Do not limit your answer here to "legitimate" intellectual reasons. YOu can include emotional/social reasons too, or anything else you think might explain the widespread influence of Christian belief.
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Why? (June 30 Option A)
Do not limit your answer here to "legitimate" intellectual reasons. YOu can include emotional/social reasons too, or anything else you think might explain the widespread influence of Christian belief.
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I think Christianity has been so successful because, like Professor Marmorstein said, it is not tied to one specific place. It is a very mobile religion that can adapt and adjust to different cultures and environments.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that Christianity has been so successful because it is a very spiritual faith. It is based more on emotion than ritual, so people convert easily. There are still rituals involved, but they are not extensive compared to the requirements of other religions. Christianity, right from the start, marketed itself as a religion for everyone. Salvation is for Jews and Gentiles, men and women, young and old. This is very attractive to those groups of people that are excluded by other religions.
-Claire DeMilia
Many people have identified with Christianity because of the testimonies of a man named Jesus Christ. They identify with the recordings of his teaching because he spoke with authority. The practice of baptism washes away the old self and each person renews their spirit in pursuance of the Word of God. Christianity is not limited to a particular region or people. It may have started in Jerusalem, but it went everywhere in a hurry on the ready feet of men and women spreading the gospel. I believe everyone is born into this world understands they have been removed from one place and are heading towards another. In this life we need religion, or structure, and Christianity has a great track record of getting people where they needed to go.
ReplyDeleteI was born into a Christian family and was exposed to the church from early on. Growing up in Malaysia, that has a strong influence of Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism, Christianity provided me with a firm sense of right and wrong. The goodness and sensibility of the 10 commandments provided moral clarity, there was never a temptation to abandon it. For the millions born into the faith, it's easy to see how they retain the sense of belief and identity. For the others that experienced a conversion into the faith, I believe it was prompted by a spiritual awakening that was triggered by the Spirit of God. Once the soul hears the call of the Master it will be difficult to turn away, all the more since converts come from secularism or other sets of belief, they are able to make the distinction between the call of God and the world. The continued practice of the faith enhances the experience for both groups of believers, those born into the faith and those that converted.
ReplyDeleteca
If I had to guess, I would chalk a large part of Christianity's success up to the clever proselytization methods employed by Roman Catholic missionaries as they spread further West. For example, when it came time to convert the Norsemen of Scandinavia, Roman Catholic missionaries more or less incorporated portions of Norse mythology into Catholic belief. The Norse myth of Ragnarök described an apocalyptic scenario where many prominent Norse gods ultimately died and the world itself came to an end. The myth concludes with a new world being formed from the ashes of the old, and life resuming. In a clever bit of religious syncretism, the Roman Catholic missionaries preached to the Norse that Ragnarök had in fact already occurred, and that the world was now governed by one god whose son had been sacrificed for the good of humanity. This obviously worked quite well.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, Christianity (like Islam) has the further benefit of being a "strong" religion—its teachings explicitly state that its god is the only god, and that no others exist, limiting avenues for other faiths to incite conversion.
The establishment of the Catholic ecclesiarchy also likely went a long way toward ensuring Christianity's success—the centralization of power in Rome created a static base for Roman Catholicism that could project the religion into the far-flung reaches of Europe while maintaining the adherence of the followers it had already garnered.
Christianity really just had a lot going for it.
I believe that Christianity reall had alot going for it. One of the frist things that helped it speard was latching on to the Roman Empire. This cause it spread all around Europe. Where as Judaism was established before the Empire and Islam after. I came to be during the Empire so the traditions just stuck. Another reason would be that Europeans discovered the New World. Spearding the religion to both the Americas.Whereas Christianity is a religion most Eastern religions is more of a way to live. If your a Buddhist you don't pray to Buddha you want to be like him. I think Christianity was just luck.
ReplyDeleteTrent Dean
I never realized how little I had actually thoughtabout this question until it was posed in this post. As a Christian, my natural instinct is to answer that it is successful because it is truth and because God is behind it. But I am then forced to deal with the follow up questions, but what does that mean and what does that look like?
ReplyDeleteObviously, Jesus Christ himself stands at the forefront of reasons Christianity has succeeded and there are countless books, articles, essyas, podcasts and sermons explaining why. But while thinking about it I realized that there was one factor that does maybe get overloooked a bit.
Jesus Christ himself stands at the forefront of why Christianity is successful. There are obviously countless books, articles, sermons, lectures, podcasts, videos and other forms of media that talk about why that is so. But in thinking about this question I realized that there was something that maybe gets overlooked and it relates well to the study of apologetics. Jesus was never afraid to answer his critics. They would come to him with questions, usually designed to trap him into saying something they could use against him and he knew it. But he always let them ask their questions and always had an answer that when it was heard by the people left them amazed. Jesus is someone who knew his subjects well and spoke with authority. And that has been something I think people have appreciated for as long as their have been people.
Is that the biggest reason for Christianity's success? Probably not but I wanted to find an answer tthat maybe wasn't brought up as often as some other possibilities.
Casey T.
I think you are right in that, in many ways, one's response to the gospel depends on what they think of Jesus. Jesus himself said that his sheep heard his voice, while other didn't. I think there is something like resonance going on here. Play an "A" on a stringed instrument, and all other "A" strings vibrate whether they are played directly or not. But other strings don't. Near the end of C.S. Lewis' Last Battle he has a scene where the different creatures come face-to-face with Aslan, Lewis' Christ figure. Some love him, other's don't.
DeleteAnyway, I like your comments on Jesus and the way he handles questions
I think the main reason why Christianity is so popular is because of how free and welcome it is. Being a Christian in today's world is very popular because its common throughout history as well as the world. Christianity gives people hope and purpose which is an amazing thing to have. Another reason is because of all the historical context of the religion you can find traces of Christianity almost everywhere one very reason why it's so popular than other religions.
ReplyDeleteMany people like me came across religion through youth. Most parents take their kids to church most Sundays. I know I was one of those kids who had to go to church every Sunday. I also went to a Private School for most of my middle school and high school years. There we learned a lot about Christianity. I think the influence of Christianity especially to the younger people are through parents. Parents are the ones who are taking kids to church or getting them baptized. So, these are just some reasons why Christianity is one of the most popular religions in the modern world today.
Yes: Christianity does have a wide-spread appeal. It is one of the few truly "world" religions, a faith not bound to a specific society or historical context. I think you are right in seeing Christianity's sense of history as another strength.
ReplyDeleteIn all honesty, I think the reason Christianity has been able to spread the way it has is because more and more people are starting to search for something to grasp onto when life gets rough and they are able to see how loving, accepting, and welcoming the church is. Another reason is because it is one of the oldest religions to exist, and if you look at the book of Revelation, everything it says is slowly starting to come to fruition, and I think many people are wanted to make things right with God before they pass away.
ReplyDeleteLooking at the first question, I think a good majority of people who claim they are Christians really are, but I also think there is a minority of people who say they are Christians but are really not. They say this to blend in with the majority, and this can cause confusion with everything.
One of the reasons that Christianity is as wide spread as it is today is because of the geographical location of where it all started. The country of Israel, even though it was under Roman rule at the time, is located directly in the centerpiece of land that connected all other countries at the time. It was the connection between Africa and the Middle East, and at the time, that was almost the entirety of the known world. So when Christianity began in Israel, news of it spread to the rest of the know world swiftly and effectively. It was then later spread and even influenced to the rest of the world under the Roman rule of Constantine. After that point in history, the religion has such numbers and influence in the world that it almost inevitability ended up in the position that it is today.
ReplyDeleteAnother reason for the success of Christianity in today's world is the evidence of it. Some of which is the accounts of people at the time who saw the resurrected Jesus, the psychological changes in the Apostles after they had seen the resurrected Jesus and the events of Pentecost - they went from hiding in houses with locked doors and windows to boldly speaking in the temples and facing ridicule and abuse for the sake of their Gospel - and simply the evidence in people's lives today. I think that evidence is the most important because ( and maybe not everyone can see it) when someone has a truly life changing commitment to Jesus, it's nothing short of supernatural.
Christianity brings the possibility of creation and being inside each human and society. This is no small claim, but the evidence is layered deeply inside our current community whether we admit it or not. There are two arguments I would like to provide that will back the claim I wish to make here in this blog post. The first is why Christianity is not one of the other hundreds of religions. The second of the two arguments I would like to work through is what a quick summary of Christianity offers to an individual.
ReplyDeleteI want to point to a few things on the first topic of why Christianity. One that strikes my heart as it relates to the day and age we currently live in. So many people today want to claim a God as their own, but something holds them back. I have heard Jordan Peterson speak brilliantly on Christianity and God and general. One thing that bugs me, though, is that he sits very much as an Agnostic. He is wrestling with God in searching for who God is to him.
On the contrary to what I do not precisely like about Peterson's claims, there is a beautiful statement that he did make that I do like. That claim is when Peterson states to an Imam, and I am Muslim enough to be invited to your mosque, I have been called Rhabi by Jews, I have been respected by Christians more so Catholics, not as many protestants. This relates to what makes Christianity different, and I think it is the birth and death of Jesus Christ. You see, especially in Islamic religions, all must account for Jesus Christ, especially if he is an accurate historical figure. The strange part is that they all do; however, they do not get to know the whole truth of Jesus Christ. The Quran describes Jesus as a Prophet, and the Torah seems to depict Jesus as the Messiah. Buddhists will show Jesus as a Buddha, and the Hinduism faith portrays Jesus as a saint or Sadhu.
All of these things tie back to the quote from Peterson. Jesus Christ reveals the truth to the world. All those other religions can find respect for Peterson because he loves and yearns for others to join in reality. All major faiths must attest to Jesus because he is historically significant. So if Jesus is real, he is the pinnacle of any faith. Christianity is much more attractive when emulating or searching for truth than other faiths. The reason is that the relationship between God and man can never have a greater pinnacle than Christianity. In Christianity, God is not only with or a part of his creation but one who will sacrifice himself to free his creation and create eternity for us. The supposed cost is asking forgiveness; what more extraordinary thing could truth offer?
Tanner Simon
I think Christianity is so widely accepted for many reasons. The 1st main and obvious reason is that Christianity originated during a time that the Roman Empire had access to well-connected roads/trade routes and took advantage of missionaries and their abilities to spread His teachings. These routes allowed for Christianity to be officially recognized and accepted by many.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think Christianity has been found to be flexible, adaptable, and influential. This flexibility allowed Christianity to fuze into other different cultures and societies. Its adaptability made it so as Christianity spread to different parts of the world, it stuck. People would often integrate their own local culture into its practices. Lastly, Christianity's influence extended beyond the church. Its stories and practices would eventually impact art, literature, music, education, and so much more.
Post above was published by Regina Chase
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