Students of Christian Science know that the true account of spiritual creation, which God forever sees as "very good," is found in the first chapter and the first five verses of the second chapter of Genesis, and that the crude dreams of mortal existence are set forth in the second chapter, beginning with the sixth verse, and in the following chapters. Mrs. Eddy writes in the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 502): "Spiritually followed, the book of Genesis is the history of the untrue image of God, named a sinful mortal. This deflection of being, rightly viewed, serves to suggest the proper reflection of God and the spiritual actuality of man, as given in the first chapter of Genesis." In a chapter on Genesis in the textbook Mrs. Eddy elucidates the record of spiritual creation, and also shows the falsity of the arguments of the Adam-dream, or the "deflection of being."
The student of Christian Science is striving daily to pattern his thought according to the reality which God made, and which was declared to be "very good."
Man in God's image and likeness, created in the beauty of holiness, perfect and complete, is the man that Christ Jesus revealed and demonstrated. That he was successful in accomplishing this demonstration has never been disputed by Christians. However, Jesus did not accomplish this without being severely tested and tempted to deviate from his course. In the wilderness he struggled with the suggestions of evil for forty days and nights, but held steadfastly to his high goal, mastering each suggestion as it came to his thought claiming that evil has reality and power. Because Jesus held his consciousness to the allness and ever-presence of God, good, he was able to see the unreality of every phase of evil.
