Celebrate our heavenly Mothers Day Daily! Cut down the faulty family tree and its Eve-ill fruit growing from the myth that Eve was our 1st mom!

[Celebrate our heavenly Mothers Day Daily! Cut down the faulty family tree and its Eve-ill fruit growing from the myth that Eve was our 1st mom!] (B1, B5, B6)
CedarS Notes on the Christian Science Bible Lesson: “Adam and Fallen Man” for May 10, 2009
by Dan Carnesciali, CS of St. Louis, MO [with italic notes in brackets by Warren Huff]

Editor’s Note: The following application ideas for this week and the Possible Sunday School Topics that follow are offered primarily to help CEDARS campers and staff (as well as friends) see and demonstrate the great value of daily study and application of the Christian Science Bible lessons year-round, not just at camp! You can sign up to have them emailed to you free — in English by Monday each week, or by each Wednesday you can get a FREE TRANSLATION in French from Pascal or in Spanish from Ana. JUST SIGN UP at www.cedarscamps.org/newsletters

This Bible lesson is about fruit. Yes, fruit. Fruit is symbolic of the good or bad results of an action or life. “Fruit is not loosely attached to a tree, but is part of it. It derives its character from the tree on which it grows. So a man’s works i.e. his words and actions, are part of him, and express his true character.” (Dummelow’s Bible Commentary)

[Proverbs 31 (B14) expresses the true character of your human mother and mine and so would make a great Mothers Day card –extolling the “glorious” virtues that spring from our divine family tree “as stated in the first chapter of Genesis.” (S3) But our heavenly heritage should be celebrated daily, not just on the upcoming Mothers Day Sunday. If we WERE mortal descendants of Adam and Eve’s family tree (and we are NOT!), we would have to eat the bad fruits of that tree–including all the ills (or Eve-ills) of the flesh, such as a pandemic plague that is so greatly feared these days. From a recent podcast of a chat with Mark Swinney, C.S.B., you can hear how to refuse to “buy into” or experience the bad fruit of a supposed swine flu epidemic. If the link doesn’t work paste in your browser: http://www.spirituality.com/chats/swinney/index.jhtml]

Golden Text:
I have had fruit trees that produce the most amazing amounts of fruit. And, I have had fruit trees that produce inedible fruit. We currently have a plum tree that produces tasteless plums the size of cherries. The intent of this verse is to impel you to choose what type of tree you want to be, to desire change (repentance).

Responsive Reading:
Paul wants you to know that your thoughts determine the quality of your life. He says that you end up serving the power you obey, the one you choose. That doesn’t mean you will have a bed of roses. That is not the intent of Christianity. The intent is to be the Christ presence, to be transformed by Love, under the law of grace, to be a healing presence wherever you go. Your life, your fruit, grows naturally out of the choices you make. (If you do not choose, you are still making a choice, and usually not one that you want to live with.) Moment by moment consciously choose Life/Spirit, choose to follow Christ. If you do, you will receive the gift of eternal life in/through Christ Jesus. Evil, if you let it, will be your master; it will master you. That is the supposed law of sin. Mary Baker Eddy put it this way. “You must control evil thoughts in the first instance, or they will control you in the second.” (Science and Health, 234:26-27)

Section 1 – First Fruit
The first section in last week’s Bible lesson included the quote, “Does God create a material man out of Himself, Spirit?” This is the essential question of this week’s 1st section. As you may have heard, scholars believe that Genesis 1 was written several hundred years after Genesis 2. Although just one chapter, Genesis 1 provides a most powerful statement of who God truly is. This account is attributed to the so-called Priestly writers. It presents creation, including earth, animals, and men and women as complete. But what really stands out is that God and Her creation are entirely spiritual! (B1) Creation is not material in nature, with some possible spiritual aspects. The question is whether creation is like God, spiritual; or, whether it is material, built from material dust (atoms).

Rather than provide only one view, the Bible, which is a collection of books, is like a conversation. It brings out many different points of view in order to discover the Truth. The second citation states that creation is spiritual. “The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” (New International Version, NIV) (B2)  God being good, perfect, there is no such thing as spiritual decay, spiritual disease. There is only perfection, complete goodness, vitality and harmony. Therefore, true men and women are perfect. As I mentioned before, the Bible does not provide only one view. It provides a material account of creation and mankind’s nature through the story of Adam and Eve and their fall from grace. (B4)  This creation story was written by the so-called Yahwist writers. They were concerned with stories of human origins, covenant with the patriarchs, persecution in Egypt, the Exodus, the wilderness experience, etc. They frequently focused on divine promises and human disobedience, sin as the impulse to be like God or the gods, anthropomorphic imagery (God with human characteristics).
The Science of Christianity contradicts the mortal origin of man and declares that, “The offspring of God start not from matter or ephemeral [temporary] dust.” (S2)   Further denying the validity of the material origin of the universe, the Science of Christ affirms that, “All that is made is the work of God, and all is good.” (S3)

Section 2 – Forbidden Fruit
The Yahwist writers paint a scene where things seem OK at first.  Every tree is pleasant to sight.  But things are not as they seem.  Something is not right.  In the midst of God’s garden there is a tree of knowledge of good and evil. Evil has taken root and is tempting God’s offspring (fruit). (B5)  Was contamination of Truth’s perfect spiritual creation inevitable (unavoidable)? Was the Mind of Christ helpless to contagion? Is decay the natural order of the universe? Is evil real? Was evil part of the original creation? If yes, then the end of man is surely death. These false doctrines of contamination, corruption and contagion are cast into the fire and consumed. (B6)  “All forms of error support the false conclusions that there is more than one Life; that material history is as real and living as spiritual history;” (S10)  Who puts forth and supports these false conclusions of error? Does Truth? If yes, then erroneous truth, imperfect perfection, and material creation are realities. Yes, that is absurd because Truth is incapable of creating or allowing error, erroneous truth. If error was not created, how does it exist? Yes, there is evidence of error/evil. Is the evidence credible? Is it valid?  This question must be answered. If you accept the premise that evil is part of creation, then you will spend much of your life attempting to cope with and destroy evil. There is another way. One very practical way to defeat the error dream is to wholeheartedly admit that these false theories have absolutely no validity. (S11) As you do this, you feel and experience freedom. Then, you will be a tree that gives good fruit.

Section 3 – Dreamy Fruit
In this section, man falls into a deep sleepy, dreamy state.  While dreaming he believes that woman is formed from his flesh and that this woman encounters a subtle beast, a talking serpent. A talking serpent sounds like something that would only make sense in a dream state, doesn’t it?!  Subtle means crafty, cunning or tricky. (For the spiritual record of snakes, see Science and Health 515:5.)  The sneaky thought called serpent tricks Eve into eating some fruit from that tree of good and evil. Why do you think Eve tried the fruit, when she knew that she shouldn’t? Temptation. The serpent succeeded when he got Eve to believe that the good was evil and the evil was desirable. He did this by convincing her that evil was desirable and that it was her desire!   Sometimes we cherish things that hurt us. We hold onto [lusts and] hurtful memories.   We don’t forgive because we think that we have a right to be angry, that we were hurt.   We cherish disease like a possession.  Of course, this only seems real to the mind that dreams.   As God’s child, you do not have a mortal mind, a mind that has been fooled.   Since there is truly only one Mind, there is no possibility of a deceptive mind.   Without a Deceiver, there is no deception. Without deception there is no one that has been deceived.   As Mary Baker Eddy so wisely said, “The history of error is a dream-narrative. The dream has no reality, no intelligence, no mind; therefore the dreamer and dream are one, for neither is true nor real.” (S&H 530:26-29)  Is it too late?  Have you already been fooled?   Are you doomed?  Alert to the sneaky snake-talk, you can discern reality.   Remember, “It is impossible to work from two standpoints.” (S13)  “Entirely separate from the belief and dream of material living, is the Life divine, revealing “spiritual understand and the consciousness of man’s dominion over the whole earth.” (S16)

Section 4 – Ashamed Fruit
God calls out Adam, to ask him what he has been up to.  Adam, realizing he is in trouble, makes excuses, blames Eve for the mistake and then feels shame. (B9)   Shame, blame, excuses are not healing qualities.   They are not from God, Mind.
What you need to do is wake up and get out of the dream that you have a personal life away from God.   Shame is a state of self-deception.   Jesus called mankind to repentance, to save you from the dream of life in matter, separate from your Father-Mother.   He told you many times not to be afraid. (B10)   Fear is faith that a false belief has validity. [And Forgetting Everything About Reality.]  Is it possible to be free from fear?  The author of Psalm 25 reached out to God for the answer to that question. “Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou are the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.  Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee.” (B11)   Understanding and repentance reveal man’s genuine selfhood.   Man is genuinely fearless, shameless, good and true. That is your nature. (S20)

Section 5 – Redeemed Fruit
The previous section finished with “O my God, I trust in thee.” (B11).   This section begins with firm trust in God and a rebuke of fear. (B12)   Trust is reliance and confidence in what is true.  It is also confident expectation, reliability. (Random House Dictionary)  The woman in this story had a bleeding problem for over a decade.   [Happy Mothers Day?  NOT!]  Something seemed to be holding up her healing.   How many times have you felt confident in God’s healing power, that is until the problem dragged on?    Then perhaps “feelings” of doubt crept in.  True feelings are from Soul; they are angel messages. Feelings of doubt and fear are actually temptations posing as feelings.   Personal history, a history of illness, feelings that you have been dealing with something for a long time is suggestion posing as law. Time is not law; therefore your life is not limited by it. In Truth, it is not a factor in your demonstration at all.
When Jesus asked who had touched him, notice how quickly the woman admitted what she had done.  Her honestly and willingness to identify he uickly. (B13)   She exemplified the true idea of spiritual womanhood, which does not cherish or hold onto bitterness or suffering. Instead it surrenders to Christ and rejoices. (B14)

Section 6 – Fruitful Life
A good life keeps expanding and extending just like a fruitful tree. (B15)  “Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.” (B16) (NIV)  In this story in Acts, Paul was being transported to Rome to be put on trial. Publius was the leading Roman official on the Island of Malta where Paul shipwrecked. After Publius’ father’s healing, everyone who was sick on Malta came to Paul and was cured.   Paul’s spirituality did not exempt him from trials (“proofs of God’s care”), but through these trials he brought the Christ cure to those around him.   The healing of Publius’ father shows deadly flu yields to heartfelt prayers. (B18)  Our wholehearted prayers eliminate fear and contagion.  Contagion is not a law, not a reality.  You are God’s offspring, not Adam’s.  You are “unfallen, upright, pure and free.” (S27)  “Your fruits will prove what the understanding of God brings to man.” (S30)   Expect results (fruit) from your prayers.   Talk to God and expect answers.   Expect liberation.  “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” (Gal 5:22 the fruit, 23)  Have a fruitful week!

[LAST CALL for much-needed funds to “water” the spiritual growth of our newest buds:
Please help make the upcoming weekend very fruitful for hundreds of budding Christian Science youth in our area, by helping to underwrite one of several Christian Science youth lectures at the Midwest Youth Summit where 12-30 year olds are signing-up daily online. Just send a check made out to: Lafayette Square Christian Science Society, c/o Sue Loomis, 1819 Park Ave, St. Louis, MO 63104]

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Camp Director’s Note: This sharing is the latest in an ongoing, 8-year series of CedarS Bible Lesson “mets” (metaphysical application ideas) contributed weekly by a rotation of CedarS Resident Practitioners and occasionally by other metaphysicians. (To keep the flow of the practitioner’s ideas intact and to allow for more selective printing the “Possible Sunday School Topics” come on a following page or subsequent email.) This weekly offering is 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” 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, background and new angles on daily applicability to 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. B1 and S28) from this week’s Bible Lesson in the “met” (metaphysical application ideas) are taken from the King James Version of the Bible (B1-24) and the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. (S1-30) 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.
Enjoy!
Warren Huff, Camp Director, director@cedarscamps.org (636) 394-6162

Possible Sunday School Topics (P.S.S.T.) for the Christian Science Bible lesson on “Adam and Fallen Man” for the week of May 4-10, 2009 By Amy Robbins

P.S.S.T. Golden Text and Responsive Reading
The Golden Text talks about being known by our fruits. What are some ways that we show that we are listening to and following God? What does it mean for us to be free from sin? How does that help us move forward? What type of freedom does that allow? How do we show our gratitude?

Section 1
What types of promises are given in the first chapter of Genesis (perfection, dominion, goodness)? How can we claim these for ourselves? Which creation story do we identify with, one where we are perfect, or one where we are made from dust? Which record defines us, one where all is made of God and is good, or one that is mortal and material (S&H 3)

Section 2
What fruit was on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Is that the fruit that we want to be known by? What are we choosing to witness and experience in our lives? Do we want the fruit from a corrupt tree, or the fruit from a good tree? What are these fruits anyway?

Section 3
Which laws are we obedient to, spiritual or material? How can we shut out the subtle serpent thoughts from creeping into our thought? How do we say no to the lie, whether it’s new or old? What do we need to know in order to wake up from the dream?

Section 4
Adam was afraid and ashamed that he was naked (B9). Why do we not need to be ashamed in the presence of God? What gives us the courage and comfort to be freed of those feelings? What is in fact ashamed before Truth (S&H 17)? What can we learn from the Adam-dream? How are we upheld by God, and not fallen man?

Section 5
What kind of faith did the woman have in order to touch Jesus? Did touching Jesus’ clothing heal her, or was it her faith? How does complete faith and trust in God’s healing power protect us? What kind of commands does Mrs. Eddy give when handling a challenge (S&H 24 and 25)? How are these comforting as well as strengthening?

Section 6
What does it mean to be children of light (B16)? How is this different from being connected back to Adam and Eve? What do we know about ourselves as God’s creation? How do we let our fruits show how we love and honor God consistently?