Where will Christianity be in 2,000 years from now? (salvation, Buddhism, Egyptian)

[sergeyn]

For as long as I remember, a part of me really wanted to Believe in God and to live His truth. I am not from a religious background so in matters of religion and spirituality I have been completely left to my own devices. However, Christianity is traditional to the country that I came from (Russia) and when the religious thirst arises in me, it usually wants to be quenched with Christianity. When I feel down in life, when hopelessness sets in, it is Jusus who enters my heart as the potential saviour. However, I never "convert" because other parts of me, especially the intellectual one, have strong objections. One of them is formulated in the title of this post: Where will Christianity be in 2,000 years from now? This perhaps sounds a bit unexpected but let me elabortate.

The most logical place to look for the answer to my question is in the past. If Socrates or Plato asked where Greek Pantheon of Gods would be in 2,000 years, the answer would be cynical and uncompromising. Of course, 2,000 years after their lifetime, ancient Greek religion is dead. Save for the few extravagant bohemians in some big Western cities, Zeus, Apollo or Aphrodite do not have any followers left. Once great religious system that dominated what once seemed like the whole world, is now solely a matter of artistic and historical curiousity. If an Aztec or Inca asked where their religion would be in a few centuries after they die, the answer would be even less pleasant than that to an Ancient Greek's question. In the case of American religions, not only have they died but also almost been forgotten due to the lack of writing systems amongst their fateful. While most educated people know who Zeus was, the names of ancient American gods are known only by those who really care to know. Egyptians too had an all-encompossing religion but now their world-view, centered around the worship of their King and arranging proper afterlife for him, sounds bizarre, to put it mildly, by pretty much all sane people.

More perplexingly, let's imagine asking a dweller of pre-Islamic Egypt or Syria where their religion would be in the future. Their religion was, of course, Christianity, that was supported in those lands by Eastern Roman Empire. Coptic and Antiochian Churches once were prevalent on the territories than are now called Egypt and Syria. Knowing Christians today, we can conclude with a high degree of certainty that an Alexandrian or a Damascan 1500 years ago would have said that Christianity is the only true faith and that it will last until the second coming of Christ. Of course, Christ still hasn't come and Christianity in Syria and Egypt is weak and growing weaker each year as Christians flee Muslim persecution. Islamic conquest effectively put an end to Christian dominance in that part of the world (just like Christian dominanance at its own time put an end to the dominance of the cults that existed yet earlier).

...And if we ask ourselves today, where will Christianity be in 2,000 years from now? The unsophisticated facts above lead me to believe that the answer would be that it'd become a matter of books and Jesus would join Zeus in the museums of religious history. Of course, I cannot be certain but I think this outcome is very, very likely. Doubting that Christianity (or any other religion or philosophy) will once cease to be a power is much like doubting our own mortality. Knowing that we'll die sounds monstrous or even unbelievable but each of us will get there, just like billions and billions of other before us. I'm afraid it's like that will everything that exists, including religions. Everything goes through infancy, childhood, youth, maturity, old age and...dissolution, not to blatantly say death.

The above is not to deny Supreme Being or Beings, or Higher Truth or anything else of that sort. It's just that through reasoning like presented above I've become convinced that all religions are man-made and evolve and change together with humanity. Perhaps they are inspired by a higher power of some sort but they themselves are constructed by humans based on the prevalent knowledge, beliefs and needs of the time. And then their time to go comes. Always has come...Alas, I cannot satisfy my spiritual thirst by saying to myself that Christian Church is the one true church and that Jesus was God Himself. In the light of history that would be ridiculous. There is light in Christianity but there is also light in Buddhism, Hinduism or any other religion, existing or extinct. Almost undoubtedly, other ways of explaining the meaning of life will emerge that on the surface will be quite different from what we have today. If there is God He is a complete mystery and religions do not resolve it, only limit it. Thus I have to look for spiritual fulfillment elsewhere.

[jabogitlu]

Very good points, and I agree. I would like to think that we will have made enough progress in 2,000 years to resolve religion as completely irrelevant.

[sean98125]

Originally Posted by sergeyn

If there is God He is a complete mystery and religions do not resolve it, only limit it. Thus I have to look for spiritual fulfillment elsewhere.

Of course religions don't resolve the mystery of the nature of God. They attempt to resolve the nature of our relationship with God. That is why it is an ongoing process and never fixed in meaning. Humans have limited capacity to understand, so as we become a people with more information and abilities to discover new information about the nature of the universe and of life, our ability to describe and understand the nature of God also shifts.

Christianity doesn't define God - it defines our relationship with him. It's a pretty fundamental tenet of Christianity that our relationship with God will change.

[sergeyn]

Christianity doesn't define God - it defines our relationship with him. It's a pretty fundamental tenet of Christianity that our relationship with God will change.

I do not think that the nature of God even matters from a practical standpoint. What does matter is what we should do, how we should think and how we should feel in order to get closer to Him (or our relationship to God as you put it). Certainly, Christianity defines a lot of that. The first half of the word "Christianity" is "Christ"-- a historical figure who lived in a very definite place and a very definite time. That is, the whole concept of any Christianity derives from that one person and that is rather limiting. True, one can say: "As a Christian, I can't define God but will also have to add: "As a Christian, I believe that the best (and only) way to be in accordance with His will is that which Jesus Christ shared with us".

And there's nothing wrong with saying that one thinks Jesus really got it better than all the rest of prophets and teachers. What disturbs me is that most Christians say that he spoke the final and absolute truth. Which I cannot accept because similar claims have been made forever but have always been rendered empty by history.

[cg81]

Originally Posted by sergeyn

Where will Christianity be in 2,000 years from now?

When I read this, I thought of the following account in Acts, where the apostles were brought before the council, and what was said about "Christianity" about 2000 years ago:

Acts 5:33 When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them.
34 Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space;
35 And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men.
36 For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought.
37 After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed.
38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:
39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.
40 And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

2000 years? I don't know.. but since I believe in God, (not in religion) I believe that there will still be believers until the end of time.. because God will continue calling. Those that have "Christianity" as a religion may fall away.. those that see it as a personal relationship with God will endure.

[sean98125]

Originally Posted by sergeyn

And there's nothing wrong with saying that one thinks Jesus really got it better than all the rest of prophets and teachers. What disturbs me is that most Christians say that he spoke the final and absolute truth. Which I cannot accept because similar claims have been made forever but have always been rendered empty by history.

The reason Christians say that is because we believe that God is present with us in the world, that the Church is the body of Christ, and that the final victory of good over evil has actually already been won.

There is no reason for there to be additional prophets since God himself is already with us. God is working through us today. The Holy Spirit is part of and inseparable from the Church ( the church being all believers past, present and future).

[Visvaldis]

2,000 years from now a small handful of christians will still be waiting for Jesus to return, they'll be saying, "any day now he'll be back, are you ready?"

[sergeyn]

Originally Posted by cg81

When I read this, I thought of the following account in Acts, where the apostles were brought before the council, and what was said about "Christianity" about 2000 years ago:

Well chosen quote! Obviously, I'm not the first one asking this question and Chrisitan authors (including those of the Bible) have done a thorough job trying to answer such questions.

However, your quote doesn't really say very much. It is beautiful in a way and is certainly good literature but in the modern English Gamaliel's statment may sound like: "Don't sweat it, if they're like the charlatans before them, they don't need our help to perish. But maybe they are for real, in which case we shouldn't bother them. Let the time decide and let's cool it". All he did was show compassion to these strange but basically harmless people. He wasn't convinced whether they were right or wrong, he just didn't want to commit violence without good reason...For all we know, he might have forgotten about the whole incident when he went home to his wife and kids.

2000 years? I don't know.. but since I believe in God, (not in religion) I believe that there will still be believers until the end of time.. because God will continue calling. Those that have "Christianity" as a religion may fall away.. those that see it as a personal relationship with God will endure.

I also think that spirituality will be around forever-- it's a basic human need, I think. But will the spiritual people of the future remember Jesus or the Bible? If not, you may still call them "believers" but they won't be "Christian" anymore.

[GCSTroop]

I think that like technology, religion has evolved too. I think that in the beginning, way way way back, there were beliefs in something higher, something greater, a presence if you will. Man had no way of explaining lightning, thunder, and rain, so he had no explanation other than a force greater than him. But from the beginning of time, just as there have been people wondering about God, I think there have also been people who have been wondering about the idea in general. I think that it was those people, the "atheists" of their time who questioned the premonitions, the ideals, and the notions of God in their time. And you know what? They've probably been asking the same questions atheists of today are asking. The difference is that through generation after generation of question asking, and illogical answering faith seems to change to better support such questions. It seems to me that the Big Three (Islam, Judaism, and Christianity) have evolved to the point where people are confident they can dispell anything about it. From the moment of their inception until now they have changed in abundancy. Christianity has probably changed the most, just look at all of it's denominations.

To put it another way, some of the same basic questions are being asked right now as they were thousands of years ago, such as "Where did God come from?" However, newer questions, ones dealing with evolution, with creation, etc... etc... must be better answered, in my opinion, for Christianity to survive. I think that people, moreso now than ever before, are becoming more and more skeptical of the Christian church and in God in general. I saw somewhere that atheism was one of the fastest growing identities in the country. Not sure if that was propaganda or not, I really don't remember where I saw that.

It is the skepticism that the churches bring with their child molesting priests, their meth smoking, transvestite luring pastors, and their preachers involved in auto-erotic asphyxiation deaths that people are starting to turn away from it. The church is starting to kill itself as people become more rational. Is this going to take away their belief in God? I think that's very difficult to say. I think "God" is as Christopher Hitchens puts it: "One of our favorite 'toys' as human beings". But, it is with the same rationality, logic, and understanding of science that most of the atheists on this board have, that will defeat Christianity. Christianity will eventually go the way of Greek Mythology, of the Mayan, Aztec, and Inca religions, and countless others either when the countries believing in it are conquered by a country that doesn't believe in it, or people shelve it for logic, reason, and science. Is that going to do away with God? No, I doubt it. But, religion has this tendency to morph into what people want to deal with, so I wouldn't be surprised in 2000 years if people were talking about how the next version of the Bible dealt with evolution, geological strata, and all that other stuff. Religion has to deal with advancement in society, and Christianity is going to suffer greatly in the next 50 years if it can't get its' act together.

[Padgett2]

I think there is something that is innate with some people that makes them want an explanation for the unknown. As long as there is that need, there will be a system of religion to explain it. Whether it will be on Triune God, or some other Almighty Power, I have no idea. But I think there will be something because too many people need it. It's the thing that steadies them in times of trouble.

Now, in my opinion, which isn't worth much right now, I think that fewer and fewer people will believe in Jesus as the only way to salvation. Churches will become more like places of peace, prayer and sanctuary than places to listen to preaching.