Comparing Christianity & Hinduism

CERC ^ | Peter Kreeft

[pravknight]

Kreeft outlines the main theological and practical differences, as well as the important common elements, between Christianity and Hinduism.

There are two basic kinds of religions in the world: Eastern and Western.

The main differences between Hinduism and Christianity are typical of the differences between Eastern and Western religions in general. Here are some examples:

1. Hinduism is pantheistic, not theistic. The doctrine that God created the world out of nothing rather than emanating it out of His own substance or merely shaping some pre-existing material is an idea that simply never occurred to anyone but the Jews and those who learned it from them. Everyone else either thought of the gods as part of the world (paganism) or the world as part of God (pantheism).

2. If God is in everything, God is in both good and evil. But then there is no absolute morality, no divine law, no divine will discriminating good and evil. In Hinduism, morality is practical; its end is to purify the soul from desires so that it can attain mystical consciousness. Again, the Jews are unique in identifying the source of morality with the object of religion. Everyone has two innate senses: the religious sense to worship, and the moral sense of conscience; but only the Jewish God is the focus of both. Only the God of the Bible is absolutely righteous.

3. Eastern religions come from private mystical experiences; Western religions come from public revelations recorded in a book and summarized in a creed. In the East, human experience validates the Scriptures; in the West, Scripture judges experience.

4. Eastern religions are esoteric, understandable only from within by the few who share the experience. Western religions are esoteric, public, democratic, open to all. In Hinduism there are many levels of truth: polytheism, sacred cows and reincarnation for the masses; monotheism (or monism) for the mystics, who declare the individual soul one with Brahman (God) and beyond reincarnation (“Brahman is the only reincarnator”). Truth is relative to the level of experience.

5. Individuality is illusion according to Eastern mysticism. Not that we're not real, but that we are not distinct from God or each other. Christianity tells you to love your neighbors; Hinduism tells you you are your neighbors. The word spoken by God Himself as His own essential name, the word “I,” is the ultimate illusion, not the ultimate reality, according to the East. There Is no separate ego. All is one.

6. Since individuality is illusion, so is free will. If free will is illusion, so is sin. And if sin is illusion, so is hell. Perhaps the strongest attraction of Eastern religions is in their denial of sin, guilt and hell.

7. Thus the two essential points of Christianity — sin and salvation — are both missing in the East. If there is no sin, no salvation is needed, only enlightenment. We need not be born again; rather, we must merely wake up to our innate divinity. If I am part of God. I can never really be alienated from God by sin.

8. Body, matter, history and time itself are not independently real, according to Hinduism. Mystical experience lifts the spirit out of time and the world. In contrast, Judaism and Christianity are essentially news, events in time: creation, providence, prophets, Messiah, incarnation, death and, resurrection, ascension, second coming. Incarnation and New Birth are eternity dramatically entering time. Eastern religions are not dramatic.

9. The ultimate Hindu ideal is not sanctity but mysticism. Sanctity is fundamentally a matter of the will: willing God's will, loving God and neighbor. Mysticism is fundamentally a matter of intellect, intuition, consciousness. This fits the Eastern picture of God as consciousness — not will, not lawgiver.

When C.S. Lewis was converted from atheism, he shopped around in the world's religious supermarket and narrowed his choice down to Hinduism or Christianity. Religions are like soups, he said. Some, like consomme, are thin and clear (Unitarianism, Confucianism, modern Judaism); others, like minestrone, are thick and dark (paganism, “mystery religions”). Only Hinduism and Christianity are both “thin” (philosophical) and “thick” (sacramental and mysterious). But Hinduism is really two religions: “thick” for the masses, “thin” for the sages. Only Christianity is both.

Hinduism claims that all other religions are yogas: ways, deeds, paths. Christianity is a form of bhakti yoga (yoga for emotional types and lovers). There is also jnana yoga (yoga for intellectuals), raja yoga (yoga for experimenters), karma yoga (yoga for workers, practical people) and hatha yoga (the physical preliminary to the other four). For Hindus, religions are human roads up the divine mountain to enlightenment — religion is relative to human need; there is no “one way” or single objective truth.

There is, however, a universal subjective truth about human nature: It has “four wants”: pleasure, power, altruism and enlightenment. Hinduism encourages us to try all four paths, confident that only the fourth brings fulfillment. If there is reincarnation and if there is no hell, Hindus can afford to be patient and to learn the long, hard way: by experience rather than by faith and revelation.

Hindus are hard to dialogue with for the opposite reason Moslems are: Moslems are very intolerant, Hindus are very tolerant. Nothing is false; everything is true in a way.

The summit of Hinduism is the mystical experience, called mukti, or moksha: “liberation” from the illusion of finitude, realization that tat tvam asi, “thou art That (Brahman].” At the center of your being is not individual ego but Atman, universal self which is identical with Brahman, the All.

This sounds like the most absurd and blasphemous thing one could say: that I am God. But it is not that I, John Smith, am God the Father Almighty. Atman is not ego and Brahman is not God the Father. Hinduism identifies not the immanent human self with the transcendent divine self but the transcendent human self with the immanent divine self. It is not Christianity. But neither is it idiocy.

Martin Buber, in “I and Thou,” suggests that Hindu mysticism is the profound experience of the “original pre-biographical unity” of the self, beneath all forms and contents brought to it by experience, but confused with God. Even Aristotle said that “the soul is, in a way, all things.” Hinduism construes this “way” as identity, or inclusion, rather than knowing: being all things substantially rather than mentally. The soul is a mirror for the whole world.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Kreeft, Peter. “Comparing Christianity & Hinduism.” National Catholic Register. (May, 1987).

Reprinted by permission of the author. To subscribe to the National Catholic Register call 1-800-421-3230.

THE AUTHOR

Peter Kreeft has written extensively (over 25 books) in the areas of Christian apologetics. Link to all of Peter Kreeft's books here.

Peter Kreeft teaches at Boston College in Boston Massachusetts. He is on the Advisory Board of the Catholic Educator's Resource Center.

Copyright © 1987 National Catholic Register

[pravknight]

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Deuteronomy 6:4 Ex 18:11 - Now I know, that the Lord is great above all gods; because they dealt proudly against them. Ex 20:3 - Thou shalt not have strange gods before me. Ex 20:23 - You shall not make gods of silver, nor shall you make to yourselves gods of gold. Ex 23:24 - [In Context|Read Chapter] Thou shalt not adore their gods, nor serve them. Thou shalt not do their works, but shalt destroy them, and break their statues. Ex 23:32 - Thou shalt not enter into league with them, nor with their gods. Ex 23:33 - Let them not dwell in thy land, lest perhaps they make thee sin against me, if thou serve their gods; which, undoubtedly, will be a scandal to thee. Contrasts with: http://www.apologeticspress.org/modules.php?name=Read&cat=4&itemid=2580 The bulk of the songs in the Rig Veda are addressed to the chief gods Indra, Agni, and Soma as petitions for success in battle, protection, and material prosperity. This hymn addressed to the entire pantheon is typical of a vedic chant: Not one of you, ye Gods, is small, none of you is a feeble child: all of you, verily, are great. Thus be ye lauded, you destroyers of the foe, you thirty-three Deities, the Gods of man, the Holy Ones. As such defend and succor us, with benedictions speak to us: lead us not from our fathers’ and from Manu’s path into the distance far away. You Deities who stay with us, and all you Gods of all mankind, give us your wide protection, give shelter for cattle and for steed (Rig Veda 8.30). Though many gods are recognized (according to this passage, there are 33, but the number of names mentioned throughout the Veda exceeds that figure), each one is lauded as if it were the highest god, a phenomenon Max Müller called henotheism, and that some modern scholars call “serial monogamy” (Sarma, 2003b). These superlative descriptions inevitably overlapped, and in later passages the gods are identified with one another or with all. In time, the confusion led to the belief that the many gods and goddess were but manifestations of one indivisible transcendental Ultimate Reality. The pantheism of later texts is foreshadowed in a late Vedic passage: “To what is One, sages give many names—they call it Agni, Yama, Matarisvan” (Rig Veda 1.164.46). At the heart of the Veda Samhitās lay the ritual sacrifice (yajñā). Like the Rig Veda, the Sāma Veda (“Veda of chants”) and the Yajur Veda (“Veda of sacrificial prayers”) served as liturgical manuals for the sacrifice; each of the three was used by one of the orders of Brahminic priesthood, a sacerdotal system similar in structure to the Mosaic system described in Numbers 4. The primary purpose of the collections of hymns was to “propitiate the gods by praises accompanying the offering of malted butter poured on the fire and of the juice of the Soma plant placed on the sacrificial grass” (Macdonell, 1917). The songs and chants and prayers of the Samhitās were read over the sacrifice as part of the ritual. Incidentally, the sacrifice was not performed for the atonement of sin, as was the Mosaic sacrifice, but to obtain magically the favor of the gods, and ultimately, salvation in heaven (svarga). The fourth Veda, the Atharva Veda (“Veda of the Fire Priests”), differs in content from the other three, and was not used in the sacrifice. Drawing on ancient folk material, the fourth Veda consists of spells against sickness, sorcery, snakebite, and bad dreams, as well as incantations to bring about love, good luck, rain, fertility, and a multitude of other things. It also includes instructions for wedding and funeral rites.

[The Lion Roars]

not sure if i understood all that. but it did sound good. especially the line on islam being intolerant. :-). hinduism survived 700 years of brtual islamic rule and gave birth to religions like buddhism and zoroasterianism.

[Alex Murphy]

Ping to read later

[onedoug]

Deuteronomy 4:19 "...And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven."

Malachi 1:11 "...For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts."

[Paddlefish]

I'm not sure how much of this I agree with, but I'm really struck by #3 and the "private mystical experiences" of Hinduism. As several of my friends are pentecostals with the Assembly of God church, they all claim to have been baptized in the Holy Spirit (separate from salvation) and speak in tongues and get "slain in the spirit." (I was once at an Assembly of God service with a guest evangelist who blew on the congregation and everyone was "slain" except me. I was the only one left standing). And when discussing my questions about the Bible and various doctrines, my friends state that, although they often can't answer my questions, nothing can question their private experiences with the Holy Spirit.

[swmobuffalo]

"I was the only one left standing). "

That's because you didn't fall under the mass hysteria spell!

The Bible has some very clear rules regarding tongues and their use in worship.

[Matchett-PI]

Religious KOOK Alert!

Slain in the Spirit

Also "resting in the Spirit" or in the vernacular of movements like the Toronto Blessing http://www.apologeticsindex.org/t00.html#tbm and Pensacola Outpouring http://www.apologeticsindex.org/p00.html#pensacola "doing carpet time."

This manifestation http://www.apologeticsindex.org/m20.html is promoted especially (but not exclusively) by proponents of some current renewal and revival movements.

In a practice said to have been introduced by Kathryn Kuhlman, http://www.apologeticsindex.org/k00.html#kuhlman people who receive what they consider to tbe a "touch of the Holy Spirit" pass out on the floor, where they are said to "rest in the Spirit." Many people do not pass out completely, but rather "yield" - i.e., they voluntarily fall to the floor.

Churches like the Vineyard Movement, http://www.apologeticsindex.org/v00.html#vineyard the Toronto Christian Fellowship, http://www.apologeticsindex.org/t00.html#tbm and preachers like Benny Hinn [Controversial word/faith http://www.apologeticsindex.org/w00.html#wordf teacher] http://www.apologeticsindex.org/h01.html say they do not completely understand why people fall "under the power of the Spirit." However, they do claim God can more easily do a work of healing, renewal, http://www.apologeticsindex.org/r00.html#renewal and/or impartation http://www.apologeticsindex.org/i00.html#impart while a person "does carpet time".

People who do not fall are sometimes referred to as "HTR" http://www.apologeticsindex.org/h00.html#htr - Hard To Receive.

Toronto Blessing http://www.apologeticsindex.org/t00.html#tbm

One of several current Renewal and Revival movements. Controversial for its connections to Word/Faith teachers, the so-called "Kansas City Prophets," its adherence to various Latter Rain doctrines, and its unbiblical practices.

Note: Not all renewal/revival movements, and not all churches in renewal or revival adhere to all or any of these teachings.

[snip]

See also:
» Bob Jones
» Kingdom Now Theology
» Latter Rain Theology
» Paul Cain
» Renewal and Revival Movements - Modern » Rick Joyner

» See the resources listed here

Aberrational, Heretical, Heterodox, Suborthodox or Unorthodox Toronto Airport Christian FellowshipOff-site Link
Home of the Toronto Blessing Movement.

Founded the Partners in Harvest network of likeminded churches, after the Association of Vineyard Churches voted to disassociate TACF from the Vineyard Movement over the Toronto Blessing controvery.

Aberrational, Heretical, Heterodox, Suborthodox or Unorthodox Pensacola Outpouring http://www.apologeticsindex.org/p00.html#pensacola

Controversial revival movement. Also known as the Brownsville Revival. Named after the Brownsville, Pensacola Assemblies of God church (Florida) where "revival" services have taken place since Father's Day, 1995.

See Controversial Renewal and Revival Movements

- Articles -
Aberrational, Heretical, Heterodox, Suborthodox or Unorthodox Revival in PensacolaOff-site Link A member of the Brownsville AOG explains how the revival started.

[after dark]

Point 6 is an over simplification of Hinduism. Some sects of Hinduism do believe in an hell where evil doers are punished.

[pravknight]

Yeah, but hell is not eternal in Hinduism. Also, there is not one Hinduism, but rather many Hinduisms.

[Ainast]

can you tell me where to find those rules at. just wondering because one of my roomates at school is always talking about speaking in tongues and its starting to get annoying.

[after dark]

"Yeah, but hell is not eternal in Hinduism. Also, there is not one Hinduism, but rather many Hinduisms."

I was hoping someone would write this. My understanding of Hinduism is the amount of time spent Hell will depend on the severity of the evil deed committed. Origen attempted to bring the belief that even souls in Hell could cut their stay in hell shorter through faith and repentance. Needless to say ,his theory was not well received.

[after dark]

Christianity would have been more like the Eastern religions if Origen had not been suppressed.

[after dark]

Christianity would have been more like the Eastern religions if Origen had not been suppressed.

[after dark]

Darn, my computer stuttered!

[pravknight]

Origen was suppressed because his teachings were not apostolic. Apostolicity is the criterion of Christian truth. That is why those who deviate from apostolic teachings are regarded as heretics.

Heresy means to choose, thus a heretic choose his/her own way instead of that revealed by Jesus to his apostles.

Eastern Christianity in some respects has some similarities to Eastern religions, in its emphasis upon Theosis and contemplative prayer. Hesychasm has been called by some as "Christian Yoga".

http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/searchresults.aspx?kw=hesychasm

Eastern Catholics share the same sort of spirituality with the Eastern Orthodox.

[pravknight]

Jesus taught hell was eternal.

[swmobuffalo]

Look at 1 Corinthians 14:22-25

[after dark]

You should read 1 Peter 3:19.

[after dark]

Oh, and by eastern religions, I did not mean the Eastern Orthodox Church.