Jesus and Gandhi
Jerry Wen
Mr. Wing
World Religion D
1 October 2013
Differences between Gandhi and Jesus Considered to be the modern day of Jesus, Mahatma Gandhi, the Hindu religious and political leader who led India out of British domination to achieve independence, has often been compared with Jesus --- without further saying --- one of the most important people in human history. Undoubtedly, a number of similarities can be discovered between them in several aspects. Advocating non-violence, they both support the notion of loving enemy, about which Jesus conveyed “whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matthew 5:39). Their influences were monumental not only in terms of religious and political development, but also in terms of the shaping of the world and diplomatic affairs. However, despite the fact that their similarities exist, their differences are fundamental. Born in different eras and different regions, they shared nothing in common regarding their backgrounds. As the Son of God, Jesus, although born as a Jew, devoted himself to the development and dissemination of Christianity. On the other hand, Gandhi, raised in India where the prevailing religious belief was Hinduism, had never created a religion on his own. In nature, Gandhi was only a normal person who died without reviving; Jesus, however, was considered divine and after being executed by the Romans, he revived three days later to guide his followers to continue evangelizing. Moreover, what they did was essentially different. Jesus was born in God’s instruction to save this corrupted world by evangelizing and performing miracles to convince people to follow him because he was the Son of God. Later, he propagandized with his apostles and eventually his followers, in Jesus’ name, established the Church of Christianity. As for Gandhi, what he was famous for was his significant contribution to the independence of India out of British domination. Through the course
Mr. Wing
World Religion D
1 October 2013
Differences between Gandhi and Jesus Considered to be the modern day of Jesus, Mahatma Gandhi, the Hindu religious and political leader who led India out of British domination to achieve independence, has often been compared with Jesus --- without further saying --- one of the most important people in human history. Undoubtedly, a number of similarities can be discovered between them in several aspects. Advocating non-violence, they both support the notion of loving enemy, about which Jesus conveyed “whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matthew 5:39). Their influences were monumental not only in terms of religious and political development, but also in terms of the shaping of the world and diplomatic affairs. However, despite the fact that their similarities exist, their differences are fundamental. Born in different eras and different regions, they shared nothing in common regarding their backgrounds. As the Son of God, Jesus, although born as a Jew, devoted himself to the development and dissemination of Christianity. On the other hand, Gandhi, raised in India where the prevailing religious belief was Hinduism, had never created a religion on his own. In nature, Gandhi was only a normal person who died without reviving; Jesus, however, was considered divine and after being executed by the Romans, he revived three days later to guide his followers to continue evangelizing. Moreover, what they did was essentially different. Jesus was born in God’s instruction to save this corrupted world by evangelizing and performing miracles to convince people to follow him because he was the Son of God. Later, he propagandized with his apostles and eventually his followers, in Jesus’ name, established the Church of Christianity. As for Gandhi, what he was famous for was his significant contribution to the independence of India out of British domination. Through the course