Chapter II - Atonement And Eucharist
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
40:1
evil confers no pleasure, they turn from it. Remove error
evil confers no pleasure, they turn from it. Remove error
from thought, and it will not appear in effect. The ad-
vanced thinker and devout Christian, perceiv-
ing the scope and tendency of Christian healing
and its Science, will support them. Another will say:
"Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient
season I will call for thee."
40:8
Divine Science adjusts the balance as Jesus adjusted
Divine Science adjusts the balance as Jesus adjusted
it. Science removes the penalty only by first removing
the sin which incurs the penalty. This is my sense of
divine pardon, which I understand to mean God's method
of destroying sin. If the saying is true, "While there's
life there's hope," its opposite is also true, While there's
sin there's doom. Another's suffering cannot lessen our
own liability. Did the martyrdom of Savonarola make
the crimes of his implacable enemies less criminal?
Suffering inevitable
40:17
Was it just for Jesus to suffer? No; but it was
Was it just for Jesus to suffer? No; but it was
inevitable, for not otherwise could he show us the way
and the power of Truth. If a career so great
and good as that of Jesus could not avert a
felon's fate, lesser apostles of Truth may endure human
brutality without murmuring, rejoicing to enter into
fellowship with him through the triumphal arch of
Truth and Love.
Service and worship
40:25
Our heavenly Father, divine Love, demands that all
Our heavenly Father, divine Love, demands that all
men should follow the example of our Master and his
apostles and not merely worship his personal-
ity. It is sad that the phrase divine service
has come so generally to mean public worship instead of
daily deeds.
Within the veil
40:31
The nature of Christianity is peaceful and blessed,
The nature of Christianity is peaceful and blessed,
but in order to enter into the kingdom, the anchor of