Quickly move to the third stage

September 15, 2020 | 29 comments

“Every truth passes through three stages before it is recognized. In the first, it is ridiculed, in the second it is opposed, in the third it is regarded as self-evident.”

~ Arthur Schopenhauer

Schopenhauer was a pessimist, however, even a pessimist can catch glimmers of truth that shed light on the human experience, as his quote above reveals.

His quote reminds me of how thought often responds to truths of Christian Science. First ridicule, followed by opposition, but then acceptance once it is understood.

Here are three self-evident truths taught in Christian Science:

God is good.
God is All.
Evil is not.

These truths, understood and practiced, lead to spiritual healing. But thought needs to get out of the first and second stages mentioned above to receive their full blessing.

Be quick to get to the third stage!

29 thoughts on “Quickly move to the third stage”

  1. Thank you, Evan for this reminder.
    It makes me think of this from Science & Health p 104: Agassiz, the celebrated naturalist and author, has wisely said: “Every great scientific truth goes through three stages. First, people say it conflicts with the Bible Next, they say it has been discovered before. Lastly, they say they have always believed it.”

    1. So true in the U.S.,, we are so divided into the 3 stages. Thank you for helping me better understand what is happening.
      B

    2. So true in the U.S.,, we are so divided into the 3 stages. Thank you for helping me better understand what is happening.

  2. So comforting to know that if we are ever tempted to wander, the Truth of our being never falters. God only gives us all Good to experience. Then, once we are back aligned with Divine Love, the error, whatever form it tries to present, just reverts to No-thing. Perfect lesson today Evan. We are all Gods children building those bricks❣️

    1. Thank you Angie for giving us daily reading material to study. Love this SV blog to get my day started. Thanks Evan and everyone participating and praying the Truth together.

    2. Beautiful, new, and interesting Sentinel article, about “ultraviolet” vision bees possess! Wow, Wonder how ants see the world/environment?
      TY Angie.

  3. Evan, your wonderful post immediately made me think of page 115 in Science and Health and the “Scientific Translation of Mortal Mind” with the three stages;
    First Degree: Depravity.
    Physical. Evil beliefs, passions and appetites, fear,
    depraved will, self-justification, pride, envy, deceit,
    Unreality hatred, revenge, sin, sickness, disease, death.
    Second Degree: Evil beliefs disappearing.
    Transitional qualities Moral. Humanity, honesty, affection, com‐
    passion, hope, faith, meekness, temperance.
    Third Degree: Understanding.
    Spiritual. Wisdom, purity, spiritual understanding,
    Reality spiritual power, love, health, holiness.
    In the third degree mortal mind disappears, and man as
    God’s image appears.
    A dear practitioner, when I was very new to Christian Science, encouraged me to start with cherishing and studying every word in the transitional qualities; but I was also told we are in reality “always, only in the the third degree”! That was thought provoking and comforting!

    1. Thank you Evan and Sharon. I, too, thought about the 3 degrees in Science and Health. I have often studied those, being thankful I am mostly beyond the 1st degree and into the 2nd degree and some in the 3rd.

      I love your practitioner’s thought that we are in reality “always, only in the third degree.” Thank you for sharing that. Indeed, thought provoking.

  4. S & H 104:8-12
    Agassiz, another thinker has a similar quote here in Science and Health. Mrs. Eddy made a point to assure that the works and wisdom from Science, will ultimately be understood and accepted.
    Thanks to all for today’s reflections.

    1. Agassiz, the celebrated naturalist and author, has wisely said: “Every great scientific truth goes through three stages. First, people say it conflicts with the Bible. Next, they say it has been discovered before. Lastly, they say they have always believed it.”
      (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 104:8)

  5. Sharon,
    I had the same reference. Looked it up, always hopeful that I’m in the third degree. No diploma yet though!

    1. Thank you for my first laugh of the day, David
      I’m working, each day, for a progress toward a “diploma.”
      Ty, EVAN, for reminding me to get to the third stage and stay there, forever. God IS good and good to ALL.
      We are blessed as promised.

  6. Wonderful! I love that we are free to move as quickly as we’d like to get to stage 3 of understanding what’s already true about God, ourselves and fellow neighbors, and the entire universe.

  7. What is now decades ago, shortly after completing my Christian Science class instruction, I was on a rather rocky hike in a wilderness area, when I misstepped on a loose boulder. My foot gave way and I severely twisted my ankle. It appeared to be a serious injury. The pain was excruciating. But with the prior two weeks of glorious Christian Science teaching and study supporting me, it was so natural for me to turn away from the alarming physical picture and take the SpiritView. My thought went directly to step 3, clearly knowing God is All. The healing was instantaneous. I continued on my hike moving in complete freedom. Healings such as this are signs and indicators of the joyous dominion we all can have. So grateful for the inspired promptings of this precious blog.

  8. My thought exactly Pam. Even our leader still worked daily until her passing, to understand the Truth of our reality after she wrote S&H, She studied The Bible and her books, gleaning more each day as she expected all Christian Science students to do. I am so grateful to have the weekly lessons to help me in this process of learning our true being.. Mary Baker Eddy assured us that we will never stop learning and gaining spiritual knowledge.

  9. Good, good, all…Thank you.

    I used to believe I had to UNDERSTAND TRUTH, and thus read, studied, prayed diligently to this end. And of course these are essential, in many ways. Now I am coming to see that it is more about ACCEPTANCE.
    This is why humility is key. It must be had to understand. The false (mortal/human) ego surrrre puts up its pathetic fight against humbly accepting Truth’s allness, but of course, it will lose the battle. Already has!

    ;<)

    1. SpiritView Fan, I agree with you that humility is key. We can cease trying to do something or make something happen through self will or human outlining, and accept the Truth of being that always is so. Mortal mind never wants to admit it, but it can do nothing and it is nothing.

      There is a Christian Science lecturer who speaks on the topic of humility, it is a wonderful talk. One thing he says is that you must go down before you can come up, meaning surrender that false sense of doership and acknowledge God as the only Cause and Creator. Then we naturally rise as the goodness of Truth is revealed in our lives. So grateful for all the wisdom shared here!

  10. God is good
    God is all
    Evil is not
    The logic of the two first truths is the third truth. If God is all and all good, evil can only be nothing. But, yes, that has to be demonstrated by us. And I trust this logical truth because God is our understanding and we are the full representation of divine Mind, as Mrs. Eddy says in Science and Health. As such we grab that spiritually.
    Thank you, Evan! Am very grateful that you always make us ponder the spiritual truth of the things and situations.
    Thank you all for the inspiring comments and the link to relevant articles. 🙂

  11. HIS SHINING LIGHT

    For many years, I wiped and scrubbed
    and rubbed the window-pane I thought
    was me, to be a clear transparency
    for Light.

    But I was never crystal clear, nor found my
    victory quite so near as when I learned
    that man is not transparency,
    he’s Light.

    Much more than spots where God shines through,
    we are His shining, bright and true.

    (David Littlefield Horn)

  12. Unity of Good..p. 20..Rectifications…

    By a reverse process of argument evil must be de-
    throned: —

    12 First: God never made evil.
    Second: He knows it not.
    Third: We therefore need not fear it.

  13. THANK YOOU EVAN FOR YOUR INSPIRING DAILY SPIRIT VIEW. IT IS ALWAYS A WONDERFUL PROTECTION IN MY DAILY LIFE AND TRAVELS. ALSO THANK YOU ALL FOR SPIRITUAL COMMENTS. DAILY PROOFS OF LIVING IN THE THIRD SPIRITUAL IDEMENSION IS TRULY AMAZING PROOF OF GODS CARE.

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