Catholics, Christians, Muslims, whatever you are -- How Do You View Buddhism?

[DD2007]

You dodged the question. How can the truth and a lie be identical? How can the same statement be truth when it’s in the Bible but a lie when it’s in a Buddhist text? Isn’t truth always truth?

What are you, some kind of relativist?

Edwin

I’m saying that his book is a lie based on lies and placed in the world by the devil and even though Satan has seen fit to use some elements of truth in it as he has always done in these situations he created, he has done so in an effort to keep people away from the truth of Jesus Christ while providing them false hope and comfort.

 

[Contarini]

I’m saying that his book is a lie based on lies

Have you read it? Or does your confidence in the Truth exempt you from normal requirements of common decency like reading books before you condemn them?

and placed in the world by the devil

You must have access to some really souped-up security cameras

and even though Satan has seen fit to use some elements of truth in it as he has always done in these situations he created, he has done so in an effort to keep people away from the truth of Jesus Christ while providing them false hope and comfort.

This is a classic dodge used by folks who can’t stand to recognize truth when they find it in a place their ideology leads them not to expect. Satan can’t do anything with the truth except add lies to it. The truth still comes from God, not from Satan.

So even if the rest of that book is the vilest falsehood you can imagine, that statement is still truth and still comes from God. To say otherwise is heresy and blasphemy. God is truth. All truth comes from God. It’s really as simple as that.

Edwin

 

[DD2007]

So even if the rest of that book is the vilest falsehood you can imagine, that statement is still truth and still comes from God. To say otherwise is heresy and blasphemy. God is truth. All truth comes from God. It’s really as simple as that.

Edwin

The devil uses many truths to maintain his lies.

John 8:44 ESV
44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

What the devil did in the book referenced by the buddhist is take a teaching of the Lord and claim it as his own. That is vile because it is a ploy to get undeserved glory from man, glory that should go to God alone.

 

[AJTheMan]

Well maybe ur right, the buddhist form a very meagre % of our population today and because hinduism jainism and buddhism are all dharmic religions, over the centuries a lot of inter mixing of practises have occured. The buddhist that I know, although buddhist by religion, follow hindu practises more or less…

Well, of course, Buddhism was somewhat influenced by Hinduism and other dharmic religions. The Buddha was a product of his culture. But the Buddha disagreed with many hindu teachings. He found the idea of a caste system abhorrent. He also had a distaste for how the Hindus worshiped their gods.

It’s not that dissimilar from the Abrahamic faiths though. Just like how the dharmic religions all feature some common aspects, Abrahamic faiths are similar. Judaism, Christianity, Islam are fairly similar if you really look at it.

 

[rossum]

Everyone is hellbound unless they trust Christ for their salvation and follow him as Lord. There is no salvation outside the Church.

What a puny God you follow. His saving power is limited by the speed at which Christian missionaries could sail across the world. Why would I want to worship such a powerless god?

Only the bible is from God.

Do you actually think about this stuff before you post it? Even a little thought will tell you that the Tanakh is from God as well. That is two books that are from God. Whoever told you that there was only one book from God misinformed you. You should treat whatever else they said with caution.

You have also agreed that parts of Buddhist scripture are from God as well. We are now up to three books and counting. Your position is not looking very secure. Nostra Aetate is much more sensible - it recognises that there are elements of truth in many religions. As I said before, that is a much more sensible position than your initial stance.

rossum

 

[AJTheMan]

What a puny God you follow. His saving power is limited by the speed at which Christian missionaries could sail across the world. Why would I want to worship such a powerless god?

Do you actually think about this stuff before you post it? Even a little thought will tell you that the Tanakh is from God as well. That is two books that are from God. Whoever told you that there was only one book from God misinformed you. You should treat whatever else they said with caution.

You have also agreed that parts of Buddhist scripture are from God as well. We are now up to three books and counting. Your position is not looking very secure. Nostra Aetate is much more sensible - it recognises that there are elements of truth in many religions. As I said before, that is a much more sensible position than your initial stance.

rossum

Nostra Aetate seems like a pretty good document, having just researched it.

 

[Steven_John]

“Quite a few”? I though they were around 2% of the population. I’d call that “very few.”

It is few in comparative to the entire population

“had a few friends over last night,” “Oh how many” “like i said just a few maybe two and a half million.”

I know what your saying but it sounded funny in these terms

 

[Luke65]

Satan says: “Love others as you love yourself” - Bhadramayakaravyakarana sutra 91

Christ says: “Love your neighbour as you love yourself.” - Mark 12:31

Now what was that about the difference between Christ and Satan?

rossum

“‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.’” (Leviticus 19:18)

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness” (Isaiah 5:20)

I guess we know who inspired Buddha after all!

“And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:14)

 

[Tsuwano]

“‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.’” (Leviticus 19:18)

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness” (Isaiah 5:20)

I guess we know who inspired Buddha after all!

“And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:14)

As a Christian, I believe it is quite easy to say that God inspired the Buddha. A man saw suffering, was horrified by it, and sought to find a means by which it could be relieved. Now, I don’t agree that the Buddha discovered the best means of alleviating suffering in this world or took into account the presence of a merciful God who redefines suffering by placing it within the context of all consuming love, but the impulse which led him to undertake his spiritual journey for the purpose of relieving human suffering, was grace he first received from God. His experience, though ultimately unfulfilled in my opinion, was not an evil one leading him away from God. From my perspective, God was a part of his journey, though he himself may not have realized it, and as such it was a holy endeavor. It may be true, as Corinthians states, that “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light,” but it is also true that the devil himself quotes scripture when it suits his purpose. I feel strongly that sacred scripture should be discerned, rather than used as a weapon to sling at others.

 

[Luke65]

As a Christian, I believe it is quite easy to say that God inspired the Buddha. A man saw suffering, was horrified by it, and sought to find a means by which it could be relieved. Now, I don’t agree that the Buddha discovered the best means of alleviating suffering in this world or took into account the presence of a merciful God who redefines suffering by placing it within the context of all consuming love, but the impulse which led him to undertake his spiritual journey for the purpose of relieving human suffering, was grace he first received from God. His experience, though ultimately unfulfilled in my opinion, was not an evil one leading him away from God. From my perspective, God was a part of his journey, though he himself may not have realized it, and as such it was a holy endeavor. It may be true, as Corinthians states, that “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light,” but it is also true that the devil himself quotes scripture when it suits his purpose. I feel strongly that sacred scripture should be discerned, rather than used as a weapon to sling at others.

Revealing the truth is slinging a weapon at others? Are you paying attention? Buddha lived before Christ - but not before Moses. Jesus Christ, the LORD (YHWH - “I AM”), said those words to Moses. According to Buddhists, Satan said those words. Now God may have inspired some things in Buddha, but God does not attribute His words to Satan - that is the work of the devil. And where did Buddha get those words? I did a quick search and found this: (Bhadramayakara Vyakana) “It tells the story of how the magician Bhadra tried to deceive the Buddha with magic, was overcome himself by the magic of the Buddha, received instruction from Him, and was predicted to attain Buddhahood.”

 

[rossum]

“‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.’” (Leviticus 19:18)

Thank you for the second source.

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness” (Isaiah 5:20)

So, tell me, is “Love others as you love yourself” good or evil?

“And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:14)

So what Satan says may be either true or false. That means that saying “X is from Satan” is equivalent to saying “X may be either true or false”. We could probably have worked that out for ourselves anyway.

rossum

 

[ronin67]

“Quite a few”? I though they were around 2% of the population. I’d call that “very few.”

Yes, only 2% of a population of a estimated 128,000,000. That comes out to roughly 2,560.000. I wouldn’t say a Christian population 2,560,000 is exactly small. After all God was willing to spare Sodom and Gomorrah at the request of Abraham for just 10 righteous people (Genesis 18:32). So again, the hope is there for the people of Japan.

Take Care and May God Bless!

Ed (Ronin)

 

[AJTheMan]

According to Buddhists, Satan said those words.

There is no figure in Theravada Buddhism that could be remotely associated with Satan. And even in Mahayana, where evil spirits are believed in, they do not teach that the other religions come from evil sources. That is because the Buddha was not against other religions, really. He saw them for their usefulness. Christianity is very useful! All the morals told of in Jesus’s parables are rather similar to the moral parables taught by the Buddha!

 

[Luke65]

Thank you for the second source.

So, tell me, is “Love others as you love yourself” good or evil?

Good. That was the point of the quote that Satan masquerades as an angel of light.

So what Satan says may be either true or false. That means that saying “X is from Satan” is equivalent to saying “X may be either true or false”. We could probably have worked that out for ourselves anyway.

Well that’s good to know, because all I saw was that the Son of God was supposedly plagiarizing Satan. But now that we’ve seen that it was actually the other way around, my work here is through.

 

[rossum]

I think that it says more about the person making the statement than it does about the Buddha.

rossum

 

[AJTheMan]

I’ve always thought this as well.

 

[Luke65]

I think that it says more about the person making the statement than it does about the Buddha.

rossum

Clever, Rossum. But of course, I didn’t equate Buddha with Satan. I simply pointed out that apparently Buddha attributed words to Satan that had been spoken by God in the Hebrew Scriptures - is that my fault? And in fact, you were the one who equated our Lord Jesus Christ with Satan, and I quote, “Now what was that about the difference between Christ and Satan?” Of course, that says a whole lot more about you than it does about God.

 

[AJTheMan]

Clever, Rossum. But of course, I didn’t equate Buddha with Satan. I simply pointed out that apparently Buddha attributed words to Satan that had been spoken by God in the Hebrew Scriptures - is that my fault? And in fact, you were the one who equated our Lord Jesus Christ with Satan, and I quote, “Now what was that about the difference between Christ and Satan?” Of course, that says a whole lot more about you than it does about God.

Where did the Buddha say that Satan was the speaker of Jesus’s words?

Considering that Siddhattha didn’t even know of a being named Satan…

 

[Luke65]

Where did the Buddha say that Satan was the speaker of Jesus’s words?

Considering that Siddhattha didn’t even know of a being named Satan…

Why are you asking me? I’m not the one who quoted it.

 

[AJTheMan]

Why are you asking me? I’m not the one who quoted it.

I’m confused. I thought you were arguing that the Buddha called Christ a Satan.

If that is not the case, then that is my fault for misunderstanding.