Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Did Jesus go to India or China?

This morning I considered the question of whether Jesus went to India or China, and there are several reasons I believe he didn't. I will go through these reasons. Of course, I'm not a historian or Biblical expert, but these are my thoughts on the topic.

Jesus began his ministry at around age 30. The last time we heard about him was when he was 12 years old. Many have speculated that during this time, Jesus went to India or China because nothing of that time period is recorded. I doubt this for several reasons.

1. Jesus had a particular ministry. He was to be a leader and someone who commanded authority. In order to be a leader, especially the type Jesus was, I believe one had to be at least 30 years old. How could a man build a large following if he was in his early twenties? It is possible, but it is much more likely that people would follow him if he seemed to have some experience. This would certainly explain why it would be completely unreasonable to assume he could be effective in his ministry while still a teenager.

2. I once heard that people do not really begin their careers until they are around 30 years old. From my experience, this is true. People usually receive their education until they are in their early to mid-20s. After this, they accumulate experience, until around the age of 30 when they are settled into their position and have a solid grip on their life. I'm not saying Jesus went through a North American or European education and career life. What I am saying is that people really truly begin their vocation normally when they are around 30 years old. People sometimes seem to wonder what happened to Jesus after age 12, but they imply that he must have been pursuing his calling at that age. But no 12 year old, or even 20 year old usually begins their life's work so young.

3. The Gospels are not biographies like they are nowadays. Historical notes were kept differently than they are now. Nowadays we might pick up a magazine or book which contains a biographical entry on someone, say Joseph Stalin. We would read about his childhood, his best friends, things he liked to do in school, his favorite instrument, etc. People are interested in these everyday facts. But in the days of Jesus, people were more concerned about pertinent facts about a person's life. The Gospel writers wrote the most important and enduring aspects of Christ's life. They were concerned with his role as Savior of the World, not on his hair color. All the information in the Bible is important. It is not like a novel where the author sometimes inserts little stories or unnecessary details to make it more readable or enjoyable. The Gospels and the rest of the Bible serve a purpose.

4. Christ's teachings are unique. He encorporates many aspects of Judaism into his teachings and take them a step further. He fulfills prophecy from past centuries. In Christ's writings, there is no incling of Eastern spirituality. He does not speak of past lives, God as pantheistic, or other Eastern ideas. Surely many have attempted to put words in Jesus' mouth that would imply he did speak about these things, but such theories are very new, appearing nowhere in historic Christianity.

5. If Christ really did go to India or China, he must have been rather ashamed of his trips, since he does not speak of them at any time. At least it is not recorded in the Gospels. His parables all involve people of Jewish, Samaritan, Egytian, and other heritages who would have come into contact with Jesus where he lived.

6. Jesus only quotes Jewish sources, including the Jewish Bible. He does not quote any books from the East.

Please feel free to leave your comments on this topic. Thanks.

15 comments:

  1. channel like history and dicovery have shows and maybe national geographic about theory of what jesus did before edge of 30 and where he went at asia. sorry,was a long time of my satellite service i cancelled. may be this channels have videos on the web. i finded it this page looking about jesus road to asia.

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    1. its very great to comment on jesus, y not other people....

      u people always highlight HIM and make known to the world THAT HE is. But through the bible only the WISE knows.

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  2. The bible was written after he died, how can you have an accurate biography if it's not written by you.

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    1. easy question, the gospels were all written by his disciples, because they knew him closely the best. by the power of the holy spirit it was revealed everything in detail.......

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    2. easy question, the gospels were all written by his disciples, because they knew him closely the best. by the power of the holy spirit it was revealed everything in detail.......

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    3. but the entire historical writing are controlled and were edited by the church.....What we read is but a slither of what exists locked in vaults

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  3. Because the way ancient history was recorded its not like now. The same method of recording the Roman Emperors existed was also used with Jesus life
    I guess its how it was and what we have.

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  4. Wow, there are so many faulty conclusions and misinformation. You should first say that you fully believe the 27 books that a Roman emperor decided should be the "new testament", and if you don't match this than it has to be wrong. I have studied history, especially belief systems. First off Judaism adopted many stories from India(HIndu), Egypt and Babylon..creation, flood, mention of "saviour",etc.. God is also very nasty in the Old testament.(Gen., Ex., Lev.< Deut.) "do not leave anything alive.Destroy them all).Deut 20:16-17..

    Next, Jesus does in fact use tenants from Buddhism and other eastern religions. Love thy neighbor and turn the other cheek are directly from Buddhist teachings. You see Buddha was alive in 600 bc and since the chinese advanced quicker than the west, they relized the power of "love" centuries before the west.

    Also there are gospels that talk of Jesus and his early teachings. These did not make it into the NT. Actually people of JC's time lived a hard life and matured very quickly, partly because they died at about 45-50. Jesus also recruited the lowest rung of society, fisherman.

    If you look at these things Objectively, instead of Subjectively you would not come to your unfortunate conclusions..

    And Remember Jesus' main theme was to love your fellow man and helpout if you can. If christians and all people of faith really believed this there would be no reason for religions.

    You should really give thqnks to the placement of our solar system in the far reaches of our galaxy, that allowed conditions on earth to form amino acids that eventually evolved enough to create a bipedal homonid with an opposable thumbthat ate enough protien to increase its brain size, that allowed it to think of more tools to use with its thumbs, and then eventually have the honor of being able to ponder its own and the worlds existance.

    p.s. the bible breaks fundamental laws of physics fromthe 1st verse.. You could not have a planet without "light".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi dude all that visible is from that of invisible only, u do not able to get this,
      kidly mail me.

      "mskumar.boui@gmail.com"

      Delete
  5. can somebody tell me why god send jesus to the middle east and no to china since china had more people on those time

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  6. You're wrong.
    you said others "put words in Jesus' mouth" by speaking of reincarnation, while the first Christians did teach about it..

    then you say "he must have been rather ashamed of his trips"..by assuming if he did go to one of saying Jesus would be ashamed, you're saying He's flawed..

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    1. hi bro, there is no evidence that Jesus had trips to other part of the world.
      Until the age of 30 he was with his parents.
      He had enough knowledge and wisdom at the age of 12. kindly refer the bible.
      He preached at the age of 12 only...u people do believe the false news always...

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  7. Jesus did not go to China nor India.......He went to Puerto Rico....

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  8. You have only to read what you wrote to see you are misguided. You say he did not go to India or China from age 12 to 30 because people do not start their vocation until age 30 and in their earlier years they receive their education. Jesus did receive an education in his 20's in India and China. How do I know.....he told me.

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  9. good....!
    He preached from what the JEWs had...and not from the EAST..!
    No one can definitely prove the preachings are from somewhere........?
    He Preached only to the People of Israels this is why, What the Gospels say.(mathew, mark, luke & john)....

    For more information about jesus kindly read THE BIBLE and not the other Books, which may mislead you.....

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