Jesus and the Buddha

Siddhartha Gautama lived around 2,500 years ago in the area that today is called India and Nepal.  The story goes that Gautama was a very wealthy man who became disillusioned with temporary happiness.  He tried asceticism, but didn’t find happiness in it.  Then one day he was meditating beneath a tree where he purged his …

Christianity & World Religions by Derek Cooper

One thing I try to do in my reading is include studies of other religions – either in their own words or summarized by others.  So I recently sat down to read Derek Cooper’s Christianity and World Religions: An Introduction to the World’s Major Faiths.  This book was written by a knowledgeable Christian who has …

Christianity and Buddhism

The Christian doctrines of creation and redemption clearly show that our triune God is not anti-matter.  There is no room for spiritual nothingness or Nirvana in the Christian faith.  God became man to save sinful people – body and soul.  He will one day renew all of creation.  Christianity and Buddhism are completely different.  Os …

Buddhism 101

If you're interested in studying Buddhism from the pen of a Tibetan Buddhist, I recommend Buddhism for Beginners by Thubten Chodron (Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 2001).  This book summarizes many aspects of Buddhism in a readable, 150 page question and answer format; it is also $10 or under, so it is quite affordable. In this book, Chodron talks …

The American Religious Purpose of Life

I just read a piece somewhere that said most Americans believe in God (better to say "believe in [a] god," I think).  The piece also said many of these same Americans believe in reincarnation, UFOs, witches, and mystical encounters with some divine spirit.  In other words (as Wells and Horton have said before), Americans approach religion …