(continued from previous blog…)

Although some Western intellectuals today seem unaware of it,  Christianity is the foundation of the greatness of the West. Ancient Europe was steeped in barbarism and paganism until the revelation of Judeo-Christian values. The greatest advances in Western  justice, education, prosperity, and scientific discovery are almost  unanimously connected to a Christian, whether they be a statesman,  revivalist, or scientist. Let me cite some basic evidence.

• The most developed judicial system in the  world is based on the Bible, its 10 commandments, and its teaching that  God made us in His image and likeness. We are made moral beings who have  inalienable rights and innately know natural laws.
• Lord William  Wilberforce led the abolition of slavery in the British Empire after he  became Christian and heard God’s call.
• The revivalist Jonathan Edwards  founded Princeton University. Some of the most prestigious universities  in America, such as Harvard and Yale, were founded for the purpose of  training Christians and advancing the Gospel.
• Another revivalist Charles  Finney single-handedly altered the social and economic fabric of  America in the 1830s. His converts quit drinking overnight, worked  harder on the job, and became more faithful to their wives and children -  a phenomenon that reinforced the “Protestant work ethic” and fueled an  economic boom to America.
• Sir Isaac Newton, the father of modern physics  and Calculus, was one among many believers of the Bible who advanced  science based on his Biblical belief that God created the universe with  intelligence and governs it with laws. The idea that there is no Creator has tended to stifle non-Christian societies  from scientific progress.

There is no doubt the best of the West comes from Christianity. Its laws,  its freedom, its peace, its progress rest squarely on the sacrifices and  prayers of believers. Whereas in non-Christian parts of the world people are oppressed or even tortured for choosing what to believe and who to worship,  Christian nations emphasize freedom of religion, freedom of  conscience, and individual responsibility before God. Christianity is  the source of our freedom to think and reason.

As centuries go by, however, the very educational system, justice  apparatus and scientific community Christianity produced have turned  against the Bible. Like a flower that blossomed after rain insisting it  did it on its own, today some Westerners view themselves as scientific  skeptics who don’t owe any of their freedom to anybody, certainly not  God. As Westerners continue to deny the water of God’s Word, the flower  of Western civilization is beginning to wither away. In this atmosphere  of mixed identity and insecure prosperity, modern Buddhism has been  introduced to America and the West.

Western converts therefore build Buddhism on both their foundations of  science and Christianity. They are more combative and argumentative than their Eastern counterparts. They claim Buddhism is the most scientific  religion even though no evidence to support can be produced, and  evidence to contradict is easy to find. Not a single Buddhist is the  founder of any scientific field. Why is the dearth of discoveries  characteristic of the “most scientific” religion in the world? Why has the supposed “nonsense” of Christianity produced the greatest scientific  minds ever known? These questions demand an answer!

Reincarnation is sometimes touted by Western converts as congruent with evolutionary theory.  But reincarnation does not teach evolution or the advancement of life from lower to higher forms at all. One may be reincarnated first as an  angel, then a man, then an animal, then a ghost, and back to human form  again.[2] It is completely unobservable and unscientific. Western converts want Buddhism to fit in with science because they bring with them their background of Christianity and the modern science it has produced. But Eastern Buddhists whom I know do not feel any need to justify their beliefs in statues, ghosts or mantras with science. Different foundations. Different forms of Buddhism.

Western Buddhists also miss the obvious fact Easterners see – Buddhism  is biased towards men and against women. Westerners are subconscious beneficiaries of Christian equality. In the West, we consider it manifest truth that people  are equal regardless of gender and race, because God created both man and woman in the image and likeness of God. Western converts like to build their Buddhism on this Christian foundation – claiming there is  equality of the sexes in Buddhism. No such thing can be found in the  teachings of Buddha. Women are not treated the same as men. Women have  more rules to follow than men. Buddha gave 227 commandments to Buddhist  men, but 311 commandments to Buddhist women.

One convert to Buddhism proposed his belief that the 311  commandments are actually better for women because they give women more  protection. This is twisting Buddhism to suit his Western assumption of  gender equality and removing Buddha’s teaching out of historical  context. Easterners who learned Buddhism in school know that the very  reason Buddha gave more commandments to women was he did not want them  to become nuns. He was approached about whether or not women could enter  the sangha (religious community) and with great reluctance he conceded.  But by giving women more commandments than men, he made it virtually  impossible for women to become nuns and attain enlightenment. Why is the  concept of Buddhist “nuns” still taboo in Asian countries? Women who  call themselves nuns are usually not fully ordained and do not have the  same status as Buddhist monks (bhikkhus).

The reason women are prohibited to be nuns or discouraged from becoming  one is that in Buddhism women are viewed as a hindrance. When Buddha was  meditating under the Bo Tree, three demons came to tempt him – Naga,  Tanha, and Ahradi. All three appeared in the form of women. They were  the personifications of jealousy, lust and evil cravings. Women are seen  as the impediment to spiritual enlightenment, that is why Buddha had to  leave his wife to attain enlightenment and all monks have to vow  celibacy.

In both Judaism and Christianity, marriage is considered holy and is one  qualification for ministry. Tradition required Pharisees and members of  the Sanhedrin to be married. This is why some Christian commentators  believe that Paul was once married (and may have lost his wife), as Paul  called himself a Pharisee and was likely a member of the Sanhedrin.  Paul certainly understood a lot about married life when he was giving  advice to Christians in 1 Corinthians 7. It seemed Jesus chose only  married men to be His twelve disciples.[3] Three times Paul listed one  qualification to become a Christian minister as “the husband of one  wife”.[4] Being celibate like Paul was the exception, not the norm. In  God’s design, marriage helps men mature spiritually and a happy marriage  qualifies them to spiritual leadership, such as being bishop, elder or  deacon.

Another little known fact among Westerners is Buddhism teaches against love.  Love is the fourth fetter that stands in the way of Buddhist enlightenment. Love is one of the causes of suffering. Love is one of 3 bonfires or greatest sins of Buddhism. Westerners who know Buddhism teaches against love, specifically loving a  woman, choose not to emphasize it and opt to let their Christian  influence shine through instead. Christianity exalts love because Jesus  said the greatest commandments are to love God and love our neighbor. In  Buddhism, love is the enemy. In Christianity, love is the highest  virtue, for God is Love.

In summary, Buddha was a spiritual teacher who was born in India roughly 2500 years ago. Not a single nation on earth is built on the foundation of Buddhism. Not a single nation ever will be. In fact, Buddhism is the only major religion in the world that has died in its country of origin - India. Buddhism is a religion that is introduced to a country, is always foreign (unless you are northern Indian), and can win converts only by adapting itself to the pre-existing beliefs of the locals.

For Westerners, that foundation is Christianity and science. Buddhism can appeal to Westerners only if it speaks of love (even though love causes suffering and impedes Buddhist enlightenment, but it is the first teaching of Christianity) and if Buddhism comes across as scientific. In other countries, Buddhism doesn’t emphasize love or science in any way. Buddhism always sits upon another foundation of beliefs depending on which country it’s in.

Jesus Christ is God born in the flesh. Before He ever came to earth, every single civilization already had been paved by belief in God. Not only does faith in God resonate universally in every country, there are many countries built from the very start with Christianity as its foundation. Nations like Australia, America, and New Zealand are the envy of nations and the choice destinations of immigrants looking for opportunity and refugees fleeing non-Christian countries. When people encounter the Bible and study it, they are not being introduced to something foreign, but to the God of Creation, the God of the Ancients, the God of All Nations - the Savior Jesus Christ.

For DVDs on Buddhism, Free Thinkers and other major worldviews, please visit www.discover.org.au.

______________________________________________________

[2] Acharn Wan, Talk in the Shade of the Bo Tree,

[3] Matthew 8:14, 1 Corinthians 9:5

[4] 1 Timothy 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6.