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Critical Thinking Research Paper Assignment By: Andrea Gibson Liberty University RLGN104: Christian Life and Biblical Worldview Professor Edwards Due: October 3, 2022

When it comes to the question of origin, Buddhists do not believe a God created this world. Buddhism has never claimed that the earth, moon, sun, nights or days were created by Buddha or even by a powerful God. “Buddhists believe that the world was not created once upon a time, but that the world has been created millions of times and will continue to do so by itself” (Venerable, K. 2011, April 4). When it comes to the question of identity, I read that, “ The Buddha taught that human existence is characterized by various forms of suffering, which are experienced over the course of many lifetimes in the cycle of rebirth called samsara” (Lopez, D. S. 2014, March 31). Buddhists think animal life is sacred, but human life is considered more important. Human life is considered more important because humans are the only one’s with the capacity to reach nirvana. “Buddhists believe that the human life is one of suffering, and that good behavior, physical labor, and meditation are the ways to achieve enlightenment or nirvana” (Brown, 2022). The question of purpose for a Buddhist is practicing meditation while fostering a lifestyle advised by the Buddha, they believe that humans have the possibility to become free from suffering. “Since it is believed that life is suffering, the ultimate goal in Buddhism is to end the cycle of suffering, the cycle of repeated death and rebirth. The achievement of this goal is called nirvana” (Brown, W. December 2022). Nirvana is the most common goal of purpose for a Buddhist. The term nirvana has referred to a blissful or heavenly state that all Buddhist humanity wants to reach in life. When it comes to the question of morality, “The Buddhists motto is to depend only on oneself, karma (cause and consequence) controls everything, do good and one receives good, do evil and one receives evil” (Smith, A. 2019, June 27). It is believed that all positive actions and

thoughts cause good karma and direct one into being reborn into a higher form and negative actions and thoughts direct one into being reborn into a lower form. I read that, “Buddhist believe they are reincarnated or reborn when they die into a new form that could be a human, deity, animal, some lower creature, or an inhabitant of hell” (Brown W. December 2022). Buddhist believe life continues after death in another form. Generally, Buddhist teaching’s view life and death as a continuum, believing that consciousness continues after death and may be reborn. Word count 499 While researching I found it would be impossible to find two religions more different than Christianity and Buddhism. Amazingly, Buddhism and Christianity have few similarities, but they differ in many ways. They differ in the afterlife, their approach to God, and how one obtains liberation and salvation. The two religions are similar because Buddhism and Christianity believe the best way to overcome suffering and hate is to show compassion and love. Like in the Bible it says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). Buddhism and Christianity both put great emphasis on behaving with respect and decency. Buddhism and Christianity share the same belief that kindness and love will change the world. Unlike Christians, I found that Buddhism has no God they worship. Buddhism has no supreme creator, unlike Christians that believe Jesus Christ is the son of God. “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Mathew 3:17). Christianity is centered on the teachings and life of Jesus Christ and Buddhism on the other hand is centered upon the teachings and life of Siddhartha Gautama, also known as Buddha. Christians follow

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