Transformation Article: Community - the history and today

Copyright © 2009 Dorian S. Cole

What does it take to create a vital and lasting religious community? What I have learned:

There are many types of community. Not everyone who is in a community wants to be part of that community. It isn't geography or presence that defines community, although it may have a lot to do with it. So you have to look at what makes a community thrive and grow, rather than look at just the headcount.

The Internet is a good example of community. Everyone there may have a different agenda. Those with similar agendas tend to coalesce around things that are specific to them. They surf to the same Internet sites, they read similar books, they do similar activities, and they find ways to communicate with each other. In communicating with each other, they share in each other's experience and are supportive of each other's efforts. This works in social movements, political movements, and other special interests. Individually we have limited power to make things happen, but people who work together are able to make large things happen, partially through a community that achieves critical mass, and partially through support of each other for common causes.

I grew up in several communities. The one I remember most was a community of 600 people. I knew most of them by name because I delivered papers on a 5 mile route that I walked daily around the entire town. But the geography and people didn't seem like a community to me - they were just acquaintances. What seemed like communities were the groups within the communities: the school, Little League baseball, the kids I did things with, my Boy Scout troop, our church, and even the youth center and movie night in the street. I had things in common interest with these groups, and knew that I could count on them for some measure of support, particularly support when it came to things that were of common interest.

Some communities exist because the thing they have in common is an interest in being left alone. But most communities share one or more common interests and are supportive. There are even different communities within a church who congeal because they share a special interest that others within the church don't share.

The earliest communities happened because of technology. A land area will only support so many people. There is only so much grain and berries to pick, and only so many animals to kill. Once the population reaches the threshold of being unsupportable by their area, people have to split off and form another small community. The numbers of people in a settlement in places like Ancient Sumer and Palestine were very small - usually family size.

As people found ways to raise crops and animals on a larger scale, communities blossomed. Very large ancient cities have been found in Palestine, Sumer (Iraq), Iran, Mexico, and South America. With those civilizations inevitably came laws, religion, writing, art, and technological improvements in agriculture, building, etc.

One of the strongest examples of a religious community was Ancient Judaism. Religious heads appointed the king. Religion formed the identification of the people. Religion created the law. The bond of identity in Judaism was so strong that even if the people were sent to far away countries (India, Assyria, Europe, Russia, Africa), they did not assimilate those cultures and religions but held their own distinct identity as Jews and maintained Jewish customs.

Ancient Judaism split into various sects, which basically were communities. The first main split was between the Northern and Southern Kingdoms (Judah and Israel), which was both a political split and a religious split. The Priests of Israel were much stricter in adhering to religious principles. During the first time when many Jews were uprooted and sent to Babylon (the first Diaspora), some of those left in the land became known as Samaritans (they used only the first five books of Jewish Scripture, or Law, and didn't recognize the Prophets). The Jews who later returned despised the Samaritans. Later philosophical splits in Judaism brought the Nazarenes, Essenes, Sadducees, and Pharisees. These usually weren't geographical divisions. They all were communities defined by a common cause.

Christianity brought a new form of identity, as did the later Muslims. At the time of Jesus the Christ, religion (Judaism) and Roman rule had become symbiotic. The Roman rulers influenced the appointment of the religious rulers, and appointed civil rulers who had a religious heritage. The religious rulers gave a measure of support to the Roman rulers. Much of the population had assimilated the Greek culture that the Romans brought with them. But many felt the loss of identity. The population prospered, but many within the population wanted to overthrow the Romans and return to the religious rule of king and Chief Priest. For that reason, many rejected Christ for not being a military ruler.

Christ shed a new light on Judaism, and in doing so created a new community that reached beyond the bounds of Judaism and Israel. Christ and his message appealed to the masses. They were beset by problems. For one, death was all around them. While many lived into old age, the average lifespan was only 32 years and parents saw many of their children die before they reached maturity. If disease didn't kill, the Romans and their uncompromising rule did. Physical labor was very hard for most people, so they literally worked themselves to death by wearing out their bodies. Medicine was rudimentary at best, so injuries and disease usually meant death.

The average person was very poor, and people just barely eked out a living to give themselves almost enough food and shelter. But they were required to pay taxes and give 10% of their earnings to the Temple, as well as regular food and animal sacrifices.

So at the time Christianity started, the people felt at the mercy of their environment, their religion, the government, and disease. Christ brought a message of forgiveness, freedom from burdens, and hope for a better tomorrow. Rich and poor, tax collector and ruler, every citizen could respond to the message of Christ. Religion would not be a curse placed on people by rulers that simply brought even heavier burdens. The Good News was that people could get forgiveness directly from God, they could be healed, they could be free of sacrifice, and they could improve their relationships with others - there was hope.

This was the news that people needed. The message spread like a contagion. People formed into communities of believers. They talked about this message and explored it fully. They "preached" it to others. They invited others into their communities, often by having dinners together and talking about the message and what it meant in their lives. It spread North, South, East, and West, and eventually went to all of Europe. It was said to have turned the entire world upside down.

The early church was a time of exploration and passion. The message of love was not a message filled with pain. It was a message of reconciliation with God and others. It became of utmost importance how each person treated other people. Love was not a set of burdensome rules to follow, but a way of life that made life easier. Exploring this idea, and trying to apply it daily, captivated people. It was the essence of the covenant of individual responsibility that Israel's prophets promised but which failed to materialize in practice.

Communities formed around this idea. But the communities were nothing alike. Some held onto Jewish beliefs. Some were more philosophical and esoteric in their approach (Gnostics). Each community, such as the ones at Alexandria, Jerusalem, Ephesus, and Rome, emphasized different things and saw things differently from other communities. Each was involved in applying the teachings of Christ in their particular circumstances. The teachings had to work with their political systems, other religions, and social customs. As the centuries passed, often the leader of one religious community would condemn the teachings of another community.

The early communities disagreed endlessly. The things that were common about the early communities were: 1) They were passionate about their purpose. 2) They applied their teachings to their circumstances.

The teachings of Christ could not be reduced to sweeping rules that applied across cultures. Each new circumstance meant finding what love meant in this different application. The great things that this message meant to people created a passion for taking it to others and applying it.

What about today? The specter of death lurking in every shadow is not such a large demon in places like the US. The government is not oppressive - a bit burdensome at times, but not oppressive. Religious influences are not partners with the government in suppressing free thought. Disease usually can be overcome or managed. Most people manage to make a living that provides food, shelter, and many of their wants. We don't have military authorities at every corner ready to nail us to a post.

Is fear and being deprived the essence of religion? Do we lack those reasons for liking the message of Christ and organizing into communities? To some extent we have similar needs. We have rapid change, world political instability and war, and the threat of unemployment, which generate fear. For some, this is a reason to look to God - for stability and security.

What we always have, the same as those in ancient days, is people who mistreat other people or have poor relationships with others. It is this message, more than any other, that works with people. It is still the basic reconciliation with God and others.

What is a community? It is a boundless set of possibilities. It is people who have a common belief who come together to support each other, and to find others who can share in their efforts to address some need. It is people with the passion to help others find forgiveness and support, and do something greater than themselves that is outside themselves. It is people who look at today's circumstances and apply the message of love to them.

As a church looks at itself and asks if it will grow or survive, no one really knows. Birth, growth, and death are all in the hands of God. It has been this way since ancient times. Religion constantly changes to address new needs, or fades away. If the community finds purpose, and tries to apply love to circumstances, the odds are with the community. All that any of us can do is try.

Next: Transformation - The individual and the community

Previous: Transformation - The birth and death of communities

Yours in Christ,

- Dorian Scott Cole

Author's Books

Ontology of God: The voices of the ancients speak.

Distribution notice:

You are welcome to make standard size quotations from this article with proper attribution (Dorian Scott Cole, One Spirit Resources Web site). This material is not public domain and may not be sold, mass distributed, published, or made electronically available in any form, without permission from Dorian Scott Cole.