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Weekly Bible Study Resources
Bible Characters for Your Weekly Bible Study
Compiled by Lt Gen C. Norman Wood, USAF (Ret), Burke, VA 22015
For week of May 3 - 9, 2010
SUBJECT: ADAM AND FALLEN MAN
Gibbons, Ruth, “Let’s debunk the ‘fall of man,’” Christian Science Journal, Vol.102 (May 1984), p.
285.
--…the Bible story of Adam and Eve—often referred to as the fall of man—[is] an allegory.
--…the many ramifications of this illusory dream narrative must be exposed and destroyed in human
consciousness.
• Any belief in evil—any belief of living in a material body or material universe, of inharmony,
imperfection, limitation, or separation from God—stems from the belief that man fell from his original
perfection.
--…we can refute the Adam-dream of mortality as a lie and bring healing and harmony to our present
experience.
• The Scriptures inform us that God, Love, is the creator of man and the universe.
---And we can be certain that no bungled creation could ever come from the heart of
infinite Love.
CAST OF CHARACTERS:
Adam (also called “her husband”)
[Ăd’ăm] (“ruddy,” “earth,” or “one made or produced”)
“ADAM. Error; a falsity; the belief in ‘original sin,’ sickness, and death; evil; the opposite of
good, — of God and His creation; a curse; a belief in intelligent matter, finiteness, and mortality;
"dust to dust;" red sandstone; nothingness; the first god of mythology; not God's man, who represents
the one God and is His own image and likeness; the opposite of Spirit and His creations; that which
is not the image and likeness of good, but a material belief, opposed to the one Mind, or Spirit; a socalled finite mind, producing other minds, thus making ‘gods many and lords many’ (I Corinthians
viii. 5); a product of nothing as the mimicry of something; an unreality as opposed to the great reality
of spiritual existence and creation; a so-called man, whose origin, substance, and mind are found to
be the antipode of God, or Spirit; an inverted image of Spirit; the image and likeness of what God has
not created, namely, matter, sin, sickness, and death; the opposer of Truth, termed error; Life's
counterfeit, which ultimates in death; the opposite of Love, called hate; the usurper of Spirit's
creation, called self-creative matter; immortality's opposite, mortality; that of which wisdom saith,
‘Thou shalt surely die.’
The name Adam represents the false supposition that Life is not eternal, but has beginning and
end; that the infinite enters the finite, that intelligence passes into non-intelligence, and that Soul
dwells in material sense; that immortal Mind results in matter, and matter in mortal mind; that the
one God and creator entered what He created, and then disappeared in the atheism of matter.” (S&H
579: 15-27 next page)
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Bible Characters for your weekly Bible study — May 3 - 9, 2010
(Abbreviated)
“Whether or not one accepts the Bible literally, the person and symbolism of Adam are basic in
Jewish, Christian, and Muslim theology and tradition.” (All the People of the Bible)
"Adam (possibly meaning 'ruddy' or 'earth') is the common noun in Hebrew for 'human (-kind)';
only in Genesis 1-5 (when used without the article) and I Chronicles 1:1 is it the proper name for the
first man. This usage highlights the unity of humankind, leaving no special apartness for Israel or
Abraham." (Oxford Guide to People & Places) Adam is “a proper noun rarely appearing outside of
Genesis 1-5. In Gen. 1:1—2:4a, God creates man and woman in his image, separating them from the
animals, to rule the earth.” "The creation of man was the work of the sixth day." (Smith's Bible
Dictionary)….
“The Tree of Life, or the Cosmic Tree, is a symbol common in many ancient religions” (Ibid). By
the subtlety of the serpent the woman who was given to be with Adam was beguiled into a violation of
the one command which had been imposed upon them. She took of the fruit of the forbidden tree and
gave it to her husband. The propriety of its name was immediately shown in the results which
followed: self-consciousness was the first result of sin; their eyes were opened and they knew that they
were naked. Lest they eat also of the tree of life, as the story goes, and become immortal, Adam and
Eve were driven forth from Eden and their return was barred by cherubim and a flaming sword.
“Without ever using the words ‘sin,’ ‘fall,’ ‘disobedience,’ ‘freedom,’ or ‘punishment,’ this fascinating
narrative sketched the boundaries of human existence.” (Mysteries of the Bible)….
Price, Mrs. Naomi (CSB, Lecturer, Associate Editor, and President), “God’s grace reverses Adam’s
disgrace,” EDITORIAL, Christian Science Sentinel, Vol.81 (30 July 1979), p. 1338.
--Nothing is more precious to humanity than the grace of God.
• Divine grace is the action of the bright shining of God’s abundant, impartial love for his
creation.
---We feel its effects as it penetrates the Adam-dream of life in matter and dissolves
ignorance and false belief, thereby healing the discords that are their objectification.
--The Bible allegory of Adam typifies the unreal history of mortal man.
• It describes the destiny of the false image of man as existent in matter instead of in God, Spirit.
---This mythological dream image of man as a sinning, corporeal being inevitably
deteriorates and finds itself shut out of heaven, or harmony. Mortals sink, in their dream, to a sorrowful
level of degradation at which they are reduced to eating, as it were, the unsavory husks of matter—as
the young man of Christ Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son was tempted to do.
Three Woman
Eve (also called “the woman,” “his wife”)
“EVE. A beginning; mortality; that which does not last forever; a finite belief concerning life,
substance, and intelligence in matter; error; the belief that the human race originated materially
instead of spiritually, — that man started first from dust, second from a rib, and third from an
egg.”
(S&H 585: 23)
(Abbreviated)
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Eve was "the name given to the first woman by the first man. The Bible interprets this name to
mean 'the mother of all living,' both because Eve is, through her sons, the female ancestor of the entire
human race and because the name sounds similar to the Hebrew word for 'living being.'” (Anchor Bible
Dictionary)….
“Before her creation, Satan, who like Eve had been created a holy being, led a rebellion against
the Creator and was cast from his high estate. Now he begins his rebellion on earth and [being] with
one who is fascinated by his approach.” (All the Women of the Bible) “The woman is approached in
Gen. 3:1 by the snake and, as she says, is ‘tricked’ into eating the forbidden fruit.” (Eerdmans
Dictionary) The serpent led Eve to question the goodness of God and then to eat the forbidden fruit.
She afterward persuaded Adam to eat, who thus shared her guilt. The result was the fall of mortal man
and the origin of the mortal sin. “The story of mankind’s struggle in the world now began.” (Mysteries
of the Bible)….
Emmons, Myra, “Woman,” Christian Science Journal, Vol.41 (February 1924), p. 554.
--On page 463 of “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” Mrs. Eddy says, “A spiritual idea has
not a single element of error, and this truth removes properly whatever is offensive.”
• Since the spiritual idea of God—woman—does not contain “a single element of error,” it is
readily seen how remote this idea is from Eve, who is wholly an Adamic or material concept.
---Almost everyone will admit this, as the ages have credited Eve with being the source
of error. Poets and artists have striven, and are striving, to exalt Eve; religions have endeavored to
ennoble and protect her; but as Eve has never been the real woman, all efforts to convert her into an
object of worship have been defeated.
--In the true account of God’s spiritual creation, woman was not made to be “an help meet” for man.
• That was part of the Adam-dream. God is the origin of spiritual man. He made man perfect and
complete, fully endowed as the image and likeness of Elohim.
“a woman”
“As part of a complex argument about the relationship of believers to the law, Paul explains that
‘God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the
law’ (4:4-5).
“The phrase ‘born of a woman’ simply means a mortal human being (compare Job 14:1 and
Matt. 11:11), grounded in the Genesis creation narrative where, subsequent to the creation and actions
of the primordial couple, all humans are mortal and born of women. Here it thus highlights the
humanity (and mortality) of God’s son. The passage is unlikely to be an intentional reference to the
actual mother of Jesus.” (Women in Scripture)
Knott, Mrs. Annie Macmillan (CSB, Lecturer, Assistant Editor, Associate Editor, Trustee, Bible
Lesson Committee, and Director), “Christian Science, the True Idealism,” Christian Science Journal,
Vol.19 (June 1901), p. 210.
--We are told in the gospels that when the tragedy of Jesus' life was approaching,…a woman came, and
poured upon his head and feet a costly ointment…and he accepted at her hands this sacrament….
• It is well to recall also that to woman— last at the cross and first at the sepulchre—was given
the commission to announce to the world the triumphant news of the resurrection.
---We are told, too, that the women were present at the founding of the first Church,
praying with the disciples for the coming of the Holy Ghost, and St. Paul speaks of some of them as his
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Bible Characters for your weekly Bible study — May 3 - 9, 2010
co-laborers in the ministry, and says in his epistle to the Galatians, "God sent forth His Son, made of a
woman, made under the law."
• It is very clear, also, that when the world has gone forward with rapid strides, woman has been
in some degree conscious of her mission, and man has in a measure accorded to her her divine rights.
“a woman clothed with the sun”
"Women in Revelation represent apocalyptic symbolism, to which the key has been lost." (All of
the Women in the Bible)
"The woman is “not an actual woman, but a symbolic representation of Israel, pictured in the OT
as the wife of God.” (MacArthur Commentary)
“The woman in labor, clothed with the sun constitutes a central female presence in Revelation,
though mention of her is brief. She appears in the heavens as an astrological figure, with a crown of
twelve stars and the sun and moon under her feet (Rev 12:1).” (Women in Scripture) “By the twelve
stars we understand the twelve tribes of Israel. In Joseph’s dream (Genesis 37:9), the future glory of
these tribes is symbolized in the same way.” (All the Women of the Bible)
“Who will help me?,” Christian Science Monitor (31 August 1999), p. 23.
--“Who will help me?” I wondered.
• That’s a poignant question for any of us when problems seem overwhelming, and especially
when no help is at hand.
---I decided that I would take my question to God.
--Mary Baker Eddy, has commented on an allegory from the twelfth chapter of Revelation.
--A woman “clothed with the sun” gives birth to a child.
• Immediately, an ugly, evil dragon pursues the woman and her baby.
---The dragon sends out such a flood of water from its mouth that it looks as if both
mother and the child will be drowned.
• But, says the Bible, “The earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and
swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth” (verse 16).
--Somehow I felt greatly comforted.
Four Forms of Animal Magnetism
The Serpent
“SERPENT (ophis, in Greek; nacash, in Hebrew). Subtlety; a lie; the opposite of Truth, named
error; the first statement of mythology and idolatry; the belief in more than one God; animal
magnetism; the first lie of limitation; finity; the first claim that there is an opposite of Spirit, or
good, termed matter, or evil; the first delusion that error exists as fact; the first claim that sin,
sickness, and death are the realities of life. The first audible claim that God was not omnipotent
and that there was another power, named evil, which was as real and eternal as God, good.”
(S&H 594: 1)
(Abbreviated)
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Bible Characters for your weekly Bible study — May 3 - 9, 2010
“Serpents are mentioned often in the Bible, and a number of names are used for them.”
(Interpreter’s Dictionary) A serpent is a reptile, and in the Bible another name for snake; a symbol for
evil and Satan….
“In the Gen. 3 story of the fall of humanity, a crafty serpent (cf. Matt 10:16) talks Eve into eating
the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which she then hands to Adam.” (Eerdmans
Dictionary) "This story is now generally interpreted as a symbolic rather than literal representation of
the fall of man. The serpent serves in the story as the representative of that which opposes God and
good. There was probably some basis in current legendary or mythical ideas for such symbolism."
(Funk and Wagnalls Dictionary) "The typical form of the serpent and its mode of progression were in
all probability the same before the Fall as after it; but subsequent to the Fall its form and progression
were to be regarded with hatred and disgust by all mankind, and thus the animal was cursed above all
'cattle,' and a mark of condemnation was forever stamped upon it." (Smith's Dictionary)….
Tsarnas, Donna P. (CS, Deerfield, FL) “Serpent,” THE LANGUAGE OF SPIRIT, Christian Science
Journal, Vol.127 (February 2009), p. 55.
--The mistaken idea of a serpent stems from a dream or a mist, which originates with the mythical Bible
story of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden.
--…in the allegory of Eve (see Gen. 3:1-6), she is tempted by a “serpent” who makes her doubt her true
identity as the perfect reflection of a perfect Father-Mother, God.
• The talking snake asks Eve to trust something foreign—to trust the five material senses, which
tell us that life is both good and evil.
---Her uncertainty about God’s unchangeable laws of good, and her acceptance of the
serpent’s wily whisperings, leads her to the hardships that come from believing we have to take the
good with the bad.
• A fate that our loving Father-Mother, God, could never have bestowed upon us.
Satan
(Abbreviated)
Satan is "the name of the archenemy of God and the personification of evil, particularly in
Christian tradition. The name may derive from a Semitic root śţn, but the primitive meaning is still
debated, the most popular suggestions being 'to be remote' and 'to obstruct.'" (Oxford Guide to People &
Places) "When used as a proper name, the Hebrew word so rendered has the article "the adversary"
(Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7)." (Easton Bible Dictionary) "It is used as a proper noun or title only four times in
the Old Testament, viz. (with the article) in Job 1:6,12; 2:1; Zech. 3:1, and (without the article) in 1
Chron. 21:1." (Peloubet's Dictionary) "In the prologue of Job and Zach.3 'the' śāţān is identified
specifically as one of 'the sons of Elohim,' a full-fledged member of the heavenly court, upon whom lies
the task of indicting and prosecuting sinners before the bar of divine justice." (Eerdmans Dictionary)….
He is also called "the dragon," "the old serpent" (Rev 12:9; 20:2); "the prince of this world"
(John 12:31; 14:30); "the prince of the power of the air" (Eph 2:2); "the god of this world" (II Cor 4:4);
"the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience" (Eph 2:2). The distinct personality of
Satan and his activity among men are thus obviously recognized. He tempted our Lord in the
wilderness (Matt 4:1-11). He is "Beelzebub, the prince of the devils" (12:24). He is "the constant
enemy of God, of Christ, of the divine kingdom, of the followers of Christ, and of all truth; full of
falsehood and all malice, and exciting and seducing to evil in every possible way." His power is very
great in the world. He is a "roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Pet 5:8). Men are said to be
"taken captive by him" (II Tim 2:26). Christians are warned against his "devices" (II Cor 2:11), and
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Bible Characters for your weekly Bible study — May 3 - 9, 2010
called on to "resist" him (James 4:7). Christ redeems his people from "him that had the power of death,
that is, the devil" (Heb 2:14). Satan has the "power of death," not as lord, but simply as executioner….
Reynolds, Lucy Hays, “Satan Falls,” Christian Science Journal, Vol.72 (March 1954), p. 135.
--Many years ago, according to an account in the tenth chapter of Luke’s Gospel, the most spiritually
powerful man who ever lived, even Christ Jesus, appointed seventy of his students to go on a very
important mission in preparing the way for his work in other places.
--Through Christian Science it is learned that Satan, or devil, is never a person, but is made up of the
counterfeit forces of human will, bestial ferocity, and the murderous instincts of the carnal mind, or
animal magnetism. Satan is the serpent that has deceived the human race throughout the ages, as in the
allegorical portrayal of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, where the belief that good and evil could
mingle was instituted to deceive and dominate mankind.
--Even the highest morale of the human mind cannot command or destroy the so-called forces of animal
magnetism, because of its belief in the reality of both good and evil.
“a great red dragon”
“RED DRAGON. Error; fear; inflammation; sensuality; subtlety; animal magnetism;
envy; revenge.” (S&H 593: 7)
The dragon is “a reptilian monster well known in the mythology and iconography of the ancient
Near East.” (HarperCollins Dictionary) "'Dragon' is an increasingly less frequent rendering of Hebrew
terminology in recent English versions of the OT." (Eerdmans Dictionary)
“The dragon of N.T. imagery is ‘the old serpent,’ the Devil (Rev. 12: 9; 20:2), who is
symbolically portrayed as red in color and having 7 heads, 10 horns, an enormous tail, and a huge
mouth, from which he was able to cast forth water like a river after those whom he would destroy (ch.
12:3-4; 15; 16:13).” (Westminster Dictionary) “In the New Testament the word ‘dragon’ is found only
in the 12th chapter of Revelation, and is there used metaphorically of ‘Satan.’" (Easton Dictionary) "As
in the Old Testament texts, the dragon is put under guard (Rev 20:1-3; see (Job 7:12) and later released
for final destruction (Rev 20:7-10; see Isa 27:1)." (Holman Bible Dictionary)
“The first great enemy of Christ’s Church, the cause of all the hostility against her, is Satan.
Christ suffered his enmity, but passed through it triumphantly. Satan is already conquered in principle,
though for a short time the Christian Church experiences his malignity.” (Dummelow)
Miller, Andrea, “Fighting dragons,” FOR CHILDREN, Christian Science Sentinel, Vol.97 (1 April
1995), p. 23.
--Do you know there are dragons in the Bible?
• You can find a story of a fight against a dragon in chapter 12 of the book of Revelation. There
we read about Michael and his angels casting out the great red dragon.
--Well, we know that fire-breathing dragons are not actual animals but imaginary creatures that can
seem to be rather scary.
• So why do you suppose this story about a dragon is in the Bible?
--We know the Bible teaches us about God.
• Throughout the Scriptures we learn that God is always good and all-powerful, and that He
loves and cares for all His children.
--When the Bible says that Michael and his angels cast out the dragon, or evil, that reminds us that God,
good, is the only power.
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“the Devil”
[Dev’uhl] (Gr. diabolis “accuser” or “slanderer”)
“DEVIL. Evil; a lie; error; neither corporeality nor mind; the opposite of Truth; a belief
in sin, sickness, and death; animal magnetism or hypnotism; the lust of the flesh, which
saith: ‘I am life and intelligence in matter. There is more than one mind, for I am mind, —
a wicked mind, self-made or created by a tribal god and put into the opposite of mind,
termed matter, thence to reproduce a mortal universe, including man, not after the image
and likeness of Spirit, but after its own image.’" (S&H 584:17)
(Abbreviated)
The word devil is “used in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew ‘Satan’ and in the NT as a
virtual synonym for the same term. In the KJV, it is also regularly employed as a translation of another
Greek word (daimón), which, however, in the RSV is translated as 'demon.'” (HarperCollins
Dictionary)
The devil is “the personal dimension of that which opposes God’s purposes in His world. For
some people, belief in a personal Satan is part of mankind's nursery furniture.” (Holman Dictionary) He
is portrayed as a slanderer, the arch-enemy of man's spiritual interest in Job, Zechariah, and Revelation.
The devil is called also "the accuser of the brethren" in Revelation….
“Laugh at the devil!,” Christian Science Monitor (28 June 1977), p. 19.
--…the essence of the devil in our everyday lives is whatever in our thought opposes God, divine Truth,
Love.
• How often God-inspired laughter has broken the spell of sorrow or sickness!
--The Psalmist records laughter that is born of joy and gratitude, “Then was our mouth filled with
laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great
things for them.” [Ps 126:2]
--It is the most God-inspired who fear the devil the least.
• And when we fully understand our unity with God, who is all good, we will see there is no
devil, or evil, to fear in any way.
---In the Bible we read: “Rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the
inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because
he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” [Rev 12:12]
• Evil may roar loudest when nearing the end, but this is no reason for us to take it at its own
evaluation.
---All the noise cannot make a lie true.
GOLDEN TEXT: Paul fears that the serpent will deceive the Corinthian church just as he once
deceived Eve (II Cor 11: 3 I fear)
RELATED SCRIPTURE: Gen 3: 1-15
TIME LINE AND AUTHOR: Paul wrote this second letter to the church at Corinth during his 2nd
missionary journey, late 55 AD or early 56 AD, after he left Ephesus.
“Paul compares the danger facing the Corinthian church to Eve’s deception by Satan. He feared
the Corinthians, like Eve, would fall prey to satanic lies and have their minds corrupted.” (MacArthur
Bible Commentary)
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Pottol, Charles Willis, “Discovering ‘the simplicity that is in Christ,’” Christian Science Journal,
Vol.109 (August 1991), p. 7.
--One of the most powerful aspects of Christian Science is its profound simplicity.
• Unfortunately, we frequently lose sight of this simplicity, or obscure it, because in our human
efforts to “learn” this Science, and to live it, we tend to picture it as a complex array of individual
“truths” to be acquired or “mastered,” rather than one integrated, seamless whole.
--This tendency of the human mind could well be part of what the Apostle Paul was concerned with
when he wrote, “But I fear lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your
minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is Christ.” [II Cor 11:3]
• Our great need is to reject this corrupting influence of the so-called mortal mind—the
erroneous belief that mind is in matter and is capable of both good and evil—and accept “the simplicity
that is in Christ.”
--When thought dwells in this Christly simplicity, one begins to glimpse the fact that all that Christian
Science teaches derives from, and is embraced in, the simple truth that God is All, and this allness
includes His spiritual creation, man and the universe.
RESPONSIVE READING: The serpent’s temptation, and Adam’s disobedience (Gen 3: 1-6)
TIME LINE AND AUTHOR: Ascribed to Moses, written after the Exodus @1445 BC, but before
Moses’ death @1405 BC. The events occurred centuries earlier.
“Central elements in the Yahwist’s presentation of the human tragedy are the related ideas of the
forbidden knowledge and the loss of immortality.” (Peake’s Commentary) “This chapter describes
how ‘by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin’ (Rom 5:12).” (Dummelow Commentary)
“The serpent, a manifestation of Satan, appears for the first time before the Fall of man."
(MacArthur Bible Commentary)" With an innocent question [v.1] the serpent awakens the woman's
dormant desire for the forbidden tree and arouses her inchoate feelings of rebellion at being denied its
fruit." (Interpreter's One-volume Commentary)
“Instead of turning away, the woman engages in dialog with the serpent [v.2], thereby revealing
that she did not really realize that the serpent was her enemy.” (King James Bible Commentary)
“This verse [6] records the tragic story of the fall of mankind.” (Ibid)
Soost, Martha E.A., “Our Bible Lessons,” Christian Science Sentinel, Vol.32 (26 April 1930), p. 665.
--…the Bible verse, Genesis 3:6, which deals with Eve’s temptation, may not at first sight seem to
contain anything especially important.
• And yet, does it not show us how evil may find entrance to our consciousness?
---Evil first becomes evident when we allow ourselves to be led astray into looking at it;
then comes the thought that it must be desirable, because it appears to be pleasing and is something
hitherto unknown in our experience.
---Next follows acceptance, and thus the evil which seemed so alluring finds a starting
point from which to grow and propagate itself.
• In this manner the Bible shows us plainly what we have to guard against.
Paul warns of Satan, and promises his destruction (Rom 16: 19 I would, 20)
RELATED SCRIPTURE: Gen 3:15; Acts 12:7; 22:18; Rom 15:33; I Cor 13:6; Heb 13:20; Rev
22:7,12,20
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TIME LINE AND AUTHOR: Written by Paul at Corinth to the church at Rome toward the close of his
third missionary journey (most likely in 64 AD).
“Paul considers it necessary to insert into his greetings of love this caution [vv.17-20] against
harmful teachings and practices that undermine the truth of Christianity and are its greatest threat.
Genuine love will be ready to forgive evil, but it will not condone or ignore it. Those such as Paul, who
truly love other believers who are dear to them, will warn them about sin and harm.” (MacArthur Bible
Commentary)
Knott, Mrs. Annie MacMillan (CSB, Lecturer, Assistant Editor, Associate Editor, Trustee, Bible
Lesson Committee, and Director), “Greetings,” EDITORIAL, Christian Science Sentinel, Vol.13 (28
November 1914), p. 250.
--THOSE who are privileged to attend, regularly or frequently, the Wednesday evening meetings in The
Mother Church, become familiar with the statement which often accompanies the testimony of a
visiting member from one of its numerous branches, "I bring greetings," and then is given the name of
the church to which the speaker belongs.
--In the sixteenth chapter of Paul's epistle to the Romans we find a deeply interesting review of the
spiritual history of that time.
• The names of both men and women, as found in this chapter, would indicate that they were of
different nationalities, but the one thing which bound them to Paul and to one another was the fact that
they were "in Christ," and with touching humility Paul says that some of them were in Christ before he
was. While Paul warns the Christians in Rome against those who would "cause divisions and offenses,"
he goes on to say, "Yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil."
__________, EDITOR’S TABLE, Christian Science Journal, Vol.22 (2 May 1904), p. 126.
--AMONG the many invaluable lessons given us by our Leader, that on "Obedience" is a chart and
compass to the worker in Christian Science at whatever stage of his progress he may be.
--Like all spiritual unfoldment, the true sense of obedience is progressive, and is better expressed as our
capacities are scientifically developed. The Bible says, "As by one man's disobedience many were made
sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." Should not this inspire all who love
Christian Science to greater watchfulness and prayer, that not one "jot or tittle" of its rules and
requirements be disregarded by any one of us lest many be thereby led astray.
--Paul's words to the early Christians at Rome may well be pondered by us, "For your obedience," says
he, "is come abroad unto all men. I am glad, therefore, on your behalf."
• When these words can be truly spoken of by all Christian Scientists, the added promise of the
apostle will surely be realized: "And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet."
SECTION I: Adam’s deceit, despair, and defense (Gen 3: 8 and Adam, 9, 11-13 Hast)
TIME LINE AND AUTHOR: Ascribed to Moses, written after the Exodus @1445 BC, but before
Moses’ death @1405 BC. The events occurred centuries earlier.
“Now follows a swift trial. The divine interrogation is not to elicit information but confession,
and this discloses further effects of their disobedience. As the man blames the woman, and the woman
blames the snake, the extent of the alienation becomes apparent: it is not just between man and God,
but between husband and wife, and between the animal and the human world.” (Eerdmans
Commentary)
“Consciousness is a witness-bearer to God. Accordingly the accusing voice of conscience is
followed by that of God in judgment” [vv.8-13]. (Dummelow Commentary)
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Bible Characters for your weekly Bible study — May 3 - 9, 2010
“The question, Where are you?, was God’s way of bringing man to explain why he was hiding,
rather than expressing ignorance about man’s location.” (MacArthur Bible Commentary) "As for the
curse on the man, Ecclesiastes offers the fullest commentary on the frustrations of all human existence,
which ends in death (3:19; cf. Ecclesiastes 6,9,12; Rom 5:12-21)." (Eerdmans Commentary)
Piele, Felite Henson, “’Where art thou?,’” Christian Science Sentinel (25 Jun 1960), p. 1112.
--In the allegory of Adam, given in the Bible, we find that Adam is pictured as so taken up with evil, or
mortal mind, and its appearing that he was afraid and tried to hide himself from God’s arresting
question, “Where art thou?” (Gen 3:9).
--Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health (pp.307,308): “Above error's awful din, blackness, and
chaos, the voice of Truth still calls: ‘Adam, where art thou? Consciousness, where art thou? Art thou
dwelling in the belief that mind is in matter, and that evil is mind, or art thou in the living faith that
there is and can be but one God, and keeping His commandment?’”
--One of the important things we learn to do in the study of Christian Science is to distinguish between
divine Mind and mortal mind.
• Mrs. Eddy uses Mind as a definitive term for God and capitalizes it whenever it is used to
designate Him. Man is the reflection of Mind and has no other Mind.
--Mrs. Eddy has introduced the term “mortal mind” to designate the origin of all erroneous concepts.
This so-called mind represents everything that is finite and limited in contrast to the infinite and
unlimited divine Mind.
SECTION III: God imposes a curse on the serpent (Gen 3: 14, 15)
TIME LINE AND AUTHOR: Ascribed to Moses, written after the Exodus @1445 BC, but before
Moses’ death @1405 BC. The events occurred centuries earlier.
“The curse pronounced upon the serpent explains etiologically: (a) why serpents have no legs—
the myth seems to imply that formerly they had walked like other animals—and (b) why, as was
supposed, they ate dust. Thus in vs. 14 two physical characteristics—one real, the other imaginary—of
the animal are accounted for. Vs. 15, on the other hand, deals with a psychological characteristic, not
only of the serpent, but also of man—the ineradicable hostility between them.” (Interpreter’s Bible)
Lewis, Hortense W., “’Shall the dust praise thee?,’” Christian Science Sentinel, Vol.20 (24 August
1918), p. 1024.
--On page 584 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mrs. Eddy defines dust as
"nothingness; the absence of substance, life, or intelligence;" and surely nothingness is not that which
can satisfy or attract man, or which can frighten man as the reflection of intelligence, the expression of
substance, and the evidence of Life.
• Dust is valueless to man, but in Genesis we read that God said to the serpent, "Because thou
hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt
thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life."
---"And dust shall be the serpent's meat," is the statement made by Isaiah.
• It is only as we become conscious of the somethingness, indeed the allness of the spiritual, of
Mind and its manifestation, that we detect the deception of that serpent, which is fully defined on page
594 of Science and Health for our enlightenment and protection.
We are redeemed through the “Spirit of his Son” (Gal 4: 4-7 when)
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TIME LINE AND AUTHOR: "Galatians is one of thirteen inspired letters [Paul] addressed to Gentile
congregations or his fellow workers." (MacArthur Bible Commentary) Written shortly after the
Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 @ 49 AD.
“This [born under the law, v.4] also identifies Jesus not only with Jews but with all people, for
human existence as such is servitude to law. Jesus was indeed a Jew (Rom. 1:3), but Paul’s point here
is not the Jewishness of Jesus, but his accepting the conditions of human life as such, sharing its
restrictions with all other human beings.” (People’s NT Commentary)
“Because He Soars!,” FOR YOUNG PEOPLE, Christian Science Monitor (22 March 1994), p. 19.
--God’s love isn’t far removed from daily experience…Just the reverse!
• His love is in our hearts.
---But if we lose sight of God, that love may seem to be covered over with fear or ill will
or resentment.
• Then, we might well feel that our aspirations have stopped soaring Godward.
---But our soaring can’t ever truly stop, because God is even now pouring the spirit of
His love into our hearts.
• In Galatians the Bible says, “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son
into your hearts, crying , Abba, Father” (4:6).
---This is the source of the soaring aspiration after good that will wash away fear and
resentment if we will let it.
SECTION IV: Jesus heals the blind man at the pool of Siloam (John 9: 1-3, 6, 7, 14, 16 [to 1st .], 29,
30, 32-34, 39 [to ;])
TIME LINE: The Year of Opposition and Development (Jesus’ 3rd year of ministry), October, 29 AD
in Jerusalem
“a man which was blind from his birth”
This healing probably occurs on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. "As in chapter 5, a miracle
takes place in a pool on a Sabbath day, and provokes violent debates." (Oxford Commentary) "The
initial scene (vv. 1-7) describes the miracle of Jesus giving sight to the man blind from birth."
(HarperCollins Commentary)
“The incurable spiritual blindness of the ‘Jews’ is now dramatically illustrated in the great sign
of healing of a man physically born blind.” (Interpreter’s One-volume Commentary) “Like the previous
story of the Samaritan woman’s encounter with Jesus, the story of the blind man is a carefully
constructed drama with several scenes building to a decisive climax. It continues the themes of light,
sight, and blindness begun in ch. 8 and functions both as a positive illustration of Jesus’ role as ‘light’
and as a negative depiction of his opponents’ blindness.” (Eerdmans Commentary)
“Four features highlight this healing:
(1)
the problem that precipitated the healing (v.1);
(2)
the purpose for the man’s being born blind (vv.2-5);
(3)
the power that healed him (vv.6,7); and
(4)
the perplexity of the people who saw the healing (vv.8-13).” (MacArthur’s
Commentary)
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Bible Characters for your weekly Bible study — May 3 - 9, 2010
“It is intended to illustrate the truth that Christ is ‘the Light of the world.’ [Jesus] proves his
power to open the eyes of the soul by opening the eyes of the body. The miracles, being wrought on the
Sabbath day, intensified the hostility of the rulers, which had already been violently inflamed by
[previous] discourses.” (Dummelow)
"The blind man does not approach him, but is singled out by Jesus' own will (cf 5:6)." (Peake's
Commentary) “The disciples (v.2) need not be Galilæan, but may be Judæan.” (Abingdon
Commentary) “Verse 2 [also] indicates that “the disciples thought that possibly the man had sinned,
either in a previous state of existence (in accordance with the doctrine of the transmigration of souls), or
more probably as an infant before birth. To the Jews who attributed intelligence to unborn children, this
last was a natural idea.” (Dummelow)
“The term Siloam [v.7] is Hebrew for ‘Sent.’” (MacArthur Bible Commentary)
"While verses 1-34 dealt with Jesus' restoration of physical sight in the blind man, verses 35-41
featured Jesus bringing spiritual 'light' to him." (MacArthur Bible Commentary)
“Not that [his] purpose was to condemn [For judgment, v.39] but rather to save (12:47; Luke
19:10); saving some, nevertheless, involves condemning others.” (Ibid)
“his parents” (Mother of the Blind Son)
"The mother of the blind son (John 9:2,3,18,20,22,23) figures in the story of Jesus' healing of
her son. She testified to doubting Jews that her son was blind from birth." (All of the Women of the
Bible) “The blind man’s mother does not appear as a separate character but is included along with the
man’s father in the references to his parents. This mode of reference may stem from the story's source
or the history of its transmission. In the Johannine context, this female parent, who fears the
consequences of faith, contrasts with the other Johannine women, all of whom are believers in the
followers of Jesus. The indirectness of her portrayal draws attention away from her specific identity
and hence does not disturb the Johannine pattern of positive representation of women characters.”
(Women in Scripture)
“After the man had received his sight, his parents were summoned before the Pharisees to testify
that their son had been born blind and to explain how he had been healed.” (All of the Women of the
Bible)
Abbott, Lyman S., “The Healing of the Man Born Blind,” Christian Science Sentinel, Vol.37 (6
April 1935), p. 624.
--In the ninth chapter of John’s Gospel is recorded the healing of a man who was born blind.
•…John attached great importance to this incident, for he goes into much detail
--Generally speaking, a so-called law of heredity had to be broken.
• Are there not many such false laws that should be broken today? False appetites, passions,
anger, hatred, revenge, disease, and sin must be recognized as powerless to hold one in bondage.
--Why did Jesus anoint the man’s eyes with the moistened clay?
• He knew there was no healing efficacy in the clay, but the man himself must be aroused to his
real need.
---By placing the moistened clay on his eyes Jesus brought home to the man his lack of
vision, and then bade him “go, wash in the pool of Siloam.” His readiness to be healed was tested; there
must be conscious effort on his part; he must do something for himself.
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Bible Characters for your weekly Bible study — May 3 - 9, 2010
Morrison, Lilian S., “’Who did sin?’,” Christian Science Sentinel, Vol.26 (6 October 1923), p. 106.
--The Scriptural account of the healing of the one born blind, given in the ninth chapter of John, has
given much thought to the Christian Scientist. Its meaning was not at first clear to one student; for there
had persisted the troubled sense that God had either created or permitted evil, in order that the supreme
power of good might be proved, as the words, “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that
the works of God should be made manifest in him”[v.3], seem to imply. In Christian Science we learn
that God does not create evil or permit it that good may come; for a perfect creator could not possibly
create anything unlike good, since like produces like.
--In the question his disciples put to Jesus, “Who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born
blind?” [v.2] the belief is expressed that one may suffer for the sins of his ancestors; although in
Ezekiel it is stated explicitly that one is not punished for another’s transgressions.
--Jesus refused to admit any reality in blindness, since it was not according to God’s will. He began
with spiritual causation, and saw God’s man, sinless, spiritual, and perfect, not sinning, material, or
imperfect
Burgess, F. Ina, “Glorified,” POEM, Christian Science Sentinel, Vol.39 (2 January 1937), p. 348.
I have so often thought of him—
That man of old who was born blind,
Who never once had seen the dawn
Pour down the dusky purple hills
Like liquid gold spilled slowly from
The brimming goblet of the sun;
Who never once had watched unfold
The petaled beauty of a flower,
Or seen the pearly loveliness
A new moon forms against the night….
In that sublime and wondrous hour,
All earthly grandeur must have seemed
A radiant promise of the real,
To him who had been glorified
To feel the pure transcendent power
Of conscious fellowship with Christ!
SECTION V: Resurrection is important to the prophetic teaching of the gospel (I Cor 15: 22, 25, 28)
AUTHOR AND TIME LINE: Written by Paul to the church at Corinth in the first half of 55 AD from
Ephesus while on his 3rd missionary journey.
“This chapter is the most extensive treatment of resurrection in the Bible. Both the Resurrection
of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Gospels and the resurrection of believers as promised in the Gospels
are here explained.” (MacArthur’s Commentary) "Paul sets out what he wants to be understood as the
common ground which unites them all: 'the gospel' of Christ crucified and risen." (Eerdmans
Commentary)
“Corinthian doubts have challenged a basic element in Paul’s theology, and he now
demonstrates the pivotal significance of the resurrection of Jesus within the scheme of salvation (vv.
20-8).” (Oxford Bible Commentary)
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Bible Characters for your weekly Bible study — May 3 - 9, 2010
Henry, Sibyl, “’In Christ shall all be made alive,’” Christian Science Sentinel, Vol.88 (1 September
1986), p. 1607.
--“As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” [I Cor 15: 22]
• These words from First Corinthians repeatedly rang in my thought as I was confined to my bed
in a hazy stupor.
--I thought: “I call myself a Christian Scientist; therefore I am committed to follow Christ….”
--Jesus rebuked sin; Adam indulged in it.
• Jesus healed sin, sickness, and even death.
---Adam and his progeny were victims of these.
• Whom, then, do we need to accept and trust as God’s true representative?
---Adam, whom is only a dream figure, or Christ Jesus?
• In divine Science there really is no choice.
---There is only God and His spiritual creation, including man. That is what Christianly
scientific healing proves.
Good prevails, as Satan is cast down after persecuting the woman and her child (Rev 12:
1-5, 7 [to :], 9 10)
TIME LINE AND AUTHOR: Written 93-96 AD, probably by John at Patmos, to the first-century
Christians in Asia [Turkey] who were in a crisis of identity.
“This is the first of seven signs in the last half of Revelation.” (MacArthur Commentary)
“The persecution which the Church had already suffered, and which was about to burst forth
again, is the great fact which underlies the whole ‘Revelation.’” (Dummelow Commentary)
“The Church of both the Old Testament and the New Testament covenants, is shown under the
figure of a woman, clothed with heavenly glory (v.1) from whom the Messiah is about to come….She is
opposed by the devil (v.9) pictured as a dragon, red with blood of the saints.” (Ibid)
"In language adapted from Ps.2:6 the Messiah is described as one destined to rule all nations
with a rod of iron [v.4]." (Interpreter's One-volume Commentary)
“Despite Satan’s efforts to destroy Israel and the messianic line, Jesus’ birth took place as
predicted by the prophets [she brought forth a man child, v.5].” (MacArthur Bible Commentary)
Verses 7-12 are "an episode prior in time to vv.1-6 and explanatory of them. There had been
war in heaven, and Michael and his angels had prevailed, and hurled Satan down to earth (cf. Isa 14:12,
Luke 10:18, John 12:31)." (Abingdon Bible Commentary)
Temperley, Geraldine, "Finding Spiritual Peace in the Midst of War," Christian Science Sentinel,
Vol. 43 (23 August 1941), p. 1012.
--Actually there is no war on, in the realm of Spirit, the only true realm, where our life and being are
"hid with Christ in God." And if our true life is lived with Christ in the spiritual realm, then our
expectations of good, as students of Christian Science, should not be straightened or diminished by a
belief which remains and operates only in the material world.
--But how, one may ask, can we see the unreality of war…?
--In refreshing our spiritual vision, it is therefore helpful to remember that the sum total of all the beliefs
of war can never be anything more or less than the claim of animal magnetism. On this subject Mary
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Baker Eddy has written in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p.102), "The mild forms of
animal magnetism are disappearing, and its aggressive features are coming to the front."
--When we realize that every result of war is but a phase of an evil dream which St. John saw
personified as the great red dragon, then we shall no more fear it or be mesmerized by it than by any
other phase of animal magnetism which we are required to destroy.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
The Bibliography is provided only in the notes of the first Sunday of the month.
*The weekly Bible Lessons are made up of selections from the King James Version of the Bible
and the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy,
the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science.
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