humanity

What if he was just a man, like any other?

What if he traveled in search of something more, like so many, and found enlightened teachings? He may come back and tell others those ideas, piquing their interest. If they were popular they would spread easily.

Those teachings would have been new and threatening had the establishment recognized them. He would have been punished severely. He would have been used as an example to all those that would defy.

Maybe those teachings were similar to those in the East. Lessons in holistic medicine or finding happiness helping others or from within. They taught of zen and reincarnation over worship and devotion.

The teachings would have interwoven themselves with conventions of the day. Communication was rudimentary, filled with exaggeration and misunderstanding. Traditions would have meshed or overlapped. Stories would have developed around his words.

If his punishment resulted in death, those stories would be far more powerful. They would be passed to successive generations, modified only slightly, compounding from one to the next. Myths would manifest themselves within the stories.

Moral tales would be added or derived from the stories. Others would have added their own interpretations, manipulating details or adding stories to clarify. Even if unintentional, these manipulations, exaggerations and additions would create entirely new stories.

At the time, too many things were beyond comprehension. Most of the world was undiscovered, natural processes were unexplained. The mutated stories would supply reassurance to those afraid and confused.

In death, he would have no control over these misinterpretations. To distinguish themselves from others his followers would aggressively spread their renditions. Multiple versions of his simple tales would extrapolate into entire books only superficially similar.

Over the years the scaling would be inevitable. Each recounting of his teaching would be heard and told again differently. How often and by how many the stories were told could mean more fancy than reality. The stories would grow into legends.

Hundreds, then thousands, then millions of people would learn from these legends. The man himself would dissolve into myth. The meanings of the stories would shift or change entirely with political and emotional climates in which they were translated.

Once they were able, people would write the stories down, penning them in dozens of languages to spread the legends and myths of stories born from his teachings. The abstract morality within the pages would be lost to literal interpretation.

His words, so simple and universal, would no longer be his. His intentions would be lost in a sea of interpretations and manipulations. His teachings, meant for good and thoughtfulness, would justify oppression, war and extermination.

The population would have grown exponentially since he was punished for his teachings. The lessons, turned to stories and grown to myths, would spread faster, building a belief system for many. Soon, what people knew of him would be almost entirely fabricated.

What if he was just a man; like any other?