The ancient Biblical pronouncement that Adam should "till the ground from whence he was taken" (Gen. 3:23) has often been associated through the centuries with the toil of one's hands. It remained for Mary Baker Eddy to correct this mistaken belief. In "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," under the marginal heading "Mental tillage," she writes (p. 545): "The condemnation of mortals to till the ground means this,—that mortals should so improve material belief by thought tending spiritually upward as to destroy materiality. Man, created by God, was given dominion over the whole earth."
Christian Science thus shows that the process by which mankind destroy materiality is purely a spiritual activity and pertains exclusively to consciousness. It also reveals man's true heritage—his God-given "dominion over the whole earth." Recognizing and demonstrating this dominion, we are able to dispel the false claims of mortal belief, thereby bringing into human experience more harmony, health, and happiness.
One day as the writer pondered the words "mental tillage," several steps unfolded to her thought which were not unlike the steps the agriculturist follows in his tillage of the ground. His first step is the enrichment of the soil of his fields. This is to increase the productiveness of the land. Next he plows the field and sows the seeds which he has chosen because they reasonably assure him of a select crop and a good yield. And then the agriculturist watches and diligently tends his fields while the crops are growing, uprooting the weeds and destroying them.
