Today we sometimes hear it said that we are living in "the post-Christian era." The implication is that Christianity has followed the pattern of earlier religious faiths and after a period of vitality and growth it has gradually weakened in its appeal, declined in value to the human race, and is now fading into obsolescence.
If one accepts the evidence, it might seem that there is basis for such a view. Attendance at the services in some churches has dwindled, and in some cases church buildings have fallen into decay. But because faith in old-time concepts of Christ Jesus' teaching is waning, there is no reason to assume that Christianity's era is past.
When Jesus was crucified and subsequently disappeared from earth in the ascension, many people expected his influence to decline rapidly and his words to be forgotten. But the opposite occurred. The master Christian had prophetically spoken of the moment of his own departure from the human scene as a moment of glory. He said, "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit."John 12:24;
And so it was that after a short interval of uncertainty during which his followers adjusted to the new situation, the Christian movement received fresh light and gathered momentum. As the disciples took upon themselves the responsibility of teaching the Christly truths of which their Master had thus far been the primal exponent, and demonstrating the power of his teachings through healing in his name, the community grew by thousands. Christianity not only survived its first crisis when its inaugurator left the scene but it spread and prospered. It was the same message of God's love after the ascension as before, but its mode of presentation to humanity changed to meet the world's need for understanding more of the impersonal nature of divine Truth.
Christ Jesus knew himself as God's Son and was fully cognizant of His truth. Mrs. Eddy said of him: "Jesus of Nazareth was the most scientific man that ever trod the globe. He plunged beneath the material surface of things, and found the spiritual cause."Science and Health, p.313; But the unfoldment of the deep things of God can only come to mankind as and when the human mind is ready to receive it—when it is prepared to grasp the more spiritual concept.
Christianity dawned upon a world that was dark with materialism, unable to receive more than a mere glimpse of the spiritual revelation. Knowing this, Jesus said, "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now." And he continued, "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth."John 16:12, 13;
He taught his immediate followers as much of the truth from the vast storehouse of his understanding of God as they could accept. In their turn the disciples preached Jesus' gospel of the infinite Father, God, and the coming of His perfect, spiritual kingdom, to people who were even less prepared than they were to grasp the deeply spiritual message of Christ.
Over many centuries these truths as represented in the Bible sustained successive generations of Christians, and in a large measure satisfied them—despite the multitudinous controversies on doctrinal points that rose from time to time. But the moment inevitably arrived for a further development of Christian teaching. In recent times, the prestigious pronouncements of natural scientists concerning human origin and life in matter joined with widespread skepticism to bring into question traditional beliefs. Together, these have rendered world thought more demanding of proof of the doctrine of Christianity—of its power to heal disease and to solve human problems.
The unquestioning faith of previous generations of Christians is not acceptable to the more intellectually sophisticated people of the present day; Christendom requires the more advanced teaching the Master was referring to when he said, "The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."14:26;
So, today, the same Christ, the true idea of God, as exemplified by Christ Jesus, has come with fresh vigor to lead us "into all truth." In an age when natural science looks upon creation as material and only accepts evidence derived from the physical senses, and philosophical theories tend to be built on a similar material basis, it has appeared in the form of Christian Science.
This Science is based on divine Principle and reasons consistently from cause to effect, acknowledging only the reality of God, good, and His perfect idea—the allness of Spirit and the nothingness of matter and evil. It maintains that God's law of harmony, understood, is able to annul the effects of belief in any other law and thereby heal all manner of human difficulties. Such reasoning may seem as shocking to the more conservative Christian as it does to the skeptic, but it is irrefutable because it is demonstrable. When understood and applied, it produces now in human experience the very evidence that twentieth century thinkers demand— evidence which the Founder of Christianity himself so abundantly supplied by healing the most crippling disease and aggressive sin.
Far from drawing to a close, Christianity has come to a point of fresh development and is demanding of its adherents new vision and new energy. "In different ages the divine idea assumes different forms, according to humanity's needs," explains Mrs. Eddy. "In this age it assumes, more intelligently than ever before, the form of Christian healing."Miscellaneous Writings p.370;
It is not now the post-Christian era but Christianity's new era. The Master's words are ringing in the ears of this generation: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."Mark 16:15; "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give."Matt. 10:8.
