It is the year 4069, Jesus has not returned yet, are Christians still holding out hope?

I sure hope not.

I doubt they would. Isn’t that what faith is all about? Certainly some of them would, but for all of them to have one gigantic, “Well, fuck”, moment? I doubt that. Christianity, like most religions, isn’t likely to collapse on itself any time soon. But we can pray that Scientology is long forgotten by the year 4069, right?
EDIT- I meant to say, “I doubt they would lose hope.” My bad.

The bible says the end of time so possibly if they’re even still around, which isn’t altogether unlikely as one can see Judaism has lasted for several thousand years.

As long as there is doubt about a higher power that science can’t answer, there will be religion.

@Joker94 I think some name ought to be given to the fall off of faith based on timespan of promises found within the faith. If a God figure in a faith says X will occur and then after 100,000 years X has not occurred despite amazing record keeping, wow, I humbly submit that any followers at those far reaches deserve a pat on the ole’ back as they will likely morbidly outcast themselves for their beliefs. They would definitely profoundly humble Thomas, and exponentially diminish others faith in comparison.

If everyone is happy and fulfilled as can be, and everything is harmonious…and death no longer exists, Jesus will be forgotten.

I don’t believe in God, and in my mind, (Christianity, as well as most religions) serve as a sense of peace, guidance and security towards the adversities that men face all their lives, until it ends. These do not exist in your scenario.

Then again, to me, faith is just a concept, that which may transition itself into some other matter that would compliment your scenario, (unless your people are really happy and know nothing else but happiness, and at that point, I doubt they’re humans anymore) much like how today, we don’t fear God anymore, but rather, the government.

@Ltryptophan It’s just the nature of faith, I suppose. I imagine Christians some time ago likely had the same discussion at one point, and here we are. Christianity is still going strong, despite the fact that some people give it a really, really shitty name. I’m not very well versed in other religions, but the fact that ours promised the return of a rather prominent figure would seem to brand Christianity with an expiration date of sorts.

Religion has been losing its luster for years, and eventually new religions and sects are going to be formed as a result of the change in times. With advances in technology, religions are going to rely more and more on them as everything else would. God will be replaced by a more apparent entity given strength by somebody with a radical vision and people will heed it. Christianity will become a minority, or nonexistent entirely. Death has become nonexistent and poverty has become nonexistent, so why not? Religion is to help us deal with suffering, and God doesn’t deal in help with drama.

Very few people recognized the Christ upon his first coming. I predict even fewer will recognize him upon the second.

I wouldn’t care. I would be long gone. Unless re-incarnation does exist and we are all recycled souls till Christ comes, then I would hope religion continues on. Religion has existed in some form for more than 2000 years and continues on. I don’t think another 2069 years will get rid of religion and make it a thing of the past.

@RealEyesRealizeRealLies That is a fantastic point. He may come back and begin an entirely new religion and leave again (or he’s come and gone). That also reminded me of this webcomic I Stumbled onto.

@Pandora Religion is such a staple of humanity that it is highly unlikely that it would just disappear, but it evolves like everything else, and possibly to the point of being irrecognizable by our culture today.

We already did this after Jesus didn’t show up in 1000 A.D. IIRC, it was concluded that when He says that nobody knows the day or the hour, He means it.

@ddude1116 when He’ll return for the second time He won’t start a new religion but finish the first.

And for the question. Not all people will lose hope though I’m sure a lot will abandon believing in Him.

No, they’ve completely given up and are now happy just to go joy riding in their flying boats.

Yes. And so are the Republicans.

@lillycoyote your knack is wit

@Hibernate But what if finishing the first involves starting another? Jesus definitely knows what is best for us more than we do/would, so maybe he doesn’t like how Christianity has evolved, so he just starts it anew.

@ddude1116 The idea seems strange to me. I think after this much time, Jesus would be a little reluctant to say goodbye to Christianity rather than fix what’s wrong in his eyes.

@Ltryptophan Thanks, my little amino acid. I’m just glad you asked this one in social or I’d be feeling like a dog on a choke chain.

@Joker94 I don’t think Jesus wanted the attention in the first place. He never chose to be the Messiah, he was given the responsibility and had to deal with that, so why would his intentions be marred by sentimentality to something we devised in His honor? His intentions are for our benefit, and if that involves saying goodbye to Christianity or some such radicalism, why not?

When He explained what was foretold and created the new rules which we had to follow, He did a good job.
If He’s gonna return and say “yo peps .. ‘t was not good enough. We need a new one” I’m not sure He’s gonna get to many followers because changing things just to suit people better is not the best thing to do. [ I might be wrong though]
Whatever is wrong with Christianity is not His fault it’s ours for not doing what was intended. And… Christianity is not finished yet. We, as believers, are waiting for rapture to heaven. And after that the judgment and so on.

If you do not believe in Him being the Messiah then why are you talking about it? Our fictional book [the Bible][and it’s fictional because most non believers say the same about it] is saying the same. He did not came to earth to change the OT he came to fulfill it. And while you read it you can see that some books are a preview not only to His coming but to the end of days too.

@ddude1116 Because Jesus’ sentimentality was one of the reasons that people were able to connect with him. Jesus was a means of connecting to us and to teach us, and if he lacked some of the same traits that define us as humans, his teachings would be lost on us.

@Hibernate He didn’t create Christianity, we did by his inspiration. He was right in what was done, but things that are right do become wrong as things evolve. By the time He comes back our culture could have changed enough that Christianity doesn’t fulfill what it needs to, and so he must create something new to finish what He started, what God started by endowing Christ with his responsibility as Messiah.

@Joker94 My point is not that he is unsentimental, but that why would he be sentimental to what we have done with His inspiration. His sentimentality is with us, His responsibility is with us and His purpose is to help us. When He returns, things will have changed and He will teach us things which are entirely new. However, all religions serve the same purpose, so while it will be new, it will be fundamentally the same. The same song with a different story.

@ddude1116 when you create the set of rules to be followed by others and the someone names that belief I do believe he one creating the rules created it. Not to mention the He did not bring anything new, He just explained what they already knew but He gave much deeper explanations. The culture evolved [all good] and still people after two thousand years believe in what He did and choose His ways as suitable to be followed. If it lasted that much it will last another two thousand years if He won’t come to end it till then.

@ddude1116 But to start a new religion? Wouldn’t that alienate more people than it would unite them? His teachings may differ, of course, but that wouldn’t necessitate a mass conversion of faith. A reform would be more likely, and that’s if he deemed it necessary. The idea of him picking up where he left off seems a bit more plausible, especially when he already has millions of followers worldwide.

By the time this occurs, it will be because the world needs it. Nothing lasts forever, and while Christianity is all well and good now, there is no point to His return because the world is still adapting to the impact He made 1978 years ago. When Christianity becomes insufficient, then He will return in order to make something new and better, even if it is more of a reformation, or merely transcribing Christianity to mesh with the technological advances present 2050 years in the future.

a coyote on a choke chain

@Ltryptophan coyotes don’t like choke chains.