William of Rubruck was a Flemish missionary and explorer. In 1253 he set out from Constantinople to convert the Tatar Mongols. In 1254 he met the Khan. He provided an account of his travels and the events that occured and it is considered a masterpiece of medieval geographical literature.

Whilst in the Khan’s court he was asked to debate Buddhist and Muslim scholars in order to discern whose Faith was the true one. A judge was appointed to consider each case. A large crowd gathered and as was common to this culture vast quantities of alcohol were consumed. Here follows a brief overview of the debate, if only all theology and philosophy of religion was done this way!

“No side seemed to convince the other of anything. Finally, as the effects of the alcohol became stronger, the Christians gave up trying to persuade anyone with logical arguments, and resorted to singing. The Muslims, who did not sing, responded by loudly reciting the Koran in an effort to drown out the Christians, and the Buddhists retreated into silent mediation. At the end of the debate, unable to convert or kill one another, they concluded the way most Mongol celebrations concluded, with everyone simply too drunk to continue.” —Jack Weatherford, Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, p. 173