There has always been considerable interest in tracing family lineage. Genealogists trace, sometimes laboriously, the human descent of families from a common ancestor to a present generation. Frequently they uncover a hitherto unknown progenitor who adds luster to the family name or, conversely, one whose record clouds it. Occasionally a familial strain is brought to light that arouses concern for the welfare of future offspring. Paul in his first letter to Timothy (1:4) warns against giving heed to "endless genealogies."
What relief to discover, through the teachings of Christian Science, that we all share a common Parent, God, and therefore have a common spiritual lineage! And what comfort to know that no threat of material taint can violate the purity and integrity of a child of God; no stigma of human heritage can rob him of his spiritual birthright!
Describing man in Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy writes (p. 475), "He is the compound idea of God, including all right ideas; the generic term for all that reflects God's image and likeness; the conscious identity of being as found in Science, in which man is the reflection of God, or Mind, and therefore is eternal; that which has no separate mind from God; that which has not a single quality underived from Deity; that which possesses no life, intelligence, nor creative power of his own, but reflects spiritually all that belongs to his Maker." That this man, here described, could fall victim to or benefit from a pedigree compounded of error, is inconceivable and indicates that mankind has little understood the hallowedness of spiritual genesis.
