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> In Christianity life is about suffering. You're basically earning heaven points. But when you no longer live for god but only for yourself there is no reason

by wsc981 2y ago

> In Christianity life is about suffering. You're basically earning heaven points. But when you no longer live for god but only for yourself there is no reason to suffer. I'm not sure that is true. And even if it would be true for Christianity, I'd guess the same could be said for Buddihsm [0]. Buddhism monks in particular seem to be a miserable lot, as they (try to?) never smile ... at least on photos as shown in temples in Thailand. The core of Christianity, from my understanding, is to believe that Jesus died for your sins and through accepting Jesus (not through works) one is able to get to heaven. This I think is the defining contrast of Christianity with other major religions, as in Judaism, Hindusm, Buddhism, Islam and probably others good works are needed to get to a better afterlife or reach a final state (nirvana?). Though please correct me if I am wrong in any of this, as I don't know all of every religion. P.S.: I myself was born in The Netherlands, but for the last 7 years or so been living in Thailand. --- [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Noble_Truths https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Noble_Truths

lolinder 2y ago
> is to believe that Jesus died for your sins and through accepting Jesus (not through works) This is true in much of mainline Protestant Christianity, but it's less clear cut in the Catholic and Orthodox branches or in some of the hard-to-categorize groups (Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, etc). They still emphasize that it's only through Christ you can be saved, but they place varying degrees of emphasis on what you should be doing and why. None I'm aware of says anything about heaven points through suffering, though.
prisonality 2y ago
> I'd guess the same could be said for Buddihsm From your link, Suffering in Buddhism is prescribed as the First Noble Truth: > Now this, bhikkhus, is the noble truth of suffering: > birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering; > union with what is displeasing is suffering; > separation from what is pleasing is suffering; > not to get what one wants is suffering; > in brief, the five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering. Which part of it is true that "life is about suffering" ? As for Buddhist monk, you could try looking up Ajahn Brahm - that might offer a different perspective.

by wsc981 2y ago

lolinder 2y ago

> is to believe that Jesus died for your sins and through accepting Jesus (not through works) This is true in much of mainline Protestant Christianity, but it's less clear cut in the Catholic and Orthodox branches or in some of the hard-to-categorize groups (Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, etc). They still emphasize that it's only through Christ you can be saved, but they place varying degrees of emphasis on what you should be doing and why. None I'm aware of says anything about heaven points through suffering, though.

prisonality 2y ago

> I'd guess the same could be said for Buddihsm From your link, Suffering in Buddhism is prescribed as the First Noble Truth: > Now this, bhikkhus, is the noble truth of suffering: > birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering; > union with what is displeasing is suffering; > separation from what is pleasing is suffering; > not to get what one wants is suffering; > in brief, the five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering. Which part of it is true that "life is about suffering" ? As for Buddhist monk, you could try looking up Ajahn Brahm - that might offer a different perspective.