Bible Myths and their Parallels in other Religions Being a Comparison of the Old and New Testament Myths and Miracles with those of the Heathen Nations of Antiquity — Context and Discussion

Comparative Method and Scholarly Citations

The book’s argument hinges on the accumulation of parallels, each supported by a citation. In the excerpts, Doane references Max Müller, James Bonwick, and St. Augustine in the epigraphs, then moves to specialized works like Hardy’s Eastern Monachism and Beal’s History of Buddha. The footnotes are not decorative; they are the engine of the argument. For instance, the claim that Buddha’s disciples “marvelled” at his conversation with a Matangi woman is footnoted to Hardy (p. 6) and then cross-referenced to Matthew 4:13-25. This technique forces the reader to acknowledge the parallel as documented fact, not mere speculation.

However, the excerpts do not show Doane critically evaluating his sources. He treats each citation as definitive, and the parallels are presented without counterarguments. The reader is left to infer that the author selected only those sources that support his thesis. The density of references can feel overwhelming, but it also reveals the breadth of 19th-century comparative religion scholarship that Doane synthesized.

Parallels Between Buddha and Jesus

The most extended parallel in the excerpts compares the ministries of Buddha and Jesus. Doane lists several correspondences: both gathered disciples, preached a sermon summarizing their teachings, faced opposition from established religious authorities, and gave final instructions before death. The Buddha’s sermon at Rajageiha is summed up in a verse about ceasing from sin, which Doane juxtaposes with the Beatitudes. The structural similarity is striking, but the excerpts do not provide the full context of either sermon, so the reader cannot assess how much of the parallel is Doane’s editorial framing.

Doane also notes that Buddha’s disciples were “scandalized” by his association with a low-caste woman, just as Jesus’s disciples “marvelled” at his conversation with a Samaritan. The language is carefully chosen to mirror the Gospel accounts. Yet the excerpts lack any discussion of chronology or direct influence; Doane implies that the similarities are too numerous to be coincidental, but he does not argue for a specific historical transmission. The reader is left to wonder whether the parallels reflect common human religious patterns or direct borrowing.

The Role of Benares as a Sacred City

In a digression that illustrates his method, Doane describes Benares as “the Hindoo’s Jerusalem,” a city with 2,000 temples and half a million idols. The comparison is explicit: Benares is to Hinduism what Jerusalem is to Christianity. This move—equating a foreign sacred geography with a familiar one—is central to Doane’s project. He uses the analogy to normalize Hindu practices, suggesting that Christian readers should recognize their own traditions in the “degrading effect of idolatry” he describes.

The description of Benares is drawn from travel literature and missionary accounts, but Doane does not cite a specific source in the excerpt. The passage serves as a rhetorical bridge: by showing that Hinduism has a holy city, he implies that Christianity’s claim to uniqueness is weakened. The reader is invited to see both religions as products of similar cultural forces. This section of the book functions as a kind of comparative geography, grounding abstract mythological parallels in concrete places.

Doane’s work is best approached as a document of 19th-century freethought rather than as a neutral comparative study. The excerpts show a relentless focus on similarity, with little attention to difference or historical context. Readers interested in the history of biblical criticism will find here a passionate, well-sourced argument that anticipates later myth-ritual theories. Those seeking a balanced assessment of Christian origins should supplement this text with modern scholarship that addresses the methodological limitations of Doane’s approach.

Reading Doane’s parallel between the Buddha’s birth and the gospel accounts, I felt that strange ache of recognition—old stories folding into one another. It reminded me of a quiet afternoon with Maori Religion and Mythology Illustrated by Translations of Traditions, Karakia, &c., to Which Are Added Notes on Maori Tenure of Land — Key Ideas to Explore, where land itself seemed to hold a myth, not explaining, just enduring beneath the words.