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Rosie Ferrer and Helen
Crowder
In this presentation we will look at:
• Propositional and non propositional revelation
concerning:
• The Judaic-Christian scripture, i.e. the bible
• Buddhist scriptures
• different interpretations of religious groups
• authenticating religious scripture
• How both the bible and Buddhist scriptures
compare with one another and whether sacred
texts need to originate from a divine source or
not.
The Bible
The Bible
• The Protestant Bible Contains 39 books in the
Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament
(totalling 66)
• the Catholic Bible contains 73 books; the Eastern
Orthodox Bible contains 78 books ,The Hebrew
Bible (the name of the OT by Jews) contains only
24 books.
• It has about 40 different human authors.
• The oldest book is: Job (written by Moses around
1400 B.C)
• The youngest book is: Revelation (written by
John in about 90 A.D. 60 years after Jesus’
death)
• Originally written in Hebrew (though some in
Greek and Aramaic esp the New Testament) but
has been translated into many different
languages so that it is accessible to all. (unlike
the Qur’an that is kept in its original Arabic so
that it can never be tampered with or changed.)
• “Testament” mean “covenant” or “contract”
History of the Bible and
its canonization
• The Hebrew Bible was originally divided into 3 sections:
•
•
•
The Law (Torah) – first 5 books of the Christian Old Testament.
The Prophets (Nevi im) – Joshua to Job
The Writings (Ketuvim) – psalms, proverbs and other poetic books.
• The Christian Bible arranged these books differently when creating the Old
Testament, though the content remains the same.
• “the canonization of the New Testament began in the 2d century, probably
with a collection of ten letters of Paul. Toward the end of that century,
IRENAEUS argued for the unique authority of the portion of the Canon
called the Gospels. Acceptance of the other books came gradually. The
church in Egypt used more than the present 27 books, and the (Syrian?)
speaking churches fewer. The question of an official canon became urgent
during the 4th century. It was mainly through the influence of
ATHANASIUS, bishop of Alexandria, and because JEROME included the
27 books in his Latin version of the Bible called the Vulgate, that the
present canon came to be accepted.”
What Is Canon?
• The term “canon” is derived
from the Hebrew word qaneh
which means a reed used as a
measuring stick. A canon
refers to the body of writings
which have been officially
“measured” according to a
special standard, and
recognized as authoritative,
i.e., divinely inspired, by a
church or a religious
community. The canon serves
as the constitution of the
group, and provides the source
for understanding its faith.
An explanation of the canonization
of the Bible
• Compared to the New Testament, there was very little
controversy over the canon of the Old Testament.
Hebrew believers recognized God’s messengers, and
accepted their writings as inspired of God. There was
undeniably some debate in regards to the Old Testament
canon. However, by A.D. 250 there was nearly universal
agreement on the canon of Hebrew Scripture. The only
issue that remained was the Apocrypha…with some
debate and discussion continuing today. The vast
majority of Hebrew scholars considered the Apocrypha
to be good historical and religious documents, but not on
the same level as the Hebrew Scriptures.
http://www.gotquestions.org/canon-Bible.html
An explanation of the canonization
of the Bible continued
•
For the New Testament, the process of the recognition and collection began
in the first centuries of the Christian church. Very early on, some of the New
Testament books were being recognized. Paul considered Luke’s writings to
be as authoritative as the Old Testament (1 Timothy 5:18; see also
Deuteronomy 25:4 and Luke 10:7). Peter recognized Paul’s writings as
Scripture (2 Peter 3:15-16). Some of the books of the New Testament were
being circulated among the churches (Colossians 4:16; 1 Thessalonians
5:27). Clement of Rome mentioned at least eight New Testament books
(A.D. 95). Ignatius of Antioch acknowledged about seven books (A.D. 115).
Polycarp, a disciple of John the Apostle, acknowledged 15 books (A.D.
108). Later, Irenaeus mentioned 21 books (A.D. 185). Hippolytus
recognized 22 books (A.D. 170-235). The New Testament books receiving
the most controversy were Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 2 John, and 3 John.
The first “canon” was the Muratorian Canon, which was compiled in A.D.
170. The Muratorian Canon included all of the New Testament books except
Hebrews, James, and 3 John. In A.D. 363, the Council of Laodicea stated
that only the Old Testament (along with the Apocrypha) and the 27 books of
the New Testament were to be read in the churches. The Council of Hippo
(A.D. 393) and the Council of Carthage (A.D. 397) also affirmed the same
27 books as authoritative.
http://www.gotquestions.org/canon-Bible.html
An explanation of the canonization
of the Bible continued
•
•
•
•
•
•
The councils followed something similar to the following principles to
determine whether a New Testament book was truly inspired by the Holy
Spirit:
1) Was the author an apostle or have a close connection with an apostle?
2) Is the book being accepted by the Body of Christ at large?
3) Did the book contain consistency of doctrine and orthodox teaching?
4) Did the book bear evidence of high moral and spiritual values that would
reflect a work of the Holy Spirit?
“ Again, it is crucial to remember that the church did not determine the
canon. No early church council decided on the canon. It was God, and God
alone, who determined which books belonged in the Bible. It was simply a
matter of God convincing His followers of what He had already decided
upon. The human process of collecting the books of the Bible was flawed,
but God, in His sovereignty, despite our ignorance and stubbornness,
brought the early church to the recognition of the books He had inspired.”
http://www.gotquestions.org/canon-Bible.html
Over 50 different translations of the
Bible?
•
There are many different versions and translations of the Bible.
•
“Each translation has its own strengths and weaknesses. The King James Version (KJV) is
excellent, but you must use a dictionary as you read because it uses language typical of
the time it was translated (1611). I recommend you purchase a more recent translation.
The New American Standard Version (NASV) is believed by many to be one of the most
accurate translations and is an excellent study Bible. The American Standard Version
(ASV) is also excellent and highly accurate. The New King James Version (NKJV) is high
on the recommended list. The New International Version (NIV) tries to make the text as
easy to understand as possible and is an excellent reading Bible, but not a good study
Bible. The New World Translation (1950, the Jehovah's Witnesses Bible) should be
avoided because its is actually corrupt, being a sectarian paraphrase rather than a true
translation of the Holy Scriptures. Although the exact choice of words or sentence structure
is different in each translation, the meaning is identical. Take the words of Jesus in Mark
16:16 from three "versions" as an example; NIV: "Whoever believes and is baptized will be
saved". KJV: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved". NAS: "He who has
believed and has been baptized shall be saved" Different words and sentences but the
meaning is identical. To blame religious division on the fact there are different Bible
versions, therefore, is incorrect. The view that each translation of the Bible conveys a
different message is also incorrect. There is only one Bible message that has been
translated into hundreds of different languages. ”
- Christian on different translations.
All translations of the Bible are taken from the original text (in Hebrew) so that the
message does not get changed.
•
Who were the authors of the bible?
“Ultimately, above the human authors, the Bible was written by God. 2
Timothy 3:16 tells us that the Bible was "breathed out" by God. God
superintended the human authors of the Bible so that while using their own
writing styles and personalities, they still recorded exactly what God wanted
to be said. The Bible was not dictated from God, but it was perfectly guided
and entirely inspired by Him.
Humanly speaking, the Bible was written by approximately 40 men of
diverse backgrounds over the course of 1500 years. Isaiah was a prophet,
Ezra was a priest, Matthew was a tax-collector, John was a fisherman, Paul
was a tentmaker, Moses was a shepherd. Despite being penned by different
authors over 15 centuries, the Bible does not contradict itself and does not
contain any errors. The authors all present different perspectives, but they
all proclaim the same one true God, and the same one way of salvation—
Jesus Christ (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). Few of the books of the Bible
specifically name their author.”
– Quote off gotquestions.org
Old Testament (NIV)
book
Type
Genesis
Torah
Exodus
Author
?
Book
Type
Revealed
to Moses?
2 Chronicles
Historical
Torah
Revealed
to Moses
Ezra
Leviticus
Torah
Revealed
to Moses
Numbers
Torah
Deuteronomy
Author
?
book
Type
Author?
Ezra
Daniel
Major
Prophets
Daniel
Historical
Ezra
Hosea
Minor
Prophets
Hosea
Nehemiah
Historical
Ezra
Joel
Minor
Prophets
Joel
Revealed
to Moses
Esther
Historical
Mordecai
Amos
Minor
Prophets
Amos
Torah
Revealed
to Moses
Job
Wisdom
Moses
Obadiah
Minor
Prophets
Obadiah
Joshua
Historical
Joshua
Psalms
Wisdom
David/ other
authors
Jonah
Minor
Prophets
Jonah
Judges
Historical
Samuel/
Nathan/Gad
Proverbs
Wisdom
Solomon
Micah
Minor
Prophets
Micah
Ruth
Historical
Samuel/
Nathan/Gad
Ecclesiastes
Wisdom
Solomon
Nahum
Minor
Prophets
Nahum
1 Samuel
Historical
Samuel/
Nathan/Gad
Song of
Songs
Wisdom
Solomon
Habakkuk
Minor
Prophets
Habakkuk
2 Samuel
Historical
Samuel/
Nathan/Gad
Isaiah
Major
Prophets
Isaiah
Zephaniah
Minor
Prophets
Zephaniah
1 Kings
Historical
Jeremiah
Jeremiah
Major
Prophets
Jeremiah
Haggai
Minor
Prophets
Haggai
2 Kings
Historical
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Major
Prophets
Jeremiah
Zechariah
Minor
Prophets
Zechariah
1 Chronicles
Historical
Ezra
Ezekiel
Major
Prophets
Ezekiel
Malachi
Minor
Prophets
Malachi
New Testament (NIV)
book
Type?
Author
?
book
Type?
Author?
book
Type? Author
?
Matthew
Gospels
Matthew
Ephesians
The Pauline
Epistles
Paul
Hebrews
General
Epistles
Unknown,
possibly
Paul
Mark
Gospels
John, Mark
Philippians
The Pauline
Epistles
Paul
James
General
Epistles
James
Luke
Gospels
Luke
Colossians
The Pauline
Epistles
Paul
1 Peter
General
Epistles
Peter
John
Gospels
John
1
Thessalonians
The Pauline
Epistles
Paul
2 Peter
General
Epistles
Peter
Acts
History
Luke
2
Thessalonians
The Pauline
Epistles
Paul
1 John
General
Epistles
John
Romans
The Pauline
Epistles
Paul
1 Timothy
The Pauline
Epistles
Paul
2 John
General
Epistles
John
1
Corinthians
The Pauline
Epistles
Paul
2 Timothy
The Pauline
Epistles
Paul
3 John
General
Epistles
John
2
Corinthians
The Pauline
Epistles
Paul
Titus
The Pauline
Epistles
Paul
Jude
General
Epistles
Jude
Galatians
The Pauline
Epistles
Paul
Philemon
The Pauline
Epistles
Paul
Revelation
Apocalypse
John
Chinese whispers?
• Before Scriptures were written down, Oral transmission
was the way in which most teachings and scripture were
spread.
• In modern times, the thought of Oral transmission makes
us think of Chinese whispers, that every time that the
stories and scripture would be repeated they would
change.
• However, back in the times of and before Jesus,
scripture would be taught and studied so thoroughly and
vastly that if a story teller was to get a fact incorrect there
would always be people who knew it around to correct
them. Therefore the transmission remained a very
accurate one.
Propositional revelation.
• This is the view
that scripture is
the divine word
of God
• God proposes
statements of
fact about his
nature and
wishes and
these are
recorded by
people on earth.
•Scripture is
therefore
considered to
be a direct
revelation from
God.
Hebrews 11
• “ Now faith is being
sure of what we hope
for and certain of what
we do not see.”
2 Timothy 3:16
“all scripture is Godbreathed”
Revelation 22:18-19
• “I warn everyone who hears the worlds of the prophecy of this book:
if anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues
described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this
book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree
of life and in the holy city, which re described in this book.”
Direct revelation from God?
• In the Bible there are numerous recorded
occasions in which God has supposedly
directly spoken to individuals:
• Genesis 1-3, God speaks to Adam and Eve.
• Genesis 12,v1-3 God’s call to Abraham
• Exodus 3-4 v1-17 God’s call to Moses
• Exodus 20 v 1-17 the Ten Commandments
• Acts 9 v1-22 the conversion of Paul.
(these are just a few examples)
…But
• Other religions such as Islam claim that their scripture is
the divine word of God also.
• The Qur’an is considered to be completely propositional.
• “Qur’an” literally translates as “recitation”
• Supposedly, the Angel Gabriel appeared to Muhammad
and revealed the Qur’an to him which Muhammad
recited to his followers.
• Hence, the Qur’an is
•
not translated by
Muslims from its
original Arabic but is
instead learnt off by
heart by followers so
that it may never be
changed through
translations.
Problem:
• Each Religion has its own God, and most have their own
scripture too…
…Jews Christians and Muslims all claim that their Scripture
reveals their God.
If we were to only take the propositional view of scripture,
i.e. scripture is the direct word of God…
…then surely this must mean that only one of the religions
or none of them are genuine.
(or God has purposefully chosen to confuse everyone, but
this would not seem to fit in with his supposedly all loving
character)
Could all scriptures be God’s word?
• Many moral teachings do seem
to overlap across religions.
E.g, both Muslims, Jews and Christians all
follow and agree with the Ten
Commandments,
• BUT:
• Jesus says in the Bible “I am the way and
the truth and the life. No one comes to the
father except through me.”
So what would this Christian view
mean for other Scripture?
• Buddhist Scripture may show signs of God. It
may even be influenced or inspired by God
somehow, but Buddhism is not the true way and
does not feature the Divine word of God.
• Islamic Scripture (the Qur’an) again may be
influenced or inspired by God. Muslims do follow
the Ten Commandments and other Biblical
teaching. But again, for Christians, Islam is not
the true way, and therefore a lot of its scripture
would be considered not to be the divine word of
God, but rather the words of man.
What the Philosophers say:
• Francis Schaeffer defends the belief in
propositional revelation, saying that an
“unlimited, non-created personal being” who
creates a world full of “limited, created personal
beings” would logically be able to communicate
with those beings. (he believed that we were
created by God as “language-communicating
beings” for this very reason.
• Aquinas: suggested that “faith” must be based
on some facts as it must involve a knowledge of
a God who is transcendent. Though he agreed
that faith could not be proven to be true in the
same way as science may or may not.
Criticisms of Propositional
Revelation
• Propositional revelation involves the receiver being
passive, but many philosophers have argued that the
human mind seems unable to receive and retain
information whilst in a passive state. The human mind
actively receives information.
• How can one know that they have experienced a true
revelation rather than just their own thoughts?
• Different religions claim to have received propositional
revelations, yet there are conflicting claims between the
religions.
• There is no way to directly prove or verify that
propositional revelations happen.
• Problem of whether translating Scripture is wrong if it is
propositional revelation from God (as meanings may be
changed through use of different wordings in language)
Non-Propositional revelation
•This refers to the idea that God does not reveal facts or truths to people, instead the
believer recognises God acting in things such as history and nature.
•This is an indirect form of revelation and can also be subjective.
•A non-propositional view of scripture would be that scripture is not word-for-word
God’s word, but how people have perceived God and interpreted events.
William Temple
• In his book “nature, man and God” William
Temple suggested that:
• “there are truths of revelation, that is to
say, propositions which express the results
of correct thinking concerning revelation,
but they are not themselves directly
revealed.”
God is revealed in all things…?
• William Blake:
“to see a heaven in a wild flower”
(Pantheist)
Is the Bible non-propositional?
Perhaps…
• the Bible is full of symbolism.
• Revelation for example is a dream described by
the experiencer.
• Psalms are human responses, songs, poems to
God, not necessarily seeming to be written by
God.
• Perhaps human interpretation is necessary as
we lack the complete capability to understand
God fully. If it was all word-for-word Gods work,
then maybe it would be baffling to the reader.
But…
• If the Bible was purely non-propositional
then it could not be claimed to have the
authority of God as it would all be simply
human interpretation.
• How could the “truth” be deciphered
amongst different human interpretations?
So if it is not all propositional, and not all
non-propositional, what is the Christian
view of the Bible?
• John Stott has preached that the bible,
though it is written by men (prophets and
apostles) it still has the authority of God as
these people had been delegated the
authority of God.
• “prophets” are people who have “directly
encountered the numinous or divine and
serves as an intermediary with humanity”
• “Apostle” literally translates as “one who is
sent.”
• In Jesus’ time and before, it was held that
“the one sent by a person is as this person
himself”
• Yet Jesus still called his disciples “apostles”
meaning that he was delegating his
authority to them so that they could continue
after his death to spread his word.
• Thus John Stott argued that as the Bible is
written by Apostles and Prophets, it has the
authority of God, as God has touched or
chosen these people in some way.
• So, usually the Bible is viewed by Christians
as a mixture of both propositional and nonpropositional revelation
John Stott
What is the emphasis on scripture
amongst different denominations?
• Scripture, reason, tradition and experience
all feature as forms of revelation in
Christianity and Judaism.
• But different denominations have different
emphasises on each…
PROTESTANT
ROMAN LIBERAL
MYSTICAL
CATHOLIC
CHARISMATIC
However,
• The Bible still has a great sense of authority in
no matter what denomination of Christianity, as it
is the main concrete source of information and
revelation provided about God.
• It contains rules, advice, life guidance,
assurance, hope, praise, stories, and true
historical facts,
• It is in essence, the Christian handbook to life
(and death).
Buddhist Scriptures
• Buddhism has more scriptures than
any other religion!
• These scriptures are written in 4
languages- Pali, Sanskrit, Tibetan and
Chinese.
• initially, none of the Buddha Sidhartha Gautamas’
teachings were written down, but soon after his death a
meeting of 500 monks was arranged to make sure there
was a clear record of what he had said.
• The monk Ananda repeated all of Buddhas teachings
aloud, and then all of the monks repeated the teachings
together. The teachings of the Buddha were passed on
orally until about 500 years after the Buddha had died.
• After this time, monks began to canonise the teachings
into different books, different schools thought different
parts of the teachings were more important, so each
branch places different emphasis on different holy books.
• Like Christianity, the teachings were canonised by
holding authoratative counsels.
• The Dharma is one of the three
jewels of Buddhism, the other two
being the Buddha and the Sangha.
• In a Mahayana scripture it says:
‘From the Dharma one should see
the Buddha ; the Dharma is
attributed to the Buddha and his
words.
The Dhamma or Dharma
• The word Dharma refers to the teachings of the Buddha.
‘Dharma’ usually refers inclusively not just to the sayings
of the Buddha but to the later scriptures and
interpretations that the various schools of Buddhism
have developed to help explain and expand upon the
Buddha's teachings.
• Alternately, ‘dharma’ may be seen as an ultimate and
transcendent truth which is utterly beyond worldly things,
somewhat like the Christian ‘logos’; seeing the dharma
as referring to the "truth" or ultimate reality or "the way
things are".
• Buddhism rejects the idea of ‘revealed
scripture’, as it is not theistic. The
scriptures only have authority because
they are words from an enlightened beingthe Buddha. The words are not
revelations, they are simply teachings.
• The role of a Buddha is to explain the truth
to the unenlightened.
• The scriptures have no intrinsic value, just
instrumental value.
Is the dharma propositional or non
propostional?
• The 3 Marks of existence and 4 noble
truths and other teachings devised by the
buddha could be considered nonpropositional, but the Buddha was the first
to reveal them, so they could be
considered propositional.
The first Buddhist Council
• According to the scriptures, the first Buddhist
Council was held after the death of the Buddha,
at Rajagaha.
• Its objective was to preserve the Buddha's
sayings (suttas) and the monastic discipline or
rules (Vinaya).
• The assembled arhats listened to the venerable
Ananda and Upali reciting the teachings and
memorised them, this is how the dharma was
transmitted orally for several centuries.
The Second Buddhist Council
• 100 years after the Buddha's death, in Vesali.
• This council aimed to resolve the issues of the arising
new sects within Buddhism.
• It resulted in a split between the elders; from here the
Theravada and Mahayana branches became distinct.
• The Theravadins claimed the council had been to rectify
lax practises amongst the monastics
• Mahayana accounts claim the council was to debate the
nature of arhats. The Mahayana ideal then became the
bodhisattva.
The Third Buddhist Council
The emporer Ashoka called this council to
settle doctrinal disputes.
This council validated the conservative
teachings of the Theravadan elders and
purified the movement of Buddhism.
There is no record of this council in
Mahayana sources.
The Dhammapada
• contains 423 verses in 26 categories.
According to tradition, these are verses
spoken by the Buddha on various
occasions, most of which deal with ethics.
The Pali Canon
• The Pali Canon is the standard scripture collection of the
Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pali language.
The Canon was written down from oral tradition at the fourth
Buddhist Council.
• The Pali Canon falls into three main categories, called pitaka
(meaning basket) in Pali. Because of this, the canon is traditionally
known as the Tipitaka (three baskets). The original scripture was
written on palm leaves and stored in baskets. The three pitakas are:
• Vinaya Pitaka, rules for monks and nuns
• Sutta Pitaka, discourses, mostly ascribed to the Buddha, but some
to disciples
• Abhidhamma Pitaka, variously described as Buddhist philosophy.
• The most important of these baskets is the Sutta Pitaka, as they are
the teachings of the Buddha, including the Four Noble Truths and
the Noble Eightfold Path.
The Lotus Sutra
• A sutra is a ‘thread’ of teaching.
• is one of the most popular and influential Mahayana
sutras in East Asia and the basis on which the Nichiren
sect of Buddhism was established. The Mahayana
tradition states that the Lotus Sutra was recorded at the
time of the Buddha and stored for five hundred years in
the realm of the dragons. After this, they were reintroduced into the human realm at the time of the Fourth
Buddhist Council . These teachings were kept secret as
humankind was said to be unready for them at the time
of the Buddha.
• It illustrates the Bodhisattva-the centre of the Mahayana
tradition- and the concept of upaya -skilful means.
The Heart Sutra
• The Heart Sutra is usually considered a one of the ‘Perfection of
Wisdom’ (Prajnaparamita) scriptures of Mahayana literature. It
consists of just 14 ‘shlokas’ or verses in Sanskrit.
• It focuses mainly on emptiness.
• An interesting feature of the sutra is the fact that the teaching is not
actually delivered by the Buddha, which makes it one of a small
class of sutras not directly spoken by the Buddha.
• The heart sutra focuses on Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva of
compassion.
• ‘one should know the prajnaparamita (perfect wisdom) as the allayer
of all suffering’.
• The sutra closes with a mantra: go, go, go beyond, go thoroughly
beyond, and establish yourself in enlightenment.
The Tantric scriptures
• These scriptures are used by the
Vajrayana sect.
• These scriptures or ‘tantras’ describe
rituals and visualisation practises
• They are written in a cryptic language- a
guru or teacher is needed to understand
them.
How do Buddhists relate to their
scriptures?
• Different schools have different practises regarding scripture. Some
sects use a particular scripture, or none at all.
• The scriptures are so extensive that they could not all be
comprehensively studied. Most lay people rely on monks to relate
the basic essence of the teachings to them.
• There are some core sutras that most Buddhists would be familiar
with, like popular stories in the bible for Christians. Examples
include stories of the Buddhas life from the Pali Canon and advice
on meditation.
• Parts of scripture that are chanted can become a central part of the
dharma for a monastary, and become very well known.
• Scriptures are kept in elevated places to
show respect, and also because they
symbolise wisdom and truth.
• Sometimes, scriptures are enshrined in
stupas.
• The Buddha advised his followers to
examine his teachings for themselves; not
to digest them blindly, not ‘purely out of
reverence’ but for their own spiritual
development.
• The authenticity and correctness of
scriptures can be tested using three
criteria:
• It must agree with ones experience of life
• It must stand up to logical reasoning
• It must seem right against meditation
experience
language
• As in the bible, figurative, metaphorical and picture
language are used in Buddhist scriptures.
• The Jataka tales could be an example of figurative
language, some Buddhists may not believe that lotus
flowers grew at the feet of the newly born Budda-it
may simply be symbolic to show that he was special.
• Some stories are allegorical or analogical-not to be
taken literally. A famous analogy is the chariot
analogy taken from the Khuddaka Nikaeya scripture.
The mosquito and the carpenter- an allegorical story from the Jataka
tales
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Said the carpenter to his son, who was seated hard by, "My boy, there's a
mosquito stinging me on the head. Do drive it away."
"Hold still then father," said the son. "One blow will settle it."
(At that time the Bodhisattva had reached that village in the way of trade, and
was sitting in the carpenter's shop.)
"Rid me of it!" cried the father.
"All right, father," answered the son, who was behind the old man's back, and,
raising a sharp awe on high with intent to kill only the mosquito, he cleft his
father's head in two. So the old man fell dead on the spot.
Thought the Bodhisattva, who had been an eye witness of the whole scene,
"Better than such a friend is an enemy with sense, whom fear of men's
vengeance will deter from killing a man." And he recited these lines:
Sense-lacking friends are worse than foes with sense;
Witness the son that sought the gnat to slay,
But cleft, poor fool, his father's skull in two.
The story acts as a fable- a story with a meaning and moral.
Is the oral transmission of Buddhist scripture as
authentic as the written Judeo-Christian tradition?
• Yes…
• Respect and reverence for Buddhas’ teachings amongst
the monks meant that they would pass on the scriptures
accurately, without embellishments
• Chanting encouraged precision, as the chant ensures
everyone is passing on the same scripture
• In Eastern countries, chanting and storytelling are seen
as legitimate ways to convey information accurately, in
our sceptical Western culture we find this hard to
comprehend.
• No…
• There are so many collections of scriptures because
there was no centralised authority to decide which
scriptures were orthodox and which were heretical- so
the origins of some scriptures could be dubious.
• The Mahayana scriptures did not become apparent until
later in the history of Buddhism, their origins are unclear.
• Details of scripture may have been intentionally or
unintentionally changed; like a game of chinese
whispers.
• Different interpretations of scripture may have caused
people to pass it on with different emphasis, altering its
meaning.
Parables, Analogies, Tales and
true events.
In both Buddhist scriptures and
Christian scriptures there is a
difference between true events and
stories.
Parables, Analogies, Tales and true
events.
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In Christian scripture, the Bible feature the
Book of Jonah, where Jonah is supposedly
swallowed by a whale and remains in its
stomach for three days. This is considered
to be a true event, (despite it defying all
scientific laws). And this alongside many
accounts of Miracles are all considered to be
true events.
There is a requirement of faith needed in
order for these true events to be accepted
as true and a belief in the fact that God is
able to intervene with nature, making the
impossible possible.
Jesus in the Bible however, also uses
Parables and analogies to get a point
across. The Parable of the good Samaritan
is an example of such a story that didn’t
actually happen, but is used as a teaching
method.
Parables, Analogies, Tales and true
events.
• Likewise in Buddhism there are
true events and tales.
• The Jataka tales are stories of the
Buddha’s past lives, but emphasis
on these vary across the different
schools. They may be considered
to be stories, or true events
depending on the school of
thought.
• The birth of the Buddha, of a
walking, talking baby that came
out of his mother’s side is another
example of a scientifically defying
story, that is accepted to be a true
event by some and just a story by
others.
Comparisons
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In Christianity there’s a set scripture, whilst in Buddhism different sects have
their own Scriptures.
Christianity- the Bible has authority because it is Divinely inspired by God.
Buddhism- scripture has authority because it is the Buddha’s words, and
enlightened being, not an figure of worship.
Apostles, prophets, Bodhisattvas and disciples of the Buddha all contributed
to the writings of sections of scripture.
Both the Bible and Buddhist scriptures (such as the Dhammapada and
Heart Sutra) contain dialogues.
The Bible contains Psalms that are comparable to songs of devotion
featured in the Buddhist Mahayana scriptures.
The New Testament and Jataka tales both feature events in the religious
leaders’ lives.
The Bible is set out in a chronological order, whilst Buddhist scriptures are
more focused on individual teachings in no particular order.
Both Buddhist and Christian scriptures were debated over in Councils and
canonized.
Neither the Buddha or Jesus played a part in writing their own scripture.
Comparisons continued
• The Bible was mainly written in one language (Hebrew) whilst
Buddhism was written in four main languages (Pali, Sanskrit,
Chinese and Tibetan.
• The last book of the New Testament was written only 60 years after
Jesus’ death, whilst the Buddhist scriptures were written down about
500 years after the Buddha’s death (Mahayana scriptures may have
been written even later).
• Buddhism has more scriptures than any other religion.
• There is a difference between the value Christians and Buddhists
place on their scripture. Perhaps scripture is more important in
Christianity than it is in Buddhism.
• The Old Testament can be likened to the Jataka Tales as they both
point towards the coming of the saviour and Wheel turner.
• Both relied on Oral transmissions before scripture was formally
written down.