50 Miles or Faith? by Chris White

There is a great piece of American folk wisdom which states that an expert is merely someone who happens to be more than 50 miles from home.  Mark chapter 6 offers an interesting perspective of this phenomenon in action.  It starts out with Jesus paying a visit to Nazareth where he grew up and where many of his siblings still lived.  He taught as He had done elsewhere but there the people were offended.   He prayed for people as He had done elsewhere but in Nazareth very few miracles happened.  At this point the scripture tells us that Jesus marveled at their unbelief.  After Jesus leaves Nazareth he heads towards the region around the Sea of Galilee where he teaches and miraculously feeds the multitudes with the loaves and fishes, He walks on water, and then ends with multitudes surrounding Him and bringing the sick to lay in his pathway that they might even touch Him or at least His clothing and be healed.  What a difference a few miles makes.  Jesus was more than willing to do these same astonishing things to bless the people of Nazareth but it was they who were unwilling to both believe and receive.  There is a lesson in here for all of us about underestimating and undervaluing those with whom we are most familiar which seems patently obvious.  How often have you written off the advice of a parent or sibling when in fact they said pretty much the same thing as the paid expert you consulted?  But what I find striking is how the unbelief of Nazareth seemed to restrict and hold back what God would have gladly done for them as He did elsewhere.  And this begs a question:  is there a blessing God might be desiring to give you but cannot because of unbelief?  Sometimes it’s not about a lack of asking but a lack of trusting and that’s the main point of the Christian life.  Think about it.

[An expert is] somebody who is more than 50 miles from home, has no responsibility for implementing the advice he gives, and shows slides.
ATTRIBUTION:	NY Times 24 Jan 84

Buddhism and Christianity in Contrast by Chris White

Buddhism is an ancient eastern religion which has found a popular niche in western culture. Some of Buddhism's faces in the west include the growing interest in the martial arts, Zen gardening and home decorating techniques, and the mainstreaming of meditation techniques as a means to inner peace and stress reduction. Celebrities have embraced Buddhism as a religion and publicly extol its virtues of tolerance and personal development. As we look at this religion with worldwide adherents of one billion, we will consider its historical background, the major contours of the Buddhist worldview, and finally examine its doctrine in light of Christian belief.

Because there are no Buddhist writings until 200 years after their founder's death, scholars are tentative in the details of how this religion began. What is generally known is that Buddhism started in 483 BC when its founder Siddhartha Gautama died. Siddhartha Gautama, herein known as Buddha, was a prince of the warrior caste in India. As a child and young man he lived an extremely sheltered life. However, while traveling in his early twenties he encountered an elderly, decrepit man and became deeply disturbed about the reality of suffering, aging, and death. It is the inner turmoil over these human issues and their subsequent resolution in Buddha's life that we know today as Buddhism.

Early in his struggles Buddha came into contact with a devoted Hindu mendicant and was impressed that religion was the answer to his struggles. At this point he plunged into the study and practice of meditation but never found the inner peace he was seeking. After that, Buddha joined himself to a group of Hindu aesthetics that starved themselves, denied themselves sleep and never washed the body. While this produced no release from his turmoil, it did show Buddha the importance and value of physical health and so he sought after what he called a "middle way"--neither indulgence nor austerity-- all the while continuing to develop his ability to meditate. At some point after this he had a series of dreams that he was going to be enlightened to a reality which transcends this present world of suffering and death. In joyous expectation, Buddha went out on a full moon and sat under a sacred Bo tree and meditated. He was elevated into a state of bliss and in this state he recalled being enlightened in three stages. Buddha remained at the sacred tree for seven weeks and never wanted to return home but he realized that he had discovered the key to happiness and this must be taught to others.

When Siddhartha Gautama had his spiritual awakening under the sacred Bo tree and became the Buddha, his enlightenment came in stages. The first night he saw his previous lives pass before him. On the second night, he saw with supernatural insight the cycle of reincarnation and the law that governs it. Finally on the third night it was revealed to him the Four Noble Truths: the knowledge of suffering, the truth of suffering, the source of suffering, and the removal of suffering.
Foundational to the belief system of Buddhism is reincarnation. This is the Hindu belief that persons live eternally in a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Reincarnation is regulated by a natural law (in the Buddhistic conception of nature) known as karma. Karma in western terms is the law that "..whatever a man sows, this he will also reap." Good karma is sown through keeping the moral law of Buddhism, bad karma through sin and moral failure. In essence, this is a merit/demerit system which will be used to determine your status in a future life. If you have enough good karma stored up you may come back as a person of a higher position in society. If you have enough bad karma you might return as a despicable insect or animal. The great purpose behind reincarnation is the perfection of the human soul. Once perfection is reached, a person will attain nirvana- a state of complete peace and joy without pain. Once perfection is attained the endless cycle of reincarnation is broken forever. It is to this end that Buddhism offers itself as a means.

Buddha taught that all of life is dukkha -meaning it is saturated with pain. All people live only with the illusion that things will get better when what is really happening is they are looking forward to a lesser degree of pain. Since life is endless through reincarnation, then pain is endless as well. This serves as the impetus to escape from reincarnation and achieve nirvana.

What specific action is to be taken in the religion of Buddhism? Namely the destruction of ignorance. Ignorance works against us by producing desires. These desires cause us to believe the illogical idea that we have only one life to live and must grasp after temporal things. If we continue to desire this life we will continue to be needlessly reborn and continue to suffer. Another way ignorance hurts us is it begets the illusion that this life will be followed by a permanent and unchanging state of bliss or torment. All is transitory. Things are always changing. The goal of life is to escape into the state of nirvana. Nirvana is for the perfected, those who have learned to dispel ignorance, detach from pain, and destroy all desire.

So how is a person to break the bonds of ignorance which locks him into pain? By following the "Eightfold Pathway" taught by Buddha as a means of recovery from the pain and problems of life.

The eight steps include:

1. Belief that the Four Noble Truths are accurate and reliable.
2. Total commitment of mind, body, and will to discipline and training to extricate oneself from the human dilemma.
3. Careful and reflective watching of our words to others.
4. Abstinence from intoxicants, good treatment of all living things.
5. A vocation which does no harm to others.
6. Close attention to one's mood and thought life.
7. An act of the will to use all of one's energy in life.
8. The practice and development of meditation.

As the Eightfold Pathway is walked upon, the ego is extinguished and enlightenment dispels the pain produced by ignorance. This leads to the attainment of nirvana.

One final concept in the Buddhist worldview that needs to be understood is that there is no God or gods that direct the universe. All we see and know in our present cosmology is determined by evolution and natural laws. Things such as nirvana, reincarnation, and dukkha are not supernatural but part of the natural laws which govern the universe. This doesn't mean there is no deity or spiritual world, but rather the world is simply outside the pale of the gods as far as this is concerned.
Christianity and Buddhism have few similarities and many differences. Like Buddhism, Christianity teaches a proactive pathway of living which entails self-denial of fleshly desire, morality, discipline, and justice. Christian doctrine certainly also affirms the basic idea that life is painful and that willful desire for vain things is the cause of much human sorrow. Both religions use different terms and have differing ends in mind, but these would suggest themselves as possible points of similarity.

Perhaps the greatest difference between Buddhism and Christianity is their starting points. Buddhism begins with a naturalistic universe filled with pain which perfects men through the cycle of reincarnation. Buddhism explains little of why anything or anyone exists or why ignorance caused all of life to be saturated with pain. It also gives no explanation for how laws like reincarnation and karma can dispense justice or determine perfection.

Christianity begins with a purposeful and all powerful God creating the cosmos and mankind for His glory and blessing. It begins with a perfect man, who through his desire to attain forbidden knowledge to exalt himself, brings a curse from God upon himself and all of creation known as sin.
Buddhism focuses on one aspect of life and offers a plan of escape. Christianity looks at the totality of life (which includes pain) and offers a rescue and restoration to man by his Creator so that he may start living life as he was originally intended.

Christian apologists Josh McDowell and Don Stewart offer four major contrasts between the faith of Buddha and of Christ. First, Buddhism teaches that the world operates under natural power and law with no personal god. Christianity teaches that the world operates under the direction of the Creator of the universe who has revealed Himself to man as Yahweh. Second, Buddhism teaches that Buddha is the enlightened one. He is to be revered and in practice is often worshipped as one of many gods. Christianity teaches that there is one God only and that worship is to be exclusive. Third, in Buddhism there is no such thing as sin against a supreme being, only an impersonal law of karma. Christianity teaches that all sin is an offense against our supreme Creator and God. And fourth, Buddhism teaches that man is a worthless cog in the universe and his body a hindrance to true enlightenment. Christianity teaches that man is of infinite worth to God and worthy of redemption body and soul. It further teaches that our bodies are a gift to be used to glorify God (1 Corinthians 6:19).

Finally, Buddhism teaches a cycle of reincarnation which produces perfected men through an endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth. The reincarnated person does not remain intact between lives, but his future states will be determined by his actions in this life. Christianity teaches that death came as a consequence of sin (Rom. 5:12) and that each man has one life which is followed by judgment unto reward or damnation by God (Heb. 9:27, Matt. 25:46).

The purpose of this discussion of Buddhism and Christianity has been to offer information on the basic doctrines of the former and how it compares to the latter. Argumentation about the primacy of one over the other is beyond the scope of this paper. But in closing, a thought seems to suggest itself. Both of these religions have morals and features that are worthy of respect. But Buddhism and Christianity present completely opposing conceptions of reality and make demands for allegiance that forces one to have to choose one over the other. So in the final analysis, when we consider the issue of different religions there is an even greater question at hand than " what do they believe?", it is "is what they believe true?"

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Bibliography
Beaver, R. Pierce; Bergman, Jan; Langley, Myrtle S. ; Lane, Tony; Maxwell, Elsie A.; Metz, Wulf; Romarheim, Arild; Walls, Andrew; Withycombe, Robert; Wooton, R.W.F.; Eerdmans' Handbook To The World's Religions, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing, 1994.

Fry, George C. ; King, James R.; Swanger, Eugene R.; Wolf, Herbert C.; Great Asian Religions, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1984.

McDowell, Josh; Stewart, Don; Handbook of Today's Religions, San Bernardino: Here's Life Publishing, 1983.

The Story Behind Leonardo Da Vinci's Last Supper by Chris White

The Last Supper has long been one of the most popular topics of artists for many generations, but Leonardo da Vinci’s version is probably the most well-known of them all.  It is a wall painting in the dining room of the convent Santa Maria della Grazie near Milan Italy.  This painting was started the year after Columbus sailed to the new world and wasn’t completed until 3 years later.  Da Vinci was no doubt a genius, but if you were to ask his employer Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan, he would tell you that he hardly ever finishes anything he starts and only then with a lot of nagging and pressure.  Sforza was a powerful figure in Renaissance Italy.  He was fabulously wealthy, militarily powerful, well-cultured and connected, and for a man of his position, quite pious.  Da Vinci lived at Sforza’s estate and was constantly doing projects for him ranging from statuary to visual spectacles designed to entertain the Duke’s dinner guests.  Da Vinci’s stock in trade was not painting but rather sculpture and machinery.  I find this interesting because this was also true of Michelangelo.  Yet both men are most famous for their paintings almost defining Renaissance art.

Duke Sforza spent much time at the convent of Santa Maria.  He would often go there for days at a time on spiritual retreat and found great solace in the gardens and the worship services held there.  His great plan was to be buried there and so he was also a major supporting patron of the monastery.  When Leonardo was sent there to paint the last supper it was for the walls of the of the Sforza mausoleum.  But Leonardo hated painting and really didn’t care for some of the brothers at the monastery either.  This made the work for him wearisome and full of drudgery which is why he avoided working on it as much as possible.  It was really mostly the pressure and cajoling of Ludovico Sforza on Da Vinci that brought this project to completion.

Truth be told, Da Vinci had great artistic talent, but was a bit lazy at the craft of wall painting.  He avoided using the fresco method which would have better preserved the work, because he wanted to work on it slowly and revise it a lot.  And so his methodology of wall preparation and painting led to its early failure.  Within 5 years of completion, restorative work needed to be done.  It has been restored so many times, that some believe there is very little paint on that wall left that was actually laid down by Da Vinci himself.

The picture of the Last Supper is a depiction of that moment when Jesus reveals that one of his disciples will betray him.  The Apostles are all in groupings of three all in consternation about which one is the betrayer.  With one hand Jesus is signaling it will be the person who shares this bread.  But very subtly, Jesus’ other hand points us to Judas who is grasping his coin bag in one hand and furtively grabbing a piece of bread before leaving the room to betray Jesus to the Sanhedrin.

When I think of the actual event we call the Last Supper, I think of what Jesus taught all of us about love.  First of all, he washed the feet of all who were present.  This was an act of loving service that was humble and even included his betrayer.  Second of all the Passover meal, and then the bread and cup, point to Jesus’ love extending to the utmost including self-sacrifice and death for our redemption.  True Christian love is much more than an emotional thing, it is sacrificial, it is seeking the best for others at the expense of self.

Secondly, the bond of Christ’s community, the church family, is sustained by the fact that we believe together.  Christ is rightly at the center of Da Vinci’s table for he is Lord who draws us all together.  Judas was welcomed to the meal and the community, but left because of his unbelief.  He was not unloved by the Lord, but chose to separate himself from his love and this was to his eternal regret.  All of us experience betrayal of some sort in our lives, but the worst betrayal is always from those we love.  If you have or are experiencing betrayal now, know that the Lord Jesus knows exactly how you feel as He underwent that same pain too.

The events of the Last Supper are commemorated on what is known as Maundy Thursday.  The message to the men around the table that night and to the rest of us is the Lord's great commandment.  His commandment is to love one another just as he has loved you.  This high calling of love is the true mark of being one of the Lord's disciples (John 13:34-35).   This is the essential message we should remember from the Last Supper.

On the Double Blessing of Christ by Chris White

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus..”  Romans 3:23-24

Recently I completed a series of readings through John Calvin’s venerable Institutes of the Christian Religion.  One of the insights Calvin had is what he called the double blessing of Christ.  I want to pass it on to you for your reflection and edification.  What Calvin noted was that God really could have forgiven all of us with just a word.  Justice can be satisfied in any way of God’s choosing and if he wanted to show complete clemency, it is His universe and His prerogative.  But instead God chose to send His only Son to die on the cross in our stead.  In this way God would be able to show us how grievous our sin really is before Him while sparing us.  We would also know from this costly sacrifice that God loves us to such an extent that He would not even spare himself to redeem us.  What is even more amazing is that Christ had to voluntarily let himself die because as a sinless human he was not subject to the curse and therefore immortal.  What a magnificent and mysterious redemption we have been given.  God made sure that it was extravagantly costly to Him so that in our justification we are given the gifts of certainty about his love, forgiveness, and the resurrection to come.