Few will deny that Christ Jesus ushered in a new era. Even the skeptical are forced to admit that something was brought to mankind by the Founder of Christianity which through the centuries has borne fruit in the moral and spiritual advancement of the human race. The fact is that he who was born in Bethlehem and whose mission was heralded by "a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men," through the truth of his teaching started the world on an upward spiritual trend along which it has ever since continued to progress. What the world would be like today without Christianity it would be difficult to imagine. This is certain: all that is best among the peoples of Christendom has had its inspiration in the pure spirituality taught by the humbly great Nazarene.
Jesus knew, as did Mary his mother, that his business on earth was to inform men on their relationship to God and each other. He had to instruct them on the basic truths of being; to enlighten them on the fatherhood of God; to make known to them that since all are sons of the one Father, all men are brethren. In this way he sought to establish in the hearts of men the truth of God's love for them and the necessity of their love for one another. These two great doctrines, the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, therefore stand out as basic in Christianity.
Further, Jesus' life-work consisted of continuous demonstration of his understanding of God—Spirit, Truth, Love—over the erroneous beliefs of matter and evil. Mrs. Eddy writes on page 44 of the textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures": "He [Jesus] proved Life to be deathless and Love to be the master of hate. He met and mastered on the basis of Christian Science, the power of Mind over matter, all the claims of medicine, surgery, and hygiene." He healed the paralyzed, the blind, the deaf, the dumb, the leprous, without aid from the material systems of his day. And every healing of disease or sin he brought about proved Mind's supremacy over so-called matter or material law.
