Gad

[UnregisteredParticipant]

Any ideas why Mrs. Eddy defines Gad as “Science; spiritual being under‐
stood; haste towards harmony.”

[IanParticipant]

I really don’t know. But I suppose that is what each one of us is to discover — the spiritual meaning of our Pastor. The more an more I use the Bible and Science and Health the more the spiritual meaning of things that were a mystery before become clear.

Just curious…did you check out where Gad appears in the Bible? Did that give you any clues?

[A.m.yParticipant]

carl.sagan — you’re misinformed about MBE’s support and belief in British Israelism. One of the researchers at the Mary Baker Eddy Library addressed this in another thread. I’ll see if I can find it.

[A.m.yParticipant]

You can find the whole thread here:

http://tmcyouth.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3485&highlight=british

Here’s the post I’m referring to:

I believe you are referring to what is known as the “Anglo-Israel” theory, which was popular in certain quarters in the late nineteenth century. A Christian Scientist named Julia Field-King became very interested in this theory and got Mrs. Eddy interested in it for a time as well. However, Mrs. Eddy over time recognized more and more problems with it and eventually lost interest. And she never advocated or discussed it in her published writings. (See Robert Peel, Mary Baker Eddy: The Years of Authority, pages 114 – 121.)

[UnregisteredParticipant]

Carl, I have found just the opposite to be true. When I’ve read some of her definitions, and then dug a little deeper, I’m usually amazed at her keen understanding of the Bible

[GabrielParticipant]

Since Gad is the first son of Jacob who founded the Israelite tribe, it may have something to do with MBE’s support and belief in British Israelism, the conceited belief that people of Western European descent are direct descendants of the lost tribes of Israel, despite genetic, linguistic, historical, and archeological evidence to the contrary.

I find James Snowden’s description of the Glossary a great precursor to understanding anything in the chapter:

I’m curious who is James Snowden and where does the passage that you quoted come from? Also I don’t see how the passage you quoted would be at all helpful in understanding the Glossary or anything else in Science and Health.

[MikeDavisParticipant]

It seems evident that Mrs. Eddy believed that in reading accounts of lives of Biblical characters, one could discern both the spiritual and the mortal qualities they may have expressed, and this is what she was bringing out in her Glossary definitions.

Actually, Mrs. Eddy was by no means the first Christian to see these kinds of meanings in Biblical characters and events. Doing so was an important part of the thinking of the most famous theologian in the New England Puritan tradition, Jonathan Edwards. Stephen Gottschalk writes on pages 126, 127 of his biography of Mrs. Eddy, Rolling Away the Stone:

“In the Edwardsian tradition in which [Eddy] was raised, biblical events had a meaning that transcended their specific circumstances. This pattern of interpretation was known formally as typology. It hearkens back to the early days of the Christian church, when it was used as a way of interpreting scripture. … It was this understanding of typology that Eddy inherited from the Edwardsian tradition, then generalized and broadened in her own way. Like her Puritan forebears, she repeatedly spoke of biblical events as ‘types.’

[GordonParticipant]

Responding to the original poster: first of all, sorry but I haven’t looked into Gad myself. However, I do have some recommended reading that might be helpful as you work to understand this yourself. Check out an article titled “The Displacement of Dan by Manasseh” by Caroline Getty in the January 1919 issue of the Christian Science Journal. If you’re at a reading room, this article is also included in a little brown pamphlet called “Healing Animal Magnetism.” The article discusses Mrs. Eddy’s glossary definitions of the Biblical characters “Dan” and “Manasseh.” It’s a fascinating read, and I think it will help you shed some light on the “how to” of reading the Bible with the glossary definitions in mind. Once you’ve got that framework, perhaps read all the passages you can find about Gad and try to apply it. Then share your results with us!

[UnregisteredParticipant]

thanks. I’ll try it.

[UnregisteredParticipant]

Thanks for that new way to use the Glossary. I found a few wonderful passages that I now look at in a new light.

When Gad was born, his mother said “A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad”

For me that means that Science is that “troop” that comes and saves us. It saves us be making spritual being understood. These spiritual concepts existed even then. They weren’t seen too clearly, but they were there.

Later, the Bible says of Gad “Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.”

What encouragement that gives all of us right now. Especially thinking of our movement. Spiritual being will be understood.

.

Science and Health — Gad (Jacob’s son). Science; spiritual being under‐
stood; haste towards harmony.

[UnregisteredParticipant]

And Moses’ blessing about Gad was…..

¶And of Gad he said, Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad: he dwelleth as a lion, and teareth the arm with the crown of the head.

That could also mean “Blessed” is he that enlargeth “Science”

[Author]

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