Christianity arrives in China 550 years earlier: new evidence

xinuanet.com ^ | 2002-08-16

[lutheran]

Good post. Have a look here too.

[Cindy]

That's quite interesting.

[LiteKeeper]

Many of the Chinese characters have Biblical undertones that are very interesting!

[RightWhale]

the excavation of an iron cross in east China's Jiangxi Province with inscriptions showing it was cast between 238 and 250.

The Cross was already in use by the mystery religions before the time of Christ. It symbolized nearly the same thing before as after.

[tallhappy]

What's interesting is Xinhua decided to print an article on it.

This has been known for a while. But it poses some problems for the ChiComs.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Interesting. Is there a link?

[r9etb]

This has been known for a while. But it poses some problems for the ChiComs.

Christianity already poses problems for them, just as Fulan Gong does. Catholicism in China is as dangerous to the gov't as it was in Poland.

I'm thinking they're trying to do the same thing with Christians as they're trying to do with the Buddhists in Tibet: to put their own guys in, and thereby create a tame church.

The value of stories like this is to suggest a separate, and uniquely Chinese, Christian tradition, which opens the way for the ChiComs to try to drive a wedge between "Chinese" and "Western" Christianity.

[tallhappy]

You are right. Excellent comments.

[RightWhale]

Is there a link?

I don't know. There is an amulet, a little medallion that is a crucifix, --cross, inscription, and a body being crucified. It's classical, probably pre-Christian 200-300 BC, and the one on the cross is not Jesus, but Dionysus. I haven't seen the amulet itself, but a photograph. It's the kind of thing that wouldn't have survived the Inquisition if they had found it.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

I've read that Rome and China exchanged ambassadors around the time of Christ and maybe earlier.

I wasn't aware that any Christian symbols besides the swastika were in use prior to Christ's coming. I'll have something to look for over the weekend.

[RightWhale]

Rome and China exchanged ambassadors around the time of Christ

Wouldn't be at all surprising. Alexander reached India, modern day Pakistan, before turning back. There is a reference to India in the Aenead.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #12

Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius sent his emissary to Han emperor. Han emperor also sent his to Rome.

[RightWhale]

That would be interesting. If they exchanged ambassadors, they must have known of each other already. Makes one wonder how much before then that they knew. 100 years, 1000 years, 10,000 years?

[agrace]

The Discovery of Genesis: How the Truths of Genesis Were Found Hidden in the Chinese Language, C.H. Kang, Ethel Nelson

Reading it right now, VERY interesting!

[blam]

"That would be interesting. If they exchanged ambassadors, they must have known of each other already. Makes one wonder how much before then that they knew. 100 years, 1000 years, 10,000 years?"

I'm reading about that right now. When I return from lunch, I'll look it up in the book ,The Tarim Mummies, Victor Mair/J.P. Mallory. The Han Chinese are the ones who drove the Caucasians (2,000BC)in east China all the way back to Bactria

[MissBaby]

This has been known for a while. But it poses some problems for the ChiComs.

What problem does this pose?

[MissBaby]

I'm thinking they're trying to do the same thing with Christians as they're trying to do with the Buddhists in Tibet: to put their own guys in, and thereby create a tame church.

I was reading somewhere that the reason the Chinese are putting so much pressure on Tibet is because of the muslim element there and that they do not want at their back door what visited us on September 11.

This seems to make sense when you look at the countries that boarder China to the west.

The situation in Tibet probably has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with security.

But, I think you are correct they want a tame church.

[r9etb]

The situation in Tibet probably has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with security.

What I'm referring to is some shenanigans that have been going on there with regard to installing "their boys" in important Buddhist positions. For example, in 1995 the Dalai Lama and Chinese government recognized different boys as the true Panchen Lama. (See the links for more detail on the political parts.)

[billbears]

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