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| Ravi Zacharias: The Lotus and the Cross
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The Youth minister at my church urged me to read this book because he became so concerned with my conversion to Buddhism. In turn I loaned him a copy of Living Buddha, Living Christ, which I still have not gotten back. Regardless I read the book.
The Lotus, and the Cross is supposed to be an unbiased conversation between Jesus and Buddha, discussing a prostitute who has gotten aids and is going to die. Throughout the conversation Zacharias gives false representations of Karma, Reincarnation, and other Buddhist beliefs. I believe it is because he approached the project not knowing enough about Buddhism, and I believe if he learned it he could understand the mistakes he made. He says in his book something like: "approaching things in this karmic style is like sticking your hand in a bucket of glue with nothing to wipe it on". Clearly he doesn't understand karma. Karma is simply the idea that when you do good things, good things will happen to you and vise versa. It is not the idea that when you do something wrong you've ruined everything. Reincarnation is not just something that happens after death, which is also something that Zacharias did not understand. I have been reincarnated several times in this lifetime, and so have you. When it is for the better it is because you are driven by wholesome principles, when its for the worse, it's the opposite. There is a part in the book where Buddha criticizes Buddhists for having statues and shrines, this part truly annoyed me. Are Orthodox Christians any worse Christians by having shrines, Zacharias sets a double standard.
In the end of the book the prostitute(I can't remember her name) says:
"I don't suppose niether of you can come home with me?"
Buddha: "I can't"
Jesus: "I can"
Pure spite. Nothing that Buddha ever taught could have led Zacharias to believe that he would refuse to return home with a women in need. Zacharias decided to end the book with a stab at Buddhism that is unprovoked and without reason. The Buddha would gladly return home to help a women in need.
Richard
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| Blog Comments
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I love what Buddhism is about. As of right now, I do not have a religion. Christianity has left a very sour taste in my mouth. That is one of my biggest problems with christianity, their religion is right and everyone else is wrong. My opinion is that Christianity is the biggest fraud of the age.
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Posted by LuckyLuci
on 2008-07-05 22:54:26
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| Views: 63
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