Editorial September 8, 1973 Issue

Beating the Energy Crisis

Geoffrey J. Barratt

Energy, for purposes of measurement, may be defined materially as the capacity to do work. To spiritual sense, energy is the capacity of Mind, God, to do His work—that is, to constitute all that really exists. Divine Mind knows; and its idea is, without labor. Conveying this in the metaphorical language of the first chapter of Genesis, "God said ..."^{See Gen. 1:3;}—and a further aspect of creation was. Spiritual creative energy flowing from divine Life is inexhaustible.

But in physical terms earth's measurable energy time, scientists who assess world resource consumption and relate it to known reserves warn we're gobbling energy sources—oil, natural gas, coal —at an alarming rate. We ought to give their predictions careful attention. But how to be of most help? We can evaluate the energy crisis spiritually rather than just physically.

In the opening passages of Genesis Mind, God, speaks, and His purpose is fulfilled at once, with no evidence of decreasing energy. By contrast, the post-mist Adamic man of the second chapter disobeys spiritual law. He must therefore labor endlessly to sustain himself by tilling the earth. But this man and his material environment are myths. Mrs. Eddy stresses this vital point: "The universe, including man, is not a result of atomic action, material force or energy; it is not organized dust."^{Miscellaneous Writings, p. 23;} The God-made man and universe are neither the outcome of material energy nor dependent on it.

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Beating the Energy Crisis

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