god and the nonbelievers

[rikbe]

Sorry didn't read Paul. So my soul is nothing more than my brain activity. ANd my brain only operates because of the blood that brings oxygen to it. No blood, no brain activity thus no soul anymore.

Your theory about the consequences of good and evil would be nice if good and evil would be defined clearly. It is not. As I pointed out, it changes from region to region, culture to culture and time to time.
When you are a child, your parents tell you what is good and evil and you carry this message with you for the rest of your life. WHen you do something good or bad, the joy or guilt you feel is the joy or guilt you felt when you were a child that pleased or displeased your parents and were rewarded or punished for it. Guilt and joy are simply the consequences of the stick and carrot method used by your parents to educate you.

[ANDY-J1]

Originally posted by brian66
so it is very inportant what we think and what we do ..because our souls destination depends on our thoughts and actions...BRIAN

Therefore the destiny of our "soul" is dependent on our Karma-its good to see that Buddhist philosophy is being embraced by modern Christians.

[Traper]

Originally posted by ANDY-J1
Therefore the destiny of our "soul" is dependent on our Karma-its good to see that Buddhist philosophy is being embraced by modern Christians.

Christianity has nothing in common with Buddhism in understanding what will happen after death.

[ANDY-J1]

Both Buddha and Jesus used the phrase you shall reap what you sow so both philosophies teach that there are consequences to be faced for our actions in the afterlife,in fact many of the moral precepts set out by Christ have their parallel in Buddhism.An increasing number of Christians nowadays are open to traditional Buddhist concepts such as rebirth and karma so there is a synergy of western and eastern philosophies.Christianity is not incompatible with such ideas and Christ never explicitly taught that a belief in reincarnation was wrong although he was aware that his disciples believed in it- John 9.1-3.

[rikbe]

Originally posted by ANDY-J1
Both Buddha and Jesus used the phrase you shall reap what you sow so both philosophies teach that there are consequences to be faced for our actions in the afterlife,in fact many of the moral precepts set out by Christ have their parallel in Buddhism.An increasing number of Christians nowadays are open to traditional Buddhist concepts such as rebirth and karma so there is a synergy of western and eastern philosophies.Christianity is not incompatible with such ideas and

Hello Andy,
I have been reading a little about the principles of Buddhism and I have a few questions:
- did the Buddha mentioned something about creation by a supernatural being?
- did he spoke really of "reincarnation" or only of "rebirth"? "Reincarnation" is the rebirth in another body, so you have to die first, while rebirth can be understood as a new state of awareness within the same body. If the Buddha meant "rebirth", he did not explicitly said there is life after death.

Christ never explicitly taught that a belief in reincarnation was wrong although he was aware that his disciples believed in it- John 9.1-3.

Maybe he didn't know what is after death.

[ANDY-J1]

Originally posted by rikbe
Hello Andy,
I have been reading a little about the principles of Buddhism and I have a few questions:
- did the Buddha mentioned something about creation by a supernatural being?
- did he spoke really of "reincarnation" or only of "rebirth"? "Reincarnation" is the rebirth in another body, so you have to die first, while rebirth can be understood as a new state of awareness within the same body. If the Buddha meant "rebirth", he did not explicitly said there is life after death.


Rikbe,
There are no supernatural beings in Buddhism-God and demons are seen as being nothing more than products of the imagination.Rebirth is the correct term to use because reincarnation would mean the survival of an individual soul whereas Buddhists believe only in "atman" which is the sum total of all the karma that an individual creates during their lifetime.It is this atman that they believe incarnates so an individual would have to die to be reborn therefore rebirth in Buddhism is a literal and not a figurative term.In any case the Buddha made a point of not putting an emphasis on any metaphysical aspects of his philosophy-the focus of Buddhism isn't on rebirth or beliefs it is on practice and how an individual lives their life.




Maybe he didn't know what is after death.


I don't believe that he did seeing as how I view him as having been a man like any other.However if he claimed to be the Son of God and divine one would expect that he would have an opinion on what happens to a soul after death yet he seems to avoid the question even although he himself claimed that he had existed prior to being born and it is clear that his disciples believe in reincarnation.