What Would Happen if Christianity Went on Strike?

[genkaus]

But surely that is not to be taken literally - stones can't talk.

Take it seriously, God is awesome!

Another non-answer. I guess that's to be expected, when you don't actually have one.

[BethK]

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IF all of "Christianity" "went on strike" then by nature it would die. It wouldn't even "die out", which implies some sort of slow fading, it would be instantly dead at the very moment that people stopped practicing their religion and all that it entails.

But funnily enough, that has never happened. Not even for the earliest and formative centuries of Christianity wherein Christians were relentlessly persecuted, or any time since where Christianity has been banned, outlawed, etc. Christianity doesn't "go on strike" no matter how dire things become. Call that divine intervention or call it human will, either way.

Also if you attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for 4 years in a row, you will have read almost the entirety of Scripture.

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The ancient Egyptian religion, with Isis, Osirus, Horus (another "holy family") went on for around 3000 years. I'm sure someone 2000 years into that would have said it was eternal, it had never stopped being practiced, it was believed by everyone that it was "Truth" and would go on forever. Today, we look upon it, and think it's silly to believe in such things, and absurd to have mummies and richly-filled tombs.

Note too, that as you point out early Christians were persecuted, but when Christianity took over the government of the Roman Empire (Constantine), then later when it broke up into many independent kingdoms - most being officially Catholic, and any belief but Christianity was outlawed, and believers in competing religion tortured and executed, all of society lost its scientific knowledge, mathematical knowledge. Instead of looking to science to explain or solve the problem with plagues, it was based on devils and witches, and a new frenzy of finding innocent people to torture and kill started. Galleleo was excommunicated and deemed a heretic for his astrononomical discoveries - he was not "rehabilitated" by the Catholic Church until just a few years ago.

History repeats itself if we do not learn from it.

[Aiza]

The ancient Egyptian religion, with Isis, Osirus, Horus (another "holy family") went on for around 3000 years. I'm sure someone 2000 years into that would have said it was eternal, it had never stopped being practiced, it was believed by everyone that it was "Truth" and would go on forever. Today, we look upon it, and think it's silly to believe in such things, and absurd to have mummies and richly-filled tombs.

Was the Ancient Egyptian brutally persecuted during those 3000 years, particularly in its formative years? Also no, we don't think its absurd to have mummies or nice tombs and we embalm our dead and decorate graves to this day (if not half as opulently).

And am I supposed to be impressed at that "Holy Family" thing? Oh wow another family!

A better example you could have used might be Judaism, which has been deeply persecuted worldwide, but even then, not in its first few formative centuries, as Christianity was.

Note too, that as you point out early Christians were persecuted, but when Christianity took over the government of the Roman Empire (Constantine), then later when it broke up into many independent kingdoms - most being officially Catholic, and any belief but Christianity was outlawed, and believers in competing religion tortured and executed, all of society lost its scientific knowledge, mathematical knowledge. Instead of looking to science to explain or solve the problem with plagues, it was based on devils and witches, and a new frenzy of finding innocent people to torture and kill started. Galleleo was excommunicated and deemed a heretic for his astrononomical discoveries - he was not "rehabilitated" by the Catholic Church until just a few years ago.

Also your history here is pretty bad. I don't where to start. First of all, no, the Roman empire didn't break up into Catholic kingdoms--it originally was split into East and West (if thats what you mean), and the Western empire fell to various pagan Germanic tribes. Conversion happened gradually afterward.

While some scientific/mathematical knowledge was naturally lost after the Roman Empire went under, it isn't related to any persecution of non-Christians, or Christian tendency to "blame witches" (lol wtf?) The 'scientific knowledge' of the Greeks/Romans is of absolutely no use in medicine anyway (if anything it would have made matters worse). Plenty of plagues occurred prior to the fall of the Roman Empire and continued to hit in areas like the Middle East which retained the classics, and the Black Death occurred after the classics were recovered. It is true that some blamed Jewish people for poisoning the wells and making people sick, though this sort of scapegoating of the "other" happened long before Christianity (and indeed, this sort of scapegoating of Jews was expressly forbidden and condemned by the Pope at the time, so it seems to have more of a cultural root than anything).

Finally, although this is the least of the problems here, Galileo was never excommunicated, he died a faithful member of the Church. He was placed under house arrest, and the Church later made a formal apology for doing so. Its similarly weird that you would mention this in the same passage you bemoan the loss of the classics, since it was Aristotle that Galileo was trying to go against.

There's no point in "learning from" history if you don't even know what that history is!

[Nine]

I think if Christianity were to stop the Muslim population would increase pretty rapid.

[frankiej]

YEAH! Praise Jesus.

God would obviously intervene... duh.

[Polaris]

Nothing. Christians would still be Christian.

[NoMoreFaith]

Nothing. Christians would still be Christian.

But would their children? Their children's children?

If children are not indoctrinated, if christianity did not "spread the message", basically taking the human propagation of the faith out of the equation. Would it survive. That's the question.

I'll repeat the short form of the argument,

1. If Christianity is true then the Christian faith will probably not die out if Christians stop proselytizing.
2. The Christian faith will probably die out if Christians stop proselytizing.
3. Therefore Christianity is probably false.

Essentially we are asking, if the Christian faith stopped talking about Christianity full stop, would God intervene, or allow the True™ faith die out.

[Godscreated]

Nothing. Christians would still be Christian.

But would their children? Their children's children?

If children are not indoctrinated, if christianity did not "spread the message", basically taking the human propagation of the faith out of the equation. Would it survive. That's the question.

I'll repeat the short form of the argument,

1. If Christianity is true then the Christian faith will probably not die out if Christians stop proselytizing.

Christianity being true would not stop proselytizing, through the faith in Christ God would motivate us.

2. The Christian faith will probably die out if Christians stop proselytizing.

The Christian faith will never die out, God will make sure christians will continue to proselytize.

3. Therefore Christianity is probably false.

Therefore Christianity is true.

Essentially we are asking, if the Christian faith stopped talking about Christianity full stop, would God intervene, or allow the True™ faith die out.

Your answer is above.

[NoMoreFaith]

Christianity being true would not stop proselytizing, through the faith in Christ God would motivate us.

Since you can't grasp the concept of Christianity going on strike, let's try the argument from a different direction.

If you obliterated all knowledge of science from the world. Eventually, mankind would rediscover E=mc2.

If you obliterated all knowledge of christianity from the world. Would mankind rediscover Christianity?
Nobody becomes a christian without being subject to proselytizing. Nobody, having never heard of Christianity, suddenly awakens to revelation about it.

It is clear, that without the propagation of myth in a society, Yahweh would join the ranks of Esus, and Drunemeton, and Silvana, and Dervones, and Adsalluta, and Deva, and Belisama, and Axona, and Vintios, and Taranuous, and Sulis, and Cocidius, and Adsmerius, and Dumiatis, and Caletos, and Moccus, and Ollovidius, and Albiorix, and Leucitius, and Vitucadrus, and Ogmios, and Uxellimus, and Borvo, and Grannos, Mogons, Huitzilopochtli, Tezcatilpoca, Tialoc, Chalchihuitlicue, Xipe, Danu, Bishamon, and Baldur.

The tombs of dead gods are extensive and mighty, existing for thousands of years, then slowly dying out as people move on to different ideas and beliefs.

It is an amusing trait of the religious to believe their faith is eternal, and that somehow, it is true, whether they believe it or not, or whether they worship or not.. yet for thousands, upon thousands of Gods, many of them older and longer lasting than Yahweh are now whispers in the wind aching for man to speak their name, and hopefully kill a virgin or two.

Each and every one of these deities, were believed in as completely and wholly as you do in Yahweh.

Finally, and most relevant to this discussion, is what has Christianity offered mankind that would not have occurred were Christianity never propagated in the first place.

Ultimately, ANY revelation found in the Bible is indistinguishable from God not revealing himself at all

[Polaris]

Nothing. Christians would still be Christian.

But would their children? Their children's children?

If children are not indoctrinated, if christianity did not "spread the message", basically taking the human propagation of the faith out of the equation. Would it survive. That's the question.

I'll repeat the short form of the argument,

1. If Christianity is true then the Christian faith will probably not die out if Christians stop proselytizing.
2. The Christian faith will probably die out if Christians stop proselytizing.
3. Therefore Christianity is probably false.

Essentially we are asking, if the Christian faith stopped talking about Christianity full stop, would God intervene, or allow the True™ faith die out.

Well people would still have faith in God throughout the generations, but I don't view that really as God having that active of a force.