Religion Comparison

Christianity

• Christianity is the most prevalent religion in the modern world. With 2.2 billion followers, it encompasses around 29% of the world population.
• It follows the teachings found in the holy bible, the holy book of Christianity.
• It is a more traditional religion, with a holy day and a specified place of worship.

Buddhism

• Buddhism is a prevailent religion in Asian countries and has over 500,000,000 followers.
• It follows the teachings of the Buddha, through the Sutras, texts considered to be the words of the Buddha himself.
• Buddhism is less traditional as a religion, with no holy day, and no divine being, but it does have a place of worship.

Beliefs of Christianity

• Jesus is the Son of God, and that his life on earth, his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension into heaven are proof of God's love for humanity and God's forgiveness of human sins.
• However, Christians also believe that one must accept god into their lives, as the one and only god, to gain access into heaven and eternal bliss in the afterlife.

(Cont.)

• Christians also believe that one's own sins must be admitted and absolved before they can be accepted into heaven.
• Christians also follow the ten commandments, being the rules all must obey to be absolved.

Beliefs of Buddhism

• Buddhists follow the Four Noble Truths as the baseline of their religion, those being:
• Existence is suffering.
• Craving and Attachment are the main causes of suffering.
• Nirvana is the end of suffering.
• By following the Eightfold path, one can achieve enlightenment, entering nirvana.

(Cont.)

• Reincarnation is repeating the cycle of suffering until one can achieve nirvana.

Zen Parables v. Biblical Parables




Zen Parables, while not entirely aligned with Buddhism, are heavily associated with the teachings and philosophies in Buddhism.

Muddy Road V. Parable of the prodigal Son

• An immediate noticeable difference between the writing style of these two parables is the length and sentence structure of each.
• The use of And at the beginning of almost every sentence in Parable of the Prodigal Son gives it a very different feel, using repetition to give a feeling of familiarity which is somewhat reflected in the overall theme of the parable, while muddy road subverts your expectations, while imparting the moral.

(cont.)

• The sentence structure in each is very different. Muddy Road feels far more modern, coherent, and concise than the parable of the Prodigal Son.

The purpose and moral of both of these texts is what sets them apart the most, while also making them rather similar. The moral of Muddy Road being to not hold a grudge against someone based on inconsequential actions/mistakes they made in the past, and the moral of Prodigal Son being to appreciate time with your family while you can. You may notice that the father in Prodigal Son does not judge his son based on his past mistakes, and instead celebrates the time they have together.