The most influential person in history

[Sakarja]

Who has been the most influential person in history in terms of influencing history? Positively or negatively? Share your thoughts and reasons?

Here's a few options:

1. Jesus
His ministry lasted only three years, but its impact is everywhere today, seen in the form of the church and also in the spread of monotheism and Christian thinking. We can maybe also credit Christianity with a lot of other things.

2. Aristotle, Plato or Socrates

Enourmously important philosophers, contributed immensely to later thought

3. Mohammed

Single-handedly founded a religion that today spans the globe and is not just a religion but also often a political system.

4. other

[CatholicSage]

Jesus. God Incarnate, founded the world's most influential religion, with enormous effects over the past 2000 years.

[Xavier]

Well... That's kind of a trick question, because we all view history from our own position...

In accordance, LS has got my view covered... :thumb:

[{Tim}]

Who has been the most influential person in history in terms of influencing history? Positively or negatively? Share your thoughts and reasons?

Here's a few options:

1. Jesus
His ministry lasted only three years, but its impact is everywhere today, seen in the form of the church and also in the spread of monotheism and Christian thinking. We can maybe also credit Christianity with a lot of other things.

2. Aristotle, Plato or Socrates

Enourmously important philosophers, contributed immensely to later thought

3. Mohammed

Single-handedly founded a religion that today spans the globe and is not just a religion but also often a political system.

4. other


Jesus, becuase He is God, and created the world. It's hard to get more influential than that.

[CatholicSage]

I'd also like to give a pat on the back to our Greek philosopher friends, whose logical concepts form the very foundation of modern intellectualism, including Christian thought.

[Sakarja]

Jesus, becuase He is God, and created the world. It's hard to get more influential than that.

That's certainly true :lol:. But what if somebody doesn't believe that Jesus is God or that Jesus is the creator? Do you think they could still view Jesus as the most influential person?

Maybe I should have asked for the second most influential person, since this is a Christian forum :).

[Sakarja]

PS. I note that two people voted for "other". Who do you think is the most influential person then, and why?

[FirstSunday33ad]

PS. I note that two people voted for "other". Who do you think is the most influential person then, and why?


Voted "other".

Most influential? Gravio Princip (excuse if misspelled) The assasin of the Arch-Duke Franz Ferdinand was responsible for much of the history of the 20th century, including Stalin, Hitler, World Wars One and Two, the Cold War, the Arms Race, the Space Race and too many other modern events to cataloge. His action is still reverberating around the globe today.

[Xavier]

Hrmn... Gutenburg?

[CatholicSage]

I second Xavier's opinion if we are talking about the second most influential person of all time. He was certainly the man of the millennium (Gutenberg, not Xavier :smile:).

Unless you're talking about Steve Guttenberg.

[Dr Fluff]

Hmm...since Jesus has spun off into many different faiths, I voted for him. The Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jews, various cults from the aforementioned religions and otherwise believe him to be essential to their metanarrative in some way. Even atheists, deists, naturalists, etc (pretty much everybody but nihilists) view him as important in some way (well, I suppose, in all fairness, nihilists don't believe anything to be all that important). I happen to be a Christian and, I'm sure I have biases, thusly, but what can I say? 2000 years contraversy is pretty darn good.

[Xavier]

Unless you're talking about Steve Guttenberg.

You got it right the first time... :wink:

[Peter Kirby]

Whoever invented the first form of writing has been quite influential. Even more influential is the first person who decided to sit his behind in a hut by a river and put seeds in the ground. But these are pre-historical.

Alexander the Great, however, gets my vote for the most influential historical figure. If you think that the Greek philosophers are great, consider that they would most likely be forgotten if the Greek peninsula came to be dominated by a power that didn't respect their learning--instead, they were eventually assimilated into the Roman empire. Yet "conquered, we conquer" say the Greeks, and they provided the political models, the literary models, the art, the technology, and the language for much of the Roman empire (though there is nothing wrong with Latin--whose alphabet is related to Greek). Again, without the Hellenistic spread over the ANE, there would be no Koine for the New Testament to be written in, and there would be no common point of reference for missionaries to preach, in such Greek-dominated areas as Greece (duh), Asia Minor, Syria, and Alexandria. Alexander also provided the inspiration for many other power hungry souls, such as Julius Caesar.

best,
Peter Kirby

[TheOneAndOnly]

1) Karl Marx - His uncompromising political theories reshaped societies, toppled governments and made him the most influential people in world history IMHO.

2) Charles Darwin - what more needs to be said?

3) Isaac Newton - Transformed our view of the universe, earth and how things interact.

4) Alexander the Great - Conquered much of the world and left in his wake two important Empires; Seluecid Persia; Ptolemaic Egypt. The latter was integral in the development of Western Civilization and the foundation of European thought.

5) Jesus - Founded the most prevailent religion in the world. Shook up Roman and Greek moral philosophy and led the foundation of Post-Roman European civilization.

[James Peter]

I'm going to argue that Adam is. Now if we allow Jesus to include his pre-incarnate and post-incarnate actions then obviously He is but that feels a little like cheating to me. :wink: So JC is disqualified...

Adam, however, caused the fall. Probably the most influencial event by a man in history, only rivaled by the events of the cross (which were to reverse what adam had done lets not forget).

Anyway the answer is mainly in jest as many would not accept a literal genesis/fall theory but if it is the case then I'd argue that the fall has shaped our cultures more than any inovation or idea.

[TheOneAndOnly]

Adam, however, caused the fall.

Actually it was mainly Eve's fault.

[bhukkadakota]

Id say David Beckham because his marriage crisis had a 4 page spread on the australian newspapers during the iraq war.

[Zarathustra]

Do you think this poll might be just a little biased, being on a christain forum and all?

[CatholicSage]

Id say David Beckham because his marriage crisis had a 4 page spread on the australian newspapers during the iraq war.


:hehe:

Do you think this poll might be just a little biased, being on a christain forum and all?


Yes. We've admitted that much already.

[Ben Franklin]

Gutenberg. Because of him, everybody was forced to learn how to read...!Darn him and his mass-market publishing...!

[Maimonides]

Who has been the most influential person in history in terms of influencing history? Positively or negatively? Share your thoughts and reasons?

Here's a few options:

1. Jesus
His ministry lasted only three years, but its impact is everywhere today, seen in the form of the church and also in the spread of monotheism and Christian thinking. We can maybe also credit Christianity with a lot of other things.

2. Aristotle, Plato or Socrates

Enourmously important philosophers, contributed immensely to later thought

3. Mohammed

Single-handedly founded a religion that today spans the globe and is not just a religion but also often a political system.

4. other

Difficult question, and I'm satisfied with my answer of other. In view of my recent thread, "Why I do not celebrate Columbus Day" I have to admit that the "Admiral of the Ocean Sea" crossed my mind when I saw this. A friend of mine went so far as to say that it would make more sense for the calendar to be divided into B.C.- Before Columbus and After. A proposal that has some merit. The problem, though, with singling out any one individual as most influential is that all operated within a particular context and all drew from that context throughout their lives. Jesus lived in a time and place that was politically and religiously charged: first-century CE Israel under the Romans. Throughout his life the reality of this dominant power was apparent. This undoubtedly colored his original message (whatever it may have been, I believe it had political as well as religious ramifications), as well as that which appears in the gospels. Of course Muhammad was no different in this regard: he drew on various influences, political and religious, to create his religion. The rapid expansion of this religion is no small testament to him, but it is also a testament to the nature of the times, an era in which Sassanide Iran and Byzantium had exhausted each other through warfare. And the Greek Rationalists drew on various ideas and metaphysical assumptions (existence of souls, as in Plato's The Republic, etc.) although they did break with precedent. All these figures, and many more besides, built on and even broke with earlier legacies and influenced our world today.

[Maimonides]

Do you think this poll might be just a little biased, being on a christain forum and all?

It'd be interesting to run it in Morroco or Egypt...

[shunyadragon]

Hmm...since Jesus has spun off into many different faiths, I voted for him. The Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jews, various cults from the aforementioned religions and otherwise believe him to be essential to their metanarrative in some way. Even atheists, deists, naturalists, etc (pretty much everybody but nihilists) view him as important in some way (well, I suppose, in all fairness, nihilists don't believe anything to be all that important). I happen to be a Christian and, I'm sure I have biases, thusly, but what can I say? 2000 years contraversy is pretty darn good.

Contraversy does not equate to influential. No, most people of other faiths do not consider Jesus to be all that important. In fact, since Christians have caused so much trouble in history, many people consider his influence a proble. This is definitely the case with most Jews. I voted 'other', because it is simply far to difficult to cite one man or woman as the most influential in history. Many western historians rate Mohammod very high as being influential, but no one picked him. If I was to respond it would be a list, and many of the names on the list are not all that well known including a few women.

[themuzicman]

I second Xavier's opinion if we are talking about the second most influential person of all time. He was certainly the man of the millennium (Gutenberg, not Xavier :smile:).

Unless you're talking about Steve Guttenberg.
:ahem:

Adam?