Buddhism and Christianity - comparison

Originally posted by Doward
[b]Hinduism was not the basis for Buddhism


you're splitting hairs and your information is not entirely accurate[/b]

Well I won't split that hair if you just explain to me your claim that " the teachings of christianity predate Buddhism " when by definition the teaching of Christianity cannot predate about the year 30 AD / CE and Christianity is quite distinct from Jewishness. Buddha's dates are measured in centuries Before Christ.

Originally posted by finnegan
Well I won't split that hair if you just explain to me your claim that " the teachings of christianity predate Buddhism " when by definition the teaching of Christianity cannot predate about the year 30 AD / CE and Christianity is quite distinct from Jewishness. Buddha's dates are measured in centuries Before Christ.

what I actually said was: is that the teachings of Jesus represent his interpretation of the true meaning of the Old Testament, therefore the teachings of christianity predate Buddhism

how is that untrue? Jesus was a Jew, his teachings represented the true intent of the OT and was in oposition to the corruption of the intended meaning.

Originally posted by Doward
what I actually said was: is that the teachings of Jesus represent his interpretation of the true meaning of the Old Testament, therefore the teachings of christianity predate Buddhism

how is that untrue? Jesus was a Jew, his teachings represented the true intent of the OT and was in oposition to the corruption of the intended meaning.

Well it remains the case that Christianity rests on a New Testament which is characterised by convictions about Jesus such as his resurrection which cannot possibly be attributed to the Old Testament. Even though Luke and others like to cite prophesies fulfilled by Jesus in their account of the Gospels (which is the only account we have of course) this is never taken to imply that it would have been possible to interpret those prophesies correctly prior to the life and death of Jesus. They only make sense (ie have their suggested meaning) in retrospect. Prior to the New Testament there was no such thing as Christianity which by definition is about Jesus. To say it has roots in the OT and indeed in the ancient history of the Jews is not meaningful in this context - viz if you want to claim it as a more ancient religion. It's not. It was new.

All this leaving unanswered the question - why are you concerned about claiming it is older than Buddhism? Is there a reason why that matters? Is older always inherently better in this sort of comparison? [I'll agree it's older than L Ron Hubbard but I am not sure that would be a deciding factor for anything important!]

Originally posted by Doward
what I actually said was: is that the teachings of Jesus represent his interpretation of the true meaning of the Old Testament, therefore the teachings of christianity predate Buddhism

how is that untrue? Jesus was a Jew, his teachings represented the true intent of the OT and was in oposition to the corruption of the intended meaning.

Whether Jesus' teachings represent the true intent of the OT, was the point of contention that led him to stand before Pilate at the bequest of the Sanhedrin.

"The Gospels report that after Jesus and his followers celebrated Passover as their Last Supper, Jesus was betrayed by his apostle Judas Iscariot, and arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus was then taken to the high priest's house where he was mocked and beaten. Jesus is generally quiet, does not mount a defense, and rarely responds to the accusations, but is condemned by the Jewish authorities when he claims to be the Son of God. The Jewish leaders then take Jesus to Pontius Pilate, the governor of Roman Judaea and ask him to kill Jesus for claiming to be the King of the Jews."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanhedrin_trial_of_Jesus

Originally posted by finnegan
Hinduism was not the basis for Buddhism - they share a common ancestor in the Vedic scriptures which date back an uncertain time but in the order of 2000 years. The Buddha did not challenge the cosmological beliefs of his times - if that is what we mean by religious beliefs - he challenged the religious practices which he considered incapable of achieving t ...[text shortened]... ewish and Christian teaching thereafter. It would be surprising not to find common interests.

The timelines are always a problem but a commonly accepted period for the Vedas to have come in existence is 1500 BCE to 500 BCE. This may be taken as the period of formation of Hindu Religion.The next younger Religion is Jainism. It came into existence between 900 BCE to 600 BCE. Then came Buddhism.