This is a somewhat indulgent thread that I, as a Christian, pick out my favorite times that the religion has appeared in preexisting AH works. This thread isn't for suggesting new ideas, but rather to examine preexisting portrayals.
I do not mean for this thread to be exclusionary, merely specific as opposed to a "religion in AH" thread. I hope all adherents to other religions and non-theistic belief systems will create similar threads as well to celebrate times where AH have mentioned their religion in a particularly noteworthy way.
In any case, several examples that come to my mind are:
The sickbed conversion of the Shunzhi Emperor in Perpetual Brightness: Surviving Southern Ming by Faeelin. Powerfully and beautifully written, like the rest of this sadly-departed timeline. Excellent portrayal of the life of Christ and the Passion as seen through Chinese eyes amidst a fever dream. Great combination with actual historical references of Chinese Christianity in the Qing era. Further examples continue on in the text with the gradual Catholicization of the Manchu, or at least the emperor.
Bishop Dabir tried before the Domstolland court in Empty America pt. 38 by Doug Hoff. An excellent scene that illustrates the sheer awesomeness of the EA setting. An Ethiopian cleric is sent by the Greek Catholic Church- Christendom is quite fractious, what with the Mongols successfully conquering all of Europe, and the pope fleeing to Constantinople, after all- to preach to a minority of believers in the pagan Norse republic located in a North America where the Ice Age landbridge never formed and thus humans never settled in the New World and mammoths roam free. And a Norse republic where Jews worship freely. And Christians are treated like medieval Jews. And he weaves in a great lot of detail about the varieties of Norse religion as well. And a murder/scandal plot. And a valuable lesson in interfaith coexistence. Simply amazing.
carlton_bach's description of European attitudes towards the Chinese and Christianity in his lamentably defunct The Vivaldi Journeys, where the New World is discovered earlier and a lot more contact happens between Europe, West Africa, and Asia.
I like the idea that Confucianism being the equivalent of classical Greco-Roman philosophy that happened to survive Rome. That and medieval/almost Renaissance Europeans getting nervous about the idea of a Christianized superpower.
And finally, All About My Brother by subversivepanda. All of it.
I do not mean for this thread to be exclusionary, merely specific as opposed to a "religion in AH" thread. I hope all adherents to other religions and non-theistic belief systems will create similar threads as well to celebrate times where AH have mentioned their religion in a particularly noteworthy way.
In any case, several examples that come to my mind are:
The sickbed conversion of the Shunzhi Emperor in Perpetual Brightness: Surviving Southern Ming by Faeelin. Powerfully and beautifully written, like the rest of this sadly-departed timeline. Excellent portrayal of the life of Christ and the Passion as seen through Chinese eyes amidst a fever dream. Great combination with actual historical references of Chinese Christianity in the Qing era. Further examples continue on in the text with the gradual Catholicization of the Manchu, or at least the emperor.
Excerpt said:“Before faith came, humanity was an impious lot, immoral and prone to wickedness. But God gave us the Law, and the teachings of the Sages.” The Sage counted off the teachers of mankind. “Moses, Elijah, Confucius, and Mencius brought us the Law of Heaven. But the Law was merely to guard us, and did not bring us to God. The law was our teacher, to bring us to Christ, that we might be saved through faith.”
The Emperor shifted in his seat on the ground, and looked up at the dismal sky. The Sage continued speaking. “But after the faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.”
The Emperor’s jaw dropped, as he took in the man’s words. The man was about to continue speaking, but then he stood up and scowled. “You would deny the teachings of Confucius?” he demanded.
The Sage laughed. “He came to fulfill the Law, not to destroy it. But you obey the Law because you should, not because it gains you salvation. Only your faith can do that.”
A mist began to spread through the clearing, enshrouding the people and the sage. “The Law was different for different people. To the Jews, he sent a prophet; to the Chinese, he sent a sage. But whether Han or Manchu, scholar or peasant, man or woman, all are one in Jesus Christ.”
Bishop Dabir tried before the Domstolland court in Empty America pt. 38 by Doug Hoff. An excellent scene that illustrates the sheer awesomeness of the EA setting. An Ethiopian cleric is sent by the Greek Catholic Church- Christendom is quite fractious, what with the Mongols successfully conquering all of Europe, and the pope fleeing to Constantinople, after all- to preach to a minority of believers in the pagan Norse republic located in a North America where the Ice Age landbridge never formed and thus humans never settled in the New World and mammoths roam free. And a Norse republic where Jews worship freely. And Christians are treated like medieval Jews. And he weaves in a great lot of detail about the varieties of Norse religion as well. And a murder/scandal plot. And a valuable lesson in interfaith coexistence. Simply amazing.
Excerpt said:The Byrti opens a codex and turns to the appropriate page. "Do you swear, in the name of the Great God of the Jews, Yahweh -"
Mishael can't help it. He flinches. A pagan speaking the Ineffable Name.
It is appalling, but it is one of the compromises that had to be made.
"- who did drown the charioteers of Egypt land by the thousands, and did slay the Canaanites, Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, by the tens of thousands -"
To the Norse, Mishael knows, the bloody exploits of one's god are important.
With his god, it can be a long recitation, but the Byrti cuts it short.
"- to translate faithfully the words spoken in this courtroom?"
"I do."
"No Tatar, ancient or youthful, can beat Christ's kingdom to dust, for it is not of this world, and the mansions of his kingdom await all faithful departed. And those that beleiveth in Him and bear the Tatar yoke or the yoke of this wicked heathen State, are consoled for they know that their suffering in His Name gains them His love and, through Him, life everlasting."
carlton_bach's description of European attitudes towards the Chinese and Christianity in his lamentably defunct The Vivaldi Journeys, where the New World is discovered earlier and a lot more contact happens between Europe, West Africa, and Asia.
But you are right, the Chinese thinkers are generally seen separate from Islam. The fashionable understanding is that Chinese philosophy is basically a mirror image of ancient Greek and Roman, the pinnacle of achievement human thought can aspire to without the blessed knowledge of Jesus Christ. That, BTW, is why many Europeans think converting the Chinese is a bad idea - they're worried that once they are Christians, they'll be so much better at everything that they'll inherit the world by default.
I like the idea that Confucianism being the equivalent of classical Greco-Roman philosophy that happened to survive Rome. That and medieval/almost Renaissance Europeans getting nervous about the idea of a Christianized superpower.
And finally, All About My Brother by subversivepanda. All of it.