Chapter XV - Genesis
Material inception
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record of a material creation which followed the spiritual,
record of a material creation which followed the spiritual,
– a creation so wholly apart from God's, that Spirit
had no participation in it. In God's creation
ideas became productive, obedient to Mind.
There was no rain and "not a man to till the ground."
Mind, instead of matter, being the producer, Life was
self-sustained. Birth, decay, and death arise from the
material sense of things, not from the spiritual, for in
the latter Life consisteth not of the things which a man
eateth. Matter cannot change the eternal fact that
man exists because God exists. Nothing is new to the
infinite Mind.
First evil suggestion
544:13
In Science, Mind neither produces matter nor does
In Science, Mind neither produces matter nor does
matter produce mind. No mortal mind has the might
or right or wisdom to create or to destroy.
All is under the control of the one Mind,
even God. The first statement about evil, – the first
suggestion of more than the one Mind, – is in the fable
of the serpent. The facts of creation, as previously re-
corded, include nothing of the kind.
Material personality
544:21
The serpent is supposed to say, "Ye shall be as gods,"
The serpent is supposed to say, "Ye shall be as gods,"
but these gods must be evolved from materiality and be
the very antipodes of immortal and spiritual
being. Man is the likeness of Spirit, but a
material personality is not this likeness. Therefore man,
in this allegory, is neither a lesser god nor the image and
likeness of the one God.
544:28
Material, erroneous belief reverses understanding and
Material, erroneous belief reverses understanding and
truth. It declares mind to be in and of matter, so-called
mortal life to be Life, infinity to enter man's nostrils
so that matter becomes spiritual. Error begins with
corporeality as the producer instead of divine Prin-
545:1
ciple, and explains Deity through mortal and finite con-
ciple, and explains Deity through mortal and finite con-
ceptions.
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"Behold, the man is become as one of us." This could
"Behold, the man is become as one of us." This could
not be the utterance of Truth or Science, for according
to the record, material man was fast degenerating and
never had been divinely conceived.
Mental tillage
545:7
The condemnation of mortals to till the ground means
The condemnation of mortals to till the ground means
this, – that mortals should so improve material belief
by thought tending spiritually upward as to
destroy materiality. Man, created by God,
was given dominion over the whole earth. The notion
of a material universe is utterly opposed to the theory
of man as evolved from Mind. Such fundamental errors
send falsity into all human doctrines and conclusions,
and do not accord infinity to Deity. Error tills the
whole ground in this material theory, which is entirely a
false view, destructive to existence and happiness. Out-
side of Christian Science all is vague and hypothetical, the
opposite of Truth; yet this opposite, in its false view of
God and man, impudently demands a blessing.
Erroneous standpoint
545:21
The translators of this record of scientific creation
The translators of this record of scientific creation
entertained a false sense of being. They believed in
the existence of matter, its propagation and
power. From that standpoint of error, they
could not apprehend the nature and operation of Spirit.
Hence the seeming contradiction in that Scripture, which
is so glorious in its spiritual signification. Truth has
but one reply to all error, – to sin, sickness, and death:
"Dust [nothingness] thou art, and unto dust [nothingness]
shalt thou return."
Mortality mythical
545:31
"As in Adam [error] all die, even so in Christ [Truth]
"As in Adam [error] all die, even so in Christ [Truth]
shall all be made alive." The mortality of man is a