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To: RangerM
Yes, Hinduism (like many pantheist religions) does not have the concept of "Imago Dei", i.e. humans created in the image of God, endowed with a special dignity. Instead, it is an animistic religion, with divinity attributed to various animals (e.g. cows).

In this religion, there is no theological or doctrinal proscription against abortion on demand.

5 posted on 05/07/2022 10:44:38 AM PDT by nwrep
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To: nwrep

wrong

Hindus do not worship the cow or think it represents G-d or a God. Their attitude toward cows comes from their vegetarianism and the belief in the intrinsic nature of life - all living things are improtant.

According to Hindu bioethics, abortion is allowed only in cases where it is necessary for saving the life of the mother. The perspective of Hinduism is a very pro-life one, emphasizing Ahimsa and its intrinsic reverence for life.


10 posted on 05/07/2022 10:50:05 AM PDT by Wuli
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To: nwrep

You’ve gotta give them their due; they had RvW a thousand years before us:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism_and_abortion


28 posted on 05/07/2022 12:00:20 PM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: nwrep

Jainism, however, apparently strictly forbids it:

https://www.quora.com/What-does-Jain-doctrine-say-about-abortion


29 posted on 05/07/2022 12:06:57 PM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: nwrep
Yes, Hinduism (like many pantheist religions) does not have the concept of "Imago Dei", i.e. humans created in the image of God, endowed with a special dignity. Instead, it is an animistic religion, with divinity attributed to various animals (e.g. cows).

That doesn't seem consistent with what I understand of Hinduism. As far as I know, Hindus no more think that a cow is a god than they think an elephant is a god. The god Kamadhenu is represented by a cow...but that's a long way from saying that every cow is Kamadhenu (Similarly, Ganesha is represented by an elephant, but there is no Hindu that I know of who'd think that every elephant is Ganesha). Just as no Buddhist in the world thinks that every Buddha statue is the Buddha and no Christian in the world thinks that every statue of Jesus is actually Jesus.

As far as your "Imago Dei" comment, it's a little complicated.

Nota Bene: I am a Christian who lives in a Theravada Buddhist country (with a lot of the culture deriving from the Hindu Khmer kingdom), so while I don't believe their teachings, I've had to come to some understanding of both.

As far as Imago Dei, the belief is definitely different, but they do 100% believe in an immortal soul. They also believe that this soul will go through multiple lives on the path towards enlightenment and removal of all attachments (at which point, they can get off the reincarnation train and enjoy heaven). Again, before you attack me, see the Nota Bene above.

Abortion is strongly proscribed in both Hinduism and Theravada Buddhism (as well as Jainism, as far as I know) because of this belief. Because the woman is interfering with the immortal soul of another person from progressing along that path. Again, see Nota Bene above.

Abortion is one of the sins that will cause a person to end up in Naraka (hell) for eternity. Here are a couple of depictions...the first is the penalty for abortion that's the result of sexual immorality...the second is the penalty for an abortion the result of causing physical trauma to herself. Both images are probably not appropriate for FR, so I included them as links, not embedded images. They are both from a "hell garden" (someplace kids are taken for a warning to be good).

34 posted on 05/07/2022 5:54:42 PM PDT by markomalley (Directive 10-289 is in force)
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