for any tradition of faith.

We might consider, then, the earliest Christians, who didn’t yet call themselves Christians. In the early days they met in each other’s homes, often over a meal, prayed together, and discussed their common history and beliefs. No formal church, with all its rituals and rules, had yet formed, although the Judaic rules and rituals were mostly still followed. Over time, of course, disagreements arose over Jesus’

Let’s pretend that a wise holy man, inspired by God Himself, is revealed today. Let’s further pretend that he presents us with the Meaning of Life, the answer to at least some of the eternal questions that have vexed us since we climbed down out of the trees. What would happen to his words and deeds? Most likely dozens of pundits and experts would pop out of the woodwork and author dozens of books analyzing every word and nuance of the message. Within a year or two theologians would be interpreting each other’s interpretations and disputes would arise. Within a decade the original Meaning of Life would be lost in a flurry of sects, rituals and rules.

This somewhat pessimistic and over-simplified scenario is a reflection of human nature’s irresistible tendency to take a sacred concept and, over time, to ritualize, bureaucratize and reinterpret into something very different. As discussed under “What would Jesus, Moses and Mohammad Think,” I doubted that the myriad denominations that evolved from their words and work were what they had at all intended. I can’t believe that they ever imagined the colossal, wealthy and aristocratic bureaucracies that were formed in their names, let alone the superior, judgmental and angry viewpoints that often followed.

So, what might they have hoped for? What legacy would a prophet hope to leave behind? How would he or she have seen his or her followers acting a century or two after his or her passing? What would be the structure of their ideal religion, if they had at all intended the formation of a faith and long-term following? What might be the ideal religion?

I should first of all mention that my perspective comes out of Christianity because that was my upbringing, but I would think these concepts would apply for any tradition of faith.

We might consider, then, the earliest Christians, who didn’t yet call themselves Christians. In the early days they met in each other’s homes, often over a meal, prayed together, and discussed their common history and beliefs. No formal church, with all its rituals and rules, had yet formed, although the Judaic rules and rituals were mostly still followed. Over time, of course, disagreements arose over Jesus’

Within a year or two theologians would be interpreting each other’s interpretations and disputes would arise. Within a decade the original Meaning of Life would be lost in a flurry of sects, rituals and rules.

This somewhat pessimistic and over-simplified scenario is a reflection of human nature’s irresistible tendency to take a sacred concept and, over time, to ritualize, bureaucratize and reinterpret into something very different. As discussed under “What would Jesus, Moses and Mohammad Think,” I doubted that the myriad denominations that evolved from their words and work were what they had at all intended. I can’t believe that they ever imagined the colossal, wealthy and aristocratic bureaucracies that were formed in their names, let alone the superior, judgmental and angry viewpoints that often followed.

So, what might they have hoped for? What legacy would a prophet hope to leave behind? How would he or she have seen his or her followers acting a century or two after his or her passing? What would be the structure of their ideal religion, if they had at all intended the formation of a faith and long-term following? What might be the ideal religion?

I should first of all mention that my perspective comes out of Christianity because that was my upbringing, but I would think these concepts would apply for any tradition of faith.

We might consider, then, the earliest Christians, who didn’t yet call themselves Christians. In the early days they met in each other’s homes, often over a meal, prayed together, and discussed their common history and beliefs. No formal church, with all its rituals and rules, had yet formed, although the Judaic rules and rituals were mostly still followed. Over time, of course, disagreements arose over Jesus’

iscussed under “What would Jesus, Moses and Mohammad Think,” I doubted that the myriad denominations that evolved from their words and work were what they had at all intended. I can’t believe that they ever imagined the colossal, wealthy and aristocratic bureaucracies that were formed in their names, let alone the superior, judgmental and angry viewpoints that often followed.

So, what might they have hoped for? What legacy would a prophet hope to leave behind? How would he or she have seen his or her followers acting a century or two after his or her passing? What would be the structure of their ideal religion, if they had at all intended the formation of a faith and long-term following? What might be the ideal religion?

I should first of all mention that my perspective comes out of Christianity because that was my upbringing, but I would think these concepts would apply for any tradition of faith.

We might consider, then, the earliest Christians, who didn’t yet call themselves Christians. In the early days they met in each other’s homes, often over a meal, prayed together, and discussed their common history and beliefs. No formal church, with all its rituals and rules, had yet formed, although the Judaic rules and rituals were mostly still followed. Over time, of course, disagreements arose over Jesus’

hope to leave behind? How would he or she have seen his or her followers acting a century or two after his or her passing? What would be the structure of their ideal religion, if they had at all intended the formation of a faith and long-term following? What might be the ideal religion?

I should first of all mention that my perspective comes out of Christianity because that was my upbringing, but I would think these concepts would apply for any tradition of faith.

We might consider, then, the earliest Christians, who didn’t yet call themselves Christians. In the early days they met in each other’s homes, often over a meal, prayed together, and discussed their common history and beliefs. No formal church, with all its rituals and rules, had yet formed, although the Judaic rules and rituals were mostly still followed. Over time, of course, disagreements arose over Jesus’

for any tradition of faith.

We might consider, then, the earliest Christians, who didn’t yet call themselves Christians. In the early days they met in each other’s homes, often over a meal, prayed together, and discussed their common history and beliefs. No formal church, with all its rituals and rules, had yet formed, although the Judaic rules and rituals were mostly still followed. Over time, of course, disagreements arose over Jesus’ words and intentions and over whom or what he actually was. Leaders, such as Paul, eventually stepped forward, imposed structure and interpretation, and we were off and running. Note that bibles were not widely available until the sixteenth century and, besides, most people were illiterate during those early centuries, so it was more necessary for them to depend upon others to read and interpret for them.

But could we step back and re-form a faith closer to what Jesus, or the other prophets, might have hoped for? For me, such a faith would be one with an elemental foundation, such as certain holy books (with the possibility that others might be later considered and added), a belief in God and, in the case of Christians, at least an acceptance that Jesus existed and was a holy man worthy of emulation and study. Some general codes of morality such as the Ten Commandments and Golden Rule might be included. Congregates would periodically gather together to study, discuss and pray. Leaders might be elected, but their duties would not include imposing rituals or interpretations. While chapters and verses would be studied and discussed, the overall intentions of the prophet(s) would not be forgotten.

I fear that I am naive, that such a congregation couldn’t exist for long without falling to the siren song of bureaucracy and a theology of rules and rituals. After all, Utopian philosophies never succeeded because they didn’t take into account the fact that greed for power and influence happens, that some will inevitably lead for their own gratification, and that many will follow no matter what.

But perhaps this age of the Internet will allow for a discourse closer to the founders’ intent than anything that has come along so far. We can hope.