The purpose of this book is threefold. Firstly it aims to critically examine Christianity and thereby highlight the logical, philosophical and ethical problems in Christian dogma. In doing this I hope to be able to provide Buddhists with facts which they can use when Christians attempt to evangelize them. This book should make such encounters more fair, and hopefully also make it more likely that Buddhists will remain Buddhists. As it is, many Buddhists know little of their own religion and nothing about Christianity – which makes it difficult for them to answer the questions Christians ask or to rebut the claims they make.
The second aim of this book is to help any Christians who might read it to understand why some people are not, and never will be, Christians. Hopefully, this understanding will help them to develop an acceptance of and thereby genuine friendship with Buddhists, rather than relating to them only as potential converts. Some Buddhists may object to a book like this, believing that such a gentle and tolerant religion as Buddhism should refrain from criticizing other religions. This is certainly not what the Buddha himself taught. In the Mahaparinibbana Sutta he said that his disciples should be able to “Teach the Dhamma, declare it, establish it, expound it, analyse it, make it clear, and be able by means of the Dhamma to refute false teachings that have arisen.
[pdf]http://www.dhammikaweb.com/pdfs/beyond-belief02.pdf[/pdf]
2 comments
Hello Silva,
I read your book Beyond Belief and quite frankly I was amazed by the points you mentioned concerning the various contradictions(or should I say lies in the bible). Your article actually opened my eyes! I had been taught from childhood not to question anything in the Bible since it was divine book. The Word of GOD.
Now my question is:-
If according to you, God doesn’t exist then
who or what who handed the ten commandments to Mosses?
Who or what who subjected Job to so much pain and suffering?
Who or what who killed every first-born son in Egypt?
The list can go on and on and on.
You hardly ever mentioned the God of the New Testament.
Are these two ‘Gods” very different?
Your article has started making me think that the Bible is a collection of myths and legends.
James Okedi
P/S I was born in a Roman Catholic family. But even then these so called “Born Agains” even try to evangelize us claiming that Catholics worship idols!
Author
Dear Mr.James,
We appreciate your comment on the article of Beyond Belief. As this article was a great one towards the understanding of the Real world, it was published by us. to have reply through Mr.Silva, is quite difficult as we do not have any contacts with him.
But you will have more resources in this web site, if you click on “Buddhism for Science” tab there is a nice article (Buddhism and the God Idea) on the http://www.dhammikaweb.com/?p=4154#more-4154 by Ven .Nyanaponika Thera. you can read.
Hope you will have more resources from the above links towards your questions.
with metta
Series of Video presentation by Ven Dr K Dhammananda Thero on the subject of “Buddhist concept on Gods” 1 to 15 http://www.dhammikaweb.com/?cat=62