Chapter IV
Christian Science Versus Spiritualism
And when they shall say unto you,
Seek unto them that have familiar spirits,
And unto wizards that peep and that mutter;
Should not a people seek unto their God? – ISAIAH.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never
see death. Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a
devil. – JOHN.
The infinite one Spirit
70:1
MORTAL existence is an enigma. Every day is a
MORTAL existence is an enigma. Every day is a
mystery. The testimony of the corporeal senses
cannot inform us what is real and what is delusive, but
the revelations of Christian Science unlock the treasures
of Truth. Whatever is false or sinful can
never enter the atmosphere of Spirit. There
is but one Spirit. Man is never God, but spiritual man,
made in God's likeness, reflects God. In this scientific
reflection the Ego and the Father are inseparable. The
supposition that corporeal beings are spirits, or that there
are good and evil spirits, is a mistake.
Real and unreal identity
70:12
The divine Mind maintains all identities, from a blade
The divine Mind maintains all identities, from a blade
of grass to a star, as distinct and eternal. The
questions are: What are God's identities?
What is Soul? Does life or soul exist in the thing
formed?
71:1
Nothing is real and eternal, – nothing is Spirit, – but
Nothing is real and eternal, – nothing is Spirit, – but
God and His idea. Evil has no reality. It is neither
person, place, nor thing, but is simply a belief, an illusion
of material sense.
71:5
The identity, or idea, of all reality continues forever;
The identity, or idea, of all reality continues forever;
but Spirit, or the divine Principle of all, is not in Spirit's
formations. Soul is synonymous with Spirit, God, the
creative, governing, infinite Principle outside of finite form,
which forms only reflect.
Dream-lessons
71:10
Close your eyes, and you may dream that you see a
Close your eyes, and you may dream that you see a
flower, – that you touch and smell it. Thus you learn
that the flower is a product of the so-called
mind, a formation of thought rather than of
matter. Close your eyes again, and you may see land-
scapes, men, and women. Thus you learn that these
also are images, which mortal mind holds and evolves
and which simulate mind, life, and intelligence. From
dreams also you learn that neither mortal mind nor
matter is the image or likeness of God, and that im-
mortal Mind is not in matter.
Found wanting
71:21
When the Science of Mind is understood, spiritualism
When the Science of Mind is understood, spiritualism
will be found mainly erroneous, having no scientific basis
nor origin, no proof nor power outside of
human testimony. It is the offspring of the
physical senses. There is no sensuality in Spirit. I never
could believe in spiritualism.
71:27
The basis and structure of spiritualism are alike ma-
The basis and structure of spiritualism are alike ma-
terial and physical. Its spirits are so many corporealities,
limited and finite in character and quality. Spiritualism
therefore presupposes Spirit, which is ever infinite, to be
a corporeal being, a finite form, – a theory contrary to
Christian Science.