Ever Feared not Believing in Jesus?

[Nick the Pilot]

V,

Yes, and it has been a good discussion. This has been a good example of what an inter-religious discussion can and should be. We have had a frank and open discussion of conflicting religious ideas. Through it all, you have shown great open-mindedness, and willingness to let me believe what I want to believe.

I want to thank you for facilitating such a valuable discussion.

[Dream]

I just read through this thread (mostly). Excellent points have been brought up in this thread, and I think Buddhism is a deep-thinker type of religion that has some attractive qualities. If you have a Buddhist friend or friends that are experiencing this sort of 'Hateful Jesus-God' fear, I don't see any reason not to relieve them of it. Try giving them a handy quote from the Gospels to help dispel the fear and highlight the uselessness of the hell-fire paradox:

Matthew 12:32 And whoever says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

If you speak against the 'Son of man' then its forgiven. You don't have to be a Christian to understand that one! Also, if you don't know what 'Holy Spirit' is, then how can you blaspheme it? You can't, obviously. If I seem to be contradicting Christians who say Jesus saves from hellfire, I'm not; but this verse contradicts them. This should quickly relate to any healthy Buddhist mind that such people have made an invalid assumption somewhere in their reasoning about hellfire causing them to contradict a very obvious statement in Jesus' teachings.

I do not know whether Buddhists believe that human thoughts are creative. If they do, there might still be a lingering fear that centuries of Hell-fearing Christians may have somehow created a universal fire for us all to go into. Fear not! If human thoughts are creative, than the opposing thoughts about the Humanity-loving God of Christianity certainly should have balanced and neutralized the thoughts of a God of eternal continuous punishment -- effectively canceling each other out.

Rest in peace!

[Vajradhara]

Namaste Dream,

as near as i can tell no Buddhist fears the Christian hell but thank you for your comments.

metta,

~v

[Francis king]

It's not for me a case of fear, rather something different...

If u convert, u are usually expected to cut all ties with your other faith... buddhism does not expect this of me, and does not expect me to choose Buddha over Jesus, although now I have converted I will not take communion...

This is a personal choice...

However... within me, there is a part of me which always falls back onto Jesus... Say, for example, I am in trouble, I call upon Jesus... not Buddha...

why is this?

I believe that this is a result of my earlier conditioning, and believe that this will eventually stop... I think that as an impressionable mind, I was impressed with the idea of Jesus the saviour, and so, when troubled, a part of me refers back to this saviour idea, almost like it's a primative childlike reaction which, while running through my mind, I am aware is foolish, and false...

My problem with the switch is not burning in hell- as I do not believe that hells exist, unless they are the metaphorical kind, and I am not concerned about being punished by God, either...

My real concern is... what if I'm wrong?

I profess to be a buddhist, as I prefer the doctrine of buddhism over the doctrines of christianity... I think buddhism is a better vehicle for me to assist others, and I think that if everyone knew a little more about it they would be happier and nearer to finding that peace within themselves...

I don't think the same way about christianity... I think it does ppl more harm than good, and instead of assisting ppl, it ensnares them in further misery...

And yet... A little part of me still loves Jesus... not my adults' version of Jesus; Jesus the man, who occasionally must have masturbated and picked his nose, but a child's Jesus- a godly saviour who will listen to my prayers and grant me assistance...

As an adult, I know that "saviour Jesus" does not exist... if he did, I would not have experienced the things I have- he would have listened, intervened, come to my aid.... but, like all of us, a small part of me is still childlike, and sometimes desperate for a saviour to rescue me from misery...

I would rather try to save myself than wait for a big hand to come from the sky and take me away from all this...

[Dream]

It helped me to hear you share your experience, because I've experienced the same throwback tendency towards previous practices and patterns of though that I've wanted to change. I think these were religious practices that actually had become part of my identity, but that were out of sync with the rest of it for some reason or other. Some people have the same trouble with 'Smoking', which is actually much more than just a bad habit. It is as if they sense another copy of themselves standing somewhere nearby that is still smoking, even long after they've quit. Identity!

Identity is how we integrate together our life experiences, choices, and friendly exchanges; realizing what we are. Identity doesn't change easily, but changing habits, friends, and environment can change it relatively quickly. I am not a Doctor, but if I go to medical school for 8 years, hang with Doctors, and do Doctor things I might change into a Doctor with relative speed. This change represents a deep change in what or who I am.