Does depicting Jesus as an Arahant show that Buddhism is inclusive and compassionate? I came across a book about the 500 Arahants, and it briefly mentioned that Jesus is depicted as an Arahant in a particular temple in China. After spending some time Googling, I found out that it's actually true! The Qiongzhu Temple (筇竹寺) in Kunming has an Arahant Hall containing Arahant-Jesus, along with some other Western figures. Here's a photo of it.
I'm perplexed as to why there is such depiction, and whether it can be considered a good idea. I read some news/articles about the temple, which used the reasoning that it shows the compassion and inclusiveness of Buddhism. There maybe an alternative explanation, unfortunately I have never been to the place, so this is the only one I could find on the Internet.
My question is: Is it true that making an 'Arahant-Jesus&quot; shows that Buddhism is compassionate and inclusive? If not, is such depiction valid/acceptable in Mahayana or any other school of Buddhism?
I hope the title is not too ridiculous. Thank you :D
One of the five precepts is undertaking the training to abstain from incorrect speech, which includes abstaining from speaking untruth.
From Iti 25:

This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have
heard: &quot;For the person who transgresses in one thing, I tell you,
there is no evil deed that is not to be done. Which one thing? This:
telling a deliberate lie.&quot;
The person who lies,
who transgress in this one thing,
transcending concern for the world beyond:
there's no evil
he might not do.

To state that Jesus is an Arahant may be false speech, because who could say for certain that Jesus was an Arahant?
In fact, Jesus couldn't possibly have been an Arahant because his teachings were not similar to the Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path.
Hence, to state or portray Jesus as an Arahant, is not acceptable, in my opinion, because it is untruth.
Furthermore, such a portrayal might not be in the best interest of Buddhists, as Christian missionaries could hypothetically make use of it when engaging lay Buddhists who are not well-versed with the teachings of the Buddha, by portraying Jesus as a Buddhist teacher, and the Christian Bible as a Buddhist teaching.