3 ms·

"The church" is a metonym for Christianity.

• gpvos 3y ago
  In this case I think it refers to organized religion in general, which is older, roughly dating to the beginning of agriculture and city formation.
  • samatman 3y ago
    That interpretation only works if you desperately want the comment containing the phrase "the church" to be wrong. If you insist on this unusual interpretation, then yes, farming isn't at least five times older than the church. But if you go with the usual interpretation of "the church" as a metonym for Christianity, as was very clearly intended by the implications of the statement, it is correct. Why not go talk to some Muslims about the Islamic church? Or some Hindus about the church of Shiva? I'm sure you'll find the discussion edifying!
    • gpvos 3y ago
      Oops, yeah, you are correct about the relative ages, I wrote a bit too fast there.