Baal worship--Putting nature before God in earth, air, and water; giving the substance of mind and body to the things of sense. It is a form of idolatry. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Exod. 20:3).
babe--Metaphysically, a new state of consciousness; innocent and childlike.
babe in Christ--One whose face is turned toward the light, but who has not yet come into a deep understanding of Truth.
baptism--The spiritual cleansing of the mind. Typifies the cleansing power and work of Spirit that redeems men from sin. It is the first step in the realization of Truth. When the baptizing power of the word is poured on a center in consciousness, it dissolves all material thought, and through this cleansing, purifying process, the individual is prepared to see and to discern spiritually.
The two baptisms, those of John and Jesus, represent the two common steps in spiritual development, denial and affirmation, or the dropping of the old and laying hold of the new. In the first baptism, that of John, through the power of the word, the sense man is erased from consciousness, and the mind is purged and made ready for the second baptism, that of Jesus. In the second baptism, the creative law of divine affirmation, set into action by supreme Mind, lights its fires at the center of man's being, and when thus kindled raises soul and body to a high degree of purity. This process is known as regeneration.
baptism, Pentecostal--The great initial outpouring of Spirit that took place more than nineteen centuries ago. The primal baptism of the Holy Spirit. (see Acts 2:1-4)
baptism, the Holy Spirit--A quickening of the spiritual nature that is reflected in mind and body. Spiritual baptism has power; it is affirmative; it is positive. This outpouring of the Holy Spirit is the second baptism. Christ represents this phase of baptism. It is the most precious gift of God and comes to those who steadfastly seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. "He shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 3:11).
beatitudes, Jesus'--Jesus in exaltation is blessing spiritual man with the attributes of God and also blessing the natural man with the attributes of the spiritual man. (see Matt. 5:3-11)
beauty, spiritual--The loveliness of God beheld in His creations by the eye of man. Spiritual man beholds this divine loveliness everywhere. "He hath made everything beautiful in its time" (Eccles. 3:11).
beholding--We are transformed by beholding. Whatever we persistently behold we manifest. Our looking into the perfect pattern, the indwelling Christ, and beholding His perfection transforms us into His likeness.
Being--God; the Mind of the universe composed of archetype ideas: life, love, wisdom, substance, Truth, power, peace, and so forth. Being is omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient; it is the fullness of God, the All-Good.
Being, personal and impersonal nature of--Being is not only impersonal Principle as far as its inherent and undeviating laws are concerned, but also personal as far as its relation to each of us is concerned. We as individuals do actually become a focus of universal Spirit.
Being, the law of growth and--Being exists under two phases: invisible and visible, abstract and concrete. The visible comes forth from the invisible, and this coming forth is always according to a universal method of growth from minute generative centers. From center to circumference is the plan of procedure throughout the universe. To study form alone and to expect to learn from it and its evolutions the secret of existence does not enable one to catch sight of Spirit moving upon every generating center.
belief--An inner acceptance of an idea as true. Belief is closely related to faith. Belief functions both consciously and subconsciously. Many false individual and race beliefs are very active below the conscious level. To erase these hidden error beliefs, a comprehensive program of denial is necessary.
belief in separateness, results of--The belief in separateness from God Mind leads to ignorance and death. All intelligence and life are derived from the one Mind. When man thinks of himself as being alone, he cuts himself off in consciousness from the fount of inspiration. "For apart from me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5).
believe on the Son--We must come to His terms of expression. We do not believe that there are other sons wiser than He and that from them we can get wisdom, guidance, and understanding. We believe that He is, as far as we are concerned, the only begotten Son of the Father.
Bethesda, Pool of--"House of mercy; house of healing." Represents the realization in consciousness that our life is being constantly purified, healed, and made new by the activity of mind. Physically, this is expressed in the purification and upbuilding of the blood by its coming in contact with the oxygen of the air in the lungs.
Bible--The sacred and inspired Scriptures of the Christian religion. It is a divine "book of life" rather than merely a history of people, and it bears "witness unto the word" of God (Acts 14:3).
Bible characters--The characters of the Bible represent ideas in one's own mind. When this symbolism is understood one can follow the characters in their various movements and thus find the way to solve all one's life's problems.
Bible, place in Truth study--The Bible is a recital of what has taken place in the consciousness of man, of the results of his working, either intelligently with the law or unintelligently against it, in seeking his own salvation. It gives an explanation of spiritual law as applied to man and tells him how to find the kingdom of heaven within.
Bible, spiritual interpretation of the--A spiritual interpretation of the Bible demands that the meaning of every figure, type, parable, and symbol must be in harmony with the fundamental principles of Being.
birth, new--The awakening of man to a consciousness of his unity with the one universal Spirit; the change from mortal to spiritual consciousness through the begetting and quickening power of the word of Truth. It is the change that comes here and now. Jesus made no mention of resurrection after death as having any part in the new birth. "Except one be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3).
birth, new, change following--When man is begotten and born of the Word he is no longer "flesh . . . as grass" (I Pet. 1:24) but is eternal and abiding, not subject to death and corruption.
birth, new, effect of--Begetting and quickening take place in man's inner consciousness, but the process of being "born anew" (John 3:3) includes the whole man, spirit, soul, and body. To be born again is to be made "a new creature" (II Cor. 5:17) having "this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 2:5) and a body like unto His glorious body.
black magic--Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven had been taken by violence and force. "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and men of violence take it by force" (Matt. 11:12). It is possible to use the life, substance, and power that form the basis of the kingdom of heaven in selfish ways. This is black magic and is the work of the selfish personality that Jesus refers to in Matt. 10:28, "Fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
blasphemy--Impious or irreverent thoughts toward God, such as sickness, poverty, death. "But the blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven" (Matt. 12:31).
bless--To invoke good upon; to call forth the action of God; to confer God's good on something or someone.
blessedness of God--The joy that comes from God to those whose thoughts are stayed on Him. "Everlasting joy shall be unto them" (Isa. 61:7).
blessing,
