If the printing press had been around in the 1st century would the Catholic church as we know it even exist today?
And what if there were no more theoretical questions? What has happened in the past is done. Why do we insist on convoluting what is a fait accompli with a bunch of what-ifs that have no impact upon past, present, or future? I'm more concerned with what happens now and in the future, BASED upon what the past has given us. Kinda reminds me of the old George Carlin routine (when George was GOOD), when his character, the Hippy-Dippy Weatherman was part of the Church of What's Happening Now. While the past gives us our present, continually speculating about the past is, for me, as waste of time and effort. Have a blessed day.
I think the catholic church would be different. The church and religion and traditions play away too big role in their relationship with God. Regular church goers' Bible knowledge is very minimal in the Catholic church..
Yes, the Protestants wouldn't however since that was one of their major claims, the bible being kept secret. Which it wasn't it was in Churches for all to read. There was just no way of mass producing it.
Well no, and neither would the protestant churches. Most churches that came out of the reformation subscribe to Nicean christianity, in creed and selection of scriptures. Arians, Donatians, Gnostics, but of course also Manicheans, Zoroastrians, Mithraists, etc... would have had a chance to find an audience anywhere in Europe instead of being marginalized locally. What-if history on such a scale is really tricky though.
Things would have almost certainly developed quite differently if the press was around in the 1st century. What things would have changed, however, we can only make educated guesses at. The press wouldn't have just changed Christianity. It would have changed other things that would have, in turn, also influenced Christianity. The results of such a ripple effect are unpredicable...but generally make fun fictional reading.
