ABSTRACT

The hypothesis that Buddhists and Christians, respectively, pursue different objectives, following different paths to different destinations, has been argued for by a number of contemporary thinkers, most notably S. Mark Heim and John Makransky. Dual belongers hope to be faithful Buddhists and faithful Christians. The notion that different religious traditions are orientated towards a single goal has been argued for most famously by John Hick. According to Hick, both Buddhism and Christianity are concerned to bring about a transformation from self-centred existence to an existence centred in ultimate reality. The Christian affirmation of God's immanence and the idea that all people have the divine within them as Spirit suggest that the poles of relationship between people and God might not be absolute and irreducible, but rather that God is on a continuum with people. For Christians, the end hoped for is heaven.