"BARBARIANS" AND THE GOSPEL

It is said that one of the greatest disasters in the history of Christianity took place in 1271. Nichelo and and Matteo Polo, the father and the uncle of Marco Polo, were visiting the Kubla Kahn. At that time, Kubla Kahn was a world ruler. He ruled all of China, all of India, and all of the East.

Kubla Khan was attracted to the story of Christianity as Nichelo and Matteo told it to him. So he said this to them, “You shall go to your high priest and tell him on my behalf to send me 100 men skilled in your religion, and I shall be baptized. And when I am baptized, all my barons and great men will be baptized, and their subjects will receive baptism too, and so there will be more Christians here than there are in your parts.”

So Nichelo and Matteo Polo went to the highest religious authority, requesting 100 missionaries. The pope responded, “Those barbarians don’t deserve the gospel.” Nothing was done for about 30 years, and then only two or three missionaries were sent.

Too few. Too Late.

As a result of this delay, Buddhist monks, who were pleased to come, converted the largest empire history has ever known to Buddhism.