That is why the Buddha laughs.
Posted on 04/05/2007 5:05:09 AM PDT by Daffynition
If you're a Tibetan Buddhist or you're leaning that way, you may not know it, but you need Jesus.
That's the thinking behind a series of Christian evangelical workshops -- including one later this month in Wheaton -- that will coincide with the Dalai Lama's trip to Chicago and other American cities this spring.
Interserve USA is putting on the workshops to teach Christians how to talk to Buddhists and, perhaps, to win converts.
"We welcome the Dalai Lama here, but we also want to have a chance to reach Tibetan Buddhists with the gospel," said Doug Van Bronkhorst, executive director of Interserve, an international missionary group based just outside of Philadelphia.
The online announcement for the upcoming workshop offers this enticing hook: "Tibetan Buddhism. It's ancient. It's complex. It's trendy. And its leader, the Dalai Lama, is visiting your city this spring."
But Van Bronkhorst said in a telephone interview Tuesday, "We are interested in people, not notches on a belt."
That's not quite how it sounds to the head of the Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago, which includes bishops and leaders from most of the largest Christian, Jewish and Muslim groups in the area.
"I'm speaking without knowing anything about this group," said the Rev. Stan Davis, acting director of the council. "But my sense is that their goal is to try to convert to Christianity. Our goal would be to enter into a dialogue with them, to find out about their faith in a two-way conversation."
'He's a very thoughtful man' So does Van Bronkhorst think Christians can learn something from the Dalai Lama and his teachings?
"Oh, sure," Van Bronkhorst said. "He's a very thoughtful man. He has a lot of good things to say about peace in the world, and he's quite knowledgeable about other faiths, including the Christian faith."
Van Bronkhorst says his organization has no plans to send Christian evangelicals to greet the Dalai Lama during his American tour. "Of course that's up to [individuals] if they want to do that," Van Bronkhorst said.
The Rev. Patti Nakai, a part-time minister at Buddhist Temple of Chicago in Uptown, says Buddhists in general may not disagree with the Bible, just the evangelical spin.
"Most Buddhists would not have a problem with what is written in the gospel," said Nakai, who does not follow the particular practices of the Dalai Lama's sect. "It's what evangelical Christians say -- the idea that you have to be saved in a certain way or you're doomed to eternal damnation, that's what we have a problem with."
The Dalai Lama is due to travel to Chicago in early May, making his first public appearance in the city since 1999.
The spiritual leader is expected to stay on the 24th floor of the Palmer House Hilton in the presidential suite, where amenities include three bathrooms.
Your blind acceptance of some questionable sayings by 2000 year old goat herders does not make it truth either!
“Maybe Interserve USA should send their members over to win converts in Red China—heck of a lot more souls to be saved over there, I mean true Christians aren’t afraid of a llittle adversity are they?”
I will guess that they already have some in China. Of course, Buddhism is not the principle religion a missionary faces when serving on the Chinese Mainland. The god of Fa-tsai is the principle religion. Fa-tsai means wealth/wealthy.
Your blind acceptance of some 1000+ year old questionable sayings by goat herders does not make it truth either!
I once set up an evangelical hot dog stand in a Buddhist community. They kept asking me to make them one with everything.
When they asked for change, I said “change must come from within.”
I’ll be here all week.
i think in reviewing my last post that I came across as a little bit harsher than I meant to. I want to make it clear that I respect your views. But at the same time I think it should also be stated that ancient religions including Christianity had different levels of meaning. Many of the early Christians emphasized “the Mysteriesâ€. St clement and Origen pointed out that if anything seemed to harsh by God look for a deeper meaning. I think that Christ as a symbolic representation as the higher self in a person is in fact the way to spiritual evolution. And that is also true of the other religions who use a symbolic God like form to represent their higher selves.
I think Christianity has been a good fit for this country it is a system that works by causing the evolution of the Character. I think it got that from it’s Buddhist roots.
I don’t think I will convince you when I propose my disagreement with your statements. But for the sake of others who may be reading these posts I will attempt to present an alternative.
From my study of history and of the writing and transmission of the Bible, the translation of Jesus’ statement in John 14:6 as “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.” is an acurate and faithful rendering of the Aramaic. We have enough of the historical record to demonstrate that the translations of both the King James Bible and the New American Standard Bible (published by the Lockman Foundation) are reliable and trustworth translation. So, given that Jesus made that statement, I have to decide to I believe Him or not. If I do believe Him, than I can choose to follow Him or not.
If I don’t believe Him, I can try to explain away the statement or think, did He really mean what it says on the surface or is there a deeper “metaphysical” interpretation. Or, I can just say that He was wrong and cherry-pick which of Jesus’ words I want to accept.
Hmm.
I chose the first option.
Now, to your point about “a lot of people burned as witches and heretics.” I do not disagree that this has happened at all. I do disagree that it is the normal method of evangelization. I don’t know the numbers but I believe that in the 2000 years of Christianity, the overall number is quite small.
I didn’t think that you were harsh. I haven’t felt that you, or anyone else on this thread has been rude. I think we’ve had a good exchange of thoughts.
The problem I have right at this moment is that I don’t live in the US, but in a country in SE Asia. It is late and I have responsibilities in the morrow. Unless the discussion has moved on to a point where my responses are moot, I will continue my part after 8 hours have been concluded. IOW, I’m going to bed. Good night.
That is why the Buddha laughs.
Amen!
They don’t push their religion on anyone....go pick on the Muslims...they need some religion.”
Elijah Bridgman (1801-1861) Christian missionary to China; preached the Gospel to Buddhists.
Hudson Taylor (1832-1905) Christian missionary to China; preached the Gospel to Buddhists.
Lottie Moon (1840-1912) Christian missionary to China; preached the Gospel to Buddhists.
Jonathan Goforth (1859-1936) Christian missionary to China and Korea; preached the Gospel to Buddhists.
Eric Liddell (1902-1945) Christian missionary to China; preach the Gospel to Buddhists. Died in an intern camp in China.
Nelson Bell (1894-1973) Christian Missionary to China; preached the Gospel to Buddhists.
John & Isabel Khun (1906-1966; 1901-1957) Christian Missionaries to China; preached the Gospel to Buddhists.
David Adeney (1911-1994) Christian Missionary to China; preached the Gospel to Buddhists.
There are many more, including the famous John Birch, and Fred Donaldson.
Christians just cannot leave those people alone. We have a clear biblical mandate to take the Gospel to every creature (Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; 2 Corinthians 5; etc.; etc) and that includes Buddhists and Muslims and Hindus and Pantheists and Atheists, and Agnostics, and other religionists and non-religionists; EVERY CREATURE.
Some time ago right here here on FR I read posts of one man lambasting a Christian for stating that he would win Muslim young people. The critic of the Christian (a professing conservative) tried to state that trying to win Muslim’s to Christ was somehow a violation of the Muslims’ “freedom of religion.”
I also believe that Jesus Christ is THE [only] Way, THE [only] Truth and THE [only] Life, and that no Buddhist ever makes it to God the Father (the Creator) without abandoning Buddhism and going to Jesus Christ by faith, believing in the sufficiency of the work of Christ when He shed His sin-cleansing Blood
crap......
.....dont come to my door or you’ll get an earfull.
You’re betraying your ignorance of God.
I believe that if God is that narrow, I prefer to spend eternity in Hell.
“I believe that if God is that narrow, I prefer to spend eternity in Hell.”
You have that prerogative. I only ask that you don’t ask the Federal government to fund your religious position in the curriculum in public schools. Actually yours is kind o’ is the position of the public schools already.
Well, friend, given Hurly’s and Vaquero’s posts to you, I’d say their respect for other’s beliefs just ended.
Except for Buddhism, of course. That’s different ;).
Well, friend, given Hurly’s and Vaquero’s posts to you, I’d say their respect for other’s beliefs just ended.
Except for Buddhism, of course. That’s different ;).
Actually, my son goes and my step-daughter went to a private school. I don't ask the federal government to fund anything in the public schools.
Isn’t Interserve the competing company in the movie Office Space that Innotech people went to work for after Innotech burnt to the ground?
Yes, you do have a problem.
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