The Original Jesus: The Buddhist Sources of Christianity

by Elmar R. Grüber and Holger Kersten

Book Overview

The existence of striking parallels between elements of the New Testament gospels and Buddhist texts has caused controversy among scholars and theologians in recent decades. In this book, the authors... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1852306289
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: Element Books Ltd
• Length: 274 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 1.3" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908)

The Ahmadiyya Movement was established in 1889 by Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908) in a small and remote village, Qadian, in the Punjab, India. He claimed to be the expected reformer of the latter days, the Awaited One of the world community of religions. Mirza Ahmad wrote a Book Jesus in India in which he cliamed that Jesus migrated after his crucification to India. This auther spoke after 100 years of Mirza Ahmad cliam. Please read that book too if you need more historicals facts.

GOOD RESEACH MISSAPPLIED WITH PARTIALITY

Although the scholarly research in this work is laudable, the authors seem to have been caught up in a couple of prejedicial problems. The first one deals with attempting to give many parallels for the New testamant from Hindu sources, while largely avoiding the word "Hinduism" by simply and repeatedly calling them "Indian Sources". And in the same vein, although Lord Krishna's name was mentioned once (as some ancient god),very unscholarly. The Gita, oneof the world's greatest scriptues, and no doubt known to theBuddha, would weigh heavily in this subject.But was it mentioned or did I miss it? Krishna's name was also omitted from the "people" list at the back of the book. I believe the ancient records indicate that Jesus would have had more than sufficient experience with the great Hindu Yogis during his lengthy India visit, this would be the real source of many comparisons the authors' use, and very little data found its way into the NT from influences of Buddhistic origins of the Middle East. JESUS, like so many others through ancient history, well knew about the GREAT YOGIS of INDIA (Pythagoras and Appolonious etc), and when they made such a long treck, would not stop at only other schools along the way, they usually sought out the most prominent Masters and Yogis, as well as the original sources of the VEDAS,UPANISHADS,GITA ETC. No doubt they would encounter others as well, but the slant these authors give this whole subject, is remeniscent of the same onesided approached indulged in by many of those in the early church establishment. FINALLY, one can surely find certain major problems in the holy writ of any of the great religions - the least of which is translation to another language. But history has shown that even in works that may be less than perfect, the power and influence of that illusive original Jesus, has produced many Christlike beings, eg. Padre Pio of Italy. And surely effected the lives of untold millions, I doubt that one of JESUS strong concepts, ! that of the personal "Heavenly Father", came from Buddhist influence, as they seem to follow a concept of the universal impersonal mind only. The mentions of other such matters as reincarnation are clearly from Hindu Origins.

Indeed, the truth shall set you free

This is the type of book that, a few centuries back, would have gotten the author a one-way ticket to the stake. Luckily, we can read it in the comfort of our home and ponder the earth-shattering thesis by the authors: that Jesus' message basically is a Buddhist message. Not for the faint of heart, but for the daring.

good history of Buddhist Missionaries, strained parallels

this one is even more heretical than Stephen Mitchell's 'The Gospel According to Jesus'. I could take the fact that Jesus was really the illegitimate son of a Roman soldier and a Jewish woman, rather than an immaculate conception; but to be asked to believe that he studied Buddhism with Theravadan missionaries is a bit much methinks. Granting even that there was contact between Buddhist missionaries from Ashoka's time and Greece of Jesus's time, there is no necessity to 'explain' Jesus's revelation or sayings as borrowings from anothere culture, methinks. Such enlightened beings as Jesus and Buddha have always popped up every now and then, spontaneously, and when they sound a lot alike, why should we be surprised and try to look for hidden connections? The real connection is what they are speaking of, the one beyond space and time. Anyway, a fairly scholarly book here, with lots of interesting history, just a bit too polemical for me to take real seriously. Definitely worth reading for the history.