We learn that every text, be it a road sign, an advertising jingle, a newspaper article, a classic novel, or a religious text, is read in some sort of context. This context shapes the way we read or interpret the text.
If you have ever felt that the Bible - especially the Old Testament - is a book of violence and war, then Mrs. Eddy's introduction to Chapter XV "Genesis" in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (SH), may open new doors of thinking about it.
Following on from one of the "important points, or religious tenets, of Christian Science" (SH p. 497), namely, that "...the inspired Word of the Bible [is] our sufficient guide to eternal Life" (ibid, p. 497), Eddy speaks of "scientific interpretation of the Scriptures" (ibid, p. 501) as needing to begin with Genesis.
The import seems to be that if we establish a clear understanding of Genesis, we will have a helpful context for the interpretation of the whole compilation, called the Bible. Further, Eddy cautions that in our search for truth, it is Spirit, not intellect or scholarship, which brings out the true meaning - see p. 505: 13-28.
"The calm and exalted thought or spiritual apprehension is at peace." (SH 506:11-12)
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