Responsive Reading: Galatians 3 : 1 • I Corinthians 3 : 16, 18 • II Corinthians 4 : 18 • II Peter 1 : 16, 19

1.     Who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

16.     Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

18.     Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.

18.     While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

16.     For we have not followed cunningly devised fables.

19.     We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.

1. Genesis 1 : 1, 26 (to :), 27, 31 (to 1st .)

1     In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

26     And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:

27     So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

31     And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.

2. Genesis 2 : 6, 7

6     But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

7     And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

3. Genesis 6 : 1, 5 (God)

1     And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

5     God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

4. Romans 1 : 13 (to 2nd ,), 16 (to ;), 18-23, 25 (to 1st .)

13     Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren,

16     For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth;

18     For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteous-ness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

19     Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

20     For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

21     Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

22     Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

23     And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

25     Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever.

5. I John 2 : 24, 26, 27

24     Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.

26     These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.

27     But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

6. Mark 1 : 14 (Jesus), 15, 29-32, 39-42

14     Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,

15     And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

29     And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

30     But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her.

31     And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.

32     And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils.

39     And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.

40     And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

41     And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.

42     And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.

7. Luke 9 : 38-44 (to :), 55 (Ye)

38     And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child.

39     And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him.

40     And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not.

41     And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither.

42     And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.

43     And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God. But while they wondered every one at all things which Jesus did, he said unto his disciples,

44     Let these sayings sink down into your ears:

55     Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.

8. Romans 6 : 1, 14-16

1     What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

14     For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

15     What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

16     Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

9. I Thessalonians 2 : 12 (walk), 13

12     …walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.

13     For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

1. 468 : 12-15

Spirit is the real and eternal; matter is the unreal and temporal. Spirit is God, and man is His image and likeness. Therefore man is not material; he is spiritual.

2. 277 : 24 (The unlikeness)-32

The unlikeness of Spirit is matter, and the opposite of the real is not divine, — it is a human concept. Matter is an error of statement. This error in the premise leads to errors in the conclusion in every statement into which it enters. Nothing we can say or believe regarding matter is immortal, for matter is temporal and is therefore a mortal phenomenon, a human concept, sometimes beautiful, always erroneous.

3. 521 : 26-2

The second chapter of Genesis contains a statement of this material view of God and the universe, a statement which is the exact opposite of scientific truth as before recorded. The history of error or matter, if veritable, would set aside the omnipotence of Spirit; but it is the false history in contradistinction to the true.

4. 522 : 21-24, 29-1

God's glowing denunciations of man when not found in His image, the likeness of Spirit, convince reason and coincide with revelation in declaring this material creation false.

Does Life, Truth, and Love produce death, error, and hatred? Does the creator condemn His own creation? Does the unerring Principle of divine law change or repent? It cannot be so. 

5. 523 : 7-10

The creations of matter arise from a mist or false claim, or from mystification, and not from the firmament, or understanding, which God erects between the true and false.

6. 360 : 13-21

Dear reader, which mind-picture or externalized thought shall be real to you, — the material or the spiritual? Both you cannot have. You are bringing out your own ideal. This ideal is either temporal or eternal. Either Spirit or matter is your model. If you try to have two models, then you practically have none. Like a pendulum in a clock, you will be thrown back and forth, striking the ribs of matter and swinging between the real and the unreal.

7. 285 : 7-14

What, then, is the material personality which suffers, sins, and dies? It is not man, the image and likeness of God, but man's counterfeit, the inverted likeness, the unlikeness called sin, sickness, and death. The unreality of the claim that a mortal is the true image of God is illustrated by the opposite natures of Spirit and matter, Mind and body, for one is intelligence while the other is non-intelligence.

8. 278 : 12-16

That matter is substantial or has life and sensation, is one of the false beliefs of mortals, and exists only in a supposititious mortal consciousness. Hence, as we approach Spirit and Truth, we lose the consciousness of matter.

9. 171 : 25-30

The so-called laws of matter are nothing but false beliefs that intelligence and life are present where Mind is not. These false beliefs are the procuring cause of all sin and disease. The opposite truth, that intelligence and life are spiritual, never material, destroys sin, sickness, and death.

10. 79 : 17 only

Jesus cast out evil spirits, or false beliefs.

11. 476 : 28-8

When speaking of God's children, not the children of men, Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is within you;" that is, Truth and Love reign in the real man, showing that man in God's image is unfallen and eternal. Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour saw God's own likeness, and this correct view of man healed the sick. Thus Jesus taught that the kingdom of God is intact, universal, and that man is pure and holy. Man is not a material habitation for Soul; he is himself spiritual. Soul, being Spirit, is seen in nothing imperfect nor material.

12. 461 : 24-30

The truth regarding error is, that error is not true, hence it is unreal. To prove scientifically the error or unreality of sin, you must first see the claim of sin, and then destroy it. Whereas, to prove scientifically the error or unreality of disease, you must mentally unsee the disease; then you will not feel it, and it is destroyed.

13. 339 : 11-19

A sinner can receive no encouragement from the fact that Science demonstrates the unreality of evil, for the sinner would make a reality of sin, — would make that real which is unreal, and thus heap up "wrath against the day of wrath." He is joining in a conspiracy against himself, — against his own awakening to the awful unreality by which he has been deceived. Only those, who repent of sin and forsake the unreal, can fully understand the unreality of evil.

14. 205 : 15-21

Befogged in error (the error of believing that matter can be intelligent for good or evil), we can catch clear glimpses of God only as the mists disperse, or as they melt into such thinness that we perceive the divine image in some word or deed which indicates the true idea, — the supremacy and reality of good, the nothingness and unreality of evil.

15. 368 : 10-19

Against the fatal beliefs that error is as real as Truth, that evil is equal in power to good if not superior, and that discord is as normal as harmony, even the hope of freedom from the bondage of sickness and sin has little inspiration to nerve endeavor. When we come to have more faith in the truth of being than we have in error, more faith in Spirit than in matter, more faith in living than in dying, more faith in God than in man, then no material suppositions can prevent us from healing the sick and destroying error.

16. 521 : 12 (We)-17

We should look away from the opposite supposition that man is created materially, and turn our gaze to the spiritual record of creation, to that which should be engraved on the understanding and heart "with the point of a diamond" and the pen of an angel.