Once upon a time, long ago, there lived a group of native people who had absolutely no religion. They did not know of Jesus Christ or Buddha, of Yahweh, Muhammad or Krishna. These natives were called the Mayombei, and they lived in a vast expanse of rainforest jungle. With a few exceptions, a few murders here and there (which were justly punished), the Mayombei lived at peace with one another. They built huts of bamboo and other tough grasses, hunted and gathered food, loved, married and had children together. Even though the Mayombei had no concept of God (believing only that the universe itself was very large and mostly benevolent, at times malevolent), they were as close to the proverbial "noble savage" as one could come.

One day several missionaries heard reports from scholars and anthropologists about the Mayombei, and they all decided it was time to spread the word about their faith to these natives of the jungle. A Buddhist missionary ventured into their wild lands, as did a Christian, a Muslim, a Jewish, and a Hindu believer. As the Mayombei were a predominantly peaceful people, they welcomed the missionaries to their huts and hearths with open arms. As was the custom among the Mayombei with visitors, they decided, along with the missionaries themselves, to appoint a day when they would be presented to the leaders of their tribe. They would also receive an invitation to speak and to explain the tenets of their religious faiths, for the Mayombei were curious.

The day came, and the missionaries presented themselves to the Mayombei chiefs, a tall and muscular man named Karu and a woman named Nada'a. The chiefs asked the missionaries to explain what their various religions were all about. The Buddhist missionary went first, because his faith was the first in alphabetical order:

"We follow the Buddha, the Middle Way and the Eightfold Path," explained the Buddhist. "We seek the path of nonviolence, intending to do no harm to any man or animal. We also seek nirvana, or bliss, through giving up all of our selfish cravings and attachments to this world of things and matter."

"I follow Jesus Christ," said the Christian when his turn came, "who said that the greatest commandment was to 'love God and love your neighbor'. Jesus was murdered. He was slain, killed on a cross, so that we could be forgiven for all of the things that we've done wrong and so that we could live with Him in heaven forever. Like the Buddhist, we Christians also abhor violence."

"We Jews follow God; there is no other," announced the third acolyte. "We follow the same God that Christians do, although we do not believe that Jesus Christ is His Son. We believe that God calls us to be pure and to observe His commandments through prayer and following His laws. We believe in a Messiah who will someday come and save us from this world's strife."

The Hindu said, "We believe there are many gods, but there is one Universal Soul or Mind, of which all of these gods are a part. When we die, we are reborn, or reincarnated, into a form which hopefully aids us in rejoining this Universal Soul. You may call this Soul the atman, for we call it thus."

"There is no God but God, and Muhammad is his prophet," said the Muslim. "I and my fellow Muslims believe in the same God that Jews and Christians do, except we call him Allah. We also revere Jesus as a prophet, though, like the Jews, we do not believe Jesus is the Son of God. Muslims follow the Five Pillars of Islam--a profession of faith, fasting, prayer, charity, and a pilgrimage to our holy city of Mecca. 'Islam' means 'submission', to God."

Karu and Nada'a had lots of questions, naturally, but one question came to the forefront of their minds: "Which of these faiths is the correct one?"

As might be expected, some of the missionaries fell to arguing hotly amongst themselves, for they each believed their own faith was the only way to reach a higher spiritual state of being. Not all participated in the doctrinal bickering, however, which led Nada'a to suggest a compromise that most of the native Mayombei thought to be very wise: "Why don't we let each of the Mayombei choose, of his or her own free will, what spiritual path to follow, if any?"

The natives were more than satisfied with Nada'a's solution, and for a time all was well. Many of them were converted to the faiths of the world over the course of two short years. To them, it felt like heaven had been reached on earth. No one had (as of yet) fought or killed anyone over their own beliefs.

Then the missionaries reported back to their elders and financial sponsors, as they were required to do after a two-year period had elapsed. When they heard of the situation in the jungles among the Mayombei, they were utterly incensed and outraged (except, perhaps, for the Buddhists). The elders and sponsors delivered an ultimatum: Press for complete and total conversion of the Mayombei within one more year, and either do so or you will receive no further financial or spiritual support.

The missionaries were terrified. They all wanted to continue their work among the Mayombei people, and they were stunned with horror when they heard their sponsors' ultimatum. However, they were not at all sure if the Mayombei would take them in as permanent members of their jungle tribe. Also, they all wanted to return home at sometime in the future, and they needed money and other kinds of support to do that. So, they all knuckled under and began preaching that they had been mistaken--their faith WAS the only way, and if the Mayombei wanted to reach heaven/bliss/nirvana/atman, they had better toe the line when it came to doctrine, ritual, and proper ways to worship.

The Mayombei hated this, for it caused a sickening uproar in their souls. All the same, they believed the missionaries (whichever one they chose to follow), and the ones who chose not to follow a faith were tempted to flee. If this continued, their people would erupt into civil war and exterminate themselves. The Mayombei were beginning to craft and wield weapons for the first time in anyone's memory. They were stoking fires for future battles.

Finally the day came when everyone was ready for the outcome, of which they'd been sure since that one dreadful year began. As Jew fought against Christian, Hindu fought Muslim, the Buddhists begged everyone not to fight and sacrificed themselves in the crossfire as a final plea for forgiveness and tribal reconciliation. The missionaries, knowing that nothing but death and danger would await them if they stayed in the jungle, returned home at last.

In the official reports that the anthropologists and scholars read from the various missionaries, they asked one chief question: "What destroyed the Mayombei? Was it the religious faiths themselves that these missionaries preached that caused the natives to divide into sects, and therefore fracture? Was it the missionaries themselves, who were inadequate representatives of their various religions? Was it that long-buried hatreds and resentments, which had existed among the Mayombei people, erupted once religion entered the mix?" No one had any answers. The project was a failure.

Yet, late at night, among the bones of the dead and the scavengings of wild animals, wandering jungle nomads have sworn that they see what look like shadowy golden coins, ghosts of coins, vanishing into the air at the site of the Mayombei Civil War...