Chapter X - Science Of Being
Truth is not inverted
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dispels error. As mortals begin to understand Spirit,
dispels error. As mortals begin to understand Spirit,
they give up the belief that there is any true existence
apart from God.
Source of all life and action
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Mind is the source of all movement, and there is no
Mind is the source of all movement, and there is no
inertia to retard or check its perpetual and harmonious
action. Mind is the same Life, Love, and wis-
dom "yesterday, and to-day, and forever."
Matter and its effects – sin, sickness, and
death – are states of mortal mind which act, react, and
then come to a stop. They are not facts of Mind. They
are not ideas, but illusions. Principle is absolute. It
admits of no error, but rests upon understanding.
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But what say prevalent theories? They insist that
But what say prevalent theories? They insist that
Life, or God, is one and the same with material life so‑
called. They speak of both Truth and error as mind,
and of good and evil as spirit. They claim that to be
life which is but the objective state of material sense, –
such as the structural life of the tree and of material
man, – and deem this the manifestation of the one Life,
God.
Spiritual structure
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This false belief as to what really constitutes life so
This false belief as to what really constitutes life so
detracts from God's character and nature, that the true
sense of His power is lost to all who cling to
this falsity. The divine Principle, or Life, can-
not be practically demonstrated in length of days, as it
was by the patriarchs, unless its Science be accurately
stated. We must receive the divine Principle in the under-
standing, and live it in daily life; and unless we so do, we
can no more demonstrate Science, than we can teach and
illustrate geometry by calling a curve a straight line or a
straight line a sphere.
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Are mentality, immortality, consciousness, resident in
Are mentality, immortality, consciousness, resident in
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matter? It is not rational to say that Mind is infinite,
matter? It is not rational to say that Mind is infinite,
but dwells in finiteness, – in matter, – or that matter is
infinite and the medium of Mind.
Mind never limited
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If God were limited to man or matter, or if the infinite
If God were limited to man or matter, or if the infinite
could be circumscribed within the finite, God would be
corporeal, and unlimited Mind would seem
to spring from a limited body; but this is an
impossibility. Infinite Mind can have no starting-point,
and can return to no limit. It can never be in bonds,
nor be fully manifested through corporeality.
Material recognition impossible
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Is God's image or likeness matter, or a mortal, sin,
Is God's image or likeness matter, or a mortal, sin,
sickness, and death? Can matter recognize Mind?
Can infinite Mind recognize matter? Can the
infinite dwell in the finite or know aught un-
like the infinite? Can Deity be known through
the material senses? Can the material senses, which re-
ceive no direct evidence of Spirit, give correct testimony
as to spiritual life, truth, and love?
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The answer to all these questions must forever be in
The answer to all these questions must forever be in
the negative.
Our physical insensibility to Spirit
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The physical senses can obtain no proof of God. They
The physical senses can obtain no proof of God. They
can neither see Spirit through the eye nor hear it through
the ear, nor can they feel, taste, or smell Spirit.
Even the more subtile and misnamed ma-
terial elements are beyond the cognizance
of these senses, and are known only by the effects com-
monly attributed to them.
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According to Christian Science, the only real senses
According to Christian Science, the only real senses
of man are spiritual, emanating from divine Mind.
Thought passes from God to man, but neither sensation
nor report goes from material body to Mind. The in-
tercommunication is always from God to His idea, man.