Will main line churches disappear within twenty five to forty years as religious authorities now predict? What is behind this crisis so suddenly facing religious communities? Why does the chance of survival of religion decline as a nation becomes more highly developed? An historian, not a theologian, examines the political/religious environment in which the Gospels were written. Within that environment, why were they written? What was the motive of each writer? How did they write? How did the political/religious environment determine their different approaches to their Gospels? What were readers in that environment supposed to discover when reading those versions? Were there any clues? In a clear jargon-free exposition Can Religion Survive Worship clarifies the difference between worshiping the messenger and studying the message. If rituals, processes, and procedures are put aside, what is to become of churches and clergy that have existed primarily to preside over those rituals, processes, and procedures? What, if any, will then be the vehicle carrying the message? Warren Hickman has thrown down the gauntlet. It needs to be picked up?