Chapter XV - Genesis
Gods of the heathen
524:1
The idolatry which followed this material mythology is
The idolatry which followed this material mythology is
seen in the Phoenician worship of Baal, in the Moabitish
god Chemosh, in the Moloch of the Amorites,
in the Hindoo Vishnu, in the Greek Aphro-
dite, and in a thousand other so-called deities.
Jehovah a tribal deity
524:6
It was also found among the Israelites, who constantly
It was also found among the Israelites, who constantly
went after "strange gods." They called the Supreme
Being by the national name of Jehovah. In
that name of Jehovah, the true idea of God
seems almost lost. God becomes "a man of war," a
tribal god to be worshipped, rather than Love, the divine
Principle to be lived and loved.
524:13
Genesis ii. 7. And the Lord God [Jehovah] formed man
Genesis ii. 7. And the Lord God [Jehovah] formed man
of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils
the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Creation reversed
524:16
Did the divine and infinite Principle become a finite
Did the divine and infinite Principle become a finite
deity, that he should now be called Jehovah? With
a single command, Mind had made man,
both male and female. How then could a
material organization become the basis of man? How
could the non-intelligent become the medium of Mind,
and error be the enunciator of Truth? Matter is not
the reflection of Spirit, yet God is reflected in all His
creation. Is this addition to His creation real or un-
real? Is it the truth, or is it a lie concerning man and
God?
524:27
It must be a lie, for God presently curses the ground.
It must be a lie, for God presently curses the ground.
Could Spirit evolve its opposite, matter, and give matter
ability to sin and suffer? Is Spirit, God, injected into
dust, and eventually ejected at the demand of matter?
Does Spirit enter dust, and lose therein the divine nature
525:1
and omnipotence? Does Mind, God, enter matter to be-
and omnipotence? Does Mind, God, enter matter to be-
come there a mortal sinner, animated by the breath of
God? In this narrative, the validity of matter is opposed,
not the validity of Spirit or Spirit's creations. Man re-
flects God; mankind represents the Adamic race, and is
a human, not a divine, creation.
Definitions of man
525:7
The following are some of the equivalents of the term
The following are some of the equivalents of the term
man in different languages. In the Saxon, mankind, a
woman, any one; in the Welsh, that which rises
up, – the primary sense being image, form; in
the Hebrew, image, similitude; in the Icelandic, mind.
The following translation is from the Icelandic: –
525:13
And God said, Let us make man after our mind and
And God said, Let us make man after our mind and
our likeness; and God shaped man after His mind; after
God's mind shaped He Him; and He shaped them male and
female.
No baneful creation
525:17
In the Gospel of John, it is declared that all things were
In the Gospel of John, it is declared that all things were
made through the Word of God, "and without Him [the
logos, or word] was not anything made that
was made." Everything good or worthy, God
made. Whatever is valueless or baneful, He did not
make, – hence its unreality. In the Science of Genesis
we read that He saw everything which He had made,
"and, behold, it was very good." The corporeal senses
declare otherwise; and if we give the same heed to the
history of error as to the records of truth, the Scriptural
record of sin and death favors the false conclusion of the
material senses. Sin, sickness, and death must be deemed
as devoid of reality as they are of good, God.
525:30
Genesis ii. 9. And out of the ground made the Lord God
Genesis ii. 9. And out of the ground made the Lord God
[Jehovah] to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight,