In the first eighteen verses of the fourth Gospel, as well as in the first chapter of Genesis, real history is expounded briefly, sublimely. From these records no deduction can be made of a creator who is other than all-power and all-good, or of a creation which is less than perfect. To ponder the perfection of these eternal facts of timeless being, to feel and to know that there can be no reversal of that which eternally is, constitutes the study of veritable history or the pattern of divinity. However, the Bible not only presents this aspect of true history, but deals largely with the aspect of unreal history—the pattern of materiality.
The only constructive purpose in reviewing the pattern of the past history of the human race is to learn the lessons it teaches, and to change our thoughts so that they conform "to the pattern shewed ... in the mount." Glancing for a moment at the Scriptural records reaching back over five thousand years, one finds organized paganism with its idol worship; its priestcraft; its curses, implying a belief in the ability to injure through evil suggestion; and necromancy, implying a revealing of the future by a pretended communication with the so-called spirits of the dead. It would be difficult to find any essential characteristics in organized idolatrous religions which do not stem from these ancient evil patterns.
Familiarity with the works of Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, reveals that her allusions to human history, whether ancient or modern, are characterized by startling accuracy. For example, in her textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 524:1-5), she mentions five paganistic systems established thousands of years ago, in localities ranging from Greece to India, as having followed the material mythology described in the second and following chapters of Genesis. In our modern world we seldom hear the names of these gods —Baal, Chemosh, Moloch, Vishnu, Aphrodite; but various false philosophies have continued to enslave the race.
