Question: "What is Buddhism and what do Buddhists believe?"

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In essence, Buddha was wrong on most counts, at least theologically and anthropologically: the existence of God, the problem of humanity and the solution to the problem, to name a few. Again, individual existence is not the cause of suffering, it is sin. Human extinction is not the solution, it is redemption and immortality. A desire for personal existence is not evil, nor is suffering wholly bad.

Biblically, of course, there is also a great deal that is predicated upon the satisfaction of desires and the hope for personal immortality. It is good and right to desire the glory of God, personal salvation and sanctification, love for others, eternal life, etc.). Consider just a few biblical scriptures which tells us that God is there, that He is personal, that He is gracious and that He desires we enjoy life. That God is good to all men is indeed the scriptural testimony. God desires that "none should perish" and that men should "love life and see good days" (1 Pet. 3:10). God "gives to all men generously and without reproach" (Js. 1:5). In all past generations, God "did good [to you] and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness" (Acts 14:17). "I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and to do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil--this is the gift of God "(Ecc. 3:12-13). Truly, "the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord" (Ps. 33:5). "The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made....The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down...You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing" (Ps. 145:8-9, 13-14,16).

Of course, while God is good and loving, this is not necessarily true of men and it is certainly not true of the devil and his demons. These are the source of most evil and suffering in the world.

To digress a moment, whenever there are problems or tragedies in life and God does not seem to be "kind and good," so to speak, when we see famines or crime or evil governments or natural disasters, we should not suspect God's goodness (e.g, See John Wenham, The Goodness of God; C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain.) These things result from a fallen natural order, our sin, the devil, or the folly of men, not from God. Either the greed and stupidity of men cause calamities such as famines in Communist and socialist regimes, or the evil done by dictators, drug runners, etc., destroys thousands or millions of lives. Sometimes evil reaches such proportions God is literally forced by His own righteousness to send judgment in various forms through weather calamities, economic hardships, etc. Of course, natural and social disasters are not always the direct judgment of God, but if God did not uphold His own holiness and punish evil, things would be far worse. As it is, God is much more merciful and longsuffering than we deserve and far more merciful and longsuffering to evil men than most of us would be. Further, the Bible tells us all men intuitively know God is good despite the evil in the world (e.g., Rom. 1:18-21; 2:14-16; 3:4-6). If God were truly evil, there would be no hope and the conditions of life and our sense of things would be quite different. This is why we never ask, "Why is there so much good in the world?" It's always, "Why is there so much evil in the world?" We know that evil is the aberration in a universe whose Ruler is good and righteous. (And in fact, the evil that exists is not as prevalent as suggested by our instantaneous, worldwide media reporting and, again, it could be much worse were it not for God's restraining hand (2 Thess. 2:6-7) and His common grace. On the other hand, things generally are much worse than they need to be because the world rejects God and His law and our children are raised in an environments of paganism, relativism, etc., that can justify almost any behavior.)

Next, the Buddha promised, "If you follow these teachings, you will always be happy."[14] One wonders, how many of the 400-600,000,000 Buddhists in the world are always happy? At best, their lot in life is rather like the rest of the world. It is difficult to assume their pessimistic philosophy, and the outworking of Buddhist ideas in their cultures would offer blessings of happiness. If Buddhism does not cease suffering even in this life; how can there be a guarantee it will do so in the next life?

Ironically, due to karmic belief which says suffering is inevitable due to misdeeds in a past life, Buddhism may not only ignore the suffering of others but, in another sense, actually perpetuate it. Although given a Buddhist perspective, karma does uphold a form of morality, in another sense karma merely becomes the dispenser of pain. It justifies the acts of the sin nature as inevitable. In an ultimate sense, there are no victims and acts of evil represent people "fulfilling" their karma. Thus, it is a law of "justice" which ordains that the murderer in this life be e.g., murdered in the next: a "justice" which perpetuates crime and evil on the very pretension of satisfying justice. Karma, unlike the Holy Spirit, does not sanctify; it "justifies" the evil men do. It also camouflages the reality of the Fall and sin. Sin is unavoidable, because it is the result of our misdeeds in past lives, the consequences of which we are not easily capable of vanquishing. The sensuality and sorcery of Tantrism, the crass materialism of Nichiren Shoshu's Buddhism, the pessimism of Buddhism generally, each in their own manner induces pain and difficulty into believer's lives. In part, then Buddhism itself perpetuates the very suffering it seeks to alleviate. Buddhists may indeed reject God, but it is still His universe in which they must live.

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There are definite consequences for suppressing the truth about God, a truth that even Buddhists innately know (Rom. 1:18-32). To live contrary to the truth will, sooner or later, also bring suffering into one's life (Gal. 6:7). In fact, as noted, in the end Buddhism causes the most terrible form of suffering imaginable: eternal suffering. While Buddhism seeks to put an end to suffering, it maintains this can be accomplished apart from the cross. Such an attitude will only insure suffering for those who adopt it. The only means to truly end suffering is to look at, and accept, the suffering at the Cross (Jn. 3:16).

The simple fact is that Buddhists cannot destroy their "image of God," their ego, or their personality. They will exist eternally after death. And outside of Christ, they will not end their suffering.

From a Christian view, the irony here is that the two greatest desires of the Buddhist are the two things that can never be attained: cessation of personal existence and cessation of suffering. As long as one remains a Buddhist one can do nothing to prevent the former and can only insure the latter. The one thing that will end their suffering (faith in Jesus' atonement) is rejected on philosophical and "theological" grounds.

Buddhists need to know that personal immortality is a possibility, without the necessity of a concomitant suffering. In fact, God has promised this as a free gift to those who believe in his Son (Jn. 6:47).

The fact that the gift is free means it cannot be earned. Buddhists, of course, hope to gain merit in this life by pilgrimages to Buddhist temples, assisting monks, giving alms to the needy, preaching Buddhism, etc. One also strives to attain nirvana by one's own efforts. But it is precisely this kind of works salvation which is so condemned biblically:

For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. (Romans 3:28)
to the one who does not work [for salvation] but, believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness. Just as David also speaks of the blessing upon the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works. (Romans 4:5, 6)
But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! (Galatians 1:8)
Nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified. (Galatians 2:16)
Finally, above all else Buddhism is an experientially based religion founded in subjectivism. Its "confirmation" lies in the realm of inner experience, not divine revelation.

Buddhism is not primarily a religion of faith or obedience to a superior being. It stresses the importance of personal experience of the goal. While in the earlier stages of the religious life the Buddhist must of necessity take the teachings of Buddhism on faith, it is agreed that finally these teachings must be validated through the experience of enlightenment and nirvana.[15]
Buddhism...does not make a strong distinction between objective and subjective reality....[16]

How can any Buddhist have the assurance of final success based upon a highly speculative philosophy sustained only by mystical experience? Apart from the subjective experience of a mercurial "nirvana," Buddhism offers not the slightest bit of evidence that its religious doctrines are true. And if, in the end, no one ultimately exists to experience nirvana, what's the point?

In conclusion, perhaps we may best close by citing the Buddha once again: "Do not believe [me] merely because I am your master. But when you yourselves have seen that a thing is evil and leads to harm and suffering then you should reject it." Buddhism itself, unfortunately, fits the description because it denies the one true God to whom glory is due, it denies the Son of God who gave his life for us, and it denies man himself as an illusion and the moral standards by which a society is blessed. Based on the Buddhas own words then, Buddhists should logically reject Buddhism. But the Buddha also went on to say, "And when you see that a thing is good and blameless, and leads to blessing and welfare, then you should do such a thing."[17] Buddhists, then, who agree that Christ was good and blameless, should consider His life and words far more more soberly than they do. And Buddhists who agree that Christianity has far outstripped Buddhism in positive social works, and accomplished great good for mankind, should also look more closely at its message.

Buddhists may indeed be content to live within the confines of the Buddhist worldview. But look what they are missing--eternal life in heaven! Unfortunately, continued indifference to Jesus will cost one dearly. As Christians, we have the privilege of sharing the truth about Jesus with our Buddhist friends, in the hope that they too may inherit eternal life. What could be more wonderful for a Buddhist?

Notes
 Erricker, pp. 2-3.
 J. I. Packer, Hot Tub Religion, p. 22.
 Charles Prebish, Buddhism: A Modern Perspective, essay, p.21.
 Edward Conze, Buddhist Thought in India, p. 262.
 In our Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs we showed how Eastern philosophy logically increases evil by denying that evil has any reality and maintaining the disciple must go beyond good and evil to find enlightenment (Chapters on Altered States of Consciousness, Eastern Gurus, Enlightenment, Meditation, Yoga.)
 Robert E. Hume, The World's Living Religions, p. 73.
 In F. L. Woodward, Trans., Some Saying of the Buddha (New York: Oxford University Press 1973), p. X. X. I. I.
 Dom Aelred Graham, Conversations: Christian and Buddhist, p. 172; T.N. Callaway, Zen-Way, Jesus-Way, pp. 147-48.
 Kenneth S. Latourette, Introducing Buddhism (1956), p. 59.
 Erricker, p. 51.
 Ibid.
 J. Isamu Yamamoto, Beyond Buddhism (Dowers Grover, Il: Intervarsity Press, 1982), p. 118, 123.
 e.g., C. Burrows, "The Fierce and Erotic Gods of Buddhism," Natural History, April, 1972, pp. 26 ff.
 TB, p. 20.
 Francis H. Cook, "Nirvana" in Prebish (ed.), p. 133.
 Walt Anderson, p. 36.
 Kalama Sutta, in D.T. Niles, Buddhism and the Claims of Christ, p. 20.