I have read all the comments to date - with great interest! I note that Bill, the author of the article, has chosen NOT to respond to any of the comments - which I find to be disappointing. The interesting common thread that runs through most of the postings is that "Christianity" as a religious power was one that had used usurpation and violence as a common means for self-aggrandisement.

A second thread is that institutional Christianity as a vital dominating force, in its present state, is probably at an end. "Church news" over the past decade has highlighted the moral decline in its "moral leadership" greatly due to the sexual abuse issues that have emerged almost on a daily basis within the media. Furthermore, all religions seem to show their inability to demonstrate a sense of compassion, peace, and tolerance that should characterise their existence and reality.

The News over Christmas 2011:

"Churches are bombed in Egypt and Nigeria";
"a hundred monks stone each other in the Church of the Nativity" - so much for ushering in the birth of the "Prince of Peace!";
"Hindu and Buddhist shrines are desecrated"....

What does all this mean in 2012!?

It may well be true that "a religious rump" of "hard-liners' will remain - and will continue to proclaim its millenial message of peace to "men of good will". However, it may well be that a new personal secular humanist ethic will emerge as the guiding conscience for future humanity. Time will tell...

I like the way Atheist trolling bigots prove the opposite of the tolerance they preach when it comes to Christian history. How dare a 6th century theologian tell you about sin and how to avoid it, gosh-darn, the gall of such men. Stay out of my life, hiss hiss

For all those that think Christianity grew by the sword, that is the most shallow analysis ive ever heard and if it was true in a broad and general sense it wouldn't still have 2billion adherents.

Christ is the standard barer of Christianity, not any political misrepresenter.

EVEN IF Christianity had mainly grown by the sword, EVEN IF that point were to be granted (It shouldn't be, as it's complete nonsense) then all it would prove would be that Christians haven't been Christian enough.

The solution to Christian evil is not less Christianity, but more.

John Dickson makes this point quite well in his 2011 Smith Lecture, titled "Would We Be Better Off Without Religion?", available from Koorong Bookstores.

Whether Stark or Muehlenberg are 100% correct in all they write is not the issue. Name one person who hasnt made an error in the past and I'll show you a liar. However, whether one wants to be totally honest with themselves or not, the facts are that we will ALL spend eternity somewhere....Heaven or Hell...theres NO grey area......NO second chances after you die and we will ALL kneel before Jesus Christ and give an account of our lives whether you want to admit it or not. So theres the facts from the.........Fact writer

Fact writer, why would anyone believe what you write to be facts?

No one has ever come back from a 'heaven' or 'hell' to let us know that what was apparently decided by some humans a few thousand years ago is true at all?

All those other humans who fervently believe in Buddha or Mohammad also 'believe' in what their ancestors told them about these religions /Gods too.

We have no way of knowing who is right, or even if ANY of them are right at all.

I don't believe in ancient, superstitious fairy tales...

Christ fulfilled over 350 Old Testament prophecies during his first coming http://www.accordingtothescriptures.org/prophecy/353prophecies.html. These prophecies were written hundreds of years before his birth. The athiests show some real "creativity" in being able to write these off so easily. It will be interesting to see how they react when the prophecies about his second advent come to pass...