Worldviews: Messiah Jesus & Guatama Buddha

February 5, 2010 in Buddhism with 6 Comments

Do you agree that how we see the world determines how we make our choices in life?

Ever wonder what some of the major differences of worldview and reality there are between the two “great faiths” of Christianity and Buddhism?

Here is a simple list that I pulled together from my own observation and study living in the land of Theravada Buddhism.

CHRISTIAN                                                           BUDDHIST

Believes in God as Creator                                   Believes in cause & effect, nature

God is Supreme Being                                           Buddha, not God, but only teacher

God is unchanging                                                Nothing is permanent

Concerned w/eternal salvation                         Concerned w/suffering elimination

Depends upon God for salvation                       Depends on self & self effort

The souls is immortal                                           There is no soul

Self Dependence is spiritual pride                     Complete self dependence is striven for

Sin & rebellion is our root problem                   Ignorance is our root problem

Humans must surrender to our Creator           There is no one to answer to, just karma

Rebirth for Christian is joyous                           Rebirth for Buddhist is indicative of failure

Grace given by God through faith                      Good deeds hopefully outweigh bad ones

Teaches sacrificial love “agape”                         Love causes suffering/ we should dettach

Suffering of Christ for us                                       If Christ suffered, it was bad karma

Our soul goes to be with Christ                           Samsara, (re-incarna.) is result of Karma

One Hell for those who reject God                     Many levels of Hell for different sins

One Heaven for Those in Christ                         Heaven is not the goal, non-existence is.

Only one life in a fallen world                             Countless lives mostly in suffering

Next life depends on true faith in Jesus            Next life depends on deeds, good or bad

Spirit worship is forbidden                                   Spirit worship tolerated & integrated

Ancestors can be honored & respected             Ancestor worship is tolerated

Good deeds should be practical help                 Good deeds are mainly for self-merit

Eternal life is forever with God & saints           Goal is for complete non-existence

Complete assurance in work of Christ              No assurance whatsoever – never know

Peace of Christ is everlasting                               Temp. Peace gained through meditation

Suffering ends at Revelation 21                           Reborn countless times into suffering

Would you add anything else?

Have a question or comment on anything you read?  Let me know!

Here Are A Few Others Of Interest...

About John Lambert: I write to give you a window into my world and challenge you to not only believe the radical missional claims of Jesus Christ, but also to view faith in Him through a global perspective. Everything is up for discussion, so leave a comment after you check the comment policy. I live in Northern Thailand with my awesome wife and two sons. Thanks for joining in. Peace.

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6 Responses to “Worldviews: Messiah Jesus & Guatama Buddha”

  1. Tracie Yensel February 5, 2010 at 3:14 pm #

    This is good stuff, thanks for breaking this down like that. Really gives a visual of the differences between the Truth and another religion. I can’t imaging living a life with a goal of complete non-existance! Thanks for all the work you and your family are doing in Asia…they clearly need to see the light! Love you guys!

  2. Georgia Derr February 6, 2010 at 1:14 am #

    John ..this is truely one of the saddest things I have EVER seen…can you explain #4,#16 and #22 further…non-existance..wow..love to you and family

  3. Karen M February 8, 2010 at 2:31 pm #

    Wow. Even if I wasn’t a Christian and I read the differences, I would have to wonder why anyone would WANT to choose Buddhism. What a sad and non-attainable goal! This makes me so much more thankful for the truth, joy, and forgiveness I have in Christ!

  4. Andy May 24, 2010 at 9:36 pm #

    Wow. Even if I wasn’t a Buddhist and I read the differences, I would have to wonder why anyone would WANT to choose Jesus. What a sad and non-attainable goal! This makes me so much more thankful for the truth, joy, and forgiveness I have in the Dhamma!

  5. spreadtheflame May 26, 2010 at 3:21 am #

    Andy, it’s not about want or not want. It’s about truth. The goal of salvation is unattainable in both religions, but the difference is that in Jesus Christ the impossible has been made possible in the cross and the resurrection of the dead. The unattainable has become attainable in the historical fact that Jesus defeated death and the cycle of meaningless and made a way for us to have eternal peace with our Creator if we trust in Him alone as God our savior.

  6. Andy May 31, 2010 at 9:45 pm #

    It seems you define truth the way it suits your own religious conviction. Have you ever pondered about, what the Jewish version of your “truth” might look like? And the Muslim one? Historians would even point out that there is far less historical proof for the existence of Jesus than for the Buddha. Yet, for Buddhists it is actually irrelevant if Jesus existed or not. We have nothing against him – unless you are discrediting our religion in his name.

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