Chapter II - Atonement And Eucharist
Jesus' teaching belittled
38:1
to stir mankind to Christian effort? Because men are
to stir mankind to Christian effort? Because men are
assured that this command was intended only for a par-
ticular period and for a select number of fol-
lowers. This teaching is even more pernicious
than the old doctrine of foreordination, – the election of a
few to be saved, while the rest are damned; and so it will
be considered, when the lethargy of mortals, produced
by man-made doctrines, is broken by the demands of
divine Science.
38:10
Jesus said: "These signs shall follow them that be-
Jesus said: "These signs shall follow them that be-
lieve; . . . they shall lay hands on the sick, and they
shall recover." Who believes him? He was addressing
his disciples, yet he did not say, "These signs shall follow
you," but them – "them that believe" in all time to come.
Here the word hands is used metaphorically, as in the text,
"The right hand of the Lord is exalted." It expresses
spiritual power; otherwise the healing could not have
been done spiritually. At another time Jesus prayed, not
for the twelve only, but for as many as should believe
"through their word."
Material pleasures
38:21
Jesus experienced few of the pleasures of the physical
Jesus experienced few of the pleasures of the physical
senses, but his sufferings were the fruits of other peo-
ple's sins, not of his own. The eternal Christ,
his spiritual selfhood, never suffered. Jesus
mapped out the path for others. He unveiled the Christ,
the spiritual idea of divine Love. To those buried in the
belief of sin and self, living only for pleasure or the grati-
fication of the senses, he said in substance: Having eyes
ye see not, and having ears ye hear not; lest ye should un-
derstand and be converted, and I might heal you. He
taught that the material senses shut out Truth and its
healing power.
Mockery of truth
39:1
Meekly our Master met the mockery of his unrecog-
Meekly our Master met the mockery of his unrecog-
nized grandeur. Such indignities as he received, his fol-
lowers will endure until Christianity's last
triumph. He won eternal honors. He over-
came the world, the flesh, and all error, thus proving
their nothingness. He wrought a full salvation from sin,
sickness, and death. We need "Christ, and him cruci-
fied." We must have trials and self-denials, as well as
joys and victories, until all error is destroyed.
A belief suicidal
39:10
The educated belief that Soul is in the body causes
The educated belief that Soul is in the body causes
mortals to regard death as a friend, as a stepping-stone
out of mortality into immortality and bliss.
The Bible calls death an enemy, and Jesus
overcame death and the grave instead of yielding to them.
He was "the way." To him, therefore, death was not
the threshold over which he must pass into living
glory.
Present salvation
39:18
"Now," cried the apostle, "is the accepted time; be-
"Now," cried the apostle, "is the accepted time; be-
hold, now is the day of salvation," – meaning, not that
now men must prepare for a future-world salva-
tion, or safety, but that now is the time in which
to experience that salvation in spirit and in life. Now is
the time for so-called material pains and material pleas-
ures to pass away, for both are unreal, because impossible
in Science. To break this earthly spell, mortals must get
the true idea and divine Principle of all that really exists
and governs the universe harmoniously. This thought is
apprehended slowly, and the interval before its attain-
ment is attended with doubts and defeats as well as
triumphs.
Sin and penalty
39:31
Who will stop the practice of sin so long as he believes
Who will stop the practice of sin so long as he believes
in the pleasures of sin? When mortals once admit that