Though I am originally from Scotland, I now live in Marbella, in the south of Spain. I’m a maths teacher and give private classes to students in the area where I live.
For almost 30 years, I was a practicing Nichiren Buddhist and a local leader of the lay Buddhist organization, Soka Gakkai International, in the UK. As many people are aware, Buddhism is a godless, atheistic religion. To understand why I gave up being a practicing Nichiren Buddhist and member of Soka Gakkai we need to examine why I turned to Buddhism in the first place.
Until I was about 21 years old, I was a Roman Catholic. Like many other young Catholics, I had relaxed my religious practice to the point where I never attended church regularly, took communion, or made confession. As a child, I recall speaking happily and directly to the Lord about everything in my life. But as a young man in the late ‘60s and ‘70s, the pagan, satanic influences of rock music such as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath entered my consciousness and began slowly but surely to dull the soft voice of the Lord.
One day I found myself in the confessional box. As I confessed to some minor sins, the priest absolved me as usual and gave me a small penance of 10 Hail Marys. As I silently recited the prayers, I was struck by the ludicrousness of the situation. Here I was praying to the Virgin Mary, while in my heart of hearts, I no longer believed in a God. The steady chipping away of my soul by Satan had finally worked … at least for a while.
I thought that Nichiren Buddhism held the answers to inner peace for me, and thus began many years of sincere practice. Nichiren Buddhism essentially teaches that all earthly desires are considered as “enlightenment” and can be achieved by chantingNam Myoho Renge Kyo (devotion to the mystic law of cause and effect). They believe the universe is subservient to this law and adjusts everything in harmony with the desire of the chanting Buddhist.
Over the years, when teaching people about Buddhism, I would say, "If this practice fails to work for me personally, then I will immediately give up Buddhism."
Little did I know that there were challenges ahead of me that chanting could not overcome. As I slowly came to this realization, I began to acknowledge that chanting had not helped me achieve my "earthly desires."
So what happened to me? In September 2013, I received the Lord into my heart. I think my conversion was a gradual process, quite natural and gentle—a steady leading along the correct paths. I realized that Buddhism did not contain all the answers to life and death, nor does it have a clear picture of life after death. Jesus and the Bible have all those answers and the answers toevery question. Receiving Jesus caused a complete repentance in my life—a 180-degree turnaround.
The Lord had filled my spiritual vacuum. I was that little boy once again being talked to in a comforting way by his dear heavenly Father. A natural and painless rebirth had occurred in my heart. Now I found that there was a power infinitely greater than I had ever known before. Jesus is alive!
One instance that helped me see a tangible manifestation of Jesus’ power was when I was cycling home along the seafront in Marbella. A young man stopped me and joked about my rather slow speed. I laughed and continued my journey. A few seconds later, I realized that my new cell phone was missing! I turned back to retrace my short journey to that point. I soon began to think that I had been the victim of a classic professional pickpocket. I prayed to find my phone.
I made the decision to return to the spot where I had met the young man and ask him politely if he had seen my phone. But as I approached the spot, I couldn’t see him. I made up my mind to report the incident to the local police. Suddenly as I turned the next bend, there stood another young man. He held one hand in the air, and to my astonishment, he held my new cell phone in the other hand. He spoke Arabic, so I found it difficult to understand why he had my phone and expected him to demand some reward, but instead he just handed it over. I thanked him, shook his hand, and said, “God bless you.”
As I got back on my bike, I noticed the first young man I had originally spoken to standing nearby. I also thanked him and continued home. I later checked the phone and found it had not been accessed in any way. I thanked Jesus for His clear intervention and asked Him to bless the young men.
Over the next weeks and months, as I walked about in my new faith, I determined to ask as many people as possible about their experiences with the Lord in their daily lives. I feel like a missionary and try to act like a disciple of Jesus, spreading the Good News where and when the opportunity arises.
Around the time of my conversion, I was researching the musical roots of Jeremy Spencer. I have always been a keen guitarist and mandolin player, studying and playing Celtic music from my home country. I read of Spencer’s conversion to Jesus after he met the Children of God.
As I continued my research, I came upon the writings of David Berg. I realized almost immediately that this was the type of Christian I would aim to be. I felt at home when I read Father Berg's writings. His writings inspire me in the same way that Paul's letters must have inspired the early followers of Jesus; simple and direct, a true prophet for the endtime.
This led me to write the Family International, and I got a reply from Paul and Sara, who invited me to take the 12 Foundation Stones course and sent me the lessons via email, which I really enjoyed studying. The course was the perfect introduction to the Bible, and I have benefited from it greatly. After completing the course in February, I applied for Family International membership and was delighted to have my application accepted!
Since then, I have met up with some TFI members in Spain and have also attended a fellowship in Murcia. What an experience! It was wonderful to meet so many loving and caring people devoting their lives to Jesus. They were very welcoming to a newbie like me. I listened carefully to their testimonies and witnessing experiences. Many have been members since the 1970s.
I have maintained contact with several brothers and sisters since the meeting. Several ask me to pray for specific requests and I ask them in turn to pray for me. I like to read the GNB to get an idea of how other brothers and sisters serve Jesus on a daily basis and in their own way.
On becoming a member, I worked through the 12 Bridges course, which I had access to via TFI’s publication site. I completed the 12 Bridges in June 2014 and found it to be a truly awesome course!
Praise the Lord, and thank you for the warm welcome to the Family. May God bless you.
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