“A text without a context is a pretext.” This is something we learned very early on after becoming Christians. This applies to any literature – a novel, a newspaper, the Constitution and yes, certainly the Bible. A text is whatever it is we are reading. Context includes such questions as when the text was written? To whom was it written? Who wrote it or whose words were recorded in the document? How would the reader … Continue reading
Category Archives: Scripture
(This originally appeared in the Winter 2002 edition of the MCOI Journal beginning on page 16) Bruce Wilkinson is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary. He founded Walk Thru the Bible Ministries in 1976. His ministry now conducts some 2,500 conferences each year to assist students in their understanding of Scripture.1His ministry has undoubtedly helped many in their understanding of the Bible. His recent book, The Prayer of Jabez,2 has sold over seven-million copies.3 There … Continue reading
Does God exist? This is one of the most fundamental questions to a worldview. Either He does or He doesn’t. Logic dictates that both cannot be right. This is the final discrepancy we shall look at between the Buddha and Jesus. We have seen thus far the claims made by Mr. James Hanson that Jesus was a Buddhist do not carry weight. The Gospels have shown Jesus grew up in Nazareth. A cursory discussion of … Continue reading
Doctrine matters. Many times doctrine is looked down upon these days. Teaching and rational thought are traded in for feeling, fuzzy interpretations, and noncommittal statements. But doctrine matters. It divides the wheat from the chaff and sets boundaries between worldviews. Many throw away the doctrine of the Gospels for a newer, softer Jesus. People want the Buddhist Jesus, who speaks in koans and mystically contemplates the unknown while letting all paths lead to God. This … Continue reading
Jesus was a Buddhist, at this claim the left and Gnostics alike cheer. The thought that this carpenter from Nazareth was no one of authority. No, He is the meek mild Buddhist giving a gnostic message which plays nice all the other religions. There is one small issue – it’s a lie. This portrait they paint is not real. James Hanson may have concluded that the Jesus of history was really a Buddhist by reading into … Continue reading
Many have claimed the real story of Jesus is different from the records of the New Testament. As early as the second century different cults were claiming to have found new information. All claimed the lost years of Jesus’ childhood as their basis. In Part 1 of this series we discussed the new form this has taken in recent years where Jesus is claimed to have travelled to India to become a Buddhist. The article … Continue reading