Why Predictions of The Death of Christianity Always Fail
Posted: Sunday, August 16, 2009
by Joel Kontinen
http://joelkontinen.blogspot.com/
Throughout the ages, the enemies of Christianity have claimed that the religion established by Jesus Christ was about to become extinct. Some of these skeptics made astonishing predictions. None of them have ever been fulfilled, however.
The French philosopher Franois-Marie Arouet (1694-1778), better known by his pen name Voltaire, predicted that within a century of his death the Bible would be forgotten. He thought that Enlightenment ideas would replace Christianty. But within 50 years of his death, the Geneva Bible Society had made his former home into its headquaters, using it to print the Bible and spread God's Word.
In the 1970s Albanian strongman Enver Hoxha (1908-1985) claimed that Albania was the world's first religion- free state. He, too, was a false prophet. Ironically, many Christian missionaries from several continents are currently proclaiming the gospel all over Albania and people are responding to the preached word, flocking into churches.
On hearing that his obituary had been published in the New York Journal, Mark Twain said, " The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." It seems that the same also applies to reports about the death of religion in general and of Christianity in particular.
This should not come as a surprise to Christians. After all, Jesus Christ promised, " On this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). When the apostles were persecuted for preaching the gospel, they quoted Psalm 2 in their prayer:
Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things?
The kings of the earth took their stand,
And the rulers were gathered together
Against the LORD and against His Christ. (Acts 4:25-26).
Voltaire, Khrushchev and Hoxha also raged in vain. Christianity could not be overcome. The faith that turned the world upside down is still doing wonders in the lives of millions of people throughout the globe.
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Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)AMEN! HE is able even when we sometimes are feeble. Thanks for writing this piece! MarijoThanks for reading.Blessings, Joel.
It is true...cults will never die. Jesus would be very upset to see what has become of his beautiful teachings. Jesus never said he was Christ...the only thing close to that he ever said was...the only way to the father is through me... Jesus was a mystic, all mystics speak in metaphor. He was simply stating the only way to God is through Love...Love was the essence of all Jesus's teachings...love for life, love for God love for mankind.Well, you’re partly right. But if you read the Greek text of Luke 4, for instance, you’ll see that Jesus used the word anointed, which is ekhrisen, from which comes the word ’anointed’ or Christ. Moreover, He did say that He was the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6), the only way to the Father. To say that love is all He is would be a lopsided view of Him. We should not forget that John writes: ”Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”I would not call traditional Christianity a sect or Jesus a mystic. Some of His teaching are difficult, that’s true, but He did not say that following Him would be easy.Blessings to you.
Anointed actually mean "chosen". In this context chosen to act or speak. All of Jesus teachings were actually based on Love. All acts of creation are the fruits of love. The underlying truth is that when a person acts just through love, pure love that is he or she can do no wrong, can commit no sin and will be a spiritual master. He indeed lived to be the greatest example of this to all people by sacrificing his life in the name of life for all mankind. It was definitely the single greatest act anyone has done for the human race, to open eyes and our minds to what can be accomplished in the name of love. Peace be with you my friend...I'm sure we will agree to disagree on some things, but I very much respect Jesus and HIS teachings.[not others,like the one's who wrote the books]Yes, it seems we do agree on some things and disagree on others. Anointed does mean ’chosen’ in this context. In Bible times, a leader was first chosen and then anointed. Yes, love is the motive for Jesus’ words and deeds. This is obvious from John 3:16, ”For God so loved the world…” as well as from Jesus’ teaching on the greatest commandment (”Love the Lord your God…”) and the second greatest of loving one’s neighbor. I suppose our differences have to do with God’s character that also includes righteousness. In addition to grace, it also includes truth.Blessings to you.
Without love, there is no righteousness, no grace, no truth. I do not disagree on those parts of God's character . Love is all encompassing my friend. The parts of God's character I disagree with are the Old Testament parts. Human emotions such as hate and revenge that I just cannot believe would have ever been part of the character of an omniscient creator of all things. I'm sure you will say that humans were created in the image of God so of course he has the same emotions. I personally believe the Christian version of God was created in the image of man. I believe this is the only way early humans could view God...in a context they already knew and understood.Thanks for the stimulating conversation...Thanks to you also. Yes, God definitely is love. However, as humans we tend to project our humanity (human traits) on God, in effect making Him in our image, and that’s not how it should go. I believe that God inspired the Bible. He revealed what He is like in His interaction with certain people He chose, such as the Old Testament prophets. I choose to believe the Bible as it is, not picking and choosing what I’d like to believe.Blessings.
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