The greatest threat to the future of the world is religion. Nuclear weapons,

terrorism, SARS, shifting governments, military coups, and AIDS are simply tools used by religion. More wars have been fought in the name of religion than any other influence. Millions have died over the past 2,000 years under the destructive hand of religious zeal. Misplaced and misguided religious passion has produced such historical scars as the Crusades, the Inquisition, ethnic cleansing, and the horror of the Holocaust.

Why is religion so powerful and controlling? Why is it more powerful than politics, military arms, and scientific advancement? Because religion is not just a social, cultural, political, or ideological factor; instead it finds its power in the personal chambers of the soul of the individual. Within the soul we discover the source of the private motivation that forms perceptions and behavior. Man is more willing to die for the sake of his religion than for any political, social, or ideological reason.

Religion is as old as mankind, finding its roots in the private recesses of the human spirit. Every culture, no matter how old or far removed, has developed some form of religious practice that attempts to satisfy an elusive vacuum in the pit of the human soul crying out for reason, purpose, and significance. For mankind, life on planet earth has been nothing more than a long tedious march down the road of time, with each new generation searching for something they cannot define. The long chains of civilizations have left undeniable imprints on the pages of history—evidences for our generation that the search continues. From the secrets etched on the walls of ancient caves to the grand archaeological monuments to the remnants of the great empires, man marches on seeking to find himself and make sense of his world. Man’s travels through this world have produced a tapestry of religious practices and ideologies that only serve to create more problems than they solve.

A brief look at our modern, sophisticated, technocratic, cyberspaceage world of today can be the source of fear, depression, discouragement, insecurity, and uncertainty. From the archaic world of the cave men and bush hunters through the progressive succession of agrarian cultures, to the advent of the industrial revolution leading to the scientific age of post-modernism and the computer age, we are still no better than nor different from our ancestors of old.

The only difference seems to be the sophistication of our tools and weapons. We are smarter but not wiser; we live longer but not healthier; we have more but enjoy less; we can go to the moon, but we cannot go home to a good family; we have access to more information but know less about life. Tragically, we protect whales, but kill our children; we improve the quality of our food but produce less healthy strains for our consumption; we have more religion but less love; and we blame others for our choices as we look to ourselves for solutions to the problems we create.

The 21st century seems to be more uncertain than all the previous centuries in history. Planet earth is spinning through the solar system like a spaceship without a compass as it

travels on a course to self-destruction. On this long march of humanity, mankind has invented and developed a variety of systems and social structures in its attempt to grapple with the realities of life on our global spaceship. Over the centuries we have watched the creation of a variety of governmental systems including demigods, dictatorships, monarchies, and tyrannies, as well as the theories and practices of socialism, democracy, communism, and imperialism. Each of them has had an opportunity to try to make life better and more “humane” on our great planet. However, wars have increased rather than decreased, weapons of mass destruction are more available than ever before, and fear for safety and security is greater than ever before in history. All governments—even the best form we have developed, democracy—have failed to realize the world we keep searching for.

Two of the greatest tragedies of our modern history were World War I and World War II, when millions lost their lives at the hands of their fellow planet-dwellers. After World War I, various leaders joined together and made a promise that it would never happen again. They created the League of Nations, an organization dedicated to promoting world peace and initiating reasonable solutions to human conflicts. However, this pipe dream ended in the explosion of World War II.

After that conflict ended, world leaders made a second commitment, determining once again to never allow mankind to spiral down into the death-dealing clutches of international war. This commitment gave birth to the United Nations, a world body dedicated to making and keeping the peace around the world. Yet, more wars have been fought since the formation of the United Nations than before its creation. Today, as wars continue to ravage our planet, the United Nations itself, along with its purpose and usefulness, is under serious scrutiny.

I find it ironic that most of the current wars and tensions are products of, or strongly influenced by, religions. Where do we go from here? What do we do? What is the answer? Why can’t we just live together? Why is mankind so frustrated? Why do our cultures keep clashing into each other and why are our children on the streets killing one another?

These are the questions that this book is attempting to answer. The solution to our dilemma is somewhere in the middle of our search. It makes sense to conclude that if our world has no answers to the questions it asks and no solutions to the problems it creates, then it might be wise to look to another world for help. Rediscovering the Kingdom answers this very proposition. I am not talking about some weird, impractical, illusive, metaphysical notion of a pie in the sky, but rather a reasonable, tangible, human-friendly solution that responds not only to our unspoken desires about life here on earth but beyond.

This book is about you and your passion to understand life. It is about your search for control over your circumstances and destiny. It is about living life to its fullest and about reconnecting to your true self. You were created not just to exist but to live a fulfilled and significant life. This book is about that life—your life! Join me as we seek to discover an alternative reality at the end of man’s long search for truth.

PROLOGUE HIDDEN TREASURE

The old lady was dressed in what seemed like seven dresses. Her fingers were

exposed despite the fact that she wore a pair of life-worn gloves. She pushed an old shopping cart that testified that it was her mobile home, and she lived at the mercy of the elements. Her face showed the wear and tear of years of living. She was bent over, looking in a garbage can, searching for life-sustaining remains discarded by the more fortunate of society.

Suddenly, she shot up out of the barrel and shouted, “I found it. I found it!” There between her thumb and index finger she held the most beautiful pearl.

I ran over to her and asked if I could help her. She smiled and shook her head with a confidence I did not expect from one in her status of life. Then she proceeded to tell me the story of her life that still impacts me today.

She told of how she was born into a wealthy family and that her grandfather had left a treasure for her before she was born. During her infant years a fire had destroyed her family home, which was once on the site where the barrel of garbage now stood. The result was that her family lost everything, including the chest that held the treasure from her grandfather. She came to that spot every day to search for that treasure. Many people who knew her story would give her handouts to wear and leftovers to eat. But she said she believed that if she ever found that one treasure, then she would have all of her needs met and be able to repurchase the property lost by her family and rebuild the family house that was destroyed.

Today was her lucky day—she found the treasure. For many years she had only heard about it and had descriptions of it, but now she actually had it. Her life was changed that day, and her search was over. She regained her status and position in life and gave up all her life’s struggles for the sake of that one treasure.

It was a pearl. May you find your own pearl in these pages.

MATTHEW 13:44-47

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought

it.