How did Christianity gain its foothold in Asia?

Answer 1

One method was the establishment of mind control systems along with supportive socioeconomic structures. It all depends upon the version of history one selectively believes.

The largest religions in the world are those that used their military prowess to exploit, extort and terrorize the weaker people of the world. The religions that were not spread through violence, persecution and in search of wealth, are the smaller and less recognized ones.

The final phase was through evangelism. While there have been some shameful episodes in history by those puporting to be 'Christian' who attempted to spread their version of the 'gospel' by force, the Christian religion peacefully gained footholds in Asia long before any crusades, which were largely fought against the Moslems in attackers of the Holy Land. The churches there were set up in the same was as those set up across the Mediterranean area by St paul and others; people were told the message of Jesus Christ, they found it made sense, were converted through choice, became baptised in the faith, and spread the word to others. It is almost certain that some of the followers of Jesus Christ spread the Christian religion to Asia so early that there were already thriving pockets of Christianity by the end of the second century, especially in the Indian sub-continent and the land occupied by modern day Russia. Some believe that, as early as the end of the first century, India was evangelised peacefully by St Thomas who preached to the Malabar around AD 52. Nowadays there are estimated around 30 million Christians in the country. Lastly, the great swathe of Asia that the modern day China occupies tells a different story, however. Although Christianity was to be found in small pockets since the seventh century or so, for various reasons, not least political, cultural, and the reluctance to change from their Confucianist and Taoist roots, Christianity did not spread as fast as in the rest of Asia. It was not until the 1960s, after the so-called Cultural Revolution, when Christianity began again to grow despite its being banned by the Communist atheist state. In 1960, there were estimated just 5000 Christians in China, meeting in secret for fear of persecution. In the 1980s, after China relaxed thr rules about religious adherence, the numbers increased exponentially, so that today some estimates claim up to 100 million Christians. If growth continues at the current rate, China could be a predominantly (and practising) Christian country within 20 years.