by Robert Owens

Created on: March 18, 2009   Last Updated: March 19, 2009

Yes beyond any doubt Christianity could survive without the Bible. It began without the Bible and prospered most before the Bible. The Bible has been an aid to the development and expansion of Christianity; there can be no doubt about that. But it has also come to replace what Christianity should be about - Jesus.

If the Bible were somehow lost to us Christianity would be forced into evolution. Many of the core tenants would be retained but over time it would change with the times and adapt. While it is more than likely that most evangelization would grind to a halt and that as a whole the numbers decline, Christianity would survive. In fact without the Bible it might even become more focused on personal relationships with God and doing well instead of preaching and conversion. It would in effect become more real. It would evolve into a hereditary and oral religion with less doctrine and dogma. While it would likely split people in many directions forcing people to find Jesus for real this would be a positive thing. Churches would still exist but with some different focus. There is no reason why they would be closed just because of a lack of text. Jesus would still be Jesus. The age of the "Church Christian" would come to a close and personal experience or mysticism would be more necessary. People would actually seek and find Jesus. They would come to a real understanding and not a limited evangelical commitment. Many more people would also seek Jesus, there would be less "definite dogma" and people uncertain about Gods nature but seeking would have more of a chance to encounter Jesus and be welcome in a more positive atmosphere. The entire fundamentals of Christianity would be changed in some ways. I believe it would be a primarily positive change though.

Many religions have survived without a written text or have had little written text to begin with. These religions also evolved or were destroyed. God spoke through prophets in the old ages so who is to say we would not find God speaking to us again. We would see more real life apostles who did miracles in the name of God. We would see Jesus' followers as the ancients did. We would not have to rely on "It's in the Bible it must be true" and much rhetoric would fall apart. We would see an unleashing of God's power in the world. Christianity has survived the past two thousand years. It will, like it or not, likely be an enduring aspect of religion and culture. What it has not done however is evolved progressively as fast as it should. If the Bible was lost or never existed there would be loss, there is no doubt in that point. But there would also be great potential for gain.
Jesus is real and that enduring truth is far above the Bible or any other Holy Book. Truth is truth whether it is written and recorded or taught orally. Even forgotten truths still hold true. If Christianity lost the Bible I believe Commercial Faith would come to a timely end.

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