Don't sue me, Professor Andy!

But I just thought your blog post was so brilliant that I had to repost it here in my OWN blog (remember, these are Andrew Lamers' words, not mine):

I was just thinking...
(Warning: My Christian friends should skip this post. You'll want to save my soul or perform an exorcism on me, neither of which will help in the slightest.)

A friend of mine is SO proud because her daughter is going on a mission to China, sponsored by a local church here. The goal of her daughter's mission, she tells me, is to do good deeds and bring the word of Christ to rural parts of China.

"Don't these people already have a religion?" I asked.

"Yes," she laughed. "But they're Buddhists! That's not even a real religion. They need to know Jesus as their personal savior so they can enter the kingdom of heaven."



-- Last warning to my Christian friends! Continue at your own peril! --



If you know me, you know where I'm going with this. I looked at my friend and said "And you see absolutely nothing wrong with trying to make these people convert?"

"No! Are you kidding? These people need to be saved!"

I took a deep breath. Obviously, self-control didn't win, because I finally said to her "Wouldn't you find it just a little offensive if Buddhist temples in China started sending Buddhist missionaries to Arkansas or New Mexico to try to 'save' poor, misguided Christians from their foolish, made-up belief in Jesus? And if these Buddhists insisted that the only way you could enjoy a blissful afterlife was to embrace Buddha as your lord and personal savior, wouldn't that be morally repugnant to you?"

She stopped smiling. "But they're WRONG."

Yes, I kept my mouth shut, but I started thinking "That's what most religious people believe about members of any other religion: they're the ones who got it right, and everyone who doesn't agree is wrong. Therefore, they get to go to heaven and everyone else gets to burn in hell."

I also started thinking about why I like Buddhists so much. Here are a few examples:

When was the last time a Buddhist showed up at your door trying to get you to attend his temple, or wanting to testify to you about his faith in Buddha? Probably never.

Has a Buddhist ever tried to shove a copy of the Tao Te Ching into your hands as you walked by? Probably not.

When's the last time you heard something on the news about Buddhists blowing up buildings or marketplaces to punish the infidels who don't believe in Buddhism, or in the right kind of Buddhism? Go ahead, do some research on Google. Get back to me when you find something.

Tell me the last time Buddhists ever declared a war on a non-Buddhist country to try to force that country to become Buddhists? Or the last time a Buddhist nation declared a war and proudly shouted "Buddha is on our side!"

Do governments in Buddhist countries describe themselves as "Fair and Buddhist nations, founded on the basic truths of Buddhism"? Do they insist that the parables of Lao-Tzu, Mo-Tzu, or Han-Fe-Tzu be published in courthouses and in schools?

Do Buddhists put stickers on their cars saying "What Would Buddha Do?", or "Buddhists aren't perfect -- just forgiven!" or "Let Go and Let Buddha"?

This is what I'm trying to say: there's something very, very admirable about a religion that doesn't feel a maniacal need to go out shove its beliefs into the hearts and minds of others. About a religion that believes that building temples is enough, and if anybody truly wants to know more, they'll walk inside. About a religion that believes that other religions are perfectly suitable ways for people to deal with life, and that converting others is neither mandatory nor desirable!

Anyway, there's my rant. Pray for my soul if you must.

Oh, and Buddha go with you.

My sister and I in 1988. I'm 6 here, I think, so Chloe would've been 4 or 5. I'm on the left, she's on the right. We are in our "Spring time dresses". I brought my bunny, she brought her chick! :-D
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