That's probably right. Well, the defenses were inadequate and things had to change to deal with the threat. Maybe it would've been more right to say that the French Revolution was the storm that Europe had little/no defense for, and I'd argue that was the first version of the communist ideal.

🤔 That lack of moral arguments, as Ayn Rand said, is important. To loop back to the original critique of Christianity, and to continue playing devil's advocate : Christianity has had several versions that were responses to a particular era. I think the focus on mercy and compassion was a response to the brutality of the medieval era. Just the other day, I was reading about "oubliettes" - basically mini dungeons in castles and palaces designed to kill people in the most cruel way possible, often located under dining rooms so that the lord and his guests can hear their screams while dining. They were common in Europe, and its hard to imagine a less "Christian" thing... This horror at the heart of the power structure in Christendom.

Both the modern form of Christianity and Communism were responses to the environment they grew out of. Communism's only appeal now is envy and it only attracts the worst people, but the environment it was a response to was stuff like factories that locked workers in and hired thugs to beat up employees and people in general just having far less legal protection or recognition of rights. I'm not saying communism gives rights - to the contrary! - but the circumstances that gave it its appeal were different.

Still just playing devil's advocate. I fucking hate communism.

Christianity, IMO, has lost its connection to its roots, and to Christ, and what Christ means. That, I think, is the reason Christianity fails. Its a pervasive loss. Various points in history show a clear break from Christ - Nicea in 325, the Pope's hissy fit in 1054, the failure of the Roman church to reform when Pico Della Mirandola (spelling probably wrong) tried to reform it, the Council of Trent and the bloody reformation, Calvinism and reintroducing usury and how that enabled the first central bank, and now the denominations having no memory of their own beginnings, like a Baptist having never heard of the Waldensians. And more, way more. How do you fix 2000 years of Wrong? Idk. Start a new denomination. Its the best answer I can think of. But I know one thing beyond any doubt : Christianity has failed, and the only way for it to succeed for any individual is by direct divine intervention, because the people ascribing to "team Christian" are not the right people for the job. That one thing became three things 😂.

Okay... gotta stop this rant.