NationStates Jolt Archive

John Lennon once said:

"Christianity will go, it will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that; I'm right and I will be proved right. We're [The Beatles] more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first -- rock 'n' roll or Christianity.

I don't actually see Christianity ever going. I think it might actually be growing in some areas.

For me, Christianity isn't a religion; it's a lifestyle. And you can't change the lifestyle of millions of people just like that.

He didn't say better than Jesus; he just said more popular.

=P

I'll approach this issue more seriously at some other time.

It remains to be seen if Christianity will disappear. It might. The trend seems to be that most people in modern nations abandon religion. The US is the only developed country to my knowledge that still has a very religious majority. That too may change.

For all the respect I have for the man, something tells me that he was a little too high on his success to make such a statement.

John Lennon once said:

"Christianity will go, it will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that; I'm right and I will be proved right. We're [The Beatles] more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first -- rock 'n' roll or Christianity.
It was probably an attempt to evoke controversy in order to gain more popularity.
And seeing how Jesus was a Jewish man from the beginning of the first century, I doubt he really was all that big. I'll bet Shaq towers over him.

"Christianity will go, it will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that; I'm right and I will be proved right. We're [The Beatles] more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first -- rock 'n' roll or Christianity.

Well...in my opinion, from listening to some of today's music I say that rock 'n' roll went first.

For all the respect I have for the man, something tells me that he was a little too high on his success to make such a statement.

I get that feeling too.. all that success probably went to his head (via his nose). :p

And seeing how Jesus was a Jewish man from the beginning of the first century, I doubt he really was all that big. I'll bet Shaq towers over him.

Lol. Damn you Fiddlebottoms. Damn you and your diamond-tipped-chisel-sharp situational wit!

The universe won't last forever, so most likely Christianity will disappear, unless someone wants to continue it after death.

For all the respect I have for the man, something tells me that he was a little too high on his success to make such a statement.

To be fair to John though, I own a lot more Beatles stuff than Jesus stuff.

Well...in my opinion, from listening to some of today's music I say that rock 'n' roll went first.
LOL! Hear! Hear! :D

It was probably an attempt to evoke controversy in order to gain more popularity.
And seeing how Jesus was a Jewish man from the beginning of the first century, I doubt he really was all that big. I'll bet Shaq towers over him.

"Bigger than Jesus" would be an excellent slogan to put on an XXL T-shirt.

It remains to be seen if Christianity will disappear. It might. The trend seems to be that most people in modern nations abandon religion. The US is the only developed country to my knowledge that still has a very religious majority. That too may change.

The CIA world factbook reports that 42.6% of Canada's population is Catholic and 23.3% is protestant, that the UK is 71.6% Christian, and that Autralia's population is 26.4% Catholic, 20.5% Anglican and 20.5% other Christian. The United States is 52% Protestant and 24% Catholic. All of them have a religious majority.

To be fair to John though, I own a lot more Beatles stuff than Jesus stuff.

You should buy this (http://mcphee.com/items/10746.html) to balance it out.

John Lennon once said:

"Christianity will go, it will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that; I'm right and I will be proved right. We're [The Beatles] more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first -- rock 'n' roll or Christianity.

I don't actually see Christianity ever going. I think it might actually be growing in some areas.

For me, Christianity isn't a religion; it's a lifestyle. And you can't change the lifestyle of millions of people just like that.

Lifestyles can be replaced rather easily. Rock and roll was certainly not a religion, but it was a lifestyle.

Whether or not Christianity is decreasing depends on your point of view. Professed Christianity is probably growing, but the religion itself is gradually hollowing out. Most modern Christians don't act, talk, or think any differently than the more boring secular humanists, and that group is growing rapidly. Are said people Christian? Tough to say.

that the UK is 71.6% Christian,

(Cannot speak for other countries)

I think that many just see themselves as Christian, since they were bought up that way and it is more an identity rather then a religion.

Church attendence is well down, as are all other forms religious devotion. I think the closest the average Brit comes to praying is shouting out "Oh God!" when they are having sex.

Church attendence is well down, as are all other forms religious devotion. I think the closest the average Brit comes to praying is shouting out "Oh God!" when they are having sex.

People really do that? I thought that was just R-rated movies and Animal House.. that'd freak me out.. weird. :(

I'm sure many an ancient egyptian thought it incomprehensible that his millennia old religion and patheon of gods and goddesses would ever fade into the mists of history.

Arguing that Christianity will exist forever is like arguing that the United States will exist forever...it seems unlikely that it will be going away because it seems so fixed, but it is based on our inability to fully appreciate the vastness of time.

That said (i) Christianity will outlive me by a good long way and (ii) if Christianity is right about there being a final "end of time" at armageddon, when God swoops in and ends history, then I guess Christianity will be forever.

People really do that? I thought that was just R-rated movies and Animal House.. that'd freak me out.. weird. :(

People do far weirder things during sex ;)

A more interesting question might be: will Christianity outlast Atheism? On one hand, Christianity has been around for a lot longer so far (from what I understand, Atheism didn't really catch on until after the formulation of the theory of evolution which made it possible to be an "intellectually fulfilled atheist"), but on the other Atheism seems to have been gaining ground since then. I guess the outcome will depend a lot on which one is false (or on which one's falsehood comes to light first).

A more interesting question might be: will Christianity outlast Atheism? On one hand, Christianity has been around for a lot longer so far (from what I understand, Atheism didn't really catch on until after the formulation of the theory of evolution which made it possible to be an "intellectually fulfilled atheist"), but on the other Atheism seems to have been gaining ground since then.

What an ethnocentric way of looking at it.

I guess the outcome will depend a lot on which one is false (or on which one's falsehood comes to light first).

Since they both make claims that cannot be varified (more so in the case of atheism), falsity is unlikely to be a factor.

A more interesting question might be: will Christianity outlast Atheism? On one hand, Christianity has been around for a lot longer so far (from what I understand, Atheism didn't really catch on until after the formulation of the theory of evolution which made it possible to be an "intellectually fulfilled atheist"), but on the other Atheism seems to have been gaining ground since then. I guess the outcome will depend a lot on which one is false (or on which one's falsehood comes to light first).

Christianity predates atheism, eh? That's quite an interesting theory.. I suppose Epicurus, and probably Anaxagoras, claimed some belief in the gods for the sake of their own personal safety.. hm.