Hinduism and Christianity
Jude 3
I. What should we know about Hinduism?
A. Hinduism claims 1/6 of the world’s population, with over 750 million followers worldwide. There are approximately 200 Hindu temples or Hindu centers in the U.S.
B. The philosophy of the New Age Movement is directly tied to the philosophy of Hinduism along with scores of modern religious cults and sects, which Hinduism has influenced in varying degrees. Someone has said that Hinduism is the wellspring of a good deal of New Age thinking.
C. Millions of Americans have taken up Hindu practices, such as yoga, meditation, developing altered states of consciousness, asceticism, and seeking "enlightenment."
D. The appeal of Hinduism to modern Western culture is not difficult to comprehend.
1. Hinduism is comfortable with evolutionary thinking. As modern science emphasizes our physical evolution, Hinduism emphasizes our spiritual evolution.
2. Modern psychology and sociology emphasizes the basic goodness and unlimited potential of human nature, Hinduism emphasizes man’s essential divinity.
3. Modern philosophy emphasizes the relativity of all truth claims, Hinduism tolerates many seemingly contradictory religious beliefs.
4. Hinduism emphasizes the primacy of the spiritual over material reality, Hinduism appeals to many that have become disillusioned with strictly material pursuits.
II. The Origin of Hinduism
A. Hinduism has its roots in the interrelationship of two basic religious systems: that of the ancient civilization residing in the Indus River Valley from the third millennium B.C., and the religious beliefs brought to India by the Aryan people (possibly from the Baltic region) who began infiltrating the Indus Valley sometime after 2000 B.C.
B. Hinduism originated from a body of conflicting and contradictory literature called the Vedas (ca. 1500-1200 B.C.). Hindus claim that this body of literature was supernaturally revealed by the Hindu gods. Thus, these basic religious texts "make a special claim to be divine in their origin"
C. The name was not given until the 13th century and only then, by the invading Muslims who wanted to distinguish between their faith and that of India.
III. Hindu Beliefs about God.
A. An understanding of the Hindu beliefs about God is important even if we don’t know any Hindus or people from India because we are all in contact with the New Age movement, and it draws its ideas about God from Hinduism.
B. Hinduism embraces both pantheism (the belief that all is God, God is all) and polytheism (a belief in many lesser gods).
C. The vast majority of Hindus believe in God in some way or other, but there are some that do not. Some Hindus worship Shiva; others Vishnu or his incarnations (avatars), most notably Krishna or Rama. Others again are worshippers of the goddesses. The individual Hindu may reverence one god, a few, or many or none at all! He may also believe in one god and in several gods as manifestations of him. He may express the ultimate in personal or impersonal. - Eerdmans’ Handbook to The World’s Religions, p.172.
D. All in all, it is often stated that Hinduism claims 330 million gods and goddesses!
E. Although there are exceptions, their gods are not seen in human terms but rather in terms of nature or cosmic. All can be understood as expressions of Braham (Braham - The ultimate source of all being - it is origin, cause and basis. The absolute which almost defies a definition.)
F. In the Vedic period the three main gods were:
1. Agn - the life-force, god of fire.
2. Indra - the shy god and god of war.
3. Varuna - the upholder of the cosmic order.
The three gods that came later all had a consort or wife.
4. Brahma - the creator and Sarasvati, his consort, the goddess of Knowledge.
5. Shiva - the destroyer and Kali, his consort, the great mother and symbol of judgement.
6. Vishnu - the preserver and Lakshmi, his wife, the goddess of fortune and beauty. Vishnu is believed to draw near to man in ten avatars:
a. Matasya . . . . . . . . . . The fish.
b. Kurma . . . . . . . . . . . .The tortoise.
c. Varaha . . . . . . . . . . . The boar.
d. Nara-Simha . . . . . . . . The man-lion.
e. Vamana . . . . . . . . . . The dwarf.
f. Parusha-Rama . . . . . . Rama with an axe.
g. Rama-Chandra . . . . . .Noble hero of Ramayana.
h. Krishna . . . . . . . . . . .Who was also a god in his own right.
i. Buddha . . . . . . . . . . The enlightened one and founder of Buddhism.
j. Kalhi . . . . . . . . . . . . The tenth avatar yet to come.
G. Romans 1:22-23 "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, [23] And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four footed beasts, and creeping things."
H. Deuteronomy 6:4 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:"
I. Deuteronomy 4:39 "Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath: there is none else."
J. Isaiah 45:5-6 "I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: [6] That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else."
III. Hinduism and Man
A. Every human soul is beginningless and has gone through a series of reincarnations.
B. According to Hindu teaching, man is divine at the core of his being. He is one with God! The problem is that man is ignorant of this fact. He is deceived by his focus on this temporal and material world, and this ignorance gives rise to acts that result in bad karma and traps us in the cycle of reincarnation
C. Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
D. Psalms 8:4-6 "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? [5] For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. [6] Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:"
E. Hebrews 9:27 "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:"
IV. Hinduism and Salvation
A. There is no salvation in Hinduism as we would understand it in Christianity. The Hindu is aiming for moksha where they will find their release from the endless cycle of reincarnation.
B. The distinction between good and evil is denied by the Hindu because material reality is illusory
C. Because all is Brahma (pantheism), sin becomes utter illusion.
D. Salvation in Hinduism, therefore, is not the forgiveness of sins committed against God. Contrariwise, salvation is a quest to end all earthly suffering, an escape from illusion, and the successful attainment of NIRVANA [the infinite.
E. The main way of reaching this goal is through one of the four paths of yoga.
F. John 3:36 "He that believes on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him."
G. Romans 5:19 "For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."
H. Romans 14:23 "And he that doubts is damned if he eat, because he eats not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin."
I. Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: [9] Not of works, lest any man should boast."
