Did Buddhism influence the Doctrines of Christianity??

by [deleted]

When the Christianity was in its nascent stages, Buddhism was a major religion in the Areas of Bactria, India and Central Asia. Given the cultural and trade contacts between the Levant( where Christianity was founded) and these predominantly Buddhist areas it seems highly likely that Buddhist teachings and doctrines would have influenced Christianity. If so to what degree did they influence???

talondearg

It's a little difficult for me to cite sources for this answer, because the answer is that there is no evidence of Buddhism influencing early Christianity. I suppose I could gather up some of the secondary sources that back this claim.

Consider the reasons for this:

  1. The source of Christianity is Judean and Galileean Jews who were strictly monotheistic and not particularly open to outside influences. They didn't have strong trade links further East, and the likelihood of cultural exchange of ideas with Buddhists is very low.
  2. The earliest Christian documents are in Greek, not Aramaic, and are mostly written to/for churches across Greece and Asia Minor. The geographical locus of early Christianity almost immediately shifted westward, and while there are some indications of mission activity east and south, the bulk of early Christianity is centered in the Eastern half of the Roman Empire.
  3. The trend of point 2 continues in the next couple of hundred years, with westward expansion, but the bulk of serious theologising gets done in the Greek context.

Some later Christian authors show an awareness of Buddhism (Clement, Hippolytus, e.g.), but little in the way of sophisticated knowledge of Buddhism. They merely have heard of it as a religion among the Indians.