為了回答這篇短文的主題，請我們注意一些事實，好嗎？
耶穌基督是以色列人，出生在今天的以色列國，就是中東國家而不是西方國家。耶穌是中東人。耶穌講的話是希伯來語和亞蘭語。耶穌不是西方人。
基督的教會是神所建立的。時間是耶穌復活五十天以後；地點是耶路撒冷。最早成為基督徒的都是猶太人。在教會被神成立的第一天就有大約三千位成為基督徒的！這三千位包括來自至少有十五個國家的猶太教徒——以色列、埃及、阿拉伯、羅馬、今天的土耳其、今天的伊拉克等。
慢慢地，耶穌的門徒把有關耶穌的福音傳到別的地方去。時間越久，福音的範圍越廣。這也是按照耶穌的吩咐，因為他給他的門徒一個使命說：“你們要到世界各地去，向全人類傳揚福音”（馬可福音16:15）。
慢慢地，基督徒把耶穌的福音傳到印度，也傳到中國。
佛教呢？佛教的出發點是印度，創辦人是釋迦牟尼。釋迦牟尼和最早的信徒反對當時的印度教，說他們輕視窮人。慢慢地，佛教徒把佛教傳到中國。
從此可知，對中國人來說，佛教和基督教一樣都是“外國教”。佛教在中國不但有比基督教更長的歷史，而且佛教因為教條比較“松”，所以它比較能夠“中國化”。事實上，佛教還是應該被看為外來的宗教。
基督教是創造宇宙萬物人類的神所準備的，所建立的。是為全人類所預備的。《聖經》告訴我們耶穌“洞悉萬人…”；耶穌“不用別人告訴祂，祂也深知人的內心”（約翰福音2:24-25）。為什麼耶穌基督的福音合乎人們內心的需要呢？是因為基督教是創造人類的神，對人心最清楚的神，願意拯救世人的神，特別為人類預備的。
《聖經》的《傳道書》告訴我們：神“把永恆的意識放在人心裡…”（傳道書3:11）。意思是，每一個人，在內心深處，知道宇宙某某地方有一位高高在上者，知道死亡不是生命的結局，知道“永恆”不是神話乃是個事實。
那位高高在上者通過耶穌基督把自己顯示給全世界上的每一個人。不單單給猶太人、中東人、中國人、非洲人或美國人，乃是給世界各地的人。
神讓使徒約翰看到異象——讓他預見到將來的事。異象中有天堂。約翰描述他所看到天堂里的居民，說：“後來我又看見一大群人，多得不可勝數。他們來自各國家、各部落、各民族、各語言族群…”（啟示錄7:9）。這句話證明天上神為天堂的計劃是天堂要有來自普天下各個部落的人在內。從此可知，耶穌基督福音的對象不只是西方人乃是全世界的人！
您也是其中的一位！
Isn’t it True that Christianity is a Westerner’s Religion and Buddhism is a Religion for Chinese?
Jesus Christ was an Israelite, born in what today is called Israel—a country in the Middle East, not in the West. Jesus was a Middle Eastern person; he spoke Hebrew and Aramaic. He was not a Westerner.
The church of Christ was established by God in Jerusalem some fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus. The earliest Christians were Jews. On the first day, some 3,000 Jews from some fifteen different countries became Christians. Little-by-little the disciples of Jesus took the gospel to many places, per Jesus’ instructions in Mark 16:15. Eventually the gospel was taken to India and China.
What about Buddhism? Buddhism began in India by Sakyamuni. He and his early followers opposed Hinduism because it looked down on the poor, they said. Eventually, the adherents of Buddhism took it to China.
Thus we can see that in China both Christianity and Buddhism are “foreign religions.” Not only has Buddhism been in China longer than Christianity, however, but because its interpretations are more “elastic,” it was more easily adapted to Chinese culture and society.
Christianity was established for all mankind by God, the creator of all there is. Christianity is well suited for all people because it was established by the creator of all people. See John 2:24-25. Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us that God put eternity into the hearts of all people.
God allowed John to see a vision of heaven and the people in heaven. John said there were people there from every nation, tribe, people and language. This tells us clearly that the gospel of Jesus is for all people—not only for Westerners but for all the people in the world!
You are one of them!
【問答】十二：基督教是西方人的宗教但是佛教是中國人的宗教，對吧？
FAQ’s About Christianity (12): Isn’t it True that Christianity is a Westerner’s Religion and Buddhism is a Religion for Chinese?
作者：謝德華 ©By Edward Short