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Rejecting snake-talk
We are told in the third chapter of Genesis that in the Garden of Eden a serpent spoke to Eve suggesting that if she ate the forbidden fruit her eyes would be opened, “and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (verse 5). But we have just learned in the first chapter of Genesis about one supreme God whose creation was “very good” (verse 31).
In her discussion in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures of Eve’s encounter, Mary Baker Eddy asked: “Whence comes a talking, lying serpent to tempt the children of divine Love? The serpent enters into the metaphor only as evil” (p. 529).
Elsewhere she wrote: “In the days of Eden, humanity was misled by a false personality,—a talking snake—according to biblical history. This pretender taught the opposite of Truth. This abortive ego, this fable of error, is laid bare in Christian Science” (Unity of Good, p. 44).
Enjoy 1 free Sentinel article or audio program each month, including content from 1898 to today.
July 15, 2013 issue
View Issue-
Letters
Maggie Johnson, Corin Ramos, Jane Keogh, JSH-Online comment
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Defusing the bombs
Nathan Talbot
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Prayer that defends the innocent
Judy Cole
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Rejecting snake-talk
Andrew Wilson
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Uprooting the seedlings of fear
Bob Cochran
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I found my joy again
Name withheld
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Knowing what to do
John Daniels
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Life-preserving faith
Steve Warren
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There's an app for that!
Mary Beth Saldívar
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'Let God do the work'
Emelie Fredrikson
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The 'beauty of holiness'
Polly S. Caldwell
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Facial growth disappears
Elisabeth Fischer
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Eye exam overruled
Seaward B. Grant
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Complete restoration
Alice D. Walden
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Remembering Ramadan
The Editors