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'I am the beginning, the middle, and the end' (BG 10:20 vs. Rev. 1:8 ).
His advent was heralded by a pious old man named Asita, who could die happy knowing of his arrival, a story paralleling that of Simeon in Luke 2:25 .
Krishna's mission was to give directions to 'the kingdom of God' (BG 2:72), and he warned of 'stumbling blocks' along the way (BG 3:34; 1 Cor. 1:23 ; Rev. 2:14).
The essential thrust of Krishna's sayings, uttered to a beloved disciple, sometimes seems to coincide with Jesus or the Bible. Compare: 'those who are wise lament neither for the living nor the dead' (BG 2:11) with the sense of Jesus' advice to 'let the dead bury their own dead' (Matt. 8:22 ).
Krishna's saying, 'I envy no man, nor am I partial to anyone; I am equal to all' (BG 9:29) is a lot like the idea that God is no respecter of persons (Rom. 2:11 ; see also Matt. 6:45 ).
And 'one who is equal to friends and enemies... is very dear to me' (BG 12:18) is reminiscent of 'love your enemies' (Matt. 6:44 ).
Krishna also said that 'by human calculation, a thousand ages taken together is the duration of Brahma's one day' (BG 8:17), which is very similar to 2 Peter 3:8."
****
Many early Christian theologians noted the extreme similarity between Christianity and Pagan religions such as Hinduism, Mithraism, etc. Eusebius of Caesarea (circa 283-371 CE) wrote: "The religion of Jesus Christ is neither new nor strange." 1
St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 CE) wrote: "This, in our day, is the Christian religion, not as having been unknown in former times, but as having recently received that name." 2
Some early Christian leaders attributed the similarities between Christianity and earlier religions to a trick of Satan. They felt that Satan had created many crucified saviors, born of virgins, before Jesus in order to discredit Christianity's uniqueness. Others attribute the similarities to coincidence.
Conservative Christians generally believe in the inerrancy of the Bible. Thus, the Gospel of John is absolutely accurate when it presents Jesus Christ as a supernatural being, the Son of God, who was present at the creation of the universe, is the savior of humanity, and who came to earth so that believers "might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10 KJV). Any similarity to legends about Krishna are either forgeries, or coincidences. There was no incorporation into the Christian Gospels of Pagan legends about the life of Krishna. The points of similarities must have resulted from other influences. There is no Krishna-Christ linkage; the topic is ridiculous; it is not even worth investigating. It is blasphemy to suggest such a connnection.
Some skeptics have suggested that Yeshua of Nazareth (a.k.a. Jesus Christ by most Christians) and Krishna, the second person of the Hindu trinity, are the same person. It is rather obvious that that they are not. Jesus appears to have been born in Palestine during the last decade BCE, whereas Krishna is dated many millennia earlier, in India.
Some liberal religious historians have raised the possibility that stories of Jesus' birth, ministry, execution, and resurrection were copied, at least in part, from Krishna's life.
Many liberal Christians feel that a Hindu source for many of the events in Jesus' life is a topic is worth studying. Many Pagan religious belief systems, including Hinduism, permeated the Mediterranean region in the 1st century CE. There were various male heroes within Egyptian, Greek, Indian, Roman and other Pagan pantheons of Gods, whose role was to be saviors to humanity -- much like Jesus. In order to compete with those religions, Christianity would have had to describe Jesus in terms that matched or surpassed the Pagan legends. Otherwise, it would not have survived. The authors of the gospels may well have picked up themes from other sources and added them to their writings in order to make Christianity more credible to a Pagan world. By isolating and removing such foreign material, we might be able to get a clearer picture of what Jesus taught and how he lived.
His advent was heralded by a pious old man named Asita, who could die happy knowing of his arrival, a story paralleling that of Simeon in Luke 2:25 .
Krishna's mission was to give directions to 'the kingdom of God' (BG 2:72), and he warned of 'stumbling blocks' along the way (BG 3:34; 1 Cor. 1:23 ; Rev. 2:14).
The essential thrust of Krishna's sayings, uttered to a beloved disciple, sometimes seems to coincide with Jesus or the Bible. Compare: 'those who are wise lament neither for the living nor the dead' (BG 2:11) with the sense of Jesus' advice to 'let the dead bury their own dead' (Matt. 8:22 ).
Krishna's saying, 'I envy no man, nor am I partial to anyone; I am equal to all' (BG 9:29) is a lot like the idea that God is no respecter of persons (Rom. 2:11 ; see also Matt. 6:45 ).
And 'one who is equal to friends and enemies... is very dear to me' (BG 12:18) is reminiscent of 'love your enemies' (Matt. 6:44 ).
Krishna also said that 'by human calculation, a thousand ages taken together is the duration of Brahma's one day' (BG 8:17), which is very similar to 2 Peter 3:8."
****
Many early Christian theologians noted the extreme similarity between Christianity and Pagan religions such as Hinduism, Mithraism, etc. Eusebius of Caesarea (circa 283-371 CE) wrote: "The religion of Jesus Christ is neither new nor strange." 1
St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 CE) wrote: "This, in our day, is the Christian religion, not as having been unknown in former times, but as having recently received that name." 2
Some early Christian leaders attributed the similarities between Christianity and earlier religions to a trick of Satan. They felt that Satan had created many crucified saviors, born of virgins, before Jesus in order to discredit Christianity's uniqueness. Others attribute the similarities to coincidence.
Conservative Christians generally believe in the inerrancy of the Bible. Thus, the Gospel of John is absolutely accurate when it presents Jesus Christ as a supernatural being, the Son of God, who was present at the creation of the universe, is the savior of humanity, and who came to earth so that believers "might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10 KJV). Any similarity to legends about Krishna are either forgeries, or coincidences. There was no incorporation into the Christian Gospels of Pagan legends about the life of Krishna. The points of similarities must have resulted from other influences. There is no Krishna-Christ linkage; the topic is ridiculous; it is not even worth investigating. It is blasphemy to suggest such a connnection.
Some skeptics have suggested that Yeshua of Nazareth (a.k.a. Jesus Christ by most Christians) and Krishna, the second person of the Hindu trinity, are the same person. It is rather obvious that that they are not. Jesus appears to have been born in Palestine during the last decade BCE, whereas Krishna is dated many millennia earlier, in India.
Some liberal religious historians have raised the possibility that stories of Jesus' birth, ministry, execution, and resurrection were copied, at least in part, from Krishna's life.
Many liberal Christians feel that a Hindu source for many of the events in Jesus' life is a topic is worth studying. Many Pagan religious belief systems, including Hinduism, permeated the Mediterranean region in the 1st century CE. There were various male heroes within Egyptian, Greek, Indian, Roman and other Pagan pantheons of Gods, whose role was to be saviors to humanity -- much like Jesus. In order to compete with those religions, Christianity would have had to describe Jesus in terms that matched or surpassed the Pagan legends. Otherwise, it would not have survived. The authors of the gospels may well have picked up themes from other sources and added them to their writings in order to make Christianity more credible to a Pagan world. By isolating and removing such foreign material, we might be able to get a clearer picture of what Jesus taught and how he lived.
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