If anyone would like to read the review of the article discussed:
Part 1 and Why is Buddhism different in the East than in the West? Who is the God of All Nations? (Part 2) please click here: http://http//dhammaprotector.blogspot.com/2010/05/why-is-buddhism-different-in-east-than_24.html
You can apply several tests to belief systems. One of the tests of good religion is that it should make people better. By “better” I mean you are better spiritually, morally and physically by following that religion than if you had not. In other words, there are objective proofs - e.g. is this religion true or is it made-up by man - and there are subjective proofs - does this religion make me a nicer, purer, healthier - or in a word - a “better” person?"From Buddha to Jesus" by Steve Cioccolanti
The Three Baskets (Tripitaka) Chapter 24 pg page 162:“The Tripitaka is full of instructions for one to be a better person, but does not address questions like where we came from, where we are heading, or what is the purpose of life.”
Yes, this is why Buddhism is not a philosophy, but the author does acknowledge that the Tipitaka (using the Sanskrit spelled "Tripitaka here) is full of instructions on how to be a better person.
Subjective proofs are hard to talk about because they are that - subjective. Many Christians testify that have been miraculously healed by God - many in my own family and church would not be alive today if they had not believed and obeyed God’s Word - so they would joyfully tell you. But you may choose to disbelieve their experience. You may choose to question, “But other Christians prayed and they were not healed? What about them?” To answer that question objectively, we would have to diagnose each individual sick person, Did they obey the Bible? Did they speak God’s Word? Did they, most of all, learn to walk in love, forgiveness and let go of bitterness - which is one of the major causes of sickness in humans. Every step out of love is simply sin.
Deut. 24 Vs.11
11 If two men are fighting and the wife of one of them comes to rescue her husband from his assailant, and she reaches out and seizes him by his private parts, 12 you shall cut off her hand. Show her no pity.
10 When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace. 11 If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject to forced labor and shall work for you. 12 If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city. 13 When the LORD your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it. 14 As for the women, the children, the livestock and everything else in the city, you may take these as plunder for yourselves. And you may use the plunder the LORD your God gives you from your enemies.15 This is how you are to treat all the cities that are at a distance from you and do not belong to the nations nearby.
16 However in the cities that the Lord your God has given you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. 17 Completely destroy them—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—as the LORD your God has commanded you. 18Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the LORD your God.I hear so much talk from some when they want to talk of the "free will" that their Christian God gave all of us... instead he commanded that all of these people be killed for fear that some would follow a way other than what was already proscribed. This is only a taste of the "love" shown by their God in both the old and new Testament. Lets not forget the story in Acts Ch.5 Vs.1-10 where their God murders two people Ananias and Sapphira who were a husband and a wife for not "coughing it all up" and giving everything that they received for the selling of their property to the apostle Peter.
"Every step out of love is simply sin." Is that right? God is the authority so he can do what he wants some say.... Although some will deny it, this is saying that might makes right! As I had one person put it, "He created you and will destroy you if he should wish." After all, what good would such a tyrant of an authority be that presumably has made what ever law of his choosing, without the authority (might) to enforce it? Forget about what is or isn't morally cruel and sadistic! In their book might makes right. However the best teacher we know teaches by example ......and this is such a sad lesson for humanity that many have been taught so well. "Every step out of love is simply sin" . I agree. Unfortunately their Christian God would clearly disagree. Unless their God murders people and condones the murdering of people because he loves us....
While we can’t verify every person’s subjective experience, we can say that by following Christ, many people have become better, healthier people. There is plenty of evidence that when people repent, trust Jesus, and walk in love, their health improves vastly, sometimes “miraculously”. Is this true of every religion?
All religions have such testimonies of faith. Believe it or not folks... Christianity isn't the only one. Thankfully though, blind faith isn't actually encouraged in Buddhism.
Growing up in Thailand, I have never heard of one miraculous healing by Buddha. Of course, Buddha went “nippan” (or has ceased to exist), so there is no contradiction that Buddhists should expect no supernatural aid from anyone they pray to. But what about following the principles and practices of religion - is Buddhism good for our health?
Christian evangelists enjoy working with the misconception that Nibanna means ceasing to exist.
A well known fact among Asian Buddhists is that the Buddhist ritual of burning incense is harmful to human respiration, pollutes the home, and may even cause cancer in the devotees. This is both objectively and subjectively verifiable. This is so well known that commercial suppliers of incense now offer the modern electric version of incense light without the incense fume. Western devotees have yet to catch on to this as the fad of burning incense and the sale of incense sticks seem to be on the rise in the West. Robert Kiyosaki’s sister Emi Kiyosaki (ordained name: Tenzin Kacho) has encountered health problems and is now conscious of clean air and good venmtilation after years of burning incense in a Buddhist monastery.*
Incense burning is not a requirement to practice the Buddhist religion. Have any of you been to a Christian church on Easter or on any of their special days of observance? Have you ever wondered just what frankincense and myrrh smell like? Of course incense burning is not a requirement for the practice of the Christian religion either!
Contrast this with the Bible’s teachings. God prescribed the “kosher” or clean diet for His believers. He told Israel not to eat scavengers of the sea (shell fish, shrimps, etc) even though many of us think they’re pretty tasty. Of course, we are not bound to the Jewish diet to be saved and go to heaven, but following the Jewish diet may keep us healthier longer on the earth. Why? As it turns out, shrimps, lobsters, and shell fish not only contain very high cholesterol, scientists have found that they accumulate high levels of heavy metals and other pollutions of the sea. The sages of the Bible were not trying to restrict our palette. They were apparently given information well in advance of their time. God knows what’s best for us and following the Bible produces better health.
With all due respect for the Jewish dietary laws...
The Jewish diet also forbids the eating of swine. Of course if Pastor Cioccolanti were to mention this he would probably piss off pretty much his entire congregation. Them and all of the Sunday church B.B.Q. crowd, and well... we wouldn't want to do that now would we? What did their Jesus have to say about this?
Matt.Ch.15
In Pastors Cioccolanti's book "From Buddha to Jesus" he also states:
The Three Baskets (Tripataka) Chapter 24 first paragraph: “It should be accepted by all that what Buddha taught is recorded in a sacred text called the Tripataka…”and also... In Chapter 16 The Reincarnation Chapter
“Until today we can see Buddha's wisdom in commanding to abstain from meat.”Although this is untrue regarding the Tipataka he acknowledges that ideally the vegetarian diet can be a more healthy diet. So then why didn't the almighty Christian God command his people to observe one type or another of a vegetarian diet? He could give them manna from heaven ( Psalm 78:23-25) but not the means to observe a vegetarian diet? They could have gotten their protein from the same place that the livestock were getting theirs. Depending on the weight of the animal much of the livestock needed and were getting more protein than any one else. But wait a minute... that would have meant that the sacrificed animal would not have been eaten later by the community. (Lev.7:1-21) Now would it? If you believe what Pastor Cioccolanti has to say, then you would believe that the Buddha had more wisdom when making commandments of diet than their own Christian God!
For 4000 years the God of the Bible recommended scrupulous washing of hands, long before medical doctors adopted the practice less than 200 years ago. Back then no one even knew germs existed. So when Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis suggested that post-partum deaths could be prevented by the simple washing of hands, he became the laughing stock of the medical community. But what he observed was later proven true: when medical students go from operating on cadavers straight to delivering babies, the new mothers experienced a higher mortality rate (i.e. they died after giving childbirth). Dr. Semmelweis would not see the medical community adopt his recommendation till after he died. Many mothers’ lives could have been spared if people had simply believed and obeyed the Bible. Any time someone touched a dead body, God commanded that person to wash himself thoroughly.
"For 4,000 years now the God of the Bible has recommended the scrupulous washing of hands".....
Its always interesting to watch when someone like the Pastor Steve Cioccolanti starts making up and writing his own version of history. Classical Hebrew which came prior to the Biblical Hebrew is dated to be in usage perhaps more than two thousand years. The Book of Genesis itself is well within the first millennium with the most recent proposals placing it within the fifth century B.C.E.,2 therefore to write this as factual instead of as something of his own imaginary creation is a type of fallacy creation that Pastor Steve Cioccolanti seems to enjoy engaging in quite often.
The book of Leviticus Chapter 12 Vs.1; And the lord spake unto Moses saying, Vs.2 speak unto the children of Israel saying, If a woman have conceived seed and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean.Vs.3: and in the eight day the flesh of the foreskin shall be circumcised. Vs.4: And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled. Leviticus Ch.15: And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days and whomso ever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even. Vs.30: And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make atonement for her before the lord for the issue of her uncleanliness.
The point being here is that the tradition that Jesus came from would consider a woman dirty or “unclean” simply because she was menstruating or because she had recently given birth to a child making her worthy of a sin offering and atonement!
There are countless other examples of how following the Bible leads to better health - from proper personal hygiene to communal sanitation - all of which may seem obvious to us now, but let’s not forget these Biblical practices eluded the wisest of religious people in previous centuries, and still eludes many religious devotees today.
Lest people dismiss the Bible as preaching only commonsense, rather than truths only known by God, I should call your attention to one of the most prominent health commandments in the Old Testament: male circumcision. Any man reading would agree this would not be an idea that naturally comes to a man - to cut the tip of his member or of his offspring’s member! Today, science has caught up with the Biblical knowledge that circumcision carries with it a lifetime of medical benefits, among which are: prevention of kidney infection, urinary tract infection, foreskin infection, protection against HIV, genital herpes, and other sexually transmitted diseases. The benefits extend to the circumcised men’s sexual partners. Circumcision provides women with increased protection from cervical cancer, bacterial vaginosis, and possibly Chlamydia (which can cause infertility). How did the Bible know all this? And if other religions are equally true, why did no other religious leader know about this? (except those who came into contact with the Bible) Every religious leader in the world share one thing in common - they were all uncircumcised except those who believed the Bible.The Bible not only makes healthy recommendations, it does so with intelligence beyond its time. God was very specific about it. Circumcision was not to be performed on any old day the parents or doctors wanted, but God commanded it on the 8th day. Why should this matter? Because modern medicine has discovered that blood clotting factors are at optimum in a baby on the 8th day. Following God’s order would not only bless the male for life, it would also prevent infant mortality due to poor surgery.
Pastor Cioccolanti seems to forget here that the woman having given birth to the male child was considered clean on the 8th day, the day that the baby was to be circumcised... What good medical reason would the author give for that?
Regarding the supposed health benefits of circumcision there are many medical professionals who disagree with this.3 As well, for any one concerned with the notion of getting a sexually transmitted disease a bit of good hygiene which would include a condom should be more effective that getting your member clipped. This would otherwise be like suggesting that a filter cigarette is "healthier" that a non filtered one after your circumcised sexual intercourse. If Pastor Cioccolanti is a Creationist then why would God create humanity in a state of "imperfection"? Apparently so that some of us can demonstrate their loyalty to the God of the Christian Bible by having their members clipped. The Biblical reason given was to separate God's special chosen Jewish people from the rest. Not for reasons pertaining to one's health.
Gen.Ch.17 Vs. 9 -11
9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come.
Galatians Ch.6 Vs.12-15
If there were any true health benefits to be had with circumcision... the apostle Paul certainly knew nothing of it!
Burning incense in Buddhist homes and monasteries has led to health challenges in many followers. But following the Bible has never caused cancer in anybody. If a religion is true, it has to make people better. If a religion is divine, it has to deliver truths that are beyond human theory at the time. Although I used to believe that the Tao Te Ching and the Tri-pitaka are the same as the Bible (after all, aren’t they all good religious books?), evidence has proven my old assumption wrong. When we look at the Bible dispassionately (unemotionally), we discover God’s commands are best for children and best for adults. That’s why I believe the Bible now.
"When we look at the Bible dispassionately (unemotionally), we discover God’s commands are best for children and best for adults. That’s why I believe the Bible now."
Really? The commandments that the author has been discussing come from the Old Testament... Lets look at some more commandments. The Christian God commands..... Who they should kill.
Those who curse or hit their parents. Lev.20:9 and Ex.21:15
Worshipers of other Gods Deut.13:6-11
Psychics, Witches. Lev.20-27, Deut. 13:6-11, Ex.22:18
Those who work on the Sabbath. Ex.35:2 Moses killed a gentile for this in Num.15:32-36
Those who are accused by at least two people for wickedness. Deut.17:6
The children and babies of enemies are to be killed commands their Christian God in Num.31:17, Deut 20:13, Psalm 137:9, and Lev.26:29.
Adulterers. Lev.20:10
Homosexuals. Lev.20:13
Let's not forget that a woman who is not a virgin when married their God commands her to be killed also... Deut. 22:13-21
I'm going to stop and take a break now because I'm getting nauseous........
Let's not forget..... "Every step out of love is simply sin."
Wait a minute! Would someone accuse me of taking something out of historical context? But I'm not the one who was picking and choosing Old Testament commandments for the article being discussed though... now was I?
In contrast, there is not a single uttering of any Buddhist scripture of any school or sect that condones in any way the intentional killing of another human being. So..... how's that for the better health of someone?
Enthusiasts sometimes claim “Buddhism is the most scientific religion.” I used to accept that blindly, but the evidence above calls the very statement into question. When people make assertions, I’ve learned to politely ask for reasons, “What is the evidence that Buddhism is the most scientific religion? If Buddhism is so scientific, why hasn’t Buddhism produced any of the great scientists?”
From my review of Pastor Cioccolant's article:
Why is Buddhism different in the East than in the West?
"They claim Buddhism is the most scientific religion even though no evidence to support can be produced, and evidence to contradict is easy to find. Not a single Buddhist is the founder of any scientific field. Why is the dearth of discoveries characteristic of the “most scientific” religion in the world? Why has the supposed “nonsense” of Christianity produced the greatest scientific minds ever known? These questions demand an answer!"
"Buddhism is more scientific than modern science. Like science, Buddhism is based on verifiable cause-and-effect relationships. But unlike science, Buddhism challenges with thoroughness every belief. The famous Kalama Sutta of Buddhism states that one cannot believe fully in "what one is taught, tradition, hearsay, scripture, logic, inference, appearance, agreement with established opinion, the seeming competence of a teacher, or even in one's own teacher". How many scientists are as rigorous in their thinking as this? Buddhism challenges everything, including logic."4 Although others seem to misunderstand, the point of this article I believe was to express how in order for Buddhism to be all that it was meant to be we can't make the religious "party line" mistake.
I believe an answer overall to this sort of thing then lies in the fact that Buddhists are less likely to feel a need to justify or verify their proposed scientific findings via their Buddhist perspective, because there is no natural enmity between them that would produce a need to try to reconcile the two. Therefore if there ever were a Buddhist founder of a scientific field of study you might very well might not even know it! Modern Western science has been raised in an atmosphere of Christianity, but that certainly does not mean that they are naturally good friends!
A case in point:
"If science proves some belief of Buddhism wrong, then Buddhism will have to change. In my view, science and Buddhism share a search for the truth and for understanding reality. By learning from science about aspects of reality where its understanding may be more advanced, I believe that Buddhism enriches its own worldview."
TENZIN GYATSO (The 14th Dalai Lama)5
Now I must ask... How many evangelical Christians would ever have the courage and such respect for science to ever dare make such a statement?
Would Steve Cioccolanti?
Now those questions demand an answer!
The major difference here is that Buddhists are willing to conform to the world around them in many ways while many Christians tend to want the world to conform to them. Them, their Bible and anything else that they have to offer whether by the use of violence or not.
What should concern us is the fact that there are people who believe that there is the need to write such an article like this in the first place.
This Pastor seems obsessed with finding every angle that he can dream up to attack the Buddhist religion. We should only hope that such people never find their way into areas of great political power to abuse such obsessive bias.
Bhikkhu aggacitto
Reference for the article discussed.
* “Brother Sister Merge Religion With Business,” SFGate.com, Feb 22, 2009, http://articles.sfgate.com/2009-02-22/news/17189916_1_dalai-lama-medical-bills-robert-kiyosaki/2kiyosaki/2
References for this article.
3.http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/likefire/1.html
4. http://www.wihara.com/forum/topik-umum/464-buddhism-only-real-science.html5. Our Faith in Science By TENZIN GYATSO (The 14th Dalai Lama)
Published: November 12, 2005 in the New York Times.
7 comments:
"does this religion make me a nicer, purer, healthier - or in a word - a “better” person?" ~ Steve Cioccolanti
Steve C. being a liar, slanderer and deceitful person is NOT a better person. By Steve's analysis, that means Christianity is a bad religion.lol
“But other Christians prayed and they were not healed? What about them?”
Of course, the promises of Jesus that in his name believers shall cast out devils, shall speak with new tongues, will not be hurt by drinking any deadly poison, and heal the sick has indeed throughout the ages created plentiful of lying pastors and ministries. Did Steve mistaken speaking with forked tongues as the promises of Jesus?
Oh, Mr. Steve Cioccolanti,
I doubt that you are both physically and mentally healthy.
Your thought of destroying Buddhism or other faiths surely poisons your mind.
I doubt that your venomous thinking won't poison every physical cells of yours.
All that Steve can find about the practices of Buddhism being not good for health is the burning of incense sticks.
As pointed out by B.aggacitto, incense burning is not a requirement to practice the Buddhist religion.
Looking at the history of burning incense, it may have originated in Ancient Egypt, land of the Abrahamic religions, used in religious ceremonies. God inspired?
A study by several Asian Cancer Research Centers showed: "No association was found between exposure to incense burning and respiratory symptoms like chronic cough, chronic sputum, chronic bronchitis, runny nose, wheezing, asthma, allergic rhinitis, or pneumonia among the three populations studied: i.e. primary school children, their non-smoking mothers, or a group of older non-smoking female controls. Incense burning did not affect lung cancer risk among non-smokers, but it significantly reduced risk among smokers, even after adjusting for lifetime smoking amount."
Anyway, IMHO, if the smoke is not getting into your eyes and making you grasping for air, then it's considered not harmful. If only one stick is lit in a room then I don't think it's harmful.
Today incense sticks are burned in the open in many Buddhist temples. Surely it's not harmful and a good practice where many devotees light incense sticks.
In conclusion, Steve Cioccolanti did make a fool of himself whenever he tried to belittle Buddhism.
What is it about Christians that makes them regurgitate the same mindless bullshit over and over? Do you know that there are still dozens, if not hundreds of Christian propaganda websites like Contender Ministries who accuse Buddhists of worshiping idols of Buddha and claim that Nirvana is spiritual suicide/oblivion?
Their behavior in these matters is more than a little reminiscent of "Night of the Living Dead".
Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!!
Thanks for sharing.
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