Religion is an essential part of our humanity. We all follow some form
of religion, in the original meaning of the word. But organised religion
establishes definitions, boundaries and hierarchies which the founders
would be amazed by. This is perhaps more true of Christianity than most
other religions, due to the short life of Jesus, his sudden death, the
lack of any contemporary records. His teaching about the kingdom of God
is great; it could see us through our time on earth. But his followers
watered it down and soon lost it altogether. It became a kingdom in
heaven for the few, rather than one here and now for everyone. The
Church, or Churches, that resulted became increasingly irrelevant, even
a hindrance, to seeing it realised. Many will always find security and
truth in the traditions that developed, and good for them. But for those
who can't, for those who have given up on religion or never thought it
worth considering, the original teachings are worth another look. If we
could recover them and live by them, we could change ourselves and the
world for the better. We could bring God back to earth.