Coming from a western culture, it is easy to familiarize with the Gospels over any other written text. In order to get a different perspective on the outlook of life, it is better to compare the Gospels to another written text. A text that is an excellent candidate to stand up next to the Gospels is the Bhagavad-Gita (or just the Gita). These two texts can depict similarities and differences between the two cultures presented: Christianity and Hinduism. Keeping an open mind when reading cultural texts is what makes the texts more interesting and informs the reader more clearly. The analysis between one western text and one non-western text can really widen the perspective of one person. Due to the fact that Krishna from the Gita seems to …show more content…
One of the messages is to basically love God more than anything and put him before everything. The verse of Matthew 22:37 states that: “Thou shalt love The Lord Thy God with all Thy heart, with all Thy soul, and with all Thy might.” Likewise, the Gita says, “Keep your mind on me, be my devotee, sacrificing, bow to me- you will come to me, I promise, for you are dear to me” (Gita 155). Clearly the meanings behind both these quotes are the same but just worded differently. Krishna and Jesus constantly emphasize certain aspects that are similar to the other person’s teaching. This goes to show that even though Hinduism and Christianity are two separate cultures with two different scriptural texts and two different religions, the idea and meaning behind both of these religions are closely related. No matter how different the two religions may appear to be, the meaning behind their scriptures is what really defies their religion. Just because the two religions believe in different deities doesn’t mean that the deities aren’t teaching the exact same thing. It’s just that the two religions have different ways of teachings their followers and the teachings are slightly worded differently, so this is where many people fall into the trap by thinking that the meanings from the two scriptures are different and unique. Morality is the principles concerning the distinction between right and
Using the book, notes, and biblical text itself, choose two of the Gospels and compare and contrast their presentation of the life of Christ. Be sure to include how things like the authors’ background and audience affect their message.
Parallel Lives of Jesus: A Guide to the Four Gospels by Edward Adams is a book that is focused on the unity of all four narratives Jesus’s life. This book is a very good example of an introduction to the four Gospels and a method to study the Gospels.
“The poor we shall always have with us, but why the hungry?”- John van Hengel, founder, St. Mary’s Food Bank. John van Hengel was the founder of one of the largest food banks in the United States. His idea spread to other cities and eventually carried enough of an impact to cause other countries to follow suit and open food banks as well. John’s concept of a food bank is the same as a typical bank. This being born when overhearing a mother talking about how difficult it was to feed her family.
Should one fully read the opening four Gospels of the New Testament, he or she can find many similar patterns of literature and themes affording much attention to detail and study. This is what someone such as Merriam Webster would define as the ?Synoptic Gospels?. So, what are and how can we explain the differences and similarities among synoptic authors Matthew, Mark, Luke, and the gospel, John? Which Book was written first? To what extent did the Evangelists depend on oral tradition, written sources, or each other? The phenomenon and mystery of these similar but unique Synoptic Gospels has for centuries challenged some of the best minds of academia and the church, stirring up much scholarly
Gospel is an old English word meaning “good news.” When comparing the four gospels they are all unified, but each gospel can have slight differences to them. Whether is literary structure, length, how many teachings, important events, different significance, geography or chronology; they all are correlated to tell us Jesus’ story, in their own way. In like manner, God didn’t give us one explanation from an confined individual. Rather, God educates us about the broad richness of Jesus’ life through a numerous prophet-witnesses. Moreover, God works through well-documented and a valid history, not through confidential revelations to a single person. The prophetic witnesses of the Gospels endorse the truth that God himself is speaking. Each Gospel
Gnostic writings of Jesus portray him as a heavenly redeemer made less of flesh than of spirit. The emphasis of Jesus' importance is not on his physical humanness but rather, on his ability to show people the way to the kingdom. Jesus put on flesh in order to give people gnosis and reveal to them where they come from and where they will eventually return. When it is time for Jesus to return to his heavenly home, he is crucified and resurrected before he finally ascends. His body's lack of importance in some Gnostic texts gives this series of events a different connotation than other versions of the story more common today. The Gnostic understanding of Jesus gives us better knowledge of what will happen to us
Hinduism followers have not been the only followers we have heard of during the years. That follow in a certain religion more than one God. During ancient times in the Greece and Roman Era. Greeks and Romans were polytheism. Their Religion was Mythology a religion that worshipped a group of Gods. The Greeks and Romans adored their Gods whole heartily, like Hinduism followers do today in modern society. Ancient Greece and Rome were two extraordinary empires. When it comes to comparing and contrasting Rome and Ancient Greece some might think, that Rome and Greece might be quite different in beliefs; but in my opinion the reality is they are almost
I completed 100% of the reading assignments for session two and the additional material regarding the Gospels. The significance of four Gospels is each one had a specific audience in mind, and they relayed a unique perspective regarding Jesus’ various roles. To help explain the importance of audience recognition, an analogy would be that one would not likely lecture on atheistic principles in a Gospel centered class, thus people wrote the Gospels for specific cultures. The Gospel of Matthew intended to reach the Jews and the church, and Gundry (2012) stated, “we must describe his gospel, then, as Jewish Christian with a universal outlook” (p. 190). Jews were a dominant group of people due to the genealogy of Jesus leading back to Abraham, making
1. Using the book, notes, and biblical text itself, choose two of the Gospels and compare and contrast their presentation of the life of Christ. Be sure to include how things like the authors’ background and audience affect their message.
The synoptic gospels portray Jesus Christ in a comprehensive and authoritative manner. They offer a deeper truth about Christianity in addition to the biographic information regarding Jesus Christ, unlike other biblical books. Additionally, the authors of these books were all inspired by the Holy Spirit in order to come up with an exceptional perspective and account of Jesus. Equally, through the Holy Spirit, each author was able to provide gospel themes that were in tandem with the teachings and the philosophy of Jesus Christ. In essence, the gospels of Luke, Matthews, and Mark provide correlated information on the accounts and perceptions of Jesus, with John’s accounts differing slightly (Straus 2007, p.24). Moreover, the three gospels have
The word "gospel" is a translation of the Greek word "euangelion" which means "good news. The first three books in the New Testament (Mark, Matthew, and Luke) are often referred to as the Synoptic Gospels (from Greek synoptikos, "seen together") They bear greater similarity to each other than any of the other gospels in the New Testament. Along with these similarities come some differences among the gospels, suggesting that each gospel was written for a specific audience and for a specific purpose. This paper will examine the resurrection of Jesus, while identifying the significant differences between Mark, Matthew and Luke. This paper will also analyze the differences to suggest the prominent theological perspective each gospel author
When looking at Christianity and Hinduism there are many ways to look at each religion from a theological perspective. This is why the best way to look at the broad view of these religions would be to analyze each by comparing and contrasting what each religion is about. The first point to look at would be at how Hinduism and Christianity are very similar in how they view the world. This can be seen in how they both strive to achieve a state of higher being whether it be with the eternal state of Moksha or eternal life in heaven with God. They both also look to be more introspective of themselves in order to maintain a good relationship with their higher being. This can be seen with Christians trying their hardest to maintain their faithfulness to God (Letter to the Romans, Reader p. 200) or Hindus making sure to maintain their duties in their caste in order to climb the system (Bhagavad Gita, Reader p. 75). Another comparison would be that Christianity follows the “Golden Rule” which is better known in the Hindu religion as karma. This is an important cornerstone to both religions because it creates a system of justice for both religions to follow. To truly examine these two religions one must also look at the differences that each religion has to each other that make them each a unique belief. A main difference would be that Christianity focuses more on the short term while Hinduism focuses more on the long term. Another difference is the rewards that a Christian
The Synoptic Gospels are composed of the gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke. These three gospels covered many of the same stories; yet, they disagree with each other on various details within certain stories. Also, numerous events that are in Mark, is not in Matthew or Luke and vice versa. Many historians have concluded that Mark was the first of the three gospels written and that Matthew and Luke used Mark as a source to their own gospels. The Synoptic Gospels were first written in Greek, which would suggest to some ambiguity within Mark, Matthew, and Luke due to certain perceptions and translations within the Greek language. One ambiguity that is shown within the Synoptic Gospels dealt with Jesus’s view on marriage and divorce. Using
In the Bible, the four Gospels push different ideologies, views, lessons and different stories that center around the central figure of Jesus. The Gospel of Luke main themes center on Universalism, social justice, compassion for outcasts, the role of woman and the Holy Spirit.(Hauer and Young) These parables are able to connect to the context of when Luke was able bring these stories together in 85 CE. The Gospel was most likely written in Greek speaking area located in the Roman empire.(Coogan et al.) This time of stability allowed for the proliferation of Christianity and Gospels such as Luke. The passages that will be discussed will mainly focus on compassion for outcast seen in Luke 16:19–31 and warning against greed in Luke 12:13-34. Luke 13:6-9 focuses on a fig tree talks of the opportunities people and if they use them properly. Finally, the last parable is 7:11-17, which focuses on holy spirit and the possibilities for miracles and the importance of life. These parables in Luke are able to give a social justice commentary that can make a person feel compassionate for the poor and the reckoning they would receive in the afterlife if they didn’t follow Jesus’s teachings. As, well the story is able to push across a message that will everlasting importance to people. This has led to the Gospels of Luke becoming one of the main 4 Gospels and one of the most highly regarded of the Gospels. (Hauer and Young)
The Gospels are narratives about the life and time of Jesus. They describe not only Jesus' life but also what was taking place at that time. This helps to give us a better perception of why some things happened the way they did and what it was possibly like for Jesus. We are able to better understand some of the social and political aspects of life during Jesus' time period, which can help us to overall understand the meaning behind the Gospels better. (Bible Dictionary)