Do you think Christianity will exist in 100 years?

Great Debates
41

:rolleyes:

God is love. His nature is eternal spirit. Jesus is the Word of God Who became flesh and dwelt among us. Before Abraham was, Jesus is. God’s Kingdom is within you. God condemns no one. We judge ourselves by His words. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. The Father is in Him, He is in us, and we are in Him. All who believe are one. Jesus has prepared a mansion for us in His Father’s house. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Flesh rots, but the Spirit gives life. We need not be afraid. Our commandment is to love one another. His grace is freely given to all who believe.

42

i don’t doubt that some people will call themselves christians 100 years from now, but how many will there be and what will they mean by christianity.

sometimes i think american catholics are really protestants that haven’t figured it out yet. who does the Pope think he is?

an irish monk, St. Malachi, came up with a list of short descriptions of the future popes. some say it is quite accurate. the list runs out after 2 more beyond the current vicar of christ. what happens then?

i just noticed that my encyclopedia britannica says the EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS is written in the most sophisticated/cultured greek of all the books of the new testament. this book talks about Melchizedek and Enoch. the AQUARIAN GOSPEL OF JESUS THE CHRIST claims those 2 guys and JC are actually the avatar and one in the same. another 2K years have gone by, is something wierd due?

Genesis and Hebrews say that Enoch didn’t die, that God took him. what if time runs at a different rate where God hangs out. 2000 years could go by without Enoch aging. Hebrews says Melchizedek was without mother or father. if Enoch just jumped thru time without being born again he wouldn’t need parents. Einstein would love that.

Dal Timgar

43

Cite- Apocalypse Wow!
#1 Depending on how you interpret things (anti-popes, hidden popes etc) Malachi’s list may have already run out.

#2 There is evidence that Malachi’s prophecy was falsified and then pre-dated. It’s amazingly accurate up to a certain time, and then wildly wrong. Were I to write a prophecy and claim it was written in 1800, it would accurate on all events for the past 200 years. Were I to continue the “predictions” until the year 2200, any accuracy would largely be coincidence.

44

I apologize for my inappropriate tense usage. How will being a Christian be in any way less socially acceptable than it is today, and what would have brought about this change in public opinion, seeing as how, as you say, Christianity is socially acceptable right now?
On a further note, do you believe that the tribulations, rapture, etc. will come in the next 100 years? Other than hope, do you have any basis for this assumption?

45

I hope you would do so. This shouldn’t be a problem unless one is more a Bibliolater than a Christian.

Ok, hold up.

MOST Christians believe the Bible is the word of God.

I happen to be one of them.

So let’s pretend for a minute that the Bible is, without a shadow of a doubt, inspired by God and inerrant.

God made the world. Wouldn’t He know better than science how we got here?

I don’t care if you want to believe the scientific explanation, go right ahead. But who are you to tell me to completely disregard the Bible in the face of evidence that you happen to believe?

46

Based on the outcome of prior predictions regarding an imminent Second Coming/Rapture/Tribulation, I’m prepared to wager a substantial amount of money on this, if you’re interested.

Depends on what we’re betting over.

If we are betting on a specific date that it’ll happen, forget it. The Bible is pretty clear that nobody knows. There’s been a bazillion predictions and nobody’s been right yet.

If you wanna bet on IF it’ll happen, sure. One small problem, though … if you’re right, and it never does happen, we will both die waiting. If I’m right, I won’t be around to collect your money.

On a further note, do you believe that the tribulations, rapture, etc. will come in the next 100 years? Other than hope, do you have any basis for this assumption?

Let me preface by saying that this is just my personal opinion here. Nobody knows when it’s going to happen.

But me, personally? I’d be surprised if we’re here 25 years from now (some days I wonder if we’ll be here even a decade longer). My basis for this is the prophecies in the Bible that mention things that have to happen before Jesus comes back … all of the major ones have happened (Israel being reinstated as a nation being one of them), and most of the “minor” ones have happened or are already happening (plagues, wars, earthquakes out the wazoo, etc.). Judging from what the book says, it can’t be long now.

If I’m wrong, that’s ok, I’ll live my life and when I die go on my merry way. I’m ready whether Jesus comes back 15 minutes or 15,000 years from now.

Bible prophecy is not my strongest suit, however there’s a guy out there who is quite the expert. If you are interested check out http://www.raptureready.com. Even if you don’t believe what you read, it may shed some light on why so many people do believe that it’s going to happen sometime soon.

PS: Bear in mind that this guy is solely Pre-Trib, meaning that he believes that the rapture will take place, and THEN the 7 year tribulation will occur. (I happen to take a pre-trib stance as well.) This is a big debate among Christians … will we be raptured before, during, or after the tribulation?

47

—MOST Christians believe the Bible is the word of God.—

Forgive me if I am assuming something here: but no, not in the way you seem to (i.e. as far as I can tell: both infaliable and litteral).

48

—For my part, I think it’s just cumbersome to talk of “religions, agnosticism, and atheism.” Refering to all these worldviews as “religions” is useful shorthand.—

The same way talking about non-haridressers as types of hair-dressers is a “useful” shorthand?

49

Thanks for that link WV_Woman. I had been looking for something like that with up to date news relating to bible prophecy.

I used to be Pre-Trib but have recently changed my views. I see our world getting worse at a faster rate of speed and I wonder how long God will let things go on as they are, but I know he has mercy that goes far beyond our understanding so if he wants to wait then I trust his reasons. I’m not sure where it is in scripture but I believe it says somewhere that he will not return until the last person on Earth has heard the gospel.

Actually it says this in Revelation 14:6 “Then I saw another angel flying in mid-air, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth - to every nation, tribe, language and people.”

50

MOST Christians do not believe the Bible is inerrant and literal. MANY Christians believe that the Bible contains some good parts and some bad parts, but the real important thing is to love one another. My prediction is that this type of Christian will be by far the most prevalent kind in the future. I will be happy if I am right in this prediction.

So let’s pretend for a minute that God does not exist and we know this without a shadow of a doubt. God didn’t make the world. Wouldn’t science know better than God how we got here?

I made a prediction and expressed a hope. I didn’t tell anyone to do anything. Please get over your persecution complex, it’s getting tiresome.

51

I don’t want to turn this into yet another creationism thread (although I’ll be happy to participate in another thread devoted to that topic), but why would God create a universe that…(being generous here)…doesn’t exactly match the literal and infallible description of how he created it?

52

Well, I’m going by your guess of 100 years, or even 25 years if you want to go with that timeframe. I figure, each party to the bet puts a specified amount of money into some kind of investment. If, after 100 years have elapsed (or 101, to be absolutely sure), Jesus has not returned, or the Rapture has not occurred, then my heirs get the money. If, on the other hand, the Rapture has occurred, then you’ll be in heaven and won’t need money anyway. Plus, I’ll either be in hell or suffering here on Earth, so you even get the satisfaction of that. (Assuming, of course, that you’re one of the ones who gets Raptured – I notice people area always pretty sure they will be, and Jesus had something to say about those people. And it wasn’t good.)

Say each of us put $150 into something with a 5% annual yield. In 100 years, that’ll be worth around $40,000.

By the way, if science is wrong about how the world works and how the universe came to be, your computer shouldn’t work. But it does. Think about that.

53

I’m curious to hear what prompted the rolleyes response to this. Is this perhaps an example of spreading the love that you claim is God, and not, as I interpret it, casting a kind of stone? Cervaise’s post was a perfectly reasonable explanation for the persistence of religion, and was respectfully put. (Okay, maybe there wasn’t a lot of respect shown for WV_Woman’s statement, but it got as much as it deserves, seems to me, in view of how many centuries Christians have been saying that Jesus is coming back any day now.)

My view is perfectly in line with Cervaise’s: Religion is going to be with us for a long, long time. The species isn’t nearly ready to give it up. People want answers for the big questions, and in the absence of good answers that stand up to analysis, they tend to settle for vague, comforting poetry, as long as it’s delivered solemnly by someone they’ve been told from childhood to respect.

100 years is just a heartbeat in history. As we get more good answers to the difficult questions, religion will have to continue to change, but most people will rationalize a way to fit the new answers in with the old stories.

54

Sorry to go OT here, but what exactly did he have to say? If Jesus said something about people who feel they are assured salvation through their faith, and what he had to say was derisive towards those people, I’d be really interested in knowing that. In fact, I’d like to mail that passage to Jack Chick, just to throw him off base a little. My Protestant friend is really gung ho about the assurance of salvation through faith, but it would be nice to have a quote to confront him with, make him think a little. He would either find a counterargument, or eventually concede that faith alone is not sufficient for salvation under his belief system.

55

I think Christianity will change, not dissapear. Do you really thing in it 2000 years Christianity has remained exactly the same? Heck no. I think it will tone down a bit. People will still read and respect the Bible, however they will have doubts about it being the word of God. People will only attend church when they want to (some people). Christianity as everything else will have to change in order to survive.

Slight Hijack,
I have several friends who just say they are christians yet know nothing about it and do not actually believe in God. They have never read a Bible and have had only minimal contact with churches. I as an Atheist know more about Christianity than any of my “Christian” friends. It may be they just say they are Christians because they don’t want to deal with people saying things like: “Why haven’t you accepted Jesus as your lord and savior?” If they ever talk about their beliefs. So some Christians today may not really be Christans, if you get my meaning.

56

Do you honestly fail to see how dismissive, condescending, and insulting that is? Do I impress you as a man who has abandoned reason in favor of some god-of-the-gaps? Does my intellect formulate as gum on your shoe? Do I seem to shy away from proof and/or analysis? If nothing else has been of benefit from this message board, have we not at least learned to respect one another’s intellectual honesty?

No, it is most definately stone throwing. And it is born of sheer frustration. I’m tired of being presumed to be brain dead and intellectually helpless on account of my faith. I wish I could love you as God does, and the purpose of my moral journey is to learn to do exactly that. Meanwhile, you’re stuck with the morally imperfect, but hopefully mentally substantial me.

57

Plus, I’ll either be in hell or suffering here on Earth, so you even get the satisfaction of that.

???

Why on earth would I get satisfaction out of that?

58

The only thing that struck me as dismissive, condescending, and insulting in that exchange was your rolleyes. I don’t doubt that your faith is real, but to those who don’t share it, Cervaise’s explanation of why religion survives is reasonable. It is not dismissive in the least–take a look at another part of the post:

People of faith may feel a bit insulted by it, but it’s clear that no insult is intended. It is in itself no more insulting than a psychological or sociological explanation of, for example, funeral ceremonies, or parades, any number of other cultural phenomena. They serve purposes in society. If religion happens to be true, that doesn’t prevent it from also serving secular functions.

Again, I don’t doubt that your belief is real. I don’t doubt your intellect. You seem to know Greek a lot better than I do, for example, and I admire that. You do seem to shy away from certain kinds of proof and analysis, while obviously relishing others. It doesn’t need to be an insult that we are interested in different kinds of analysis. I have often respected your intellectual honesty, but I didn’t see your response to Cervaise as intellectual or honest.

As for loving us atheists as God does, well, love is a wonderful thing, but sometimes it’s hard for us to pull it off. In such cases, I’m happy to settle for being nice to each other.

59

RexDart, here’s one of the relevant passages:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” – Matthew 7:21-23

And there’s also:

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” – Matthew 25:41-46

Footnotes

60

I find it terribly interesting that Jesus’ condemnation is reserved for those who do not give of themselves, who have little or no compassion for others, indeed for the least of these. (Which raises the point, who are the “least of these”?)

Nowhere does Jesus say “Depart from me, you who didn’t believe in my virgin birth, or my substitutionary atonement, or the infallibility of the anthology you will someday call the Bible”. In fact, Jesus sounds a lot like one of those libruhls the fundamentalists rage against.

Interesting.
[sub]aside to Phil: I didnt mention anything in the relevant Pit thread, but let me say how much I do enjoy reading your posts. I hope things are brighter for you these days.[/sub]