Chapter XIV - Recapitulation
Material beliefs
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gence in matter is without foundation in fact, and you
gence in matter is without foundation in fact, and you
can have no faith in falsehood when you have learned
falsehood's true nature.
Sense versus Soul
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Suppose one accident happens to the eye, another to
Suppose one accident happens to the eye, another to
the ear, and so on, until every corporeal sense is quenched.
What is man's remedy? To die, that he may
regain these senses? Even then he must gain
spiritual understanding and spiritual sense in order to
possess immortal consciousness. Earth's preparatory
school must be improved to the utmost. In reality man
never dies. The belief that he dies will not establish his
scientific harmony. Death is not the result of Truth but
of error, and one error will not correct another.
Death an error
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Jesus proved by the prints of the nails, that his body
Jesus proved by the prints of the nails, that his body
was the same immediately after death as before. If death
restores sight, sound, and strength to man,
then death is not an enemy but a better friend
than Life. Alas for the blindness of belief, which makes
harmony conditional upon death and matter, and yet
supposes Mind unable to produce harmony! So long
as this error of belief remains, mortals will continue mor-
tal in belief and subject to chance and change.
Permanent sensibility
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Sight, hearing, all the spiritual senses of man, are
Sight, hearing, all the spiritual senses of man, are
eternal. They cannot be lost. Their reality and immor-
tality are in Spirit and understanding, not in
matter, – hence their permanence. If this
were not so, man would be speedily annihilated. If the
five corporeal senses were the medium through which
to understand God, then palsy, blindness, and deafness
would place man in a terrible situation, where he would
be like those "having no hope, and without God in the
world;" but as a matter of fact, these calamities often
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drive mortals to seek and to find a higher sense of happi-
drive mortals to seek and to find a higher sense of happi-
ness and existence.
Exercise of Mind-faculties
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Life is deathless. Life is the origin and ultimate of
Life is deathless. Life is the origin and ultimate of
man, never attainable through death, but gained by walk-
ing in the pathway of Truth both before and
after that which is called death. There is more
Christianity in seeing and hearing spiritually
than materially. There is more Science in the perpetual
exercise of the Mind-faculties than in their loss. Lost
they cannot be, while Mind remains. The apprehension
of this gave sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf cen-
turies ago, and it will repeat the wonder.
Understanding versus belief
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Question. – You speak of belief. Who or what is it
Question. – You speak of belief. Who or what is it
that believes?
Answer. – Spirit is all-knowing; this precludes the
need of believing. Matter cannot believe, and Mind
understands. The body cannot believe. The
believer and belief are one and are mortal.
Christian evidence is founded on Science or
demonstrable Truth, flowing from immortal Mind, and
there is in reality no such thing as mortal mind. Mere
belief is blindness without Principle from which to ex-
plain the reason of its hope. The belief that life is sen-
tient and intelligent matter is erroneous.
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The Apostle James said, "Show me thy faith without
The Apostle James said, "Show me thy faith without
thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works."
The understanding that Life is God, Spirit, lengthens
our days by strengthening our trust in the deathless
reality of Life, its almightiness and immortality.
Confirmation by healing
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This faith relies upon an understood Principle. This
This faith relies upon an understood Principle. This
Principle makes whole the diseased, and brings out the