Christian Adventures International - McNulty Ministries

Meet Khotan from Mongolia

Learn of Early Christianity in Central Asia and Listen to Khotan's Testimony!

June 23, 2010

Khotan is one of the young people who traveled from Erdenet to participate in the Mongolian Tent Festival here in Ulaanbaatar doing street ministry, music ministry and ministering to the new converts!

While training the Erdenet team, Dr. Leslie asked the young people about sharing their faith in Mongolia. These young people told how the Mongolians consider Christianity a religion of the white people and question why they should leave the roots of their ancient Buddhism for a very young European faith.

What most people do not know is that the faith of the Nestorian Christians existed in this nation just a few centuries after Christ's death. Missionaries carried their faith all the way from Rome to the far reaches of China, Mongolia, Central Asia and even Japan.

The Central Asian plateau (north of China) around the time of Temüjin (in the early 1200s prior to Temujin arising as the Great Khan), was divided into several tribes or confederations, among them Naimans, Merkits, Uyghurs, Tatars, Mongols, and Keraits, that were all prominent in their own right and often unfriendly toward each other as evidenced by random raids, revenges, and plundering. Genghis Khan rose as both a conquering and unifying leader of these tribes establishing clear laws called the Yassa and opening trade routes across 67 known nations. Prior to the demise of the Mongolian Empire Christianity was widely accepted and the Great Conqueror Genghis Khan embraced many Christian leaders among his ruling nobles.

In 1989, Drs. Kevin & Leslie McNulty had opportunity to travel to Xian in Western China and view the famous Nestorian tablets (see the link below) recording the names of both the missionaries and ruling upper class families that had embraced the Christian faith. The Nestorian tablets were found in the 1600's. To the dismay of many these tablets provided ample evidence that the Christian faith came to China, Central Asia and the Far East, as early as 400 A.D. revealing that the Roman Empire did not in fact dominate in the Christian faith!

Various historians now believe that the rise of the ChineseTang Dynasty in both power and prosperity during the 7th Century was a direct result of these Western Chinese provinces strongly embracing the Christian faith due to the Nestorians.

Other evidence in Central Asia points to the early strength of Christianity in this region. While the McNulty's were ministering in the big tent in culturally Muslim Kyrgyzstan they also discovered that the Nestorians had been in the capital city of Bishkek. A black grave stone carved with the symbolic Nestorian cross was found in Bishkek dating back to as early as the 9th century.

According to the attached article on the history of faith in Mongolia, "Larry Moses traces the first contact of the Mongolians with Buddhism back to the 4th century A.D. but only during the time of the Great Khans (13th-14th centuries) does the Tibetan form of Buddhism gain influence in Mongolia.

Further, the leader of the biggest empire ever (Mongolia) was known for his religious tolerance, having Nestorian Christians, Moslems, Manicheïsts and shamans within his realm."

The Middle Eastern, Central Asian and Far Eastern nations have long held that Christianity did not provide an influential role in the history of these nations. History provides irrefutable evidence to the contrary. As Christians of the current era, we are challenged to connect our knowledge of HISTORICAL CHRISTIANITY TO THE REALITY OF A MODERN JESUS CHRIST out among the people!

For more information follow the story leads below:

http://www.mongoluls.net/mongolian-religion/monrelihis.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genghis_Khan

http://www.nestorian.org/the_nestorians_in_china___the_.html

http://www.nestorian.org/nestorian_grave_stone.html

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