WI: Jesus Goes East

I had this thought today. And it is partially informed by Eastern religions being more about internal salvation by personal change, and Western religions being more about external salvation by finding the true God. What if Jesus, rather than being crucified, had fled Israel and taken his movement and teachings eastward towards/across Asia, into India and perhaps China?
 
I had this thought today. And it is partially informed by Eastern religions being more about internal salvation by personal change, and Western religions being more about external salvation by finding the true God. What if Jesus, rather than being crucified, had fled Israel and taken his movement and teachings eastward towards/across Asia, into India and perhaps China?

Christianity is remembered just as a radical Jewish sect that never gained steam.
 
I was going more with a Christianity merging with Eastern religions, and/or as filtered through the perspective of Eastern religions rather than the perspective of Western religion.
 
I had this thought today. And it is partially informed by Eastern religions being more about internal salvation by personal change, and Western religions being more about external salvation by finding the true God. What if Jesus, rather than being crucified, had fled Israel and taken his movement and teachings eastward towards/across Asia, into India and perhaps China?

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ITTL a minority Muslim sect believes that the prophet Jesus Christ was removed from the cross before sunset and before he breathed his last.
They believe that supporters smuggled JC through Iraq into India where he travelled, preached, married, fathered children and eventually died of old age in Srinagar, India.
They attribute all the parallels between between Christianity and (the earlier) Bhudda's teachings to JC sharing his (Jewish) teachings with Tibetan Bhuddists.
I read their book last year.

Remember that the Bhudda was born about 600 years before Jesus Christ, while the Prophet Mohammed was born about 600 years after JC. All three prophets taught parallel messages.
 
I had this thought today. And it is partially informed by Eastern religions being more about internal salvation by personal change, and Western religions being more about external salvation by finding the true God. What if Jesus, rather than being crucified, had fled Israel and taken his movement and teachings eastward towards/across Asia, into India and perhaps China?

He might well have died on the way there.
 
They attribute all the parallels between between Christianity and (the earlier) Bhudda's teachings to JC sharing his (Jewish) teachings with Tibetan Bhuddists.
Are you sure you're remembering well? Besides the question on the validity of Ahmadiyya's teachings on Jesus, there was no (or very little) Buddhism in Tibet before quite some time after Jesus.
Remember that the Bhudda was born about 600 years before Jesus Christ, while the Prophet Mohammed was born about 600 years after JC. All three prophets taught parallel messages.
Not really. I mean, Muhammad and Jesus taught relatively similar messages because they came from the same tradition, but the teachings of Gautama and those of Jesus are quite substantially different (I have my own opinions on the issue, but those aren't particularly relevant).
 
I had this thought today. And it is partially informed by Eastern religions being more about internal salvation by personal change, and Western religions being more about external salvation by finding the true God. What if Jesus, rather than being crucified, had fled Israel and taken his movement and teachings eastward towards/across Asia, into India and perhaps China?

He might well have died on the way there.

Are you sure you're remembering well? Besides the question on the validity of Ahmadiyya's teachings on Jesus, there was no (or very little) Buddhism in Tibet before quite some time after Jesus.

Not really. I mean, Muhammad and Jesus taught relatively similar messages because they came from the same tradition, but the teachings of Gautama and those of Jesus are quite substantially different (I have my own opinions on the issue, but those aren't particularly relevant).

Some Russian guy in the 19th Century had a similar idea... he ellaborated a theory that Jesus during his youth traveled to India and became accultured with Buddhism, which in turn provided some fundamental inspirations for his preachings when he returned to Israel (e.g. the Sermon of the Mount). Apparently he would have been known as "Saint Issa" (the Arabic version of "Yeshua").

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unknown_years_of_Jesus#Claims_of_Jesus_in_India_before_crucifixion

Now, what OP proposed is actually an inversion: what if Jesus himself went East and preached himself? Well, if we can use OTL Nestorian expansion through Asia as an example, the Christian ideas (from the 5th Century at least...) had some interesting following the eastern reaches of the continent. In fact, there were some Christians in India when the Portuguese arrived there, if I recall correctly.

I can't say about the cultural and religious link you mentioned, but a central aspect of the Christian teaching was that it promised a better life for people who were socially marginalized, and it wasn't an "exclusivist" cult like the Mystery Religions and "National" Cults (like the Egyptian and Greek polytheism). So I disagree with the idea that it would be forever associated with Judaism. Perhaps it managed to gain some traction among the lowest castes in India, and among more ascetic and pacifist groups (like Jains and radical Buddhists), and perhaps even Arabia. I really can't see it expanding so much in Persia because of Zoroastrianism's cultural identification of of "being Persian" (at least after the Sassanid Dynasty came to power), and neither among the Steppe peoples, who are adverse to its idea of peace and love. Regarding China and Southeast Asia, I have no idea.
 
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