And we could say we couldn't do it without the Jews! :) They wrote the script. They some were better at hellenizing Judaism and selling it to the Greeks than the other Jews were at convincing the Gentiles to embrace Noachide laws. Christianity simply had more to offer. You don't really think Christians go to Church for the glory of God alone.
Take out the "salvation" and "benefits" (or "rewards") and see how many people show up for Sunday service! That's why Noahcides are few and far in between. They get the crumbs.
And I can see that of all the peoples of the earth the biggest victims are the Fundamentalist "rednecks" of the Bible Belt, who literally have taken it to heart
Why is that? What is the psychological, let alone intellectual, profile of a(ny) zealot? Don't kid yourself, there are "redneck" fundamentalists among the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics, trust me. Take the Old Catholics or the Russian old Believers, some Ahtonite monks, and so on, and discover "redneck" fundamentalists to the bone.
No wonder the older, more historical versions don't. It seems to go along with the fact that the older versions don't take any of it seriously
No, ZC, they take themselves very seriously. But they are established and they have enjoyed centuries of state-sponsored authority to back them up. Wherever the state went to claim the territory in the name of the sovereign, the Church followed. There was no need to proselytize.
And with the British, French, Russian and Spanish empires stretching the entire globe, it looked as if Christianity would become the only religion on earth.
"Your people" did not proselytize either as they do today. That is something of a much more recent origin, and most of it is in already Christian countries! Duh! Few and far in between is spreading the gospel in Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan where heads tend to fly off the shoulders for something like that.
But visit Russia or Latin America and Eastern Europe, where it's safe, and you will find scores of Evangelicals "evangelizing" Christians. They may be crazy but they are not stupid.
If they took it to heart, they must have missed the fact that the apostles did not go into each other's territories and steal believers. The Judiazers did and Paul wrote about that practice and called it hypocritical. So maybe they just don't get it.
And if it hadn't been for the joke the apostles and their successors played on the world the entire Roman Empire might have converted to the Noachide Laws. Good job ruining that for everyone
Based on what evidence? There is no indication pagans were embracing Noachide laws. The Christian religion they accepted was heavily Platonized, the deity humanized, the Jewish eating restrictions dropped, and what they considered silliness (circumcision) was disposed of, so the whole thing was made to their taste and preference, and most importantly something they could relate to.
In contrast, what did Noachide laws have to offer to mysery-religions-crazed pagan Greeks? Or, for that matter, to 40 million Evangelicals in America?
Judaism never actively proselytized for Judaism.
And why is that? And why is that okay, but not when it comes to the Church? How is Judaism different? The messiah will comes and will establish order on earth and everyone will know the God of Israel.
What they are saying is that the world will come to fear and respect the God of Israel by the power of Israel. In other words, there is no need to proselytize.
It proselytized for the Noachide Laws until faced with such penalties that it ceased.
Where and when did Judaism proselytize for Noachide laws? Judaism is alien to every other nation. It is the ultimate xenophobic religion. It is only for the Jews. And, let's be brutally honest, Noachides are like groupie tag-alongs who sit at the back of the bus. How enticing is that?
I'd better save this admission before you realize what you've done and it disappears forever down an Orwellian memory hole!
"Your people" did not proselytize either as they do today. That is something of a much more recent origin, and most of it is in already Christian countries! Duh! Few and far in between is spreading the gospel in Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan where heads tend to fly off the shoulders for something like that.
Actually, they always proselytized, but what they recognize as "adult conversion to chr*stianity" (the "new birth") is recognized by you and most people as a "rite of passage." "Born-again" parents who raise their kids to believe everything that they do still have to "convert" them once they reach the "age of reason." The whole idea of the "new birth" is to provide an adult conversion experience to people who have never had to be converted to chr*stianity intellectually. And btw, they "steal sheep" from each other (Baptist, Church of Chr*st, Pentecostal) for the simple reason that each one believe it is the "one true religion." That's what you do when you believe you're the "one true religion" and you're not physically afraid to do so. You try to convert everybody.
If they took it to heart, they must have missed the fact that the apostles did not go into each other's territories and steal believers.
Because (at least according to "orthodox" chr*stianity) the apostles all shared the same religion. Fundamentalist Protestants of various stripes, Catholics, Orthodox, etc., do not. Each regards the other as heretical--unless they choose to ignore logic completely.
There is no indication pagans were embracing Noachide laws.
I have heard otherwise; that the Greco-Roman world was full of "G-d-fearers." Of course, your history is radically different from mine.
Where and when did Judaism proselytize for Noachide laws? Judaism is alien to every other nation. It is the ultimate xenophobic religion. It is only for the Jews. And, let's be brutally honest, Noachides are like groupie tag-alongs who sit at the back of the bus. How enticing is that?
I will do my best to explain, though I doubt I can satisfy you.
Having G-d associated in an especial way with one nation is the only way to assure universality and objectivity. All "universal" religions degenerate into localized tribal religions. Chr*stianity has been adapted and re-adapted to every culture in the world until J*sus has been reduced to the ancestral totem of whatever people worship him. The only way to ensure that the One True G-d is to be worshiped is to have Him worshiped explicitly as the Jewish G-d. This is where Judaism differs because it's the only way that works. The True G-d will be acknowledged by what amounts to Jewish spiritual conquest of the world. And pally . . . my white flag's already hanging out!