Recently, I have been examining the question of religious relationship. Is it acceptable for us to follow more than one belief, for example, both Christianity and Buddhism? Are the two mutually exclusive?
I have written before, in answer to those who describe themselves as religiously atheist (Religion 2 - Are You Religious? August, 2011) and, while it did not appear to cause much controversy, hopefully, it may have caused some thought. Note; You may wish to search by using the Question field at the top of this page.
I have been known to describe myself as a Buddhist Christian, a believer of selective composite thoughts from the words of both Jesus and the Buddha.
Following confirmation in the Anglican church, I became a member of the High Anglican community (A composite of both Catholic and Protestant religions, in other words, Catholic with divorce). After some time, this became too complicated for me and I began to seek something that suited my twenty-first century mind.
Firstly, the trilogy of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost was difficult to accept, because who or what is the Father, an old man with a grey beard? Jesus as the Son, a known sentient being, is acceptable, but the Holy Ghost may sound frightening to some. The Buddha was a sentient being (The son of a rich Indian leader) but not a god in a religious sense, albeit, highly revered. From Buddha we have a trilogy of the Power, the Buddha, and the Qi (soul), although these are not specifically of Buddhist ideology, and may cause emotion, please do not accuse me of blasphemy.
I should be happy with this subject as long as there are comments.
“You will not be punished for your anger.
You will be punished by your anger”
Buddha
