od and evil, God and Devil, Heaven and Hell -- none of
             which form an important part of any Buddhist teachings.
             Christianity is likewise authoritarian and dictatorial -- "you
             must believe this or you will be condemned" -- whereas
             Buddhism tends to be more liberal and allows people to believe
             more or less whatever they like. Christians ban certain
             teachings as heretical, evil and harmful, but in general
             terms, Buddhists assert that anyone can believe anything they
             wish and that there is some merit in any belief system which
             has some spiritual views and respects the rights of an
             individual, as long as it does not harm others. The two
             systems seem poles apart. Even the area where there is some
             overlap -- such as in the encouragement of compassion and good
             works -- even then there are some profound differences in the
             ...