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Hinduism Vs Christianity Research Paper

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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 …show more content…

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

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