When the patriarch Jacob set up his stone pillows for a pillar, or monument to his revelation of the ever-presence of God, "and poured oil upon the top of it," the Biblical account states that he changed the name of the place where he was from Luz to Bethel, meaning the house of God, and said, "This stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house."
History is star-studded with many names of spiritually-minded men and women who have likewise glimpsed the truth, and who have been inspired to erect their material symbols of what had been revealed to them of God and His creation, and to gather around them followers and disciples. But, alas, most of these societies, which began so bravely and inspiredly, have long since vanished. Their material structures, often built with such passionate devotion and earnest resolve, have crumbled and disappeared, and their grand ideals and purposes lie buried and forgotten in the graveyard of human shortcomings.
Why have so many of these groups failed to survive? Because, probably, in some cases, they were not founded on the solid rock of pure spirituality. Or, perhaps, they may have failed because the followers of sometimes inspired leaders so often deviated from the lofty ideals originally set up for them, and have allowed materiality to creep in, which ultimately became the basis of their worship and their lives. It is significant that when thought is changed from a spiritual to a material basis, disintegration begins.
