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TRUTH VERSUS ERROR
Picture Number 10
Today, as oft, away from sin
Christ
summons thee:
Truth pleads tonight: Just take Me in!
No mass for Me!
Scriptural basis:
Behold I stand
at the door, and knock,
if any man hear my voice, and open the
door,
I will come in to him, and will sup with him,
and he
with me. - Christ Jesus
Truth knocks at the portal of humanity the world. Mrs.
Eddy wanted to bring the world up to her own revelation of Truth. Mary Baker
Eddy is knocking at the door of world thought, world consciousness. She writes,
"Truth, independent of doctrines and time-honored systems, knocks at the portal
of humanity and asks, 'Will you open or close the door upon this angel
visitant, who cometh in the quiet of meekness, as he came of old to the
patriarch at noonday?'" (S&H 224:22).
Jesus made a far-reaching utterance when he said, "The
kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven which a woman took, and hid in three
measures of meal, until the whole was leavened." He was telling us that this
woman Mary Baker Eddy in the Second Coming of the Christ must place in
"Science, Theology, Medicine" the "leaven" of the "Comforter" until the whole
of mortal thought is changed "as yeast changes the chemical properties of
meal." "When placed under a microscope, the working of leaven looks like a
veritable battlefield. There is assault and penetration in the face of
determined resistance until peace descends after the whole has been conquered"
(Abbingdon's Bible Commentary).
The first step in overcoming error is to recognize it
as an illusion, and specifically denounce it. The second step is to know what
the fact is, and HOLD TO IT. We must see things as
THOUGHTS; then we can make the exchange and behold the perfect
man. The objects of sense must be exchanged for the ideas of Soul (true
identity). A matter body is nothing but hypnotic thought. We are dealing with
hypnotism, with illusion, when we deal with matter. But all the while that we
are under hypnotic suggestion and seeing matter, the omnipresence of present
perfection (Mind's ideal) is just as real and just as near as 2X2=4, or as the
round earth was when everyone thought it was flat. The constant desire to know
ourselves as we really are is "praying without ceasing" it is silencing the
material senses, as "in the quiet sanctuary of earnest longings we deny sin and
plead [infinite good's] allness."
ALICE ORGAIN:
The scriptural "basis" of this tenth picture was
attributed to St. John in the "Glossary" of Christ and Christmas in all
editions up to its ninth edition, in 1910, but was then accredited to "Christ
Jesus," as now, in line with St. John's introductory statement of the source of
his Revelation as being: "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which
God gave unto him . . . and He sent and signified it...unto his servant John"
(Rev. l:1). Thus Mrs. Eddy accepted for the ascended Jesus the Revelation of
St. John, of which St. John was but the scribe.
The title of this picture is "Truth versus Error."
Truth is equated with manhood (S&H 517:8), yet the main figure in this
picture is a woman. Elsewhere Mrs. Eddy has spoken of Truth, typed by manhood,
rather than Love, typed by Womanhood, knocking "at the portal of humanity."
Here, in this tenth picture, she presents Truth as a woman [Woman as Science].
It follows that Truth is the embraced manhood of Woman. In the City foursquare,
[your divine consciousness,] Jesus' second appearing as Truth, or manhood, is
embraced in Love, Womanhood, thus giving Womanhood, as Love, the foundation of
Truth. This completes Mrs. Eddy's definition of spiritual church in the
"Glossary" of Science and Health as "the structure of Truth and Love."
"Union of the masculine and feminine qualities
constitutes completeness" (S&H 57:4). "The second appearing of Jesus is,
unquestionably, the spiritual advent of the advancing idea of God as in
[embraced in] Christian Science" (Ret. 70:20, emphasis added).
This tenth picture presents Womanhood [Science] as the
Bride of the City foursquare, knocking at the third side of the City
foursquare. This third side is Christianity, typed by the heavenly branches.
Womanhood is pleading for the acceptance of the City's fourth side,
Science, typed by the second Concord Branch, for until Christianity is
one with Science it mistakes "doctrines and time-honored systems" for orderly
thinking. In other words, it mistakes the form of thought for the
spiritual essence of idea. Thus the fourth side of the City, namely
Science, is necessary to protect the spirit of Christianity from human
destruction by doctrinal forms.
Christian Science is the revelation of Womanhood
embracing Christianity as manhood. When Mrs. Eddy first introduced the
descending City foursquare in Science and Health (under the chapter entitled
"Wayside Hints" in the sixteenth to the fiftieth edition), she defined this
City in the following words:
"The Holy City [Bride (Rev. 21:2)], described in the
Apocalypse as coming from God out of heaven [infinite good, "the kingdom of God
within you" as your true consciousness], is Christian Science" (S&H 225)
Womanhood. She presented this City in general characterization as "an
assemblage of people for high purposes." "An assemblage" suggests its
generic character. Mrs. Eddy describes in minute and extensive
particularization all the active functions of a literal earthly city and
includes a description of its manhood (form) phases, such as sides,
foundations, squareness, and gates, which the Bible presents as "walls,"
"foundations," "foursquare," "measure," and "gates." This detailing of literal
city activities showed the fullness of expression which the word "city" types
as the generic character of the Bride. Its descriptive embrace of the Bible
(form) phases suggests the Bride's encompassment of Christianity, or
manhood.
The walls of the City were its specific
limitations in the unfolding phases of the Word. In her first presentation (in
the sixteenth edition of Science and Health, page 233) Mrs. Eddy defined the
"walls" as "the Bible, Jesus, Christianity, Science." These are the four
progressive phases of salvation of which Isaiah prophesied in his pre-vision of
the City foursquare, saying, "...thou shalt call thy walls Salvation" (Isa.
60:18). Manhood,redemption is the province of Womanhood as Love, for Mrs. Eddy
speaks of "all [as being]...redeemed through divine Love" (S&H 26:8). In
the current edition of Science and Health the walls of the City are defined by
Mrs. Eddy as "the Word, Christ, Christianity, Science." Thus in the unfolding
Word, but one side of the City was viewed at a time until the final enclosure
of the Bride as Word was complete.
The Woman knocking on the door, MORTAL MIND, in this
tenth picture, is "white-robed purity that will unite in one person masculine
wisdom and feminine love..." (S&H 64:23). Thus she types
Womanhood as the composite Bride [Science], or the descending
City foursquare (meaning the coincidence of the divine with the human). This
will turn us away from sin. As the poem states: "Today, as oft, away from
sin, Christ summons thee! [Know nothing of it, because your
mind is filled with infinite good]. Truth pleads tonight, Just take Me
in! No mass [no illusion, no hypnotism] for Me!" (But give Me [infinite good,
Science] all thy heart from sin be cleansed, be
free!)"
Those in the house, in this tenth picture, present a
reversal to treading the "winepress" because their "church" is a personal
worship on the outside instead of an impersonal devotion to idea on the
inside of their house [consciousness, the kingdom of God within their
consciousness, their true Mind] (S&H 578:17). The sword of Spirit must
yield to the inherent power of Love, meaning manhood must yield to Womanhood,
they must be one. Mrs. Eddy defined "Salvation" as "Life, Truth,
and Love understood and demonstrated" (S&H 593:20), that is, as Womanhood.
By a long and toilsome upward process for the salvation of others, Mary Baker
Eddy thus came up out of the baptismal waters of sacrificial Christianity. This
typed manhood, as when she (in 1902) lifted her "man child" (Jesus) up to
Womanhood [Science] as his objective Bride.
In reality "man is as perfect now, and henceforth, and
forever, as when the stars first sang together, and creation joined in the
grand chorus of harmonious being" (Mis. 133:3). "The more I understand
true humanhood, the more I see it to be sinless, as ignorant of sin as is the
perfect Maker" (Un. 49:8).
This tenth picture is characterized by the Woman [Mary
Baker Eddy as she is found in her writing] symbolically calling all to her
position, namely the City foursquare, meaning the Bride or descending
consciousness [infinite good], the coincidence of the divine with the human,
that delivers us from sin. This tenth picture thus types the unfolding Word of
Chapter XVI of Science and Health, "The Apocalypse."
The Woman knocking at the door (mortal mind), types
her Truth element as the last expression of Church form, and her nameless (and,
therefore, unbounded) message types her boundless Love-nature. This picture
again points to "heaven here, the struggle over" (My. 158:13).
Woman [Science] must needs be the channel for the
fulfillment of the prophesied knock of Jesus upon world consciousness. Thus,
the Woman knocking on the door, in this tenth picture, types the City
foursquare knocking on the door of world consciousness, repeating Jesus'
words, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and
open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me"
(Rev. 3:20).
The verses of the poem that accompany this picture
urge: "Today, as oft, away from sin, Christ summons thee! Truth pleads
to-night: Just take Me in! No mass for Me!"
Inasmuch as Christ and Christmas is intended to
illustrate Mrs. Eddy's progressive mission, the question here arises, what
relationship does she bear to the Woman, typing Bride, and her Message in this
tenth picture? Mrs. Eddy directly answers this by identifying herself with the
message of the Woman, hence with the Woman herself, when she said, "Those who
look for me in person, or elsewhere than in my writing, lose me instead of find
me."
In line with this statement, each and every
statement in Christ and Christmas corresponds to a phase of Mrs. Eddy's
consciousness, and identifies itself with Mrs. Eddy. Thus when the Word
was complete, Mary Baker Eddy became the first Bride, for the "adorned"
(completed) Word is the bride" (My. 125:26).
Christ and Christmas presents the orderly
process through the progressive revisions of Science and Health by which
Christian Science is unfolded first to Mrs. Eddy's consciousness, and then,
through her, to the human consciousness. This is why Mrs. Eddy hoped all
editions of Science and Health would be preserved and read by Christian
Scientists.
HANNA?:
After "Christ's silent healing" [is "Heaven heard"
(See My. 120:2) as shown in picture eight,] the next step that is
revealed is for womanhood to begin to knock at the door of humanity. This is
revealed in "Truth versus Error."
This day the final appearing, womanhood, repeats the
earnest, insistent call to you, "Get away from sin." "Leave its grasp." In this
dark hour, true womanhood pleads to be taken into the hearts of mankind.
Womanhood wants no ceremony, no dead words. It wants a practical life, changed
by the touch of Love. This will happen if only we take in this divine Truth
that is Love. False manhood can no longer hold humanity captive through false
Pharisaical beliefs, if we take the divine idea into consciousness.
Womanhood is presenting the scroll of Truth which has
been revealed through that wonderful event in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1866. The
revelation that she [meaning her teaching] is the Woman referred to in
prophecy, giving the impersonal Christ to the world, pleads with mankind to
just let this Truth in.
What is it that opposes this truth about the woman? It
is malicious animal magnetism [hypnotic suggestion, illusion] in its specific
claims depicted in this picture, [with its mortal mind merry-making. It is all
the claims of the flesh, pleasure in matter, attractions of mortal mind, ease
in matter, sensuality, apathy, etc.]
Gilman, speaking about this picture [and of Love's and
Truth's appearing] says, "But one [thing] in particular she appeared to
emphasize, which called for the representation of Love and Truth's spiritual
idea in the most perfect form of feminine youthful beauty that I could
conceive, carrying the message of Christian Science Truth, and knocking at the
door of a palatial mansion, to represent the abode of material sense."
This palatial mansion is spoken of in the "Allegory"
in Miscellaneous Writings: "Pausing at the threshold of a palatial
dwelling, he knocks and waits. The door is shut. He hears the sounds of
festivity and mirth; youth, manhood, and age gaily tread the gorgeously
tapestried parlors, dancing--halls, and banquet--rooms. But a little while, and
the music is dull, the wine is unsipped, the footfalls abate, the laughter
ceases. Then from the window of this dwelling a face looks out, anxiously
surveying him who waiteth at the door. Within the mortal mansion are
adulterers, fornicators, idolaters; drunkenness, witchcraft, variance, envy,
emulation, hatred, wrath, murder. Appetites and passions have so dimmed their
sight that he alone who looks from that dwelling, through the clearer pane of
his own heart tired of sin, can see the Stranger" (Mis. 324:4-18).
It is easy to see that Mrs. Eddy has used this
allegory in her illustration "Truth versus Error"; only in this instance it is
a woman and not a man.
It is interesting that Gilman and Mrs. Eddy "looked
through an old photograph album and looked at pictures in other parts of the
house that resembled Mrs. Eddy 'as I used to look,' she said." That eventually
Mr. Gilman captured the right idea on canvas goes without saying. He records,
"As soon as Mrs. Eddy's eyes rested upon the picture, she was very still for a
moment and then she said, 'Laura, look here! look at that picture!' I began to
fear that it looked dreadful to her on account of the exposed shoulder and
breast, especially when Laura began to say, 'Oh! Why, Mother, Mother,' but
adding, 'Isn't that beautiful!' Beautiful reassured me, and Mrs. Eddy echoed
her words, and they both were in that joyousness that finds expression in
tears, and Mrs. Eddy was saying, 'It is the perfect representation of the idea
I had in thought, but could not exactly describe'...After this I went up to her
room where she was ready her sitting-room chamber, where she writes and attends
to her daily work and sketched her foot for this same picture."
The Revelator of Truth to this age is the spiritual
idea. The four square mat on which this spiritual idea stands, has foundation;
it is the city four square. The right foot is out and symbolizes dominion over
latent error and its claims, the source of all error's visible forms. Notice
that the ear is uncovered. She is listening for the call that needs help. There
is no star in this picture because there is no symbol of the light needed,
for the woman is the light. She is clothed in the third degree;
she is the spiritual idea generic man, the Christ. Notice the halo around her
head, the light of the Christ understanding, fulfilling "Christ Healing."
Christ and Christmas reveals the Woman's progressive mission. There is
no dingy drab outer robe, because this is the generic idea, the [everywhere
present] absolute Truth the spiritual concept of Woman, or Christ.
The childlike thought at the window perceives this
love of Womanhood, but its surroundings will not let it go to Truth. As the
child thought grows, it too will lose that childlikeness and become insensitive
to the pleas of Womanhood, as their elders are in this picture. The world
resists the day of the Woman.
Mrs. Eddy says, "The signs of these times portend a
long and strong determination of mankind to cleave to the world, the flesh, and
evil, causing great obscuration of Spirit. When we remember that God [infinite
good] is just, and admit the total depravity of mortals, alias mortal mind, and
that this Adam legacy must first be seen, and then must be subdued and
recompensed by justice, the eternal attribute of Truth, the outlook demands
labor, and the laborers seem few" (Miscellaneous Writings p. 2).
Materialistic mankind...is not awake to the call of
womanhood as Truth knocks at the portal of humanity. But the place of womanhood
has been established; it needs only to be taken in. The claims of malicious
animal magnetism [our ingrained false beliefs] would keep this from being done.
The results of lust and hatred represented in the house would keep Truth hidden
so its own claims of evil might be maintained and extended. Ignorant thinking
is clothed in dark materiality. Notice the blank faces. Lust and sensual
pleasure do not hear the voice and call of Truth.
The scene inside is lit with artificial light. Notice
the wine. Mrs. Eddy denotes "Wine" as: "Error; fornication; temptation;
passion" (S&H 598). This is not a pretty picture. Notice too that the
seating of man and woman is reversed from the picture "Christian Unity" which
depicts true manhood and womanhood. Woman is being manipulated in this
picture.
The little girl has her arms around the little boy
protecting him. The children naturally understand that womanhood includes
manhood within itself. Isn't it funny to see mortal mind spending so much time
dressing up and getting ready to deceive itself?
What is the foundation of all this gaiety and
frivolity? The black and white tiles symbolize hypocrisy, and indicate the same
two-faced ecclesiastic despotism that was in the first picture trying to appear
divine (white) but is really depravity (black). It is ecclesiasticism that
would keep tired humanity from seeing the truth of womanhood and Mary Baker
Eddy's place. Ecclesiasticism is actively at work to hide the woman's great
revelation. The room is mortal mind consciousness manipulated by
ecclesiasticism. The drapes that are pulled aside are error's ways of
influencing the world to evil. It says, "See what fun we are having, come and
join us."
Our precious Leader conquered every one of these lies
about man. Will you follow?
JOHN PAWLIK:
Child thought sees or perceives
Truth.
TRUTH versus ERROR
Truth pleads to-night: Just take Me
in!
No mass for Me!
This tenth illustration pictures the realm of mortal
mind; the woman [the Christ is] at the door of mortal-mind consciousness.
Through the window is seen the mortal-mind gaiety while only the children at
the window welcome Christian Science. The light from the star falls on the
woman who is to give true light to all the world.
This picture symbolizes Christian Science presented to
human consciousness. The dancing, drinking, pleasure-seeking mortal minds are
not interested [in what the woman has to give]. Only innocence and purity can
see and welcome the Truth: "...away from sin Christ summons thee!...No mass for
Me!" The Christ is to be lived now, without celebration for something that is
past and gone. "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: If any man hear my
voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he
with me" (Rev. 3:20).
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Remember in prayer the many
who are sick of our church and community. |
Star of Boston book sections
Introduction | Part 1a |
Part 1b | Part 2 |
Part 3
Christ & Christmas
Pictures
1 |
2 | 3 |
4 | 5 |
6 | 7 |
8 | 9 |
10 | 11
Summary |
Conclusion |
