Buddhism and Christianity
Any sort of Buddhism that rejects Christ as the way and the truth and the life, is wrong.
However, Buddhism seems to have begun sometime well before 0 BC, before Christ's birth as it was accounted in the Gospels. At that time, that early form of Buddhism was technically not contrary to Christianity. In its early days, Buddhism did not reject Christ, because Christ's birth was not recorded in the Gospels as happening until after Buddhism began. They did not know of that Someone to reject yet.
In ancient times, Buddhism apparently was not directly against the Old Testament either, as the ancient Buddhist people did not seem to live in the land of Canaan which the Israelites were instructed to conquer. So they did not appear to get in Israel's way as they left Egypt, neither did they seem to be contrary to Israel's conquest of Canaan.
Nor did the Indians seem to be a party of the covenant between Abraham and God. Nor the one between Israel and God during Moses' time.
Buddhists even believed in the existence of spirits (obviously, since they believed in past lives and reincarnation). At the same time, they were not endorsing the worship of any of them that they knew others were worshiping - Buddha was said to have gone up or ascended even to teach the Devas, which were regarded as great spiritually powerful beings or deities (idols) in the Hindu religion. This stance Buddhism took, would have been remarkable theologically for a group of people who:
1) lived before Christ's birth in Bethlehem
2) were well outside the land of Canaan
3) did not (yet) hear of Israel's God.
If they did not worship idols, yet still believed in existence of spirits and in morality and righteousness, then they were better than many of the other nations surrounding them, and the Hindus and pagans near them.
Not only that, but Buddhism seems to have tended to encourage a form of righteous living (as far as they guessed how to) and to have peace between people, as well as mental discipline. They seemed to have a similar desire for non-violence, like "turning the other cheek" and even loving one's enemies in Christianity.
It is silly to think that the true Deity was only active in the borders of Israel. He was not confined to the Middle East. So this blogpost is meant to inspire people to look for useful ideas and inspiration in other cultures and places and times, without losing sight of truth of Christ who is the only way. This may allow study of Buddhist scriptures and techniques - any that are not contrary to Christianity.
Luke 9:50, Mark 9:40
Besides any lack of emphasis on Christ, both these reasons make some types of Buddhism incomplete:
- lack of a proper spiritual hierarchy (although Buddhism does acknowledge its own version of a spiritual hierarchy, with bad karma keeping entities stuck in cycles of reincarnation (similar to Christian belief of sinners being slaves to sin, and so lower in the hierarchy), and also with Devas and other entities being reincarnated into better kinds of existence, but in my opinion, pure Buddhism doesn't give enough reverence to the Creator, who provided them with interesting experiences to have, and Who likely maintains the world in which they live, even to this day)
- not recognizing and being grateful to the Deity, for the obvious existence of a complex orderly creation, with its systems, as being the result of creative actions of the Deity. They just assume the world was always like it is and don't realize that work was done in order to create and even to maintain order and nature and the world.
- karma which affects rebirths, but who set up this karmic system? Isn't it a system of justice? Wouldn't justice require laws, a lawmaker, an enforcer of laws, a transmitter of laws, etc.? Who would assign and punish themselves to a worse reincarnation? Even if they admit they did wrong after they died? So wouldn't someone else have to have the job of judging and punishing evil? Even if an entity did choose to punish themselves by accepting a worse reincarnation, which laws or process would they follow to choose the proper reincarnation or reincarnational punishment? Even if Buddhists claim that some have reached Nirvana, past this cycle of reincarnations, they would still admit that the cycle, with its complex processes, exists, because they would admit that other entities are still in that cycle. In the case of some Buddhists, it seems as if karma itself is their god instead of the being the job or tool of a God.