Who is Jesus Christ from Selected Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson and what is their importance?

Emerson's understanding of Jesus is that Christ was more of a rebel than is commonly known; that Jesus challenged the status quo and forced his disciples and contemporaries to really think about the meaning of their faith and their role on earth. In Emerson's view. Jesus probably would not approve of many of the rituals and practices that have been carried forward for centuries in his name because they represent the sort of rote, mindless repetition that Jesus challenged in his own ministry.