# When will the ENTIRE human race reject Christianity? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 24, 2010, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-the-entire-human-race-reject-christianity/558176 "2010-10-24T09:56:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![adhay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@adhay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhay)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-the-entire-human-race-reject-christianity/558176/61 "2010-10-25T01:36:22Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > As a Christian this is what I believe. If other people exist out there, then God created them and would not abandon them. I use the word “people” because they wouldn’t be “aliens” to themselves. Nor to G\*. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-the-entire-human-race-reject-christianity/558176/62 "2010-10-25T01:40:12Z")
> [@adhay](#): > > Nor to G\*. So they’d follow Q instead I guess. ---
**Author:** ![adhay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@adhay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhay)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-the-entire-human-race-reject-christianity/558176/63 "2010-10-25T01:44:46Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > So they’d follow Q instead I guess. One’s as good/bad as another. imho. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-the-entire-human-race-reject-christianity/558176/64 "2010-10-25T03:26:05Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > I don’t think a major, horrifically devastating “why would a kind, caring God let this happen?” war with a death toll in the billions would deal a death blow to Christianity. Agreed. A hardened skeptic might think that it would, and indeed, tragic events do turn some people away from God. Experience shows, however, that many other people turn to God during such times of tragedy – during times when they realize how fragile human existence is, how vulnerable they are, and how they must start thinking about eternity. Indeed, the greatest Christian revivals in the world are occurring in places of tremendous persecution – places like [Sudan](http://www.frontline.org.za/news/Sudan_In_Scriptures.htm) and [China](http://revivalmedia.org/2010/10/01/is-china-the-future-of-christianity/), for example. > [@](#): > > The Holocaust reduced the number of Jews on the planet by up to a third, but it didn’t cause a mass exodus of Jews away from their faith. An excellent point. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-the-entire-human-race-reject-christianity/558176/65 "2010-10-25T05:12:52Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > In the year 3000AD will a significant majority (99%+) of humans on this planet accept that Jesus Christ was a [criminal] carpenter who was executed for [serious crimes at the time] and is NOT coming back? > > What about in the year 5000AD? > > Or the year 12000AD? > > The year 54000AD? > > In each scenario assume the human race is still in significant existence on this planet. > > At what point will all adults view Jesus the same way that they view Santa Clause (a nice thought but not real)? > > At what point are 99.999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999+% of the human populace going to reject this crap? And if Jesus comes back? ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-the-entire-human-race-reject-christianity/558176/66 "2010-10-25T05:37:26Z")
I wonder why these sorts of questions always seem to be anti-Christian rather than simply anti-Religion. The OP also seems to take as a premise that Christianity is wrong, and I don’t think that makes for an interesting discussion. If Christianity is wrong, it’ll eventually fade away; if it’s not, it won’t. Regardless of the correctness of Christianity, religion will never go away. Personally, I see religion and science as largely orthogonal disciplines, using different methodologies to answer different questions. For instance, one of the most basic questions that is largely under the purview of religion is “why are we here?”. Now, one may look at the scientific evidence and decide that there is or is not a God and come to a conclusion about what that means our purpose is I feel as though finding purpose for our lives is something that seems inate in most people, and there will always be people searching for a greater purpose, even if there ultimately isn’t one. Hell, even as a Christian myself, I don’t think that Christianity has all the answers, at least in it’s current incarnation. I think there’s still a lot left to be learned, and I think a lot of the current views will change at least slightly as we gain more knowledge and understanding. Either way, I don’t see it going anywhere any time soon. And, I also don’t think comparisons to dead religions, like the Roman or Egyptian mythology are particularly useful. Those mythologies rose and fell with the civilizations with which they are associated, in a world far bigger and far less connected than the one we live in today. Barring the complete collapse of society, the internet, and travel, I just don’t see any of the world’s major religions utterly disappearing. ---
**Author:** ![Camus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ba8739/32.png) [@Camus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Camus)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-the-entire-human-race-reject-christianity/558176/67 "2010-10-25T06:36:26Z")
> [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > If Christianity is wrong, it’ll eventually fade away; if it’s not, it won’t. Regardless of the correctness of Christianity, religion will never go away. That assumes that any religion is falsifiable. Even when religious figures base their theology in part on things that are falsifiable, whether it was [Miller’s prediction of Christ’s return in 1844](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Disappointment) or Joseph Smith’s descriptions of some Native Americans as the lost tribe of Israel, sects such as the Seventh-day Adventists or Church of Latter-day Saints continue to develop. Your second statement had it right - regardless of the “correctness” of any religion, facts and scientific proof alone won’t cause a religion to die out altogether. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-the-entire-human-race-reject-christianity/558176/68 "2010-10-25T07:07:58Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Not really; variously sects already rationalize the possibility in various ways. For example, I was told as a child that aliens exist; but since humans are made in God’s Image, aliens must then _not_ be in God’s image and are therefore Satanic. The presence of aliens wouldn’t affect believers. Perhaps when they say “you still believe in that kind of stuff?” after they finish laughing (bring a lunch) might do it. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-the-entire-human-race-reject-christianity/558176/69 "2010-10-25T08:02:18Z")
> [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > Personally, I see religion and science as largely orthogonal disciplines, using different methodologies to answer different questions. Can you give an example of something which religion answers and describe what methodology it uses? > [@](#): > > For instance, one of the most basic questions that is largely under the purview of religion is “why are we here?”. This is not a question which needs to be asked. We have no reason to believe (and every reason not to believe) that we are here for any purpose at all. Even if there had to be a “why” (hich there doesn’t), religion offers no methodogy for answering it. It just makes stuff up. > [@](#): > > Hell, even as a Christian myself, I don’t think that Christianity has all the answers Does it have _any_ answers? Can you give an example of a question we know Christianity answers? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-the-entire-human-race-reject-christianity/558176/70 "2010-10-25T08:30:41Z")
> [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > I wonder why these sorts of questions always seem to be anti-Christian rather than simply anti-Religion. Because this is a mostly American board, and that’s the religion that most people here think of when they hear the word. > [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > The OP also seems to take as a premise that Christianity is wrong, and I don’t think that makes for an interesting discussion. It’s a premise that is obviously true however.The fact that Christianity is actually taken seriously by anyone simply demonstrates how willing people are to ignore facts and logic once religion has infected them. > [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > If Christianity is wrong, it’ll eventually fade away; if it’s not, it won’t. As said; believers have always ignored the reality of their religion even when it makes claims that can be outright disproved. Christianity like all religion denies reality; it being wrong is part of the point. If it was right, then it wouldn’t be faith anymore after all. > [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > Regardless of the correctness of Christianity, religion will never go away. Genetic engineering or other forms of augmentation should eliminate religion as a side effect, since religion require a defective brain to exist at all. Unless it is used for the opposite purpose , to hardwire it into the brain to such an extent that disbelief becomes impossible. And there’s the possibility of human extinction, something that is greatly increased in likelihood as long as religion exists; if we all die, religion dies with us. > [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > Personally, I see religion and science as largely orthogonal disciplines, using different methodologies to answer different questions. No. Science exists to discover facts. Religion exists to justify lies and delusions. Religion is intellectually sterile and can answer nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@Captain\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-the-entire-human-race-reject-christianity/558176/71 "2010-10-25T09:55:38Z")
Religion will fall away once someone discovers the cure for death. Until then, people are going to look and seek answers to their existance, and if there is a God or Beings who created everything. I believe that an Intellegence or a race of beings created everything, but I do not believe in religion. I do not believe in Atheism. Atheism is hollow, and to me it nonexistance is a hell as hell itself. We humans cannot wrap our brains around the concept of non-existance. By 3000 A.D. there will still be religion of some kind. Why? Because there has been religious beliefs since the time of the caveman. 3000 years ago there was religion, gods, temples and priests. The religion of Christianity came from the Hebrew religion. From that, a man named Jesus Christ was someone that people followed and started the Christian religion 2000 years ago. Many aspects of Catholicism came from the earlier Roman pagan religions. The holidays of Easter and Christmas came from the old Roman pagan religions that were co-opted by Christians, who changed lore of the religious story from Mithrias to Jesus. The Easter egg was a sign of fertility, of spring. In the year 3000 AD, man will probably be not much more advanced than he is now. Between now and then, there will be a devastating nuclear war, overpopulation, and other problems that will violently work itself out. Whoever survives this will have to start civilization anew. Some of the people will discard their religious beliefs, but most will not. In a 1000 years time, probably another religion is going to rise up to displace Christianity or Islam, or maybe in a 1000 years time, Christianity and Islam will not exist or will merge together. Or these religions will be very splintered. Whatever, in the end, there will always be religion, because there are always going to be people who want to know the answers to impossible questions, and to mediate the fear of eventual death. ---
**Author:** ![\_cc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/e19b73/32.png) [@\_cc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_cc)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-the-entire-human-race-reject-christianity/558176/72 "2010-10-25T10:24:50Z")
Easy question to answer. The entire world will reject Christianity when a more effective religion evolves to overtake it, the same way Christianity overtook many other religions by borrowing and adapting past concepts and memes that worked well for them. Islam is one possible contender, if western Europe is any indication. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-the-entire-human-race-reject-christianity/558176/73 "2010-10-25T10:41:42Z")
> [@Captain\_Midnight](#): > > I do not believe in Atheism. Atheism is hollow, and to me it nonexistance is a hell as hell itself. We humans cannot wrap our brains around the concept of non-existance. That’s not true at all, I know exactly what nonexistence is like; I spent almost the entire history of the universe not existing. It isn’t a “hell”; it isn’t anything at all (by definition). As for atheism being “hollow”; I fail to see how it is more “hollow” than religions built of falsehoods. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-the-entire-human-race-reject-christianity/558176/74 "2010-10-25T10:52:47Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > At what point are 99.999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999+% of the human populace going to reject this crap? Well, the lower limit is when there are 10[sup]50[/sup] + 1 humans. ---
**Author:** ![cedman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cedman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cedman)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-the-entire-human-race-reject-christianity/558176/75 "2010-10-25T11:37:41Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > The answer is “who knows?” In a few hundred years we may all be enhanced to such a degree that no one takes Christianity or any other religion seriously. _snip_ More of a tangent than a hijack… I’ve heard this view of how “enhanced” humans have become that they/we don’t “need” religion anymore but I have never heard an intelligent, rational, believable explaination of how this “enhancement” has come about. Surely if this great process really exists and has, in fact, happened, it can be tracked and documented, no? Didn’t think so. Humans still fight, kill and die, soil their own nest and are the most dangerous and destructive species on the planet (even if they actually ARE created in God’s own image). Anti-religous types are just as deluded and ignorant as the image that they have of religious types. Maybe as deluded and ignorant as (most, anyway) religious type actually are. I think that both groups get as much satisfaction as the other in their wild mental mastubation. (This post and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee at McDonalds for what that’s worth.) :p:p:p:p:p ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-the-entire-human-race-reject-christianity/558176/76 "2010-10-25T12:02:09Z")
> [@cedman](#): > > More of a tangent than a hijack… > > I’ve heard this view of how “enhanced” humans have become that they/we don’t “need” religion anymore but I have never heard an intelligent, rational, believable explaination of how this “enhancement” has come about. Surely if this great process really exists and has, in fact, happened, it can be tracked and documented, no? No. Since I was talking about genetic and cybernetic enhancement of the brain _which we can’t do yet_. That makes “tracking and documenting” it just a _little_ difficult. And we’ve never, ever “needed” religion, it has always been a burden and corruption upon humanity. > [@cedman](#): > > Humans still fight, kill and die, soil their own nest and are the most dangerous and destructive species on the planet (even if they actually ARE created in God’s own image). A meaningless argument since religion prevents none of that. On the contrary, it encourages it. ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-the-entire-human-race-reject-christianity/558176/77 "2010-10-25T12:03:30Z")
> [@cedman](#): > > (This post and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee at McDonalds for what that’s worth.) Is that a fact?! Because around here a cup of coffee at McDonalds will cost you around 3-4 dollars. Who would have known that a printout of a SB message is the equivalent of 33% discount coupon! I’m going to try that, and if it doesn’t work I’ll be seeing you in the pit. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-the-entire-human-race-reject-christianity/558176/78 "2010-10-25T12:36:50Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > How many modern religions - by which I mean organized, multi-national systems of faith - have disappeared over the past 2000 years? I can’t think of one. nm ---
**Author:** ![cedman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cedman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cedman)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-the-entire-human-race-reject-christianity/558176/79 "2010-10-25T13:00:13Z")
> [@Rune](#): > > Is that a fact?! Because around here a cup of coffee at McDonalds will cost you around 3-4 dollars. Who would have known that a printout of a SB message is the equivalent of 33% discount coupon! I’m going to try that, and if it doesn’t work I’ll be seeing you in the pit. Sorry, bad guess on my part. I don’t drink the bitter stuff (although it smells great!) and never will. Pepsi on the other hand, I SHOULDN’T drink but I do anyway. Go figure! ---
**Author:** ![cedman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cedman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cedman)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-the-entire-human-race-reject-christianity/558176/80 "2010-10-25T13:06:35Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > No. Since I was talking about genetic and cybernetic enhancement of the brain _which we can’t do yet_. That makes “tracking and documenting” it just a _little_ difficult. Perhaps I associated Bill Mayers (sp?) “enlightened” with your “enhancement”. Neither of you have ever offered anything other than your opinion as the basis for your “truth”. Sound just like a religious true believer don’t you? (Now come back with the same arguement worded slightly different as you and Dio always do. Ya’ll kin or sumthin?) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-the-entire-human-race-reject-christianity/558176.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-the-entire-human-race-reject-christianity/558176.md?page=5)