Chapter XV - Genesis
Climax of suffering
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than God, having no truth to support it, falls back upon
than God, having no truth to support it, falls back upon
itself. This error, after reaching the climax of suffering,
yields to Truth and returns to dust; but it
is only mortal man and not the real man,
who dies. The image of Spirit cannot be effaced, since it
is the idea of Truth and changes not, but becomes more
beautifully apparent at error's demise.
Dwelling in dreamland
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In divine Science, the material man is shut out from
In divine Science, the material man is shut out from
the presence of God. The five corporeal senses cannot
take cognizance of Spirit. They cannot come
into His presence, and must dwell in dream‑
land, until mortals arrive at the understanding that ma-
terial life, with all its sin, sickness, and death, is an illu-
sion, against which divine Science is engaged in a warfare
of extermination. The great verities of existence are
never excluded by falsity.
Man springs from Mind
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All error proceeds from the evidence before the mate-
All error proceeds from the evidence before the mate-
rial senses. If man is material and originates in an
egg, who shall say that he is not primarily
dust? May not Darwin be right in think-
ing that apehood preceded mortal manhood? Minerals
and vegetables are found, according to divine Science,
to be the creations of erroneous thought, not of matter.
Did man, whom God created with a word, originate
in an egg? When Spirit made all, did it leave aught
for matter to create? Ideas of Truth alone are reflected
in the myriad manifestations of Life, and thus it is
seen that man springs solely from Mind. The belief
that matter supports life would make Life, or God,
mortal.
Material inception
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The text, "In the day that the Lord God [Jehovah
The text, "In the day that the Lord God [Jehovah
God] made the earth and the heavens," introduces the
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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
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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
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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.
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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-