As mentioned in a previous post, I believe the earliest followers of Jesus lived a communal lifestyle -- pooling their wealth, working together towards a common good, and sharing the output of their work efforts.
But the Christianity that has been passed down to us today, especially the Roman Catholic version of it, is a very personal affair. We are instructed to put all our faith in Jesus and build a "personal relationship" with him. Granted, churches are places where we all congregate together and share "the good news". But for most of us, Christianity is an internal journey we take towards spiritual enlightenment.
But modern science is starting to discover that we humans are a social animal - electrochemical processes in our brains can sense and communicate with other humans in ways we don't yet fully understand. Maybe the truth of Christianity is that we are all connected together by a universal energy we call "God", and to obtain true spirituality we need to connect at a deeper level with those around us.
For this outwardly social but inwardly shy human, that's a tall order I'm going to have trouble living up to.
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