The dos and don’ts of witnessing to Buddhists
While Christianity is hardly on the radar of young people in Western countries, Buddhism is growing in popularity.
In fact in the 90s, as people were leaving the church in their thousands, it was the fastest growing faith in the UK. Today, there are over 500 Buddhist centres and meditation sites in the country.
There is in Europe, the sense that Christianity has been “tried” and now it is time to try something else, Li-Anne Piwonka of WEC International told young European Christians at the Mission-Net Congress in Erfurt, Germany.
“And there are things we didn’t do so well so they open themselves up to other streams,” she said.
In fact, Buddhism is enjoying a surge in interest as a result of the popularity of New Age spirituality among young Europeans.
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SHEEPLE—IN OUR IGNORANCE————BUDEST SEARCH FOR TRUTH————JESUS IS THE GOSPLE OF TRUTH-
-BRENDANSatan, the father of lies uses every means to get people away from Chrijstianity. Budahism is only one of them.
-aceituna"And there are things we didn’t do so well "
Humility is a good example of one such thing. Refraining from deceit and from abusing infidels are others. But even if Christians could overcome these and other faults, it would hardly matter, for Christianity is rife with other flaws. For example, it's rather obvious from Mark 15:34 that Jesus ended his life embittered and in despair. "Eloi, eloi. Why have you abandoned me?", he cried out. What strange words to come from the mouth of a person who had claimed to be one in being with the alleged god who abandoned him.
Worse, his narcissism was not his only problem. He betrayed great malice and lust for power in Luke's parable of the minas, for example. Yet his lust for power was impotent. The best number one follower that he could attract was a dull fishmerman who would later prove his character when Ananias and Sapphira were murdered. So what did Jesus do? Provoke a conflict with the Sanhedrin and the Romans with the intent to be killed by them. In other words, Jesus committed suicide when he realized that he couldn't have the world all to his own self. What a lawless little baby he was.
-Paul TrombleyThere are only two "faiths". Faith in the work you can do yourself to earn favor with god, and Faith in the One who sacrificed Himself as payment for our sins, which has bought not simple favor but family as we are given the spirt of adoption and can call the Living God, Father.
Faith in the God who revealed Himself through the prophets, and has in these last days revealed Himself through His Son is the Faith that saves. All other is just "religion", man's attempts at performing rites to appease god.
-PaulJesus, died in agony, WILLINGLY bearing your sins, and mine. Willingly paying the penalty due us for our sin.
"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
Far from the endless despair you paint, it was a triumph. For God raised Him from the dead. And God did this because "In the past God overlooked our ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising Him from the dead."
As one Paul to another, I'm asking that you reconsider your opinion and learn the Truth. Christ died for our sins, according to Scripture written thousands of years before the event, was buried paying the penalty/wage for our sins (for the wages of sin is death, that is, separation from God, which is the agony and apparent despair witnessed at the crucifixion), and rose again on the third day, again according to the Scripture written long before. God has promised that all who put their trust in Him, and receive the gift of freedom from the penalty and power of sin he proffers, now have eternal life. And as the apostle said, we don't yet see what that will ultimately mean, because we in these bodies with their limited senses can only see dimly what God promises we will see clearly when the Lord Jesus Christ returns.
Today is the day of salvation, now is the time to change your mind about all this (that's repentance). Before you harden yourself any further to His call, won't you "taste and see"?
-PaulYou can't convert people you hate or whose life-style or religion you truly despise.
-SteveStart by searching for "Stendahl's three rules of religious understanding" and then check out "finding a piece of the truth."
Discerning the "ONE TRUE RELIGION" is simple.
All false religions are based upon the good(?) works of man – SELF RIGHTEOUSNESS.
The one TRUE religion is based upon the GOOD WORK of GOD (Yeshua HaMashiach) – GRACE.
Buddhism turns men into "vegetables"! I love "vegetables", but I don't want to be one!
-toothfulThat does not discern a one true religion. It merely allows you to express your opinion about what you believe the true religion should be.
-Jeff DixonThe 13th imam of ignorance deep rumblings with no substance but usual semantics.
-DespevilleYou must be proud of that Dixon. You should print it and hang it on a wall and look at it
every time you go for Googling versus reading a real book. Comic books are not real books imam.
Well put "toothful"–of course Jeff has some heartburn with that.
-Joe AnzilottiWith Jeff, the simplicity of it throws him. He likes the fog of misunderstanding.
-Joe AnzilottiYeshua of Nazareth is the empirical evidence of GOD's existence. He stated that He is "THE" WAY, "THE" TRUTH, and "THE" LIFE. He is named Yeshua because HE "shall save" His people from their sins, not that they are able to and can save themselves.
-toothfullove, GRACE, peace,
____paul
Mithra was also described variously as 'the Way,' 'the Truth,' 'the Light,' 'the Life,' 'the Word,' 'the Son of God,' 'the Good Shepherd.' The Christian litany to Jesus could easily be an allegorical litany to the sun-god. Mithra. The virgin mother…was easily merged with the virgin mother Mary. Petra, the sacred rock of Mithraism, became Peter, the foundation of the Christian Church."
-Jeff DixonAnd the empirical evidence of the existence of "Yeshua of Nazareth" is . . .? His name is "Iesous" in the Greek texts and "Yeshu" (no final a) in the Syriac ones. The Syriac texts are clearly translations from the Greek, so they would be no help even if they read "Yeshua." The "Yeshua" spelling depends on an extra-Biblical assumption that he would have used the shorter Aramaic form of the Hebrew Yehoshua, but both Yeshua and Yehoshua were in common Aramaic forms of the name in the late 1st century BC and early 1st century BC. It's likely that he was known as "Iesous" among the Greeks and either "Yeshua" or "Yehosuua" among the Jews, but we have no way of telling which of the two Aramaic names he might have used. He's been "Jesus" in English ever since we started using "J" for the initial "I" in Greek and Latin names.
-SteveYour point, Steve, being? Is your name Stephen, or is it Steven or Stephan or? It appears that you exist, but Stephen may not even be your real name. Are you sure that you objectively exist? Can we start a calendar system based on the year of your birth? Do you have a job? Geesh. What else do we have to prove for you? How do you know the time of day is correct?
-Joe AnzilottiThe Jews, the Mayans and the Chinese also have calenders based on their beliefs. I am sure there are others as well. That hardly proves anything except that many people started using it as their calender.
-Jeff DixonHey Jethro what is a "calender"?
-Joe AnzilottiWhen you find out, maybe you can join the conversation.
-Jeff DixonMaybe he meant lavender Joe? Must be a special flower for the 13th imam of ignorance…
-DespevilleLavender….I believe that lavender does hold a special significance for agnostics like Jeff. I'll check on Google Chrome.
-Joe AnzilottiYou might be right Joe. It must have some soothing capabilities for the 13th imam of ignorance headaches…
-DespevilleMore drivel from His Most Inane Poster, Defender of the Delusion, Protector of the Rabbit Hole, Sovereign of the Most Ancient and Most Ignoble Order of the Big Lie, Sovereign of the Order of the Companions of Deceit, Sovereign of the Most Venerable Order of the Windbag.
-Jeff DixonThis remark, BTW, Jethro is not even worthy of a reply. Are you joking?
-Joe Anzilottiyet you replied.
-Jeff DixonDo you feel comfortable with English Jethro?
-Joe AnzilottiObviously, more than you do.
-Jeff DixonFrom the remark just below–you may be comfortable with it, but you sure don't know how to use it!
-Joe AnzilottiThe point that Steve made is that your god is nothing more than a myth. It does not matter if you like that answer, it is the reality of your delusion.
-Jeff DixonHey Jethro, "reality of your delusion." Doesn't that strike you as sort of odd? Do you know the meaning of oxymoron? Don't let our friend Despe see this.
-Joe AnzilottiThe concept of delusions are real. They are just not based on factual information. Just like your comment is real, but always meaningless.
-Jeff DixonHis Most Inane Poster, Defender of the Delusion, Protector of the Rabbit Hole, Sovereign of the Most Ancient and Most Ignoble Order of the Big Lie, Sovereign of the Order of the Companions of Deceit, Sovereign of the Most Venerable Order of the Windbag.
-Jeff DixonDixon the 13th imam of ignorance proceeds to lecture what is myth and what is not… Does not get any better
-DespevilleOh, Oh–you've had it now Jeth
-Joe AnzilottiIf dumbos could fly Dixon would be orbital most of his life…
-DespevilleReally though Despe, from his lack of meaningful replies, he does seem already to be orbital nearly all of the time.
-Joe AnzilottiI guess we can say our imam of ignorance is on the 13th cloud.
-DespevilleI think the title of the book was–Hunted Heretic. Really it was a sad story but sheds a great deal of light on some of the machinery of the Reformation. If you are able to read it, let me know what you think.
-Joe AnzilottiDespe, for some reason what I wrote did not go through on the book above. I will try again.
-Joe AnzilottiI got it: "Hunted Heretic: The Life and Death of Michael Servetus, 1511-1553 "
Joe, I am a Reformed Believer and some use a name Calvinist for that. Calvin was a great preacher and great teacher made some errors too but Servetus death is so taken out of historical context of what City of Geneva was and what laws were there and in neighboring Swiss city states that is not even funny. All of that is mainly works of Jesuits who started smear campaign very soon after his death. It all started with Roman Catholic Sebastian Castellio who supposedly got saved from Roman Catholicism to Christianity and back several times got into personal and jellous conflict with Calvin and worked up a nefarious pamphlet which was quickyly denounced and debunked by Theodore Beza a close friend of Calvin who would know a thing or two about him as Servetus story as well. The fact is that Servetus had a death verdict in France and was surviving in Swiss territory finally his heresy caught up with him and since they had kind of theonomy and laws equating heresy with state treason upon wide city state consultations several cities not just Geneva condemned him to death. Calvin's role as a theologian was to confirm if what Servetus was saying is a heresy which it was and is . His choice was lie about that or tell the truth. You know what he had to do. None knows that Calvin was in Servetus cell daily for months feeding him for he was sick and trying him to repent from his heresy.
You want to see a real heretic who sweet talks people out of their money? Look here:
-Despevillehttp://www.elevationchurch.org/sermons
Thanks for the reply. I understand what you are saying. Not to worry. We all make errors at one time or another. That is why Jesus had to go through what He did for us. The important thing, I believe, is to learn from our errors and continue our walk with the Lord. I am aware of what you wrote above to good degree.
-Joe AnzilottiTo a good degree I meant. Another sad story is that of a great brother William Tyndale. If you can, read some about what he went through due to his belief in Jesus. I have also reached a point in my belief where I happen to agree with Calvin with regards to "selection" or being "chosen by God." As you know that is throughout the New Testament and Paul basically backs it up in many places in the New Testament. That is the way it is.
-Joe AnzilottiThat's the way it is as below. I read some of Tyndale's writings. Powerful and so fresh even today.
"But what if God, willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects of wrath prepared for destruction? And what if he is willing to make known the wealth of his glory on the objects of mercy that he has prepared beforehand for glory."
~ Romans 9:22-23
-DespevilleAgreed. You didn't make the "rules" and neither did I. God is over all obviously as you know, and we frankly do not really understand Him–it is a mystery. We have to rest in Him as St. Augustine has said.
-Joe AnzilottiI am now going through The Obedience Of A Christian Man by dear brother Tyndale. You ought to check it out. It is great material, I can hardly put it down. But sometimes I have to check on Jeff and his orbit.
Last night noted Jeff speaking about Servetus. Don't know why. However, I read years ago a great biography on M. de Servetus. By Roland Bainton. I think that you would enjoy reading it.
-Joe AnzilottiDixon is in fact an imam of ignorance and mumbles about things he has no earthly idea…
"…It is very common to hear the remark, "What about Servetus?" or, "Who burned Servetus?" There are three kinds of persons who thus flippantly ask a question of this nature. First, the Roman Catholics, who may judge it to be an unanswerable taunt to a Protestant. Second, those who are not in accord with the great doctrines of grace, as taught by Paul and Calvin, and embraced and loved by thousands still. Then there is a third kind of persons who can only be described as ill-informed. It is always desirable, and often useful, to really know something of what one professes to know…"
More: http://www.banneroftruth.org/pages/articles/artic…
-DespevilleYou offer an opinion. I showed what he said himself. Facts trump opinions every time.
-Jeff DixonIf lies were money, you would be set for life.
-Jeff Dixonhey steve,
Yes, you are right about what you say. It is true that most Jews could no longer write or speak Hebrew during Yeshua's time on earth among His creation, and spoke Aramic – probably His disciples, too. I just prefer Yeshua because I like it!
GRACE and peace,
-toothful___paul
SORRY, about the misspelling of Aramaic – i noticed it after it was to late (may have been thinking about Arabic).
-toothfulBy using Yeshua HaMashiach, it is less likely that it will be used in vain, or as an expletive when someone is pissed off.
Besides, He has delivered me from the paganism of the Greeks.
It's OK toothful–at least you didn't misspell Steve! Yeshua seems to be correct also.
-Joe AnzilottiIt should have been too, too!
-toothful