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Stand Firm; Reason Rightly to Discover God’s Unfallen Man!
Metaphysical Application ideas for the Christian Science Bible Lesson on

Adam and Fallen Man
for May 6-12, 2013

Prepared by Kathy Fitzer, CS
kathyfitzer@gmail.com           314-323-4083

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Regardless of how convincing the testimony of the physical senses, we must stand firm and reason rightly from the basis of perfect God and perfect man.  This confident reasoning reverses the lie that springs from the myth of mortal creation.  Man is the offspring of God alone.  Fallen man is a misunderstanding; and we must reverse this falsity with the facts of being to free ourselves—and all mankind—from false bondage.

Golden Text and Responsisve Reading: Remain steadfast in your understanding.
The Golden Text has been translated, “For we have become partners of Christ, if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end.” (NRSV)  Partners fully share in privileges and responsibilities.  Who wouldn’t want to share in the freedom of Christ, “the ideal man”? (see Misc. 102: 2)  But, to do that, our confidence that we are God’s children, and therefore eternally one with Him, must remain as steadfast (unfaltering) as was Jesus’ confidence — no matter what the mortal dream (Adam-dream) looks like.  The Message paraphrases the last two verses of the Responsive Reading this way, “Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.”  So, in times of trouble, rather than letting our faith be shaken, let’s look more deeply into God’s message to us and stand firm on the truth we have been taught in the Bible and our textbook.  Reason rightly—and learn!  Look for usefulness lessons to be learned from Scripture this week.

Section 1: Reason rightly from a perfect, spiritual creation
I love this statement from Science and Health, “To begin rightly is to end rightly.” (S-1)  We know that’s true when we’re trying to reason something through logically.  If we start with a wrong premise, we’ll never reach a sound conclusion.  Each one has to decide on our own just what we believe.  I believe in the teachings of Jesus and the teachings of Christian Science because I have felt the benefits and seen the blessings of these teachings.  And, to me, there is a consistency throughout the ages… from the thousands of years of the Bible to the thousands of years since… that supports my understanding that right reasoning must start with the report of Genesis 1.  As Mrs. Eddy writes, “For right reasoning there should be but one fact before the thought, namely, spiritual existence.” (S-2)  The first chapter of Genesis expounds on this spiritual existence.  The use of “in the beginning” can be a problem if we think of it in terms of time.  It suggests that life has a starting point (and thus an ending point.)  A lot of theological study has gone into this first phrase of the Bible.  Researcher Skip Moen shares that “the Jerusalem Targum translated the first verse of Genesis as ‘With wisdom did God create the heavens and the earth.’”  This reference to wisdom fits in with what we read elsewhere in the Bible.  The gospel of John begins … “In the beginning was the Word” which relates to the personification of Wisdom in Proverbs.  Wisdom (like Truth and Love) has no linear beginning.  It just is.  Genesis 1 is talking about Mind’s creation… the eternal unfolding of ideas.  One of the ways Strong interprets the Hebrew word translated “beginning” is “principal (first, key) thing.”  That supports this statement, “The infinite has no beginning.  This word beginning is employed to signify the only, — that is, the eternal verity and unity of God and man, including the universe.” (S-3)  Here is the consistency that forms the basis of right reasoning.  Starting here, we have God creating man in His image and giving man dominion over all the rest of His creation.  God sees everything that he made and it was all good! (B-2)  Perfect, complete God made a perfect, complete creation.  Looking up the word “create” I found design, originate, and result in.  I loved thinking about God resulting in man… like the sun results in sunbeams — in light and heat!  Again, each one has to decide on their own the premise from which they will begin their reasoning.  But, I like the promise resulting from the premise of Genesis 1: “if man is the image, reflection, of God, he is neither inverted nor subverted, but upright and Godlike.” (S-5)  Unfallen man — I’m going with that one!

Section 2: False conclusions are drawn from imperfect false reasoning.
Let’s see what happens if we begin reasoning from a different perspective.  The “story of creation” presented in the second chapter of Genesis is very different from the first.  We could say it is like a tale such as told by one of the “false prophets” we are warned about in I John. (B-7)  In this case, it is important to remember that the second chapter of Genesis was written before the first chapter. (see S-6)  The early writing was likely an attempt to explain mortal existence.  The authors started by looking at mortal testimony (matter) and tried to match that up with God (Spirit)… instead of starting with God (Spirit), and working to resolve the human (matter-based) experience to correspond with the “real.”  Remember, though, “all scripture… is profitable… for instruction.” (RR)  So, let’s focus on what we can learn from this false premise.  Either the first or the second account must be false because they totally contradict each other. (S-7)  And, since the first chapter was written later, by men who had a clearer and more inspired sense of God than the first authors, I’m going to choose that one as true.  So… part of the “value” of the second chapter, is to alert us to not be fooled by false testimony, and to help us identify — by contrast — what is true  The first thing that stood out to me is that the second account begins with a mist rising.  That indicates a clouded view right off the bat.  But, besides that… in the first chapter, God prepared everything before creating man — providing supply even before there was a need.  Chapter 2 reverses that order… with the Lord God (different from Elohim of chapter 1) creating man and then, almost as an afterthought, providing a place for him to live.  That is what mortal mind still says is going on… a continual game of catch-up, always struggling to have supply keep up with demand.  That’s just not how a loving God takes care of His children.  The basic fallacy is starting with imperfection, instead of perfection. (S-10)  An “object-lesson” of this story is a reminder to always begin rightly… with Spirit, not matter; with cause, not effect.  (S-8 & S-9)  Studying the history of error, as illustrated in chapter 2 will not bring us closer to realizing the perfection and power of God’s creation described in chapter 1. (S-7)  Reason rightly to reach the right conclusion about man!  Never start with a clouded view!

Section 3: Reason according to the fruit the tree bears.
When I was a child, we had a couple of orange trees in our yard.  They looked pretty much alike.  But, when the oranges ripened, it became clear what fruit came from which tree.  The fruit of one was distastefully sour.  The other was sweet and delicious.  Guess which tree we kept and which we eventually cut down!  We knew that we’d never get good fruit from the sour-orange tree. (B-8)  According to the Genesis 2 tale, there were several trees available to Adam and Eve.  But, before we even get to that, let’s think about the part where Eve is taken from Adam’s rib (woman taken from man, and so naturally subservient to man.) (B-9)  Really??  No way!!  But, is that truly any more ridiculous than to think that life springs from a sperm and an egg coming together?  Material creation is all part of a basic false report — a view so misty that it falls to the level of talking serpents.  Eve fell for the “serpent’s” upside down reasoning; suggesting that being like God includes knowing good and evil. (B-10)  She chose to listen to a snake rather than to the Lord — and brought her husband down with her.  The “bad fruit” in this case was adding evil into the mix — feeling a need to know “everything” there was to know.  Might we fall into that trap when we’re told it’s important to know the details of a disease in order to either avoid it or determine if we “have” it?  Or to know all the details about a disturbing political situation — or personal situation — when we don’t really “need” to?  It’s good to be informed, so we know what lies need to be reversed.  But, the “fruit” of too much “knowledge gained from material sense” often leads to fear, discouragement, and frustration, rather than a solution. (S-11)  There is no such thing as a talking serpent!  It symbolizes a lie that creates its own outcome.  Thus, both the evil (disease, deceit, lack — whatever it calls itself) and its cause are one and the same… just a false belief, a misty view. (S-14)  What we really need is to clearly see the “counter-fact” of whatever material sense is suggesting.  Decide which “theory” you’re going to accept… the mortal testimony of Genesis 2, or the eternal verity of Genesis 1.  You can count on good fruit from the spiritual record, and nothing but sour from the material.  Refuse to eat the fruit of mortal testimony… better yet, cut down the tree!   

Section 4: God’s condemnation of wrong reasoning leads to evaporating mist.
The whole concept of man starting out right, but then falling into a sinful state is reversed by the “Science of Mind” which doesn’t involve a process.  According to the record of the first chapter, “God, Mind, spake and it was done.” (S-20)  Knowing that there are lessons to be learned from the false report, though, let’s examine the inspired sense of this part of the myth.  God calls to Adam… causing him to examine the situation and realize what he’s done (perhaps a bit like the prodigal son coming to his senses.)  The man’s first tendency was to justify and blame.  First heads up for us — that kind of thinking gets us nowhere.  The woman took responsibility, but also identified the source of the problem… she yielded to the serpent’s temptation.  Each one involved now pays a penalty. (B-11)  Truth can’t tolerate error — and neither should we.  That’s where right reasoning teaches us to reverse the material fable… whether matter presents itself as something positive or negative. (B-12 & S-16)  Mrs. Eddy sheds light on the “penalties.”  She identifies the serpent as the symbol of the lie about man’s origin and character.  And this lie is then condemned to be beneath all else. (S-17)  Genesis 1 gives man dominion over all creeping things… dominion over the lie!  The curse on Eve (that has been too generally accepted by women) is seen to be invalid as the concept of man’s origin is elevated to a spiritual level.  As “the mist of mortal mind evaporates,” God — not mortal interaction — is seen to be the only creator.  Man is the unfoldment of Mind… never born into matter. (S-20)  What about tilling the soil?  Sounds like just a lot of hard work.  But, our textbook teaches that this ‘tending” is the improving of material belief through spiritual understanding until all materiality is destroyed. (S-18)  It’s worth investing some effort to dig up every weed to allow the good to grow!  Being in the mountains of Park City, UT, I’ve often seen the heat of the sun evaporate the mist to reveal beautiful views that had previously been entirely obscured.  Divine Love is evaporating the mist of mortal belief and revealing God’s perfect creation — forever intact!

Section 5: Follow the reasoning of Christ Jesus and be free.
If we start from the false premise of intelligent matter (a talking serpent), sin and sickness seem normal.  If consciousness is dwelling with Adam in a Genesis 2 mentality, we run in fear from the question, “Adam, where art thou” — “consciousness, where art thou?”  And, the parts of the body respond that consciousness is in matter… “looking for happiness and life in the body” but finding a ridiculous mixture of pleasure and pain. (S-22)  The writings of the prophet Isaiah urged the people of his time to wake up, shake off the dust, and stop being slaves to matter. (B-14)  Jesus came to demonstrate —through physical healing — the freedom that comes with starting from the standpoint of perfect God and perfect man (the Genesis 1 premise.) (B-14, B-15 & B-16)  And divine Science teaches that reasoning out from perfection and following Jesus’ example we, too, can demonstrate that man has not fallen from that state of perfection.  “Truth is affirmative (positive) and confers harmony.” (S-23)  That is fact!!! Reason and argue from that premise until all error is destroyed by Truth.  We don’t have to make harmony true.  It is!

Section 6: It is possible to see through the mist of material thinking to reality.
Perhaps the greatest blessing of Revelation is not what John saw, but the assurance that this elevated view can be seen right here in this present state of consciousness.  Let the imagery speak to you.  Rather than struggling to understand every detail, enjoy the big picture promise of the reign of Truth that it holds.  It is heartening to know that what can’t be seen by the “unillumined human mind” does appear to inspired thought.  (S-28)  Consistent right reasoning leads to that inspired thought.  Quoting William Blake, Christopher Rowland wrote in the introduction to Revelation in The New Interpreter’s Bible commentary, “What Revelation offers is the hope of a time when ‘the war of swords departed now’ and the dark Religions are departed and sweet Science reigns.’”  To me, this could be translated as when the mist of the Genesis 2 myth lifts and the Scientific truth of Genesis 1 reigns.  Parts of the book of Revelation seem threatening and scary, but here John sees a new heaven and earth where there is no more sea.  Among other things, the removal of the sea removed [the fear of a scary unknown and] the threat of chaos and the destruction of humanity.  John also sees a holy city.  This city was free of plagues and fed by a river of clear, life-giving water, lined by the tree of life, bearing good fruit of consistent healing.  This is God’s creation, as described in the first chapter of Genesis and available to all who steadfastly obey God’s commands. (B-18 & B-19)  The lesson concludes as it began, with the injunction to “begin rightly” and the promise that this results in ending rightly. (S-30)  Remember, we don’t need to take anyone’s word for what we should believe.  Try it out!  The fruit of healing makes the choice easy! (S-29)


[The application ideas above are from a Christian Science Practitioner who has served as a Resident Practitioner at CedarS Camps. They are provided primarily to help CedarS campers and staff (as well as friends) see and daily demonstrate the great value of study and application of the Christian Science Bible lessons throughout the year, not just at camp!  YOU CAN ALSO SIGN UP for weekly emails from past CedarS staff of possible ways to share Bible Lesson applications with older, as well as younger, Sunday School classes by clicking the "Subscribe Now" button (lower left) at http://www.cedarscamps.org/metaphysical/

Warren Huff, CedarS Director & editor of these notes & writer of its bracketed, italic additions.]

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[Our priority need now is filling camp with Sunday School students who are ready for a fun, life-transforming experience in applying Christian Science!  So, our main funding goal this Spring is to raise funds for CedarS campership applicants. Also greatly appreciated are operations support and our herd of horses still needs your "adoptive" support 
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[Additional Director's Note: You can sign up to have these application ideas emailed to you free — by Monday each week in English; or by each Wednesday you can get a FREE TRANSLATION: in German, thanks to Helga and Manfred; or in Spanish, thanks to a team of Ana, Erick, Claudia and Patricio.  A voluntary French translation by Pascal or Denise cannot be guaranteed due to their busy schedules. An "official" version of the weekly Portuguese translation is now available for CedarS Mets, thanks to helpers of Orlando Trentini in Brazil.  Go to http://www.cedarscamps.org/ and click "Newsletters" to sign-up for the Portuguese version.  This sharing is the latest in an ongoing, 13-year series of CedarS Bible Lesson "Mets" (Metaphysical application ideas) contributed weekly by a rotation of CedarS Resident Practitioners and occasionally by other metaphysicians.  (Ask and look for "Possible Sunday School Topics "and "Possible Younger Class Lessons" in subsequent emails.) These weekly offerings are intended to encourage further study and application of ideas in the lesson and to invigorate Sunday School participation by students and by the budding teachers on our staff. Originally sent JUST to my Sunday School students and to campers, staff and CedarS families who wanted to continue at home and in their home Sunday Schools the same type of focused Lesson study, application and inspiration they had felt at camp, CedarS lesson "mets "and Sunday School ideas are in no way meant to be definitive or conclusive or in any way a substitute for daily study of the lesson. The thoughts presented are the inspiration of the moment and are offered to give a bit more dimension and background as well as new angles (and angels) on the daily applicability of some of the ideas and passages being studied. The weekly Bible Lessons are copyrighted by the Christian Science Publishing Society and are printed in the Christian Science Quarterly as available at Christian Science Reading Rooms or online at eBibleLesson.com or myBibleLesson.com. The citations referenced (i.e.B-1 and S-28) from this week's Bible Lesson in the "Met" (Metaphysical application ideas) are taken from the Bible (B-1 thru B-24) and the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy (S-1 thru S-30). The Bible and Science and Health are the ordained pastor of the Churches of Christ, Scientist. The Bible Lesson is the sermon read in Christian Science church services throughout the world. The Lesson-Sermon speaks individually through the Christ to everyone, providing unique insights and tailor-made applications for each one.  We are glad you requested this metaphysical sharing and hope that you find some of the ideas helpful in your daily spiritual journey, in your deeper digging in the books and in closer bonding with your Comforter and Pastor.]

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