My Interfaith Journey, Again

Since I have not really come out to my friends and family about my take on Christianity, I often think of what I would say when someone is with me on my deathbed and asked me if I think I'm going to heaven. The short answer is "I'm not going anywhere." Then I think, I'd prefer a long answer on how I got there like the following.

I can say Jesus dwells within my heart. He healed people, performed miracles, and ate with the outcasts. He inspires and teaches me as he journeys with me. The earliest writings about him appear to be a collection of sayings known as Q which stands for "Quelle," the German word for source. Many scholars are convinced that such a document once circulated in early Christian communities. Some Christian communities may not have seen Jesus as a Messiah but as a teacher of wisdom, a man who tried to teach others how to live. According to the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus suggests that when we come to know ourselves at the deepest level, we come to know God: "If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you.''

It took four centuries for the church to figure out who Jesus was and what it all meant. Statements of belief like the Nicene Creed were prepared when the church was mainly associated with the empire. Christianity has been culturally shaped everywhere. It has evolved, just like Buddhism. There has also been much progress in reinterpreting the meaning of the scriptures and who Jesus was. The laity has not evolved along with modern theology. Verses of the Bible are quoted without context or understanding of how and why that particular book was written. Pastors are caught in the middle and look after the needs of the congregants rather than trying to explain modern theology.

Some no longer call themselves Christians after studying modern theology. But most people who leave Christianity are not leaving because of the changes in their view of who Christ is. A recent study noted that many evangelicals do not view Jesus as divine. So I don't feel I've rejected Christianity but feel I've evolved. And for me it works. Even though there is a much different belief and understanding of practice behind the scenes, I feel very comfortable remaining in Christianity for the most part. Along with Marcus Borg, I try to stay at the banquet table rather than going off and becoming an individual seeker.

"Altruistic love and compassion are the heart of Buddhist practice." In the Buddhist sense, altruistic love is defined as "the wish that all beings may find happiness and the causes of happiness," and compassion as "the wish that all beings may be free from suffering and the causes of suffering." While this is written by a Tibetan Buddhist, nearly all Buddhist would agree with this summary no matter which sect they belong to. It seems like it's harder to say that about Christianity. We get caught up in interpretations of the Bible which result in huge distortions by "the other side". The current culture wars are ostensibly based on Christianity.

So Zen Buddhism informs my Christianity with understanding such as our human life is extremely precious. Being one with everything means that we cultivate altruism and compassion towards others. And I don't feel like an atheist, it just seems like worship is way over emphasized and becomes a distraction from what we really need to be doing. Like Jews who believe the name of God his sacred and should not be pronounced, I am comfortable not saying much about God but living the life that Jesus told us to go live. Instead of trying to convert people to Christianity, we interpret Luke 5:1-11 as “You will be restoring people to life and strength.” Rather than catching them in nets, we might capture them with love.