The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1918-05-06

vine. But in our spiritual education
we have the comforting assuranceI
that it is not human will but God
that worketh in us both to will and
to do of His good pleasure.
Basis OF Christian Science.
Let us now consider the basis Of
Christian Science; iet us find the
truth about God and man which it
reveals-that truth which is destined
to liberate the race. Science and
Health in a few words sums up the
remarkable discovery of the truth of
being We read: 1.-THE Christlike un-
derstanding of scientific being and
divine healing includes perfect
Principle and idea-perfect God and
perfect man, as the basis of thought
and demonstration" Up. 259).
This teaching is founded squarely
on the opening chapter of the Bible,
the first chapter of Genesis. 1t will
remembered that this chapter con.
tains record of Gods creation.
This creation is depicted by success
| sive steps of unfoldment, symbolized
by the appearing OF light, the heav-
ems, the earth, tllIf growing things
upon the earth, the heavenly bodies,
! the fowl of the air, the fish of the
sea, the creatures that move upon
the earth, and lastly, Gods noblest
work, His highest creation, man.
At the close of each step in the
progression we read: 'And God saw
that it was good" Then to empha-
size this momentus fact, the chapter
| closes with this statement: "And God
saw every thing that he had made,
and, behold, it was very good.
Thus the heavens and the earth
were finished and all the host OF
| them"
What wonderful record is
this first chapter of Genesis,
How beautiful Is Gods creation,
how thoroughly in keeping with
a good and loving creator.
No evil has been created, no
sickness, sin nor death, DO you
realize also, that the man of this
record of creation is not material,
made of dust? The record states
that God made man in his image aft
er His likeness. In other words,
man was created Godlike, and as
God was Spirit, the man of his fash
| ioning, must have been like Spirit,
or spiritual. This spiritual man is
not cursed, but blessed, as the text
book says (Science and Health, p.
51S), "His birthright is dominion,
not subsection. He is lord of the be-
lief in earth and heayen-himself
subordinate alone to his Maker"
"There Went Up a Mist From the
Earth"
Now, had / been asked before
studying Christian Science as to
what was the first mention of man
in the Bible, / should have promptly
referred the inquirer to Adam, in the
garden of Eden. But Christian Sci
ence shows that the Adam, or the
material man of the second chapter
of Genesis does not appear until the
first mention of discord in the sec
ond chapter of Genesis. We have read
that Gods creation is good, is finish
| ed, divine law and perfection reign,
and the creator rests from His work.
| Then occurs this significant state.
ment in, the second chapter: but
there went up a mist from the earth,
and watered the whole face of the
| ground" And then came man
made from dust, not in the likeness
of Spirit, and apparently not given
dominion over all the earth. In fact,
the earth seems to have dominion
over him, for he promptly yields to
the enslavement of materiality, be-
ing loyaly assisted by woman fash
| ioned from one of his ribs. Surely
this man made from dust and this
woman made from a rib, depicting
as they do, the weakness, frailty, dis
obedience and lawlessness of ma
| teriality, cannot present the death.
less, spiritual handiwork of the Most
High. Far indeed is the material
man from the image and likeness of
the One altogether lovely"
In fact, as indicated before, this
material sense of man appeared only
with the coming of a mist. What
was this mist? III the textbook we
read (Science and Health, p. 523) /:
"The creations of matter arise from
mist or false claim, or from mysti-
fication, and not from the firmament
or understanding, which God erects
between the true and the false"
Mystification, then, may be said to
DG lH6 OppOhlLS Vi UNDERSTANDING
and the opposite Of understanding
can mean only this-ignorance. Ig
norance of God, spirit; ignorance of
spiritual sense which results in a
material view of creation-this,
then, is the mist which seems
to go up from the earth. And from
this ignorance, this false sense or
material view-and never from Him
who is infinite Boye-comes dis
cordant materiality with its Ad-
ans and Ewes, its wars and woes
and germs, its sick nations
sick men and sick business.
Thus just and good God
cannot be charged with the creation
of discordant materiaility, sickness,
sin and death.
AS mistakes in a mathematical
problem cannot be laid at the door
of the perfect principle arithmetic,
so the errors in the problem of be.
ing cannot be charged to the infinite
ly perfect Mind. with whom
is no variableness nor shad-
ow of turning, Ignorance of
God mistaken sense of
things, a material view; this is all
there is to evil; this is the only
devil there is And the RihlR saws