I am still reading Timothy Tennent's Christianity at the Religious Roundtable. I have started on the section on Buddhism and I am now utterly confused.
Consider this logical tetralemma:
A is true
A is not true
A is both true and not true
A is neither true nor not true
Huh? I am lost.
pearlie
Postscript (on 30/7/09)
Now that I read further on the part of the Buddhist-Christian dialogue I have a slightly better understanding and where they are coming from with regards to the tetralemma. Ultimately, the "Christian God and the Buddhas seem to function in their own separate universe" ... and these two religions are fundamentally different. (Tennent, 113)
Whilst we Christians believe in an objective, personal God, the Buddhist two main schools of thought, the Yogacara and the Madhyamika, focus on philosophical idealism (all reality is in the mind) and philosophical nihilism (there is no reality or meaning at all) respectively. (Tennent, 102)
Pearlie,
ReplyDeleteI have been challenged by the Buddhist conundrum. Buddhism has no problem 'accommodating' Christianity.
The pat answer to 'Jesus is the Way to the Father.' is 'yes He is to YOUR God.' It is like pushing on a rope.
I wrote on this in one of my evangelism articles (about the Good, better and best God). In Christianity, we don't need to focus on the wrongness of the other gods, but rather the 'rightness' of Jesus Christ. We do that be spreading His truth and teachings.
This can and should be evident in our life, our lifestyle, our interaction with others, and by the love we have for others. To do this properly, we need to be in the Word, and knowledgeable of God's voice and ways.
I think I sited King Darius in my example. But with the same parameters, I can walk among many other religions, unashamed of my stance and nonjudgmental of others in the process.
God Bless
Doug
Buddhism is getting more and more popular especially in the Western world I heard. After reading a bit about it, it does sound very appealing to me as well. Though of course I'd rather have Jesus than emptiness.
ReplyDeleteBecause of its gaining popularity and its interesting concepts, I am contemplating about doing my assignment on Buddhism - most probably on meditation.