; that material history is as
real and living as spiritual history; that mortal
error is as conclusively mental as immortal
Truth; and that there are two separate, an-
tagonistic entities and beings, two powers, – namely,
Spirit and matter, – resulting in a third person (mortal
man) who carries out the delusions of sin, sickness, and
death.
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The first power is admitted to be good, an intelligence or
The first power is admitted to be good, an intelligence or
Mind called God. The so-called second power, evil, is the
unlikeness of good. It cannot therefore be mind, though
so called. The third power, mortal man, is a supposed
mixture of the first and second antagonistic powers, in-
telligence and non-intelligence, of Spirit and matter.
Unscientific theories
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Such theories are evidently erroneous. They can never
Such theories are evidently erroneous. They can never
stand the test of Science. Judging them by their fruits,
they are corrupt. When will the ages under-
stand the Ego, and realize only one God, one
Mind or intelligence?
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False and self-assertive theories have given sinners the
False and self-assertive theories have given sinners the
notion that they can create what God cannot, – namely,
sinful mortals in God's image, thus usurping the name
without the nature of the image or reflection of divine
Mind; but in Science it can never be said that man
has a mind of his own, distinct from God, the all
Mind.
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The belief that God lives in matter is pantheistic. The
The belief that God lives in matter is pantheistic. The
error, which says that Soul is in body, Mind is in matter,
and good is in evil, must unsay it and cease from such
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utterances; else God will continue to be hidden from hu-
utterances; else God will continue to be hidden from hu-
manity, and mortals will sin without knowing that they
are sinning, will lean on matter instead of Spirit, stumble
with lameness, drop with drunkenness, consume with dis-
case, – all because of their blindness, their false sense
concerning God and man.
Creation perfect
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When will the error of believing that there is life in
When will the error of believing that there is life in
matter, and that sin, sickness, and death are creations of
God, be unmasked? When will it be under-
stood that matter has neither intelligence, life,
nor sensation, and that the opposite belief is the prolific
source of all suffering? God created all through Mind,
and made all perfect and eternal. Where then is the
necessity for recreation or procreation?
Perceiving the divine image
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Befogged in error (the error of believing that matter
Befogged in error (the error of believing that matter
can be intelligent for good or evil), we can catch clear
glimpses of God only as the mists disperse,
or as they melt into such thinness that we per-
ceive the divine image in some word or deed
which indicates the true idea, – the supremacy and real-
ity of good, the nothingness and unreality of evil.
Redemption from selfishness
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When we realize that there is one Mind, the divine law
When we realize that there is one Mind, the divine law
of loving our neighbor as ourselves is unfolded;
whereas a belief in many ruling minds hinders
man's normal drift towards the one Mind, one
God, and leads human thought into opposite channels
where selfishness reigns.
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Selfishness tips the beam of human existence towards
Selfishness tips the beam of human existence towards
the side of error, not towards Truth. Denial of the one-
ness of Mind throws our weight into the scale, not of
Spirit, God, good, but of matter.
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When we fully understand our relation to the Divine,
When we fully understand our relation to the Divine,
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we can have no other Mind but His, – no other Love,
we can have no other Mind but His, – no other Love,
wisdom, or Truth, no other sense of Life, and no con-
sciousness of the existence of matter or error.
Will-power unrighteous
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The power of the human will should be exercised only
The power of the human will should be exercised only
in subordination to Truth; else it will misguide the judg-
ment and free the lower propensities. It is the
province of spiritual sense to govern man.
Material, erring, human thought acts injuriously both
upon the body and through it.
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Will-power is capable of all evil. It can never heal
Will-power is capable of all evil. It can never heal
the sick, for it is the prayer of the unrighteous; while
the exercise of the sentiments – hope, faith, love – is the
prayer of the righteous. This prayer, governed by Science
instead of the senses, heals the sick.
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In the scientific relation of God to man, we find that
In the scientific relation of God to man, we find that
whatever blesses one blesses all, as Jesus showed with
the loaves and the fishes, – Spirit, not matter, being the
source of supply.
Birth and death unreal
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Does God send sickness, giving the mother her child
Does God send sickness, giving the mother her child
for the brief space of a few years and then taking it away
by death? Is God creating anew what He
has already created? The Scriptures are defi-
nite on this point, declaring that His work was finished,
nothing is new to God, and that it was good.
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Can there be any birth or death for man, the spiritual
Can there be any birth or death for man, the spiritual
image and likeness of God? Instead of God sending
sickness and death, He destroys them, and brings to light
immortality. Omnipotent and infinite Mind made all
and includes all. This Mind does not make mistakes
and subsequently correct them. God does not cause man
to sin, to be sick, or to die.
No evil in Spirit
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There are evil beliefs, often called evil spirits; but
There are evil beliefs, often called evil spirits; but
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these evils are not Spirit, for there is no evil in Spirit.
these evils are not Spirit, for there is no evil in Spirit.
Because God is Spirit, evil becomes more apparent and
obnoxious proportionately as we advance spir-
itually, until it disappears from our lives.
This fact proves our position, for every scientific state-
ment in Christianity has its proof. Error of statement
leads to error in action.
Subordination of evil
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God is not the creator of an evil mind. Indeed, evil
God is not the creator of an evil mind. Indeed, evil
is not Mind. We must learn that evil is the awful decep-
tion and unreality of existence. Evil is not
supreme; good is not helpless; nor are the
so-called laws of matter primary, and the law of Spirit
secondary. Without this lesson, we lose sight of the per-
fect Father, or the divine Principle of man.
Evident impossibilities
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Body is not first and Soul last, nor is evil mightier than
Body is not first and Soul last, nor is evil mightier than
good. The Science of being repudiates self‑
evident impossibilities, such as the amalgama-
tion of Truth and error in cause or effect. Science sepa-
rates the tares and wheat in time of harvest.
One primal cause
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There is but one primal cause. Therefore there can
There is but one primal cause. Therefore there can
be no effect from any other cause, and there can be no
reality in aught which does not proceed from
this great and only cause. Sin, sickness, dis-
ease, and death belong not to the Science of being. They
are the errors, which presuppose the absence of Truth,
Life, or Love.
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The spiritual reality is the scientific fact in all things.
The spiritual reality is the scientific fact in all things.
The spiritual fact, repeated in the action of man and the
whole universe, is harmonious and is the ideal of Truth.
Spiritual facts are not inverted; the opposite discord,
which bears no resemblance to spirituality, is not real.
The only evidence of this inversion is obtained from
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suppositional error, which affords no proof of God,
suppositional error, which affords no proof of God,
Spirit, or of the spiritual creation. Material sense de-
fines all things materially, and has a finite sense of the
infinite.
Seemingly independent authority
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The Scriptures say, "In Him we live, and move, and
The Scriptures say, "In Him we live, and move, and
have our being." What then is this seeming power, in-
dependent of God, which causes disease and
cures it? What is it but an error of belief, –
a law of mortal mind, wrong in every sense,
embracing sin, sickness, and death? It is the very anti-
pode of immortal Mind, of Truth, and of spiritual law.
It is not in accordance with the goodness of God's char-
acter that He should make man sick, then leave man to
heal himself; it is absurd to suppose that matter can both
cause and cure disease, or that Spirit, God, produces
disease and leaves the remedy to matter.
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John Young of Edinburgh writes: "God is the father
John Young of Edinburgh writes: "God is the father
of mind, and of nothing else." Such an utterance is
"the voice of one crying in the wilderness" of human
beliefs and preparing the way of Science. Let us learn
of the real and eternal, and prepare for the reign of
Spirit, the kingdom of heaven, – the reign and rule of
universal harmony, which cannot be lost nor remain
forever unseen.
Sickness as only thought
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Mind, not matter, is causation. A material body
Mind, not matter, is causation. A material body
only expresses a material and mortal mind. A mortal
man possesses this body, and he makes it
harmonious or discordant according to the
images of thought impressed upon it. You embrace
your body in your thought, and you should delineate
upon it thoughts of health, not of sickness. You should
banish all thoughts of disease and sin and of other beliefs
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included in matter. Man, being immortal, has a perfect
included in matter. Man, being immortal, has a perfect
indestructible life. It is the mortal belief which makes
the body discordant and diseased in proportion as igno-
rance, fear, or human will governs mortals.
Allness of Truth
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Mind, supreme over all its formations and governing
Mind, supreme over all its formations and governing
them all, is the central sun of its own systems of ideas,
the life and light of all its own vast creation;
and man is tributary to divine Mind. The
material and mortal body or mind is not the man.
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The world would collapse without Mind, without the in-
The world would collapse without Mind, without the in-
telligence which holds the winds in its grasp. Neither
philosophy nor skepticism can hinder the march of the
Science which reveals the supremacy of Mind. The im-
manent sense of Mind-power enhances the glory of Mind.
Nearness, not distance, lends enchantment to this view.
Spiritual translation
209:16
The compounded minerals or aggregated substances
The compounded minerals or aggregated substances
composing the earth, the relations which constituent
masses hold to each other, the magnitudes,
distances, and revolutions of the celestial
bodies, are of no real importance, when we remember
that they all must give place to the spiritual fact by the
translation of man and the universe back into Spirit. In
proportion as this is done, man and the universe will be
found harmonious and eternal.
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Material substances or mundane formations, astro-
Material substances or mundane formations, astro-
nomical calculations, and all the paraphernalia of specu-
lative theories, based on the hypothesis of material law
or life and intelligence resident in matter, will ulti-
mately vanish, swallowed up in the infinite calculus of
Spirit.
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Spiritual sense is a conscious, constant capacity to un-
Spiritual sense is a conscious, constant capacity to un-
derstand God. It shows the superiority of faith by works
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over faith in words. Its ideas are expressed only in "new
over faith in words. Its ideas are expressed only in "new
tongues;" and these are interpreted by the translation of
the spiritual original into the language which human
thought can comprehend.
Jesus' disregard of matter
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The Principle and proof of Christianity are discerned
The Principle and proof of Christianity are discerned
by spiritual sense. They are set forth in Jesus' demon-
strations, which show – by his healing the
sick, casting out evils, and destroying death,
"the last enemy that shall be destroyed," –
his disregard of matter and its so-called laws.
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Knowing that Soul and its attributes were forever
Knowing that Soul and its attributes were forever
manifested through man, the Master healed the sick,
gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, feet to the
lame, thus bringing to light the scientific action of the
divine Mind on human minds and bodies and giving
a better understanding of Soul and salvation. Jesus
healed sickness and sin by one and the same metaphysical
process.
Mind not mortal
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The expression mortal mind is really a solecism, for
The expression mortal mind is really a solecism, for
Mind is immortal, and Truth pierces the error of mortality
as a sunbeam penetrates the cloud. Because,
in obedience to the immutable law of Spirit,
this so-called mind is self-destructive, I name it mortal.
Error soweth the wind and reapeth the whirlwind.
Matter mindless
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What is termed matter, being unintelligent, cannot say,
What is termed matter, being unintelligent, cannot say,
"I suffer, I die, I am sick, or I am well." It is the so‑
called mortal mind which voices this and ap-
pears to itself to make good its claim. To
mortal sense, sin and suffering are real, but immortal
sense includes no evil nor pestilence. Because immortal
sense has no error of sense, it has no sense of error; there-
fore it is without a destructive element.
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If brain, nerves, stomach, are intelligent, – if they talk
If brain, nerves, stomach, are intelligent, – if they talk
to us, tell us their condition, and report how they feel, –
then Spirit and matter, Truth and error, commingle
and produce sickness and health, good and evil, life and
death; and who shall say whether Truth or error is the
greater?
Matter sensationless
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The sensations of the body must either be the sensa-
The sensations of the body must either be the sensa-
tions of a so-called mortal mind or of matter. Nerves
are not mind. Is it not provable that Mind is
not mortal and that matter has no sensation?
Is it not equally true that matter does not appear in the
spiritual understanding of being?
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The sensation of sickness and the impulse to sin seem
The sensation of sickness and the impulse to sin seem
to obtain in mortal mind. When a tear starts, does not
this so-called mind produce the effect seen in the lachry-
mal gland? Without mortal mind, the tear could not
appear; and this action shows the nature of all so-called
material cause and effect.
211:19
It should no longer be said in Israel that "the fathers
It should no longer be said in Israel that "the fathers
have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set
on edge." Sympathy with error should disappear. The
transfer of the thoughts of one erring mind to another,
Science renders impossible.
Nerves painless
211:24
If it is true that nerves have sensation, that matter has
If it is true that nerves have sensation, that matter has
intelligence, that the material organism causes the eyes to
see and the ears to hear, then, when the body
is dematerialized, these faculties must be lost,
for their immortality is not in Spirit; whereas the fact
is that only through dematerialization and spiritualiza-
tion of thought can these faculties be conceived of as
immortal.
211:32
Nerves are not the source of pain or pleasure. We
Nerves are not the source of pain or pleasure. We
212:1
suffer or enjoy in our dreams, but this pain or pleasure
suffer or enjoy in our dreams, but this pain or pleasure
is not communicated through a nerve. A tooth which has
been extracted sometimes aches again in belief, and the
pain seems to be in its old place. A limb which has been
amputated has continued in belief to pain the owner. If
the sensation of pain in the limb can return, can be pro-
longed, why cannot the limb reappear?
212:8
Why need pain, rather than pleasure, come to this mor-
Why need pain, rather than pleasure, come to this mor-
tal sense? Because the memory of pain is more vivid
than the memory of pleasure. I have seen an unwitting
attempt to scratch the end of a finger which had been cut
off for months. When the nerve is gone, which we say
was the occasion of pain, and the pain still remains, it
proves sensation to be in the mortal mind, not in matter.
Reverse the process; take away this so-called mind instead
of a piece of the flesh, and the nerves have no sensation.
Human falsities
212:17
Mortals have a modus of their own, undirected and un-
Mortals have a modus of their own, undirected and un-
sustained by God. They produce a rose through seed and
soil, and bring the rose into contact with the
olfactory nerves that they may smell it. In
legerdemain and credulous frenzy, mortals believe that
unseen spirits produce the flowers. God alone makes
and clothes the lilies of the field, and this He does by
means of Mind, not matter.
No miracles in Mind-methods
212:25
Because all the methods of Mind are not understood,
Because all the methods of Mind are not understood,
we say the lips or hands must move in order to convey
thought, that the undulations of the air convey
sound, and possibly that other methods involve
so-called miracles. The realities of being, its
normal action, and the origin of all things are unseen to
mortal sense; whereas the unreal and imitative move-
ments of mortal belief, which would reverse the immortal