Yeshua Buddha: An Interpretation of New Testament Theology as a Meaningful Myth

by Jay G. Williams

Book Overview

Jay Williams' approach to the study of the life of Christ simply overflows with intuitional creativity, permitting students to find for themselves trans-historical, yet new and existential situations in the Biblical story. Buddha means "the Enlightened One," and the author uses this word in the generic sense. He explores the possibility that Yeshua represents a way to enlightenment which is neither Western nor Eastern but universal and perennial,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0835605159
• ISBN13: 9780835605151
• Release Date: September 1988
• Publisher: Quest Books (IL)
• Length: 134 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.3" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Blown away

This book will blow you away! Really a lost classic. Just as good as Alan Watts' books on Christianity, i.e. Myth and Ritual in Christianity and his out of print book Easter. So this book is among my five favorite books on Christianity and I can tell you I've read many of them. Most of them rubbish. This book is published by Quest Books, part of the American Theosophical Society. I must say, there are not many organisations who have published as much rubbish as the Theosophical Societies together. Usually they use and get lost in a lot of eastern expressions of which they themselves don't even know the meaning anymore and which unnecessarily complicate the spiritual way. But not this writer. Another pleasant exception are their books by J.J. van der Leeuw, like The Conquest of Illusion. I love how these writers cut through the chase, like zen monks, and stick to the essence in a clear way. There are few writers who can do this and Jay. G. Williams has done a excellent job on this book and clearly knows what he is talking about, like some other writers as the already mentioned J.J. van der Leeuw and Friedrich Weinreb, D.T. Suzuki, Douglas Harding, Alan Watts, Reneé Guenon, and some others.

Deep thinkers must read

I had some store credit and so wasn't terribly concerned about buying a book that would just blow me away as I perused the shelves at the book store. I stumbled upon Yeshua Buddha and thought it had a nice ring so I bought it. Wow, I was blown away. Jay Williams is thinking outside the box and I'm lovin it. Being a Christian with a strong interest in Buddhism I have read many books by Buddhist writers. Many of those books are wonderful. This is the first book written by a Christian from a Buddhist perspective and it is dead on. If you like to think deeply this is not an optional read.

A Valuable Meditation

I looked up this book just to make sure it was still around. This is a great piece of writing and thinking. It is the essence of Christianity and the Perennial Philosophy as Huxley would have called it. This book is worth putting into college religion or comparative religion courses. It is worth studying, discussing and personally meditating on. This is the kind of book that will help us to evolve personally and, if enough people read it, collectively.

A Neglected Classic

In the past couple of years, the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Han and others have published some very popular books giving Buddhist persepectives on Christianity. If I was, well, underwhelmed, maybe it's because I'd already read a much better book - this one. Prof. Williams is a rigorous scholar, but he writes so clearly and gracefully that the non-scholar will have no trouble with this exciting material. Williams gives a reading of the Gospel story (mostly Matthew) from the point of view of Mahayana Buddhism. This might seem to be a strange thing to do, but the results are startling and very fresh. I have gotten very positive, indeed, glowing responses from both the Christians and the Buddhists I have lent it to. This book gives more nourishment, both intellectually and spiritually, than any of its recent competitors by media-star Buddhists.