Christianity Vs. Buddhism: Two Religions that Teach the Same Things?
Buddhism vs. Christianity: Reincarnation
Buddhism teaches that beings experience an endless cycle of death and rebirth. If a person doesn't attain goals in her lifetime, she will live again. This may seem like doctrinal trivia, but without reincarnation, certain basic ideas of Buddhism make no sense.
Christianity tells, "it is appointed for men to die once, and after this, judgment" (Heb. 9:27), and "that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust" (Acts 24:15b). We see one life, then resurrection, judgment, and our eternal destination. Without this truth, other foundational truths of Biblical Christianity become nonsensical.
Buddhism vs. Christianity: Life and suffering
Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, created the "Four Noble Truths", the essential foundations of Buddhism. The first of these claims that life is suffering. Any happiness in life is temporary, and when the ephemeral cause of happiness disappears, the subsequent suffering overshadows it.
Biblical Christianity acknowledges that life contains suffering. When we live based on eternal reality, though, we have true, lasting joy. Jesus said, "I have spoken these things to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be made full" (John 15:11). We can even have joy while we're suffering. "Not only this, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering works perseverance" (Rom. 5:3).
Buddhism vs. Christianity: Cause of suffering
Siddhartha Gautama's second "Noble Truth" states suffering is caused by desires. Particularly, it's caused by unfulfilled or incompletely fulfilled desires.
The Bible gives several immediate causes for suffering, but it gives one ultimate cause: sin. God designed humans to be in perfect relationship with him, with each other, and with the world. When people chose to break God's law, things changed. Your suffering doesn't always come from your sin, but it comes from the sinful state of the world.
Buddhism vs. Christianity: Desires
In his third "Noble Truth," Gautama claimed the way to end suffering is to end desires. Once all desires are removed, according to this teaching of Buddhism, a person can enter Nirvana or Nibbana and no longer need be reincarnated. The word nirvana means the snuffing out of a candle, and a person who reaches this state and dies is said to fully pass away. It's described as a state in which a person can't see, hear, smell, taste, touch, think, or experience, and it's an end to life.
Biblical Christianity reveals that desire in itself is good, holy, and necessary. However, our sinful nature corrupts our desires. When we're born spiritually into God's Kingdom, He gives us new desires. "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new" (II Cor. 5:17). While we live in this age, we must deal with our old, corrupted desires, but we have new desires to replace them.
Paul told the Roman church, "Brothers, my heart's desire and my prayer to God is for Israel, that they may be saved" (Rom. 10:1). He instructed believers to "follow after love, and earnestly desire spiritual gifts" (I Cor. 14:1).
Peter wrote, "as newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby" (I Pet. 2:2). These are words of men who had not extinguished all desire, but possessed new, strong, holy, pure, redeemed desires.
Buddhism vs. Christianity: Achieving ultimate goals
Siddhartha's fourth "Noble Truth" gives the path to extinguish desires. The path is some prescription of deeds, words, thoughts, meditations, chants, etc. If a person, by his own efforts, does these things well enough, he kills his desires and reaches Nirvana, and when he dies he is snuffed out. Otherwise, he will be reborn and endure another life.
Biblical Christianity tells that God - who made the universe and actively involves Himself in it - knew we were powerless to change our sinful state. While we could do nothing, He took action. God's Son Jesus, who is Himself God, was born on earth, lived a perfect, sinless life, suffered, died on the cross as penalty for our sins, and rose from the grave.
Christianity proclaims that we can't follow any way or path to rescue ourselves from the evils of the world. Jesus, Himself, is the way, and He offers salvation freely.
You can receive God's free gift of salvation and truly live. You can live now despite suffering and eternally without suffering. Jesus said, "I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly" (John 10:10b). Call out to God, admitting you are a sinner. Repent of - turn away from - your sins. Ask Jesus to forgive your sins and to enter your life and your heart. He won't turn you down.
Compatibility of Christianity and Buddhism
We compared necessary core beliefs of Buddhism to Biblical Christianity, not debatable side issues. Buddhism and Christianity disagree on reincarnation, life and suffering, the cause of suffering, desires, and achieving ultimate goals. At this basic, foundational level, the two are absolutely, irreconcilably incompatible.
Many people claim all belief systems are the same because they consider (some of) the same actions good or bad. As we see from Biblical Christianity and Buddhism, this is almost as reasonable as claiming a fire engine and an apple are the same because they're both red.
If my apartment is burning, I want the fire department. Don't toss me an apple. If the Bible is true and you don't know Jesus, your everlasting life is in danger. God offers his perfect fire engine, Jesus, for free. Don't settle for an apple, claiming it's the same thing.
All scripture quotations, WEB.
Published by Eric R.
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- If We Muggles Partake of Potter, May We Still Consider Ourselves Christians?
- Traditional Religious Food Practices
- The World's Religions: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam
- Religions
- Contempory Practices of Buddhism
- Many people believe all religions, including Buddhism and Christianity, are essentially the same.
- Buddhism and Christianity are fundamentally incompatible at the deepest, most foundational level.
- If Buddhism and Christianity are incompatible, not all belief systems are the same.
15 Comments
Post a CommentThiswasaprettygoodvs.itssimpledoesnttellitallbutitcouldusealittleworkitsmissingawholelotofneededinfo.Andityaaitjustneedswork.
This was completely insulting. Your view of Christianty, though still vague, was a lot more in depth than what you gave for Buddhism. And those ending paragraphs were the worst. Whoever wrote this needs to not talk about other religions. If my house is on fire, I'd toss this guy in it and lock the door, enjoy the apple, and wait for the slow moving fire truck to get there. How's that?
your analysis only touch 1 percent of buddha teaching. Why? Because there are many kinds of nirvana and it's all in you to discover. But in all nirvan, the only nirvana that offers the lasting happiness is the nirvana he teaches in the "diamond sutra." The nirvana he offers in "The four noble truth," is just one of the basic nirvana, and is not the ultimate one. Buddha has lectured his teaching for 49 years, in the end, he said he has lectured nothing. You can't just draw conclusion with any religion unless you goes deep into it, but in your article, it shows you only touch the basic and claim it's deep enough.
your analysis only touch 1 percent of buddha teaching. Why? Because there are many kinds of nirvana and it's all in you to discover. But in all nirvan, the only nirvana that offers the lasting happiness is the nirvana he teaches in the "diamond sutra." The nirvana he offers in "The four noble truth," is just one of the basic nirvana, and is not the ultimate one. Buddha has lectured his teaching for 49 years, in the end, he said he has lectured nothing. You can't just draw conclusion with any religion unless you goes deep into it, but in your article, it shows you only touch the basic and claim it's deep enough.
I was pretty offended by the last few paragraphs, when you made the metaphor about the firetruck and the apple. Why is it you decided to make Buddhism the apple? Who's to say Christianity is not the apple? You need to watch who you offend.
So why are children who have never been introduced to Christianity condemned to to hell? Why are you so lucky that you have had the "privilege" of being introduced to God and finding His path?
It is better to read and study the Word Of God for yourself. I fully agree with the author of this text but nevertheless, there are some who refuse to be easily swayed. When I studied different forms of religions available to me and questioned their stability. If I was going to believe what I was being told then I wanted proof. I said, "If you are real then prove it.' The result: Out of all the religions the only one that became an intimate relationship was with Jesus Christ. I KNOW "Jesus" died on the cross for "MY" sins and He shows me grace and mercy everyday. I know that He walks with me and carries me when life is more than I can bare. Without Him I would not be able to make it through tis life and He has promised that He would never leave me nor forsake me. If you do not believe me or doubt what I am saying then do what I did ask the Lord to prove Himself to you. Psalms 18:30, Deuteronomy 31:6,Hebrews 13:5
Thank you for all your comments. Yes, my bias is visible here. However, the idea that one system is true or is better than the other does not change the fact that the two systems are incompatible. Both may be false, or one may be true, but both cannot be true.
Christians always view there beliefs as true, stepping on anyone or anything laid before their foundation as evil. They impose their beliefs, and send to their hell any that do not subscribe. not very pliable or open-minded creatures as they desire to store treasures in heaven by crapping on the rest of the worlds thoughts. pathetic and unskilled in their ways. can't even agree what the bible purports, thus the constant re-writing of it.
It was well-written, besides the bias for Christianity.