We are considering our “faith wars” against ideologies that compete against Jesus Christ on the battlefield of ideas, in the war of competing theologies. We do not have the space to dive in-depth but we do share a few basic ideas:
JESUS VERSUS KRISHNA:
In traditional Hinduism, the god Vishnu appeared in a human form known as Krishna. Hinduism began some 5,000 years ago, about three thousand years before Jesus lived, but Hindu scholars debate whether Krishna was ever an actual, historical person. Most Hindu people do not even care if Krishna was a real person.
Jesus, of course, is a different story. Not only is Jesus mentioned outside of the Bible in both Jewish and Roman sources, but the biblical documents which mention Him – Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the book of Acts – are all historical documents. They are set in history and much of what we find in these documents can be verified through other historical documents that date to the same time period. No one, practically no one, questions the existence of Jesus of Nazareth. Additionally, the whole religion in which Jesus grew up, Judaism, is also based in a verifiable, historical context.
Old Testament history and New Testament history correspond to reality. They are true. The history of Krishna and Hinduism is not verifiable and, therefore, do not correspond to reality. It is not true.
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CHRISTIANITY VERSUS BUDDHISM:
Buddha means “the Enlightened One” or the “Awakened One.” The Buddha is Siddhartha Gautama, who lived in the 6th century B. C., about 600 years before Jesus. In contrast to Krishna, there is some reliable historical information about Gautama although there is also a lot of myth and legend that has grown up around him.
I will not take the time to go into an in-depth discussion of Buddhism’s teachings but, according to Gautama, the “First Noble Truth” is that the true nature of existence is suffering. I know there is a lot of suffering that people experience in life and I know that most of that suffering seems to be pointless but can we honestly say that the fundamental nature of existence is suffering? Is that what life is all about?
As a religion, Buddhism falls far short of Christianity as an organized religion. Christianity is based fundamentally in the loving, selfless act of God becoming man and dying for our sins. No other religion has anything comparable to Jesus Christ. His sacrifice is what gives context and motivation to our entire earthly existence and that is far superior to anything Gautama could offer. There is also, of course, much love, joy, pleasure, and satisfaction in this world that is at least, arguably, quantitatively and qualitatively superior to the suffering experienced in this world (cf. James 1:17 & 1 John 4:8).
The fundamental “Noble Truth” (that the essence of our existence is suffering) does not correspond to reality. Therefore, they are not true.
