Page:Christianity in China, Tartary, and Thibet Volume I.djvu/249

237 THE CHRISTIANS DECLARED VICTORS. 237 " Friend," replied the Franciscan, " the questions concerning those things must not form the beginning of our controversy. All things come from God, He is the source and origin of whatever exists ; we must, there- fore, speak of God first ; for we have not the same ideas concerning the Divinity, and Mangou wishes to know which of us has the best faith." The umpires decided that this was reasonable, and Rubruk then proceeded to prove the existence of God from philosophical arguments ; but when he had finished his demonstration, the Chinese cried, " One must be mad to think there is but one God ! The sages admit several. Are there not in the world princes of various degrees of power, and is not Mangou -Khan above them all ? It is the same with the Gods. Who is, then, this only God of whom you speak ? " Then Rubruk replied by enumerating the attributes of the Divinity, and asserting his omnipotence. The Bonze exclaimed and protested, saying they could not admit the existence of one omnipotent God. " If not," said Eubruk, " there is no one among your Gods who can with certainty secure you from evil and danger. To what purpose, then, is it to pray to and worship them ? " Finally, the Franciscan monk was declared by the umpires, and even by the Chinese Bonze himself, to have gained the victory. The Nestorians then entered the lists against the Mussulmans, but the latter declared that there was no ground for dispute ; that they regarded the Christian law as a true one, and believed all that the Gospel con- tained ; that they acknowledged one God alone, and prayed to him every day. " This conference being then ended," says Rubruk,