Christ vs Buddhism - Its Your Choice

Yesterday, I received a copy of the Catholic News( 27 May 2007 edition). There is an interesting article on Buddhism. I capture the salient points below:

1) Buddhism does not believe in a personal god.
2) Buddhism is a dharmic, non-theistic religion, often described as a way of life or a practical philosophy. Dharmic religions are a family of religions based on the concept of dharma, a term for "fixed decree, law, or duty".
3) The core of Buddha's teaching is found in the 4 Noble Truths which include the Noble Eightfold Path.
4) Today, Buddhism is divided primarily into 3 traditions: Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana.
5) Most Buddhists in Singapore belong to the Mahayana tradition. In Singapore, Chinese religion is a mix of Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism.
6) There is confusion even among Buddhists on the topic of deities and prayer. Because of their non-belief in the existence of a God or a supreme being, adherents of Buddhism in its original form take Buddhism to be more a philosophy than a religion.
7) The goal of Buddha's teachings is to break through delusion and achieve enlightenment which is obtained at 3 levels: Arhat, Bodhisattva and Buddha (analogously comparable to Graduate, Master or Doctorate in educational degrees)
8) In pure form, the many variety of Buddha and Bodhisattva statues do not represent polytheism (the worship of more than one god). Rather, each statue serves to inspire wisdom and awakening. Bowing to a statue is an expression of gratitude for the teaching.
9) Guan Yin Bodhisattva is popular in Singapore, represents great compassion and kindness.
10) However, there are "Buddhists" who worship images of Buddha and Guan Yin Bodhisattva as deities and pray for the relief of suffering, and even to ask for favours. This is regarded by Buddhist purists as a misconception and even superstition because the statues are merely expressions of concepts in Buddhism.
11) Orthodox Buddhists say that they do not pray. They chant. When they chant, they chant the Buddha's sacred workds of love, wisdom and compassion.

This is just a short lesson in Buddhism.

Christianity is about Christ, the Trinity God. Buddhism is dharmic and non-theistic. The two religions are completely different.

I would choose a personal relationship with God over another non-theistic, non-personal religion, no matter how logical or philosophical that religion may be.

I would choose a God who "walks with me and talks with me", who "listens to me and guides me". A God who is a brother, a friend, a mentor, a lord and a loving Father - the Trinity God.

Really, the choice is simple.

Christianity Will Always Be Divisive

One of the Bible passages which I much regret having to obey is Matt 10:35 "...I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother...and a man's enemies will be the members of his household...".

There is no hidden meaning in this passage. It clearly means that christianity is divisive; and we will be living in a very divisive christian world.

I had told myself to accept this passage first, painful as it was, before I could truly accept Christ. The moment I accepted Christ years ago, I great gulf separated me from my family. I was no longer 'one of them' who followed the family religion. I no longer worshipped the family gods. During festivals when all members of the family gathered to pray and to burn incense, I stepped aside and stood alone. I am a part of the family, yet I am not.

When Jesus commissioned Peter "upon this rock I will build My church,..." Matt16:18, Jesus must already know that His church will be divided and fragmented. After the apostolic church came the papal church and the fragmentation accelerated down the centuries. The Catholic church, the Eastern Orthodox churches, the Anglican church, the protestant churches, the denominational churches, the independent churches and the many christian sects and semi-churches.

Some may argue that the many christian church groups provide different flavours, and different flavours appeal to people of different taste. However, there are just too many flavours, and this situation confuses and sows distrust, instead of harmonises our beliefs.

As I look at the Catholic Church, and the Methodist Church, the New-Age Churches and other charismatic christian groups, I hope they will all be united in the Apostles Creed which I recite every week. I love the Apostles Creed. All Christians must wholeheartedly believe and be faithful to the Apostle Creed. In it, we believe that Jesus is the Son of God - "born of the virgin Mary, died and was buried, on the third day he rose again from the dead, and seated at the right hand of God...". In the Apostles Creed, christians are united in Christ.

Christianity is not just about God. A few other religions also believe in the same God we christians believe in, even though they address Him using other names.

More importantly, christianity is about Jesus Christ. We are divided in christianity, yet we are united in Christ. Christ lives. Believe in Him.

These are my thoughts. I welcome your comments.

Is There Another Way of Communicating With God ?

We all know about atoms and molecules. According to physicist Radall J. Fisk, there is a new type of elementary particles that were discovered about 60 years ago. It is called neutrino. This elementary particle can past through the Earth, that is go in via the North Pole and come out from the South Pole.

I have not investigated or read much about neutrino. However in eastern mystic, many many people had already know something known as wai-qi or cosmic energy, which purportedly can pass through wall or solid of any thickness. 'Qi' is breath in Chinese. 'Wai-qi' is external breath literally. Some people even claimed that they can see Wai-qi in the atmosphere. (see this website http://www.kktanhp.com/doctoring.htm ).

I am not sure whether there are any scientific measuring instruments today that can measure and record neutrino or wai-qi. However some practitioners can harness wai-qi to improve their health and to heal illnesses. When they absorb wai-qi, their bodies are filled with wai-qi, their faces turned red and their hands are radiating with heat.

I was wondering whether wai-qi is same as, or similar to neutrino. Or both have something in common.

Human beings are still discovering some of the things that God had created from the very beginning. Electricity and magnetic field, which are invisible, were only discovered and acknowledged a few hundred years ago. Now there are neutrino and wai-qi. Perhaps in 50 years time, we will be able to measure wai-qi, just as we can measure magnetic strength using magnetic field meters today.

Today, we communicate with the Almighty God in prayer. God hears and receives our prayers.

Today, we communicate with God our Lord with our intentions too. We may not be praying, but we go to God with our silent intentions, being assured that God knows the intentions of our heart.

Perhaps wai-qi is another invisible communication channel with God. These unseen particles that fill the universe, exist even in vacuum, and fill the outer space, may be message channels where we can reach God.

Neutrino or wai-qi are part of God's creation since God created all things. So let us not let non-christian practices such as eastern or buddhist practices 'hijack' this gift of God from us. Wai-qi belongs to Christians too.

Appreciate your comments.

Some Parts Of The Bible Should Not Be Taken Literally

While I have written about taking some parts of the Bible literally, there are other parts that cannot be taken literally.

When the apostles exhort the Christians to wait for the impending second return of Christ 'from Heaven together with His mighty angels in flaming fire' (2 Thess 1:7, Luk 17:30-31, etc) the people literally interpreted that Christ will return in glory during their lifetime. As we all know, after 2000 years, Christ has yet to return.

All through the centuries, many Christian sects had predicted the dates of the second coming of Christ. The date came and expired. These Christian sect members were dead by now. The interpretation of the apostles and christians that Christ would come again during their lifetime was proven wrong again and again.

Do you expect the second coming of Christ, with a host of angels and in flaming fire, would take place during your lifetime?

What about John's vision in the Book of Revelation ? How much should be interpreted literally ?

All through the centuries, there are clairvoyants who could see visions of the future. There are also many who claimed that they could communicate with non-physical beings. So the Book of Revelation of John is not the only apocalyptic book.

No matter how bible scholars and we ourselves study the Book of Revelation, we will not be able to interpret it satisfactorily. What are the seven Churches? What is the number 666? What is the figure 144,000?

It is futile to guess and guess. The description of events in Book of Revelation should not be taken literally.

Man, we are so finite and minute. How can we under God who is the Alpha and the Omega, the creator of Heaven and Earth? Can can an ant understand a human being like you? If, one day, an ant could understand a human being, then perhaps a human being could understand God. But an ant will never understand a human being unless the human morph into an ant and go and speak and teach the ant. This is exactly what Jesus did -- He became man, and came down to earth to speak to man. Even then, we will not understand God a lot more.

All the Bible study will help us to be wiser and understand God a bit better - but just an infinitesimal bit better. After all, human, we are finite. God is infinite.

Any comments ?

Miracles Against Nature (14/05/07)

I was always perplexed by Matt 27:50-53. “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook; and the rocks were split, and the tombs were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised…"

It sounded like a fairy tale. It is unnature. At the moment of His death, unnatural things happened. a) the veil of the temple was torn b) the earth shook c) the rocks split d) and most perplexing, the tombs opened and bodies ‘floated’ up to the sky..

Shall I take these passages of the Book of Mathew literally?

Miracles continued to happen today, 2000 years after the death of Christ. But the miracles today are nothing against nature. These are miracles relating to people and persons. For example someone ‘suddenly’ was healed of the tumor in his body; someone blind could 'suddenly' open his eyes and see. There are no miracles such as those performed by Jesus against nature 2000 years ago, such as feeding 5000 with 2 fishes and 5 loaves, such as walking several kilometers on water.

If I believe that Jesus can feed 5000 with just 2 fishes and 5 loaves, then I must believe Matt 27:50-53 literally.

Do you believe that the rotten bodies of the deceased saints had been resurrected and 'floated up the sky' during the first exercise of resurrection the moment Jesus died on the cross?

Give me your comments.

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