Introducing... You!

"My faith in Buddhism can be described or 'summed up' to what we call the 'Four Noble Truths'.

• There is pain and suffering in the world.
• Attachment to people and things causes suffering.
• The suffering will stop when a person can rid him/her self of all desires.
• There is a path to the extinguishing of all desires."

What do you think about God? Is He real or not?

What you say: "I don't believe in the personal, Sovereign God of the universe who's described in the Bible."

What the Bible says: God identified Himself as "I Am" (Exodus 20:2) - meaning He is the self-existent (has no beginning or end) eternal Creator of the universe.

Answer 1: How can all of these things in planet earth be so perfect, too good to be true? For example, the earth is the perfect distance from the sun. If it were just a few miles closer, we'd all burn up. A few miles further out, and we'd all freeze to death!

Answer 2: It makes more sense to believe in God than to not believe. If you believe, and God exists, you will be rewarded in the afterlife. If you do not believe, and He exists, you will be punished for your disbelief. If He does not exist, you have lost nothing either way.


What do you think about the Trinity? Is it real?

What you say: "I don't believe in the Trinity either."

What the Bible says: There is one God and yet three Persons (Isaiah 45:5; Deuteronomy 6:4; James 2:19).


What do you think about Jesus? Was He real?

What you say: "I believe that Jesus was a good teacher. In fact, He was probably an enlightened man, but he's still less important and less enlightened than Buddha."

What the Bible says: Jesus is fully God and fully man. He is not just an enlightened man. He is the God of the universe (John 1:1, 14, 18; 8:58; 10:30. Compare Titus 2:13 and Isaiah 45:21), and He is equal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.


What about the Bible, is it true?

What you say: "I don't believe that the Bible is the true, inspired word of God because I don't even believe in a god in the first place! Also, I don't believe that we should follow the notion of rigid commands."

What the Bible says: The Bible alone is the word of God. It is without error. It cannot and should not be added to or subtracted from (2 Timothy 3:16-4:4; Revelation 22:18-20).


What about the Afterlife?

What you say: "My belief of the afterlife is by reincarnation by cycles of karma or in other words, an afterlife driven by the law of cause and effect. So that means that whatever I do in this lifetime, whether it's good or bad, it determines what happens to me in my next lifetime, and so on, and so on..., until I have gone through enough suffering and purification to reach Nirvana."

What the Bible says: Those who trust in Christ alone as their only hope of salvation spend eternity in heaven. Those who reject Christ spend an eternity in hell. (John 5:24-30; Revelation 20:11-15). The Bible denies the concept of reincarnation (Hebrews 9:27-28).


What about salvation?

What you say: "Salvation only comes by self-effort through the Four Noble Truths. 'Salvation' to me is ultimately complete extinction at death, in other words freedom from the cycle of Karma."

What the Bible says: Salvation is by faith in Christ on the basis of His death on the cross. Good works or self-denial have nothing to do with being saved (John 3:16-17, 36; 6:29,47; Romans 4:1-5; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5).

Salvation in Jesus Christ gives us endless freedom from suffering, guilt, and sin and also the gift of eternal good life without suffering! In Matthew 11:28, Jesus makes this promise: " Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." This is the reason why Jesus died on the cross for you! That's something to look forward to!

Are you a good person?