Dharmavidya answers this question:
Q: What do Amidists think about the Christian idea that "Nobody comes to the Father except by me"?
A: I don't think that we have to disagree about that. What we disagree about is monotheism and creationism.The Christian god seems to be a kind of cosmic buddha. According to the Larger Sutra there are many such buddhas. We, of course, think that Amida is the most accomplished of them all, but there are many "buddhas in other regions" and they each have their paradise and each has its particular entrance criteria, so if the Christian one says that people can only enter his paradise by keeping to the Christian protocol, that's up to him.
Q: So you do not agree that there is only one god?
A: Without getting into quibbles about definitions of the divine, basically, that is correct.
Q: : So do you think that the actions of Christians and Amidists here on this earth are compatible?
A: Yes and no. Both are trying to replicate their particular vision of heaven here. We Amidists think that the Amidist Pure Land is more inclusive and Buddhist ethics more complete than the Christian ones. The Christian paradise on earth will probably still have abattoirs, for instance. Amidists do not see humans as "given dominion" over all the other creatures. We seek harmony rather than control. So there are some differences of substance and some of tenor, but on many points we would be working for similar, if not exactly the same, things. Christians seem to want "justice" where Amidists want "compassion", though real Christian's (who seem to be a minority) probably want that too - "justice" is really an Old Testament theme, not a New Testament one. So there is a lot of scope for Christians and Buddhists to work in coalition on practical matters, and Buddhists can learn from Christians, too - it was Christians who abolished slavery, for instance - but the Christian idea of exclusiveness is often a real barrier to what could otherwise sometimes be a very productive partnership.
Q: So the point that you find difficult in the Christian vision is the idea that there are no other “Fathers” than theirs?
A: Yes. It is short sighted.
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