I concede the Mother Teresa and Ghandi (mostly because I don't care to go digging at this point), but I do not concede Jesus and the Buddha. Contrary to what has been asserted, Buddha's early life is not unknown. Also contrary to what you seem to want to assert, Jesus would not have been 'wealthy' or even 'well off', as carpenters were not considered even as equal to the merchant class at the time. At best, had Jesus not entered into preaching, he would have been in the upper lower class of the time. (From biblical accounts, Joseph does not appear to be in the picture when Jesus is an adult.)
As to the 'mythical' Jesus, I was specifically addressing your assertion,
Quote:
But the myth that these people lived and died poor, yet still lived happy lives, makes a powerful story indeed.
|
This is indeed false, so I don't understand this next assertion,
Quote:
So your point fails on both the historical record and the mythological one.
|
since you failed to address the points I made. (Perhaps that is your training taking over.)
And capitalism did not exist in the ancient middle east? Seems that the merchants of the time practiced it pretty well. Perhaps you ought to hit the dictionary yourself and look up the definition of "capitalism".