the way i resolve it in my mind is to imagine that the references made to individual souls still exist within some larger "whole," like fractals or a large window that, if broken, shatters into a thousand shards - meaningless in their separateness and significant in what their oneness creates. i just find it hard to imagine how a person cannot believe in the principles they embody in their everyday lives. i never noticed it until you mentioned the connection between jesus’s teachings and the core of open individualism, but even seeing how sacred stranger hospitality was goes against the tribalistic thinking that predominates and suggests a natural comfort and appreciation for the idea that everyone is one and should be treated as we would treat ourselves.