Chapter XI - Some Objections Answered
Weakness of material theories
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port of spiritual and eternal truths, when the two are so
port of spiritual and eternal truths, when the two are so
antagonistic that the material thought must become spir-
itualized before the spiritual fact is attained.
So-called material existence affords no evidence
of spiritual existence and immortality. Sin,
sickness, and death do not prove man's entity or immor-
tality. Discord can never establish the facts of harmony.
Matter is not the vestibule of Spirit.
Irreconciliable differences
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Jesus reasoned on this subject practically, and con-
Jesus reasoned on this subject practically, and con-
trolled sickness, sin, and death on the basis of his spir-
ituality. Understanding the nothingness of
material things, he spoke of flesh and Spirit
as the two opposites, – as error and Truth, not contrib-
uting in any way to each other's happiness and existence.
Jesus knew, "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh
profiteth nothing."
Copartnership impossible
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There is neither a present nor an eternal copartner-
There is neither a present nor an eternal copartner-
ship between error and Truth, between flesh and Spirit.
God is as incapable of producing sin, sick-
ness, and death as He is of experiencing these
errors. How then is it possible for Him to create man
subject to this triad of errors, – man who is made in the
divine likeness?
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Does God create a material man out of Himself, Spirit?
Does God create a material man out of Himself, Spirit?
Does evil proceed from good? Does divine Love com-
mit a fraud on humanity by making man inclined to sin,
and then punishing him for it? Would any one call it
wise and good to create the primitive, and then punish its
derivative?
Two infinite creators absurd
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Does subsequent follow its antecedent? It does.
Does subsequent follow its antecedent? It does.
Was there original self-creative sin? Then there must
have been more than one creator, more than one God.
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In common justice, we must admit that God will not
In common justice, we must admit that God will not
punish man for doing what He created man
capable of doing, and knew from the outset
that man would do. God is "of purer eyes
than to behold evil." We sustain Truth, not by accept-
ing, but by rejecting a lie.
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Jesus said of personified evil, that it was "a liar, and
Jesus said of personified evil, that it was "a liar, and
the father of it." Truth creates neither a lie, a capacity
to lie, nor a liar. If mankind would relinquish the belief
that God makes sickness, sin, and death, or makes man
capable of suffering on account of this malevolent triad,
the foundations of error would be sapped and error's de-
struction ensured; but if we theoretically endow mortals
with the creativeness and authority of Deity, how dare we
attempt to destroy what He hath made, or even to deny
that God made man evil and made evil good?
Anthropomorphism
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History teaches that the popular and false notions
History teaches that the popular and false notions
about the Divine Being and character have originated
in the human mind. As there is in reality but
one God, one Mind, wrong notions about God
must have originated in a false supposition, not in im-
mortal Truth, and they are fading out. They are false
claims, which will eventually disappear, according to the
vision of St. John in the Apocalypse.
One supremacy
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If what opposes God is real, there must be two
If what opposes God is real, there must be two
powers, and God is not supreme and infinite. Can
Deity be almighty, if another mighty and
self-creative cause exists and sways man-
kind? Has the Father "Life in Himself," as the Scrip-
tures say, and, if so, can Life, or God, dwell in evil and
create it? Can matter drive Life, Spirit, hence, and so
defeat omnipotence?