What is Zion?

As I grew up I heard people talk about Zion. When discussed in a church setting the idea of it is always so ethereal and "in the future" that there never seems to be a clear set of steps between here and there. I have also observed that the term has been associated with racist and hateful ideas which is extremely unfortunate. There is enough of a shadow there that I have hesitated to use the term, but I want to be involved in building toward the ideal I understand it to be and I want to use the name here as a signal of the intentions I have.

Before I go too far I want to clarify a few things. I learned about this in my religious tradition, but what I understand Zion to be is much bigger than any one church could be and much more inclusive than any church is. I wish for anyone who comes here to see something they can participate in and not worry about having to espouse any specific religious belief or convert to any specific religious group. I am not certain that there is any one religious group bearing the fruit of Zion in the world, and the bitter fruit that has come from all of them has created emnity and disbelief among people who would otherwise have access to the comfort and love of God. Despite the tragedy that is modern religion becoming systems of control rather than a means of direct communion with God there are good people whose lives still bear good fruit and carry upon themselves the image of the love of God inside and outside of many faith traditions.

So what is Zion? I see it mentioned throughout scripture, but there's no one place that lists what I have come to sense Zion to be so I will make an attempt at listing aspects of it that will warrant further description and clarification.

• While Zion will eventually refer to a place it first starts with people acting individually for collective good.
• The holiness and righteousness used to describe Zion can be best understood as the participants themselves refusing to take advantage of their brothers, sisters, and neighbors.
• Zion requires trying to recognize and resolve our internal conflicts and inconsistencies. If we can't resist perverse incentives within ourselves we will also give in to perverse incentives in the world around us.

There is a lot here that I am struggling to articulate. Part of the idea I hope you will be able to see is that trying to organize ourselves and work for the good of each other in establishing Zion can allow us to overcome the chaos by choosing order as the systems and institutions we have previously relied on either fail or become filled with agents sowing the very chaos they historically were meant to resist.