Thanks for the contributions. Some of these ideas were discussed last week with my friend, who has spent years researching ancient Roman/Greek cultures (hence the idea of starting a modern version of what I believe was a monotheistic religion in Roman times, although my friend is not averse to having more than one higher being).

Starting from scratch would mean we are not weighed down with the baggage of history, doctrinal disputes, heresies, etc. We can write our own prayers, design our own temple, make recommendations for lifestyle, etc. I think martyrdom might be a bit extreme at this stage, but we'll make provision for it in our doctrine.

It would be nice to have a charismatic leader whose brilliance would immediately attract thousands to the community, but finding one might be time-consuming, and I don't know how much s/he might charge--funds will be low at the beginning, until we arrange tithes, etc. Anyway, we don't want to lose the run of ourselves--we need to have a nice temple or two before the masses beat a path to the door.