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

Synopsis:



Continuing our discussion from part two, as I explain in a number of my articles where I discuss the New Age movement, many New Agers take the very same approach as the Buddhists, Muslims, etc. In other words, they do not outright reject Jesus. However, neither do they embrace Him as the Son of God and the only true Savior of the world. They have in fact created this New Age version of Jesus who they have come to refer to as "Sananda". This name seems to have first surfaced during the 1950s and was directly associated with certain New Age channelers. These alleged channelers supposedly had made contact with extraterrestrial life and cosmic entities who were members of the so-called "Ashtar Galactic Command".

Now, if the name "Ashtar" seems somewhat familiar to you, I suggest that you consider reading my seven-part series "Our Pagan World: The Easter Myth Exposed!" where I discuss the false gods Ashtoreth, Ashtaroth and Ishtar. I think you will quickly make the connection. Quite frankly, I find this name "Sananda" quite suspect. After all, is it just a coincidence that in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, the Sanskrit word "ānanda" means blessedness or bliss, and in fact refers to an extreme state of happiness, and is one of the highest states of being in those false religions?

At any rate, this New Age "Jesus" -- or Sananda -- is viewed as an "ascended master" who some New Agers say is a member of the so-called "Great White Brotherhood", which also includes notable characters such as Moses, Confucius, Buddha and I am not sure who else. It has been decades since I last seriously wrote about all this New Age stuff. Just as occurs within the aforementioned three religions, Sananda -- or the false Jesus -- transcended the cycle of reincarnation and achieved a high state of spiritual awareness. If you have been paying close attention, then it isn't difficult to see that it sounds just like the "Samsara" and "Nirvana" of Buddhism. In other words, the New Agers' Sananda sounds a lot like the Buddhist version of Jesus wrapped up in a New Age package and nothing more.

This fictitious Sananda entity is sometimes described as the "higher self" or "cosmic Christ" of the historical Jesus we know from the Bible. It is claimed that he serves as a guide to seekers of spiritual growth, as he works alongside other "ascended masters" and celestial entities to help humanity achieve a heightened state of consciousness. Now concerning his teachings -- which are claimed to be received by way of channeling sessions and telepathy -- exactly like Buddhism, they emphasize universal consciousness, unconditional love, forgiveness, spiritual awakening, and the potential for personal enlightenment.

But these are not the only similarities between the New Age version of Jesus -- a.k.a. Sananda -- and the "Jesus" who is promoted by Buddhism. As it turns out, the New Age Jesus was NOT crucified, and neither was he resurrected from the dead. Instead, their Sananda survived and traveled to India where he received even more wisdom and knowledge. Furthermore, he did NOT experience an actual physical resurrection from the dead. Rather, he experienced a purely spiritual ascension. This idea of spiritual ascension -- meaning the elevation of one's consciousness and moving into a higher dimension -- is a big teaching with the New Age movement. I first read about it almost thirty years ago.

As I mentioned to you a minute ago, this "Sananda" isn't anything more than a reinterpretation of the real Jesus of the Bible packaged in a New Age framework and based in large part on the same false Jesus that is promoted by Buddhism. It may interest some of my readers to know that it was more than twenty-eight years ago when I first warned about the dangers which I saw in the New Age movement. I expressed my thoughts in articles such as "Admiral Richard E. Byrd and the Hollow Earth Theory", and "Heaven's Gate, Suicide and Other Death Cults".

As I said back then, New Age thought amounts to a modernized, deceptive, strange amalgamation, conglomeration or blend of some Christian doctrines, Native American mysticism, ancient spiritualism or necromancy, Wiccan nature worship, UFOlogy, Asian shamanism, oriental religions including Buddhism and Hinduism, and Babylonian demonism. This very lethal mixture is insidiously stirred together with additional ingredients such as environmentalism, political correctness and twisted interpretations of a number of historical events. In fact, it even borrows some aspects from globalism. Then it's carefully coated with a sweet-tasting powder that is disguised as truth and spiritual enlightenment in order to conceal the bitter taste of what is actually a very deadly and poisonous pill.

This New Age pill is then readily, foolishly, ignorantly and naively swallowed by so many folks today who are in search of the truth. In other words, the devilish tactic that is being used here is to draw upon so many different religious beliefs and other ideologies, that their pill becomes attractive and appeals to even more people. In short, no matter who a person may be, they'll still connect with it, identify with it, and find some common ground with it in some way. They'll simply find something in New Age thought which will make them think to themselves, "Wow! I think just like that!". Thus they are caught in the New Age web of deception.

While I have shared a lot of information with you concerning Buddhism, I've done so with the clear purpose of helping you to plainly and fully understand the fundamental differences which exist between our Christian faith and Buddhism. Why do I feel that this is important? Well, aside from the fact that Buddhism is such a deceptive, false religion, I have read a number of accounts online where longtime dedicated Christians have abandoned their Christian faith, and embraced Buddhism instead. Personally, I find that quite alarming. If I were to summarize for you the key differences, so that you will know how to respond to a Buddhist, and how to resist being tempted by Buddhism, it would be in the following manner.

First of all, Buddhism does NOT involve any type of divine intervention whatsoever. There is no Supreme Being who made all things, and there is no divine Savior who died for the sins of the world. As I've already explained to you through quite a few Bible verses, these central tenets of Buddhism are in direct contradiction to Jesus' core mission on Earth, and the things that He said about Himself, and which others said about Him as well, which are namely the following:

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."


"Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep . . . I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture."


"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."


"And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."


"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;"


"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:"


Returning to my earlier comments in part two, if the Buddhist who wrote to me does not even believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the Savior of humanity; if he doesn't even believe that Jesus is the only way to the Father as the previous set of Bible verses plainly declare; then how in the world can he even dare to make any kind of comparison between his religion and my own faith? Furthermore, how can he even pretend to be "closer to Christ" -- as he clearly wrote -- when he does NOT even embrace who Jesus truly is to begin with? Such a thought is quite simply ludicrous to say the very least. That person obviously does not even understand that Jesus does NOT just want us to be closer to Him. What He REALLY wants is to dwell in our hearts, exactly as we see by the following group of Bible verses:

"THAT CHRIST MAY DWELL IN YOUR HEARTS BY FAITH; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,"


"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, IF SO BE THAT THE SPIRIT OF GOD DWELL IN YOU. Now IF ANY MAN HAVE NOT THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST, HE IS NONE OF HIS."


"To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; WHICH IS CHRIST IN YOU, the hope of glory:"


"HEREBY KNOW WE THAT WE DWELL IN HIM, AND HE IN US, because he hath given us of his Spirit."


Please notice very carefully what the Apostle Paul wrote in his Epistle to the brethren at Rome. He quite clearly said "Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." My friends, you cannot get any clearer than that! As such, if Buddhists do NOT even accept who Jesus Christ actually is, then it seems rather obvious that they CANNOT have His Spirit dwelling within themselves. Thus, the one and only inescapable conclusion at which we can possibly arrive, is that such Buddhists are NOT the Lord's, they do not belong to Him, and they most certainly cannot be any closer to the Lord than a Christian who actually DOES put their faith in Jesus. As Paul also wrote in the following verse, the Lord surely knows those people who belong to Him. That certainly doesn't include the Christ-rejecting Buddhists who refuse to even acknowledge who He truly is:

"Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, THE LORD KNOWETH THEM THAT ARE HIS. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity."


Do you fully understand what I am saying here? A Buddhist can emulate Christ all he wants. He can be kind, loving, gentle, forgiving, compassionate, peaceful, etc. But it really isn't worth a darn thing if he does not even embrace Jesus for who He really is. All of that niceness and kindness is simply an empty, vain show in the flesh and nothing more. In fact, it really amounts to nothing more than self-righteous works of the flesh, and they won't save anyone. Why not? Because as we have already clearly seen, those aren't the things which God even looks at. The ONLY thing which saves us, and the only thing that God looks at, is whether or not we have placed our faith in the blood Atonement of Jesus Christ. Either we are washed in the blood of the Lamb of God, or else we are not. Period.

So again, this is why this person's question concerning who is closer to Christ, a Buddhist or a Christian, is rather ridiculous and a moot point at the same time. Furthermore, as the Apostle Paul wrote, it is very foolish to even make such comparisons in order to determine who is greater, or who is more holy, or who is more righteous, or who serves the Lord better. It appears that Paul must have encountered this kind of problem in the Church. Thus, in response to it he wrote the following:

"For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise . . . But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth."


Even in the Gospel of Mark we discover that on at least one particular occasion, the Apostles also fell into this same kind of foolish talk where they were trying to determine who amongst them was the greatest . Upon taking note of it, the Lord silenced them by offering the following wise response:

"And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all."


Returning to our discussion concerning the main differences that exist between Buddhism and Christianity, according to Buddhist beliefs, neither is there any kind of suffering in the Afterlife. All suffering -- or Dukkha -- occurs in this present life, as a person supposedly lives through one life and death cycle after another until he finally reaches the ultimate desired state of Nirvana. This erroneous belief totally contradicts a number of Bible verses such as the following where we are clearly warned of terrible suffering in the Afterlife for those people who refuse to repent of their unbelief, and who fail to embrace Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. On multiple occasions, Jesus spoke about weeping and gnashing of teeth, as we can determine by the following group of Bible verses:

"But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."


"Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."


"The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."


"And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."


"There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out."


Why would there be so much weeping and gnashing of teeth as we see described in the previous group of verses? I think the following additional group of verses offers us a rather clear answer to this important question:

"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."


"It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God . . . For our God is a consuming fire."


"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."


". . . he that cometh after me . . . will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."


". . . He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."


"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;"


"The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God."


"The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb . . . And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God."


"And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."


"But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."


Furthermore, even the very concept of "Samsara" -- multiple life and death cycles -- which most people readily recognize as the belief in reincarnation, is totally contrary to what we are taught in the Bible. As many of my Christian readers will already know, the Scriptures plainly declare that God only gives us one life to live, and not multiple lives. It is during this one life that we must all make the decision to either accept or reject Jesus Christ. Once we leave this present life, there is no coming back. Neither are there any second chances. The only thing that awaits us once our life here is over is certain judgment before the Throne of God. This Biblical truth becomes evident by the following verse:

"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:"


While our Christian faith points to our need for an outside source to save us -- meaning, of course, God the Father and Jesus Christ -- in contrast, Buddhism focuses entirely on a very lengthy, human-based, multi-cycle process -- Samsara -- of self-enlightenment, self-improvement, self-realization, self-effort, self-liberation, and what basically amounts to a process of self-salvation. It is all about self. You can reach full enlightenment on your own. You can reach a state of Nirvana if you just keep working at it life cycle after life cycle. You can save yourself and eventually get out of that endless loop without any help from God or Jesus if you simply improve yourself and learn your lessons in each of the life and death cycles that you pass through. In short, as I mentioned earlier, Buddhism does NOT involve any degree of divine intervention whatsoever.

If you have paid close attention to everything I have been sharing in this series, then you will easily recognize that what I have just described to you amounts to a religion that is based purely on self-merit, supposed good works and one's own perception of their righteousness. It is most certainly NOT based on the true righteousness which the Bible plainly declares to us can only be obtained through one's faith in the atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. As we read in part two:

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that NOT OF YOURSELVES: it is the gift of God: NOT OF WORKS, LEST ANY MAN SHOULD BOAST."


"NOT BY WORKS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH WE HAVE DONE, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;"


Ironically, the unbelieving Jews of the First Century who foolishly rejected Salvation through faith in the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ alone, tried to do the very same thing. In other words, rather than accept God's righteousness through faith in Jesus, they attempted to establish and prove their own righteousness to God by way of their own supposed "good works". This they supposedly did by striving to keep the 613 commandments -- or "mitzvoth" -- which constitute the Laws of Moses, which we find in the Old Testament. As I point out in other articles, these five Books of the Law are also known as the Torah -- or Pentateuch -- and include the Books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

Let me also mention that "mitzvoth" -- or "mitzvah" in the singular form -- also signifies a "good deed", or any act which creates a closer connection to God, to others, or to the world community as a whole. Sadly, these endeavors by the unbelieving Jews amounted to nothing more than public displays of vain, worthless, hypocritical, self-righteous works which did not contribute anything to their Salvation. Why not? Because as we have already seen rather clearly, NOBODY is ever saved by their own supposed "good works".

Furthermore, as some of my readers may recall, in the three opening verses of Matthew chapter twenty-three, Jesus fully exposed the hypocrisy of the scribes and the Pharisees when He said that while they instructed the common people how to live by and obey the Laws of Moses, they failed to do so themselves. Consider the following group of verses:

"Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not."


As I explained a moment ago, everything those hypocrites did was a futile endeavor to establish their own form of righteousness OUTSIDE of embracing Jesus Christ as God's appointed Messiah. In discussing the vanity of their sad actions which would win no points with God, the Apostle Paul wrote as follows:

"Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."


My dear friends, that is likewise why Buddhism is such an utterly false and vain religion, just like all the rest of the false religions in the world which fail to acknowledge Jesus Christ for who He really is. To make it very clear for anyone who still may not quite understand it, Buddhism instructs its adherents to place their faith in themselves instead of in Jesus Christ. It tells them that they can be good enough and worthy enough on their own, if they just keep working at it long enough. Eventually, they'll reach full enlightenment, and liberation from the constant cycle of birth, life, death and suffering, and they won't have to reincarnate anymore. They will reach that blessed state of total peace and bliss known as Nirvana. However, as we have already seen, it is just a huge pack of lies.

Buddhism totally ignores the concept of sin, as well as the consequence of unrepentant sin, which is eternal death in the Lake of Fire. As Jesus informed the unbelieving Jews of His day 2,000 years ago, if they refused to acknowledge Him as their long-awaited Messiah, they would eventually die in their sins, and ultimately, they would also face the wrath of God due to their unbelief. Consider the following verse:

"I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins."


So say I this day as well to any Buddhists who reject Jesus Christ; to any atheists who foolishly and arrogantly believe that their own standard of goodness and morality is somehow sufficient to appease God's wrath; to any other individual of any other religion who thinks that their good works will win them points with God and save them from His judgment; and to any other non-religious person who dares to mock God, mock Jesus Christ, and mock God's holy Word. Unless you willingly humble yourself and repent of your misguided ideas and your unbelief, you will indeed perish, come your day of judgment before the Throne of the Lord. When that day finally arrives, your own sense of goodness and righteousness won't count for a can of beans then, because you won't be judged by your OWN standard of goodness, my friend. You will be judged only by GOD'S standard, and His standard requires that you place your faith in the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ in order to be saved.

So I urge you to wake up today while you still have the time to do so. After all, one never really knows when his or her life may suddenly be cut off and come to its end. Really give this some serious thought. Your life could unexpectedly reach its conclusion in the very next minute, or the very next hour, or the very next day. You really don't know, do you? So it is wise to get your heart and life right with the Lord while you still can. Consider the following Bible verses and take heed:

"But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?"


"Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready."


"Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."


Concerning the many false religions of the world, as I also mention in a number of other BBB articles, that is precisely how Satan has operated for thousands of years now. In other words, he creates counterfeit religions which contain bits of truth so that naive, gullible people will be attracted to them. However, that fiend purposely leaves out the very most important part. He purposely omits the main ingredient which is the necessity of having faith in the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Thus, all of those false religions will indeed talk a lot about love, peace, kindness, compassion, brotherhood, and other wonderful and beautiful things. However, they will NOT tell you what you really need to know in order to be saved according to God's standard.

My friends, they all do it. If you doubt my word, just look around for yourself and carefully examine and compare them, and you will see that it is the truth. Is that not in fact what Buddhism does as well?

With these thoughts, I will bring this article to a close. It is my hope that you've found it informative and enlightening, and I pray that it has been a blessing in your life as well. If you have an account with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or with any other social network, I would really appreciate if you'd take the time to click or tap on the corresponding link that is found on this page. Thanks so much, and may God bless you abundantly!

For additional information and further study, you may want to refer to the list of reading resources below which were either mentioned in this article, or which contain topics which are related to this article. All of these articles are likewise located on the Bill's Bible Basics web server. To read these articles, simply click or tap on any link you see below.

Admiral Richard E. Byrd and the Hollow Earth Theory

All Are Given a Chance, But

Beholding the Evil and the Good

Dead to the Law: God's Laws Written on Our Hearts

Free From the Fear of Death: Law and Works vs Grace

Heaven's Gate, Suicide and Other Death Cults

Is The Message Of Salvation Meant for All Men?

Message to the World

Not Everyone Is a Child of God

Our Pagan World: The Easter Myth Exposed!

Saints, Holiness and Perfectionism

Salvation is Free Through Jesus Christ

Striving for Perfection: Are You a Sinless Saint?

The Blood Atonement: In Jesus' Own Words

The Nature and Consequence of Sin and God's Solution

The Urantia Book: A Dangerous New Age Doctrine!

The Urantia Book: An Attack on the Blood Atonement!

What Does Blessed Are the Peacemakers Really Mean?

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Please avail yourself of other areas of the Bill's Bible Basics website. There are many treasures for you to discover.