i was raised Christan but have never been a die hard i believe there is a good and evil being but here recently i have taken an interest in buddhism ive had thoughts of looking into it in the past and never looked into it now im seriously looking into i need the inner peise and tranquility my life is totally out of control and my mind is always in turmoil but i feel like if i go and start doing the buddhist thing that i would have betrayed God and or disappointed him and it makes me feel like im doing something wrong i was wondering what you think i should do can you give some reasons why i should or shouldnt do the conversion thanks
2006-10-23 12:24:28 · 16 answers · asked by llamasrocknroll 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
You should deffinetly convert
2006-10-23 12:26:10 · answer #1 · answered by theused4662 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
I'm sorry to hear about your apparently bad experience with Christianity, which makes you feel tempted to convert to Buddhism. Apparently your conscience is guarding you against it, and as a Christian I can only advise you to listen to it. Although the horror stories about conversions to Asian religions generally involve Yoga or Hinduism (as you might find in a book called "Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future", by Fr. Seraphim Rose), Buddhism is not without danger, as you will see in the link below (which, by the way, is misnamed because the corresponding Romanian section of the site has many testimonies on yoga). And even if it weren't dangerous, the sin of apostasy from Christ would still be there, God forbid!
http://www.sfaturiortodoxe.ro/orthodox/orthodox_advices_yoga.htm
You might find inspiring these testimonies of Orthodox Christian converts:
http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/inquirers/inq_convert.aspx
http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/inquirers/clendenin_response.aspx
Last but not least, if British you might find this even more profitable:
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/hp.htm
I suppose you will find useful, and free of a denominational tinge that you might be weary of, the advice to pray or at least to read a bit of the Holy Bible daily, such as a few Psalms and one or two chapters of the New Testament. As someone once said, the Book of Psalms is the best prayer book ever. Hint: whenever David mentions his enemies, think of these as your spiritual enemies, i.e. temptations or the demons which induce temptations, and the spiritual profit from your reading will increase greatly.
I strongly believe that only in Orthodox Christianity you will truly find the inner peace you are striving for. However, I am realistic enough not to expect you to convert upon reading a couple of web pages. You would need the eagerness to follow the leads they provide, which is entirely up to you.
May God help you in your spiritual quest!
2006-10-23 22:30:01 · answer #2 · answered by todaywiserthanyesterday 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Listen to your conscience - it was put there for a reason. Christianity is your heritage and was handed down by your parents but having said that you cannot inherit faith and maybe you never developed your own faith. I would encourage you to look into the word of God first and pray about this for direction. You are right in feeling that you would have dissapointed God if you worship other Gods because you will be breaking the first two commandments in doing this. Jesus is the Prince of Peace.
2006-10-23 19:28:50 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
First ! Whats your opinion on god?
If god doesnt like you converting to Buddhisitm, then It is not God.
Because (in this case )he has some preferance/wishes like human.
Purpose of life is to live without troubling others, become a good person, help others and to have a peace of mind.
God(Whatever name) will not bother which religion you belong to, but he bothers if you do bad/evil stuff
If you think Buddisam is good for you. Go for it.
Its not like other "Marketing religions".
Nobody will give you phamplet neither brain wash you. You will feel your true inner person while praying. Becasue nobody read out/push their thoughts on you while praying
Converting to another religion, will never convert you what/who you are.
Choice is yours!
2006-10-23 19:40:51 · answer #4 · answered by TruthSeeker 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is nothing wrong with converting to Buddihsm. It is one of the most peaceful religeons out there and you will definatley have clarity in your mind and heart. There are a lot of Christians and other religeons who are now taking on the practices of the Budhist religeon and what their primary religeon is. God will not be disapointed. You should pray to God and ask him to help you in making the best decision for you. Only you know what is best in your heart. Meditation is one of the best things to help you clear your mind and give you the inner tranquility you need in this crazy world.
2006-10-23 19:29:58 · answer #5 · answered by lpogue2005 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't think any of us can or should answer this for you; I know I probably shouldn't, so I'll just say this. I think that you should do what feels right to you on the one hand, but on the other hand, I do believe that you will disappoint God by doing that. But by the sounds of it, he's already sad because you're so shaky. Above all, I think he'd want you to be strong in your convictions.
I wish I could help more. Good luck.
2006-10-23 19:28:09 · answer #6 · answered by Lena 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I do know that God keeps his own, they know the Shepherd's voice, and He knows his sheep. I wouldn't call Buddhism part of His flock. Don't you think it's worth a little more exploration to see what Christianity is all about? Try making an appointment with a pastor, it can't hurt, and you should get better answers with him/her than on YA. This is pretty serious stuff.
2006-10-23 19:42:55 · answer #7 · answered by ccrider 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like your conscience is still intact. That is good! God gave us the Law and the Gospel. The Law is revealed through our conscience and the Bible. The Law demands but does not enable compliance, it hurls people into despair, for it diagnosis the disease but provides not cure, and it produces contrition, that is, it terrifies the conscience but offers no comfort.
However, the Gospel makes a promise without demand or condition. The Gospel is only revealed in Christ. The Gospel is this, that Christ suffered and died to pay for your sins, he arose from the dead victorious over death, sin, and the devil. For those who believe in Christ, there is eternal life and salvation. For those who do not believe, there is eternal damnation.
Big decision you have in front of you. I hope you carefully consider the consequences of your choice.
2006-10-23 19:32:23 · answer #8 · answered by rath_of_kahn_2000 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Everyone has confusion, turmoil, and trials. This is how God draws us closer to Him. Buddhism is not even a religion, just a philosophy that almost ignores God. You have to look to Jesus Christ through prayer for the answer, and you will find that if you give your life away for Christ, you will gain it back
2006-10-23 19:28:48 · answer #9 · answered by Daniel K 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Read about it all you can, then go a week trying to be neutral. If you still feel like you'd like to convert to Buddhism, go ahead. A very good reason for doing so: Happiness.
And in my personal beliefs, all Deities are One. All paths are good. However, I don't think that's at all what Buddhism teaches so you might want to disregard that.
Don't act rashly, but if you want to convert, good for you.
2006-10-23 19:34:34 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
At the end of the day, its up to you, you need to look inside yourself at what you truly believe. If you don't believe in a personal god, then you need to rethink your religion, but if you do then thats fine too. I know from my personal experience that even once I knew that I didn't beleive in god, letting go was one of the hardest things, theres always that unspoken "what if..." at the back of your mind.
However, all I can tell you is go with your heart and if you find you can't believe in a god then change.
2006-10-23 19:31:59 · answer #11 · answered by Om 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋