Would Christianity Survive without the filter of a Church?

[Sand Dancer]

Without anything in writing, no one would know about Jesus.

Unfortunately, you've got different interpretations of the Bible that color the way people think about it and live their lives.

If you weigh the Bible in light of current knowledge, you know what to take figuratively and what to discard. The Bible can be for any time.

 

[technomage]

Without anything in writing, no one would know about Jesus.

True over the long term, not the short term. An oral tradition _can_ be relatively stable for a while (50 to at the very maximum 200 years). But yes, beyond that point, a written record would have had to be created for any memory to survive to this day.

 

[ChristineES]

I don't know if people would "know nothing" without reading the religious texts. There's a lot to be said for oral tradition. It's lasted longer in the past.

 

[samaelrocks]

Despite the much touted "civilized culture" many seem to think we live in, more people have died violently in the past 100 years than in the previous 2000 years of history, IMO. I think you are making the mistake many do, that of blaming God for what wicked persons choose to do, both spirit and human persons.

I purposely titled this thread the way I did to challenge whether or not Christianity would have survived without a filter. You're doing what I had described. You're filtering the text of the Bible to fit your interpretation presumably based on what you were told.

That's why, I think, Christians are surprised when a non-believer explains their take on the Bible as being hateful and intolerant. Without a filter, how else could you read the story of the flood and think anything other than "that idea of God is pure evil?"

 

[FranklinMichaelV.3]

If it's any consolation, much of the touted expansions of israel have no historical evidence.

 

[LuisDantas]

I don't know if people would "know nothing" without reading the religious texts. There's a lot to be said for oral tradition. It's lasted longer in the past.

Indeed. Particularly for religious traditions, oral tradition shouldn't be underestimated. In many respects it is better than written texts.