"In ancient times students devoted themselves to the study of pure reasoning, and they found that by putting themselves in harmony with First Cause, they attained a power, by certain lines of thought and through the speaking of words, to perform wondrous works, healing the sick, having dominion over all creation. "They discovered the different results of speaking words of science, which are words of truth, and words of error or words contrary to reason. Right, true words brought forth right and true conditions to everyone around them, but deviation from this line of reason, would bring discord and trouble and undesirable conditions. These wise thinkers declared Mind to be the First Cause of all creation, and announced the study of Mind and the words and ways of Mind, to be the profoundest theme that could engage the attention of man. "We find this philosophy and these conclusions corroborated by the Bible, which we shall consider and prove to contain revelations of changeless, eternal truth. "Truth is universal, and whatever is true in one part of the universe must be true in all parts. That which has been understood and conceded to be true in all ages and climes is what we call universal truth. "Because the first chapter of Genesis, then, agrees in all essential particulars with the accounts of other nations and among other peoples we consider it universal truth. "Because it is so beautiful, logical and spiritual, we revere it; because our own inner consciousness of truth agrees with its statements, we concede it to be as accurate and reasonable an account of Creation as we have, and we are therefore willing to use it as the basis of our argument. "We read: 'In the beginning God created,' but a more literal and spiritual rendering would make the pivotal statement, 'God creates.' Now we know there can be no beginning or end to Omnipotence, hence there must be a continuous creating, and thus the term 'beginning' could only refer to the manifestation of what had already been created. How was the creation manifested? By the Word. 'God said, let there be light, and it was so,' and by every 'God said,' was manifested the thing which He said was to be. "The word God is an abbreviation of the Anglo-Saxon of Good, the two words in that language being identical. To many this will be an aid to realizing the omnipresence God, and add to the reverential sense of that personal nearness which makes the Deity a Father and an ever-loving Friend. "God is not person as to form or personal limitations, yet personal in the sense of Presence and intelligent communication with intelligent beings. Jesus said truly, 'No man hath seen God at any time, because the eye of the flesh cannot perceive spirit.' Through the quality or influence of Good, Intelligence, Love and all we may name as soulful, we perceive and feel God's presence.