Chapter XV - Genesis
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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
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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: –
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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
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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.
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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,
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and good for food; the tree of life also, in the midst of the
and good for food; the tree of life also, in the midst of the
garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Contradicting first creation
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The previous and more scientific record of creation
The previous and more scientific record of creation
declares that God made "every plant of the field be-
fore it was in the earth." This opposite
declaration, this statement that life issues
from matter, contradicts the teaching of the first chap-
ter, – namely, that all Life is God. Belief is less than
understanding. Belief involves theories of material hear-
ing, sight, touch, taste, and smell, termed the five senses.
The appetites and passions, sin, sickness, and death,
follow in the train of this error of a belief in intelligent
matter.
Record of error
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The first mention of evil is in the legendary Scriptural
The first mention of evil is in the legendary Scriptural
text in the second chapter of Genesis. God pronounced
good all that He created, and the Scriptures
declare that He created all. The "tree of
life" stands for the idea of Truth, and the sword which
guards it is the type of divine Science. The "tree of
knowledge" stands for the erroneous doctrine that the
knowledge of evil is as real, hence as God-bestowed, as
the knowledge of good. Was evil instituted through God,
Love? Did He create this fruit-bearer of sin in contra-
diction of the first creation? This second biblical account
is a picture of error throughout.
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Genesis ii. 15. And the Lord God [Jehovah] took the
Genesis ii. 15. And the Lord God [Jehovah] took the
man, and put him into the garden of Eden, to dress it and
to keep it.
Garden of Eden
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The name Eden, according to Cruden, means pleasure,
The name Eden, according to Cruden, means pleasure,
delight. In this text Eden stands for the mortal, mate-