---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: vanderkok [via Pixelpipe] <postmaster-noreply@pixelpipe.com>
Date: Thu, Jun 23, 2011 at 8:01 AM
Subject: 6/23/11 ANOTHER DONUT SHOP, ANOTHER BUDDHIST FIGURINE
To: vanderkok@gmail.com
REACHING OUT TO BUDDHISTS w/ the LOVE of CHRIST: "...Preliminaries- 1) Approach with great respect for the dignity of this tradition, which is millennia older than ours. 2) Consider whether the orientation of the audience is philosophical, cultural, or mystical- Buddhism is a tradition with a variety of inclinations. Also be careful not to attack a Buddhist’s cultural heritage when addressing her faith. To become a Christian, anyone has to BECOME one… we all left something of our cultural heritage behind when we assented to follow Jesus. our cultural heritage behind when we assented to follow Jesus. 3) Respect that most people are drawn to the Buddhist tradition through desires for peace, tranquility, and self-mastery; but recognize that these desires are oriented entirely around the self, which experience shows us is so unreliable in actually attaining these states consistently Ask: 4) Ask: Will this tradition get you where you want to go? How can the peace which Buddhism promises actually be achieved? … point out that in Christianity, there is no mountain to be ascended, since we believe that God comes to us with His peace. We begin where we want to end up in Christianity- with new birth! " In sum- a. Dear Buddhist, do you really want to spend so much time trying to be rid of desires when you could just change your desires to be holy, through Christ? b. Dear Buddhist, HOW exactly are you going to be rid of the desire not to have desire in the real world? c. Dear Buddhist, HOW exactly are your going to live this way in the real world? Christianity offers real peace in the midst of strife while Buddhism seems to offer the surreal atmosphere of a Zen garden. Is this peace or stagnation? In the midst of the world’s given disorder and the people in it, is the Buddhist “peace” really possible? Christianity instead offers real and ongoing reconciliation, a peace given and not strived for..." Dear Buddhist, you follow a wise man who never claimed to be God, and yet offers a life system. The Christian follows a man who claimed to be God and offered a life system and eternal salvation as God. If Jesus is who He says He is certainly more likely, as God, to be right ." http://vocatum.blogspot.com/2006/04/apologize-how-to-evangelize-buddhist.html
From: vanderkok [via Pixelpipe] <postmaster-noreply@pixelpipe.com>
Date: Thu, Jun 23, 2011 at 8:01 AM
Subject: 6/23/11 ANOTHER DONUT SHOP, ANOTHER BUDDHIST FIGURINE
To: vanderkok@gmail.com
REACHING OUT TO BUDDHISTS w/ the LOVE of CHRIST: "...Preliminaries- 1) Approach with great respect for the dignity of this tradition, which is millennia older than ours. 2) Consider whether the orientation of the audience is philosophical, cultural, or mystical- Buddhism is a tradition with a variety of inclinations. Also be careful not to attack a Buddhist’s cultural heritage when addressing her faith. To become a Christian, anyone has to BECOME one… we all left something of our cultural heritage behind when we assented to follow Jesus. our cultural heritage behind when we assented to follow Jesus. 3) Respect that most people are drawn to the Buddhist tradition through desires for peace, tranquility, and self-mastery; but recognize that these desires are oriented entirely around the self, which experience shows us is so unreliable in actually attaining these states consistently Ask: 4) Ask: Will this tradition get you where you want to go? How can the peace which Buddhism promises actually be achieved? … point out that in Christianity, there is no mountain to be ascended, since we believe that God comes to us with His peace. We begin where we want to end up in Christianity- with new birth! " In sum- a. Dear Buddhist, do you really want to spend so much time trying to be rid of desires when you could just change your desires to be holy, through Christ? b. Dear Buddhist, HOW exactly are you going to be rid of the desire not to have desire in the real world? c. Dear Buddhist, HOW exactly are your going to live this way in the real world? Christianity offers real peace in the midst of strife while Buddhism seems to offer the surreal atmosphere of a Zen garden. Is this peace or stagnation? In the midst of the world’s given disorder and the people in it, is the Buddhist “peace” really possible? Christianity instead offers real and ongoing reconciliation, a peace given and not strived for..." Dear Buddhist, you follow a wise man who never claimed to be God, and yet offers a life system. The Christian follows a man who claimed to be God and offered a life system and eternal salvation as God. If Jesus is who He says He is certainly more likely, as God, to be right ." http://vocatum.blogspot.com/2006/04/apologize-how-to-evangelize-buddhist.html
