I think you would be right that condemnation comes from rejecting Christ. But, rejection of Christ comes in many forms, one of them being Buddhism. I'm not sure what point that you are trying to make, maybe that there are many paths to heaven and/or God? Big, big problems with that because it is completely at odds with what the Bible teaches.
Not at all. I do believe that Jesus is the only way -- I do not reject orthodoxy in that particular regard. However, I believe that we are judged not on our works, but on our faith. I believe that it is possible to have faith in Jesus without ever having heard His name, and I do not believe that salvation comes from some specific formulaic prayer or religious observance. Rather, it comes from faith, which is a decision to make God (the one True God, as revealed in the person of Jesus Christ) the priority of our life. My belief is that, if a person is truly seeking and following Truth to the best of their ability, based upon the information and resources that are available to that person, then God will honor that, even if the result is that that person ends up on a spiritual path that is quite different from Christianity, just like He honors sincere Christians who buy into some of the garbage that is sold at many Christian churches.
It is not the religion, or alternate spiritual path that God honors, but rather the individual's
willingness to follow Truth, to love wholeheartedly to the best of their ability, "and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
But Buddhism is a poor example to use. There is no concept of "heaven" in Buddhism. Not even a concept of God. Those who follow Buddhism do not seek eternal life, quite the opposite. They seek "nirvana" which means cessation or extinction, a breaking of the cycle of reincarnation which is a major premise of their belief. One who is seeking more of the "truth of God" would not find it in Buddhism, and if they truly understand Buddhism, would not seek it there.
Buddhism and Christianity do have a similar ideal in mind, but a much different idea as to how that ideal is realized. Nirvana is the cessation of suffering, Eternal life as understood in the Christian faith (the Bible says nothing about believers "going to heaven," but rather says that God will make His dwelling among men) is also the cessation of suffering. In the sense, they are quite similar. Buddhism, however, accepts as a given that existence is suffering and that the only way to eliminate suffering is to eliminate existence. Being a non-theistic religion, this makes sense and rings true in the sense that, without an understanding of a personal and perfect God who intervenes in human affairs, the only way to cease suffering would be to cease existing. Certainly, this is quite different from Christian teaching, but like in most world religions, it reflects elements of the Truth.
You are right, in a sense, that Buddhism, is non-theistic. It does not contain as one of its core beliefs the existence of a personal deity. Rather, its object of worship is the three treasures: the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha (roughly understood as the Teacher, the Truth, and the Spiritual Community). These three combine is a way that serves for Buddhists almost as a divinity. Once again, comparing Buddhism to Christianity, I see Buddhism as containing imperfect elements of the Truth.
I would argue, however, that the lack of a "competing" personal deity makes Buddhism a stronger example than other world religions. Unlike the Baal and Ashera worshippers in the Old Testament, they have no god that is demanding of them sacrifices and other actions that impede their service to the True God, at whatever elementary level, they understand him. And, Buddhism is non-theistic, not atheistic. It does not teach that God exists, nor does it have as a central teaching that no god exists. Thus, there are many Buddhists who are also theists.
But, in my argument, Buddhism is certainly not what saves. It is the individual's willingness to pursue the True God with all of their being. I believe that the Bible is clear that, if a person truly seeks God with a heart that humble and willing, then God will reveal Himself to that person, even if through less than ideal means. All throughout Scripture, we see God working with less than ideal situations (even adultery and murder, as in the case of David, Bathsheeba, and Uriah) and even through a far from perfect Church. I have no trouble trusting that God can even work through flawed religious systems.
I explain what I do about Buddhism to say this. Although it is clearly divergent from the Truth in many ways, it is completely understandable to me how a person who humbly seeks God, but who has never heard the Gospel would be attracted to Buddhism. In the example that I am speaking of now, that person has made the choice to follow Truth and Love. The Bible tells us that Christ is the source of all Truth and all Love. Thus, a person who is truly seeking these things is seeking God. There is much about Buddhism that
resembles Truth and Love, and if a person, having never had the Gospel explained to Him, follows after his own heart's yearning for the Truth through the path of Buddhism or some other religion, I believe that God can use that nonetheless.
By the same token, if a person with an unwilling heart is a devout Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Non-denom, Presbyterian, etc., that person, despite their religious devotion and piety is rejecting Christ, and cannot be saved without a change of heart.
You may be referring to the means by which Buddhists seek to achieve nirvana: through ethical conduct and altruistic behavior, devotional practices, ceremonies, meditation, and the cultivation of wisdom, etc. All these traits are admirable, but will not in themselves lead to God or heaven. One cannot achieve salvation through works.
I agree with you that salvation is by faith and by faith alone. But, I believe that God judges us on the willingness of our hearts, not on the specifics of our religious observances. This is absolutely not to say that "all paths lead to the same destination." Buddhism will
never lead a person to the Truth, nor will Islam, Hinduism, Taoism, etc. However, a person's pursuit of the Truth, in the absence of adequate teaching of the Gospel, may lead that person on a journey that includes religious activities that are un-Truth (just like many Christian observances are un-Truth).
This reminds me of the film,
The End of the Spear that came out a few years back. In that movie, missionaries were reaching out to tribes in the Amazon. When the missionaries first began to evangelize, they did not tell the people about a man named Jesus who lived 2000 years ago. Instead, they began by working within that tribe's religious traditions to explain who Jesus was. They spoke of the supreme god in that culture's tradition, and said that that god had a Son who had come to Earth, and that the Son wanted them to stop killing each other. By working within the culture, the missionaries were able to share the Gospel message, and I don't doubt that those who decided to follow Jesus based on this very elementary understanding of who He was will be saved.
In the same way, I trust that God is able to use other non-Christian traditions to reveal Himself to the willing, especially where cultural influences or outright failure of the Church inhibits a clear and adequate teaching of the Gospel message.
I hope this clarified that I am neither claiming a works-based salvation theology nor an "all roads lead to the same destination" theology, but rather a "God is capable of saving the willing and the humble, regardless of their circumstances" theology.
