Similarities of Buddhism and Christianity

[Bennie_P]

What crawled up your rear today? Would you ever ask “Do priests at your church often refer to Jewish events in order to illuminate points?” The priest in question was a missionary who worked in India during the 70’s and found that the best way to reach and convert Hindus to the Catholic church was through this thing you may have never heard of called “interreligious dialogue” which worked well with John Paul II.

So you heard this myth about Vishnu while in India? Before converting to the Church? Do you beleive Vishnu was a historical person as Jesus was a historical person? Or is Jesus just a myth as Vishnu is a myth? The similarities are what again? And who was the priest trying to convert when he told you the story? was that to Crhsitinity or to Hinduism? As to using Jewish events to illuminate a point for Christians, Christianity is in fact a Jewish sect. And thier salvation history points directly to Jesus.

 

[rtconstant]

So you heard this myth about Vishnu while in India? Before converting to the Church? Do you beleive Vishnu was a historical person as Jesus was a historical person? Or is Jesus just a myth as Vishnu is a myth? The similarities are what again? And who was the priest trying to convert when he told you the story? was that to Crhsitinity or to Hinduism? As to using Jewish events to illuminate a point for Christians, Christianity is in fact a Jewish sect. And thier salvation history points directly to Jesus.

The priest was probably wisely using events and concepts that his Indian audience would be familiar with. This is a technique used by St. Paul, and many missionaries. When Christianity was spreading through pagan Europe old pagan concepts and traditions were used to help them understand what Christ did for them. Drawing lines from OT prophesies for pagans and people of completely different spiritual backgrounds wouldn’t be very affective.

The people that the priest was speaking to were not raised in a nominal Judeo-Christian culture. As such he used parts of their culture to help them understand a Christian concept. This is nothing new.

Saint Paul drew on Greek warriness of offending the gods by using the shrine to the “unkown god” to introduce them to God and Jesus. Was that shrine actually a shrine for God and the Greeks just didn’t know it as Paul suggested to them? Probably not it was a way for the Greeks to cover themselves in case they missed a god. It was however a great place to introduce brand new religious concepts to the Greeks within a context they would be willing to listen to. He then imployed reason and philosophical discussion (which the Greeks loved) elaborate.

Not everyone has the benefit of being raised Christian so it is a wise missionary who knows his audience, and speaks to them in ways they can appreciate and understand.

 

[Bennie_P]

The priest was probably wisely using events and concepts that his Indian audience would be familiar with. This is a technique used by St. Paul, and many missionaries. When Christianity was spreading through pagan Europe old pagan concepts and traditions were used to help them understand what Christ did for them. Drawing lines from OT prophesies for pagans and people of completely different spiritual backgrounds wouldn’t be very affective.

The people that the priest was speaking to were not raised in a nominal Judeo-Christian culture. As such he used parts of their culture to help them understand a Christian concept. This is nothing new.

Saint Paul drew on Greek warriness of offending the gods by using the shrine to the “unkown god” to introduce them to God and Jesus. Was that shrine actually a shrine for God and the Greeks just didn’t know it as Paul suggested to them? Probably not it was a way for the Greeks to cover themselves in case they missed a god. It was however a great place to introduce brand new religious concepts to the Greeks within a context they would be willing to listen to. He then imployed reason and philosophical discussion (which the Greeks loved) elaborate.

Not everyone has the benefit of being raised Christian so it is a wise missionary who knows his audience, and speaks to them in ways they can appreciate and understand.

I wasn’t questioning what the priest did in India, but the reverse. But what was he trying to teach to a Christian audience, that Christ is the same as Vishnu and a myth? Which is not the same idea as you are even stating now. The key is to relate the pagan idea and link it to Christ, but also show that Christ is real as opposed to Vishnu the myth. The story of Vishnu is not a story of salvation bringing one into a relationship with the Creator but a mythological story much like telling a tale of a super hero. No real comparison, similarity or enlightment for a Christian audience.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

It’s a wonderful image, and very illuminating about Christianity (and arguably about a kind of pseudo-Eastern spirituality). But Chesterton quite simply didn’t know anything about Eastern religions. There was a lot for him to like, if he had bothered to inform himself and get past his prejudices. Nothing he says about non-European cultures should be given any weight whatsoever. And I say that as someone who has been impacted by Chesterton as much as (maybe more than) by any other writer.

Edwin

Are you contending that Chesterton is wrong in describing Buddhism as inward focussed? That it reaches out? Could you give some examples?

 

[Contarini]

Are you contending that Chesterton is wrong in describing Buddhism as inward focussed? That it reaches out? Could you give some examples?

It’s arguably true of Theravada, although even there the whole point of turning inward is to recognize that “you” are not a permanent entity at all. I can’t see that it’s true of Mahayana, since the ideal in that tradition of Buddhism is to embrace the whole universe with compassion–if that’s not turning outward, I don’t know what is.

Edwin

 

[rtconstant]

I wasn’t questioning what the priest did in India, but the reverse. But what was he trying to teach to a Christian audience, that Christ is the same as Vishnu and a myth? Which is not the same idea as you are even stating now. The key is to relate the pagan idea and link it to Christ, but also show that Christ is real as opposed to Vishnu the myth. The story of Vishnu is not a story of salvation bringing one into a relationship with the Creator but a mythological story much like telling a tale of a super hero. No real comparison, similarity or enlightment for a Christian audience.

While that Jerry will have to confirm the impression I got from what he typed was that the priest that spoke in his church had been a missionary and was relating a tale of how that the story of Vishnu had been handy in India. I don’t think he was using the Vishnu story directly with the western audience. I could be wrong though, again Jerry will have to confirm that.

 

[jerry_h_1700]

While that Jerry will have to confirm the impression I got from what he typed was that the priest that spoke in his church had been a missionary and was relating a tale of how that the story of Vishnu had been handy in India. I don’t think he was using the Vishnu story directly with the western audience. I could be wrong though, again Jerry will have to confirm that.

Thank you for being the smart one here and pointing out earlier what the priest meant by relating the story in church and realizing how cross-cultural understandings work in diplomatic conversions. Bennie P Just wants to start kicking up dust but I will not give him (her?) the pleasure.

 

[Ahimsa]

A priest at my church many years back made an interesting comparison of the story of Vishnu with the suffering of Jesus, many of you here probably have seen images of Vishnu and noticed his skin is blue in color, the reason for this is because there is a story of Vishnu where he made himself a sacrifice to save people in a village, he saw that poison was put in a river to kill off the people of the village, in quick haste he dunked his head in the water and drank all the poison before it reached their well. Just as Jesus had the holes in his body as signs of his sacrifice, so did Vishnu have his skin discoloration as a sign of his sacrifice too.

(I’m acting the pundit, so don’t take it personally.) Actually, it was the Great Lord, Shiva, who consumed the poison, making His throat blue, and thus saving the world. Thus, Lord Shiva is also named “Nila-Kantha”, or “Blue-Throated”.

It’s true that Vishnu is often depicted in a blue hue (especially in His form as Lord Krishna), but Vishnu’s blueness is usually linked to the blueness of the sky, implying the Vishnu (or God Himself) is as infinite as, or indeed “more” infinite than, the sky itself.

 

[jerry_h_1700]

(I’m acting the pundit, so don’t take it personally.) Actually, it was the Great Lord, Shiva, who consumed the poison, making His throat blue, and thus saving the world. Thus, Lord Shiva is also named “Nila-Kantha”, or “Blue-Throated”.

It’s true that Vishnu is often depicted in a blue hue (especially in His form as Lord Krishna), but Vishnu’s blueness is usually linked to the blueness of the sky, implying the Vishnu (or God Himself) is as infinite as, or indeed “more” infinite than, the sky itself.

Thanks for the correction.