This post is thematically a continuation of my post “Staying Curious”. I finished reading John in the Bible and decided to take a break until I can discuss some of the questions it has raised for me.
I’m struggling with a series of verses that go something like this one: “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” The language here seems to suggest that God’s love is contingent on belief. Not just belief in Him but also belief in Jesus’ being His Son. It’s not that I don’t believe (nor do I firmly, as yet, wholeheartedly believe), but I know there are many out there that believe in God in their own way and that requiring belief in Jesus being the Son of God to ‘see life’ seems inconsistent with the ‘unconditional love’ and Grace that I’ve been taught so far.
As it happens, before I started reading John, I decided to explore other religions for the purpose of understanding. I’ve always believed that to understand myself I best also spend the time to understand others. I apply this principle broadly in my life.
When I was leaving to go work in Japan after finishing college, I decided that I wanted to first explore the US. I had a very narrow view of the US having grown up in a small, liberal, northeastern community and gong to college in a very similar place. I felt it was my responsibility to both myself and those that I would meet overseas to better understand my country. So I spent six weeks that summer after graduation zig-zagging across the US. I put 10,000 miles onto my odometer during that trip. My ride was an old rusty Honda Accord that I had named “The Tank” since I had riveted new wheel wells onto it using scrap sheet metal and the visual effect was that of an armored vehicle. My companion was similarly built – a woman that shadowed my in both height and muscular girth. Between the strange car and us being an ‘odd couple’, we must have been quite a sight. There were a few times where we attracted unwanted attention…but those are stories for another time.
Anyway, from the perspective of seeking to understand, I decided to learn more about Buddhism. My experience to date was only experiential as my wife and her family are Chinese and many of their cultural practices are entwined with Buddhism. I specifically chose a book ABOUT Buddhism vs. a book by a Buddhist teaching Buddhism. I’ve tried to read some Buddhist writings before and I always felt lost. I thought maybe the issue was that I didn’t have enough foundational knowledge to understand. So this time I chose to read from a decidedly ‘outside-in’ perspective first: “The Everything Buddhism Book” by Arnie Kozak. It’s kinda like a Buddhism 101 course and it was perfect for me as a beginner.
I’ll need to post again on this subject to more fully share my reflections, but my quick take is that there is absolutely nothing in Buddhism that prohibits a Christian from learning and practicing it’s teachings. However, there still remains a question for me as to whether the Christin belief system is similarly accommodating. That circles me back to my questions raised by the passage from John that I quoted at the beginning. I’m going to seek some conversations with those more experienced in these topics before coming to any conclusion on this matter. Till next time…
Be well,
Monty
Monty’s Blahg 
John is a gospel of metaphor and symbolism… It is a really tough one to study – and is best done with a leader in a group with discussion time. As a Catholic and former Protestant, John’s statement is problematic. The Catholic perspective is that there is only one true faith. Thus the practice of any other faith should be avoided (especially non-Christian ones). There are some churches and religions that are rabid, shunning anywho do not believe exactly as they do. Personally in my experience the Catholics and most mainstream Protestants believe that God’s love supersedes religion thus a good person of any religion can end up in
heaven…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ll be discussing in my fellowship for better understanding. I really appreciate your sharing your view. It makes me more hopeful.
LikeLike
As a Catholic, I struggle with the notion that our faith is the only true faith. Years ago, our Catholic Women’s League brought in a guest speaker from a local cancer support centre. The speaker discussed the yoga programs they offer for people going through cancer treatment. After the talk an older parishioner told me, in no uncertain terms, that yoga is against our religion and we should not have allowed that person to speak in our church. I was floored! I asked our priest, who was older and very set in his ways about it. He said yoga as a form of exercise is okay, but any yoga practice that involves discussion of energy fields should be avoided. I just shook my head.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s so sad. Seems some people are so fearful of difference that their minds become closed to discovery. Imagine if all the people responded that way to Jesus.
LikeLiked by 1 person