Chapter XV - Genesis
Scriptural perception
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"The Spirit and the bride say, Come! . . . and whoso-
"The Spirit and the bride say, Come! . . . and whoso-
ever will, let him take the water of life freely." Christian
Science separates error from truth, and breathes
through the sacred pages the spiritual sense of
life, substance, and intelligence. In this Science, we dis-
cover man in the image and likeness of God. We see that
man has never lost his spiritual estate and his eternal
harmony.
The clouds dissolving
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How little light or heat reach our earth when clouds
How little light or heat reach our earth when clouds
cover the sun's face! So Christian Science can be seen
only as the clouds of corporeal sense roll away.
Earth has little light or joy for mortals before
Life is spiritually learned. Every agony of mortal error
helps error to destroy error, and so aids the apprehension
of immortal Truth. This is the new birth going on
hourly, by which men may entertain angels, the true
ideas of God, the spiritual sense of being.
Prediction of a naturalist
548:18
Speaking of the origin of mortals, a famous naturalist
Speaking of the origin of mortals, a famous naturalist
says: "It is very possible that many general statements
now current, about birth and generation, will
be changed with the progress of information."
Had the naturalist, through his tireless researches, gained
the diviner side in Christian Science, – so far apart from
his material sense of animal growth and organization, –
he would have blessed the human race more abundantly.
Methods of reproduction
548:26
Natural history is richly endowed by the labors and
Natural history is richly endowed by the labors and
genius of great men. Modern discoveries have brought
to light important facts in regard to so-called
embryonic life. Agassiz declares ("Methods
of Study in Natural History,") "Certain ani-
mals, besides the ordinary process of generation, also
increase their numbers naturally and constantly by self‑
549:1
division." This discovery is corroborative of the Science
division." This discovery is corroborative of the Science
of Mind, for this discovery shows that the multiplication
of certain animals takes place apart from sexual condi-
tions. The supposition that life germinates in eggs and
must decay after it has grown to maturity, if not before,
is shown by divine metaphysics to be a mistake, – a
blunder which will finally give place to higher theories
and demonstrations.
The three processes
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Creatures of lower forms of organism are supposed
Creatures of lower forms of organism are supposed
to have, as classes, three different methods of reproduc-
tion and to multiply their species sometimes
through eggs, sometimes through buds, and
sometimes through self-division. According to recent
lore, successive generations do not begin with the birth of
new individuals, or personalities, but with the formation
of the nucleus, or egg, from which one or more individu-
alities subsequently emerge; and we must therefore look
upon the simple ovum as the germ, the starting-point, of
the most complicated corporeal structures, including those
which we call human. Here these material researches
culminate in such vague hypotheses as must necessarily
attend false systems, which rely upon physics and are de-
void of metaphysics.
Deference to material law
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In one instance a celebrated naturalist, Agassiz, dis-
In one instance a celebrated naturalist, Agassiz, dis-
covers the pathway leading to divine Science, and beards
the lion of materialism in its den. At that
point, however, even this great observer mis-
takes nature, forsakes Spirit as the divine origin of
creative Truth, and allows matter and material law to
usurp the prerogatives of omnipotence. He absolutely
drops from his summit, coming down to a belief in the
material origin of man, for he virtually affirms that