A few Christians that I know point to the rapid spreading of Christianity in the first 100 years after Jesus's death, and claim that only God could have enabled it to spread so quickly. If this were true, if only truly divine religions could spread so quickly, then there should be no historical parallels.
However, this is not the case. Cargo cults, the most famous of which revolves around "John Frum", had a brief flowering period in the South Pacific in the first half of the 20th century. American ships bearing cargo (and sometimes troops) would land on islands, bringing with them all sorts of wonderful things: Candy, cigarrettes, guns, superior clothing, medicine, etc. The natives immediately thought that the cargo arrived from the spirit world, and that the rituals of the Americans (talking on the radio, paperwork, etc.) were a sort of prayer to the gods. After the Americans left, many islands were gripped by an intense religious fervor - they built crosses, landing strips, docks, paraded about in mock military uniforms - all to persuade the gods to send them cargo.
In particular, the "John Frum" cargo cult is based upon a man (apparently known as John Frum) who stayed with the islanders a little while, preached to them regarding rebelling against the Christian missionairies, and told them that he would return soon (refusing to give the exact date), bearing huge amounts of cargo, and (according to some) driving out everybody but the natives.
Does this sound familiar?
The point is that divine intervention is not necessary for a religion to spread like wildfire. These cargo cults are an extremely obvious parallel to Christianity. Does it rule out divine intervention? No, but it certainly gives us a natural, secular explanation. If you Christians want to argue that this could not have happened 2,000 years ago, remember: The burden of proof is upon you.
However, this is not the case. Cargo cults, the most famous of which revolves around "John Frum", had a brief flowering period in the South Pacific in the first half of the 20th century. American ships bearing cargo (and sometimes troops) would land on islands, bringing with them all sorts of wonderful things: Candy, cigarrettes, guns, superior clothing, medicine, etc. The natives immediately thought that the cargo arrived from the spirit world, and that the rituals of the Americans (talking on the radio, paperwork, etc.) were a sort of prayer to the gods. After the Americans left, many islands were gripped by an intense religious fervor - they built crosses, landing strips, docks, paraded about in mock military uniforms - all to persuade the gods to send them cargo.
In particular, the "John Frum" cargo cult is based upon a man (apparently known as John Frum) who stayed with the islanders a little while, preached to them regarding rebelling against the Christian missionairies, and told them that he would return soon (refusing to give the exact date), bearing huge amounts of cargo, and (according to some) driving out everybody but the natives.
Does this sound familiar?
The point is that divine intervention is not necessary for a religion to spread like wildfire. These cargo cults are an extremely obvious parallel to Christianity. Does it rule out divine intervention? No, but it certainly gives us a natural, secular explanation. If you Christians want to argue that this could not have happened 2,000 years ago, remember: The burden of proof is upon you.
