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HINDUISM 

Factfile: 

  • World’s 3rd
    largest religion after Christianity and Islam (13% of world’s population)
  • Mainly in India,
    UK, America
  • Meaning of Hindu
    = “people beyond the Indus River”

 

Beliefs & Practices: 

The 3 paths:

    1. karmamarga
      – path of works and action
    2. jnanamarga
      – path of knowledge or philosophy
    3. bhaktimarga
      – path of devotion to God

 

The 3 debts:

  1. debt to God
  2. debt to sages and
    saints
  3. debt to ancestors

 

The 4 stages of life:

  1. brahmacharga
    – school years (grow and learn)
  2. grhastha
    – marriage, family and career
  3. vanaprastha
    – turn attention to spirit things
  4. sanrgasu
    – abandon world to seek spiritual things

 

The 4 purposes of life:

  1. dharma
    – fulfill moral, social and religious duties
  2. artha –
    attain financial and worldly success
  3. karma
    – satisfy desires and drives in moderation
  4. moksha
    – attain freedom from reincarnation

 

The 10 commitments:

  1. Do not harm
  2. Do not lie
  3. Do not steal
  4. Do not overindulge
  5. Do not be greedy
  6. Be clean
  7. Be content
  8. Be self-disciplined
  9. Study
  10. Surrender to God

 

Approach to Witnessing: 

  1. The Hindus believe
    that anyone who has an experience of the spiritual truth has the right
    to share it with others. They, therefore, do not object
    to authentic witness.
  2. The person
    and the message he/ she gives cannot be separated.
  3. Witness to the Hindus
    can never be based on any prior absolute claims about Christ. Such claims
    hinder rather than help Christian witness and Hindus consider them to
    be intolerant and arrogant. This does not mean that the Hindus deny
    the witness of the preacher. They would admit that this may be profoundly
    true for the preacher but they would argue that such a statement has
    no validity outside the preacher's own experience and conviction. They
    believe that the hearer should recognize the truth and
    should not be forced to accept it.

 

Helpful dialogue: 

  • Do you really believe
    that all things (people, animals, plants) have a permanent “self”?
  • Is the doctrine
    of almost endless reincarnations acceptable to you?
  • Can people really
    perfect themselves and be freed from sin?
  • What evidence do
    you have to show that reincarnations really take place?
  • May I share with
    you how Jesus became my Kharma (‘salvation’) so that I can be free
    from sin?
  • May I share with
    you how I was born again (‘reincarnated’) into a new life?

 

Comparison Between Hinduism
And Christianity: 

  Hinduism Christianity
God
  • Recognizes a single
    deity but accepts the existence of other gods.
  • The order among
    the gods is not clear. More than one god leads to the divine. The god
    that one honours is worshipped as the supreme god.
  • There is only one
    true God. Jesus Christ is the only way to God.
Man
  • Humans, as with
    all living things, are just manifestations of Brahman.  We have no individual
    self, or self-worth.
  • God created mankind,
    and gave us free will.  He cares deeply for us, and places a great deal
    of worth on His creation.
Creation
  • The world and everything
    on it are manifestations of Brahman.
  • God created the
    universe, the world, and everything on it. We may see God in creation,
    but the creation and the Creator are separate entities.
Sin
  • Sin is committed
    against oneself, not against God. 
  • Since “sin”
    is committed only against oneself, the penalties are accrued only against
    the self.  The penalty is the repeated cycle of rebirths, until you can
    escape to Nirvana. 
  • God gave us rules
    because He cares about us.  He also gave us free will – we can choose
    to disobey.  Disobedience (sin) is an offense against God.
  • The effect of sin
    affects the entire human race and the penalty of sin is spiritual death,
    or separation from God.
Salvation
& Eternal Life		 Salvation is the release from
the wheel of life, the cycle of rebirths, through which we must work
to better ourselves, and realize our oneness with Brahman.  It must be
worked out by each individual through successive lives.		 Salvation is a free gift to
us from God.  Jesus bought our salvation by taking all our sin upon Himself
on the cross, dying as a sacrifice for us, and then rising from the
dead three days later.  Salvation means spending eternity in heaven with
our Almighty God!

 

Resource:

http://contenderministries.org/hinduism/christianresponse.php

http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/oct1983/v40-3-article5.htm

 

http://www.christiananswers.net/evangelism/beliefs/ Questions & Answers and a biblical
perspective to various religions.