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Chapter 14: The need for self-knowledge.The platform that Mary Baker Eddy presents for the healing of this age, rests on four 'pillars.' It is not sufficient to assert that man is made in the image and likeness of God. One must also define for oneself what this image is, according to known phenomena or significant metaphor. One of the four 'pillars' that Mary Baker Eddy defined, is Love. But what is Love? A possible answer to this question may involve Christ Jesus' parable of the good Samaritan, where love is defined in terms of "pouring in" the substance of "oil" and "wine" into the wounds of the injured humanity. Without this type of correlation, the concept of Love is abstract, devoid of any concrete meaning, and becomes largely an emotional thing rather than a protecting and promoting force. The second 'pillar' deals in the same manner with the identity of man. John the Revelator beheld mankind as "a woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." He beheld a beautiful Soul in the image of mankind. The third 'pillar' defines Truth or underlying Principle, in terms of the Urim and Thummim, signifying, light, and perfection. The Urim and that Thummim were jeweled breast plates that priest wore on their chest in the ancient Hebrew world before entering into the holiest shrine of the temple. Indeed, this should be the model again in mankind's searching after the truth in all things. The fourth 'pillar' defines "Being." Being, is a concept associated with infinity, the opposite to limitation and finity. One may associate it with "wind" and the dynamism that drives it. It appears that there is a faint recognition of the substance of these four 'pillars' unfolding as the various cycles of history are drawing to a close in a grand convergence at the present age. People are beginning to come to a faint recognition of their worth, and are beginning to demand their rights accordingly. It appear that the third and final renaissance may after all begin to unfold in the streets of the cities, throughout the world. The mass protests that are erupting all over the planet demonstrate that people are disgusted with the leadership of their country, because of ever greater austerity impositions. This disgust is healthy. Yes, the feeling of disgust is a healthy sign, but in a different context than the conventional response to it that leads to confrontation. Deeply within Mary Baker Eddy's structure for spiritual discovery and scientific development the confrontational process becomes invalidated and superseded. The details for this imperative are presented in Volume 5. In this introduction it is sufficient to note that a large part of the structure is designed to allow an exploration of the confrontational system, which however becomes self-invalidating as it becomes superseded by a higher perception that unfolds the principle of reflection. What Mary Baker Eddy presents in a scientific manner appears to have been instinctively understood by Mahatma Ghandi, the great leader of India, who pioneered the political movement of non-violent resistance. This, however, falls far short of invalidating the whole process of confrontation. This may seem ridiculous at first glance, but it isn't if one considers another aspect that will be introduced in Volume 5. The only process of confrontation that is scientifically constructive, according to the nature of Mary Baker Eddy's work, is the confrontation that must go on within oneself that separates fable from fact, elevates thought, ennobles the image of man, and adjusts the axioms that one lives by into a tighter conformance with truth. As will be shown later, whatever elevates consciousness changes the world. It moves the society into a higher sphere of civilization and reflects itself socially, economically, politically, and civilly. || - page index - || - chapter index - || - Exit - ||
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