Comments on: Merging Philosophies of Buddhism, Christianity and Libertarianism

By: bmpalmer72

bmpalmer72 — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:27:00 +0000

Let’s get the whole story out here. First of all, Jesus of the gospels is not this peacefull loveable guy who only preaches love and peace. Are you reading the same Bible I did? For example:

1.Those who bear bad fruit will be cut down and burned “with unquenchable fire.”
2. For I am come to set a man at variance against his
father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her
mother in law.
3.Jesus explains why he speaks in parables: to confuse people so they will go to
hell.
4.“He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.”
5.Jesus even lied: And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be
glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it. (That might be true for Tebow asking for a touchdown but for many who pray for food or health it doesn’t count.)

Why do so many people assume Jesus was this peaceful loveable guy? He wasn’t according to the gospels, he came to set family apart and condemn people to eternal punishment. Is that Love?????? I don’t think so.

By: James Wyss

James Wyss — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 15:35:00 +0000

I might have some insight into Paul’s apparent faux pas. Paul admonished the early Christians in the previous chapter to nobly bear suffering, particularly at the hands of the antagonistic Roman state. His message is similar to Ghandi’s (despicable human being, but I digress) practice of non-violent resistance. It is the same idea behind the Quaker philosophy of non-violence.
Most people tend to forget that each of Paul’s Epistles were written to a very specific audience in very specific circumstances and should not necessarily be taken as blanket guidance on how live out the Christian faith. Paul did not even intend to author Christian scripture, even when he wrote to the Roman Church.
Jesus Christ warned his Apostles to “sell their coats and buy swords (Luke 22:36),” if they did not poses one, not in the spirit of aggression but in the spirit of self-defense. I don’t think Paul was legitimizing state authority so much as showing Christians a noble way to deal with it.

By: Cmcmahon

Cmcmahon — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0000

Yes there are people that clam to be Christians that also practice Idolatry. They may not even know what it is. I imagine there may even be Buddhist that don’t practice idolatry. I don’t want to blanket groups of people with generalizations. There are always exceptions.

By: Jeffrey Hansen

Jeffrey Hansen — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 01:03:00 +0000

Disclaimer: I am not a Buddhist, nor have I studied it extensively, but idolatry in Buddhism seems to be a misinterpretation or of the Buddha’s teachings, and would likely upset him if he knew about it.

Just as Christians and Jews take teachings from the bible and extrapolate their own non-biblical beliefs from it, Buddhists seem to have taken several of his teachings and come up with their own beliefs, even some that are inconsistent with Buddha’s actual teachings. Who hasn’t heard of strict Jewish kosher laws that are based on some old-testament rule, but really aren’t there (using separate cookware for milk and meat, for example), and Christians who take a single scripture and develop and entire book series around it, allowing it to somehow take on a theology of its own?

If one is going to adopt a moral code or a belief system, and stand on it, they owe it to themselves and those around them to understand it, understand the context around it, and apply it consistently in order to avoid causing themselves and others undue grief.

By: Michael Suede

Michael Suede — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 22:35:00 +0000

Yeah, of course they are not the exactly the same. However, all of them have the same underlying golden rule.

By: Cmcmahon

Cmcmahon — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:36:00 +0000

While the two have similarities they also have divergences. Idolatry in Buddhism is a example. I agree with your conclusion that to be a Christian you should also be a libertarian if you want to remain consistent.