Introduction to Wisdom of the Bible

The word "bible" is a Greek word that literally means "little books." The Bible is not one book. It is a series of sixty-six different books written by many different people over a ten to twenty century period. The thirty-nine books of the Old Testament were written primarily in Hebrew. The twenty- seven books of the New Testament were written primarily in Greek. Throughout the centuries different groups have taken many different views of the Bible. Traditional Jews recognize only the first five books of the Old Testament, The Torah, (also called the Pentateuch) as divinely inspired, while fundamental Protestant sects consider the entire document as literally the "Word of God."

It was not until the 18th century that it became permissible to even criticize the Bible. There are two kinds of Bible criticism, "lower criticism," which does not go beyond the document but seeks to determine the original wording, the original texts and the most correct translations; and "higher criticism", which is concerned with authorship, dates, historical background and source materials. There are many purposes for Bible study. Our purpose is twofold. Primarily we study it because it is a spiritual road map to help liberate individuals from sin, sickness and suffering and to help bring us into the conscious realization of our spiritual independence. Our second purpose is to give us an appreciation for one of the great literary, philosophical, psychological, and spiritual masterpieces of all time. So let us begin our study with a number of premises and assumptions.

1. The Bible is an inspiring work written by humans, not the inspired word of God.

   The books of the Bible were not written by God, but were written by human beings at various stages of spiritual awareness. Some of the books are inspiring, some are contradictory, many contain scientific errors, and some are just plain silly and absurd in light of modern knowledge.

2. The Bible is the story of the progressive development of the human relationship to the Divine.

   From the beginning, there are changing conceptions of God. The God of Abraham is El who visits Abraham in person, and sits and talks with him as if He were human. The God of Moses is a jealous majestic and impersonal tribal deity. The God of Hosea, the prophet, is an intimate companion and lover. The God of Jesus is both a transcendent Power and an immanent Presence. The Bible is in part the story of the different ways that different people perceived God throughout history.

3. Science of Mind perceives God as an immanent loving Presence and an impersonal Law.

   Because we learn to commune with the Love of God and to command the impersonal Law of God, we see God as an infinite and intelligent spiritual energy. We are immersed in this energy and we are a conscious particularization of It. Therefore, we see the Bible as the progressive discovery of and relationship to this universal Love and Law.

4. Each book of the Bible must be understood in its own setting.

   By understanding the history of the times in which a particular book was written, we can come to certain conclusions about what the original author was attempting to convey to his readers. We may receive certain inspiration that we can apply to our lives, but we must also be honest enough to distinguish between an inspirational interpretation and the original intention of the author.

5. We need to be honest about the Bible.

   We must be willing to take the Bible for what it says (original intent) and not for what we would like it to say. It is perfectly proper to spiritualize or allegorize scripture, finding mystical meaning, if that is inspiring to us and helpful to our spiritual growth, but it is intellectually dishonest to argue that our interpretation is what the original author intended.

6. The Bible can be interpreted on many levels.

   Different people have different dispositions and function at different levels of consciousness. Some like literal interpretations and black and white answers. Others will see the Bible from an intellectual or literary perspective only. Still others will be fascinated by metaphysical or allegorical interpretations. Science of Mind champions the right of all individuals to find their own significance and meaning from the scriptures. We offer an interpretation based on the "wisdom teachings" of the ages, but recognize that this is only one interpretation. We are continuously open to deeper and more profound interpretations of all scripture.

7. The Bible is about spiritual faith, not scientific accuracy.

   The Bible is not a history books, an anthropology book, a physics or astronomy book. It is a book about one people, the Jews, and their relationship to God as that relationship unfolds throughout history. It is up to each of us to understand that relationship and ask these questions: "Can I use this understanding to enrich my personal relationship to the Power and Presence that I call God in my life?" "Can I take information from the Bible and actively apply it to make my life better?" "Does the Bible strengthen my faith in God and add meaning to my life?" If the answers to these questions are in the affirmative, then we may find deep significance in this Science of Mind study of the Bible.

Assumptions of Science of Mind Interpretation

1. Authority

   The fundamental answers to the most profound questions of life, such as meaning and purpose and our relationship to the universe are found in the depths of the human soul, not in any other book, man or institution. Final authority always rests in the individual.

2. Unity

   We believe in the unity and oneness of all life. Everything is created out of God and therefore everything in creation is from God.

3. Goodness

   We believe that God is good, that God's universe is good and, therefore, we believe in the innate goodness of humanity.

4. Purpose

   We believe that the universe is on-purpose and our lives as individuals are on purpose. We are here to end war, sickness and suffering on this planet and help usher in "the kingdom of heaven on earth."

5. Spiritual Beings

   The Bible is a spiritual road map that can assist us in the discovery of our true nature. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.

6. Evolution

   We believe in the compatibility of the spiritual and the scientific. We believe that the universe is evolving and we are evolving in it. There is one Spirit, one Science, one Life and one Humanity.

7. Dominion and Responsibility

   We believe that all individuals must give up blame and judgment and take dominion and responsibility for their lives.

Judeo-Christian Theology

One way to clearly understand Science of Mind interpretation is to compare it and contrast it to traditional Judeo-Christian theology. We may summarize this theology as follows:

1. In the beginning, God as Creator, created the heavens and the earth, including all the plants, the animals and humanity. Everything was good and running perfectly.

2. There was a rebellion in heaven against God by a group of angels led by the angel Lucifer. For some unexplained reason known only to God, this cosmic rebellion was of universal proportions and resulted in evil being injected into the good creation of God.

3. Humanity represented by Adam and Eve were influenced and tempted by Lucifer in the form of the serpent. Because of this temptation, Adam and Eve disobeyed God. They committed the first and the original sin. This sin of disobedience was carried in the bloodlines of humanity and was transmitted by birth throughout the ages. Once sin had gotten into the blood, there was no way to cleanse it. Sin was transmitted from generation to generation. It caused humans to continue their disobedience and separation from God and resulted in suffering, sickness disease and death. It was totally useless to try to change human behavior because humanity was permanently infected.

4. However, God in His Mercy decided to send his only begotten son, Jesus, to Earth. Jesus was "the only begotten" because he was made out of the Essence of God. All other humans were created out of nothing, and were creatures separate from the Creator God.

5. God agreed to allow his "only begotten son," Jesus, to die on the cross so that Jesus could take on the sins of humanity, and therefore, cleanse humanity of its sin. Jesus would agree to personally atone for the sinful nature of humanity and would die so that humans would have the opportunity to inherit eternal life

6. People who accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior would become the adopted sons and daughters of the Living God and, therefore, joint heirs with Jesus in the Kingdom of Heaven.

The basic assumptions of Judeo-Christian theology are as follows:

1. God is external to humanity and creation. God is separate from His creation, existing in a totally different and transcendent dimension. God is transcendent, holy and totally distinct from His creation.

2. Humans are seen as "creatures" of God, not sharing the Essence of God, but they may escape the ravages of sin, sickness and death by their true confession of Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

3. There is duality in the universe. There is innate goodness and there is innate evil. Spirit is good, matter is evil, God is good, Satan is evil. There is heaven and there is hell.

4. Time is linear. Creation has a beginning and it will have an end. There will come a time when the Earth will come to an end. And when these end times come, humans will be judged, not according to their works, but according to their Christian faith.

The Theological Beliefs of Science of Mind

1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth and everything was good and running perfectly.

2. The physical universe and humanity were not separate from God, but were created directly from the Essence of God. Therefore, the Essence of God is in creation and is in humanity. The universe is good because it is filled with the Holy Essence of God. God is the Creator God, but is seen as immanent in creation as well as transcendent to it.

3. There was no rebellion in heaven because Unity cannot rebel against Itself. There were no "fallen angels" and humans were not tempted into disobedience. The story of the Fall of Adam and Eve is the story of the evolution from simple consciousness to self consciousness. The only sin is mistake based on ignorance and the failure to understand the interconnectedness of all life. As Goethe once stated, "sin is obstinate ignorance."

4. Jesus came to Earth not as a savior but as a way-shower. Jesus was a human who realized his divinity and invites the rest of humanity to come to the same realization.

5. Jesus died, not to atone for the sins of humanity but to demonstrate the immortality of life.

6. People are invited to follow the example of the way Jesus lived and to learn and embody his teaching. When enough people live the example of the life of Jesus, the kingdom of Heaven will fully manifest on Earth.

The basic assumptions of Science of Mind theology are as follows:

1. The Essence of God is within humanity and humanity is within God. The Earth, the planets, the animals and all its people are holy and sacred expressions of God.

2. Humans are seen as "emanations" of God who through the process of evolution of consciousness will come into the full realization of their God nature.

3. Unity and interconnectedness prevails in the universe. There may be evil in the world but it is the result of ignorance and the failure of humans to realize their spiritual nature. There are acts of evil but there is no innate evil. Satan and the fallen angels are the creation of human imagination that attempts to explain "how bad things can happen." In truth "bad things" happen because individuals exercise free will without full understanding. A theological system based on duality and sin perpetuates evil because it tends to keep humanity in ignorance.

4. Time is cyclical and spiral. From the beginning of this creative cycle, life continues to evolve into greater and greater degrees of livingness. There are no end times, there are simply transformational shifts into new levels of awareness. Because the universe is based upon love, there can be no judgment, except the consequences of the impersonal law of cause and effect. Every person is the "only begotten of God" because the essence of God is within all. Every person is a potential messiah because the Hebrew word "messiah" means the "anointed one" of God. Every person is a joint heir to the Kingdom of Heaven because as Jesus states "the kingdom of Heaven is within." Every person is coming into the realization of the "Christ within" because this Christ pattern of perfection is latent within all. As each of us comes into the conscious realization of our own divinity, we will accept our birthright of health, wholeness, abundance and loving relationships.

Divine Wisdom Bible Interpretation

The Bible may be interpreted in many ways. In this series of lessons, we will be using a combination approach of ideas Thomas Troward and of Phineas Quimby. Troward and Quimby were two great influences on the New Thought movement. (For a detailed discussion of the influence of Troward and Quimby on the New Thought movement, see lessons entitled Sources of Science of Mind.) Troward tells us that the key to Bible interpretation is:

1. Understanding the historical setting, the place, the time and the reason the scripture was written
2. Know the author is particularizing a general principle
3. Find the general principle and ask how it can be applied in our life today
4. Apply it

Quimby identified healing with "Divine Wisdom". This Wisdom, he said, is to be found within every man. It is the same wisdom that Jesus realized when he performed his healings. "It is God in us and when we come to realize It as intelligence, transcending belief, when we learn Its principles, then death will be swallowed up in Wisdom." Troward believed that the solution to all the world's problems were in the Bible. He said "The Bible is a book about the emancipation of humanity, the end of suffering, the end of limitation, the end of death itself, the way of loving, the way of abundance and the way of living life." And so we shall explore the Bible from the approach of Divine Wisdom. Let us take up the challenge of Thomas Troward and find the great principles that will lead to our emancipation from sin, sickness, suffering and death and that will lead us into living the fulfilled and free life of the spiritual individual. We will begin our Bible journey by proclaiming that there is a universal spiritual Wisdom that dwells within each man and that was placed into the individualized soul form the beginning of time.

The Spirit of Wisdom

This Spirit of Wisdom, known in the Old Testament as Sophia and in the New Testament as Logos, is available to us at different levels of comprehension. First, it teaches us to understand intellectually and use our minds. Secondly, it teaches us to understand ethically and to embody spiritual values and principles. But most importantly, it teaches us to understand spiritually and to embody and live from the Principle of Wisdom Itself. We can use certain guidelines in our interpretation of the Bible based on wisdom. They are:

1. God is and God is all there is.
2. Unity is true and duality is false.
3. The Bible is the story of the evolving relationship between Universal Spirit and the individual.
4. Spirit is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent and manifests as light, wisdom, beauty, love, power, joy and life.
5. There is a divine evolutionary impetus or force in the universe called "the will of God." It is the impetus of love expressing as greater and greater degrees of livingness.
6. Individuals have free will and can therefore choose to be in harmony with "the will of God" or to choose against it.
7. All individuals are unique and sacred expressions of God.
8. The purpose of human life on the planet Earth is to learn how to take dominion and responsibility and to learn how to love in relationships. All individuals have special and unique gifts. We are to discover our gifts and give them away.
9. The Bible is a spiritual road map that enables us to discover and use eternal spiritual principles in the process of living the fulfilled life. The Principle of Wisdom is fully discussed in the Bible. We find it in the Book of Proverbs, Chapter 8, and later in a detailed discussion of how Solomon embodied Wisdom in the Book of Wisdom.

From Proverbs we read:

"God created me (Wisdom), first fruits of his fashioning, before the oldest of his works.
From everlasting, I was firmly set,
From the beginning, before the earth came into being.
The deep was not, when I was born,
nor were the springs with their abounding waters.
Before the mountains were settled,
before the hills, I came to birth.
before he had made the earth, the countryside,
and the first elements of the world.
When he fixed the heavens firm, I was there.
when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,
when he thickened the clouds above,
when the sources of the deep begin to swell,
when he assigned the sea its boundaries
-- and the waters will not encroach on the shore --
When he traced the foundations of the earth,
I was beside the master craftsman,
delighting him day after day,
ever at play in his presence,
at play everywhere on his earth,
delighting to be with the children of humanity.
And now, my children, listen to me
Happy are those who keep my ways.
Listen to instruction and become wise, do not reject it.
Blessed, whoever listens to me,
who day after day keeps watch at my gates to guard my portals.
For whoever finds me finds life,
and obtains the favor of God;
Wisdom has built herself a house
she has hewn her seven pillars."

No one has seen God at any time. The transcendent aspect of Spirit remains a mystery. But it is possible to ascertain the first emanations of Spirit. These are life, joy, power, love, beauty, wisdom and light and these seven divine first attributes of Spirit correspond to the seven energy systems in the human body. Wisdom is involved in the very act of creation. Wisdom is a feminine energy in the Old Testament and can actually be courted and embodied. It is both a divine principle and the personification of that principle. "Happy are those who keep my ways, listen to my instruction, and become wise. For, whoever finds me, finds life."

Ask For Wisdom

If we ask for wisdom in understanding the Bible, wisdom will come and instruct us. Why? Because this wisdom is part of the very fabric of our soul. As Quimby noted, "all people have Wisdom within. They only need realize it." By carefully studying the Bible, we are instructed in the ways to revel Wisdom to our conscious minds. Wisdom is seen in the New Testament under the name "Divine Logos." The theme of the Book of John is, that Jesus embodied and became the very personification of Wisdom. The word for wisdom in Greek is Sophia and is a feminine noun. John needed a masculine word that would mean essentially the same thing and so he picked Logos, which is translated as "the word." But the Essence of Wisdom and Logos is much more than "the word," it is the very pattern of perfection, the divine decree that created the universe. This pattern is contained in each of us. That is why Wisdom is the secret to healing because Wisdom is the mental equivalent for wholeness.

"For whoever finds me finds life." "Wisdom has built herself a house, she has hewn her seven pillars." And what is this house? It is our body. "Do you not realize that you are a temple of God with the Spirit of God living in you?" [1Cor 3:16]. What is a house or a temple? It is a place where the Spirit of God dwells. It is a vehicle of expression for Spirit .

Wisdom is the Key

The word "body" does not refer just to the physical. We are three bodies in one: the physical, the mental and the spiritual. In our spiritual body dwells our immortal soul and our soul emanates the seven attributes of Spirit that make our mental and physical body. These seven attributes may be seen as energy systems that correspond to the seven energy systems of the body called "chakras" (wheels of energy). Sickness is a result of these energies becoming unbalanced. By communing with our inner Wisdom, we bring the energies back into balance.

"Wisdom has built herself a house, she has hewn her seven pillars." The number seven is the symbol for the process of completion. The seven pillars are the seven spiritual attributes that every spiritual aspirant must embody. The Law of Seven corresponds to the principle of evolution. There are seven steps in any evolutionary process until the next dimension or level of consciousness is reached. Just as notes on a musical scale move to a new octave, so does the seven step process in any creative order move to a new dimension. By embodying the seven pillars of Wisdom, we become full manifestations of Wisdom and move to the next dimension of livingness. Using the terminology of Thomas Troward, we move from the fourth kingdom of human-self-consciousness to the fifth kingdom of divine consciousness.

And so as we proceed into the discovery of the Bible, we shall do so from the perspective of Wisdom, always ready to be open to new inspirations and insights. The very first chapter of the Book of Proverbs tells us that true devotion to God is the beginning of knowledge. We open ourselves, our hearts and our minds and hear the promises of Proverbs. With Wisdom we will: "Perceive the meaning of proverbs and obscure sayings, the sayings of the sages and their riddles. Let the wise listen and learn yet more, and a man of discernment will acquire the art of guidance." (Prov. 1:5) We are open, we are ready. Let us begin.

(*) All Bible quotes are taken from the New Jerusalem Bible. The New Jerusalem Bible has been picked for a number of reasons. It is a study Bible with incisive footnotes. It contains a modern scholarly translation that is easy to read and it contains fourteen deutero-canonical and apocryphal books not found in the King James version. Deutero-canonical are those books considered by the Catholic Church at the Council of Trent (1542) to be divinely inspired. The word "apocrypha" means hidden. They are not accepted as canon by the Protestant denominations. Canon means accepted as divinely inspired by church authorities. Originally, these works were excluded by Jewish authorities at the Council of Jamnia in AD 90. They were generally accepted by the early Church fathers, until the 4th century. Luther included them in his translation of the Bible in 1534, but they were not accepted as canon by the Protestant leaders of the Reformation. This long footnote is included to show that whether a book is considered divinely inspired has a lot to do with politics, history and human whim. Most Protestants believe the King James Version is the Bible and are unaware that Catholics read a different version.