# What if all professed Christians disappeared? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 31, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-professed-christians-disappeared/677589 "2013-12-31T20:45:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-professed-christians-disappeared/677589/1 "2013-12-31T20:45:29Z")
At 12 midnight Greenwich Mean Time on January 2nd all those who profess to be Christian disappear from the face of the Earth, never to be seen again. Heaven, Hell, or a holding pen in a distant galaxy-we will never know. What changes socially, politically, and/or economically? ---
**Author:** ![Cerealbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Cerealbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerealbox)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-professed-christians-disappeared/677589/2 "2013-12-31T21:12:30Z")
Massive and sudden inflation, followed by a large redistribution of wealth like what happened after the black plague in Europe. The large decrease in population from the black plague basically ended the feudal system as so many people died the elite no longer had a monopoly on land. Something similar would happen. But because we’re so globalized these days, Europe and the Americas would probably be very suddenly filled with immigrants from the Middle East and Africa. North and South America would probably be quickly filled with East Asians and Indians. A sudden power vacuum would be created and along with the social crisis that results from hundreds of millions of people suddenly vanishing, there would be a land-grab. A unified Europe could mean a political power far greater than anything yet seen on earth. Meanwhile, although it is counter-intuitive, after the initial problems are solved, standard of living would skyrocket as a lower population would mean that only the most efficient of societies resources needs to be operated to distribute wealth; only the most fertile farms need to be plowed, the most profitable factories manned. Ironically, many would probably become Christians overnight since this would look way too much like the reckoning to be ignored. In short there’d be a sudden shock of globalization, wealth creation and social restructuring. It’d probably be a bit like jumping a hundred years into the future. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-professed-christians-disappeared/677589/3 "2013-12-31T21:20:16Z")
Will atheism flourish, or will it be even more oppressed by other religions coming in to fill the gap? ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-professed-christians-disappeared/677589/4 "2013-12-31T21:21:30Z")
If all Christians were raputured, I would quickly convert to Christianity. Maybe ‘convert’ isn’t the right word…I’d pick up a religion, specifically Christianity, with a quickness. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-professed-christians-disappeared/677589/5 "2013-12-31T21:24:23Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Will atheism flourish, or will it be even more oppressed by other religions coming in to fill the gap? “Even more”? :rolleyes: Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-professed-christians-disappeared/677589/6 "2013-12-31T21:25:45Z")
What? And Harold Camping missed it by two weeks? Seriously though, I haven’t heard about anyone predicting “The Rapture” for Jan. 2. Where are you getting that? I’d like to know who I can mock on Thursday. Or is this a hypothetical thought exercise? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-professed-christians-disappeared/677589/7 "2013-12-31T21:27:49Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > If all Christians were raputured, I would quickly convert to Christianity. Maybe ‘convert’ isn’t the right word…I’d pick up a religion, specifically Christianity, with a quickness. 1. We don’t know where they went-please read the OP again. 2. It was a one-time-only deal. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-professed-christians-disappeared/677589/8 "2013-12-31T21:29:26Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > What? And Harold Camping missed it by two weeks? Seriously though, I haven’t heard about anyone predicting “The Rapture” for Jan. 2. Where are you getting that? I’d like to know who I can mock on Thursday. Or is this a hypothetical thought exercise? Picked the date at random-it has no religious significance that I know of. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-professed-christians-disappeared/677589/9 "2013-12-31T21:31:23Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > 1. We don’t know where they went-please read the OP again. > 2. It was a one-time-only deal. It doesn’t matter _where_ they went. All of the Christians disappeared? The only conclusion is that they were right. Even if there’s no Rapture II on deck, I’ll feel better off on the side with the God that probably whooshed a few million people off the face of the Earth. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-professed-christians-disappeared/677589/10 "2013-12-31T21:31:43Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > “Even more”? > > :rolleyes: > > Regards, > Shodan Would you care to address the topic itself, preferably using more space than is contained in your ever present sign-off? ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-professed-christians-disappeared/677589/11 "2013-12-31T21:32:04Z")
Who cares? See ya, suckers! More seriously, if the rapture actually occurred, wouldn’t that all by itself be a pretty severe blow to atheism? I mean, if 1/4 of the population of the world just ascended in a cloud of glory and trumpets (or whatever)… it would cause some people to re-assess, is all I’m saying. ETA: Oh, I see you say “suddenly disappear.” Well, not quite as dramatic but still pretty difficult to explain non-supernaturally, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-professed-christians-disappeared/677589/12 "2013-12-31T21:35:31Z")
Well, there would only be, at most, about 40-50 million Americans, probably less. Large swaths of the countryside would be near vacant. Don’t count on the Mexicans to move in, because the majority of them will be gone too. Then China and India go “huh” and decide all this vacant land could be very useful. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-professed-christians-disappeared/677589/13 "2013-12-31T21:35:47Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > It doesn’t matter _where_ they went. All of the Christians disappeared? The only conclusion is that they were right. Even if there’s no Rapture II on deck, I’ll feel better off on the side with the God that probably whooshed a few million people off the face of the Earth. This is exactly right. If all the Christians disappeared on Friday it would be the largest conversion incentive the world had ever seen. For the first time there would be proof that there’s something up with one of the major religions. Combine that with the fact that they’ve been talking about ‘the rapture’ for one hell of a long time and it won’t take an Einstein to believe they had something right and joining would be a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-professed-christians-disappeared/677589/14 "2013-12-31T21:36:27Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > It doesn’t matter _where_ they went. All of the Christians disappeared? The only conclusion is that they were right. Even if there’s no Rapture II on deck, I’ll feel better off on the side with the God that probably whooshed a few million people off the face of the Earth. 1. The displeased another god. 2. Aliens find them tasty. 3. Satan won. Three possibilities right there, and I’m sure others can come up with some more. BTW, I cannot recall any described “Rapture” that takes every single person that professed to be Christian, whether they believed it themselves or not. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-professed-christians-disappeared/677589/15 "2013-12-31T21:39:47Z")
All who are left that had christian populations would most likely convert. Places like china probably not so much. So china becomes the new super power. Japan will probably build a ladder to “Heaven” and proclaim there are no christians there and then claim “Heaven” as a territory of Japan. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-professed-christians-disappeared/677589/16 "2013-12-31T21:43:21Z")
Once again, “Rapture!” was only the title-the op states that all who professed to be Christian(whether they were in fact believers in that faith) suddenly disappear, _and we never find out what happened to them._ I think this “Rapture” business may be questioned when it is found out that a lot of people who everyone knew to be “Christian in name only” were gone…but that all the babies from Christian families were left behind. I tried to be very careful in the way I wrote the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-professed-christians-disappeared/677589/17 "2013-12-31T21:44:54Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > 1. The displeased another god. > 2. Aliens find them tasty. > 3. Satan won. > > Three possibilities right there, and I’m sure others can come up with some more. > > BTW, I cannot recall any described “Rapture” that takes every single person that professed to be Christian, whether they believed it themselves or not. 1. I’m not aware of any other Gods that have threatened to carry out such an action. 2. I’m sure we’re all equaly as tasty. In fact, were I an alien with a desire to munch some tasty humans, I’d pick a population with more spices in their diet. G’bye, most of Asia. 3. If satan won, in your scenario he must have whisked all the Christians away to some kind of nastiness. But if I understand the nature of Satan correctly, he would desire to make all of mankind miserable. Just punishing the Christians may seem like the obvious thing to do, but he’d be missing out on half the world. The _most likely_ answer is that the event was indeed the Rapture. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-professed-christians-disappeared/677589/18 "2013-12-31T21:50:49Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > …but that all the babies from Christian families were left behind. You didn’t say anything about the babies. Maybe as far as Gawd is concerned simply stating your belief and declaring yourself a Christian is good enough. [QUOTE=Czarcasm;16973949I tried to be very careful in the way I wrote the OP.[/QUOTE] Better luck next time! ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-professed-christians-disappeared/677589/19 "2013-12-31T21:51:25Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Would you care to address the topic itself, preferably using more space than is contained in your ever present sign-off? I answered your question. Atheists are persecuted in the same sense that there is a War on Christmas, except you don’t seem to have the same attitude towards that. But this thread is a demonstration of how at least some atheists would react. Even if the Rapture happens right in front of their faces, they would find some way to talk themselves out of it. See Luke 16:31. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-professed-christians-disappeared/677589/20 "2013-12-31T21:53:42Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > 1. I’m not aware of any other Gods that have threatened to carry out such an action. > > 2. I’m sure we’re all equaly as tasty. In fact, were I an alien with a desire to munch some tasty humans, I’d pick a population with more spices in their diet. G’bye, most of Asia. > > 3. If satan won, in your scenario he must have whisked all the Christians away to some kind of nastiness. But if I understand the nature of Satan correctly, he would desire to make all of mankind miserable. Just punishing the Christians may seem like the obvious thing to do, but he’d be missing out on half the world. > > The _most likely_ answer is that the event was indeed the Rapture. What version of the Rapture takes fake Christians but leaves behind the babies? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-professed-christians-disappeared/677589.md?page=2)