Witnessing to Buddhists

[blueorchidjd]

Okay.
So I have a couple of friends that are Buddhists
What type of questions and loopholes in the Buddhist 'enlightenment" are great things to bring up to inform them of the truth of Christ?

I have noticed that with some Buddhists they have it right when it comes to giving up 'their specific goals and waiting to hear', because I feel that even a lot of Christians (including myself at times) don't understand the power of waiting to hear on God--- but in terms of Buddhism and without the acknowledgment of God and knowing his scripture it seems that it would fall on deaf ears. How do I explain that?

Also do Buddhists believe in a supreme law, or believe that they are sinners?


Thank ya :0)

 

[maxwel]

I'm no expert in Buddhism, but it is an extremely amorphous religion.

When asked the simple question of whether or not Buddhism is theistic, you will often get an answer like this, "In some ways it's theistic, in some ways it's not, and in some ways it's both, simultaneously."

That's a pretty convoluted and illogical answer to a simple yes/no question.
We are pretty much dealing with philosophical madness here, where normal rules of logic all go out the window.
This is the mindset... just one tenet after another which often contradict, and make no sense, and follow few rules of logic, and yet it all sounds very complex and intellectual.

It's like trying to find a clear path through a block of swiss cheese.

Overall, you have a very complex sort of pseudo-intellectual religion, that is extremely amorphous.

However, they are still lost, and will have the same "root" or "core" issues as any atheist.
- They don't want to be under the absolute authority of a divine creator.
- The aren't willing to accept there is a final and authoritative judgment for sin.
- They believe they must rely on their own efforts to "get themselves" to whatever higher place they're going to.

I'm sure an ex-buddhist could give you much more specific insights,
and maybe have some specific answers to your question.

 

[posthuman]

here's a pretty good article -- http://www.gotquestions.org/Buddhist-Christian.html

there was a book i read comparing and contrasting Buddhism and Christianity a long while ago, showing how Christ brings the true "enlightenment" and how similar things like the idea of "samsara" and living carnally are.. but i'm having trouble remembering the title atm. if it comes to me i'll get back to you.

 

[Angela53510]

There are many Buddhist sects. The Tibetan Buddhists believe there is a hell, with many levels. I have a friend that is a Buddhist, and she once told me I was going there!

Other Buddhists believe there is a Heaven. I think that is the Pureland Buddhists.

But the majority believe in reincarnation based on good works, such as caring for the poor, and of course, meditating on nothing to achieve Nirvana. The goal is to get off the wheel of Karma, which is not something that you encounter in this life (like you did something bad today, so something bad happens to you tomorrow!) but rather the good and the bad you do in this life, is somehow judged and then karma decides what you deserve. So there is a kind of judgment, but it is rather arbitrary, with the rules not being so clear.

Many Buddhists serve for a time as monks, and some become life long monks. If you give food to a begging monk, then your karma is improved.

As far as reincarnation, it is much more complex than Hinduism. There are 4 parts to the soul, and they are all reborn in different bodies. And NO, I don't get that. Just remember that not all Buddhists believe this, and there is infighting between the sects and major differences.

Despite what some people might say, Christianity is NOT compatible with Buddhism in any way, shape or form. They believe the world is suffering, and an illusion. We believe that the world is real, created by God, and that sin is the essential problem in the world.

Here is another link for you to read.

Buddhism vs Christianity - Difference and Comparison | Diffen

This is an even better one.

Buddhism and Christianity: Buddhist Teaching or the Bible?

 

[Angela53510]

Sorry, I forgot the main thing in your post - witnessing to Buddhists. It is tough! Our world religions prof pretended to be a Buddhist, and our class of 30, many called to missions, could not even begin to crack the topic and present the gospel with the person actually understanding.

Witnessing to Buddhists • EffectiveEvangelism.com at ChristianAnswers.Net

Watch out for the pop up window in this second link!
The dos and don’ts of witnessing to Buddhists | Christian News on Christian Today

And another good one:

https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/2012/06/sharing-jesus-with-buddhists

 

[jeremy1981]

As a kid, I both studied and was very interested in Buddhism. It came from Hinduism originally (much like Hare Krishna), and Siddhartha Gautama was an Indian Prince who saw the suffering of the world as a young man on an excursion outside the palace. He sought the pathway to enlightenment through severe fasting (eventually left this), and then defeated a great evil through meditation, eventually achieving his enlightenment, which is escaping the cycle of life, death and rebirth. Buddhism teaches the four noble truths about the existence and causes of suffering etc., with the fourth opening up the 8 fold noble path that basically seems to suggest ways of beating suffering and achieving the enlightened state. Unlike Christianity, it attempts to escape suffering, rather than embracing it, as Christ did.

Buddhism is more a philosophy of life than a religion, but has similarities to Christianity. As to witnessing, it maybe a good idea to look at how we are saved by grace through faith, rather than by trying to achieve a state of enlightenment through works and meditation through their understanding of the 8 fold noble path. Hope that helps Bluejay

 

[Tintin]

I read a book in the last few months or so about the one True God in ancient China. A great starting point would be to show Chinese people that if they were wanting to return to their nations roots, they should learn to worship the one True God.

Here's a book review I wrote to give you some idea of the content.

FAITH OF OUR FATHERS: GOD IN ANCIENT CHINA

An incredible book! Highly recommended.



"Faith of Our Fathers" by Chan Kei Thong is a fascinating collaboration of evidence to support the author's belief (and that of other Chinese and Western Christians) that Shang Di, the ancient monotheistic god of China and the one true God were one and the same. Chan believes the Chinese people were one of the faithful groups that left the Tower of Babel and travelled to what later became China, bringing their God-honouring ways with them. While each piece of evidence within this book on its own may not provide true credibility for this belief, taken as a whole, these seven signposts make a very strong case.

Here are the seven historical markers:
1. The composition of ancient Chinese characters suggests knowledge of the earliest events of human history as described in the Bible.

2. Historical texts point to the Supreme Being venerated in ancient China, as being the same God revealed in the Bible.

3. The Border Sacrifice ceremony performed by the emperor at the Tower (Altar) of Heaven for several thousand years shares amazing parallels with the sacrificial system prescribed in the books of Law in the Bible.

4. Some eminent scholars from the 16th and 19th centuries came to the conclusion that no.2 was true.

5. Striking similarities between the Hebrew and the Chinese approach to moral truth eg. man's responsibilities to society and his relationship to the Divine.

6. The ancient rulers of China understood and set forth a godly way of ruling the people. The rulers saw themselves as serving Heaven (the righteous Supreme Being) by serving the people.

7. Chinese historical records appear to confirm some key astral events spoken of in the Bible. Interpretations of these events are surprisingly consistent with the Bible.

I found this book to be a fascinating read. It's part history lesson, part theological study and part devotional. There's plenty of images and photos to satisfy the reader. I did find the book long-winded in places and the devotional sections were redundant for me (but they'll be useful for some readers). The book really helped me to better understand elements of Leviticus.

Discovering that the ancient Chinese believed in the one true God was incredible. Learning the story of how monotheism gave way to paganism was also intriguing but highly disturbing. In brief: Shang Di was worshipped for two millennia but then His worship became just a tradition and was corrupted and overtaken by competing beliefs like Daoism. The Chinese emperors began to identify themselves with the Dragon (Satan), which in ancient China had been feared and associated with sin, death etc. During the Late Middle Ages, there was a return to the worship of Shang Di but this drew to an end when China became a Republic, just prior to World War One.

"Faith of Our Fathers" is a must-read book for everyone.

8.5/10

 

[Angela53510]

The only issue I would take with this book, Tintin, is that the majority of Buddhists are not Chinese but Tibetan, Thai, Japanese, etc. But a good book I have heard for Confucius/Buddhists. They are a syncretistic religion. Japan has the same, with ancestor worship being the "folk" religion, and Buddhism being the official or public religion.

 

[Tintin]

The only issue I would take with this book, Tintin, is that the majority of Buddhists are not Chinese but Tibetan, Thai, Japanese, etc. But a good book I have heard for Confucius/Buddhists. They are a syncretistic religion. Japan has the same, with ancestor worship being the "folk" religion, and Buddhism being the official or public religion.

Bother, you're right. Okay, this would be a good book for Chinese people in general.

 

[RedTent]

Any person who believes in any philosophy or religion can get everything right from the ten commandments to knowing there is one God but not be Christian. The basic principle of creation is that we are created to live forever with God. God set it up that way on the first day of creation. It has always been through Christ's blood that can happen. If Cain and Abel could come talk to us today, they would tell you.

 

[apocalypseArisen]

So I'm buddhist, so I feel obliged to comment. I belong to the American Zen sect of buddhism. The main thing to keep in mind with Buddhism is that its incredibly unorganized. For example, East and Southeast Asia are all mostly Mahayana Buddhists, but each nation has its own dominant Mahayana sect, and even if the dominant sect is the same in two countries they'd still have different customs and beliefs depending on the areas. It goes all the way down to the local community level

The main things we believe though are fairly simple. All life is full of 'suffering' (we call it dukkha) which is defined very very broadly. The root cause of suffering is desire, which again, is defined broadly. we dont just think of suffering as like, being sick, or poor, or hungry, though those are all valid examples. Nor is desire simply wanting an object. Suffering is a essentially a state of not being at peace, a state of...well, non-equilibrium. Desire comes in different forms, but the way I see it its essentially trying to force things through your will out of a natural state. The goal then is to end desire, which should end your suffering. To do that, the Buddha created this thing called the Eight-Fold Path which serves as tenants to follow to help you reach the state of the cecession of desire. These tenants are virtually the same as most religions around the world, including Christianity

Keep in mind, I'm just a novice in my sect, and some of what i say may be lost in translation, or other sects may word or think of things differently. The main point is that there's no one right way to enlightenment, and different sects may take different approaches but still get there.

Also, in respect to an above comment, I believe in reincarnation, but its virtually independent of karma. The buddhist view of reincarnation is different from the traditional (hindu) view of it, but thats a long discussion for another time. Even then, I don't think i subscribe to the majority view when it comes to buddhist reincarnation, but the main point to keep in mind is that it doesn't involve a soul per say, as we dont believe in the existence of a soul, at least one in the western conception. In addition, in response to the OP, we dont believe in a supreme absolute law in the way im assuming your thinking of, nor do we believe in sin. I personally dont believe in an absolute good or evil, but i still consider myself to be a person of very strong morals. I'd really rather do literally anything then get in an argument about ethics though.

But yeah, hopes this helps you understand Buddhists at least a bit more. Honestly, and this is just my opinion, but I know that when christians try to actively convert me, it immediately turns me off to the concept. If you want to talk to them about religion, keep it respectful. Don't just go in with the attitude of "I'm right, your wrong and i want to make you see my way." Just understand they believe what they believe for a reason, often a very personal one, so basically just dont be a jerk about it is what im saying (not that I am calling you a jerk, i dont even know you)