Chapter XV - Genesis
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and good for food; the tree of life also, in the midst of the
and good for food; the tree of life also, in the midst of the
garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Contradicting first creation
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The previous and more scientific record of creation
The previous and more scientific record of creation
declares that God made "every plant of the field be-
fore it was in the earth." This opposite
declaration, this statement that life issues
from matter, contradicts the teaching of the first chap-
ter, – namely, that all Life is God. Belief is less than
understanding. Belief involves theories of material hear-
ing, sight, touch, taste, and smell, termed the five senses.
The appetites and passions, sin, sickness, and death,
follow in the train of this error of a belief in intelligent
matter.
Record of error
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The first mention of evil is in the legendary Scriptural
The first mention of evil is in the legendary Scriptural
text in the second chapter of Genesis. God pronounced
good all that He created, and the Scriptures
declare that He created all. The "tree of
life" stands for the idea of Truth, and the sword which
guards it is the type of divine Science. The "tree of
knowledge" stands for the erroneous doctrine that the
knowledge of evil is as real, hence as God-bestowed, as
the knowledge of good. Was evil instituted through God,
Love? Did He create this fruit-bearer of sin in contra-
diction of the first creation? This second biblical account
is a picture of error throughout.
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Genesis ii. 15. And the Lord God [Jehovah] took the
Genesis ii. 15. And the Lord God [Jehovah] took the
man, and put him into the garden of Eden, to dress it and
to keep it.
Garden of Eden
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The name Eden, according to Cruden, means pleasure,
The name Eden, according to Cruden, means pleasure,
delight. In this text Eden stands for the mortal, mate-
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rial body. God could not put Mind into matter nor in-
rial body. God could not put Mind into matter nor in-
finite Spirit into finite form to dress it and
keep it, – to make it beautiful or to cause it
to live and grow. Man is God's reflection, needing no
cultivation, but ever beautiful and complete.
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Genesis ii. 16, 17. And the Lord God [Jehovah] com-
Genesis ii. 16, 17. And the Lord God [Jehovah] com-
manded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou
mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou
eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
No temptation from God
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Here the metaphor represents God, Love, as tempting
Here the metaphor represents God, Love, as tempting
man, but the Apostle James says: "God cannot be
tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any
man." It is true that a knowledge of evil would
make man mortal. It is plain also that mate-
rial perception, gathered from the corporeal senses, consti-
tutes evil and mortal knowledge. But is it true that God,
good, made "the tree of life" to be the tree of death to His
own creation? Has evil the reality of good? Evil is un-
real because it is a lie, – false in every statement.
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Genesis ii. 19. And out of the ground the Lord God
Genesis ii. 19. And out of the ground the Lord God
[Jehovah] formed every beast of the field, and every fowl
of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he
would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living
creature, that was the name thereof.
Creation's counterfeit
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Here the lie represents God as repeating creation, but
Here the lie represents God as repeating creation, but
doing so materially, not spiritually, and ask-
ing a prospective sinner to help Him. Is the
Supreme Being retrograding, and is man giving up his
dignity? Was it requisite for the formation of man