After more than 50 years of living & learning about people, the universe, how people work with each other & the universe, how it doesn't always work out so well, how to help things work better, how to repair what we break, and how to study & share life-supporting how-to's...; and after more than 40 years of reading scriptures of all the world's major religions, six bible versions, and many other books... I decided to post a summary of Christianity's origins & evolution.

Not scientifically replicable with latest state of the art methods & materials.

Basic conclusions (subject to ad hoc revisions with new data): Christianity (1) started as a Jewish sect, (2) evolved into several sects before Jesus' crucifixion, (3) included at least one gentile and several Hellenized Jews before the crucifixion, (4) the apostles and all others each had somewhat different understandings & applications of things even during the Pentecost, (5) the sects evolved after the crucifixion, (6) persons unknowingly and/or knowingly changed (added, deleted, lost, altered) facts, (7) persons shared, preached, pushed, and/or forced the different versions of the truth (some more true than others), (8) well meaning or not, people contradicted one or more of the truths, ranging from soft & silent disagreements to hard & violent killings, (9) we benefit & suffer from our own & each other's free wills, (10) individually & as groups, we are *all* imperfect in one or more ways, (11) we could better help ourselves & each other, or not, and (12) we must live with the consequences, now & eternally.

Nothing really new! Of course, many, many, many details spared for brevity.

Conclusion: Love the Creator with all your heart, mind, body & soul; and love others as you love yourself. The rest? Details. Life is what we make it.

Pax vobiscvm, +r