| EASTERN | BIBLICAL |
| Creation is an illusion & God is the only reality, or creation is an extension of God (pantheism) (Hinduism) | God created the universe (Gen.1:1; Neh. 9:6; Ps. 102:25; Heb. 11:3) |
| God, or the Absolute, is beyond knowing (Hinduism; Gnosticism) | God is made known through His word & through Christ |
| Reality is and is not (Zen Buddhism) | Objective reality (Job 12:10,11; Ps. 24:1,2) |
| True Self is an extension of God; individual identity is an illusion (Hinduism) | Self is real, separate from God (Gen. 1, 2) |
| Self is a set of impressions & desires (Zen Buddhism) | Self is unique identity; individual (Ps. 139:13-16; Matt.10:30) |
| All is one force or energy (chi/ki/qi/prana); there are no distinctions (Monism) (Hinduism; Taoism) | Man is distinct from God and the rest of His creation, made in God’s image; no life force (Gen. 1, 2) |
| Body & Matter/Spirit duality; matter is evil/illusion & spirit must escape or transcend matter; body is tool of or reflects spirit (Gnosticism; Hinduism; Buddhism) | God created matter & it was good; the bodies of believers in Christ will be redeemed(Gen. 1 & 2: I Cor. 15:35ff) |
| Death is not final; reincarnation & re-absorption into the Godhead (Hinduism; some Buddhism) | Man lives once & dies; afterlife is with or without God (Heb. 9:27) |
| The rational mind, as part of matter, is a barrier to enlightenment & must be transcended, usually by meditation (Hinduism; Zen & Tibetan Buddhism) | God advises using rational thinking, reason & order (Is.1:18; Matt.22:37; Rom. 12:3; I Cor. 14; Phil. 4:8) |
| Enlightenment through meditation, transcending the material world, and/or realization of divine nature (Hinduism | Salvation only through Christ (Jn. 14:6; Acts 4:12) |
| Liberation is following the Noble Eightfold Path & freeing ourselves of all desire (Buddhism) | It is right to desire God/Christ (Is. 55:6; Jn. 14:6; Acts 17:12) |