What if christianity never existed ?

[account_inactive]

Out of curiosity, are you actually a citizen or just a permanent resident?

No, and no.  But I've been here for 15 years now, so I guess I'm a long-term visitor.

That's how we should be doing in it the UK.

Are you even entitled to citizenship?

[Arkilogue]

Out of curiosity, are you actually a citizen or just a permanent resident?

No, and no.  But I've been here for 15 years now, so I guess I'm a long-term visitor.

What's your favorite/least favorite thing about North Korea?

[account_inactive]

No, and no.  But I've been here for 15 years now, so I guess I'm a long-term visitor.

What's your favorite/least favorite thing about North Korea?

Lol

[Arkilogue]

What's your favorite/least favorite thing about North Korea?

Lol

Well we know the first one is Kim Jong Something and the last one is nothing....North Korean Internet is best Internet!

[bennyboy]

No, and no.  But I've been here for 15 years now, so I guess I'm a long-term visitor.

That's how we should be doing in it the UK.

Are you even entitled to citizenship?

No, I'd have to pass a test, including Korean aptitude.  And I'm not very apt.  But I have a long-term family visa because my wife's Korean.  Pretty much, I can live here forever without needing more than proof of marriage.  I'm even on the health care and pension plans.

Fuck Canada.  I tried to go back with my wife, and they wouldn't take her.  Because. . . you know, being married for 15 years and having 2 Canadian citizen children isn't proof that she's not just trying to work the system.

[joseph_]

The monks would not have created the university system in the middle ages that was the forerunner to modern western science and perhaps there would be no modern liberal atheism.

[bennyboy]

The monks would not have created the university system in the middle ages that was the forerunner to modern western science and perhaps there would be no modern liberal atheism.

Maybe.

But it is primarily the re-emergence of Latin texts secreted away by the church, and of Greek texts returning to Italy after the fall of Constantinople, that made the West the center of the emergence of science as we know it: it certainly wasn't advances in Christian thought.  There are a LOT of things that could have gone down differently, and you could say that things would have turned out differently if ANY of them hadn't happened.

[The Grand Nudger]

The monks would not have created the university system in the middle ages that was the forerunner to modern western science and perhaps there would be no modern liberal atheism.

Strange, the classical pagan world also had universities.  It was the knowledge of that classical pagan world which filled the monks universities themselves, such as it remained.  Cavarka expressed what you would call "modern liberal atheism" centuries prior to any christian monks existence and in the hindu part of the world.  There's nothing about christian monasticism that comports with or forms the basis of scientific thought (here again, we have the classical pagan world to thank).  The term monasticism, from which monk is derived......also brought to you by way of the classical pagan world.  

It's almost like christianity cribbed their whole schtick, killed them.........and then took credit for it..just like they did to the jews. 

[abaris]

The monks would not have created the university system in the middle ages that was the forerunner to modern western science and perhaps there would be no modern liberal atheism.

You're not very informed, are you? First, the monks didn't create universities, secular rulers did. In the cities, which is a different legal and social puppy compared to the countryside back then.

Also there were only three faculties. Law, Medicine and Theology. Leading up to that were the Studia Generalis which mainly covereed rhetoric.

The monks preserved some of the ancient knowledge. But only what didn't contradict their believes and, as opposed to other, non christians cultures, didn't build on it. That's one of the reasons why Galen was still the utmost medical authority in the Middle Ages in Europe. And that's why the Roman aqueducts fell into disrepair and the city itself devolved from one million citizens to about 20.000 in the Middle Ages.

[RobertE]

I like what abaris said: the "what if" questions are pretty much useless.  You can't prove what would have happened if you remove one piece of history.  
Considering the mindset of the times, though . . . it's very possible that SOME religion would have taken hold and taken over without the xtians and Constantine. Every tribe had its own religion.  Since the Romans did not force religion on most of their conquests until the xtian virus took hold, then something probably would have sprung up to do the job in its place.

Indeed, "what if my aunt had testicles.....etc."