Sentence:  But to say that at a moment in history something is new is not necessarily to say that it is modern ; and for this statement the best <WSD>evidence</WSD> comes within the five years following the publication of Utopia , when Martin Luther elaborates a new perception of the nature of the Divine 's encounter with man . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  your basis for belief or disbelief; knowledge on which to base belief