Responsive Reading: Hebrews 11
1. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
In reading the lesson today, I remembered the book The Comforter: Physics to Metaphysics by Yvonne Reus. This book has been mentioned at previous Roundtables, and I felt I should look up Hebrews 11 in it, as the author, a physicist and Christian Scientist, has attempted to bridge the two in this book. Regarding the verse above, she wrote on page 701:
“Things appear to be made of matter, but are really Spirit. Our senses fool us as the physicists have learned. Matter is not the solidity it appears to be. Right now, because that is not understood, we must accept it, at first, on faith. Material senses cannot grasp the revelation which came to various spiritually-minded men and women down through the ages. What we believe is substance is illusion, as the physicist also tells us. We will, over time, understand, as Jesus did, that the substance or essence of supply, health, movement, or whatever is needed, to be solely in idea and not in matter, and understand also that the true man and the universe lie in these infinite ideas. We can prove to every level of consciousness that this infinitude is the fundamental fact. Ideas aren’t quantifiable (a bucketful of health), can’t be measured, but exist as stable mental substance. Spirit is a quality of God which man reflects. We are scientists using Science, not merely religious sentiment. The dictionary tells us that substance is ‘that which is real, in distinction from that which is apparent’ Webster.”
The she says in the next paragraph, regarding the rest of Hebrew 11, “Paul looks back over the first events of the Old Testament that were based on faith…” to see that “Without faith that perfection already exists in the universe and man, we would not have the stamina to stick the course and gain spiritual understanding whereby we can prove it to ourselves and others. It is the works we must see.”
Thank you for this week’s lesson, and for all the resources that Plainfield has made me aware of which always help to strengthen and increase my understanding, and help me more-and-more to see the works. Thank you!