Aarzoo Jacob
Professor Achee
College Writing and Research
16 November 2014
One and Only
“For there is one God ad one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus…”
- 1 Timothy 2:5
Christianity and Hinduism are two religions that have been around for over a thousand years and have a very strong and firm foundation through out history. They both have well developed philosophies and can be compared with each other all the time. Both of them have a standing in history that has continued to the present times. Both beliefs are so vast that to compare them it could take one a lifetime. Both are rooted deep in every aspect of life. Everybody nowadays knows if not extensively, at least something about these beliefs and religions and can
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What is the Hindu and Christian concept of God? The Hindu concept of God is polytheistic and pantheistic while the Christian concept is monotheistic. Polytheism is the belief in, not one but, many Gods. The oldest sacred texts called the Vedas and Upanishads many mythologies, which include multiple 9Gods. Gods like Shiva, Ram, Krishna and Goddesses like Saraswati, Kalimata, Laxmi and may more are all worshipped through out India by people of different casts and sects. There are over 33 million Gods and Goddesses. It is really hard to choose who is to be worshipped or not. “To think of foundation of Hindu theism, people believe in the Upanishads, with the later or gnostic part of the Vedas. They teach the art of worship and contemplation” (Tatt-Vabhushan). “The theism of the Upanishads is never tired of saying that God can be seen by every one who diligently seeks him … The blind worship of the letter of the Vedas, is an after-growth, and is not due to the teachings of the founders of our religion. That the more eminent of their commentators and expounders were also not subject to it, we shall show by and by” (Tatt-Vabhushan). This statement clearly states that it is due to blind faith that people believe what the Vedas suggest. In the last sentence of this statement it points out that even the founders of the teachings of the Vedas and Upanishads were not always following them. “The Hindu polytheistic view, …show more content…
The Hindus believe in Vedas, Upanishads and Brahmans to be the highest religious authorities. According to the Hinduism, Brahma is considered the unchanging reality in this world and beyond it too. It also cannot be elaborated upon. “The essence of the higher Hinduism is pantheism, the belief in the unity of being. According to this, everything that exists is Brahma, the Absolute and Eternal, the Supreme Spirit which pervades the universe, and is the soul of all man as well as the world at large” (O’Malley). There is no record that the Brahma is the highest power unlike Bible, which is God-breath and written though God’s Holy Spirit guiding the authors. The lesser authorities include the epic poems, Ramayana and Mahabharata. Mahabharata includes the Bhagvad-gita. Also, the highest caste of Hinduism called the Brahmans is considered authorities. Hindus do not believe that God, himself revealed these authorities unlike Bible, which does. “For the word of God is alive and active…” Hebrews 4: 12. Bible is the living word of God. God gave Bible as the laws and decrees which was true and will always remain so too. Not only is the Bible a religious authority it is also a spiritual authority for all Christians. “Christians have a unique understanding of authority grounded in their unique
Dualistic Hindus try and understand divine reality through their many different gods. With that there is a focus put onto the one god Brahman which Brood describes as, “supreme, unitary reality, the ground of all Being.” (Brood et al., 2016). The monistic viewpoint of Brahman can best be described as the belief that all reality is ultimately one. Brahman is, “treated as a basic cosmic principle.” (Hopkins, 1971). According to Hopkins in the, “Atharva Veda, brahman is said to have the lowest and highest forms and to be ‘the womb of both the existent and the nonexistent.’ In 10.2 it is said that ‘by brahman the earth was disposed, as brahman the sky was set above, as brahman this atmosphere, the wide expanse, was set aloft and crosswise.’” (Hopkins, 1971). Brahman can most easily relate to the Christian, Islam, and Judaism God.Both Brahman and the God of Christianity, Islam,
Brahman and God have many similarities and differences. Brahman is the ultimate, infinite Godhead of Hinduism while God is the head of many different Western Religions such as Christianity. Both are infinite and limitless. They are also very different, Brahman is a human being divine “self”, which remains formless, while Christianity’s God is the creator of human beings who are devotees who follow God.
When looking at Christianity and Hinduism there are many ways to look at each religion from a theological perspective. This is why the best way to look at the broad view of these religions would be to analyze each by comparing and contrasting what each religion is about. The first point to look at would be at how Hinduism and Christianity are very similar in how they view the world. This can be seen in how they both strive to achieve a state of higher being whether it be with the eternal state of Moksha or eternal life in heaven with God. They both also look to be more introspective of themselves in order to maintain a good relationship with their higher being. This can be seen with Christians trying their hardest to maintain their faithfulness to God (Letter to the Romans, Reader p. 200) or Hindus making sure to maintain their duties in their caste in order to climb the system (Bhagavad Gita, Reader p. 75). Another comparison would be that Christianity follows the “Golden Rule” which is better known in the Hindu religion as karma. This is an important cornerstone to both religions because it creates a system of justice for both religions to follow. To truly examine these two religions one must also look at the differences that each religion has to each other that make them each a unique belief. A main difference would be that Christianity focuses more on the short term while Hinduism focuses more on the long term. Another difference is the rewards that a Christian
Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in the world. It has billions of followers not only in India, but all over the world. Hindus have many beliefs and worship many deities. Brahma is said to be the Absolute god, the Universal Being, he is above all and deities are its many forms. There is considered to be a trinity in
Throughout studying the Hindu religion I realized how complex the practices and culture of the faith really are. Hinduism is the only religion I have learned about outside of christianity making the study of it much more interesting. Comparing and contrasting my faith with another produced many deep thoughts and questions about what religion really is. How do we know if our religion is more right than theirs or vice versa? There are many similarities and differences between Hinduism and Christianity whether it is the culture they predominantly are a part of, the way they perceive God, or the intricate details of each religion.
Judaism and Hinduism are two widely known and oldest religions in the world. Both of these religions have sacred texts and laws that are still used and followed today. Judaism and Hinduism both have social class systems that separate the higher religious followers from the average person (Hutchinson, 2017a) (Levinson, 2017). Judaism is a religion that is monotheistic, belief in one god (Hutchinson, 2017a). Those who practice the religion of Hinduism can be considered a “monotheist, polytheist, or atheist” (Levinson, 2017). Judaism and Hinduism share similar traits including celebrations and their followers being persecuted but have different sacred locations that their followers visit, texts, and founders.
In the world we live in today we are exposed to many religions. Two of the many are Buddhism and Christianity. Although they are religions worshiped by many they are very different. Such as, what is worshipped, how to achieve salvation and the thought of suffering. These are some of the aspects that make these two religions very different.
Hinduism and Buddhism are different in a few ways. Hinduism was not founded by one particular person while Buddhism was only be founded by the Buddha. Hinduism follows the Hindu Scripture and Buddhism does not. Buddhists believe that their goal in life is to overcome sorrow and Hindus believe there are four goals – Kama, moksha, artha and Dharma. Both religions do however give emphasis to compassion and peace to all living things, in other words no harm shall come to humans or animals. Suffering can be caused by desires therefore I feel with this religion they tend to stay away from things that will cause them emotional suffering. For example: I make the conscious decision to keep a distance from those that may cause me to become more emotional
Hinduism and Sikhism share many similarities with the other religions that started in India, while Sikhism stands alone in many aspects of religion that make it very unique. Hinduism is a broad term for a large group of religions of India that did not fit the mold of existing religions of India at the time. People of Hindu religions do not normally define themselves as being Hindu. Instead, they would define their religion based on local caste and community. (Shattuck, 1999).
Islam and Christianity are two of the biggest world religions. They are followed by billions worldwide. The two religions are very different but also have many similarities.
Comparing Hinduism and Christianity isn’t easy because Hinduism is a not an easy religion for most in the west to understand. It signifies limitless deep waters of understanding, a rich history, and a rich theology. There is for sure no religion in the world that is more multi-colored or overelaborate. Comparing Hinduism and Christianity can easily overwhelm the learner of relative religions. So, the question should be considered carefully and modestly. The answer given here does not pretend to be complete or assume even an understanding of Hinduism at any specific point. This answer simply compares a few points between the two religions in effort to show how Christianity is solemn of special consideration.
The religion of Hinduism considers God as the one and only all-powerful being and the God each and every individual can worship and ask for guidance. The Hindus refer to God as Brahman. Monotheism is the concept of one god and is adopted by most world religions. On the other hand, Hinduism has its own unique concept of “only god" known as monism. In monism, everything that exists is said to have come from a single being known as Brahman and everything returns to this original state from which it first began. Hinduism believes that each individual is at a different stage of spiritual advancement thus is where the castes system comes into play. Everyone's path to God differs and requires a devotion of oneself to God.
The world has many different belief systems including Christianity and Buddhism. Both are similar and different in many ways. These religions are used in different places around the world and influenced the lives of its followers and the society in which they are practiced. Christianity is more diverse and complicated in its beliefs and totally depends on faith. In contrast, Hinduism is a belief more based on the simplicity of culture and tradition.
Hinduism and Christianity are two religions that have been around for thousands of years. These religions have developed philosophies on certain subjects that can be compared in order to show their similarities and differences. Some of the main subjects that can be reflected upon are the paths to
Although, Hinduism might be regarded by some as a polytheistic religion in its most basic form Hinduism is based around one deity. The Brahma is the god that all of the other gods are derived from and each god is a manifestation of the one being. There are four other main deities, aside from Brahma,