WI: Christianity were more universal

What if the vandal sack of Rome never happens?
As I remember, St Augustin theorized the City of God concept in reaction to this, as in the kingdom of God not being on this earth.

If this doesn't happen surely it Will be more tied?
Remember that St. Augustine's thesis was already incipient in the Bible waiting for the next theologian to pick it up. Jesus flatly says, "My kingdom is not of this world"; Peter and Paul both exhort their readers to simultaneously "Fear God; honor the king."
 

RavenMM

Banned
The 'two-swords' dogma of papal supremacy. The fundamental tenet of the nation state is that the nation (usually read: the people) is sovereign. It has final say on every aspect of its governance and law. This can be circumscribed by constitutional provisions or treaties, but in the end, that is the foundation on which it stands. It is also the basis on which nation states makes demands on the loyalties of their citizens that are pretty close to all-encompassing.
The two swords theory is not a dogma of the roman catholic church. It sees the popes authority over the church as de fidi, but says nothing else about states.
 
What can be done so that modern Christianity is incompatible with the nation state, and instead had something like a caliphate in the past?

What would be the implications?
Considering his Christianity spread to China, Africa, the Caucaus, and Southern India before it really got to Western Europe, and still retained some presence for the next two thousand years, I would say that you won't be managing to get them all under one ruler, whereas Islam allowed that as they were group moving mostly through conquest, at least at the start. Also the issue how Caliphs and Sultans tied their positions together and often claimed to be descended form Muhammad or one of his followers. And Arabic was spread as being the only thing to read the Quran or do government in, to a greater degree than Latin, which was only in Western Europe anyways. So really, I don't see any way for this to happen. From the very start the Disciples were to go to the ends of the earth speaking different languages to different groups, with political power having no real role in the New Testament outside of showing the corruption, decadence, or heartlessness of dynastic leaders.
 
You'd need to radically change the development of early Christianity, possibly taking a more active role in the Roman-Jewish Wars, I think,
 
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