Author	: Bill Kochman
Publish	: Jan. 13, 2026
Update	: Jan. 13, 2026
Parts	: 03

Synopsis:



Recently, I was asked a question on my Tumblr social network account by a certain individual who appears to operate a small, six-member Tumblr group called "Buddha Dharma Study and Practice". Going by the limited content which I found on their Tumblr blog, I will assume that this individual is in fact a practicing Buddhist, although I do not know this with absolute certainty. At any rate, their question to me was the following:

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"I propose that a Buddhist with love in their heart is closer to Christ than a Christian with hate in their heart. I'm curious if you agree?"

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While I initially began to respond to this person on Tumblr, as quite often happens when I am conversing with someone, my answer to him began to grow rather long, and I soon realized that what I was sharing with this person could be of benefit to many other Buddhists as well. In fact, it will likewise help other Christians to know how to respond to anybody who happens to be of the Buddhist religious persuasion as well.

That being the case, I have decided to write this current, series. In addressing this particular person's question, I decided that it would probably be best to approach it from two different perspectives. Before continuing, allow me to offer a statement to any Buddhists who may possibly decide to read this series. While I will definitely be providing a clear answer to this Buddhist's question, in order to fully understand my response, you need to possess a clear understanding of the background story, which began in the Garden of Eden thousands of years ago. My conclusions will hopefully make more sense to you, once you know all of the Scriptural facts.

So then, in responding to any questions which are presented to me, it has been my longtime practice to always adopt a very slow, methodical approach. I build my case one step at a time, adding information, facts and Bible verses along the way, until the full picture -- or answer -- is formed. I ask for your patience as I lay out this story before you. While some of the things I say here may at first not appear to be directly related to the original question which was asked, I urge you to please keep reading until the very end, and you will hopefully see how all of the information I share here is in fact related and interconnected.

To partially answer this person's question, let me begin by stating that it is my personal belief that no true Christian will have hate in their heart, except for those things which God Himself likewise hates. Some people may be surprised to learn that there are indeed certain things which God really hates. Exactly what are some of them? Well, as one example, consider the following group of verses which are found in the Book of Proverbs:

"These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren."


So tell me, my friends. Can you personally relate to any of the seven things which are mentioned in the previous verses? I most definitely can! For example, when I read the phrase "hands that shed innocent blood", I immediately think of the vile, devilish practice of abortion. Quite frankly, I really hate it, and I am sure that God does too. In my view, this wicked practice isn't really that much different from what the ancient Israelites did when they sacrificed their very own children to the false god Moloch in the Old Testament. For example, consider the judgment God pronounced against the city of Jerusalem, due in part to the fact that they sacrificed their sons and daughters to Molech:

"For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have only done evil before me from their youth: for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, saith the LORD. For this city hath been to me as a provocation of mine anger and of my fury from the day that they built it even unto this day; that I should remove it from before my face, Because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face: though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction. But they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it. And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin."


So you see, my friends, there are indeed some things which God hates, which we Christians likewise hate. There are, of course, many other things which God also hates. The previous seven are just a few of them. Consider, for example, what the Lord himself said in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark:

"But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man."


"And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man."


So there we see some additional things which our Heavenly Father obviously hates. Speaking of the wickedness which proceeds from the human heart, I am also reminded of what the Prophet Jeremiah was inspired to write as well in the following Bible verse:

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"


Wow! It isn't looking too good for our human heart, is it? And yet despite this terrible truth regarding that organ which incessantly beats within our chest, a very common, popular saying in our modern times advises us to "Listen to your heart. It will never steer you wrong." Well, sorry folks, but quite to the contrary, that is NOT what God's holy Word teaches us at all! To add a final blow to this wayward axiom in which so many people have placed their trust, last of all, let us consider the following verse which is found in chapter six of the Book of Genesis:

"And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."


Man, oh man! I would say that the previous verse is surely the final nail in the coffin! Just look at those last three words: "only evil continually." My friends, can there be a stronger indictment that than? So why am I sharing these particular Bible verses with you? It is to clearly show you that while we humans have a lot of capacity to demonstrate love, kindness, compassion, peacefulness, etc., we possess an equal propensity for being downright wicked and evil, and for doing some very vile, terrible things. Furthermore, as we have seen, according to the Scriptures, continually being wicked and evil is actually the default nature of the unregenerate human heart.

So the idea of trying to compare a Buddhist's heart with a Christian's heart as the aforementioned person has foolishly done is really kind of ridiculous. In fact, in actuality, it is a rather moot point, as you'll see even more as we delve even deeper into this topic. Thus far, we have barely even touched the surface of this important subject.

As I point out in a few other Bill's Bible Basics articles, that is precisely why we need to teach our young children how to behave, and how to be good. They ALREADY know how to misbehave and how to do bad things, because it is built into them, as I will be explaining more fully in just a moment.

What you may find rather interesting is the fact that it is this very same argument which some atheists often use to try to justify their disbelief in God, and to prove to Christian Believers why they don't need God. "Oh, I don't need your God!" they say. "I can be good and lead a moral life without Him." In fact, some of these atheists are so haughty about this idea, that they have even created billboards where they boast about their assumed goodness without God. Below is a photo of one such billboard which appeared a number of years ago.



Now, I can honestly say and agree that if a person exercises strong discipline in their life and strives to control their emotions and passions, they can indeed lead a good and moral life. Nevertheless, just by saying that they don't need God, and that they're good without God, such individuals not only clearly demonstrate how truly lost they are, but they also reveal that they do not even understand what God's plan of Salvation is all about. Neither do they understand why it is even necessary. However, this should come as no surprise to us. After all, as the Apostle Paul so wisely wrote in his first Epistle to the brethren at Corinth:

"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."


However, for those of us who have already become a part of the Christian faith, we fully recognize and understand that it is precisely because the thoughts of our hearts are only evil continually, and because our hearts are desperately wicked, that we need to be totally transformed, regenerated, renewed and reborn both mentally, as well as spiritually, through faith in the atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. As Jesus himself said one night to a Pharisee named Nicodemus:

"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mothers womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit."


So why is this spiritual rebirth even necessary? This goes back to what I said a moment ago regarding the wicked state of the unregenerate human heart. As many of my readers will already know, the Bible teaches us that we are all born with a sinful nature due to the tragic events which occurred in the Garden of Eden. As we have already seen, it is because of those events -- that is to say, the rebellion of Adam and Eve -- that we all possess the capacity and the propensity to sin against God, and to also sin against our fellow man as well. We are born with a sinful, fallen nature.

In short, my dear friends, we are NOT on moral high ground despite what we may personally try to convince ourselves to believe. Furthermore, we have no righteousness of our own. This is an important subject which we will revisit later in this same series, because it is directly related to how a lot of people seem to think, including this Buddhist, some atheists, probably some Roman Catholics, and many others as well. These Scriptural truths are made plainly evident by Bible verses such as the following:

"Wherefore, as by one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"


"Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me."


"For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not."


"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one . . . For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"


"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."


"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."


Sin not only separates us from God and breaks our fellowship with Him, but it also separates us from each other. Allow me to ask you a simple question. What was one of the very first things that happened after Adam and Eve had rebelled against the Lord? I am sure that most of you will already know. They went and tried to hide themselves from the Lord. They were simply embarrassed to be in the Lord's presence. Thus, they tried to separate themselves from Him. They did not want to be in His light. What you may find rather interesting are the following verses which are found in the third chapter of the Gospel of John. I have added two additional verses to demonstrate how our sins also separate us from God's goodness and blessings:

"And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved."


"Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear."


"Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you."


You see, Adam and Eve already knew in their hearts that they had done something terribly wrong. Why else would they try to hide from the Lord? They obviously knew that if the Lord found them, He would no doubt sternly rebuke them. However, as the previous two verses from the Book of John state, they did NOT want to be reproved for the evil they had committed. Thus, they endeavored to hide. However, if there's one thing which the Bible makes rather clear, it is that we simply CANNOT hide our sins from the Lord. Again, this Scriptural truth becomes evident by the following set of Bible verses:

". . . behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out."


"If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin."


"For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings."


"O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee."


"Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance."


"The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good."


"Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD."


"He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him."


". . . Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick? For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad."


"For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known."


"Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do."


So once the Lord confronted Adam and Eve, what was the next thing that happened? Well, exactly as they had expected, He firmly rebuked them, judged them -- and Satan as well -- and then He proceeded to kick them out of the Garden of Eden so that they no longer had access to the Tree of Life, and to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. In short, the Lord SEPARATED them from both Himself, and from His blessings which they had enjoyed in the Garden of Eden, EXACTLY as the Prophet Jeremiah had pronounced when he wrote "your sins have withholden good things from you." And just to make sure that Adam and Eve could not regain entrance to the Garden, we are informed that the Lord placed Cherubims and a flaming sword, as we see by the following group of Bible verses:

"And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life."


So as we have already seen, with that one rebellious act, sin entered into the world. You may recall from the earlier verse in Romans 5 that the Apostle Paul wrote "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world." Then an undetermined amount of time passed until Eve gave birth to the brothers Cain and Abel. We all know -- or at least we should know -- what eventually happened after that. The two brothers grew up, and Cain became a farmer, while Abel became a herdsman. Then the first Biblically recorded act of human violence occurred when both men offered sacrifices to God. While the sacrifice of Cain was rejected, the sacrifice of Abel was well accepted by the Lord.

Of course, we know what happened next. In a fit of jealousy, uncontrolled rage and pure hatred, Cain rose up and murdered his brother. Now stop and remember the various things which the Lord told His listeners proceed from the wicked human heart. Two of them are "evil thoughts" and "murders". That is exactly what we see happening in Genesis. Furthermore, who was present in the Garden of Eden? Who induced Adam and Eve to sin against God by contradicting the Lord's words and blatantly lying to them?

My friends, you all know the answer. It was none other than the Devil himself in the form of a sly serpent. So who do you think inspired Cain to kill Abel some years later? Well obviously, it was Satan again, because as Jesus said, that Devil has been a liar, a deceiver and a murderer from the very beginning. In fact, in his first Epistle, the Apostle John even clearly writes that Cain "was of that wicked one", and that the Devil has sinned "from the beginning." Consider the following group of Bible verses which confirm these various points:

"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for IN THE DAY THAT THOU EATEST THEREOF THOU SHALT SURELY DIE."


"Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? . . . And the serpent said unto the woman, YE SHALL NOT SURELY DIE: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."


"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. HE WAS A MURDERER FROM THE BEGINNING, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for HE IS A LIAR, AND THE FATHER OF IT."


"He that committeth sin is of the devil; for THE DEVIL SINNETH FROM THE BEGINNING. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil . . . Not as Cain, WHO WAS OF THAT WICKED ONE, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous."


As we know, Adam and Eve lived to very ripe, old ages. God apparently blessed them with many children, despite their disobedience in the Garden of Eden. They suffered terribly for their sin and had to toil their entire lives. However, God also showed them a degree of mercy as well by letting them continue to live in a physical sense. Now what many Christians view as somewhat of a dilemma is the fact that the Lord had specifically said that "in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." This sounds as if the Lord is saying that in the very day that Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit, they would die. Yet as we have seen, they both lived for many centuries after that. Adam in fact lived to the age of 930, as we see by this Bible verse:

"And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died."


I am aware of two possible solutions to this problem. The first is that the Lord wasn't actually saying that Adam and Eve would die on that very day, but rather that they would EVENTUALLY die. This particular explanation seems to agree with what we actually read in the Biblical text. Moving on to the second possible solution, while Adam and Eve lived for many centuries after their fall in Eden, on that day in which they partook of the forbidden fruit, they died in a spiritual sense. In other words, their spiritual link or connection with the Lord was suddenly broken on that day.

Or to phrase it in another way, their close relationship and fellowship with the Lord was simply severed. Whereas before they had been God's friends, now they were in opposition to Him, and had foolishly sided with the enemy. There was thus enmity between God and Adam and Eve. This sad, tragic truth was manifested in a physical sense when Adam and Eve found themselves suddenly thrust out of the Garden of Eden due to their foolish disobedience. From Adam and Eve's perspective, their punishment must have indeed seemed like something worse than death itself.

Whichever solution you prefer to accept, the bottom line is that the Apostle Paul wrote "and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Ever since that moment in which Adam and Eve chose to listen to Satan, and to rebel against the Lord, sin and death have reigned in the world. They sinned, and death was pronounced upon all of humanity. Years later, Cain rose up and slew his own brother Abel. In the centuries which followed that first wicked act of violence, sin, violence and death only continued to grow progressively worse, so that by the time of the Patriarch Noah, it grieved God in His heart that He had even created man. Thus, He chose to destroy them all, except for Noah and his family, as we see by the following Bible verses:

"And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD."


Please go to part two for the continuation of this series.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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