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Buddhism

Explore the foundations of Buddhism, the life and teachings of the Buddha, major branches, practices, and beliefs, and its influence on society and culture. This course also suggests how Christians can interact with Buddhists.
Number of lessons: 16
Total length: 16 hours and 1 minute
format: Audio
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About This Class

In this course, you will gain a comprehensive understanding of Buddhism, including its historical background, key concepts, and major branches. You will explore the life and teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, and learn about the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. You will examine the differences between Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana Buddhism and learn about various practices and beliefs. Lastly, you will study how Christians can share hope and God's salvation with Buddhists.

Recommended reading

Buddhist Priests Choose Christ, John R. Terry, published by Dawn Press, 1989 
The Unexpected Way, Paul Williams (CBD) 
Sharing Jesus Effectively in the Buddhist World, David Lim and Spalding...

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About the Professor

Timothy Tennent

Dr. Timothy C. Tennent is the President of Asbury Theological Seminary and a Professor of World Christianity. With extensive experience in academia, he previously taught at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Toccoa Falls College. An adjunct professor in India and an ordained United Methodist pastor, Dr. Tennent's global engagements include China, Thailand, Nigeria, and Eastern Europe. He has authored several books on Christianity, theological education, and missiology, further solidifying his expertise in the field.
Timothy Tennent

Lessons

  • 1. Emergence of Buddhism (Part 1)

    Definition of Buddhism and a description of how it began and its present status as a world religion.

  • 2. Emergence of Buddhism (Part 2)

    Experiences in Siddhartha Gautama's life, and how they led the teachings that resulted in the formation of Buddhism.

  • 3. The First Two Sermons (Part 1)

    The First Sermon of Buddha

  • 4. The First Two Sermons (Part 2)

    Description of the five aggregates and the foundational doctrine of Buddhism.

  • 5. The Way of the Elders

    Therevada emerged as the preserver of the Way of the Elders. The three jewels of the Therevada are the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.

  • 6. Mahayana Buddhism: New Insights

    The three insights of Mahayana Buddhism are that Buddha taught secret truths, the Buddha was a divine being and a dharmic concept, not just an earthly figure, and Gautama was not the only Buddha.

  • 7. The Mahayana Sutras

    The Mahayana Sutras include the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras, Lotus Sutra, Heart Sutra, Vimalakirti Sutra and the Lankavatara Sutra.

  • 8. The Journey of the Bodhisattva

    A bodhisattva is an enlightened one who, out of compassion, forgoes nirvana in order to save others.

  • 9. The Rise of Buddhist Philosophy

    In Buddhism, actual objects of worship and adoration are ultimately illusory and superseded by true enlightenment. (This lecture begins in the outline, point IX. The Rise of Buddhist Philosophy, point D, #2. The lecture covering IX, points A, B, C and D #1 is not available, but Dr. Tennent is planning to record it.)

  • 10. Mahayana Buddhist Schools and Lineages (Part 1)

    Two invocational Mahayana Buddhist Schools are Chinese “Pure Land” Buddhism and Japanese “Pure Land” Buddhism.

  • 11. Mahayana Buddhist Schools and Lineages (Part 2)

    Chinese and Japanese Meditative Buddhism includes Zen Buddhism.

  • 12. Explorations in Buddhist Apologetics (Part 1)

    Buddhist mudras are hand gestures which have physical and spiritual significance. Family ties in a shame-based culture may often place significant social pressures on a person considering converting from Buddhism to Christianity.

  • 13. Explorations in Buddhist Apologetics (Part 2)

    The incarnation means that Jesus is both fully God and fully man and came to earth as God in the flesh.

  • 14. Explorations in Buddhist Apologetics (Part 3)

    The doctrines of transmigration and reincarnation are central to Buddhism and provide no assurance for Buddhists of their ultimate spiritual destination.

  • 15. Explorations in Buddhist Apologetics (Part 4)

    Buddhism and Christianity have fundamental theological differences.

  • 16. GlobalChristianity.org

    Guest lecturer, Todd Johnson, Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, founder of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity.

Class Resources

Recommended Books

Essentials of Buddhism - Student Guide

Essentials of Buddhism - Student Guide

This course serves as a summary of the beliefs and practices of Buddhism by Dr. Timothy Tennent. There are four lessons that will introduce readers to a summary of the...

Essentials of Buddhism - Student Guide
Christianity at the Religious Roundtable: Evangelicalism in Conversation with Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam

Christianity at the Religious Roundtable: Evangelicalism in Conversation with Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam

In our contemporary setting, Christianity is faced with a different apologetic task than in ages past. Rather than being at the head of the table, Christianity now finds...

Christianity at the Religious Roundtable: Evangelicalism in Conversation with Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam

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