Every system of thought must have a starting point. It begins with
either a making or a creating, a difference which we have discussed
already. Their resemblance lies in their power as FOUNDATIONS. Their
difference lies in what rests upon them. Both are cornerstones for
systems of belief by which men live. It is a mistake to believe that a
thought system which is based on lies is weak. NOTHING made by a child
of God is without power. It is essential to realize this, because
otherwise you will not understand why you have so much trouble with this
course, and will be unable to escape from the prisons which you have
made for yourselves.

You cannot resolve the authority problem by depreciating the power of
your minds. To do so is to deceive yourself, and this will hurt you
because you KNOW the strength of the mind. You also know that you CANNOT
weaken it, any more than you can weaken God. The “devil” is a
frightening concept because he is thought of as extremely powerful and
extremely active. He is perceived as a force in combat with God,
battling Him for possession of the Souls He created. He
deceives by lies, and builds kingdoms of his own, in which everything is
in direct opposition to God. Yet he ATTRACTS men rather than repels
them, and they are seen as willing to “sell” him their Souls in return
for gifts they RECOGNIZE are of no real worth.

This makes absolutely no sense. The whole picture is one in which man
acts in a way he HIMSELF realizes is self-destructive, but which he does
not choose to correct, and therefore perceives the cause as beyond his
control. We have discussed the fall, or separation, before, but its
meaning must be clearly understood without symbols. The separation is
not symbolic. It is an order of reality, or a system of thought that is
real enough in time, though NOT in eternity. All beliefs are real to the
believer.

The fruit of only ONE tree was “forbidden” to man in his symbolic
garden. But GOD could not have forbidden it, or it could not have BEEN
eaten. If God knows His children, and I assure you that He does, would
He have put them in a position where their own destruction was possible?
The “tree” which was forbidden was named the “tree of knowledge.” Yet
God created knowledge, and gave it freely to His creations. The
symbolism here has been given many interpretations, but you may be sure
that ANY interpretation which sees either God OR His creations as
capable of destroying their own Purpose is in error.

Eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge is a symbolic expression
for incorporating into the self the ability for self-creating. This is
the ONLY sense in which God and His Souls are NOT co-creators. The
belief that they ARE is implicit in the “self concept,” a concept now
made acceptable by its WEAKNESS, and explained by a tendency of the self
to create an IMAGE of itself. Its fear aspect is often ascribed to fear
of retaliation by a “father figure,” a particularly curious idea in view
of the fact that no-one uses the term to refer to the physical father.
It refers to an IMAGE of a father in relation to an IMAGE of the self.

Images are perceived, NOT known. Knowledge cannot deceive, but
perception CAN. Man can perceive himself as self-creating, but he cannot
do more than BELIEVE it. He CANNOT make it true. And, as we said before,
when you finally perceive correctly, you can only be glad that you
cannot. But until then, the belief that you CAN
is the central foundation stone in your thought system, and all your
defenses are used to attack ideas which might bring it to light. You
still believe you are images of your own creation. Your minds are split
with your Souls on this point, and there is NO resolution while you
believe the one thing that is literally inconceivable. That is why you
CANNOT create, and are filled with fear about what you make.

The mind can make the belief in separation VERY real and VERY fearful,
and this belief is the “devil.” It is powerful, active, destructive, and
clearly in opposition to God because it literally denies His Fatherhood.
Never underestimate the power of this denial. Look at your lives, and
see what the devil has made. But KNOW that this making will surely
dissolve in the light of truth, because its FOUNDATION is a lie.

Your creation by God is the ONLY foundation which cannot be shaken
because the light is IN it. Your starting point is truth, and you must
return to this Beginning. Much has been perceived since then, but
nothing else has happened. That is why your Souls are still in peace,
even though your minds are in conflict. You have not yet gone back far
enough, and that is why you become so fearful. As you approach the
Beginning, you feel the fear of the destruction of your thought system
upon you, as if it were the fear of death. There IS no death, but there
IS a belief in death.

The Bible says that the branch that bears no fruit will be cut off and
will wither away. Be glad! The light WILL shine from the true Foundation
of Life, and your own thought system WILL stand corrected. It CANNOT
stand otherwise. You who fear salvation are WILLING death. Life and
death, light and darkness, knowledge and perception are irreconcilable.
To believe that they can be reconciled is to believe that God and man
can NOT. Only the Oneness of knowledge is conflictless. Your kingdom is
not of this world because it was given you from BEYOND this world. Only
IN this world is the idea of an authority problem meaningful. The world
is not left by death but by truth, and truth CAN be known by all those
for whom the Kingdom was created, and for whom it waits.