The point is, even if it was, so what? Jesus endured far worse. And he told us to do the same.
True, I don't expect anyone to 'feel sorry' for Christianity. Philippians 1:29 for reference lol
There was the Hebrew bible, passed down from generation to generation from the early church. It stayed 'underground' for some time, but people still read it. Yeh, oral reciting was a big part of the early spread of the gospel...But the bible even before the NT, was always on parchment and scrolls of somekind.
Personally, I think the less believers rely on 'priests and experts' to tell us what the bible says, and find out for ourselves, the better. Which is why the bible is so important.
Of course, people.should read the Bible for themselves. Paul praised the Bereans for pursuing their own studies rather than take his word for it that the Messiah had come. Still, my point was that most Christians throughout history were too illiterate to do that. Even today, when the majority of us can do that, I've found that many Christians use it as a weapon when it should be deployed as a mirror.