jonathan,
Right. Again, I am not saying that it is correct. I am simply saying that there are certain aspects of these other religions that have similar teachings on things that we Christians consider holy. Doctrines are profoundly different. Concepts are similar.
The explanation in James of why we suffer trials is to learn perseverance and to help develop dependence on the Lord. There is also the Christian foundation that the whole world is fallen and the reality we live in now is based in original sin. (Rom. 8:22)
Similarly, "the Buddha taught that humans suffer because we continually strive after things that do not give lasting happiness. We desperately try to hold on to things - friends, health, material things - that do not last, and this causes sorrow." -Religionfacts.com
The Buddhists also notice that life is full of suffering. This is to be expected, right (Romans 1:20)? These people aren't blind. They are looking and they see God's invisible qualities. They are simply ignorant to the truth. They lack the original cause of that suffering and knowledge of the attributes of God and his plan for redemption. Where they think they can enlighten themselves out of suffering is where they fail, since we know that salvation comes only through the sacrificial atonement of Christ.
I agree with what you have said, that there can be aspects in other religions that draw people to them and these aspects may have some kind of cross-over with the Christian faith, but at a very reduced and distorted level.
We do know from Romans 1 that all people, whether Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Communist, pagan, occultist, materialist, etc. have a revelation of God in creation that confronts them with God's "invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature" that "have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world" (1:20). This leaves them "without excuse" (1:21), but they suppress this natural revelation because of their unrighteousness (1:18) and then proceed to commit sinful acts of "impurity" (1:24).
What if we get back to the original question asked in #1 of this thread:
Important Question In Regards To Christianity What is the reason for the continued power of Christianity? Is it the life, story, and message of Jesus or the industrialization of Christianity?
In other words, are you Christian because of the story of Jesus or because what happened after his crusification which was the Bible, development of churches, sects, and etc.
The continued power of the Christian gospel, in my understanding, is that God nails the human problem: (1) "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jer. 17:9), thus meaning, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23).
The power of Christianity is the power of Jesus to cause the inner change that Christ brings to my rebel, sinful human heart as is expressed in verses such as Ephesians 2:
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins.... But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved.... For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no once can boast (vv 1, 4-5, 8-9, ESV)
The power of Christianity is the inner change and continuing power for change (called sanctification) that Jesus brings.
I'm a long term family therapist (33 years) and I've been exposed to many counselling psychological ways to bring change to people. But nobody brings the permanent change that Jesus' does. That's the power of Christianity. It is such a strong dynamic of change that people go to martyrs' graves in support of it, from the 1st century to the 21st century.
The beauty of the Scriptures is that they provide a diagnosis of the true problem (like no other religion) and the permanent solution to the problem. No other religion can do this. The Bible's diagnosis of the human dilemma and the solution for individuals, families, countries and the world, fits like a hand in a glove. The Christian world and life view fits reality.
While there are glimmers in other religions, the glaring light of Jesus and the permanent change he brings, is what gives the power to genuine Christianity.
Of course, there will be fakes and those who give up on the genuine solution.
In Christ, Spencer
