Ex Buddhist examines Buddhism in the light of Christianity.
I studied Buddhism in High School as a subject, even educated my parents the difference between Mahayana Buddhism and Theravada Buddhism. As a Buddhist I worshipped the statues of Buddha, the Bodhi Tree and praying for Hindu gods for help.
By God’s grace alone I was found by Christ our Savior. Since
I became a Christian I really could not understand how people can be so
ignorant of the truth, which is found in Christianity. Even the highly
educated, most intelligent people are ignorant of the simple truths of
Christianity. The Bible is very clear when it says, “The natural person does
not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he
is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”(1
Corinthians 2:14) Once you are spiritually born again, you
will understand the truth, until then the Bible is foolishness to those who are
perishing.
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18)
Rebirth or reincarnation depends on your karmas of previous lives; good karmas will yield a happier rebirth, bad karmas will produce a real bad life depending on your karmas. One could be born as an animal depending on their karma. When I was a little boy I killed a bird with a sling, I was terrified later thinking one day I would become that bird. According to Buddhists even killing an insect is a sin as there is no difference between insects, animals and humans. If reincarnation is true there should be more insects and animals and population should not increase.
The earliest history of Buddhism is largely lost, because some 400 years separate the death of the Buddha from the first documented efforts to commit the Buddhist scriptures to writing. Which means for about 400 years Buddhism was handed down orally from generation to generation. Monk Manhinda around 200 B.C brought Buddhism to Sri-Lanka during the reign of king Devanampiya Tissa.
If you take a controversial subject like religion and pass it down from generation to generation there will be many additions. There is a lack of reliability. However mostly eyewitnesses wrote the Christian scriptures. The Disciples of Christ told the truth and they were martyred for the truth, only apostle John had a natural death. If they fabricated a lie, they all had the chance of denying Christ just before martyrdom. Some early Christians were given to the lions to be eaten alive, some were burned to death, and others were crucified. Apostle Peter was crucified upside down, as he said he was unworthy to be crucified the same manner of the Lord. Peter also said the following.
2 Peter 1:16 “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.”
2Peter 1: 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
The
Bible was written over a 1500-year span, during 60 generations, written in
three continents, Africa, Asia and Europe, three different languages, Hebrew,
Aramaic and Greek written by 40 authors from every walk of life including
kings, peasants, philosophers, fishermen, poets, statesmen, scholars,
cupbearers, and others. Written in times of war and peace, written in
different moods, joy and sorrow, written on hundreds of controversial subjects
like, creation, origin of man, nature of God, sin and redemption, yet there is
unity in the Bible.
Let’s get to the point. The Bible was written over a 1500 year span but lets get 10 people living today, not from three different continents but in one country, one city, not people from different languages but who speak one language, not people who have different occupation but one occupation give them one controversial subject, do you think they will be united in what they say? Certainly not.
Many tried to burn the Bible, ban the Bible yet still it is the number one seller. Voltaire the French atheist who lived in 1700’s predicted that Christianity would be swept from existence and pass into history within 100 years of his time. Fifty years of his death, the Geneva Bible society used his printing press and his house to produce thousands and thousands of Bibles.
1 Peter 1:24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: 25 But the word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the word, which by the gospel is preached unto you.
Buddha was a man, he was not sure which path is right, he tried the two extreme paths and they did not work, then he realized the middle path was the correct one. Yet in Christianity Jesus did not experiment which path was right. He was fully God and yet fully man. Without any doubt he was able to say many times, ‘truly, truly I say unto you….”
Buddhism is focused
on the teachings of Buddha, Buddha’s teachings is the center of Buddhism,
however in Christianity the center, is the person of Jesus Christ. Then his
teachings follow. In the Bible Jesus claimed to be Almighty God who became a
servant to die on the cross. Here we see the highest of majesty and the lowest
of humility meeting in the person of Jesus Christ.
In Buddhism there is
no person who has the final authority to decide of your destination in your
next life. Who is going to decide if you will be born as an animal or as a
king? In Buddhism there is no higher
accountability. Anyone can do sins in darkness as long as they don’t get
caught. However in Christianity there is the final authority and
accountability, everything is visible to God and nothing is hidden and there is
going to be a day of judgment.
Hebrews 4: 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but
all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
In Christianity sin
is explained through-out the Bible. Bible does not have a habit of covering up
the sins of the heroes. The Bible exposed the sins of Moses, Abraham, David,
Peter and others. The Bible clearly says that we are born sinners and we have
sinned against God Almighty.
Buddhism does not explain how a guilty sinner can joyful by knowing
that his sins are removed. But in Christianity, sin is a crime against the
almighty God. God is infinitely holy and will not allow the sinners to go
unpunished. God’s wrath will fall upon either on the sinner or if he trusts in
Jesus as his Lord and Savior then Jesus took the wrath of God on the behalf of
the sinner.
Good men and good teachers will never lie. Jesus said he is the only way heaven. There is no other way.
John 14:6 “I am the way, and the truth, and
the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (These are words of
Jesus)
There is no hope in
Buddhism as Buddha died like any other man, you can go to the grave of Buddha
and his grave is occupied. It is sad to
say how people can put hope on a dead person. But in Christianity there is hope
in Jesus Christ. Hundreds of years before the birth of Christ the Bible in the
Old Testament gave over three hundred prophesies on Jesus Christ and his bodily
resurrection. You can go to the tomb of Jesus it is empty. Apostle Paul said to
the people living in his day that Christ appeared to more than 500 believers.
1 Corinthians 15: 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
The hope of the Christian is on the resurrected living Savior. Dead people cannot save anyone; the faith of Christianity is not a dead faith but a living faith. Only a living faith and a living Savior can change the lives of sinners.
1 Corinthians 15: 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.
This is why drug addicts, alcoholics, murderers, thieves, prostitutes all kinds of sinners have hope in Christ Jesus, Jesus can turn the most wicked sinners into saints.
This
is the ultimate hope of Buddhism to be nothing. To be nothing is to be less than nothing! In Christianity the believer
is promised of heaven. The believer is promised of everlasting life, that you
will live in heaven forever and ever.
On the other hand there are hundreds of
predicted prophecies in the Old Testament already fulfilled. Only Christianity
speak how God created this world, speak how sin entered this world through one
man Adam. Speak of how God is going to provide a Savior. Speak of the end times
and the end of the world and heaven and hell.
We are all born sinners and have sinned against God Almighty in our minds, in our hearts, by our works. There is a judgment day, where all of us have to give an account to God. God does not have a weighing scale where he will put the good works on one side and the sins on the other side, if your good works weighs more you will be accepted to heaven, no, no. The Bible says, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Yes, we have violated all the commandments of God. God require 100% righteousness to go to heaven.
Realize you have sinned against God and you cannot go to heaven by your own works, your own merit or your own account, but on the account of Jesus Christ alone. Only by the goodness, righteousness and the holiness of Jesus Christ can we go to heaven. Jesus fulfilled all of the demands of God, which we have violated. If you believe and trust in him alone, then he died for your sins, he took the punishment on your account and he credited his goodness and righteousness to your account. He came to wash away the filthy sins; he will take your guilt away and cast your sins into the depths of the sea and make you a new creature, a new person. You can be joyful, excited, as you are on your way to heaven. Why worry on this earth, when you are thinking of your real home – heaven. Eternal life is paid by the Lord Jesus Christ!