when on the deathbed

[WatchmanOnTheWall]

No, I don't.
No, I'm not.

I know that had there been a damning recantation at any important point in history, it would have been recorded and reported and not only I but you and anybody else would have heard of it, or, more likely, we just would have never heard of Jesus Christ at all; but instead, all we both know for certain is that the Christian Church has grown into the world's largest religion, and that multiple dead paganisms lie in our wake.

Think about what really has happened. For example many Christians were persecuted and killed by the Roman soldiers under Domitian between 81AD to 96AD, just 40 years after Jesus' death. Now do you think that every Christian chose to be a Martyr/:

'Given the lack of guidance and distance of imperial supervision, the outcomes of the trials of Christians varied widely. Many followed Pliny's formula: they asked if the accused individuals were Christians, gave those who answered in the affirmative a chance to recant, and offered those who denied or recanted a chance to prove their sincerity by making a sacrifice to the Roman gods and swearing by the emperor's genius. Those who persisted were executed.'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Christians_in_the_Roman_Empire

Now those whose did recant were simply let go and no more was said about it because why would they, it was shameful in some ways and other Christians would feel sorry for them. It was those who were Martyr who received notoriety.

 

[Nihilo]

Think about what really has happened. For example many Christians were persecuted and killed by the Roman soldiers under Domitian between 81AD to 96AD, just 40 years after Jesus' death. Now do you think that every Christian chose to be a Martyr/:

'Given the lack of guidance and distance of imperial supervision, the outcomes of the trials of Christians varied widely. Many followed Pliny's formula: they asked if the accused individuals were Christians, gave those who answered in the affirmative a chance to recant, and offered those who denied or recanted a chance to prove their sincerity by making a sacrifice to the Roman gods and swearing by the emperor's genius. Those who persisted were executed.'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Christians_in_the_Roman_Empire

Now those whose did recant were simply let go and no more was said about it because why would they, it was shameful in some ways and other Christians would feel sorry for them. It was those who were Martyr who received notoriety.

We would not know Christ if any of His Apostles recanted, or any bishops who knew the Apostles. There is no record of either of these, which is why we know Who Jesus Christ is. Otherwise the Church would have died on the vine.