Kevin Kelly on the Next 1,000 Years of Christianity

by Kent Shaffer @ http://churchrelevance.com

At Q this past April, Kevin Kelly of Wired magazine discussed the next 1,000 years of Christianity. Here is what he said:

A World of Change

The Internet is about 4,000 days old. Our world is changing. In fact, no U.S. president has died under the same flag he was born under. The future is nothing more than small changes over time.

One way to think about the next 1,000 years of Christianity is by generations. It is really not that far away.

60 generations ago was the time of Abraham.
30 generations ago was the time of Christ.
13 generations ago was 1000 A.D.

Think of the next 1,000 years of Christianity as 13 generations. What can you do to affect the next 13 generations? A chain of 13 people.

Life in 1000 A.D.

13 generations ago there was:

• official anti-semitism in the church
• illiteracy
• few Bibles
• no change in a lifetime
• practice of indulgences

Christians were not aware of how they would shape the future, but their focus on a God-organized world was instrumental in science. A lot has changed in 13 generations.

In 2040

Half a generation from now, the world will experience:

• the end of the Baby Boomers
• a shrinking world population
• China as the largest economy
• 80% of the world’s population living in cities

In fact, it is predicted that 30% of China will be Christian by 2040.

Christianity Circles the Globe

1 AD :: Christianity begins in Israel
500 AD :: Christianity’s center moves to Rome
1000 AD :: Christianity’s center moves to Europe
2000 AD :: Christianity’s center moves to North America
2500 AD :: Christianity’s center moves to Asia?

It appears that Christianity’s center is making a full circle around the world. What happens when it has its “second coming” to Israel?

The Future

The one thing we do know about the future is that it is possible. To more clearly imagine it, we can mark the boundaries of extreme possibilities.

The church largely focuses on the apocalypse as the future, but you can focus on other scenarios without throwing out the second coming.

Examples of Possibilities

• At the rate that new Christian denominations are growing, there could be 260,000 denominations by 2100.
• Mormons are growing fast. What if they become the world majority?
• The Amish are also growing fast. Could the world become Neo-Amish?
• Around 2050, will be the first time in history where we have doubled the world population but are expectedly to dramatically decrease it.
• What happens when robots with artificial intelligence say, “I too am a child of God?”
• Transhumanity
• With genetic engineering, will we remain one species or many?
• Wikipedia does not work in theory but in practice. What about Wikichurch?
• Christianity becomes hip.
• Purple Christians (a mix of Democrats and Republicans)
• Islam in Europe

Conclusion

We have to be conscious that what we do affects future generations. We should not let unbelievers write our next 1,000 years.

Other bloggers highlighting Kevin’s talk include:
- DJ Chuang
- Duncan McFadzean