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Ahimsa
Guest
There are millions of Buddhists, and among those, I’m sure there are millions that are inspired (in one way or another) by Jesus.
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ComeHome2Rome
Guest
Interesting judgement call. What is your judgement on only 0.2 after 5,000 years?
Personally I find it facinating that Christianity holds the majority after a relatively short span of time. Not everyone exposed to the Truth accepts it, but many apparently have
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catharina
Guest
Thanks. So there is no religion called Jesus Buddhist.
It’s a term you have invented for yourself?
OK. I see.
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Ahimsa
Guest
“Jesus Buddhist” is descriptive of a Buddhist who is also inspired by Jesus. There is a religion called “Buddhism”.
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catharina
Guest
I’m well aware that Buddhism exists.
The notion of “Jesus Buddhist” seems to be your invention.
Is that correct?
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Elizabeth502
Guest
Belief, for the believer, co-exists with worship, implicitly. Thus, monotheism is a perfectly acceptable descriptor for worship of one God, since its meaning is belief in one God.
By the way, “Buddhist; admirer of Jesus” would be a less confusing & more accurate way of describing yourself in this era of the lure of eclectic mixes of New Age experiments and the influence of those on the Christian, including the Christians on CAF and those considering converting to Catholicism in particular. It’s not that Buddhism is “New Age”; it’s that New Age falsely proclaims that traditional religions & philosophies or disciplines can be combined syncretically in some personal combination unique to each person’s preference – a 'buffet" of beliefs, if you will.
Since you acknowledge that you follow Buddhism, not Christianity, it would be much more helpful to CAF lurkers and users if your identity reflected that accurately. Many Christians admire Ghandi, find value in some sayings of Mohammed, and identify in some sense with Moses, but they don’t call themselves Hindu Christians, Muslim Christians, Jewish Christians. (A Hebrew Catholic, OTOH, refers exclusively to those born and raised in the Jewish tradition but have converted to Catholicism and no longer participate in Jewish worship or in any aspect of Judaism that conflicts with Christiainity.) Similarly, a Messianic Jew is actually a Christian, by definition – not unlike Hebrew Catholics.
(Just a suggestion)…
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catharina
Guest
Great post, Elizabeth.
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Elizabeth502
Guest
Thank you. Now if only I would stop constantly misplacing the “h” in Gandhi’s name!
Now if only I would stop constantly misplacing the “h” in Gandhi’s name!
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Ahimsa
Guest
I can’t remember coming across the phrase before, but I doubt I’m the first to invent it.
In any event, I’m not the first Buddhist to be inspired by Jesus.
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Ahimsa
Guest
Many may find it acceptable; that doesn’t mean it is true, or right, or correct.
I haven’t denied being Christian.
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Marybeloved
Guest
I think monotheism whatever its origins has come to have a specific meaning that everyone understands which is the belief in a single ultimate being who is personal, and limitless in his perfections, who is benevolent and the sole creator of all in existence and most importantly, who is distinct from all his creatures and is alone worthy of worship.
For example, Chistianity teaches of the existence of innumerable super-beings called angels, who differ in rank, power, beauty, but they are as much creature as we men are and could never be worshiped in any way. Christianity (Catholic & Orthodox, particularly) honours saints who are perfected humans in heaven, and honor particularly the Mother of Christ as the highest of all of God’s creatures, greater even than the angels, but she could never be worshipped. The sacrifice of the mass could never be offered to her or to anyone but the Blessed Trinity, and had any of the sacrifices of the OT continued in Christianity, none of them could be offered to anyone except the Creator himself. I’ve discovered that the divisions between those who seek intercession of saints and those who don’t is not solely a christian controversy but is present also in the other great monotheistic faiths. In Islam, the Shia seek the intercession of and greatly honor saints, The Sunni don’t and forbid it entirely like most protestants; In Judaism also, some groups do seek the intercession of dead Tzadik (the Jewish equivalent of a saint) and others forbid it entirely.
But the clear understanding on both sides of the argument in all three religions, is the firm conviction that worship is due to God alone and the disagreement as to whether such practices violate that fundamental rule or not. In Hinduism and Buddhism, you don’t hear of such “fights” because worship can be offered to the Supreme being Brahman, as well as to lesser deities- This is because all is believed to be identified with that supreme being, to share his being- pantheism or monism of sorts. That’s the difference.
The three great monotheistic faiths are not the only truly monotheistic faiths, contrary to popular belief. There are other truly monotheistic faiths such as The faith of the Samaritans in Israel (Samaritanism) Sikhism, Baha’i faith, Zoroastrianism and others. Read about it on wikipedia.
For example, Chistianity teaches of the existence of innumerable super-beings called angels, who differ in rank, power, beauty, but they are as much creature as we men are and could never be worshiped in any way. Christianity (Catholic & Orthodox, particularly) honours saints who are perfected humans in heaven, and honor particularly the Mother of Christ as the highest of all of God’s creatures, greater even than the angels, but she could never be worshipped. The sacrifice of the mass could never be offered to her or to anyone but the Blessed Trinity, and had any of the sacrifices of the OT continued in Christianity, none of them could be offered to anyone except the Creator himself. I’ve discovered that the divisions between those who seek intercession of saints and those who don’t is not solely a christian controversy but is present also in the other great monotheistic faiths. In Islam, the Shia seek the intercession of and greatly honor saints, The Sunni don’t and forbid it entirely like most protestants; In Judaism also, some groups do seek the intercession of dead Tzadik (the Jewish equivalent of a saint) and others forbid it entirely.
But the clear understanding on both sides of the argument in all three religions, is the firm conviction that worship is due to God alone and the disagreement as to whether such practices violate that fundamental rule or not. In Hinduism and Buddhism, you don’t hear of such “fights” because worship can be offered to the Supreme being Brahman, as well as to lesser deities- This is because all is believed to be identified with that supreme being, to share his being- pantheism or monism of sorts. That’s the difference.
The three great monotheistic faiths are not the only truly monotheistic faiths, contrary to popular belief. There are other truly monotheistic faiths such as The faith of the Samaritans in Israel (Samaritanism) Sikhism, Baha’i faith, Zoroastrianism and others. Read about it on wikipedia.
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cerad2
Guest
Yep. Our marketing sucks. But it’s comforting to know that, when people die, all become atheists.
Also interesting on how 2000 years becomes “only” in the context. But when talking about the authority of the church, 2000 years suddenly becomes a very long time indeed.
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catharina
Guest
Yet you have done that.
In calling yourself Buddhist, you are rejecting Christianity.
You say your “Religion: Jesus Buddhist” defines you.
I say it is, of course, a rejection of Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
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jakasaki
Guest
Arabic speaking Christians do not call Jesus “Isa” - they call him “Yasu”
It is not my opinion - it is a fact.
Edit to add:
- Christian Practices
There are also Arabic versions of Christian names (e.g. saints’ names), and names of Greek, Armenian, or Assyrian / Aramaic origin. Adoption of European names, especially French and Greek ones (to the lesser extent, Spanish ones, in Morocco), has been a centuries-long convention for Arab Christians — especially (but not only) in the Levant. Thus, George Habash, Charles Helou, Camille Chamoun, Boutros Boutros-Ghali etc.
Other examples of exclusively names of Arab Christians are in honor of Jesus Christ, like Abdul **Yasu **(servant of Jesus; the feminine form, Amat Yasu), Abdul (Amat) Masih (servant of the Messiah), Maryam umm **Yasu **(Mary, mother of Jesus), Yousef abu **Yasu **(Joseph, father of Jesus), **Yasu **ibn Maryam (Jesus, son of Mary), **Yasu **ibn Yusef (Jesus, son of Joseph), and **Yasu **Ullah (Jesus belongs to God).
The name “Abdullah”, meaning simply “servant of God,” is also used by Christians.
arabnames.tripholidays.com/structures-ism.php
meltzerboy
New member
To my mind, the fact, as you state, that Hindus WORSHIP numerous devas, even though these are not the Ultimate Creator (Brahman), means they are not monotheistic. Strict monotheism cannot include minor deities who are worshiped. As you probably know, it is not the same in Catholicism since Catholics do NOT worship the Virgin Mary or the Saints: they are regarded as intercessors, not deities. (However, for SOME Protestants and SOME Orthodox Jews, the process of intercession is dangerously close to worship and in itself forbidden. A topic for another thread!)
meltzerboy
New member
I had not read your post before my own (#55). You explain the concept of monotheism much better! Regarding Orthodox Judaism, intercession is generally frowned upon, but not by all. My grandmother was an Orthodox Jew and she sometimes prayed to her deceased parents to intercede with G-d even though, to my knowledge, this is not technically permitted.
meltzerboy
New member
Elizabeth, just call him Mahatma (no “h” at the end).Thank you.
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Sufjon
Guest
Hi Meltzerboy: We do consider ourselves monotheistic, in that there is one God, expressed as everything. It very much follows modern physics, in that all things emanate from a singularity. It is an entirely different view and can’t be compared easily to western thought. The singularity (we would say) is God, and He expresses Himself as anything and everything. Our understanding is that to see multiplicity in creation is to be distracted. What thing exists independently of everything else? All are interdependent and connected. If one thinks it through to logical conclusions, it is hard to define where one thing ends and another thing begins. What particle is something in and of itself, and not part of a larger thing like a cell, and what cell is not part of an organelle, what organelle is not part of an organ and what organ is not part of a being? Conversely, what being is not both the sum of it’s constituent parts, and itself part of an ecosystem? What ecosystem is not part of a planet and what planet is not part of a solar system and so on? Each is made up only of the smaller things, and the smaller things add up to the larger things, and together they are but one thing. To see separation in them is simply the machinations of the mind. Christians see the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit as one God expressed in three persons. We simply see one God expressed in all things.
Your friend,
Sufjon
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Ahimsa
Guest
That may be a Christian understanding of monotheism, but it’s not the standard definition. From the Oxford English Dictionary:
Monotheism: The doctrine or belief that there is only one God (as opposed to many, as in polytheism).
Buddhism doesn’t worship Brahman.
In Hinduism, Brahman can only be worshipped by means of some form that humans can sense: the Vedas, the Avatars, the Yogas, etc… But that’s also true of even the Abrahamic religions: in Judaism, the Torah is the means by which one worships Adonai; in Christianity, the human/divine form of Jesus; in Islam, it’s the Qur’an. None of these are to be equated with God (except, in Christianity, Jesus Christ, but even then, Christ is “begotten” from the Father, and is a different Person), but they all are “forms” that humans can sense (see, touch, read, etc.), allowing humans to enter into communion with God.
Put a Hindu who is supremely devoted to Shiva, and a Hindu who is supremely devoted to Vishnu, and you’ll see sparks fly. That doesn’t mean that they will kill each other, but each will maintain that Shiva or Vishnu is the Supreme Person/Reality. For Hindus like these, “Brahman” (the divine state totally without form, without shape, without personality) is an inferior manifestation of either Shiva or Vishnu.
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Ahimsa
Guest
I use “worship” simply to mean what it originally meant: to give worth (to something). In that sense, Catholics do “worship” Mary; Protestants do “worship” sola scriptura; and Hindus do “worship” the devas.
If you want to limit “worship” to “the giving of Ultimate worth (to something)”, then I would not say that Hindus “worship” the devas. Since “Hinduism” is a broad category, let me restrict myself to Hindus of the Shaiva tradition, those who give the Name “Shiva” to the Ultimate Person/Reality. Shaivas only “worship” Shiva; they do not “worship” the devas, but they do respect/venerate/honor the devas.
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