Question

1. Briefly describe the main contents and characteristics of the Four Gospels.
2. What are the main differences between Buddhist sutras and Christianity? Explain.
3. Briefly describe the life of Jesus.

Answer 1

In Christian tradition, the Four Evangelists are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four Gospel accounts in the New Testament that bear the following titles: Gospel according to Matthew; Gospel according to Mark; Gospel according to Luke and Gospel according to John.All four Gospels tell the same story of Jesus' ministry, death, and resurrection - the key elements of the Christian faith. Two are told by eyewitnesses, member of the 12 Apostles chosen and sent by Jesus Himself - Matthew and John; two are told by early converts who were companions of Apostles - Mark and Luke.

The Gospel is written not simply to provide information about Jesus but in order to engender faith in him as Messiah and Son of God. This purpose is reflected throughout the Gospels, which are all about the twin themes of Jesus' identity and his work.The word gospel came from the Old English word "gōdspel", which literally means "good news", since it narrates Jesus Christ's life and teaching to invite anyone to believe that he was born to save the world from sin and make humans truly know God as a Father. It is mostly about the Death and Resurrection of Jesus.

2.

Buddhism is centered upon the life and teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who came to be known as the Buddha — the enlightened one, or one who is awake — whereas Christianity is centered on the Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ. ... Christianity is a monotheistic religion and believes that Christ Is the Son Of God.Some high level Buddhists have drawn analogies between Jesus and Buddhism, e.g. in 2001 the Dalai Lama stated that "Jesus Christ also lived previous lives", and added that "So, you see, he reached a high state, either as a Bodhisattva, or an enlightened person, through Buddhist practice or something like that."

Buddhism is centered upon the life and teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who came to be known as the Buddha — the enlightened one, or one who is awake — whereas Christianity is centered on the Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ. Buddhism is a nontheistic religion or philosophy, i.e., it does not believe in a supreme creator being a.k.a. God. Christianity is a monotheistic religion and believes that Christ Is the Son Of God.

3.

The five major milestones in the New Testament narrative of the life of Jesus are his Baptism, Transfiguration, Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension. In the gospels, the ministry of Jesus starts with his Baptism by John the Baptist, when he is about thirty years old.When asked which is the greatest commandment, the Christian New Testament depicts Jesus paraphrasing the Torah: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind," before also paraphrasing a second passage; "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.He never kept a journal, nor did any of his contemporaries, therefore the year of his birth is “give or take four years,” and his death is “give or take two years,” so, given the loosely estimated three year ministry, his age at the time he left Nazareth is a “backed into guess” of age 30 to 33.

The Life of Jesus in the New Testament is primarily outlined in the four canonical gospels, which includes his genealogy and nativity, public ministry, passion, resurrection and ascension. Other parts of the New Testament – such as the Pauline epistles which were likely written within 20–30 years of each other, and which include references to key episodes in Jesus' life, such as the Last Supper, and the Acts of the Apostles, (1:1–11) which includes more references to the Ascension episode than the canonical gospels - also expound upon the life of Jesus. In addition to these biblical texts, there are extra-biblical texts that Christians believe make reference to certain events in the life of Jesus, such as Josephus on Jesus and Tacitus on Christ.

It is believed that through his crucifixion and subsequent resurrection, God offered humans salvation and eternal life. He is the Jewish messiah who is prophesied in the Hebrew Bible, which is called the Old Testament in Christianity.