Religion

You start to feel the fatigue of traveling catching up to you. You walk into the city with far less enthusiasm than you would have hoped, allowing yourself to wander around the twisting streets of Palestine, knowing you stick out like a sore thumb. You head towards a church on the outskirts of the city. Maybe you can interview some people before the day is over.

Both Jesus and the Buddha were known as "wisdom teachers" because they challenged the norms of the time. They believed in the reunification of wealth, "letting go", compassion, and love. Yet, while the Buddha came from a life of wealth and lived a long life, Jesus came from relative poverty, directly challenged social issues, and died young. Christianity also focuses much more on the supernatural, while Buddhism almost doesn't address it at all.

Christianity was spread throughout the world by Jesus’s followers. (Paul) Women and those of the lower class were the first to convert to Christianity. Yet, they were persecuted within the Roman empire before it was adopted by the state as a tool for unification. Buddhism, by contrast was never promoted quite like Christianity, nor was it enforced as a state religion.

After another full day's work, you collapse into bed, rather ungracefully, your shoes still on, and still in your work clothes. You can stay like this for a few moments longer. You shut your eyes. Christianity. It started 2,000 years ago in this very city. Jesus was the founder (although he died young), coming from poverty, the Son of God. (Paul was influential in spreading Christianity) At first, Christians were persecuted in Rome. But then it was adopted by the state, and it was spread throughout the world. The rest was history. A monotheistic religion (made up of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) grew to become the most powerful and widely accepted religion in the world through the influence of Rome.