Responsive Reading: I Peter 5 : 6-11

6.     Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

7.     Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

8.     Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

9.     Whom resist stedfast in the faith.

10.     But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

11.     To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

1. II Thessalonians 2 : 3, 4 (to 1st ,)

3     Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

4     Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God,

2. II Timothy 3 : 1-5, 14-17

1     This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

2     For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

3     Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

4     Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

5     Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

14     But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

15     And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

16     All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

17     That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

3. I Kings 13 : 11-21 (to 4th ,), 22, 24 (to :)

11     Now there dwelt an old prophet in Beth-el; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Beth-el: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father.

12     And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah.

13     And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon,

14     And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.

15     Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.

16     And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:

17     For it was said to me by the word of the Lord, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.

18     He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.

19     So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.

20     And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the Lord came unto the prophet that brought him back:

21     And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the Lord,

22     But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the Lord did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.

24     And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him:

4. Psalm 43 : 1, 2 (to :), 3-5

1     Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.

2     For thou art the God of my strength:

3     O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.

4     Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God.

5     Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

5. Ephesians 4 : 1-3, 13-15

1     I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

2     With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

3     Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

13     Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

14     That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

15     But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

6. Ephesians 6 : 10-18 (to ,), 23, 24

10     Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

11     Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12     For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

13     Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14     Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15     And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16     Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17     And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

18     Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,

23     Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

24     Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.

1. 100 : 1-11

Mesmerism or animal magnetism was first brought into notice by Mesmer in Germany in 1775. According to the American Cyclopaedia, he regarded this so-called force, which he said could be exerted by one living organism over another, as a means of alleviating disease. His propositions were as follows:

"There exists a mutual influence between the celestial bodies, the earth, and animated things. Animal bodies are susceptible to the influence of this agent, disseminating itself through the substance of the nerves."

2. 101 : 21-11

The author's own observations of the workings of animal magnetism convince her that it is not a remedial agent, and that its effects upon those who practise it, and upon their subjects who do not resist it, lead to moral and to physical death.

If animal magnetism seems to alleviate or to cure disease, this appearance is deceptive, since error cannot remove the effects of error. Discomfort under error is preferable to comfort. In no instance is the effect of animal magnetism, recently called hypnotism, other than the effect of illusion. Any seeming benefit derived from it is proportional to one's faith in esoteric magic.

Animal magnetism has no scientific foundation, for God governs all that is real, harmonious, and eternal, and His power is neither animal nor human. Its basis being a belief and this belief animal, in Science animal magnetism, mesmerism, or hypnotism is a mere negation, possessing neither intelligence, power, nor reality, and in sense it is an unreal concept of the so-called mortal mind.

There is but one real attraction, that of Spirit. The pointing of the needle to the pole symbolizes this all-embracing power or the attraction of God, divine Mind.

3. 102 : 16-23

The mild forms of animal magnetism are disappearing, and its aggressive features are coming to the front. The looms of crime, hidden in the dark recesses of mortal thought, are every hour weaving webs more complicated and subtle. So secret are the present methods of animal magnetism that they ensnare the age into indolence, and produce the very apathy on the subject which the criminal desires.

4. 95 : 28-3

Lulled by stupefying illusions, the world is asleep in the cradle of infancy, dreaming away the hours. Material sense does not unfold the facts of existence; but spiritual sense lifts human consciousness into eternal Truth. Humanity advances slowly out of sinning sense into spiritual understanding; unwillingness to learn all things rightly, binds Christendom with chains.

5. 102 : 30-5 (to 1st .)

Mankind must learn that evil is not power. Its so-called despotism is but a phase of nothingness. Christian Science despoils the kingdom of evil, and pre-eminently promotes affection and virtue in families and therefore in the community. The Apostle Paul refers to the personification of evil as "the god of this world," and further defines it as dishonesty and craftiness.

6. 103 : 15-17, 29-7

The maximum of good is the infinite God and His idea, the All-in-all. Evil is a suppositional lie.

In reality there is no mortal mind, and consequently no transference of mortal thought and will-power. Life and being are of God. In Christian Science, man can do no harm, for scientific thoughts are true thoughts, passing from God to man.

When Christian Science and animal magnetism are both comprehended, as they will be at no distant date, it will be seen why the author of this book has been so unjustly persecuted and belied by wolves in sheep's clothing.

7. 105 : 22-29

Whoever uses his developed mental powers like an escaped felon to commit fresh atrocities as opportunity occurs is never safe. God will arrest him. Divine justice will manacle him. His sins will be millstones about his neck, weighing him down to the depths of ignominy and death. The aggravation of error foretells its doom, and confirms the ancient axiom: "Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad."

8. 542 : 19-26

Let Truth uncover and destroy error in God's own way, and let human justice pattern the divine. Sin will receive its full penalty, both for what it is and for what it does. Justice marks the sinner, and teaches mortals not to remove the waymarks of God. To envy's own hell, justice consigns the lie which, to advance itself, breaks God's commandments.

9. 96 : 11-4

"The darkest hour precedes the dawn."

This material world is even now becoming the arena for conflicting forces. On one side there will be discord and dismay; on the other side there will be Science and peace. The breaking up of material beliefs may seem to be famine and pestilence, want and woe, sin, sickness, and death, which assume new phases until their nothingness appears. These disturbances will continue until the end of error, when all discord will be swallowed up in spiritual Truth.

Mortal error will vanish in a moral chemicalization. This mental fermentation has begun, and will continue until all errors of belief yield to understanding. Belief is changeable, but spiritual understanding is changeless.

As this consummation draws nearer, he who has shaped his course in accordance with divine Science will endure to the end. As material knowledge diminishes and spiritual understanding increases, real objects will be apprehended mentally instead of materially.

During this final conflict, wicked minds will endeavor to find means by which to accomplish more evil; but those who discern Christian Science will hold crime in check. They will aid in the ejection of error. They will maintain law and order, and cheerfully await the certainty of ultimate perfection.

10. 97 : 21-25

The broadest facts array the most falsities against themselves, for they bring error from under cover. It requires courage to utter truth; for the higher Truth lifts her voice, the louder will error scream, until its inarticulate sound is forever silenced in oblivion.