Judging from the title, it would seem I am being given a great deal of weight by the author, who is also me. Anyhow, I will try to focus on the subject in this opinion editorial type deal. Considering that there are over 2 billion Christians worldwide, I am pretty sure that each individually would possibly have a different opinion than myself which shouldn’t be underestimated, as well. However, this is my blog and I have taken the time to express, so I would be grateful if you spent a little time reading it. Here we go!
St Paul said: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28, NRSV).” Today, that foregoing list could be easily expanded, if one was being politically correct, although generally the idea seems to be clear.
The first place where the name Christians was used was in Antioch in ancient Syria. Antioch, however, is no longer. Today that city is Antakya in Turkey. Christianity pretty much grew in Asia Minor, which is mostly Turkey today. North Africa was also another cradle for Christianity. Many of the places Christianity grew are mostly Islamic today. But Christianity has spread into most of the world and continues to grow at different rates depending on which place or region, or continent. I suppose many Christians, in one way or another, believe they are Christians based on what is understood that it is from the New Testament. Of course, many of us today probably have very little understanding of what it meant to be a Roman or a Thessalonian, a Colossian, or an Ephesian. Sure, we can research the history of all those regions with which St. Paul corresponded. However, I really doubt we will ever really know and understand those times and places, just as they would probably have never understood living in our time regardless of how well we described it. Anyhow, St. Paul perhaps wrote almost 14 of the total 27 books of the NT, and I am pretty sure he may have been influential in the works by Mark and Luke. Basically, all those writings became canonized. In Easter of AD 367, Athanasius’ Festal letter pretty much summed up the 27. I will let you do the research on that if you want to know why? Moreover, the subject questions where is Christianity today?
Christianity today is a hybrid of all the versions of Christianity which have existed because obviously we can’t be the same as in the first century. The message I am probably attempting to convey is that maybe we should be asking the question, why we are Christians? Is it because we like joining that sometimes social club, the church, or do we really know our history, why we exist, and why we think we know who we are? I think one of the bigger questions I have is if Christianity was the strong faith, we think it is today, why didn’t it survive to the same intensity in its original status in places like Turkey and North Africa. I think that just based on some of the rhetoric one hears from some Christian communities today, it is very evident that we have a hybrid or different hybrids of the Christian faith. For instance, many in the evangelical community will tell you “we are more than conquerors.” Obviously, that more than conquerors mentality may have been helpful to some in the past, it seems. Unless, maybe besides using the sword to conquer, Islam did provide an alternate faith and support to many of our brothers in the past. Of course, Islam is an Abrahamic faith and Christianity is a branch of Judaism. The forgoing simply depends on how one interprets. Also, I might have more to say about all 3, and there relationships as to where Christianity is today, and conclusions might not be so different in the end, regardless.
Perhaps, Christianity has just simply evolved into many other forms, especially in this post-reformation era. Even during the Crusades, many Western Christians were already unable to recognize Eastern Christians mistaking them for Muslims. Move forward in time to the present-day in which we have so many groups and denominations. Many Christians sometimes do not even think other Christians are Christians since there are so many differences. Bottom line: what I see is a jumbled-up mess. Of course, everyone thinks their form of Christianity, or the one to which they belong is the correct one, or at least the best one based on their induvial understanding. So basically, it is what it is. It is better to have all the different denominations and groups than to not have any Christianity at all. Hope you enjoyed reading and blessings!
