Below
you will learn about the beliefs of Hinduism and Scripture showing
their error.
Hinduism
is an ancient religion with no founder or known date of origin. The
term "Hinduism" simply derives from the word "India"
and refers to a wide variety of religious traditions and philosophies
that have developed in India over thousands of years. Most Hindus
worship one or more deities, believe in reincarnation, value the
practice of meditation, and observe festive holidays like Diwali and
Holi.
Hinduism has a great diversity of beliefs, a fact that
can be initially confusing to westerners accustomed to creeds,
confessions, and carefully-worded belief statements. One can believe
a wide variety of things about God, the universe and the path to
liberation and still be considered a Hindu. This attitude towards
religious belief has made Hinduism one of the more open-minded
religions when it comes to evaluating other faiths. Probably the most
well-known Hindu saying about religion is: "Truth is one; sages
call it by different names."
Hinduism
Beliefs
Hindu's
believe in the existence of an enduring soul that transmigrates from
one body to another at death (reincarnation, rebirth), and the law of
karma that determines one's destiny both in this life and the
next.
There
is only one soul, but there is one body for one soul as well, when
the body or flesh dies the soul goes to either heaven or hell. There
is no reincarnation, there is born again, and resurrection. When
Jesus returns all the saved souls will reunite with their own
glorified bodies.
“Jesus
answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of
water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of
the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be
born again.”
- John 3:5-7.
“And
the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into
his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
- Genesis 2:7.
“Marvel
not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the
graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have
done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done
evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”
- John 5:28,29.
“For
our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the
Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that
it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the
working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.”
- Philippians 3:20,21.
Hindu's have a specific belief about a
god or gods and it is not considered one of the essentials, most
Hindus are devoted followers of one of the principal gods Shiva,
Vishnu or Shakti, and often others besides, and believe that all
these are regarded as manifestations of a single Reality.
There
is only One God, He is individualized by three different persons,
God, the Father, Jesus, the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit (Ghost),
known as the Godhead, but only One God. God is essential, He gives us
life, and that life is through His Son, Jesus Christ.
“I
am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord,
which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”
- Revelation 1:8
“The
spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given
me life.”
- Job 33:4
“For
the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are
clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his
eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because
that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were
thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish
heart was darkened.”
- Romans 1:20,21.
“And
this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this
life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath
not the Son of God hath not life.”
- I John 5:11,12.
The Hindu's believe their ultimate goal is
moksha, a release from the cycle of samsara (rebirth). For those of a
devotional bent, this means being in God's presence, while those of a
philosophical persuasion look forward to uniting with God as a drop
of rain merges with the sea.
Jesus
Christ is the only way to God's presence and that phrase is to be
born again. When born again a person is born with the Spirit of God
inside of them. They do not get a new physical body, they receive a
spiritual body. Up in heaven a person gets a new glorified body,
meaning one that has not been corrupted by the flesh, but it is
still the same person.
“Jesus
answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of
water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of
the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be
born again.”
- John 3:5-7.
“And
I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that
he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the
world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him:
but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I
will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”
- John 14:16-18.
“For
our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the
Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that
it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the
working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.”
- Philippians 3:20,21.
Hindu's believe in the authority of the
Vedas and Brahmans. The ancient scriptures known as the Vedas as well
as that of the priests known as the Brahmans are two concepts that
are fundamental to Hinduism and differentiate the faith from Buddhism
and Jainism.
There
is only one authority over all and that is God. God's authority is
given to us through His Word, the Holy Bible.
“All
scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly
furnished unto all good works.”
- II Timothy 3:16,17.
Hindu's believe in Brahman known
as Ultimate Reality, most Hindus give reverence to one or more
deities, but regard these as manifestations of Ultimate Reality. So
who, or what, is the Ultimate Reality that is behind the universe and
all the gods? In the Rig Veda, it is referred to as "the One."
In the Purushasukta, it is given the name "Purusha," and in
the Upanishads it is called "Brahman," "the One,"
and several other names.
There is only one person who is
behind the universe and that is God. He is “the One” “the
Creator” of all things.
“In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made
by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him
was life; and the life was the light of men.” - John
1:1-4
“Hast thou not known? hast
thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of
the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no
searching of his understanding.” - Isaiah 40:28
“There
is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of
your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of
all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto
every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift
of Christ.” - Ephesians 4:4-7
Hindu's believes in
idol worship, reincarnation, karma, dharma and moksha.
God
is against idol worship of any kind, that is His second command.
There is no such thing as reincarnation, only resurrection.
“Thou
shalt have no other gods before me. Thou
shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any
thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or
that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself
to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third
and fourth generation of them that hate me;” - Exodus
20:3-5
“Ye
shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a
standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your
land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God.”
- Leviticus 26:1
The word karma means "actions"
and refers to the fundamental Hindu principle that one's moral
actions have unavoidable and automatic effects on one's fortunes in
this life and condition of rebirth in the next.
God does
want us to live a moral life and in doing so we will prosper here on
earth and in heaven, but there is no rebirth, no reincarnation. We
only have one life and one soul, all who accept Jesus Christ as their
Savior is born again, meaning they are born spiritually, with the
Spirit of God in them.
“Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” - John 3:5-7
The
word dharma means “moral law” and refers to the essential
quality or character,
as of the cosmos or one's own nature. The conformity
to religious
law, custom, duty, or one's own quality
or character.
When
a person accepts Christ as their Savior and chooses to allow Him in
their lives that is when little by little we conform to the likeness
of Christ, doing the things that He did here on earth.
“Now
the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there
is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the
glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to
glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
- II Corinthians 3:17,18
“I
beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,
which is your reasonable service. And
be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing
of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable,
and perfect, will of God.” - Romans 12:1,2
The
word moksha means “freedom” and refers to freedom
from the endless cycle of rebirth into a state of bliss.
There
is no reincarnation, only resurrection for those who have accepted
Christ as their Savior. We are freed from sin and the debt for sin,
which is hell, when we call on Christ to save us.
“Stand
fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and
be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” -
Galatians 5:1
“But now being made
free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto
holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is
death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord.” - Romans 6:22,23
“For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.” - John 3:16
Hindu's believe in a theistic
(belief in the existence
of a god
or gods
) religion, but whether it is a polytheistic (more than one god),
pantheistic (a god that
is a transcendent
reality of which the material universe and
human beings are only
manifestations and
involves a denial of God's personality and
expresses a tendency to
identify God and nature), or a monotheistic (doctrine of only a god)
religion.
There is only one Almighty God, known as
“Jehovah”, “I Am”, “Creator”, and “Lord”, man makes
up their own gods or tries to make God into the imagine they want,
therefore, creating a false god.
“Hast
thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the
LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is
weary? there is no searching of his understanding.” -
Isaiah 40:28
“There is one body,
and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is
above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us
is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.”
- Ephesians 4:4-7
“I am Alpha and
Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and
which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” -
Revelation 1:8
“The spirit of God
hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.”
- Job 33:4
Hindu's believe there is not just one purpose of
human life, but four: Dharma - fulfilling one's purpose; Artha -
prosperity; Kama - desire, sexuality, enjoyment; and Moksha -
freedom.
The purpose for every human being is to come to
the acknowledgment of God.
“The
Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count
slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
- II Peter 3:9
“For God so loved
the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
- John 3:16
God will give prosperity to all who
acknowledge Him and fulfill His will.
“Trust
in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own
understanding. In all thy
ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” -
Proverbs 3:5,6
“But his delight is
in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and
night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not
wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” - Psalm
1:2,3
Immorally fulfilling the desires of a persons flesh
is an sin to God, God gives us the desires of our heart by obedience
to Him. Of course, God allows a husband and wife to come
together fulfill each others needs, but enjoyment comes from
fulfilling the fruit of the Spirit, not the flesh.
“Flee
fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he
that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What?
know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is
in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are
bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your
spirit, which are God's.” - I Corinthians 6:18-20
“Now
concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man
not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every
man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own
husband...Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for
a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come
together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency...I
say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if
they abide even as I. But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for
it is better to marry than to burn.” - I Corinthians
7:1,2,5,8
Jesus is the only one who can set us free.
“And
this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this
life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath
not the Son of God hath not life.”
- I John 5:11,12.
“But
now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have
your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages
of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord.”
- Romans 6:22,23
