Who is the most influential person in history?

[Jumalariik]

And yet wars, global decisions, daily prayers and many more things are carried in his name just like Mohammed as well.

I have yet to see a war waged in the name of Harry Potter.

So clearly Christ and Harry Potter are equivalent.

[New Scario]

I have yet to see a war waged in the name of Harry Potter.

So clearly Christ and Harry Potter are equivalent.

What are the Crusades for 1000.

[Italios]

But the founder was. I know we should just forget the influence of Jesus.

Jesus was Jewish. It was his followers over the following centuries that organized Christianity into institutions and made it relevant.

If terms of influence solely in religion, I'd definitely rank Jesus highly. Outside of it, not at all. Arguably, Abraham even more so.

Saint Paul and Emperor Constantine had more of a role of proselytizing the religion and giving Christianity the actual influence. Without them, Jesus wouldn't be relevant.

[Uxupox]

And yet wars, global decisions, daily prayers and many more things are carried in his name just like Mohammed as well.

And they could easily be done in the name of any other person who may or may not have existed. The contents of those wars, decisions, and prayers are hardly influenced by anything that Jesus did.

Influence as described by a dictionary means.

the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something, or the effect itself.

Influencing the behavior of billions is exactly what Jesus did.

[Jumalariik]

I mean.... this is hard to really look at.....
1. He has certainly influenced history, look at the Crusades.
2. What would motivate you to write this so crassly? I mean I suppose offending Christians doesn't matter because who would care about Christians, but I doubt you'd say this about the founder of other religions. I'm interested in what would motivate somebody to say this. Making light of 3 hours of straight suffering is an odd thing to do.

1: I'd look to Pope Urban II before Jesus for the Crusades
2: I wouldn't, since none of them were nailed to blocks of wood.

1. So we're not even going to think about how Pope Urban got into power? Maybe it would have something to do with the founder of his Church....
2. But you wouldn't talk about Muhammad's wives or something it seems.... What's that saying about how the people you can't insult are the ones in charge?

[Italios]

And yet wars, global decisions, daily prayers and many more things are carried in his name just like Mohammed as well.

I have yet to see a war waged in the name of Harry Potter.

The joke's on you, friend. You know what the Battle of Hogwarts was?

[Anadarsia]

But the founder was. I know we should just forget the influence of Jesus.

I think this is the thing yeah. We're seeing people mention people like Attila or Napoleon, lol, willfully skipping Jesus for no apparent reason. Seems like just spite.

[Jumalariik]

Jesus was Jewish. It was his followers over the following centuries that organized Christianity into institutions and made it relevant.

If terms of influence solely in religion, I'd definitely rank Jesus highly. Outside of it, not at all. Arguably, Abraham even more so.

Saint Paul and Emperor Constantine had more of a role of proselytizing the religion and giving Christianity the actual influence. Without them, Jesus wouldn't be relevant.

Again, Paul and Constantine wouldn't have done what they did without Jesus.

[MERIZoC]

1: I'd look to Pope Urban II before Jesus for the Crusades
2: I wouldn't, since none of them were nailed to blocks of wood.

1. So we're not even going to think about how Pope Urban got into power? Maybe it would have something to do with the founder of his Church....
2. But you wouldn't talk about Muhammad's wives or something it seems.... What's that saying about how the people you can't insult are the ones in charge?

mfw jesus founded the catholic church

[Nilla Wayfarers]

Jesus was Jewish. It was his followers over the following centuries that organized Christianity into institutions and made it relevant.

Ummmmmm....
He told them to. It's not as though Jesus was some poor hippy who told people to sit around and do drugs and then left. He came to earth, ministered to the people of the earth, then sent his Apostles to continue his work.

"Continue my work" is some pretty vague instruction.
If it weren't for the ingenuity of those who wrote and circulated the Bible, and the importance placed upon Christianity by medieval rulers, Jesus wouldn't be remembered much at all.

[Italios]

1: I'd look to Pope Urban II before Jesus for the Crusades
2: I wouldn't, since none of them were nailed to blocks of wood.

1. So we're not even going to think about how Pope Urban got into power? Maybe it would have something to do with the founder of his Church....
2. But you wouldn't talk about Muhammad's wives or something it seems.... What's that saying about how the people you can't insult are the ones in charge?

What I think is trying to be said is that without the help of Emperor Constantine, Christianity would never have gained the power it had then and still commands. Thus, without that power, Jesus would be meaningful for a lot less people.

[Jumalariik]

I think this is the thing yeah. We're seeing people mention people like Attila or Napoleon, lol, willfully skipping Jesus for no apparent reason. Seems like just spite.

Yep. It seems that there is still some truth in the statement that Christ Crucified is a stumbling block.

[United Provinces of Atlantica]

That's great. Christianity is not a person.

But the founder was. I know we should just forget the influence of Jesus.

Obviously Jesus was influential, but most Christian teachings came from Paul, with historical evidence (e.g., the various New Testament apocrypha) showing that Paul's view of Christianity was merely one among many; and even so modern Christian doctrine as accepted by most denominations was largely standardized at the Council of Nicaea roughly 300 years after Jesus' life, which was formed at the behest of Constantine who in many ways led to the acceptance of the Trinity throughout the Christian world.

Or, if he's merely mythical, whoever wrote him down.

Lol he's not merely mythical and there's no reason to think he was.

The only account of Abraham is in the Bible, and the historical accuracy of the Bible is highly dubious.

[Anadarsia]

I'm beating a dead horse here, but like many others have said, someone like Constantine was much more influential to the spread and development of modern Christianity than Jesus.

Constantine the Great did quite little actually if the topic is the spread of Christianity. The religion had been growing consistently over centuries, and the Edict of Milan is best interpreted as a change of policy compared to the final persecutions of the Empire against Christians, done under Diocletian just a couple of decades before. Decriminalizing didn't mean it'd start getting official funding or become the State religion as that was done under Theodosius.

[Jumalariik]

1. So we're not even going to think about how Pope Urban got into power? Maybe it would have something to do with the founder of his Church....
2. But you wouldn't talk about Muhammad's wives or something it seems.... What's that saying about how the people you can't insult are the ones in charge?

What I think is trying to be said is that without the help of Emperor Constantine, Christianity would never have gained the power it had then and still commands. Thus, without that power, Jesus would be meaningful for a lot less people.

Yes. That's true. That said, if we are looking for what holds a building standing we look for the bottom that starts the chain of the whole structure.

[Jumalariik]

But the founder was. I know we should just forget the influence of Jesus.

Obviously Jesus was influential, but most Christian teachings came from Paul, with historical evidence (e.g., the various New Testament apocrypha) showing that Paul's view of Christianity was merely one among many; and even so modern Christian doctrine as accepted by most denominations was largely standardized at the Council of Nicaea roughly 300 years after Jesus' life, which was formed at the behest of Constantine who in many ways led to the acceptance of the Trinity throughout the Christian world.

Lol he's not merely mythical and there's no reason to think he was.

The only account of Abraham is in the Bible, and the historical accuracy of the Bible is highly dubious.

More of the "Paul invented everything" stuff....
Paul was a contemporary of the Apostles who knew Christ best. If Paul's idea were so off the wall, why was he accepted so readily by the Apostles?

[MERIZoC]

What I think is trying to be said is that without the help of Emperor Constantine, Christianity would never have gained the power it had then and still commands. Thus, without that power, Jesus would be meaningful for a lot less people.

Yes. That's true. That said, if we are looking for what holds a building standing we look for the bottom that starts the chain of the whole structure.

Then why isn't Mary the most influential? After all without her there would be no Jesus. Or why not Mary's mother? And so on and so on.

[United Provinces of Atlantica]

Constantine the Great did quite little actually if the topic is the spread of Christianity. The religion had been growing consistently over centuries, and the Edict of Milan is best interpreted as a change of policy compared to the final persecutions of the Empire against Christians, done under Diocletian just a couple of decades before. Decriminalizing didn't mean it'd start getting official funding or become the State religion as that was done under Theodosius.

Constantine officially promoted Christianity, even though it didn't become the state religion under 380. However, it cannot be forgotten that Christianity probably became a majority religion in the Roman Empire by 400 and at 300 probably only around 10% of Romans followed Christianity; because Constantine legalized Christianity and began promoting it Christian missionaries were able to reach much wider audiences than they were when Christianity was illegal.

[Jumalariik]

Yes. That's true. That said, if we are looking for what holds a building standing we look for the bottom that starts the chain of the whole structure.

Then why isn't Mary the most influential? After all without her there would be no Jesus. Or why not Mary's mother? And so on and so on.

There's a reason that orthodox Christians care a lot about Mary, though nobody follows "Maryanity," it's "Christianity."

[Uxupox]

Yes. That's true. That said, if we are looking for what holds a building standing we look for the bottom that starts the chain of the whole structure.

Then why isn't Mary the most influential? After all without her there would be no Jesus. Or why not Mary's mother? And so on and so on.

the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something, or the effect itself.

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

Whoever invented instant noodles. Yum!

[Polar Svalbard]

Is it even possible to answer this question? There are so many, so so many. To say one I would say Jesus Christ.

[Italios]

What I think is trying to be said is that without the help of Emperor Constantine, Christianity would never have gained the power it had then and still commands. Thus, without that power, Jesus would be meaningful for a lot less people.

Yes. That's true. That said, if we are looking for what holds a building standing we look for the bottom that starts the chain of the whole structure.

In that case, we should really be thanking Mary for giving birth to Jesus

I disagree, though. If someone creates a type of shoe that is unheard of to everyone except a small group of people that wears the shoe, they are clearly not influential enough to be called the "most" influential in the fashion industry. However, if a fashion icon decides to start wearing that shoe and the trend catches on, who really was responsible to the shoe's rise of popularity and influence on later designs inspired by the shoe? Products, ideas, and indeed religions, depend on someone to spread them for influence.

[Uxupox]

Whoever invented instant noodles. Yum!

bad for your health so no

[Jumalariik]

Yes. That's true. That said, if we are looking for what holds a building standing we look for the bottom that starts the chain of the whole structure.

In that case, we should really be thanking Mary for giving birth to Jesus

I disagree, though. If someone creates a type of shoe that is unheard of to everyone except a small group of people that wears the shoe, they are clearly not influential enough to be called the "most" influential in the fashion industry. However, if a fashion icon decides to start wearing that shoe and the trend catches on, who really was responsible to the shoe's rise of popularity and influence on later designs inspired by the shoe? Products, ideas, and indeed religions, depend on someone to spread them for influence.

The inventor of the shoe would be the most influential no matter what.