The world has heard much about the sick and sinning race of Adam. Mortals have always thought of themselves as men, generated materially, and as separate entities, multiplying as the sands of the seashore, despite the mortality which continues its ceaseless ravages; and each with a separate mind. They have thought of themselves as living on an earth apparently filled with the evidences of material men and of minds many, existing throughout the temporal ages. These beliefs, however, relate only to those who live ephemerally, needing time to record their so-called' birth into matter, their growth, maturity, and decay. These beliefs, which have prevailed throughout past history, and still prevail, also hold that God created Adam in the beginning, and that for this Adam a mate —called Eve—was created, through the process of putting Adam to sleep and then taking from his side a rib; and that thence sprang all mankind. But, in reality, in the beginning God created man as His idea, as His image and likeness; and this spiritual man's existence is eternal. The creation of God's man is scientifically true; and this creation is imaged forth. It is a reflection of divine Principle,—the eternal idea of Life, Truth, Love,— and is a revelation to mankind.
Inasmuch as sin is any thought, word, deed, or desire contrary to the law of God, sin does not belong to the reality of being, but is false belief, which influences only suppositionally that which claims an entity separate from God. Thus is derived what Mrs. Eddy calls, in Science and Health (p.345), "the sinning race of Adam,"—a belief of existence as separate from God, Spirit, and calling itself limited and material. This false belief, however, cannot harm, interfere with, or take the place of God's man, eternally reflecting Him. Because God is unchangeable, the spiritual universe and man are unchangeable. There cannot be two infinite beings. According to Christian Science there is only one infinite creator, who is the All-in-all. If it were possible for man to create things limited and material, then there would be two creators—an illogical position.
If God's man could cease to be God's man, and thus sin, fall, and be lost, man would then have within himself the seeds of corruption, and the power to sin. The real man is not, however, an entity by himself, but is the undefiled and perfect image of his Maker. God, being the source of all, could not out of His incorruptible nature have furnished man with the power to create something wholly unlike Spirit, with the ability to manifest lust, passion, appetite, and the limitations and discordant conditions of matter. God is not material; nor does He know anything about materiality. God is Spirit, Mind, good; hence He could not create spiritual ideas as the perfect manifestation of Himself, and at the same time, or at any time, make something limited, material, and imperfect. In reality there is no material creation, because there is no substance in the infinite realm of Spirit out of which to create so-called matter. Were there such a material creation, it would imply an imperfect source, producing a destructive situation.
