Buddhisms similary to Christianity.

@igm,

Quote:

It could be argued that Buddhism has more in common with philosophy and atheism than Christianity.

That makes no sense. Atheism isn't a religion.

Atheism has no path. Atheism has no precepts. Atheism has no idea of wisdom. Atheism has no idea of prajna or righteousness or any doctrine about the cause of suffering. Buddhism is a "difficult" path and Christianity is a "narrow" path. With atheism there is no path.

Philosophy is a very broad term that encompasses Christianity and Buddhism and any other system of ideas.

1 Reply

@maxdancona,

maxdancona wrote:

Quote:
It could be argued that Buddhism has more in common with philosophy and atheism than Christianity.

Atheism isn't a religion.

Atheism has no idea of wisdom…

Philosophy is a very broad term that encompasses Christianity and Buddhism and any other system of ideas.

Both atheism and Buddhism don't believe in a 'creator god'. In this respect Buddhism is not a religion.
They both believe in using our reasoning faculty over the use of blind faith, Christianity uses faith.

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@igm,

Buddhism (correct me if I am wrong) says you have an eternal soul that continues after death. There are moral rules of right and wrong. Doing right impacts your soul after your bodily death as does doing wrong.

This is not atheism. Atheism doesn't purport to any eternal soul or an idea of being punished or rewarded after your bodily death based on your adherence to a path of spiritual truth.

Any you have a spiritual truth, you have a religion.

You are taking a unwarranted slap at Christianity. Christians don't have "blind faith" any more than Buddhists have "blind faith". I didn't have to read much Buddhist writing to see that faith is a key part of Buddhism. "Blind faith" is simply defined as the faith a religion that you aren't part of. Lots of religions say that their beliefs are reasonable and anyone who disagrees is unreasonable.

Christians base their faith on reason based on their understanding of the natural world. This is clear in the writings of the Apostle Paul who stated that everyone can clearly see the truth of Christianity by looking at nature. This was said by writers like C.S. Lewis of the last century and of writers today.

There is no difference between Buddhists and Christians in there belief that their spiritual truth is backed up by the reason and the natural world.

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@maxdancona,

I would recommend that you read the following;

Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thich Nhat Hanh

http://www.amazon.com/Living-Buddha-Christ-10th-Anniversary/dp/159448239X

a review of the book from the link....

Quote:

When you begin to read it you can see it is written by a Zen master because Thich Nhat Hanh is able to say much with few words. I am a Christian and this book introduced me to Buddhism. Nearly every sentence would cause me to stop in my tracks and think. I was introduced to many completely new ideas and philosophies through the course of this book. Although I will never be a Buddhist and I do not agree with everything Thich Nhat Hanh believes, I have a great respect for their beliefs as well as others. It also helped me to understand Christianity and Christ's message, and shaped my own beliefs.

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@maxdancona,

maxdancona wrote:

Buddhism (correct me if I am wrong) says you have an eternal soul that continues after death.

Buddhism doesn't believe that we (i.e. any sentient beings) have a soul.

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@maxdancona,

maxdancona wrote:

Christians don't have "blind faith" any more than Buddhists have "blind faith". I didn't have to read much Buddhist writing to see that faith is a key part of Buddhism.

I disagree. Christianity is a faith based religion. Buddhism is not... if faith is used it would be better translated as 'confidence'.

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@maxdancona,

maxdancona wrote:

Christians base their faith on reason based on their understanding of the natural world.
There is no difference between Buddhists and Christians in there belief that their spiritual truth is backed up by the reason and the natural world.

I disagree. Christianity is a 'faith based' religion and the age of the earth which Christianity disputes, heaven, soul, hell, devil, god, Christ etc... cannot be found in the natural world... better to have faith alone than reason if you are a Christian ... reason will lead to doubt... I'd say.

Honest, kind, loving, compassionate Christians are good people just as all people, atheists and Buddhists are if they have these positive attributes but the Buddhist teachings and a disbelief in a soul and creator god along with the belief that reason is a prerequisite for Buddhist practice makes in these respects Fundamentalist Christianity (which you are a member of) and Buddhism totally dissimilar.

Please see my other two new posts above.

1 Reply

@igm,

Buddhism deals with Karma, Devas, Naga, Nirvana and some part of you that isn't a soul which is reborn after you die. None of these can be found in the natural world either.

Many religions, including Christianity, claim they find proof that their religion is right in nature. This is fine, but from my point of view your posts sound very much like Christian or Muslim apologetics.

From my perspective, as an atheist, there is no spiritual truth in nature. It is just science. I don't have to look for a path, or to lose myself or to gain righteousness or anything else.

I can live my life for myself and find meaning and pleasure where I will. Spiritual truth just gets in the way of living. I don't need Buddha any more than I needed Jesus.

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@maxdancona,

Now you’ve stopped saying or implying you’re a Fundamentalist Christian you have confused me even more!

You have shown you know nothing about Buddhism. If you did then your posts would have some point to them. The people who say which forum the topic should be in have added ‘Not a Clue’ to the forum list at the top by your title which combined with the fact that your title uses English incorrectly shows me that you are at the very least not qualified to debate this subject.

I suggest you read the book that ‘kuvasz’ suggested but I’ve already said more than your topic deserves.

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@igm,

No need to get personal. I am an atheist. I come from a Christian background as I said in my first post but my intellectual journey has led me away from this particular brand of spiritual truth.

I started this thread because of a few recent posts here claiming that Buddhism offers a better, truer spiritual truth than the other religions. All I am saying is that from my current perspective, one spiritual truth is as good as another.

Any time you gain a spiritual truth it comes at the cost of reason. This is because the term "spiritual" means things that can't be objectively tested or measured. They have to be accepted.

Buddhism is a human belief system (I am avoiding the term "religion" for you) that was created for the same reason that Judiaism, Christianity, Islam, Aztec and any other belief system was created. Following belief systems is a human trait we evolved with as part of our being a social animal that uses culture to organize.

I reject Buddhism for the same reason I reject the other religions. I don't mind any of them of course, humans are free to do what is meaningful to them. But I have decided that I don't need a spiritual truth. I prefer to live on my own and to find meaning and enjoyment for myself.

But I find these posts saying "My Spiritual truth is better than all the other Spiritual truths" to be a bit amusing. And we have now had these types of posts from Buddhists as well as Christians and Muslims. From my perspective, there isn't much substantive difference.

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@maxdancona,

Then consider Taoism.

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@maxdancona,

maxdancona wrote:

I started this thread because of a few recent posts here claiming that Buddhism offers a better, truer spiritual truth than the other religions. All I am saying is that from my current perspective, one spiritual truth is as good as another.

Any time you gain a spiritual truth it comes at the cost of reason. This is because the term "spiritual" means things that can't be objectively tested or measured. They have to be accepted.

Eggs-actly. Buddhists like to portray themselves as different, but i'm personally not buying that. Buddhists murder, rape, make war and to me, worst of all, reek of hypocrisy. The Dalai Lama and his group of exiled monks claim to speak for all Tibetans, but no one elected them. Before the Chinese invasion, Tibetans lived in a feudal poverty to make Europe of a thousand years ago look like a paradise. In Sri Lanka, the Sinhalese and the Tamils have gleefully slaughtered one another for at least the last 40 years.

And among the worst hypocrisies is Buddhists blithely surveying the misery around them--the povery, the malnutrition or even stavation, the disease--and prating about the wheel of life, about the transitory nature of life, while they grow fat and happy off the gifts of the peasants.

To me, they cut from the same cloth as the smarmiest televangelist.

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@Setanta,

The response to this should be entertaining.

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@maxdancona,

I've said all I need to say in my previous posts... if you read them again you'll see why I don't agree with any part of any of your posts (others like sentanta have seen the wisdom in your words he must be on your wavelength) ... no need to reply.

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@George,

Yes, i expect it will be. The most likely response is the one i've most commonly seen, a straw man argument to the effect that Buddhism is not worse than other religions. I'm not saying it's worse, i'm just pointing out that it is no better. In the final analysis, if you wish to exculpate Buddhism from crimes committed by its adherents based on the excellence of it's dogma, justice requires one to exculpate all religions on exactly the same basis.

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@Setanta,

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@igm,

How very snide of you. I didn't accuse Max of wisdom, i'm just pointing out that Buddhism has no basis upon which to claim superiority to any other religious confession. Whether or not Max deserves to be considered wise is not something i'm competent to judge.

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@Setanta,

The claim is not mine. Smile

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@igm,

igm wrote:

I've said all I need to say in my previous posts... if you read them again you'll see why I don't agree with any part of any of your posts (others like sentanta have seen the wisdom in your words he must be on your wavelength[/u]) ... no need to reply.

Liar. The claim was indeed yours.

1 Reply

@Setanta,

Setanta wrote:

Liar. The claim was indeed yours.

No, the claim about 'superiority' is not mine. You mentioned 'claim' in your post about superiority.

The title is plain to see and understand and the forum 'Not A Clue' ... please continue to contribute if you wish ... I've said everything previously. Smile

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Buddhisms similary to Christianity.

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