MY5 RE Name: _____________________________

#6 Date: ______________________________

The Lotus and the Cross

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1. Begin reading at the last Jesus comment on page 25. Why does Jesus say to Gautama that he hasn’t dealt
with the problem of suffering?
2. What did Jesus mean when He said “What you’ve lost in denying self as real is not the problem of pain but
the essence of being.”?
3. Buddha said, “Someday you’ll realize that the goodness of life is seen only when you break free from
submersion in this doctrine of self.” Do you agree or disagree with Buddha? Explain.
4. Buddha says that there is no self. Jesus says that we are all unique individuals. Who do you agree with and
why?
5. Buddha asks, “Why is God necessary for us to know who we are?”. How would you answer that question?
6. As Jesus and Buddha are walking through the temple, Jesus asked “How can all this bring peace,
Gautama?”. How would you answer that question? You will have to have read from page 28 to the question
Jesus asked in order to address this question.
7. Do you agree or disagree with Jesus that a sense of worship and awe is inextricably woven into the human
condition? Explain.
8. Can one have solace and fulfillment in spirit and truth outside of God? Why or why not?
9. Can one talk about “…what one ought to do without showing the value of the person”? Explain.
10. What does intrinsic mean?
11. Buddha states that a perversion is a perversion. Answer his question, “What difference does the nature of
the perversion make?”
12. Is Jesus right when He says that the heart is desperately wicked? Explain.
13. Why can’t you be righteous without being redeemed?
14. What is the difference between the rebirth Buddha speaks about and the rebirth Jesus speaks about? Explain.
15. Do you agree or disagree with Jesus that one cannot sacrifice truth at the altar of respect? Explain.
16. What is the difference between Karma and the justice Jesus speaks of?

Epilogue
17. Can humans be “good” without God?
18. Why is autonomy an illusion according to the author?
19. Is knowing God personally a stretch of the imagination? Explain.
20. After reading The Lotus and the Cross, do you think that there is a loving God who created you and can
transform your life or is life more like how Buddha described? Explain.