what would the world be like if say....

[ServiusTheGreat]

...jesus and or muhammed were both killed before they could preach or if they never existed at all.

[Antissa]

Moved to Ethos, Mores, et Monastica

[Chaigidel]

then some other would arise and some other words would hold sway in our minds.

[Green]

...jesus and or muhammed were both killed before they could preach or if they never existed at all.

Then things would be different. How different? It can only be speculation.

[ServiusTheGreat]

i mean do you guys think hinduism,buddism or paganism would become the dminant or something completely diffrent.

[Green]

i mean do you guys think hinduism,buddism or paganism would become the dminant or something completely diffrent.

I'm not one of those people who think monotheism would eventually win out. I don't think there's something inherent about the belief in one God that is superior to polytheistic beliefs. That said, perhaps a new monotheistic faith is created in the absence of Christianity and Islam, perhaps an old one (like Judaism) is revitalised, or maybe the institutionalised religion of the Roman Empire undergoes a reform where it becomes much more personal. Who knows?

[Chaigidel]

perhaps buddhism in many forms; seems the easiest to spread really because its a philosophy-- so some ancestor worship with buddhism maybe

[LoZz]

we would all be jews. or pagans or whatever religion was the status quo in your area before christianity or islam turned up.

[Captain Blackadder]

We would most likely follow some form of paganism what form is a separate question most likely in my mind would be a relatively open form of paganism would exist since believing in multiple gods easily allows for and new relgion to be swallowed up into the old one.

[Chaigidel]

well paganism is kinda a misnomer ; lets stick with terms of polytheism or animism-- because im not sure which your going for atm

[Captain Blackadder]

well paganism is kinda a misnomer ; lets stick with terms of polytheism or animism-- because im not sure which your going for atm

Sorry about that in my mind a very liberal form of polytheism that would adopt any religion it came across and add them to the great pantheon of gods.

[gambit]

The crusades wouldn't have happened

[Duke_of_Bavaria]

God would have killed the killed before he had the chanse to .
Boom lightning shock ^^.

[Chaigidel]

well I mean with recent research it seems to me organization and warfare is exactly what nature requires of us--- wasps and mites working together , fighting invaders in groups blah I would link.

but I think something like the crusades would have happened no matter what--ghengis khan happened without a religion so did Atilla( without a major monotheistic one I mean)

[gambit]

well I mean with recent research it seems to me organization and warfare is exactly what nature requires of us--- wasps and mites working together , fighting invaders in groups blah I would link.

but I think something like the crusades would have happened no matter what--ghengis khan happened without a religion so did Atilla( without a major monotheistic one I mean)

I see what you mean but I think it would have been fairly different. For one, the christian europe might not be united in single religion. If so, there probably wouldn't be a pope to guide/control them as he did. Not too mention without Islam or Christianity, there wouldn't be much to fuel crusading soldiers nor much to fuel the propaganda that went about in the crusades. All the nations in christian europe would be more independent and more likely to kill eachother (again) rather than march halfway across the known world just to simultaneously cluster some jews.

But, since it's all speculation who knows what could happen. Scientology might've started early and taken control of the world, turning everyone into mindless thoughtless cultists.

See: Cultist

[Chief Astook]

Well apparently from my "What If" comic, if the Hulk had killed Wolverine, the Xmen would have got slaughtered early on........

oh wait what multiverse is this again?

[Chaigidel]

oh I agree completely that polytheism is a very malleable belief structure-- a good fiction on that very subject of modern polytheism is in Battle star ; they all worship the greek gods etc ; the machines are monotheists

but I do think that animistic values would be retained similar to the way they are retained anywhere that they had prominence

the most obvious is vodun, santeria, pretty much all of the variations of catholicism in south america are animistic beliefs superimposed on christianity;
the whole idea of aspects and of assumption of divinity in general is much easier in polytheistic and animistic structures because they had personal house gods, family gods, all that sort of thing-- in almost every situation the people retained these "little gods" even in the face of monotheism in our current reality.

but I think its only natural as education increases for those that need to believe in a supreme god; a great spirit a source of all things -- monotheism would arise because one could say even the Hopi and soux indians had monotheistic structures because a belief in one great spirit, from which all other spirits must come to congress, and the "multitude" in many sorcerous religions represents not just the vast group but the totality of the divinity structure. In Vodun particularly many rituals revolve around offerings to "the 10000 gods" and where is this offering made? beneath a tree or a post-- central in so many faiths even monotheistic ones.

[Chaigidel]

yeah hubbard wasnt alive in the dark ages ( I think) ; well yes it could have been any number of cults that would rise to prominence .

but one must consider what tells you what you want to hear the best?

I think consummerist society being so effective proves that playing to the lowest common denominator works-- thus Gods that offered some sort of tangible relief or acceptance perhaps a sense of community would rise with whatever society's fostered them.

[Kanaric]

...jesus and or muhammed were both killed before they could preach or if they never existed at all.

The Christian nations would have followed John the Baptist instead of Jesus.... there probably would be some differences and a lot of similarities due to the same cultures and philosophies manipulating it.

A religion such as this exists as well.

[Pontifex Maximus]

Religion as a whole would be in a general decline.

I don't think paganism would have much of a following at all because alot of questions like "Why is the Nile annually flooded?" have been anwsered.