Eastern religions like Hinduism and Buddhism do not put the same emphasis on textual studies that we do in the West. Truth, for them, is not measured so much by a historically reliable record (or person) as it is in religious authority or experience. They feel that if it “works” to create a spiritual experience or if it has a long-standing tradition, then it is valid. The history of their sacred books as measured by early, numerous and accurate texts is not important to them. As a result, they are not concerned by having very few texts to work with if asked to document authorship, integrity or historical reliability.
On the other hand, Muslims claim that their Qur’an has more integrity and is more reliable than the New Testament. They point out that they have only one version of their holy book and everyone’s copy is identical to what God dictated to Muhammad in the seventh century A.D. [Read more…]
