human
Your loving MARION.
gpt
God is commanding us off, every hour of our lives, toward things eternal, there to find our good, and build our rest. Sometimes He does it by taking us out of the world, and sometimes by taking the world out of us.
human
The second letter has come,
gpt
Has it? Let us hurry and get the tea over so we can study it.
human
Don't you want to hear it first? I haven't looked at it because I wanted to wait for you, but I can't wait that long,
gpt
All right, then read away while I start the fire.
human
No; come and sit down like a good child, you can't half listen when your mind is filled with stoves and tea-pots.
gpt
Well, it sounds very beautiful and very plausible, but I can't see how any one can say there is no evil when the world is full of it, and to say there is no sin, sickness or death! why, that is blasphemous! I know the Bible won't corroborate that,
human
Hold on, we must not be so fast; there are good reasons for every statement, and she says it is necessary to say these denials over and over. It is harder for me to believe there is no matter, but if there is a way to prove there is none, then I will submit. But first let us see what the Bible says,
gpt
an allusion to John i: 12-13, and iii: 6.
human
The first reads, began Grace,
gpt
Oh, I see! She says, 'no _reality_ in matter,' and then goes on to explain about the real. Yes, now I see. Do you understand it, Kate?
human
I can understand that the body is not the real, replied Kate, thoughtfully,
gpt
That's so. Why didn't we think of that before? Besides, it was taught by the ancient philosophers as much as 4,000 years ago, that matter has no reality. Yes, its plain to see how it can be, theoretically, but where they can demonstrate it practically, puzzles me. Here is a reference; let us see if that will tell us something.
human
That seems quite conclusive,
gpt
Yes, it does. Now we will consider your problem, replied Grace, running her finger down the references,
human
she continued,
gpt
But just think of the awful crimes that are committed every day, and the wicked people who commit them,
human
We haven't got far enough to solve everything; listen to this: 'Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked,'
gpt
That must mean that with the carnal mind we see all things opposite God, and with the mind of the spirit we discern spiritual things; that is in Romans somewhere,
human
What word shall I look for?
gpt
Mind, I think; shan't I look for it?
human
No; here it is in the eighth chapter and tenth verse: 'The carnal mind is at enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.' That is plain enough. It means that all thoughts opposite God and God's creations are of the animal man, hence at enmity with God, and since there is nothing real but God and His creations, of course there is no reality in them. Now you are satisfied, aren't you, Kate?
gpt
I suppose I ought to be, for I don't see any other way to understand those passages,
human
Just one more, and we'll go on to the next denial, which will hit me, I'm afraid,
gpt
I declare, Kate, here is the essence of the whole lesson, and she read:
human
I really did not know there was such a passage in the Bible, and I don't see why other people haven't found it before, said Kate, quite won over.
gpt
But how strange it seems to deny this way.
human
Yes, that is the most unreasonable part of it, and yet I think Mrs. Hayden has explained it very clearly. Now what is next?
gpt
There is no life, substance or intelligence in matter,
human
I must confess that puzzles me,
gpt
Oh, that is easy enough to understand, when you remember the spirit is all, besides, when a person dies the organs of the body may be perfect, but there is no life or feeling, and according to this new understanding, no substance,
human
I can see it well enough as a theory, but what all this has to do with practical every-day living, is a mystery to me.
gpt
All right, what next?
human
No sensation or causation in matter; but I think that is answered the same way as the other. But this last one; I do wonder if the Bible corroborates it? Kate looked troubled again, as she read:
gpt
The same reasoning applies to that as to all the rest. There is no reality to anything but God's creation, and that is changeless and perfect. But we will see what the Bible has to say; I. John iii: 2-10. In the second verse it reads: 'Beloved, now are we the sons of God, but it doth not yet appear what we shall be;' that of course is an assertion of our spiritual self. Then verse nine says: 'Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him and he can not sin, because he is born of God.' Then it seems plain there can be no sin to the spirit, neither can there be sickness nor death.
human
It is wonderful,
gpt
What is next?
human
That is all, except she explains the use and necessity of denial, and suggests to Mr. Hayden the benefit of denying for hours at a time.
gpt
Well, we can do that, too. If it is good for him, it must be for us. I mean to do it,
human
Oh, well, take it calmly; we can do that while we are getting supper, and I am hungry now. Do you know it is seven o'clock?
gpt
Two hours we have been studying, said Grace.
human
Really, this is as interesting as painting. I don't see one thing but what is reasonable, do you, Kate?
gpt
Not the way it seems now.
human
There is no reality in matter, there is no reality in matter, etc. For two hours neither spoke. Then Kate said:
gpt
I feel so light; as though there were no weight to my body. What does it mean?
human
I don't know, unless it shows you are realizing what you say.
gpt
That is it. I can feel that there is no obstruction to spirit or thought; that spirit is limitless and God is everywhere.