What do you think of the quotation below? I assume Christianity will be the exception, right?

Question

"The religion of one age is the literary entertainment of the next."
— Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

Answer 1

You sure are the king of quotes. As long as it isn't referring to geniune Christianity that Jesus and the Apostles set up then I guess it could be true of alot of religions.

Answer 2

I think this is an amusing aphorism, but not very insightful concerning the history of religion.

The religion of the Greeks and Romans became the literary entertainment of Christian Europe and America.

But what about other religions. Hinduism is a living, strong religion. But its stories also are literary entertainment. This was true in Christian Europe (Morality Plays, Pilgrims Progress, Paradise Lost--today C. S. Lewis)

Many of the religions of the world have died, just as have many languages, and are no one's entertainment.

Christianity has already morphed into forms that would have been foreign to the Apostolic Fathers. Who knows what form it may take in the future. Maybe it will just die away.

Answer 3

LOL, Ralph was into transcendentalism.
He was a typical spoiled rich kid who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
He was sent to the top schools of the day, and rebelled from his teachings.
As a typical intellectual, he had a abnormally large pole up his anal cavity, and was not pleased with other intellectuals of the day.
Even they were not intellectual enough for him, so he started his own religion, the 'we are smarter than God, and are our own Gods' religion.
He was a typical rich snob who was instrumental in making America the racial mess it is today.
Abolish slavery NOW!
No concept of the impact on America. Free the slaves that NOBODY wanted to educate and integrate into society, including the ones that wanted them free. "Well, free the slaves, but don't send them here." They felt all warm and fuzzy about the 'good thing' they did, then did not want to follow up on integrating the slaves into American society. The slaves were a people who had no concept of freedom, and didn't think they would actually have to WORK when they were free.
The slaves were thrust into a world that didn't want them. The 'blue collar' worker of the day had to deal with the mess while the snobs that started the problem looked down their noses and scoffed: "Those RACIST white rednecks!", and demonized the lower class for the problem they started, but did not want to finish.
America then went on the long and painful road to reconciliation of integrating the slaves into society.
How many generations has it been? Now both sides are filled with animosity towards the other.
When I see the situation in Iraq, I see America immediately after the Civil War. It was a good thing with no follow up plan. The Iraqis also had no concept of western-style freedom, and thought it was a license to rob their own national treasures, and settle old scores.
These 'Earth awareness' concerts world-wide will cause a knee-jerk reaction which will probably put us back into the dark ages. No thought about the future other than going off half-****** on theories and mis-conceptions pushed by the media to support some ones political agenda.
With freedom comes responsibility.
This all being said (I could go on), Christianity has been around for 2000 years. The best intellectuals have attacked it. Many have been converted to Christianity in the process. Christianity will be around long after the current 'we are smarter than God' crowd in their graves.
'Intellectualism is basic porridge, too thick to swim in, to thin to stand on.
The more intellectual you become, the more reason you have to blow your brains out.'

Answer 4

Emerson didn't assume that!

You really should read up on the New England Transcendentals!

re: "The religion of one age"...
How about King Arthur and the other literary entertainment about the crusades?

How about witches goblins and Halloween?
(Serious stuff in the 17th century!)

etc.
.

Answer 5

Hmmm. We're always hearing about how out-dated the bible is because it's "older than a hundred years" (a response to a question from long ago), yet somehow this quote from Ralph over 100 years ago should be given legitimate status to assume some point?


Sigh

Answer 6

Why would Christians be the exception? Another century and Christians and Islam will both be a joke along with all the other current religions. That includes some like Pagan and Wicca which are already a joke. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
.Kisses Betty B.

Answer 7

He certainly was entitled to his opinion wasn't he? I don't believe Christianity will ever vanish from the face of the earth. Derive as much entertainment from it as you wish.
I have one for ya...
The Almighty has His own purposes."Woe unto the world because of offenses!For it must needs be that offenses comeeth."If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses,which, in the Providence of God, must needs come, but which having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South this terrible war, as the woe due to those by whom the offenses came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him?
- Abraham Lincoln -

Answer 8

I already find a lot of Christianity to be literary entertainment.

Answer 9

No it's fairly equal across the board. Yes, I'm Cristian. Which, of course, means any sacredly held belief of your own too. We also include scientific and medical beliefs in that quote.

Answer 10

this quote just goes to prove that he was not a prophet. or a historian.
there are a lot of religions, other than Christianity that were and are still popular.