Good morning everyone!

***Here's a good exercise for Chapter 4. Read through and count how
many times the word "prejudice" in it's various forms appears. Also
count synonyms such as "preconceived ideas" etc. You'll be surprised
to see how often we are asked to lay aside prejudice against
spiritual concepts in this chapter.***

We are at page 46. The first full paragraph here speaks of
openmindedness: "Yes, we of agnostic temperament have had these
thoughts and experiences. Let us make haste to reassure you. We found
that as soon as we were able to lay aside prejudice and express even
a willingness to believe in a Power greater than ourselves, we
commenced to get results, even though it was impossible for any of
us to fully define or comprehend that Power, which is God."

Reading through to the top of page 47, we see the important idea
expressed again:

"When, therefore, we speak to you of God, we mean your own conception
of God. This applies, too, to other spiritual expressions which you
find in this book. Do not let any prejudice you may have against
spiritual terms deter you from honestly asking yourself what they
mean to you. At the start, this was all we needed to commence
spiritual growth, to effect our first conscious relation with God as
we understood Him. Afterward, we found ourselves accepting many
things
which then seemed entirely out of reach. That was growth, but if we
wished to grow we had to begin somewhere. So we used our own
conception, however limited it was."

In paragraph 2, we find another reference to the spiritual structure
we are building:

"It has been repeatedly proven among us that upon this simple
cornerstone a wonderfully effective spiritual structure can be
built."

The "cornerstone" is belief, and on page 12 we found that "complete
willingness" is our foundation. All that is important will rest on
the
foundation and the entire structure is squared up from this
cornerstone. More elements of this spiritual structure will be
revealed throughout the text.

In the following paragraph we see that belief comes before
faith: "That was great news to us, for we had assumed we could not
make use of spiritual principles unless we accepted many things on
faith (indicating knowledge) which seemed difficult to believe."

So we begin with a belief, and it is through the knowledge that
supports this belief that we begin to have faith.

Have a great day!

Jim

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