Why didn't Christianity spread east fast?

[Caliban]

It converts rome in less than 300 years. Why was it much less successful in middle east, middle east,india and china?

It actually did not convert Rome in 300 years. There were approximately 16 million pagans and 4 million Christians around 350 AD.

 

[Lycurgus89]

Can we say rube instead of pagan? Means the same thing. If there was a Rube option for my Faith, I would select that immediately.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Can we say rube instead of pagan?

Some people might take offense.

 

[Jok]

Life was also brutal, short and poor for anyone except the highest nobility.

Fine. Toss me out of the time machine when we pass 1950 then lol

 

[Nithavela]

Fine. Toss me out of the time machine when we pass 1950 then lol

Guess that's a good time when you're a white male in the USA. Although you might run into some problems for being a catholic until the late 60s.

 

[George95]

MOD HAT ON

This thread has been moved from The Kitchen Sink to Christianity and World Religion.

MOD HAT OFF​

 

[Sketcher]

It converts rome in less than 300 years. Why was it much less successful in middle east, middle east,india and china?

The Apostle Thomas made it all the way out to India and was martyred there. Hundreds of years later, the Assyrian Church of the East launched major outreaches and set up many churches in Central Asia.

Then, Timur Lenk rose in power and led the Mongols in his campaigns of conquest. They were very thorough in destroying whatever they had a mind to. Timur was a nominal Sufi Muslim, and since he had more of an excuse to destroy Christians than Muslims, that's exactly what he did. He didn't limit himself to the churches of the East of course, he wanted to conquer and plunder for the sake of it and to make a name for himself, but he is the reason there aren't nearly as many churches in Central Asia as there easily could have been.

 

[Ignatius the Kiwi]

I think it's due to no notable rulers in the east converting to Christianity and allowing/supporting missionary efforts.

You make it sound as if Christianity had become the majority religion in three hundred years in Rome. It wasn't, instead what happened was Constantine became a Christian and gave state support to the Church. Christianity had grown and become more influential but the conversion of an emperor and the promulgation of Christianity by him, his sons (though they were Arian) and Theodosius made the Christian tide in the west nearly irreversible. Same can be said of the after the fall of the western Roman Empire. Christianity was established under the Franks through the conversion of Clovis. This also goes for the conversions of the Rus, the Scandinavians, the English and others.

If an emperor of China had converted to Christianity and managed to have a significant grasp on authority you might have had a Nestorian Christian China. Same goes for the great Khans. Heck, if the Taiping rebellion had succeeded or Christianity had not been utterly banned from Japan there might have been a Christian dominated Asia today.

There also be something to the more developed religions of the east than pagan religions in the west with their vague mythologies of Zeus or Thor.

 

[MehGuy]

My guess, they had more robust spiritual/philosophical systems like Buddhism and Hinduism to be content with.