What I found interesting in this week's reading was the comparisons between that of Christianity and Buddhism.  First of all, I never really thought out the time periods of the greats like Socrates and Buddha being before Jesus, I always thought they came after his time period.  This could be because I never really looked at the time lines of the greats so when I came to realize that Buddha and Confucius was 500 years before Jesus, I was surprised.  The way the author puts Jesus secularly also was interesting.

 "...a young Jewish peasant/carpenter in the remote province of Judea in the Roman Empire began a brief three-year career of teaching and miracle working before he got in trouble with local authorities and was executed. (Strayer pg 187)"

What is great about the difference in time (500 years) and how Strayer compares Jesus and the Buddha in a way where there is no favoritism, allows the reader to see how alike the two great "wisdom teachers" actually are.  They spoke of suffering and loving of your neighbors.  They had the same basis, but because of what they spoke about and how they spoke about it was the difference.  Jesus would openly criticize the authorities and in less then three years of his teachings was executed like a criminal whereas the Buddha's messages did not really conflict with those of the leaders and so he was able to teach for over forty years.