Buddhism books: throw, recycle, donate, pass on, burn?

Cis.jd said:

It has revealed to me that it is a religion that is anti-intellectual. Most people i've talked to here just don't hold any care about facts or even logical related examples, because it always has to be a verse reference.

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Particularly ironic as the Holy Spirit is also referenced as the Spirit of Truth, and Christ said "Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice.” ...Pretty sure God ain't a liar.

Yet somehow, someone comes up with a Old testament bible scripture and all of a sudden we get statements like "I deny the existence of Outer Space" (in other threads). They take this as a badge of honor for their faith in scripture, but they are missing the spirit that the scripture was meant to lead them to?

...I don't think this ends well.

Cis.jd said:

Most people i've talked to here just don't hold any care about facts or even logical related examples, because it always has to be a verse reference.

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I love the joke about the guy who decides that he will randomly read a couple of verses from the Bible.
"Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself" (Matthew 27:5). "Go and do likewise" (Luke 10:37).

Petros2015 said:

Particularly ironic as the Holy Spirit is also referenced as the Spirit of Truth, and Christ said "Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice.” ...Pretty sure God ain't a liar.

Yet somehow, someone comes up with a Old testament bible scripture and all of a sudden we get statements like "I deny the existence of Outer Space" (in other threads). They take this as a badge of honor for their faith in scripture, but they are missing the spirit that the scripture was meant to lead them to?

...I don't think this ends well.

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I've seen people here condemn a battered wife for divorcing her husband because "the Bible says". So apparently, a woman who is getting punched in the face nearly everyday in front of the kids is committing a sin if she divorces her husband. However when common sense as to why she should separate is countered with "show me a verse".
I swear, this site is a test of faith in itself.

For a Christian the authority of the bible trumps everything. It can be interpreted wrongly, but it cannot be tossed out or replaced by anyone's opinions or feelings. It must be dealt with as honestly as possible. If you just want to push your feelings, I am not interested. You are no judge of rightness.

section9+1 said:

For a Christian the authority of the bible trumps everything. It can be interpreted wrongly, but it cannot be tossed out or replaced by anyone's opinions or feelings. It must be dealt with as honestly as possible. If you just want to push your feelings, I am not interested. You are no judge of rightness.

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The Pharisees thought the same thing about the Law they had, did they not? What then is the difference?

section9+1 said:

For a Christian the authority of the bible trumps everything.

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Not really — only for certain denominations of Christianity. The Bible itself doesn't teach sola scriptura, funnily enough. (The Bible as we Christians know it wasn't even finalised as a canon until a few centuries after Jesus' time, for a start.)

section9+1 said:

It can be interpreted wrongly, but it cannot be tossed out or replaced by anyone's opinions or feelings. It must be dealt with as honestly as possible.

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Well, Jesus had no hesitation in overturning the legalistic and literalistic interpretations of the Torah that many of the religious leaders of his day advocated (like what keeping the Sabbath meant, or how to deal with the adulterous woman, for example).

section9+1 said:

If you just want to push your feelings, I am not interested. You are no judge of rightness.

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I totally agree, I'm not. Just as you're not either, friend. God is. I'm content to leave the judgment of Buddhists, and indeed the whole world, up to Him.

I think God can communicate with us apart from the bible and it is not our only source of revelation, but it cannot be contradicted. If what you feel contradicts scripture, what you feel is wrong. And most of the interpretations of the Pharisees were sourced from their commentaries and not scripture. I am not judging Buddhists, I am judging the non-Christian beliefs that Christians wrongly defend. If you believe one way, the alternative ways have to be error to you. Lots of people write good and useful books that are worth reading, but they cannot override the bible. They cannot offer an effective alternative way to righteousness and holiness. If they do, they are the work of the devil. Christ is the only way and he cannot be bypassed by any other way. And those who teach or allow for alternatives share in the devil's work. And the bible supports this view and that's good enough for me. It is hard for me to believe that I even have to monkey with other Christians regarding this. Where does the revelation of Christ come from if not the bible? Let's toss out John 3:16; it has no more authority than anything else in scripture which appears to be very little according to some. Don't violate "Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." Which means don't call yourself a Christian for nothing. There is virtually no difference between some Christians and kind, pleasant atheists except for a little lip service in the right places.

section9+1 said:

I think God can communicate with us apart from the bible and it is not our only source of revelation, but it cannot be contradicted.

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This is a summary of a short story of Tolstoy:
Three Russian monks lived in a faraway island. Nobody ever went there, but one day their bishop decided to make a pastoral visit. When he arrived he discovered that the monks didn’t even know the Lord’s Prayer. So he spent all his time and energy teaching them the “Our Father” and then left, satisfied with his pastoral work. But when his ship had left the island and was back in the open sea, he suddenly noticed the three hermits walking on the water – in fact, they were running after the ship! When they reached it they cried, “Dear Father, we have forgotten the prayer you taught us.” The bishop, overwhelmed by what he was seeing and hearing, said, “But, dear brothers, how then do you pray?” They answered, “Well, we just say, ‘Dear God, there are three of us and there are three of you, have mercy on us!” The bishop, awestruck by their sanctity and simplicity, said, “God back to your island and be at peace.”

section9+1 said:

For a Christian the authority of the bible trumps everything. It can be interpreted wrongly, but it cannot be tossed out or replaced by anyone's opinions or feelings. It must be dealt with as honestly as possible. If you just want to push your feelings, I am not interested. You are no judge of rightness.

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Opinions and feelings? More like reason and facts. The bible can't be contradicted but it can't be mistaken to be the an answer for every circumstance. If that is the case then why would God give humans the ability known as wisdom? Specific passages in the Bible may not be the best answer on specific circumstance and we can't just lop everything "non-Jesus" as automatically evil.

I don't know where this conversation went but if it is still about destroying Buddhist books, I would still destroy and recycle it and feel no remorse over it. Sorry, it's not as any sort of statement but that would simply be the first thing on my mind rather than donating it to Buddhists or anyone. OR another great suggestion I heard on here is to give it to a trusted church leader so he can use it for apologetic purposes and try to witness to Buddhists.

RaymondG said:

I give you five directions to a hospital that you need to go to...only one of them is correct. Can you tell me, now, which one is correct? Direction 1 ? 5? Isnt the only way to know for sure....to follow one to it's end? Ok you havent followed any to that hospital, therefore you cant honestly tell me which one is correct.

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That would make sense if you haven't actually followed any of those directions. That is why I believe it is wrong for the government to censor any kind of religious literature. But I have followed Jesus Christ and so I know that he is the only way to God.

Kerensa said:

The only way you could actually stop the spread of it would be to attempt to destroy ALL Buddhist publications in the world.

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I know I can't stop the spread of Buddhism but perhaps I can prevent one person from being deceived by it.

Cis.jd said:

Buddhist books don't teach murder, rape, or anything that can be considered evil the only thing it is guilty of is believing in fiction.

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One of the fictions they believe is that it is not necessary to believe in Jesus to come to God. That is a greater evil than the other things you mentioned because it can destroy the soul while the others can only harm the body.

samwise gamgee said:

One of the fictions they believe is that it is not necessary to believe in Jesus to come to God. That is a greater evil than the other things you mentioned because it can destroy the soul while the others can only harm the body.

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"not necessary to believe in Jesus to come to God? Did you do you research on Buddhism, why would you just guess this answer out?

samwise gamgee said:

That would make sense if you haven't actually followed any of those directions. That is why I believe it is wrong for the government to censor any kind of religious literature. But I have followed Jesus Christ and so I know that he is the only way to God.

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This is great. Can you tell us what it feels like to be in heaven, when you realized you have made it and the steps you took just prior to ending up there?

RaymondG said:

This is great. Can you tell us what it feels like to be in heaven, when you realized you have made it and the steps you took just prior to ending up there?

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As the word says, to get to heaven we must believe Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins and got buried and rose again on the third day. No other religion on the planet teaches this, therefore all others lead to destruction. This includes religions under the Christian umbrella as well. Jesus is the only way the bible says... The narrow way.

DM25 said:

As the word says, to get to heaven we must believe Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins and got buried and rose again on the third day. No other religion on the planet teaches this, therefore all others lead to destruction. This includes religions under the Christian umbrella as well. Jesus is the only way the bible says... The narrow way.

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Have you done what the word said and have reached heaven as a result yet?

RaymondG said:

Have you done what the word said and have reached heaven as a result yet?

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Yes and I will.

DM25 said:

Yes and I will.

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So you have done what the word said and have not reached Heaven, as the word said you should have, yet. This is understandable. So, for now, you only believe that you are doing what you need to do and your reward will come some time in the future......if you are correct in your assessment that you are doing what needs to be done.

The word also states that there are those that believe they are doing what needed to be done....yet will be turned away at the end. How do you know that you are not going to be one of those?

Wouldnt it be wiser to wait until we are sure, beyond belief, that our way is the way that is right.....and not just seemeth right...before dismissing all other ways?

RaymondG said:

So you have done what the word said and have not reached Heaven, as the word said you should have, yet. This is understandable. So, for now, you only believe that you are doing what you need to do and your reward will come some time in the future......if you are correct in your assessment that you are doing what needs to be done.

The word also states that there are those that believe they are doing what needed to be done....yet will be turned away at the end. How do you know that you are not going to be one of those?

Wouldnt it be wiser to wait until we are sure, beyond belief, that our way is the way that is right.....and not just seemeth right...before dismissing all other ways?

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The bible speaks about those who won't make it. It is those who didn't believe in the gospel. It's important we preach the gospel message out to prevent people from perishing.

DM25 said:

The bible speaks about those who won't make it. It is those who didn't believe in the gospel. It's important we preach the gospel message out to prevent people from perishing.

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Not really. Believing in Jesus alone doesn't get you to heaven, many verses have shown that. Even in the book of Revelation, God judged the dead based on their works. There have been countless christians whose views were completely atrocious compared to other religoins, and they are just to blame for why Christ has been rejected because the way they represented the religion is something no sane person would want.