In today's article we are going to be taking a look at some of the beliefs of Hinduism and comparing them with bible passages to see what's different. We will be covering the view on God, the afterlife, "sacred" rituals, and even compare their beliefs with evolution-ism.
Let's begin with when did Hinduism come about? Well, Hinduism doesn't have a known founder nor does anybody know when it started. However their oldest text known as the Vedas are estimated to be around 3500 years old. Hinduism is the third largest religion with around a billion followers. Their sacred texts include the Vedas, Bhagavad Gita, and Ramayana.
View on God
So what does Hinduism teach about God? Hinduism can be explained as either mono or poly theistic. It is monotheistic in that they believe Brahma to be the creator god, Hindu's also believe in what's called Brahman which is the ultimate reality behind the universe as well as all the gods.
Hinduism teaches that this one reality is expressed by many gods such as Devi the Mother goddess, Shiva the destroyer, Ganesha which has an elephants face, or Vishnu who is thought of as a protector. This is not counting all the millions of other gods that hindu's worship. The bible however teaches monotheism, that is the belief in one God (1Cor 8:4-7).
Worship to these gods almost always includes Sculptures and Images to which there are made offerings and rituals are performed also. The bible teaches that those that make graven images are cursed (Deu 27:15).
View on the Afterlife
Hinduism teaches Reincarnation. This is the view that whatever you have done in this and previous lives determine what you come back as and how fortunate you are in the next. While the bible does teach that we reap what we sow (Gal 6:7-8), it is also clear that we are only appointed to die once and that we won't come back until the heavens are recreated (Heb 9:27, Job 14:12).
Life's Purpose
According to Hinduism there are 4 purposes in life. What are they? First we have Dharma which is basically like a code of ethics or morals. This includes repaying the five debt to gods and man. The five debts categories are debt to gods, debt to parents/teachers, debt to guest, debt to other humans, and debt to other living things.
The second purpose to why we were created in Hinduism is Artha, that is the pursuit of prosperity and fortune (Mar 4:18-19, Mar 10:24, 1Tim 6:10). The third meaning as to why they think we are here is Kama, that is to find happiness in life. While there is nothing wrong with being happy, those that focus on only their own happiness in this life are in for a rude awakening on judgment day (Joh 12:25). As Christians we express joy, as it is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22). As a Christian I can think of few things that give more joy than being able to help and love others. The final purpose is called Moksha which is enlightenment, otherwise known as the freedom from rebirth and union with god.
"Holiday's" and Traditions
For this part we will be covering just three of Hindu's festivals or traditions and they are as follows:
The first festival that I want to cover is called Gopastami, during which cows are bathed, decorated in the temple and then given offerings. To the Hindu's the cow is esteemed not only as a source of food but also as a symbol of life. The butchering of cows is forbidden in hinduism and it has been said to kill a cow is equal to killing a brahman (priest). Cows milk, butter, curds, urine and dung used in Puja (worship). To see how cow worship and veneration is condemned in scripture check out Exo 32:19-20 and Isa 66:3.
The next Hindu tradition that I want to cover is concerning how they worship the god Shiva. The worship of Shiva is done with his symbol the linga, What's that you ask? Oh, it's a Phallus. Otherwise known as the male reproductive organ, they also portray it resting on a Yoni (female reproductive organ). They even make offerings of milk, water, rice, and flowers to it. Please refer to my article titled "The Importance of Chastity in Worship" to see what's wrong with this.
The last festival that I'll mention is known as Thaipusam. During this festival it is common to find people piercing their cheeks, tongues, and flesh with long skewers for their god Murugan. We find a similar practice being done in the bible by the prophets of Baal (1Ki 18:28). In Lev 19:28 and Deut 14:1 we see God telling Israel not to cut themselves for the dead, and in Mar 5:5 we see a devil possessed man that cut himself with stones. I can find no bible passage that would endorse a Christian to harm themselves by drawing blood. Instead we petition our Lord by prayers and fastings. Studies show how fasting actually is good for the body unlike this practice.
A Warning about Yoga
In this section I just wanted to warn my readers of the dangers of doing yoga. There are many Christians in America nowadays that know that yoga comes from hinduism but do not realize that the poses that are done in yoga are actually offerings to hindu gods (1Cor 10:20).
Furthermore Yoga was designed to get one to attain Brahman consciousness which is the yoking up of one's consciousness to that of "lord" Brahma (a pagan god). this is done by allowing the "serpent" (Rev 20:2) to make it's way up the base of the spine to the crown of one's head. Guess what happens when you do that, you believe your a god. The serpent/Devil has being telling the same ol' lie since the beginning (Gen 3:4-5).
Besides of all the spiritual dangers of Yoga, it also carries with it physical and mental dangers as well. The side effects of practicing kundalini yoga include: feeling of energy going through the body/energy rush, depression, headache, an involuntary suspension of breath, heart palpitations, intense sweating or cold, as well as hallucinations/hearing things, involuntary jerks/movements.
It also has been reported that it is not uncommon for those who practice yoga and have had the kundalini awakening to be visited
by seemingly benevolent spirits but then they would turn abusive and hostile (2 Cor 11:14-15).
Hinduism also teaches Maya which is the belief that everything around us is an illusion and the only way to escape it is by meditation or you can just ignore it. This has led who knows how many Hindu's to completely lose touch with reality. Just one example of how Hinduism causes this is seen on the jesus is savior link below, it describes how a man's dad sits perpetually in a trance for who knows how long while his family feeds, bathes and changes him. Quite a literal example of Psa 115:4-8 and Psa 135:15-18.
Curious similarities between Hinduism and Evolution
This section is created for the sole purpose of showing that evolutionism isn't a new idea but has been believed by pagans for thousands of years. Let's take a look at some similar characteristics between Hinduism and evolution to show my point.
Hinduism teaches than Brahman (the universe) spontaneously evolved by itself like a seed, that grew and made all that exist about 4.3 billion years ago. This is quite similar to the atheist big bang model. Hindu's also believe in an eternal universe that has cycles of rebirth, destruction, and dormancy which are called Kalpas... this is similar to the oscillating big bang theory. If you take a look at the Hindu Bhagavad Gita.. we have Krishna declaring "i am the source from which all creatures evolve." It is evident from my article titled "Proving God Exists" that the universe cannot be eternal because it shows we wouldn't reach this moment in time if it was.
If this isn't evidence enough for my point take a look at the 10 Avatars of Vishnu. There's the Matsya (fish), and the Koorma (tortoise), the Varaha (boar), and Narasimha (human -lion), then we come to Vamana (dwarf), and Parasurama (angry man with an axe), finally we come to Rama (perfect man) and Krishna (divine statesman), and lastly Buddha, Kalki (mighty warrior). I find this strikingly similar to the theory of evolution's fish to amphibian to animal to ape man to man idea.
If this still isn't enough to convince you that evolution is nothing more than an ancient eastern pagan idea just check out the Ramayana. It speaks of the Vanaras, which are an ape- like species with human intelligence, that supposedly existed millions of years ago, see my top picture. This just goes to show that ape men isn't some grand new idea based on fossil evidence or "science".
Other Things to Mention
The next thing that I'd thought to bring up is the act of worship called Puja, this ritual that is performed by most Hindu's is done every morning after bathing and dressing but before breakfast. It can be done for anything that they consider divine from their gods to even a holy tree (Isa 44:14-19), they even make offerings to these things during puja.
Then there's the Hindu "holy men" otherwise known as Sadhu. What would raise a red flag to Christians is that some of which are magicians and fortune tellers. This is alarming because we know that those that are such are in league with devils (Act 13:8-10, Act 16:16). It is quite common for the Sadhu to take a vow of poverty and celibacy, they are also known to depend on the charity of others (laymen) for their food. The Christian motto is if any would not work, neither should he eat (2Thes 3:10).
There are 4 different sects in modern Hinduism and they are Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism and Smartism. The first two sects are usually considered to be monotheistic with Vishnu being the supreme god of vaishnavism and Shiva the supreme god of Shaivism, although oddly enough there are still other gods in these branches.
Hinduism is also known to teach the Chanting of mantras, and encourages it's followers to be Vegetarian. Check out Mat 6:7 and 1 Tim 4:1-5 to see what the bible says about that.
There is an old Indian parable which is used to discredit the claims of Christianity's proclamations of absolute morality/truth, as Jesus being the only way to heaven. It's known as the blind men and the elephant. It basically describes how multiple blind folk each feel a different part of the beast, one person feels the tusk another feels a tail etc and they all interpret their reality differently. Could it be possible the reason Hindu's don't believe in absolute truth is because of their idol worship?
Psa_97:7 Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods.
Psa 135:15 The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.
Psa 135:16 They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not;
Psa 135:17 They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths.
Psa 135:18 They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them.
Isa_45:16 They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols.
This whole you have your truth and I have mine thing is utterly preposterous. This mindset only leads one to trust in their own heart which makes one a fool (Pro 28:26). The fact is that we base our actions and decisions based on truth; we stop at red lights, we pay with the correct amount of change, all the fields of science are based on our observations of the world around us. As Christians we know the truth and his name is Jesus Christ (Joh14:6), it is God's word (Joh 17:17), it's what makes us free (Joh 8:32).
All religions cannot be correct and truth cannot be relative because my religion (Christianity), excludes all others as being true, therefore not all religions can be correct. The choice is clear with those with eyes to see, all one has to do is look at the bible to see the truth about our reality. No other book comes even close to the bible. Check out my post on archaeology, and my links to bible prophecy and scientific foreknowledge as well as my KJV pt 2 post for more info.
In conclusion we see that Hinduism is just another false religion that seeks to keep people off the true path of salvation with it's false teachings about God, the afterlife, and it's vain traditions of men.
References and Relevant links:
Why Yoga Is Anti-Christian (ONISON gets REKTED by TVC Again!!!)
I think the video that you linked to has been removed. You might want to change that.
ReplyDeleteHindu and Bhuddist practices and customs are so bizarre...You might find this post on yoga of relevance to this article:
https://rationalchristiandiscernment.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-dangers-of-yoga.html