Why did believing in the Christian version of Jesus?

Question

cause me so much pain? I recognize that there are Christians who find great peace but I was in horrible agony and had to walk away. I find Jesus to be inspiring more through the Gnostic gospels. I mean I felt I was NEVER good enough no matter how hard I tried so why should I turn back to something that caused so much pain for me? Namaste

I'm asking this because some of you believe that all one need do is turn to Jesus and they will find peace. This what not the case for me. I'm not trying to invalidate your experience.

I am a Buddhist (someone mentioned Buddhist's in their question). I also don't agree that I didn't understand what I was reading in the bible.

Answer 1

I wonder , if any one if holding a burning torch in hand that is also burning the hand , yet not leaving that burning torch and simply discussing whether it is good to hold it or to throw it..

What a pitiable person... Either hand is paralyzed , or eyes have gone blind or some drug is given so that pain of burning is not there or is it madness. to continue to hold and suffer the pain ???

Answer 2

Like you, I am a Buddhist. And we appear to share a genuine respect, admiration and love for the man known as Jesus. From my point of view, there is no question that Jesus, the man, existed. He was a great peacemaker, a great advocate of love, a very good storyteller and a great teacher. In these respects, he was very similar to the Buddha; and if you've read Thich Naht Hanh's books (e.g. Jesus and The Buddha as Brothers) you'll find that the similarities in the teachings of these two men do, in fact, fill volumes. So there is a great deal of value in learning what Jesus did and what Jesus said -- to the extent that you can find sources you trust.

This is where the difficulties arise and the difference between Buddhism and Christianity are so profound. In the case of the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama lived in a part of the world with well-developed written language and scholarship. Having taught for 45 years, at the time of his death he was surrounded by hundreds of monks and scholars who IMMEDIATELY set to work recording with great accuracy exactly what the Buddha had said, done, and taught. Thus one can have a great deal of confidence in the accuracy and fidelity of the Buddhist scriptures and especially the "baseline" Pali Canon. However, in the case of Jesus, there was no such scholarly community surrounding him and almost no literacy whatsoever where he taught. It was at least 50 years after his death before people began writing "gospels" and some 300 years after his death before most of these writings turned up. There were, by then, so many conflicting versions of the story from so many authors -- none who had been present and all who had stories that had been "passed down" verbally that a popularity contest had to be held (Council of Nicea) where folks (all men, of course) decided what they would or would not include in their bible. And, of course, the book was then edited and reconfigured several times to suit the powers-that-be of each era, most notably the editing job done under the monarchial direction of King James.

Because your Buddhist training teaches you to think for yourself and challenge everything, including spiritual teachings, I think you're going to be very conflicted trying to resolve the old testament (Jewish Book) and the new testament (Christian Book) and what was included, what was ommitted, and just how reliable is all this stuff anyway?

The Buddha taught a way out of suffering that required no magic, no church, no external savior, and no corporate chain of command. That path is paved with stones that are incredibly compatible with what Jesus taught. In much the same way that you can identify with a political candidate while being repulsed by the platform of his or her political party, I think you can identify with Jesus and be equally repulsed by what some Christian churches espouse.

Answer 3

You have found the whole point of Christianity yet managed to miss it totally. The point is that we can NEVER be good enough. If we could, we wouldn't need a savior.

If I ask you how you know you're a Christian and you tell me about your family's religion or your baptism or your church or the good stuff you do, then you've been taught false un-Biblical doctrine and your conversion was most likely not authentic even though you may have thought it to be (I know, because this was once me). Your beliefs would leave you lacking peace and assurance and your faith would be very shallow and hollow. If your answer includes something about the blood of Christ and faith in Him for the forgiveness of your sins, then you're on the right track.

Being a Christian is not about going to church, or being a good person, or giving to charity, etc. It's not about doing the right stuff or doing stuff right. Thank God for that, because I'd be going to hell if I had to be good enough to get there. Christians still sin too. The Bible never said we would be sin-free after we become Christians. We are to TRY to be sin-free, but the reality is that it's impossible due to our inherited sinful nature.

Being a Christian is about totally trusting in Jesus Christ for your eternal destiny, seeking His desires for your life, and allowing the Holy Spirit to change you from the inside out. He doesn't ask us to clean ourselves up before we come to him.
We come to him in faith, totally dependent upon him, and he does the cleaning.

I would recommend that you read the book of Romans until you understand the Biblical doctrine of salvation, then find a good Bible-believing, teaching church and begin to attend. If the minister doesn't speak from the Bible and no-one carries their Bible to the service, then you're in the wrong place.

Answer 4

maximum Christian denominations believe in Jesus the Christ of Nazareth. Mormons at the instant are not possibly Christians yet are a cult in that they believe this: That Jesus and devil are brothers, That a ineffective guy or woman would properly be baptized, That a Mormon can replace right into a god, That God is flesh and blood, it is purely the a number of stupid luggage Mormons have extra to their cult and no they are not closer than the in many circumstances occurring denomination to the genuine Jesus. In Jesus' Love Robert < remember what you enable your self to think of, see, hear, say and do actually, with the aid of Almighty God's outstanding potential, creates the matrix of the fact you presently finally end up walking.

Answer 5

Christians don't mean any harm....they truly believe in what they have learned. They also believe that they are the only people who will make it through the gates of Heaven and the rest are sent directly to hell. As a Gnostic believer you know there isn't any hell per say...not a little red guy with horns where people burn in wreched fire....God wouldn't be so cruel for He is all forgiving and all merciful. I say just stay on the road you are on and do not feel pressure to live a way of life that doesn't suit you.
Christians are not bad people, they are held with strong convictions because they believe in a punishing God and are afraid if they sway from their belief that they will be condemned to that life of hell. I find it easiest just to be kind and respect everyone regardless of what their personal belief system is. Whatever works for the individual...I am just glad that people believe in somethng greater than self.
Just for the sake of saying it...God loves you and is pleased that you are seeking His Truth. God Bless!

Answer 6

Just believing is not enough. If you believe, accept Him as your Lord, and put all your trust in Him. You cannot be a Christian, and a Buddhist. I somehow find you trying to hold onto too many religious beliefs at the same time, that will not work. With Faith, put all your trust in Jesus.

Answer 7

You were hooked up with an abusive church. If you read about the Jesus of the Bible you'll find the whole point is that you can't be good enough and that you should not try. If you were being told you had to be really, really good, then the people you were talking to were completely messed up.

We can't be good enough, otherwise Jesus wouldn't have had to come. When we try to earn our way to heaven we insult God and just spin our wheels and get depressed. The whole point of the Bible is to tell you you can't be good enough, so quit trying and receive the free gift of salvation.

Answer 8

To each their own, dear. If God wanted us to walk the same spiritual path we would all be clones. Since we're not clones, find the spiritual path that is right for you and look back only to reflect upon what you have learned about yourself.
Also, to clear things up a little, anything having to do with Christ is Christian. It's just that different denominations have their own version of what it means to follow Christ. If you found inspiration with Christ from a different point of view from the denomination you were with before, you are still Christian. Don't let the narrow minds who think God is exclusively theirs tell you different.

Answer 9

I would bet my next paycheck that you did not believe in the "Christian" version of Jesus to begin with. And as for the Gnostic Jesus, that suprises me. For some reason I find it hard to believe that the creator-God is nothing more than a menstrual discharge (Apocyphon of John, Nag Hammadi).

Answer 10

I don't know how or what you were taught but the peace of Jesus Christ is to me:

1) Knowing that you are loved just the way you are
2) Knowing that God is with you and available to you right now to help you in the present
3) And Knowing that you can have faith in a good future (read eternal future)

There's probably more that can be added, but that feels pretty complete to me.