What is the future of Christianity?

Which, if your a Christian should raise alarms, since its the narrow path that few find.

>Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

True that...

youtube.com/watch?v=fsmIDvIuOJs

In the US it's because a lot of Christians are still clinging to the whole "city on a hill" fantasy and refuse to come to terms with what America has become. In reality there is so much fat in the American church that getting rid of the dead weight is actually a blessing.

Increasing Evangelicalization followed by a long decline into irrelevance

Let's examine what Christianity is. An Iron Age Mediterranean cult that appropriated traditions and symbols of the cutlures it converted. If you look at its roots in the Middle East, then it could have become like a theocratic states that arose there. See the Vatican. However we have been course correcting away from that and closer to our polytheistic roots.

Syncretism in which the Tripartite God, Jesus, Mary, Angels, Devils will be joined by Buddha and possibly others. The Church will exist to assuage our spiritual needs that science cannot fulfill (unless Ancient Aliens are eventually discovered. The Church will fulfill a ritual role in our lives: marriages, funerals. Not a dominating authoritarian one.

I have a question.

Shoulf I convert to Orthodox, Im a Catholic who is sick of the way the church is progressing . Sick of all its politics and hoe corporate everything about it is....I want something more personal.

Orthodoxy caught my eye, Ive done some reading up on it and it seems alot more spiritual. It calls for one to to perform more as well, somthing I see Catholicism has left behind in order to attempt to appeal to those who want to "be religious" two times and year so tgey can clear their mind.

Help me Veeky Forums

I feel all sortd of spooked

Hopefully the decline in the excess denominations but at the same time these will probably be replaced by the hipster and indie churches.

Most churches by me are very liberal and fly the Gay Pride flag outside the church. Except for the Greek Orthodox Church, which would be the church I would join if I had to.

No. If you're looking for some purity or escape from politics that you've experienced in the Catholic Church, you won't find any succor in the Orthodox churches. Just different sorts of politics and corruption. Same as any church, really.

Plus, I'd never give up the legacy of Augustine and Thomas for some weird-ass Russian monastic traditions, Platonic theology, and lighthouse theology.

>lighthouse
Toll house. Ah, fuck it, you'll probably find it if you try to research Orthodox theology. Especially in the Russian tradition. (The Greeks are all neoplatonic atheists anyway). They deny development in theology but you can literally trace the developments if you do the reading. Don't do the reading. It's not worth it, unless you're a retarded theology nerd like I am. But if you are looking after your soul (I'm not), don't.

Considering Europe and to a lesser degree the US :

- State-Churches (COE, COI, etc) will become so liberal via state meddling that they will become indistinguishable from sectarian politicking. Then they will adopt a relativist position on the existence of Gd, and then they all stop believing in Gd totally.

- Catholicism will linger on as I don't *think* it will capitulate to modern politicking, it may need to to stay 'relevant' but, possibly, they would rather be liable for death than become as the above.

- Orthodoxy is directly tied to nationalism, as nationalism ebbs and flows so will Orthodoxy all it's forms, I don't think that places like mt Athos will suddenly cease to exist however. Orthodoxy is more likely to outlive Catholicism in Europe intact

- Independent congregational and non-denominational churches will last the longest, they have a veto over who is allowed to join their church, and how to practice their faith. Their numbers may dwindle to vanishingly small levels, but that's how Christianity started in the first place, small-scale.

>Cult
Wait what?

SAVAGE

Im not looking towards the russian orthodox but the greek , and that's upseting to hear. The few orthodoxs I've spoken with, all said that they find orthodox to be much more personal compared to Catholicism, and mind you the Orthodox I spoke with all at one point did look at the other branches of Christianity including protestants and reformists.

Needless to say none of them liked the reformed or the protestants doctrine.

Even an ex of mine whom I took to church with me serval times found Catholicism to be very political at the church level.

Orthodoxy has ethnic politics.

>Even an ex of mine whom I took to church with me serval times found Catholicism to be very political at the church level.

So is the Orthodox church. You just won't realize it until you're deep in it. Like I said, pretty much every church is like that, so only dive in if you're willing to put up with their political bullshit, which is different from the political bullshit you came out of, but will at least be in a somewhat different language/context than yours. If you think that's positive, it's not. You won't escape politics in Orthodoxy. Only make the jump if you think their conception of theology and doxology are more biblical, godly, and orthodox than yours. You've probably already guessed my own opinion, but the decision is yours to make, not mine. I'm just trying to warn you. Whatever you think you're abandoning, if you convert you'll be adopting a whole new set, and you won't really be satisfied with those either.

Wasn't Islam the fastest growing religion?

Gone, I hope.

What ? Really.

From the spiritual side, I like how orthodoxy actually still has rites that every common man can do, the fasting.

The acts.
I need to be productive.
As far as main lines, I dont agree with tge pope. I dont agrer that hes infallible.
Hes a man elected by other men.

As far as the trinity, its to my understanding that both view it the same.

Nice fantasy.

Just one possible future prediction based on personal perception:

Catholic church continues to flip flop between liberal and conservative stances, treading the line between the two in an attempt to not alienate either group. Dioceses and local churches start attempting to grab more autonomy and assert their ways are correct, but always stay just shy of actually being heresy. The result damages the overall unity of the church, making it more difficult for Rome to say anything with any effect. This eventually comes to a head when a future pope does something disastrous, causing a small but significant percentage of adherents to disperse. The business like structure of the church continues to make it function for the most part though, along with the large gains outside of western countries, though outside of Europe and the US, the mass celebration is very different for each territory.

Protestantism continues to tapper off, as it lacks the large structure of its predecessor. Small groups continue to schism out, founding a multitude of single church denominations that ultimately die out with the deaths of their pastors. Evangelicalism does similar, though at a more rapid pace, quickly spawning new philosophies to capitalize on the trends of the public. Outside of the megachurches, attendance faces a downward trend, followers being picked up by other religions or forsaking organized religion entirely.

I can't say for Orthodoxy since I don't have much dealings with them. As they're pretty well tied to their state, it all depends on how said state preforms.

Wait
Rapture
Wedding Feast of the Lamb
See our new eternal homes built by a divine stone and woodworker sans budget
Come back to earth to win Armageddon
Watch the sheep and goat judgment
Rule and reign for a thousand years
Watch the final rebellion crushed
Watch the final judgment take place
Watch as death, authority, and Hades are cast into the lake of fire.
Enjoy eternity with Jesus

>but always stay just shy of actually being heresy.

Their Marian worship is absolute heresy.

Amen.

It's never been a numbers game. Far more people are lost than saved.

>Christianity is Islam.
Uh no sweetie (even though Catholicism is trying its best).

popekissingkoran.jpg

>What is the future of Christianity?

Islam, after Jesus (PBUH) there was always going to be one final prophet.

A footnote in history.

Papal infallibility only applies to statements made Ex Cathedra. Outside that, the Popes opinion doesn't really matter.
FYI, Ex Cathedra has been used less than 10 times in history.
Catholics fast, at least good Catholics do. We are required to do it during Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and encouraged to do it every Wednesday to remember to betrayal of Jesus by Judas, and every Friday to remember the Crucifixion. Of course, Orthodox do the same days for the same reasons, and we both ban fasting during Feasts and Feast seasons.

The Trinity is viewed differently between Orthodox and Catholics.
Catholics profess that God is 3 Persons of 1 Essence, All Co-Equal, All Co-Eternal, All fully God, with the Father begetting the Son, and the Holy Spirit proceeding though the Father and the Son.
Orthodox believe that God is 3 Persons of 1 Essence, All Co-Equal, All Co-Eternal, All fully God, with the Father begetting the Son, and the Holy Spirit proceeding though the Father alone.

you need evangelical protestantism/calvinism
orthodoxy suffers the same legalistic issues as the RCH

...

to be replaced by worship of the next incarnation as per the pattern of the great cycle.

So you finally see to be learning. Good.

Acedemically speaking, heresy is a relative term depending on which religion and sect your talking about. Things that are heresy to a Catholic worldview are not necessarily heresy to another denomination, in the same way things that are heresy to Shia Islam can be fine in Sunni. It doesn't denote what is wrong or right, just views that run counter to a specific viewpoint.

Faith & Works. Faith will always remain constant, but works will always change with the times. As the world becomes more secular the doctrine of the church will adapt with the times, just look at Pope Francis preaching for the global good, for people to acknowledge climate change, etc. but the underlying message is always there of love thy neighbor and God gave us one Earth to be the caretakers of, and that we're all in this thing together. As long as Christianity preaches love and tolerance it will never disappear, just dwindle in numbers. The Catholic Church is still the largest giver of charity in the world, running schools, homeless shelters, hospitals, orphanages, those will never go away. Who knows, at one point in the future the Catholic Church might be nothing more than a name, but it will always do good because that is what being a Catholic is.

More proof that religion is cultural and political, no actual belief in any of its "truths."

Schism and conflict

Huh. Thank you user.

You've been very helpful with this.

It will march west like it always has.
Christianity was created in the Middle East, became strong there, and moved west.
It became strong in Europe, died in the Middle East, and then it moved west again.
It became strong in the Americas, died in Europe, and moved west again.
Now it is becoming strong in China and India while also wayning in ther Americas.
Who knows, maybe Christianty will come full circle and oust Islam from the Middle East again.

Only latrin america, JEWSA and slav(e)s still believe in christianity unironically.

So it will be the main religion of the third world.

The jewtholic church keeps people poor and dumb and instead of instructing them it gives then some money or food so they stay alive and multiply like cockroaches to keep high the numbers of catholic believers and slaves. Not to mention their fucking in politics

Meanwhile Freemasons give instruction and formation via the rotary club so the poor can rely on themselves and have a trade

That's why missionaries have been proselytizing in damn near every corner of the planet for nearly 2000 years? As a Christian, I want everyone to be saved. I'm not some autist in a smug secret club like most LARPing "traditionalists" like to fancy themselves as. SSPX can go fuck themselves.

t. never stepped foot in orthodox service/liturgy

>SSPX
I know a lot of those guys. Some of them are LARPing. Many are serious. But almost none of them actually believe the Catholic faith. Which is great, because most of the Catholic Church doesn't either. The Catholic Church was teaching me liberation theology, feminism, deconfessionalization, the lack of the authority of the Scripture and the councils of the Church, against the authority of the Pope, and that Augustine, Thomas, and Dominic were full of shit, that women should be ordained, that you can believe in abortion and deny the divinity of Jesus and still be a Catholic.

Meanwhile, it was the Presbyterians and Lutherans who were teaching me Augustine and Thomas, teaching me that you had to do good works, the importance of the apostolic rule of faith, teaching me that the Christian life was demanding, worth living, and isn't always sexy, and the importance of attending to the liturgy and the Eucharist. The fucking Protestants were telling me that, and your Church was saying "no, no, no. Just give us money and you can believe or do whatever you want."

China apparently

Go back to /r/eddit
You're totally wrong btw. Comparative mythology is a meme.

>my catholic church told me your work on earth didn't matter
What kind of priest did you have?

Back to lebbit

>The Catholic Church was teaching me liberation theology, feminism, deconfessionalization, the lack of the authority of the Scripture and the councils of the Church, against the authority of the Pope, and that Augustine, Thomas, and Dominic were full of shit, that women should be ordained, that you can believe in abortion and deny the divinity of Jesus and still be a Catholic.
Do you go to church in fucking Cuba? I'm a liberal catholic and I've never heard any of that nonsense.

>priest
>singular
Hahahaha.

I'll put it this way. I've been through about 4 parishes. RCIA was done by lay heretics, it very rarely produced orthodox Christians, abortionists were welcome to recieve the elements, one of them had fucking evangelical rock band "worship," and they taught me feminism and Bultmann and explicitly denied or told me not to talk about major portions of the CCC. And every one of their priests were ordained and in full communion. They weren't some branch, they weren't SSPX or Eastern rite or OCC or any of that shit. They were full-on RCC.

wow really made me think

i guys i'll renounce my faith now

Read the catechism, and tell me you agree with it fully.

it will keep declining outside of Africa(which is batshit fundie about any religion it encounters) as a result of the relentless secularization of Western and really Global culture. the mainlne protestants will be the first to go, both by throwing off the traditionalists by liberalizing and losing liberals who just join the secular mainstream. Catholicism is going to be in a rerun of the 70s for the next few decades if Francis has his way, and they cant keep the current scheme of replacing the europeans and americans with 3rd worlders forever. evangelicals are dying off and the younger group is more liberal in its theology. Orthodoxy will probably be the last major group to go,if only because of entrenched social conservatism that has not yet been hammered away like in the West, but considering how tied it is to nationalism is also very vulnerable

...

this
New Heveanly Kingdom soon senpaitachi

I don't. And that's okay. There's theological dissent within the church on many issues. Just look at how the church has evolved over its nearly 2000 years of existence.

Do I believe that occasionally jacking off, fucking my girlfriend, and missing church will make me burn in hell for eternity? Of course not. The only way I could fully follow the catechism every single day of my life is if I joined a fucking Mennonite community. Everyone loves to focus way too much on the punishment and completely ignore God's mercy.

Glad to see this thread is up as I need to high-jack it.
Could one be Christian, and put Philosphy 'before' God/Christ?

...

No.

No.

No.

Mormonism. Not joking.

Yes you are. The vast, vast majority of Christians reject Mormonism. In traditionally Christian countries, it's pretty much dying, and is only really seeing any kind of growth in Brazil, Guatemala, and fucking strangely enough, Nigeria and Ghana, despite the fact that they believe that black people are the souls that sided with Satan in the War in Heaven. Go figure.

Armenians were the first Christians and they will be the last.
They will call a final crusade and unite all Christians and save the world.
t. prophecy expert

>tfw already seen as an outcast in most societies because of the views I hold

It's growing by anything. It'll always exist no matter what. And Veeky Forums is a bad place to ask this.

The Third World War must be fomented by taking advantage of the differences caused by the 'agentur' of the 'Illuminati' between the political Zionists and the leaders of Islamic World. The war must be conducted in such a way that Islam (the Moslem Arabic World) and political Zionism (the State of Israel) mutually destroy each other. Meanwhile the other nations, once more divided on this issue will be constrained to fight to the point of complete physical, moral, spiritual and economical exhaustion
¦We shall unleash the Nihilists and the atheists, and we shall provoke a formidable social cataclysm which in all its horror will show clearly to the nations the effect of absolute atheism, origin of savagery and of the most bloody turmoil. Then everywhere, the citizens, obliged to defend themselves against the world minority of revolutionaries, will exterminate those destroyers of civilization, and the multitude, disillusioned with Christianity, whose deistic spirits will from that moment be without compass or direction, anxious for an ideal, but without knowing where to render its adoration, will receive the true light through the universal manifestation of the pure doctrine of Lucifer, brought finally out in the public view. This manifestation will result from the general reactionary movement which will follow the destruction of Christianity and atheism, both conquered and exterminated at the same time.4

The Rosicrucian movement, of which the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC, is the most prominent modern representative, has its roots in the mystery traditions, philosophy, and myths of ancient Egypt dating back to approximately 1500 BCE In antiquity the word “mystery” referred to a special gnosis, a secret wisdom. Thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt select bodies or schools were formed to explore the mysteries of life and learn the secrets of this hidden wisdom. Only sincere students, displaying a desire for knowledge and meeting certain tests were considered worthy of being inducted into these mysteries. Over the course of centuries these mystery schools added an initiatory dimension to the knowledge they transmitted.

It is further traditionally related that the Order’s first member-students met in secluded chambers in magnificent old temples, where, as candidates, they were initiated into the great mysteries. Their mystical studies then assumed a more closed character and were held exclusively in temples which had been built for that purpose. Rosicrucian tradition relates that the great pyramids of Giza were most sacred in the eyes of initiates. Contrary to what historians affirm, our tradition relates that the Giza pyramids were not built to be the tombs of pharaohs, but were actually places of study and mystical initiation. The mystery schools, over centuries of time, gradually evolved into great centers of learning, attracting students from throughout the known world.

Centuries later, Greek philosophers such as Thales and Pythagoras, the Roman philosopher Plotinus, and others, journeyed to Egypt and were initiated into the mystery schools. They then brought their advanced learning and wisdom to the Western world. Their experiences are the first records of what eventually grew and blossomed into the Rosicrucian Order. The name of the Order, as it is now known, was to come much later. However, the Rosicrucian Order always perpetuated its heritage of ancient symbolism and principles.

Early European Beginnings

It was in the time of Charlemagne (742-814) that the French philosopher Arnaud introduced the mystical teachings into France, and from there they spread to much of Western Europe. Throughout medieval Europe mystical knowledge was often necessarily couched in symbolism or disguised and hidden in the love songs of Troubadours, the formularies of Alchemists, the symbolical system known as the Qabala, and the rituals of Orders of Knighthood.

What do you mean by a rerun of the 70s? I'm not familiar with that part of Catholic history.