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CEDARS metaphysical application ideas for Christian Science Bible Lesson:
“God the Only Cause and Creator” for the week of Nov. 30-December 6, 2009
by Craig L. Ghislin, C.S., Glen Ellyn, IL [with bracketed italics 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. SIGN UP at www.cedarscamps.org/newsletters]
Most of us are pretty busy these days. Workloads seem heavier than ever, and those looking for work are preoccupied with finding it. Children are running from one activity to the next, and even retirees are finding ways to fill every spare moment. What does it take to get us to “stop and smell the roses?” Even more importantly, how often do you pause to consider God as the creator of all that exists? As in the Golden Text, the Hebrew prophets routinely called upon all nations to pause and gather together to behold and acknowledge that God was Creator. Despite the pressures of human life that are bearing down on us, we should take the time to remember that God is the Creator and Cause of all that is made. Starting with God brings a seemingly out-of-control existence under the jurisdiction of divine law. When we start with God, we see the world in a new way.
[Give us pause: Looking for an example to Mrs. Eddy who–well into her so-called “retirement years”–took on “the infinite tasks” of founding our Church and The Christian Science Monitor, we read: “Beholding the infinite tasks of truth, we pause,–wait on God. Then we push onward, until boundless thought walks enraptured, and conception unconfined is winged to reach the divine glory.” (S&H 323:9) An hourly CedarS Camps practice, called a “met”, is based on pausing for a few minutes at the start of every activity to quickly establish in thought the activity’s God-centered goals and protection.]
Responsive Reading
The Jews were living in Babylonia surrounded by imposing temples and images of tribal deities. To the prophet, these images were no more than the work of men’s hands and were hardly comparable to God. The images were just that – images. Their forms were impressive, but they couldn’t do anything. On the other hand, the God of Israel is manifested in the works which He has created, and He is credited with the governance of every fortune of men. “Jehovah’s greatness is shown in His knowledge and the insignificance of everything in comparison with Him… All this is declared to rouse the people out of despondency and unfaith” (The Abingdon Bible Commentary).
In modern times we too, are surrounded by imposing images and structures giving god-like status to modern deities such as materialism, sensuality, and material medical theories. Few people, aside from the academics, researchers, philosophers, and theologians, stop to question the cause of the world they live in. Those that do tend to either leave God out of the picture or else make Him responsible for everything–including evil. The Bible gives God exclusive creative power. Referring to Isaiah, Abingdon quotes Skinner’s observation: “The word create occurs fifteen times in chapters 45-55 and five times in the chapters which follow; perhaps not more than nine times in the whole of the earlier chapters. No other language possesses a word so exclusively appropriated to the Divine activity.” The Interpreter’s Commentary says, “Only he can order the world, and none can regulate his activities.”
If you see someone on the street standing still and looking up to the sky, chances are you’ll stop to see what he is looking at. Eventually a whole crowd might gather if there is really something worth looking at. You are invited now to stop for a moment. Come and see the works of God.
Section 1: Begin with God
[who “hath put a new song” in you (Ps. 40:3 & B-4) to replace “the tired, old, repetitive jingle that mortal mind sings” as Christian Science Lecturer Maryl Walters says in Monday’s “Daily Lift” – at christianscience.com.]
“In the beginning” writes John, “was the Word” or Logos (B-1). The Logos is God’s “mind and purpose and the agent of his self-disclosure” (Interpreter’s). The biblical contemplations and explanations of creation do not start with effect. They begin with Cause. They begin with God’s thought before the objects were manifest. A psalm from the Qumran community parallels John’s words: “By his knowledge all has come into being, and by his thought he directs everything, and without him nothing is done” (Ibid.). Abingdon notes, “The Word is God’s self-revealing activity within himself before the world was, distinguished but not separated from God within the creation of all things.” It is clear that creation is more than just the process of how material things came to be. Creation is idea – the original essence of things. The Creator is the one Mind called God. At the close of the Genesis 1 account of creation (B-2), God surveys His work and pronounces it “good.” He is pleased with it, and it “has come from his hand precisely as he intended it…The chaos has been effectively restrained, and order prevails…” (Interpreter’s). Throughout time, the wise men held as a fundamental article of faith that God founded the universe wisely [with “intelligent design”] (B-3). Nothing can compare to the Creator of all things; therefore, it is right that the creation worship the Maker (B-4). God’s understanding is infinite. God even knows and names each sea creature and each star (B-5, B-6).
[And since God “calleth them all by name” (R.R.)–we expect CEDARS staff to use the name, and know the spiritual nature, of each of our “star” guests.]
Mary Baker Eddy also recognizes God as the supreme, universal cause. Some may conclude that if there is a creator called God, and this God made everything, God must also have incorporated the negative aspects of existence as well as the positive. But consider the difference between these statements: “God made everything we behold” and “Everything in God’s universe expresses Him” (S-1). The second statement, written by Mrs. Eddy, is predicated on the foundation that God is universal good; and therefore, everything made must be like Him. He is “reflected by all that is real and eternal and by nothing else.” It’s not enough to say simply, “God made everything.” Yes, He made everything, but His creation is only good. There is no other power but that which comes from Mind, God (S-2). This Mind maintains all eternally – forever in the past and forever in the future (S-3). Citation 4 in Science and Health gives a lovely example of how everything in God’s creation represents a specific aspect of His divine nature. When you go through your day, remembering that God is the only Cause, you’ll no longer take the good things for granted. You’ll have a deeper appreciation for the magnificence of creation. Additionally, you won’t feel victimized and helpless in the face of adverse situations, because you know that “without Him was not anything made that was made.” (S-5)
Section 2: So What about Evil?
Even though everything God made was pronounced “very good,” not everything in the human experience looks that way. Sometimes the world can seem pretty dark, and if we only look on the surface of things, we may find ourselves questioning how God could have anything to do with the turmoil before our eyes. The origin of evil has puzzled thinkers throughout history. Isaiah admonishes his listeners not to doubt or question God (B-7). God knows what He’s doing. He is not changeable (B-8). God is the Rock (B-9). The rock is solid and symbolizes the unwavering nature of the divine Creator. In context, Habakkuk just cannot imagine how God could allow the wicked to rule (B-10), but he is sure that God is too pure to behold evil. The psalmist expresses the assurance that God’s purpose cannot coincide with evil at any time (B-11).
If we look at merely human events, we too may wonder “What in the world is going on?” But our textbook assures us that God is consistently good, and He takes no part in causing evil, disease, or death (S-6). We’re taught in Christian Science that creation is purely spiritual and therefore, perfect and good. If we think God could author anything evil or imperfect, we reason incorrectly (S-7). Our Leader states categorically, “God is not the author of mortal discords” (S-8). It is only a false human belief that conjectures that God could make or allow evil. If such a standpoint were true, we would well be in a pretty tough situation without a remedy for evil. Since the false belief that God authors evil is a product of the human mind, giving up this false belief is the first step to destroying its effect (S-9).
Section 3: Open Your Eyes to the Real Picture
When times are tough it may be hard to tell that God is in charge, but such times are opportunities to pray for our eyes to be opened to the “wondrous things” of God’s law (B-12). Elisha had the power to see beyond the human sense of things. He had witnessed Elijah being carried up into heaven, and he had first-hand knowledge of the potency of spiritual vision. After Elisha foiled the king of Syria’s plans to attack Israel, the king of Syria sent an army out to get him. Elisha’s servant was really scared to see the city surrounded (B-13). Elisha wasn’t impressed at all. He prayed that his servant’s eyes be opened, and they were. He saw that they were completely protected. We may not have actual chariots of fire around us, but we can feel the comfort and calm that comes with knowing God is always with us and truly, “‘they that be with us are more than they that be with them.'” (B-13)
Mrs. Eddy stressed the need to rise above the false views of the material senses. She writes that our false views are what produce the problems in the first place (S-10). She tells us that when we “gain more correct views of God and man, multitudinous objects of creation, which before were invisible, will become visible” (S-11). We’ve pondered this in previous Lesson-Sermons, and it really makes you stop and think. What kind of objects is she talking about? How much correcting is it going to take to start seeing these things? If one person sees it, will everyone see it? One thing for sure is, there is a difference between God’s thoughts and temporal material beliefs. As long as there is any evil element in thought, it’s not from God (S-12). Evidence of the senses is a reversal of what is actually going on according to God’s law (S-13). This is an important point. We are not living in a state of existence apart from God. Matter is not a condition of being-it is a false picture produced by mistaken beliefs. [Matter loses its appearance of reality when we realize that it is not an actual state of being-just a misstatement of being.] As the mistaken beliefs are corrected, the false view is eliminated and an improved picture comes into view (S-14). Eventually, when all the false pictures give way to the spiritual facts, we’ll see the truth wherever we look.
Section 4: God Is Not the Cause of Sickness
This section begins with another admonition to “stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God” (B-14). This citation is taken from Job. We all know that Job’s story was about his struggle with severe illness. In the midst of suffering and wrestling with his situation, Job is urged to stop – to stand still and get his thought right about God. In dealing with sickness, as well as any other discord, stopping to consider God is a key step in the healing process. Christ Jesus saw everything from the standpoint of God. His enlightened view brought light and healing to the entire world. The mortal model of action always looks for cause in material events, heredity, or history of sin. Job’s friends insisted that some sin was the cause of his difficulties, and it appears that some sin was believed to be the cause of the palsied man’s suffering (B-17). Jesus didn’t look for material causes: He cut through every claim of evil with healing authority.
Science and Health shows how misguided human reasoning conceives of God as a corporeal creator, and therefore, concludes that creation must be physical as well (S-15). The material senses are not capable of perceiving the spiritual reality of things. The mortal approach accepts sickness as an unavoidable aspect of human existence. But if sickness is real, it must be part of Truth, and it wouldn’t make sense to try to destroy any condition of Truth (S-16). Mrs. Eddy reasons that if we consider sickness and sin as illusions, then awakening from those illusions will bring us into health. Reasoning out from God rather than from material sense, we can see that it is impossible to think that an all-loving, good God could ever put His creation in a situation that would cause man to sin or to suffer.
The spiritually-scientific view of creation finds man to be the offspring of Spirit, of the beautiful, good, and pure. Man created spiritually by God never passes through material conditions (S-17). God’s creation is always independent of matter and has never been formed materially (S-18). As false views of God yield to more spiritual ideas, the sinful, sickly results of materially-based reasoning will dissolve away (S-19). The reasoning process in this section is entirely based on the platform of perfect God as the cause and perfect man as the effect.
Section 5: See Through the Illusion of Death
Probably the biggest mistake made by traditional theology is the teaching that God is the cause of sickness and death. This tragic belief is voiced in a variety of ways, i.e. “He’s in a better place now;” “It was God’s will;” “God called her home” and so on. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is never God’s will that anyone should die at any time, at any age. God is Life and His creation is not subject to death – ever! Abingdon relates that in biblical times “the death of a widow’s grown-up son was regarded as the greatest possible misfortune.” There were no retirement communities in those days. It was the son’s responsibility to care for the needs of an aging parent. Jesus was well aware of the dim outlook the grieving mother faced at Nain (B-19). The whole town was grieving with her as well. Jesus didn’t accept that picture. He stopped the funeral procession and raised the son to life. (B-19)
Our Leader also knew that God would never send sickness and separate a child from a mother through death (S-20). On the contrary, God only causes life, health, and holiness. While traditional theology attempts to comfort mourners by claiming God to be the mysterious hand behind tragedies, Christian Science proves death to be “but a mortal illusion” (S-22). Our textbook tells us we command the situation if we “understand that mortal existence is a state of self-deception and not the truth of being” (S-23). This is a key point. Mortal mind is deceiving itself. As we’ve mentioned before, it tells a lie to itself and believes the lie it tells. Its powers are imaginary. Mortal belief is completely separate from spiritual truth. As such, there is nothing in mortal evidence supportive of spiritual truth. The spiritual facts of being are supported by spiritual sense (S-24). It would seem that there are two systems working without cognizance of each other – the material and spiritual. But only one can be true. Beginning with God as the only cause and recognizing that God is good and infinite, there can be only one fact of creation – the spiritual. That creation includes no thought of death, but reveals life as the only fact of creation.
Section 6: Believe and Let Your Light Shine
God alone is worthy of honor and glory (B-21). He is the creator. Abingdon paraphrases Revelation: “…by thy will they first existed in the world of thought, and then by one definite act they were created.” Everything has its origin in Mind. Having a creator that is infinitely good and omnipotent implies that the creation must be pretty special too. If we believe, if we “cleave to, trust, rely on and have faith in His Messenger”-(The Amplified Bible), we will be able to prove that understanding by doing great works (B-22, B-23). The fallible, sinful creation of a humanly-circumscribed creator can’t be expected to accomplish much. In fact, such a poor excuse for creation can’t be expected to be anything but disobedient and prone to sin. But there are no excuses for the legitimate sons and daughters of God created in His image. Jesus commanded, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (B-24). Jesus expected his followers to demonstrate their understanding of God.
The Founder of Christian Science calls us to the same challenge (S-25). The truths of “pure Christianity” are the real deal (S-26). Viewing creation from a spiritual standpoint changes everything–and according to our Leader, understanding spiritual causation is the one thing that brings progress (S-27). If we view ourselves as sinful, fallen, or as a merely mortal creation, we’d have little hope of achieving this lofty calling. But we are not on our own. The Holy Ghost and Christ support this higher view and enable us to demonstrate healing with scientific certainty (S-28). Letting go of false, limited, material theories opens the door to our learning about and recognizing man’s spiritual being (S-29). As we do so, we will understand what God has really created from the smallest particle to the heavens. We will be free to understand what God made us to be and fully demonstrate it. So you see, taking the time to look at the world from a spiritual perspective rather than reasoning materially is a truly wonderful thing. Enjoy the view.
[This weekly Metaphysical Newsletter is provided at no charge to the 1,200 campers and staff who were blessed this summer at CEDARS–as well as to thousands of CEDARS alumni, families and friends who request it, or find it weekly on our website. But, current and planned gifts are much-needed to cover the costs of running this service and of providing camperships for such inspirational opportunities.
Your support is always tax-deductible and appreciated–but this year and month your help is especially needed! Precious donors have challenged us to raise $25,000 by year-end for our “Maintenance Musts” in order to receive a Matching $25,000 Grant! So, during this ideal time before snow flies, and with several gifts already in, we are happily starting needed “Maintenance Must” projects. We look to God–and to friends like you–to keep them going.
With no delay please “freely give” today, in your chosen way:
1) Write a tax-deductible check payable to CedarS Camps and mail it to the office: 1314 Parkview Valley, Manchester, MO 63011; or
2) Call Warren or Gay Huff at (636) 394-6162 to charge your gift or to discuss any short-term or long-term gift that you are considering; or
3) CLICK HERE RIGHT AWAY TO SUPPORT CEDARS WORK with an online gift using PayPal, which can be funded using a Visa or Mastercard account.]
[Camp Director’s Note: This sharing is the latest in an ongoing, 9-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 in a 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 and background as well as new angles 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.]
Enjoy!
Warren Huff, Camp Director director@cedarscamps.org (636) 394-6162
[PSST-Find your sacred selfhood to cure weariness, sing a new song, find answers, be “Undisturbed”
Possible Sunday School Topics for the Christian Science Bible Lesson for Nov. 30-Dec. 6, 2009, “God The Only Cause and Creator,”
prepared by Merrill Boudreaux [with bracketed italics by Warren Huff]
P.S.S.T. Golden Text (GT) and P.S.S.T. Responsive Reading (RR) The Golden Text may be read either as an invitation or as a command. In the resulting journey through this Lesson you will be a witness to the awesome majesty of God as the only cause and creator. Ask students to name any majestic, significant, or monumental natural sites they have seen or visited. [Christian Science camp experiences–like all sanctuaries, sacred places, or places of worship-are designed to open up significant, new vistas and to evoke feelings of holiness, awe, deep gratitude to God,…] Some follow-up questions to ask may be: Who has visited a significant place? Where? With whom? To whom? [Why did it feel special? How are you cherishing and seeking to retain that sense of sacredness?] What do you know or feel in your innermost secret place that answers these questions? [Do you ever feel weary? Any time and any place can feel full of energy & sacredness when you glimpse your spiritual selfhood as a perfect reflection of your Creator who “fainteth not, neither is weary.” (RR)]
P.S.S.T. Section 1 – We are invited or commanded in B-4 (Psalms 96) to “sing unto the Lord a new song:…” [What “tired old, repetitive jingles that mortal mind sings” are you tired of hearing? (from Maryl Walter’s Daily Lift for 11-30-09)] Ask students to compose a song that uses some of the key words in the Bible portion of this section. What “word” might God have used during the creation process? Ask students to list some strong action verbs: come, go, do, stay. See also B-7 in Section 2 (Isaiah 45). [Based on this chapter in Isaiah, Hymn #444 is one example of a new song written by Desiree Goyette is in the new Christian Science Hymnal Supplement.] If God is the first and the only existence, what would God have used to create everything else? God’s self.
P.S.S.T. Section 2 – You are invited or commanded to ask God some questions in B-7, verse 11 (Isaiah 45). Ask students, What questions do you have for God? In S-8 (p.231), ask students, What does the word ‘fabulous’ mean? What is the root of the word? Fable. What is a fable? What does the world ‘discord’ mean? What is the opposite of discord? Concord. What does ‘concord’ mean? Harmony. What evidence is there in the natural world that harmony is the law of God? Since “God is not the author of mortal discords,” what can you conclude? [See S-9, p. 357:9 and Warren’s P.S. for more answers on the supposed reality of discord and the theoretical origin of evil.]
P.S.S.T. Section 3 – What is the invitation or command in B-12 (Psalm 119)? What were the two views seen by the servant of Elisha? What was different about each view? What changed in order to “see” the second view? What is the hint in B-13, verse 17 (II Kings 6), as to what we should do when our view might be fearful? See Hymn 49: “Take from us now the strain and stress, and let our ordered lives confess the beauty of Thy peace.” [This verse hymn is a great gem card or healing idea card to memorize to use in the “Undisturbed” game. How did Elisha and his servant both win this game?] What is the result in S-11 (p.264) when we have “…more correct views of God and man…”? What happens when one looks to the physical senses in S-13 (p.122)? Do the physical senses have power to reverse “the actual reign of harmony on earth”? What is our role in S-14 (p.516)? What does the word ‘subordinate’ mean? Literally to sub-ordinate: ‘sub’ means under; what is the definition of ‘ordinal number’? So a possible conclusion is to place under the control of the primary number, One, and let that control or order what follows. What trails such subordination as stated in S-14?
P.S.S.T. Section 4 – What are we invited or commanded to do in B-14 (Job 37)? What is a wondrous work in B-17 (Matthew 9)? Let us set aside ignorance as called for in S-15 (p.13). Ask students the following:
• Is sickness real or immortal? If real or immortal, what would be its cause?
• Is sickness an illusion? If an illusion, what helps one awaken from the illusion? (S-16, p.230)
• Does God create or arrange for evil to occur? Does God punish man? See S-16, lines 15-18. What would be the point in that?
• How can ‘good’ ever be anything but good? See also S-20 p. 206: 26 in Section 5.
P.S.S.T. Section 5 – What is the invitation or command in B-20 (Ephesians 5)? What do you have the power to command in S-23 (p.403)? Here is an opportunity for a role play in the Bible story in this section. How is death classified in S-22 & S-23 (p.289 & p.403)? “King of terrors,” “Mortal belief,” “error,” “mortal illusion,” “mental existence,” “self deception,” “not the truth of being,” “results of false opinions,” “imaginary powers.” What gives you command over these falsities? (S-24, p.471)
P.S.S.T. Section 6 – What is the invitation or command in B-23 & B-24 (John 14, Matt. 5)?
• What “is the one question to be considered” in S-27 (p.170)?
• What is the result of learning “the way in Christian Science”? (S-29, p.264) Now that is a view worth having every moment of every day!
• Older students may also be referred to the article “The Way” in Miscellaneous Writings, beginning on page 355, to read about the three stages of growth:
“First, self-knowledge.” (p.355:12)
“The second stage… humility.” (p.356:22)
“The third stage… love.” (p.357:19)
[A pun P.S. for S-9, p. 357:9–a progressive series of odd numbers–“The Odd I See” or Theodicy explains the odd I seem to see (like the false evidence of an un-good God) so that I see it differently. Discussions of Theodicy for older classes may continue after they were addressed in last week’s lesson S-20, p. 104:14. Mary Baker Eddy has a unique, healing answer to the age-old question of ‘If God is all good and all powerful, where does evil come from?’ She reveals evil as merely an illusion-not an actual state of being. Evil is just a powerless misstatement -like the misstatement that any even number + any even number equals an odd number. That will just never add up-just like adding up an all good God plus an all powerful God will never “add up” to the oddity of evil. Asking how “the fact” of any wrong equation came to be true is pointless and self-defeating–because it is simply not true. This will be a helpful basis of Christianly scientific understanding in our ongoing “Undisturbed” Game. I will email a PSST-part 2 later this week, IF ten or more recipients ask for citations to help answer the following possible false accusations in the “Undisturbed” Game. (For details see PS for PSST emailed on 11-28-09]
1. You have so many demands on your time that you never feel really caught up, guilt-free or rested.
2. Sufficient supply seems lacking–or someone you know is suffering from under- or unemployment.
3. You can’t seem to shake off some temptations to do or to think things that you know you shouldn’t.
4. An injury or illness seems like it will never leave you or a friend or relative. (circle what applies)
5. You haven’t gotten over the loss of a close friend or relative or pet. (circle what applies)
6. You feel lacking and cut off from God and/or from proper companionship.
7. You feel unappreciated, unloved, unloving and unlovable.
8. You were unfairly wronged and can’t wait to get even.
9. You are carrying a grudge and a hatred of a certain person or group of people.
10. You feel that getting good justifies using dishonesty to get it.
Warren Huff, Exec. Director, The CedarS Camps, (636) 394-6162 warren@cedarscamps.org
