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This tall idea was born out in Jesus' days in the form of a profound capability to achieve a physical deliverance from diseases and death. In the days of the Renaissance (renewal), the rediscovery of the original Christ idea had ushered in an age of social, scientific, technological, and cultural progress that has had no equal in any age since, right to the present. Even now, mankind still benefits from the structures created in this period. The institution of the nation state is one of these. It was first pioneered in France, under Louis XI (1462), and later had its most advanced manifest in the organization of the sovereign nation-state of the United States of America (1776) by which that nation became the freest and most prosperous nation on earth until its principles were abandoned.
All this identifies in its own way the yardstick that mankind has chosen to measure its history, and hopefully itself. This yardstick, naturally, is a purely spiritual one.
The core element of Christ Jesus' legacy was the spiritual identity that he had illustrated and demonstrated, which had resurfaced during the Renaissance and had set the course for a renewal of mankind's self-development.
Christ Jesus had been a pioneer, working at the leading edge of scientific enquiry, exploring spiritual realities that had never been discovered before. This pioneering principle was brought out again during the Renaissance in terms of scientific discoveries and technological and cultural advances, the likes of which have never been seen before on the planet.
The other historic pioneer whose spirituality was manifest in a widely demonstrated ability for healing, on a Christ-like foundation, was Mary Baker Eddy. While her written works fill volumes, she rarely focuses on Christ Jesus' spirituality in such detail as she does in the following text. She wrote:
01
"It is related in the seventh chapter of Luke's Gospel that Jesus was once the honored guest of a certain Pharisee, by name Simon, though he was quite unlike Simon the disciple. While they were at meat, an unusual incident occurred, as if to interrupt the scene of Oriental festivity. A "strange woman" came in. Heedless of the fact that she was debarred from such a place and such society, especially under the stern rules of rabbinical law, as positively as if she were a Hindoo pariah intruding upon the household of a high-caste Brahman, this woman (Mary Magdalene, as she has since been called) approached Jesus. Why did he thus summarize her debt to divine Love? Had she repented and reformed, and did his insight detect this unspoken moral uprising? She bathed his feet with her tears before she anointed them with the oil. In the absence of other proofs, was her grief sufficient evidence to warrant the expectation of her repentance, reformation, and growth in wisdom? Certainly there was encouragement in the mere fact that she was showing her affection for a man of undoubted goodness and purity, who has since been rightfully regarded as the best man that ever trod this planet. Her reverence was unfeigned, and it was manifested towards one who was soon, though they knew it not, to lay down his mortal existence in behalf of all sinners, that through his word and works they might be redeemed from sensuality and sin."
"Which was the higher tribute to such ineffable affection, the hospitality of the Pharisee or the contrition of the Magdalen? This query Jesus answered by rebuking self-righteousness and declaring the absolution of the penitent. He even said that this poor woman had done what his rich entertainer had neglected to do, - wash and anoint his guest's feet, a special sign of Oriental courtesy."
"Here is suggested a solemn question, a question indicated by one of the needs of this age. Do Christian Scientists seek Truth as Simon sought the Savior, through material conservatism and for personal homage? Jesus told Simon that such seekers as he gave small reward in return for the spiritual purgation which came through the Messiah. If Christian Scientists are like Simon, then it must be said of them also that they love little."
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