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Hinduism
Hinduism is the religion of India, characterised by the belief in reincarnation and the need for enlightenment, and is related to Buddhism. However, unlike Buddhism, the religion incorporates millions of gods and places emphasis on the importance of acquiring wealth. Teaching Hindus about Jesus is difficult because the idea of following one God is alien to the Hindu way of thinking. In general, Hindus prefer to add an idol of Jesus ('Isha') to their collection of gods in preference to rejecting their own culture. In fact, Hindus make a good argument for not accepting the theology of the Church they cannot accept a god who would damn all their ancestors to eternal hell because they had not heard of Jesus. They are right; God will not burn anyone with eternal hell-fire for not knowing about Jesus. However, for those who do sin against others, they will spend eternity knowing that they did it, and will spend that eternity with those who they sinned against the very same people who are responsible for building heaven. Perhaps one could come to the conclusion that there is no point in following Jesus if there is not the threat of hell-fire to pay. However, where people do not follow Jesus they are subject to being ruled by Satan and the forces of evil. This is why India and Pakistan only narrowly escaped nuclear conflict being subject to Satan makes for an unpleasant existence, especially for those suffering because of the sins of others (sin still exists even if people are not aware of it or do not believe in it). The Hindu perception of poverty (discussed below) causes millions of people to suffer both physically and psychologically in a society that treats them as outcasts. Raising awareness of Jesus and what he did gives enormous benefit to the whole of humanity. Hindus make another argument for rejecting Jesus. They claim that God receives prayer however we conceive him, even if we just invent a god for ourselves. God is everywhere and perceives everything we do, but praying to an idol is a false ideology and is ineffective. The Hindu argument implies that the true God would not bother to make Himself known to his people, and just leave them to make up their own laws and gods. Hindus claim enlightenment, the ability to heal, the ability to communicate with the dead and the ability to predict the future using astrology. This is the evidence they use to support their religion. In this document I will argue from a Christian perspective how these events actually happen, but not through the power of God. The Hindu sacred texts are known as the Vedas historically, Hindu tradition meant that the priests thought that they were so holy that only the top three classes of Indian society were allowed access to them. The Hindu religion was (and still is) exclusive, the exact opposite of Christian inclusivity. Christianity does not advocate a hierarchical class system in fact the opposite is true (the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven is the one who serves the most people i.e. Jesus himself). The Hindu Caste system still affects modern day India. It is a system of social class opportunities in Indian society are dependent upon family origin. There are some people outside the Caste system; they are outcasts or 'untouchables'. The Caste system therefore creates a group of sin-bearers, who are exactly the type of people that Jesus came to teach about. The inequality in India is obvious; cities have shanty towns alongside modern high-tech buildings. Here is a view of poverty from a Hindu sacred text:
From the Mahabharata, Santi Parva, Section VIII. Translated by Sri Kisari Mohan Ganguli. Arjun said: It is seen that a poor man, even when he stands near, is accused falsely. Poverty is a state of sinfulness. It behoveth thee not to applaud poverty, therefore. The man that is fallen, grieves, as also he that is poor. I do not see the difference between a fallen man and a poor man. All kinds of meritorious acts flow from the possession of great wealth like a mountain. From wealth spring all religious acts, all pleasures, and heaven itself. Without wealth, a man cannot find the very means of sustaining his life. The acts of a person who, possessed of little intelligence, suffers himself to be divested of wealth, are all dried up like shallow streams in the summer season. He that has wealth has friends. He that has wealth has kinsmen. He that has wealth is regarded as a true man in the world. He that has wealth is regarded as a learned man. If a person who has no wealth desires to achieve a particular purpose, he meets with failure. The underlined text blames the poor for their poverty. This may be one reason why the suicide rate among indebted farmers is so high in India. The Indian economy is growing at 9% per year, the second fastest in the world. However, the prevailing view on poverty means that the Indian Government repossesses land belonging to subsistence farmers to make way for new businesses and industry. The increased wealth in India is at the expense of the poor. Like Buddhism, Hinduism supports the idea of reincarnation. People who have been evil in a previous life are thought to be reincarnated as an animal or an untouchable (chandala):
Those whose conduct here [on earth] has been good will quickly attain some good birth birth as a brahmin, birth as a kshatriya, or birth as a vaisya. But those whose conduct here has been evil will quickly attain some evil birth birth as a dog, birth as a pig or birth as a chandala. People who are born as untouchables are blamed for evil acts in a previous life. The same is true of people who are born with disabilities. Women are also perceived to have a lower status than that of men, and this is highlighted in the Code of Manu, which is accepted by most Hindus as the most complete expression of Hindu sacred law:
Him to whom her father may give her, or her brother with the father's permission, she shall obey as long as she lives...Though destitute of virtue, or seeking pleasure elsewhere, or devoid of good qualities, a husband must be constantly worshipped as a god by a faithful wife.
Manu 5.148-149 God leaves a lot of clues around creation about the incorrect nature of ideologies other than following Jesus (click for some examples). Hinduism is no exception, and many Hindi words are filled with Christian references. 'Sanatana Dharma' this is the traditional Indian term for Hinduism, contains the words 'Satan' and 'harm'. 'Sindhu' This is the original word for Hindu contains the word 'sin' which is also a Christian term. 'Deva Loka' Sounds like Devil, and is the Hindu heaven where exceptionally pure souls are claimed to go. 'Deva' means 'a god'. 'Deva rishis' Sounds like 'devilish' and means 'god-like seers'. 'Divali' Sounds like 'Devilly' and is the Indian festival of lights. 'Sat' The first three letters of the word 'Satan' is the Hindu term for pure truth. 'Sati' The ritual suicide of a wife after her husbands death in Hindu/Indian culture, thought to have been carried out by a small proportion of widows in ancient India. There are rare cases of this activity reported in modern India. 'Ashram' A Hindu Temple, contains the word 'ash' (relating to death). 'Ashrama' the stages of Hindu holy life. 'Sadhu' Hindu holy man. Contains the word 'sad'. 'Sannyasin' a wandering Hindu holy man. 'Madhva' a famous Hindu philosopher.
'Ishvara' Hindus believe in one Supreme Lord who speaks through the Guru. The name of the Hindu Supreme Lord contains the Hindi word for Jesus ('Isha'), although I am not implying that Jesus speaks through Gurus. God is everywhere, and He has influenced the Hindu tradition. For example, the story of Noah is in the Hindu tradition Manu was told that a flood would come and destroy the planet. He was told to build a boat and put two of every kind of creature into it and every kind of seed. Another Hindu story is that of the 'Demon Slayer' in which Durga battles with an assortment of evil demons, and all the demons are killed. Arguably, both stories relate to the information on this website. There is also a festival called Holi. It sounds like 'Holy' and celebrates the destruction of a female demon, paralleling the destruction of Pauline theology. The celebration involves burning effigies of demons in bonfires, dancing, music, walking round a specially erected pole and throwing coloured liquids and powders at people. In contrast to following Jesus, the Hindu religion is relatively easy to follow. One could argue that it is difficult to understand, but it is not demanding of people's time for those who do not want to spend much effort on it. Concepts of Satan and sin are absent, and the emphasis is placed on enlightenment and imagery. However, devout male followers may follow the four stage path of Hindu Holy life. At first, this is a relatively ordinary life, and emphasis is placed on the acquisition of wealth. Later, when the person becomes old, he renounces his wealth and goes to live in the forest and may eventually becomes a wandering Hindu holy man. Hindus suggest that there are four purposes to life:
The Christian purpose of life is to live for other people by following the commandments of Jesus:
Hinduism has an ethical code:
Ahimsa: do not harm anyone. In addition, Hindus are encouraged to respect their parents (a need to repay debts). Hinduism traditionally involved the sacrifice of animals. This has now changed although sacrifice of herbs, grains etc. into fire is still practiced. 'Sacrifice' in Christian terms means using your time or resources to help someone in need, so it is practical and useful. Vedics (Hindu teachers) are known for their ability to cure disease; similarly, Chinese acupuncture is known for its therapeutic benefit. Satan can decide to withdraw evil spirits if it is to his overall advantage. If he sees people practicing incorrect religions, he is capable of encouraging them by providing such an incentive. Vedics use astrology to predict the future. A horoscope (Horror Scope) uses information about the positions of celestial objects at the time of birth to predict a person's future and personality traits. In addition, possession by an evil spirit can sometimes allow people to predict the future. This is how false prophets arise and spawn new false religions; Islam is an example of demonic possession leading to the formation of a new religion. There are many other superstitious beliefs in Hinduism that have been encouraged by Satan. Satan is an evil spirit who can give the appearance of an angel of God. He can pretend to be whatever people want in order to discourage people from following Jesus. In the case of Hinduism, a highly evolved enlightenment-based religion has been encouraged to hide an undercurrent of stigma that surrounds the poor, causing widespread poverty and suffering among the Indian people.
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