Religious Founders Are Not Who They Seem To Be

In a previous blog entry, "The Greatest of Leaders Lead Others", I pointed out the odd circumstance that many of history's most influential leaders were not born in the country that they came to lead. In a related circumstance, it seems that many of history's greatest religious founders were not born with the same name as the one with which they came to be known. A quick review of each founder also reveals a number of other similarities. Of the six major figures I've focused on below, an unusual percentage lost a parent or were orphaned at an early age. A few of them married close relatives. Many of them outlived their sons, or had no sons at all. Another interesting fact: For two decades (551 BCE-531 BCE), half of the spiritualists mentioned below were alive at the same time. For perspective, at that time in history, the Israelite exile in Babylon was ending, Pythagoras opened his school in Greece, and the Roman Empire had not yet begun.

Note: Most of the birth/death dates are approximate. Also, the images of each person are not old photographs; they are drawings or statues that are approximate representations.

JUDAISM -- Abraham (1812 BCE - 1637 BCE)

Abraham was not born with the name "Abraham" ("Avraham" in Hebrew). Avram ben-Terah ("exalted father") was born in what is presently Iraq. He married his half-sister, Sarai. God first came to Avram when he was 75 years old; when he was 99 years old, God changed his name to Avraham ("father of multitudes") and changed Sarai's name to Sarah ("princess"). They then had their only son, Isaac. Abraham died at the age of 175 in what is presently Israel.

BUDDHISM -- Buddha (563 BCE - 483 BCE)

Buddha was not born with the name "Buddha".
Siddhārtha Gautama ("he who achieves his aim") was born in what is presently Nepal. He was born into a wealthy, princely family. His mother died at childbirth. He married his cousin, and he outlived his only son. At the age of 35, he attained Enlightenment, and was thereafter called the "Buddha" ("awakened one" or "enlightened one"). He died at the age of 80 in what is presently India.



TAOISM --Lao Tzu (604 BCE - 531 BCE)

Lao Tzu was not born with the name "Lao Tzu" (also transliterated many other ways). Li Er ("plum" "ear") was born and died in China. His courtesy name was Boyang Dan. Details of his life are very vague, but it is believed that he married and had at least one son. He eventually became known as Lao Tzu ("Old Master"). He may have lived to the age of 80.




CONFUCIANISM -- Confucius (551 BCE - 479 BCE)

Confucius was not born with the name "Confucius".
Kung Ch‘in (aka Kong Chien et al) was born and died in China. He was born into a warrior, leadership family. However, his father died when he was 3 years old, and his mother, a concubine, had to leave the home. He became an orphan at age 17. When he was later venerated as a great teacher and spiritual guide, he was called Kong Qiū ("Master Kong") -- also transliterated as "Kong Fūzi or many other ways. His name was rendered as Confucius by Europeans in the 16th century. His ancestral line has been recorded, father-to-son, for about 2,500 years, longer than any known person on earth. [See "The Ultimate Family Tree: Back to Adam"] The most recent descendant is a boy, the 80th generation, born in Taiwan in 2008.


CHRISTIANITY -- Jesus Christ (4 BCE - 30)

Jesus Christ was not born with the name "Jesus Christ".
Yehoshua ben-Yossef (Jesus son-of-Joseph) was born in what presently is the West Bank of Palestine. His father was a carpenter. He never married, and he had no offspring. He was killed at the approximate age of 34 in what is presently Israel. "Jesus" is an Anglicized version of the Greek rendition of the Hebrew "Yehoshua" ("the Lord rescues"). "Christ" is from the Greek "Christos" ("annointed one"), itself a translation from the Hebrew word "mashiach" ("messiah"). In essence, he should be referred to as Yehoshua ha-Mashiach (Jesus the Messiah).


ISLAM -- Muhammad (570 - 632)

Technically, Muhammad ("praiseworthy") did not change his name.
However, he is very seldom referred to by his full name: Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullāh (Muhammad son-of-‘Abdullāh). He was born in Mecca, in present-day Saudi Arabia. He was born into a prominent, leadership family. His father died before he was born, and he became an orphan when his mother died 6 years later. He had numerous wives, including his cousin, and he outlived all of his sons. At the age of 40, he began to receive revelations. He died at the age of 63 in Medina, in present-day Saudi Arabia.