I am very confused. I believe in God and Jesus Christ being reborn and that he died for our sins. I am told that I cannot fully enter Buddhism because (1) Buddha is considered to be a false God in Christianity and (2) I want to enter Buddhism but keep my Christian faith both elements full blown. It is very difficult. I want to enter Buddhism but not pray and meditate to something that is considered false. Any advice, facts, suggestions?

RubyPitbull

Well, you seem to be creating a conflict of interest here. Do you want to convert to Buddhism or just learn about it? To convert, you would need to renounce Jesus as your saviour, which I suspect is not something you want to do.

You cannot remain true to two different religious deities. It is an impossible undertaking.

What you can do is learn about Buddhism fully, if it interests you. Knowledge is power and it will not go against your faith to fully learn the faiths of others.

Religousman3

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Thanks for the advice. I have researched in depth Buddhism. I admire the religion Buddhism and Christianity. Do you think that i can remain Christian but still practice certain aspects of Buddhism like the Eight Principles and the Four Noble Truths?

One more question: Since a lot of Buddhists worship gods like Buddha ( the founder and creator of Buddhism and Martial Arts) and Allah, those deities are considered to be false gods in Christianity, I'm not asking for myself but for others, is worshiping (considered to be) false gods wrong for them?

RubyPitbull

If you feel that this in no way, goes against your Christian teachings and principles, and may enhance your understanding of Christianity and Buddhism, then I do not see it as a problem. But, if doing this will, in anyway, create confusion or doubt in your belief in Jesus and his teachings, it will be detrimental to your faith. Faith in what we believe in is what gives us our morale compass and aids us in taking the correct paths in life. You must avoid purposefully putting yourself on a path that may cause you to doubt your beliefs.


Do your friends feels that it is wrong for them to worship their Gods? Do we have a right to assume that they are wrong? What you are asking is a question that has been argued and debated for over 2000 years (I am only referencing Christianity in the date I am using) and it is a question that I cannot answer. What I believe in, is what I believe in. What you believe in, is what you believe in. How can we come to the absolute conclusion while we live on this Earth that another belief is absolutely wrong? How do we know what the real truth is until we ourselves pass on? I personally believe that it is a very egotistical idea to believe that any one of us knows what will happen to another if they do not worship at our church. Tolerance and acceptance of, and for, others who are different from us, who have a different belief system from us, leads us to a happier and more fulfilled live on this earth. Why argue and create strife? Why force your concepts onto someone who does not believe as you do? In the end, no matter what others say, no one really knows for sure. It comes down to faith. Faith in your religion and God. I, for one, do not choose to stand in judgement of my fellow man. I do not think any good can come out of it.

avenger9000

Just to quickly clarify, Buddha himself did not claim he was God and Buddhism actually teaches there is no God.


And one of the 10 commandments is that you should not worship idols. Idols is defined as anything that is worshipped instead of the true God. In Bible times, idols were often statutes of false "gods" made of wood, stone or metal. Idolatry is the worship of idols. (This is just what I found in the appendix of my Bible and in my opinion, worship of idols is wrong. But thats just my opinion and I am not in anyway trying to force this onto anyone so please stop accusing me of so called preaching)

Again, this is just what the Bible says and I am not the in the position to judge. This is just my personal opinion. Take it or leave it. No hard feelings.


I will be praying for you and hope that the Holy Spirit will guide you to a good decision.

God loves you man

shygrneyzs

As Ruby so aptly stated, you cannot state you believe in God and practice elements of Buddhism. The two do not reflect the same theology and practices. While there are elements of peace and understanding and tolerance in Christianity and in Buddhism, there are vast differences that cannot be overlooked. Have you sat down and talked with a minister/priest and a Buddhist monk? You have some good questions but how can you reconcile splitting your personal faith in Christ and still practice Buddhism?

I think it would cause a great deal of inner turmoil for you. Which way to go for this or that.

dulcecita

Buddhism > Nichiren - SGI-USA.ORG is a good place to start your search. Good luck!

lost in my little head

I think its wonderful that you are opening to other religious ideas. Don't let it discouraged you to think that there is only one true religion because there isn't and there is no evidence to tell you otherwise. Just go with what you believe is faith as long as your happy and not doing any harm then I don't see why not.

gogosean

Please people, at least look up Buddhism before you comment on it from a seat of authority. We, myself included, do not worship the Buddha. The Buddha is already inside of us. If we bow to an image of Buddha, we are bowing to ourselves, as a sign of self respet.

You do not need to renounce Christ. Anyone who says so is speaking from a profound seat of ignorance as to what Buddhism is. Buddhism is a philosophy that deals with suffering.

If Christians said you could not practice Empiricism because it is a false god, would you buy in to it? Would you reject Western medicine? All of these are philosophies that do compete with Christian apologetics.

Buddha explicitly stated he was not a god. I meet with other Buddhists in a Baptist church. The church gives us the space. They are not threatened because they understand that Buddhism is not about competing with Christ, it is about finding what is already in you.

I am not trying to be pompous when I say that there is plenty of evidence that Christians can not agree to what Christianity is. Many people only have superficial beliefs about what Buddhism is. They are often not true. Just do it.

RubyPitbull

gogo, I never claimed to know about Buddhism. Since Religiousman posted this on April 2, I realized through Avengers kind post that I mistakenly used the word deity. Even though, I agree it is a major difference, it was minor to the actual question at hand and wasn't what I was focusing on. I apologize if this upset you. That aspect of Buddhism is not what is at issue for Religiousman. I understand what you are trying to say but it is not relevant to his post.

It is apparent that Religiousman is very much a Christian. He admires Buddhism and would like to incorporate certain aspects of that religion into his own without compromising his belief system. Are you suggesting, with your knowledge of Christianity, that his parents, his church, will be accepting of his embracing both religions fully? His statements made it clear that someone of his faith told him that Buddha was a false God.

Although I didn't put it quite in these words, I stand by my belief that a Christian cannot wholly embrace two different religions and stay true to Jesus Christ. A person doing this cannot avoid creating a conflict of interest. However, if he is able to take certain elements of Buddhism that he admires and is able to find a way to thread those elements into his life as a Christian and enhance his faith, without undermining it, that is always a good thing in my book. But, unless a person fully understands both religions and is adept at doing this, it can lead to a crisis in faith down the road. That is what I was focusing my attention on. This young man is a follower of Jesus Christ. That fact was foremost on my mind when I answered his post. I do not want to see someone actively and accidentally undermine their religious beliefs. So, I do apologize for annoying you to the extent that you were, but Buddhism and understanding it, wasn't my concern when I answered this post.

If you are interested in telling Religiousman what aspects of Buddhism in particular he my follow without undermining his religious beliefs, please, share those with him here. I am sure it would be beneficial to him.

If you are interested in teaching us about Buddhism and are willing to engage in a discussion about it, please, start a new thread and invite us to join you. I would be very open to learning what you are willing to share.