Comparison of teachings of Christianity, Aristotle, Buddha, and Confucius

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The Bible makes certain assertions in regard to the world we live in, human nature, and life. It tells us about Satan and about Evil and man’s natural inclinations toward sin and evil and how we are to live. It teaches that we should live differently from the way most people live. How does what it teaches compare with what Aristotle, Buddha, and Confucius taught?

Consider the following scripture from the Bible:

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye

transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove

what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

James 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that

the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever

therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

Titus 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly

lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this

present world;

1 Peter 4:3 For the time past of our life may suffice us to

have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in

lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings,

and abominable idolatries: 4. Wherein they think it strange

that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking

evil of you:

1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are

in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father

is not in him. 16. For all that is in the world, the lust of

the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is

not of the Father, but is of the world. 17. And the world

passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will

of God abideth for ever.

Rom 13:12-14 Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness,

and let us put on the armor of light. {13} Let us walk

properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in

lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. {14} But put on the

Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to

fulfill its lusts.

Gal 5:13-26 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty;

only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but

through love serve one another. {14} For all the law is

fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your

neighbor as yourself." {15} But if you bite and devour one

another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! {16} I say

then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of

the flesh. {17} For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the

Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one

another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. {18}

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

{19} Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are:

adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, {20} idolatry,

sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath,

selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, {21} envy, murders,

drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you

beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those

who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

{22} But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,

longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, {23}

gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. {24}

And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its

passions and desires. {25} If we live in the Spirit, let us

also walk in the Spirit. {26} Let us not become conceited,

provoking one another, envying one another.

1 Cor 6:9-10 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not

inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither

fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals,

nor sodomites, {10} nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards,

nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.

Let us now ask a question. How do the teachings and outlooks of Christianity compare with those of some thinkers who lived three to five centuries earlier: Aristotle, Confucius and Buddha:

Aristotle (384 - 322 BC)

Bad people...are in conflict with themselves; they desire one thing and do another, like the incontinent who choose harmful pleasures instead of what they themselves believe to be good.

Without virtue, man is most unholy and savage, and worst in regard to sex and eating.

At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst.

The self-indulgent man craves for all pleasant things... and is led by his appetite to choose these at the cost of everything else.

It is of the nature of desire not to be satisfied, and most men live only for the gratification of it.

Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.

We acquire a particular quality by acting in a particular way.

Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.

For though we love both the truth and our friends, piety requires us to honor the truth first.

All persons ought to endeavor to follow what is right, and not what is established.

Dignity does not consist in possessing honors, but in the consciousness that we deserve them.

Happiness belongs to the self sufficient.

“...happiness does not consist in amusement. In fact, it would be strange if our end were amusement, and if we were to labor and suffer hardships all our life long merely to amuse ourselves.... The happy life is regarded as a life in conformity with virtue. It is a life which involves effort and is not spent in amusement....”

Through discipline comes freedom.

The aim of the wise is not to secure pleasure, but to avoid pain.

All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion, and desire.

The high-minded man must care more for the truth than for what people think.

I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies, for the hardest victory is over self.

Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.

Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives - choice, not chance, determines your destiny.

Buddha (500 - 600 BC)

It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.

Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.

The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows.

The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart.

We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.

What we think, we become.

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.

To be idle is a short road to death and to be diligent is a way of life; foolish people are idle, wise people are diligent.

Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.

You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.

Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.

Every human being is the author of his own health or disease.

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.

To keep the body in good health is a duty … otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.

There has to be evil so that good can prove its purity above it.

Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.

All wrong-doing arises because of mind. If mind is transformed can wrong-doing remain?

It is a man’s own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.

To conquer oneself is a greater task than conquering others.

Virtue is persecuted more by the wicked than it is loved by the good.

We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.

No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.

Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others.

A dog is not considered a good dog because he is a good barker. A man is not considered a good man because he is a good talker.

Do not look for a sanctuary in anyone except yourself.

As rain falls equally on the just and the unjust, do not burden your heart with judgements but rain your kindness equally on all.

Meditate.

Live purely. Be quiet.

Do your work with mastery.

Like the moon, come out

from behind the clouds!

Shine.

Nothing can harm you as much as your own thoughts unguarded.

If we fail to look after others when they need help, who will look after us?

Purity or impurity depends on oneself,

No one can purify another.

Set your heart on doing good. Do it over and over again, and you will be filled with joy.

Our life is a creation of our mind.

Conquer anger by love, evil by good; conquer the miser with liberality, and the liar with truth.

Even as a solid rock is unshaken by the wind, so are the wise unshaken by praise or blame.

Those who have failed to work toward the truth have missed the purpose of living.

There is no fire like passion, there is no shark like hatred, there is no snare like folly, there is no torrent like greed.

Long is the night to him who is awake; long is a mile to him who is tired; long is life to the foolish who do not know the true law.

Kindness should become the natural way of life, not the exception.

If you light a lamp for somebody, it will also brighten your path.

Make of yourself a light.

The one who has conquered himself is a far greater hero than he who has defeated a thousand times a thousand men.

True love is born from understanding.

There isn't enough darkness in all the world to snuff out the light of one little candle.

Remembering a wrong is like carrying a burden on the mind.

What you are is what you have been. What you'll be is what you do now.

More than those who hate you, more than all your enemies, an undisciplined mind does greater harm.

What is evil? Killing is evil, lying is evil, slandering is evil, abuse is evil, gossip is evil, envy is evil, hatred is evil, to cling to false doctrine is evil; all these things are evil.

If you propose to speak always ask yourself, is it true, is it necessary, is it kind.

Greed is an imperfection that defiles the mind; hate is an imperfection that defiles the mind; delusion is an imperfection that defiles the mind.

The virtuous man delights in this world and he delights in the next.

Ennui has made more gamblers than avarice, more drunkards than thirst, and perhaps as many suicides as despair.

Contentment is the greatest wealth.

The teaching is simple. Do what is right. Be Pure.

If it is not truthful and not helpful, don't say it.

If it is truthful and not helpful, don't say it.

If it is not truthful yet helpful, don't say it.

If it is truthful and helpful, wait for the right time.

Confucius (551 - 471 BC)

The superior man thinks always of virtue; the common man thinks of comfort.

The object of the superior man is truth.

The virtuous man is driven by responsibility, the non-virtuous man is driven by profit.

The gentleman understands what is right, whereas the petty man understands profit.

The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.

Fix your mind on truth, hold firm to virtue, rely on loving kindness, and find your recreation in

the Arts.

Speak the truth, do not yield to anger; give, if thou art asked for little; by these three steps thou wilt go near the gods.

The way of the superior person is threefold; virtuous, they are free from anxieties; wise they are free from perplexities; and bold they are free from fear.

If there were one word that could act as a standard of conduct for one's entire life, perhaps it would be 'thoughtfulness'.

The demands that good people make are upon themselves; those that bad people make are upon others.

The superior man has a dignified ease without pride. The mean man has pride without a dignified ease.

The superior man examines his heart, that there may be nothing wrong there, and that he may have no cause for dissatisfaction with himself.

The superior man honors his virtuous nature, and maintains constant inquiry and study, seeking to carry it out to its breadth and greatness, so as to omit none of the more exquisite and minute points which it embraces, and to raise it to its greatest height and brilliancy.

There are three things which the superior man guards against. In youth … lust. When he is strong … quarrelsomeness. When he is old … covetousness.

When the Superior Man eats he does not try to stuff himself; at rest he does not seek perfect comfort; he is diligent in his work and careful in speech.

The superior man is satisfied and composed; the mean man is always full of distress.

The superior man...does not set his mind either for anything, or against anything; what is right he will follow.

What the superior man seeks is in himself. What the mean man seeks is in others.

Men's natures are alike, it is their habits that carry them far apart.

To be able under all circumstances to practice five things constitutes perfect virtue; these five things are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness and kindness.

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So how is Christianity unique and different from other religions? It is this: Jesus taught that all men are sinners and that there is a hell and most people will go there. He claimed to be God and claimed that he had come down to earth with the purpose of dying as a sacrifice for sin so that anyone who believed on him (and followed him) would go to heaven.

What makes his message so important is the claim that there is definitely a hell and that most people will go there and that the only escape from that horrible damnation is through him. He taught his followers to go through the earth and preach a message of repentance for the remission of sins:

Luke 24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:

47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

18 July 2026