Paul declared the eternal truth concerning man when he wrote to the Romans, "Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God." To make this truth practical to mankind is the one legitimate purpose of the Christian religion. The Hebrew story of the garden of Eden, recorded in the second and third chapters of Genesis, following the account of God's perfect creation, represents something besides Him, as coming upon the scene in the guise of a serpent, and inducing Adam and Eve to partake of a knowledge of evil; and the sequel to this fable of the serpent, as seen in the subsequent history of mortals, illustrates the effect of so-called evil usurping the place of good in the consciousness of men. Obviously all the serpent would have to do to accomplish its purpose would be to get the man to think of himself as a separate intelligence from God; for, in deluded thought, this suggestion accepted would naturally appear as a sense of evil power, presence, and experience; in other words, the fable would apparently become the fact in human consciousness.

Now the momentous question for humanity is, Did a serpent, or something corresponding thereto, actually beguile God's image and likeness into knowing something besides good, and thus submerge man's original, pure selfhood in an evil consciousness, or is it all only a suppositional dream of error? Human belief, voicing itself through scholastic theology, physiology, materia medica, vehemently declares that it did, and points to the testimony of the earth convulsed with passion and strife, and lying under the curse of sin, disease, and death. These are proofs, surely, argues incarnate error, that man was banished from the divine presence and given over to the dominion of the serpent.

But this does not coincide with the viewpoint of Christianity, as stated by Christ Jesus, who said that the devil "is a liar, and the father of it," and that "there is no truth in him." In other words, Jesus' pronouncement implies that evil is but a false sense, and this false sense, not God, is the author of sinning mortals and the source of their evil works. In the last of the sacred writings John speaks of the serpent as that "which deceiveth the whole world;" that is to say, the whole story of the serpent, from Genesis to Revelation, is simply hallucination, the pictured panorama of the vision of error, having no substance or reality in the truth.

Christian Science does not deviate from the absolute facts of spiritual creation, in which God manifests Himself through His ideas and expresses the only truth about man as the imaging forth of His own being. It accepts without reservation the Master's verdict regarding the devil and his works, or the serpent and his lies; and sees the history of evil, wherein man is depicted as separated from God, as but the phantasmagoria of the "deep sleep" that fell upon Adam; that is, the mesmerism of the racial belief in matter and sin, which Christian Science is now dispelling. Science demonstrates that the infinitude of good leaves neither time nor place for evil or devil.

But the serpent is still "more subtil than any beast of the field," and its voice is still heard in the garden of mortal beliefs. It asserts itself in our homes, in our churches, and in all human associations, and we must decide what we are going to do about it. "The serpent," Mrs. Eddy writes, "is perpetually close upon the heel of harmony" (Science and Health, p. 564). It is ever urging upon us to partake of the forbidden tree, to consent to having an evil mind, and we are either treating these suggestions as did Adam or as did Jesus. Which is it? The whisperings of animal magnetism that would poison our thoughts against ourselves or others are only something to be denied, as the lie about man.

We should know that the design of the adversary is the same to-day as in the beginning, and that is, to separate man from his consciousness of good, to join him to an evil origin, experience, and destiny; and from this would naturally follow the separation of men from each each other through evil motives. This is strikingly evident in the attempt to bring disunity into the ranks of those who are to-day endeavoring to establish an equitable adjustment of the affairs of the nations. It may be seen in the effort to produce and to perpetuate differences among the members of Christian denominations to prevent the one thing that will accomplish error's overthrow; namely, the demonstration of Truth. But although the serpent talks like a man, or whispers its arguments in the secret of one's own thoughts, or asserts them boldly where they would be least expected, Christian Scientists know enough of the nature and methods of false belief, and should be sufficiently awake to what they know, to see through the mask and recognize what is at work, and to treat it accordingly. Those who understand Christian Science have no more excuse for listening to error and furthering its designs than would a mathematician to yield to the argument that two and two are five.

Misguided though well-meaning attempts to settle others' personal affairs or to force absolute spiritual conclusions upon those whose thoughts are unprepared for them help no one. Appealing to Cæsar for liberation is not apt to be more successful to-day than in the time of Paul, and now as then may only result in an increase of difficulties, since freedom must come through spiritual understanding. Strife and dissension in homes do not bring satisfaction to the participants. These things mark the trail of the serpent, and this trail will be obliterated only when men refuse to admit any separation between man and his divine source.

Jesus proved beyond question that the Son cannot be separated from the Father. His atonement brought to light not only the unbroken unity existing between divine Principle and His ideas, but also, if one is ready to see it, the unbroken unity existing between these ideas. "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples," said Jesus, "if ye have love one to another." Christian Science is the truth about God and man brought within the scope of human practice, but this truth does not separate families or friends or fellow workers. Truth separates man from error, but from nothing else.

We shall always have to associate with others, and we may as well learn to get on with one another where we are. The opportunity to "provoke unto love and to good works" is never lacking when to seek the kingdom of God first is the aim of all, and when this occupies one's thoughts there will be no time nor occasion for quarreling. Let us remember that God has not joined any man to evil, to selfishness, passion, dishonesty, or any other wrong thing, and we should not think to do so. One cannot work out the consciousness of his own unity with good while mentally separating another therefrom; therefore we should realize, in all its sharp significance, that before we could succeed in thinking any evil of a man, we would have to separate him, to our sense, from God. No one could be angry with a child of God. No one could think of taking revenge upon one of His ideas. No one could let hatred, or any other unholy thing, into his consciousness while thinking of himself and of others as the children of divine Love. Then let us not put asunder what God hath joined together. "He that is begotten of God," wrote John, "keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not."

Copyright, 1919, by The Christian Science Publishing Society, Falmouth and St. Paul Streets, Boston, Massachusetts. Entered at Boston post office as second-class matter. Acceptance for mailing at a special rate of postage provided for in section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized on July 11, 1918.