Christianity vs Buddhism

[Silver Wolf]

The OP sums it up nicely. The Christians can assuage their conscience by claiming that the guilty weren't "true Christians" and nothing changes. They will continue on believing and preaching that everyone else is going to burn in hell or be wiped out after they die except for them, use the law as a weapon and continue killing people for being different from them. It's the same bs all throughout the last 1700 years.

If that is so, then atheism is guilty of the 20th century's mass murders by the Communists regimes. Or weren't they "true atheist?"

 

[Silver Wolf]

Christianity is good because it teaches subservience to God Almighty. Not to judge, to follow the law, etc. Buddhism is good because it teaches the way to everlasting happiness (Nirvana.) They are both useful doctrines that can lead to enlightenment, but they are like boats. When they get a hole in them either repair them or leave them. I have been a Christian. Couldn't patch the hole in the boat, so I discarded it. Buddhism took me to another shore but it got a hole in it. Couldn't fix it so I discarded it.

 

[metis]

Hitler was a Darwinist

Actually he believed in a perversion of Darwin's ToE, whereas Hitler believed mainly in power. "Survival of the fittest" doesn't just deal with power, which obviously can be very harmful at times, but also with other factors, including cooperation and compassion.

BTW, I really don't like getting into which religion is "better" since that is obviously so subjective.

 

[Father Heathen]

Hitler was a Darwinist

The theory of evolution and theism are not mutually exlusive.

 

[metis]

I saw a survey of American Christians several years ago that had it that a majority believed in evolution caused by God ("theistic evolution", as some call it). I can't recall the exact figure but I do know it was over half.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Who has killed more people than Joseph Stalin?

Timur-the-lame aka Tamburlaine.

 

[Satan's Right Hand Man]

If that is so, then atheism is guilty of the 20th century's mass murders by the Communists regimes. Or weren't they "true atheist?"

Theism in and of itself, and atheism in and of itself does not influence the person or a nation of people. They are merely vectors, or positions a mind takes to view the same world.

What influence people to act - regardless of what that act is: war or terrorism or hate crime, or racism - is the IDEOLOGY.

If we simply set this dichotomy of theism vs atheism aside for a moment, we'd see that BOTH Christianity and Communism are IDEOLOGIES just like National Socialism is or was. It is the ideology which influences us on a collective level to kill and hate, or to act in some sort of way.

 

[gilligan8914]

WIKI says he killed over 5% of the worlds population. I had never heard of him. Good post.

 

[gilligan8914]

But off topic.

 

[Twilight Hue]

WIKI says he killed over 5% of the worlds population. I had never heard of him. Good post.

But off topic.

Just pointing out there was in fact someone much worse than Stalin as per the inquiry.

 

[Silver Wolf]

Theism in and of itself, and atheism in and of itself does not influence the person or a nation of people. They are merely vectors, or positions a mind takes to view the same world.

What influence people to act - regardless of what that act is: war or terrorism or hate crime, or racism - is the IDEOLOGY.

If we simply set this dichotomy of theism vs atheism aside for a moment, we'd see that BOTH Christianity and Communism are IDEOLOGIES just like National Socialism is or was. It is the ideology which influences us on a collective level to kill and hate, or to act in some sort of way.

Don't backtrack, if Christianity is collectively guilty of the persecutions (which were probably more political based than anything.) So is Atheism, even if Stalin, Mao, and the other Communist leaders' decisions were influenced more for political ends then ideological, just as guilty as Christiandom.

 

[Satan's Right Hand Man]

Don't backtrack, if Christianity is collectively guilty of the persecutions (which were probably more political based than anything.) So is Atheism, even if Stalin, Mao, and the other Communist leaders' decisions were influenced more for political ends then ideological, just as guilty as Christiandom.

Good, at least you admit it. Let's be fair and say that both Christianity and Communism are guilty of crimes against humanity...

This leaves Buddhism with a clean rap still: LMAO.

Buddhism still wins.

 

[Silver Wolf]

Good, at least you admit it. Let's be fair and say that both Christianity and Communism are guilty of crimes against humanity...

This leaves Buddhism with a clean rap still: LMAO.

Buddhism still wins.

Buddhism has a small share of blood. Ashoka, the king responsible for propagating Buddhism, allegedly burnt a Jain family to death in a their house because they made artwork showing Shakyamuni bowing before Mahavir.
Does that make all the Buddhist responsible for Ashoka's (alleged) actions?
I did not admit anything, I said that if Christianity was guilty, so is atheism.

 

[ChristineES]

Christianity and Communism themselves caused nothing. It was some people who gave themselves those labels. Just the same as anyone else. If I were to go and do some mass murder, I would be guilty of it- not my religion, not my lack of religion.

The fact is if those ideologies caused anything, then everyone or nearly everyone who was a part of them (or any other ideology) would do awful things.

 

[Satan's Right Hand Man]

I did not admit anything, I said that if Christianity was guilty, so is atheism.

LMAO... so you're admitting you're still in denial. And you're pointing fingers at others LOL, communism and Ashoka.

 

[nash8]

Ah, WW2 in general.

Anyways, I was just stating this because the man you replied to said an atheist had the largest killcount in history under the hands of just one man.

I agree that an athiest has the largest loss of human life attributed to him. Wiki also says that Mao was actually an athiest, so if you combine Stalin and Mao, no two other religious figures even come close.

I don't think it's really possible to pinpoint Hitler's religious beliefs. He accepted things from Christianity, the occult, and eastern religions, although he warped all of them. Personally, I think he just used things that he felt would give legitimacy and power to his own selfish ends.

The Swastika is actually originally a Jain symbol, but Chrisitanity not so much.

Timur-the-lame aka Tamburlaine.

While his percentages might be high, the actual estimate was only 17 million. Nowhere near any of the others, but that can definitely be attributed to world population and technology available.

Good, at least you admit it. Let's be fair and say that both Christianity and Communism are guilty of crimes against humanity...

This leaves Buddhism with a clean rap still: LMAO.

Buddhism still wins.

Then you would have to identify if the ideology is actually responsible for the actions. I could say that athiesm is the ideology that caused Mao and Stalin to commit the atrocities and not Communism.

The same can be done with Christianity, I can argue that it was not the ideology of Christianity that caused the deaths that are attributed to it, but rather the ideology of elitisim of the people that purported those killings.

You can't show that a particular ideology is responsible for something, only that people are responsible.

 

[crossfire]

What's even more interesting, is that Hitler's father was anticlerical, but his mother was supposedly a devout Catholic. I dunno about you, but living in that household might have been enough to drive anyone mad.

Mao's mother was a devout Buddhist, while his father was an authoritarian cuss. Interesting. Mao gave up Buddhism in his teens.

 

[Silver Wolf]

LMAO... so you're admitting you're still in denial. And you're pointing fingers at others LOL, communism and Ashoka.

What?

 

[nash8]

Mao's mother was a devout Buddhist, while his father was an authoritarian cuss. Interesting. Mao gave up Buddhism in his teens.

Very interesting indeed, does anyone see a common thread between these two individuals? Dichotomy anyone?

 

[Muffled]

Christianity or Buddhism, which is "better" for the individual and/or for mankind. Based on teachings, and the actual end results each ideology has manifested. Keeping in mind what Jesus once said: "By their fruits ye shall know them."

My thoughts:

I think Christianity breeds irresponsible people, at least emotionally and intellectually irresponsible. Because when a Christian has done something wrong such as burn heathens, burn Salem Witches, murder rival cults, abuse children, and so on, they can always pray and ask for forgiveness.

But in Buddhism, there is no escaping your own stupid actions due to karma, aka the law of cause and effect. This breeds a people who are at least emotionally and intellectually responsible.

I also believe that Christianity makes people careless in the long term. Meaning that because Christianity teaches that Jesus will return "one day soon," why would "we" put in any effort to keeping nature clean from pollution, over exploitation, and so on when Jesus will just fix everything soon?

I also think Christianity breeds hateful people, and a people who believe that have the only "Truth," and therefore everyone else are not as good as them... not "saved."

As far as end results, during the past 2000 years Christianity as a world phenomenon has given rise to sectarian wars, slaughtered millions, burn books, stifled free thinking, etc.

I'd say that Buddhism is the better of the two.

I am going to say a parable.

Once there was a giant who liked to kill people. The Christian decided to kill off the giant and rid the world of this evil but the Buddhist wouldn't kill the evil man and his solution was to set himself on fire in protest of the evil man's actions. Which one was better for the people of that land the Christian or the Buddhist?