From the Editor: Why I love Christianity

By Jim Nelson

The Dalai Lama gave a presentation on “Buddhist Teaching” during his visit to Emory University last month. As I sat and listened to him talk about the Four Noble Truths and the ultimate nature of the mind being pure light complete with the absence of pain and sorrow, I thought about why I am a Christian.I have always tried to be respectful of other people’s beliefs. We are all free, or at least should be free, to believe whatever we choose about the nature of God and our relationship with God and with others. I have the obligation to witness to my faith, but if someone else chooses to follow a different path, then I need to “knock the dust from my feet” and move on.

I even sometimes disagree with how some Christians witness to their faith, but I always try to understand them. I realize they are sincere and just trying to be faithful to how they understand the Word of God. Maybe some of us are right, maybe all of us are right, maybe none of us are right. We just have to be true to what we believe God is calling us to be.But back to Buddhism. I can understand the attraction of a religion that promises joy and happiness, and a path to eliminating pain and sorrow from our lives. However, as I listened to the Dalai Lama explain the levels of suffering and how we attain a different state of reality, I had the impression it is something we do alone or at least alone with God.It seems to me that most of the pain and suffering we have in life is caused by others. To be in the world, to love, to be vulnerable, means we will at some point be hurt or feel betrayed. We do not resolve that pain by retreating from the world and the need for others, but by turning it over to God and by forgiveness.

Whereas Buddhism seemed to be somewhat egocentric, Christianity is a communal religion. The basic definition of communion is that it is an act of sharing with others.The purpose of a local church is to be in community with one another. The primary reason people give for joining a particular congregation is the people. The congregation functions as a large dysfunctional family. And I mean that in a positive sense. All congregations have the equivalent of that weird uncle, the crazy cousin, and that older aunt who sips a little too much sherry on occasion. But, what they mainly have is a deep, abiding love for one another.

They argue with one another, yell at one another, get frustrated with one another. But when it really matters, when one of them is hurting the entire congregation gathers around and supports them. That is what makes a church a church. That is what separates us from the other religions in the world. There is a lot we can learn from other faiths. We can learn the importance of daily prayer from Muslims. We can learn about meditation and living simply from Buddhists. We can learn something from all faiths. But we can teach them a lot about community. We Christians are all of the family of Jesus Christ. We “bear one another’s burdens.” We “rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” When you are in church this week, look around you and hear the words of Jesus, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mt 12:49-50)