I posted in https://1love1god.com/2024/01/04/god-is-love/ that:

“I have been reading “Story of the World’s Worship” ( https://archive.org/details/storyofworldswor00dobbuoft/page/1/mode/1up ) which is quite a comprehensive review of the world’s religions for its time (1901) and comparing its findings with modern day online resources like wikipedia and encyclopedia brittanica etc etc.

The more I read the more I am convinced and glad to be trusting in Jesus!”

I didn’t even know Buddhist had a hell. The gentlemen in the video seems to be wrong that it is for eternity as far as I can tell but I could be wrong. I believe there is a goddess of mercy that can get you out of buddhist hell and it is not supposed to be for eternity, but I could be wrong. Buddhism seems to be a very merits-based religion (update for accuracy sake 01/21/2024: I just read that there is a Shin sect of Japanese Buddhism that is faith based as opposed to works. Not clear if it is grace based or not. But this is from Shinrin and had its strength in 1262 AD and Japanese Buddhism had its beginning in Japan in 553 AD according to “Story of the Worls’s Worship. See above link.) and has many different and varying interpretations amongst buddhis’ from what I have read.

There are many of these “hell” gardens or temples that you can type in YouTube to see. Pretty gruesome. Does remind me of the warnings of Jesus in many places about the Biblical judgment and hell:

“Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come. It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.” – Luke 17:1,2

“Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.” – Matthew 18:7-9

“Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.” – Matthew 5:26-29

By contrast to Buddhism, Christianity is grace based without belittling the law and good deeds because as Jesus and the Christian Scriptures teach/preach:

“And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” – Matthew 19:17 and similar in Luke 18:19 and Mark 10:18.

“What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” – Romans 3:9-20

Most of Romans 3:9-20 is a quote from the Old Testament Scriptures from Psalm 14 and 53.

“Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” – Romans 3:28

“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6

“For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” – Romans 1:17

“Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” – Hebrews 10:38

“But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.” – Galatians 3:11

“The just shall live by faith” by the way is an Old Testament quote from Habakkuk 2:4. So the New Testament writers were rooting their beliefs in what was already revealed in the Old Testament. Just an important note to bear in mind when trying to understand Christianity.

But does this mean that God’s Word is teaching us to sin since it is that we are not made right before God’s eyes by our works but rather by grace and faith without works. Check this out:

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”- Romans 6:1,2

“That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” – Ephesians 2:7-10

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.” – Titus 2:11-14

Now why did Jesus have to come if it is all grace and faith what does the cross have to do with all this?

“For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.” – Romans 5:6-9

Bear this in mind when you read this prophecy in Isaiah 53 (but starting at the end of 52) that ALL scholars whether believing or not agree (as far as I know look it up on wikipedia) was written many years before Christ went to the cross for sinners.

“Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonied at thee; HIS VISAGE WAS SO MARRED MORE THAN ANY MAN, and his form more than the sons of men: So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.

Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. SURELY HE HATH BORNE OUR GRIEFS, AND CARRIED OUR SORROWS: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But HE WAS WOUNDED FOR OUR TRANSGRESSIONS, HE WAS BRUISED FOR OUR INIQUITIES: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: HE IS BROUGHT AS A LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for HE WAS CUT OFF OUT OF THE LAND OF THE LIVING: FOR THE TRANSGRESSION OF MY PEOPLE WAS HE STRICKEN. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: WHEN THOU SHALT MAKE HIS SOUL AN OFFERING FOR SIN, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant JUSTIFY MANY; FOR HE SHALL BEAR THEIR INIQUITIES. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and HE BARE THE SIN OF MAN, AND MADE INTERCESSION FOR THE TRANSGRESSORS.” – Isaiah 52:13-Isaiah 53.

Now, please do pause to think about the cross and why Jesus had to die for us. God’s Word makes it plain in many places that God requires a clean and unblemished sacrifice not a dirty one. We are the dirty sinful ones, and we disqualify ourselves from being a worthy, clean and holy sacrifice before God to take away our own sins. We must trust in Jesus in this. He was sinless, holy and clean. He is the acceptable sacrifice that God will accept, and He wants us to trust in Jesus as that perfect sacrifice. There is NO LITTLE SIN against a holy, infinitely, perfectly good and righteous God! Unless you have a low and unholy view of the Creator of our trillion starred universe. Look at our fiery sun and He created many more and larger one than that. God is not to be trifled with.

The penalty of your sin shows forth the value of that which you have sinned against. If the penalty for taking a life is 2 pennies, then the life that was taken is worth 2 pennies. How can one repay all his/her sins against a holy invaluable God but for to spend all eternity doing so? That would be the just penalty! But I just want to repeat my favorite verse here and a few more for Biblical meditation:

“But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8 (AMP)

““For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] ^[a]only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life.” – John 3:16 (AMP)

“She will give birth to a Son, and you shall name Him Jesus (The Lord is salvation), for He will save His people from their sins.” – Matthew 1:21 (AMP)

“The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” – John 1:29 (AMP)

“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die.” – John 12:32

“Just as Moses lifted up the [bronze] serpent in the desert [on a pole], so must the Son of Man be lifted up [on the cross], ¹⁵ so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life [after physical death, and will actually live forever].

¹⁶ “For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] ^[a]only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send the Son into the world to judge and condemn the world [that is, to initiate the final judgment of the world], but that the world might be saved through Him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes and has decided to trust in Him [as personal Savior and Lord] is not judged [for this one, there is no judgment, no rejection, no condemnation]; but the one who does not believe [and has decided to reject Him as personal Savior and Lord] is judged already [that one has been convicted and sentenced], because ^[b]he has not believed and trusted in the name of the [One and] only begotten Son of God [the One who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, the One who alone can save him]. ¹⁹ This is the judgment [that is, the cause for indictment, the test by which people are judged, the basis for the sentence]: the Light has come into the world, and people loved the ^[c]darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For every wrongdoer hates the Light, and does not come to the Light [but shrinks from it] for fear that his [sinful, worthless] activities will be exposed and condemned. ²¹ But whoever practices truth [and does what is right—morally, ethically, spiritually] comes to the Light, so that his works may be plainly shown to be what they are—accomplished in God [divinely prompted, done with God’s help, in dependence on Him].” – John 3:15-21

This is why I trust Jesus above buddha. Both apparently have a hell which I never knew about buddha but both have very different ways of salvation. One cheapens sin and thus the value of the law/teachings/enlightenment and by extension then the law maker/the enlightened one/ones. I understand Buddhism has no God like Christianity but rather many different gods and goddesses and I understand it is open to different buddhists’ interpretations but one thing remains. The value of the law and goodness is cheapened by buddhists while Jesus says that the value of the law which proceeds from God and His holy character is beyond man’s ability to pay but for all eternity and requires a pure, holy, perfect and clean sacrifice of Jesus Himself as opposed to our own good deeds. This makes the law and goodness much more valuable then did the supposed enlightened one in buddha. Next to Jesus buddha is found wanting.

And as you can read above this in no way undermines the value of good deeds but rather gives us a whole new pure motive for such deeds! Check it out:

“We love him, because he first loved us.” – 1 John 4:19

Matthew 22:37, Deutoronomy 6:5, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27

Again, He made it easy to know what God it is that loved us so that we can love Him back with good deeds by grace and faith!

“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die.” – John 12:32

Look to the cross and God bless….We are not to have any gods before God. This is no way to love the One True God. You don’t go out on your wife do you? Your wifey will get a bit jealous and rightly so!

Turn to Jesus in faith my buddhist friend/friends and watch Him enlighten you with his enlightenment.

All in love and concern for our eternal destinies and the true enlightenment….God bless

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”- Jesus Mark 8:36