为了回答这篇短文的主题，请我们注意一些事实，好吗？
耶稣基督是以色列人，出生在今天的以色列国，就是中东国家而不是西方国家。耶稣是中东人。耶稣讲的话是希伯来语和亚兰语。耶稣不是西方人。
基督的教会是神所建立的。时间是耶稣复活五十天以后；地点是耶路撒冷。最早成为基督徒的都是犹太人。在教会被神成立的第一天就有大约三千位成为基督徒的！这三千位包括来自至少有十五个国家的犹太教徒——以色列、埃及、阿拉伯、罗马、今天的土耳其、今天的伊拉克等。
慢慢地，耶稣的门徒把有关耶稣的福音传到别的地方去。时间越久，福音的范围越广。这也是按照耶稣的吩咐，因为他给他的门徒一个使命说：“你们要到世界各地去，向全人类传扬福音”（马可福音16:15）。
慢慢地，基督徒把耶稣的福音传到印度，也传到中国。
佛教呢？佛教的出发点是印度，创办人是释迦牟尼。释迦牟尼和最早的信徒反对当时的印度教，说他们轻视穷人。慢慢地，佛教徒把佛教传到中国。
从此可知，对中国人来说，佛教和基督教一样都是“外国教”。佛教在中国不但有比基督教更长的历史，而且佛教因为教条比较“松”，所以它比较能够“中国化”。事实上，佛教还是应该被看为外来的宗教。
基督教是创造宇宙万物人类的神所准备的，所建立的。是为全人类所预备的。《圣经》告诉我们耶稣“洞悉万人…”；耶稣“不用别人告诉祂，祂也深知人的内心”（约翰福音2:24-25）。为什么耶稣基督的福音合乎人们内心的需要呢？是因为基督教是创造人类的神，对人心最清楚的神，愿意拯救世人的神，特别为人类预备的。
《圣经》的《传道书》告诉我们：神“把永恒的意识放在人心里…”（传道书3:11）。意思是，每一个人，在内心深处，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结局，知道“永恒”不是神话乃是个事实。
那位高高在上者通过耶稣基督把自己显示给全世界上的每一个人。不单单给犹太人、中东人、中国人、非洲人或美国人，乃是给世界各地的人。
神让使徒约翰看到异象——让他预见到将来的事。异象中有天堂。约翰描述他所看到天堂里的居民，说：“后来我又看见一大群人，多得不可胜数。他们来自各国家、各部落、各民族、各语言族群…”（启示录7:9）。这句话证明天上神为天堂的计划是天堂要有来自普天下各个部落的人在内。从此可知，耶稣基督福音的对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!
【问答】十二：基督教是西方人的宗教但是佛教是中国人的宗教，对吧？
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：谢德华 ©By Edward Short