The Born Again Experience: What It Gives, What It Takes, What It Costs

*Original sin: the doctrine that states humanity fell from grace when Eve believed the serpent in the Garden of Eden when he said, "In the day you eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, your eyes will be opened and you will become like God. He knows this and that's why He has forbidden you to eat from it." (Gen. 2 paraphrased) She then took the fruit, ate of it and gave some to her husband, Adam, and their eyes were opened; hence, the first incidence of SIN, disobedience. (It is because this story was taken literally that women have been, in the Western world, dominated by men ever since.) However, if one reads this story carefully, one discovers that they indeed DID become as gods, knowing good from evil (Gen. 3:22). God put them out of the Garden, not because they "disobeyed" and ate from a certain tree, but because, having so eaten, they awakened their power to choose; therefore, they could very likely choose to eat from another certain tree, namely the Tree of Life, and live forever, implying that they would then be God's rivals rather than His puppets.

I am a New Thought minister. And as might be expected, whenever I announce that fact, the question almost certainly comes back, What is New Thought?

And a fair question it is. If you ask a dozen New Thought adherents, you are likely to get a dozen (qualified) replies, but there are a few salient points on which they would all agree.

I grew up believing (because I was taught to) that there were TWO powers in the universe--a good power we call God and an evil one we call Satan, or the devil. However, somewhere along the way, that particular belief, and all of its attendant trappings, began to lose its allure (control?) for me. I finally left that system, though not until after many years of searching and researching and a lot of guilt.

In 1982 a very dear friend introduced me to a completely new way of thinking. It's called Science of Mind. The very title caught my attention quickly; I knew almost instinctively that this was where I wanted to be.

After a confused start I began to study Science of Mind principles seriously. I learned many new

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