[BluffTHIS!]

Hi Ben,

I think you know from my postings here what I believe, i.e. catholic christianity. And I think you have a wrong view of christianity, partially due no doubt to being raised christian, but not really being formed as a christian and understanding the basis for its beliefs. But the core concept is that we all are children of God, and that as great as His justice is, His Divine Mercy is even greater, and that we were not created for this life primarily, but for the one to come after. Part of what you are discussing involves the problem of evil and suffering that I discuss some in the other thread. It mainly as I said there involves free will. And like that tutor told you, christians do see redemptive and spiritual value in patient suffering, though that seems just a platitude to most. And I have said that I believe that whatever is good and true in another religion, which doesn't possess the full truth, must nonetheless come from God. Thus the Buddhist teaching on suffering actually has resonance with christian teachings on being attached to either material possessions or persons or habits, rather than mainly to God.

And since we view this life as a gateway to the afterlife, then the subject of death has a lot of meaning, not only for being the doorway, but also for how we should live this life. Again Buddhism has many parallels, and a true gem for its view of death and its implications for this life is Warrior of Zen: The Diamond Hard Widsom Mind of Suzuki Shosan. I have always had an interest in philosphical Buddhism and Taoism, and recommend that book highly to you.

You also speak of being turned off by christianity because of its teachings on homosexuality and divine punishment. But God does not condemn a person for an attraction, but only for acts that are prohibited where there is no contrition or minimal attempts to not to repeat same in the future. And all this is part of a larger package and can't be separated out. I don't think you really understand what christianity is about, and if you would like to, then let Jesus speak to you directly by reading the gospels.

But if you want to remain a Buddhist, then be a good Buddhist, and not someone who just picks some convenient parts of that belief system (there are of course several different sects of Buddhism). One is not a Buddhist or a Christian by either subscribing to certain beliefs or merely professing to be same, but by living a Buddhist or a Christian life. And living that life doesn't mean living it perfectly, but just striving for that perfection and having a dertermination to begin again when one falters.

I hope that you are able to come to believe that this life is worth living both for itself, and for the future one to come (or Nirvana).