Golden Text
Zechariah 11:4 (to 1st ;); 13:2 I will (to :)
4Thus saith the Lord my God;
. . . I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered:
Responsive Reading
Psalms 74:10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 21; 5:11 let; Romans 16:17, 19 I would, 20
Ps. 74:10O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?
12For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
15Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers.
16The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun.
18Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O Lord, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.
21O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name.
5:11. . . let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.
Rom. 16:17Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
19. . . I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.
20And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
Section 1
The Bible
Exodus 20:1, 3, 5 (to :), 7 (to ;)
1And God spake all these words, saying,
3Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
5Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them:
7Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain;
Psalms 143:1 (to :), 10 (to 2nd ;)
1Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications:
10Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good;
Matthew 6:9 Hallowed
9Hallowed be thy name.
Science and Health with Key to the Scripturesby Mary Baker Eddy
93:22–23
In Christian Science, Spirit, as a proper noun, is the name of the Supreme Being.
331:11 (only), 13
The Scriptures imply that God is All-in-all.
Allness of
Spirit
The Scriptures also declare that God is Spirit. Therefore in Spirit all is harmony, and there can be no discord; all is Life, and there is no death. Everything in God’s universe expresses Him.
228:25–27
There is no power apart from God. Omnipotence has all-power, and to acknowledge any other power is to dishonor God.
186:7, 19–20
Erring human mind-forces can work only evil under whatever name or pretence they are employed; for Spirit and matter, good and evil, light and darkness, cannot mingle.
The only power of evil is to destroy itself. It can never destroy one iota of good.
Section 2
The Bible
Jeremiah 16:20
20Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods?
I John 4:1, 6
1Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
6We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
Ephesians 6:11–16
11Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12For 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.
13Wherefore 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.
14Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Science and Health
103:18–19
As named in Christian Science, animal magnetism or hypnotism is the specific term for error, or mortal mind.
104:13
Perfection
of divine
government
Christian Science goes to the bottom of mental action, and reveals the theodicy which indicates the rightness of all divine action, as the emanation of divine Mind, and the consequent wrongness of the opposite so-called action, — evil, occultism, necromancy, mesmerism, animal magnetism, hypnotism.
447:20–22
Expose and denounce the claims of evil and disease in all their forms, but realize no reality in them.
450:19–22
The Christian Scientist has enlisted to lessen evil, disease, and death; and he will overcome them by understanding their nothingness and the allness of God, or good.
101:29–31
In no instance is the effect of animal magnetism, recently called hypnotism, other than the effect of illusion.
129:28
The very name, illusion, points to nothingness.
Section 3
The Bible
Psalms 74:10
10O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?
I Peter 5:8
8Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
John 8:1, 2, 12–14, 37 ye seek, 44
1Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.
2And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.
12Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
13The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true.
14Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true; for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.
37ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
44Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
I Kings 5:4 now
4now the Lord my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent.
Science and Health
580:28
Adversary. An adversary is one who opposes, denies, disputes, not one who constructs and sustains reality and Truth. Jesus said of the devil, “He was a murderer from the beginning, . . . he is a liar and the father of it.” This view of Satan is confirmed by the name often conferred upon him in Scripture, the “adversary.”
450:1–4
There is a large class of thinkers whose bigotry and conceit twist every fact to suit themselves. Their creed teaches belief in a mysterious, supernatural God, and in a natural, all-powerful devil.
71:2
Evil has no reality. It is neither person, place, nor thing, but is simply a belief, an illusion of material sense.
330:25
Evil
obsolete
The notion that both evil and good are real is a delusion of material sense, which Science annihilates. Evil is nothing, no thing, mind, nor power. As manifested by mankind it stands for a lie, nothing claiming to be something, — for lust, dishonesty, selfishness, envy, hypocrisy, slander, hate, theft, adultery, murder, dementia, insanity, inanity, devil, hell, with all the etceteras that word includes.
469:13–17 The
True sense of
infinitude
The exterminator of error is the great truth that God, good, is the only Mind, and that the supposititious opposite of infinite Mind — called devil or evil — is not Mind, is not Truth, but error, without intelligence or reality.
102:31–2
Christian Science despoils the kingdom of evil, and pre-eminently promotes affection and virtue in families and therefore in the community.
Section 4
The Bible
I John 3:8 For this
8For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
Matthew 4:17 Jesus
17Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Matthew 12:22–28
22Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
23And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
24But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
25And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:
26And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?
27And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.
28But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
James 4:7
7Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Science and Health
422:2
Wiser than his persecutors, Jesus said: “If I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out?”
135:15–17
Fear and
sickness
identical
When Christ cast out the devil of dumbness, “it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake.”
494:30–3
Followers
of Jesus
Our Master cast out devils (evils) and healed the sick. It should be said of his followers also, that they cast fear and all evil out of themselves and others and heal the sick. God will heal the sick through man, whenever man is governed by God. Truth casts out error now as surely as it did nineteen centuries ago.
584:17–19 (to 2nd ;)
Devil. Evil; a lie; error; neither corporeality nor mind; the opposite of Truth; a belief in sin, sickness, and death; animal magnetism or hypnotism;
351:16
Fatal
premises
We cannot bring out the practical proof of Christianity, which Jesus required, while error seems as potent and real to us as Truth, and while we make a personal devil and an anthropomorphic God our starting-points, — especially if we consider Satan as a being coequal in power with Deity, if not superior to Him. Because such starting-points are neither spiritual nor scientific, they cannot work out the Spirit-rule of Christian healing, which proves the nothingness of error, discord, by demonstrating the all-inclusiveness of harmonious Truth.
446:18–20 In, 24–27
In the Science of Mind-healing, it is imperative to be honest, for victory rests on the side of immutable right.
Iniquity
overcome
Resisting evil, you overcome it and prove its nothingness. Not human platitudes, but divine beatitudes, reflect the spiritual light and might which heal the sick.
390:32
Rise in the conscious strength of the spirit of Truth to overthrow the plea of mortal mind, alias matter, arrayed against the supremacy of Spirit. Blot out the images of mortal thought and its beliefs in sickness and sin. Then, when thou art delivered to the judgment of Truth, Christ, the judge will say, “Thou art whole!”
Section 5
The Bible
Zephaniah 3:17–19 (to :), 20 for
17The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.
18I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden.
19Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee:
20for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord.
Luke 13:11–17
11And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.
12And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.
13And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.
14And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.
15The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?
16And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?
17And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.
Science and Health
495:6
Destruction
of all evil
If sickness is true or the idea of Truth, you cannot destroy sickness, and it would be absurd to try. Then classify sickness and error as our Master did, when he spoke of the sick, “whom Satan hath bound,” and find a sovereign antidote for error in the life-giving power of Truth acting on human belief, a power which opens the prison doors to such as are bound, and sets the captive free physically and morally.
131:6
The error of
carnality
When once destroyed by divine Science, the false evidence before the corporeal senses disappears. Hence the opposition of sensuous man to the Science of Soul and the significance of the Scripture, “The carnal mind is enmity against God.” The central fact of the Bible is the superiority of spiritual over physical power.
187:10
The beliefs of the human mind rob and enslave it, and then impute this result to another illusive personification, named Satan.
6:29–6
It is believed by many that a certain magistrate, who lived in the time of Jesus, left this record: “His rebuke is fearful.” The strong language of our Master confirms this description.
The only civil sentence which he had for error was, “Get thee behind me, Satan.” Still stronger evidence that Jesus’ reproof was pointed and pungent is found in his own words, — showing the necessity for such forcible utterance, when he cast out devils and healed the sick and sinning.
412:18–20, 23
Insistence
requisite
To heal by argument, find the type of the ailment, get its name, and array your mental plea against the physical.
Mentally insist that harmony is the fact, and that sickness is a temporal dream. Realize the presence of health and the fact of harmonious being, until the body corresponds with the normal conditions of health and harmony.
90:24–25
The admission to one’s self that man is God’s own likeness sets man free to master the infinite idea.
Section 6
The Bible
Exodus 15:6
6Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.
Revelation 12:7–10
7And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
9And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
I Chronicles 16:26, 27, 29 (to 1st :), 31
26For all the gods of the people are idols: but the Lord made the heavens.
27Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place.
29Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name:
31Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice: and let men say among the nations, The Lord reigneth.
Science and Health
563:1–10, 15
The dragon
as a type
Human sense may well marvel at discord, while, to a diviner sense, harmony is the real and discord the unreal. We may well be astonished at sin, sickness, and death. We may well be perplexed at human fear; and still more astounded at hatred, which lifts its hydra head, showing its horns in the many inventions of evil. But why should we stand aghast at nothingness? The great red dragon symbolizes a lie, — the belief that substance, life, and intelligence can be material. This dragon stands for the sum total of human error.
The sting of
the serpent
The Revelator lifts the veil from this embodiment of all evil, and beholds its awful character; but he also sees the nothingness of evil and the allness of God. The Revelator sees that old serpent, whose name is devil or evil, holding untiring watch, that he may bite the heel of truth and seemingly impede the offspring of the spiritual idea, which is prolific in health, holiness, and immortality.
567:18–23
Dragon
cast down
to earth
That false claim — that ancient belief, that old serpent whose name is devil (evil), claiming that there is intelligence in matter either to benefit or to injure men — is pure delusion, the red dragon; and it is cast out by Christ, Truth, the spiritual idea, and so proved to be powerless.
355:11
Let discord of every name and nature be heard no more, and let the harmonious and true sense of Life and being take possession of human consciousness.