How Does Christianity Relate To Hinduism?

Ioften think back with nostalgia to growing up in India, remembering late-night conversations about a Hindu play or some event that featured Hindu thought. Now, through the lens of Jesus Christ, I have learned to see how deep-seated culture and religion can be and how only the power of the Holy Spirit can reveal the errors of an ingrained way of thinking. Consequently, whenever Christians speak with those from another faith, it is essential to remember that we must not attempt to tear down another’s belief system; instead, we seek to reveal the hungers of the human heart and the unique way Christ addresses them.

For the Hindu, karma—the moral law of cause-and-effect—is a defining concept. Life carries its moral bills, and they are paid in the cyclical pattern of rebirth until all dues are paid in full. Hinduism here conveys an inherited sense of wrong, which is lived out in the next life, in vegetable, animal, or human form. This doctrine is nonnegotiable in Hindu philosophy. Repercussions of fatalism, meaning whatever happens will happen, and the indifference to the plight of others are inescapable side effects of this reasoning, but these issues are dismissed in Hindu thought by philosophical platitudes that do not weigh out the consequences of such thinking. This means there is a huge chasm of difference between Western thought and Hindu thought. Thus, it is key for Christians to bear in mind that although karma is seen as a way of paying back, this payback is never complete; hence, life is lived out under the obligation to pay a debt that one cannot know in total but that must be paid in full nevertheless. The cross of Christ, however, is definitive and complete. It offers forgiveness without minimizing the debt. When people truly understand that forgiveness, they develop loving hearts of gratitude. In Jesus, full restoration is available—in this life and for eternity.

The Christian should also understand the Hindu attraction of pantheism, their view of seeing the divine in everything. Actually, Hinduism is a broad swath of teaching and even superficially appears more compatible with scientific theorizing to some than Christianity does because it presents no definitive theory of origins. Life is cyclical for the Hindu, without a first cause. Pantheism also gives one a moral reasoning, through karmic fatalism, that one is trapped in the cycle until one escapes and therefore has no need to invoke God. But in the final analysis, pantheism is without answers when one needs to talk about the deepest struggles of the soul. Even Hindu scholars admit this in their creation of a path of bhakti (love, devotion) to satisfy the inescapable human hunger for worship.

It is here that keen understanding is needed. Krishna’s coming to earth as an avatar—that is, one of the incarnations of the Hindu god Vishnu—in a way brings “God to man.” But a huge barrier still remains. How does one bring man to God? For this, there is only one way—the way of the cross. Thus, a profound and studied presentation of the cross, and what it means, is still the most distinctive aspect of the Christian faith. Even Gandhi said it was “the most unexplainable thing” to him and was “unparalleled.” For the Christian, the cross of Jesus Christ is the message “first to the Jew, and also to the Greek” (Rm 2:9)—to the moralist and the pantheist, to the religious and the irreligious. But the challenge of sharing that effectively goes beyond mere doctrine. In a culture such as India’s, religious beliefs are woven into the fabric of a family and its allegiances. Thus, conversion is seen as a betrayal of the family and the culture of one’s birth. It is viewed as a mortal wound to the preservation of their past. That is why in communicating the gospel one should take care to give respect of family strong attention, noting that a Christian does not change the involvement in culture as he guards the commitment to Jesus Christ. We can communicate this message with a Hindu acquaintance or friend only through a loving and respectful relationship.

The church at Corinth faced similar challenges, and Paul addresses these matters. Patient listening and growing friendships, living in such a way as to show the love of Jesus, and speaking of the message of forgiveness remain the surest paths to evangelism to those who see karma and reincarnation as essentials. Helping others to view life in its linear sense and relying on God’s grace for us will provide the difference.