It has been my observation that many Christians tend to treat people of another religion as second-class human beings; this has created a most unusual dilemma for me at times: should I side with these "fellow" Christians who not only openly denounce followers of another religion, but also demean and deride them, or should I side with these people from other religions in condemning the attitude of these "fellow" Christians?
This issue has been particularly tough on me, especially since I hail from a land where there are many "unbelievers," namely India. Now I care about both India and the U.S.A. deeply. I also try to be as devout a Christian as possible. So it is difficult for me when I see certain Christian "kin" here in the U.S. make fun of the Hindus of India because they belong to a different spiritual country, a different faith; as a born-again Christian, I may have a serious problem with a lot of the Hindus' beliefs, but I certainly cannot picture myself making fools of them!
When I see certain preachers from certain pulpits here in the U.S. mock Hindu people -- and indeed they mock -- I find it difficult to see how a searching Hindu, Jain, Sikh or whoever, who may have wandered into the church, find Christianity appealing. The message of salvation, even if taught, will probably be lost in the jungle of these Pharisaic attitudes.
Picture the following scene. A preacher gets up before a congregation of thousands, and an additional audience of millions through the medium of television, and launches a scathing attack on people of other religions by including comments such as this:
"In India, people worship rats in a temple. They're afraid to kill them because they may be Aunt Martha." (He is referring to Hindus, of course.)
A few members of the crowd laugh and nod their heads in approval, and the pastor smiles an eerily smug smile.
Now the above quote is only a paraphrase. However, a pastor I recently heard on TV echoed similar sentiments -- sentiments that delivered the same punch as the paraphrased quote. This is not an isolated incident however: I have heard more comments from various people at various times that could cause any Hindu, well-educated or not, to simply tune himself or herself out. Who in the world, except perhaps a sadist, would enjoy hearing such derogatory comments? Aren't we, as Christians, instructed not to put a "stumbling block or hindrance in the way of another"? (See Romans 14:13, NRSV)
The above example might sound a little funny, and when I have shared this example with some others I have heard at least one laugh. The fact that it makes one laugh, however, does not necessarily make it right. Comedians have made people laugh with much worse. Sometimes a joke elicits a response from the baser human instincts. So the fact that something is funny at the expense of another people doesn't make a joke right. To put this into a clearer light, what if a Hindu were to point out the rampantly low sexual and moral values we have here in the United States? The Hindu might point out that most people who are teenagers in India are virgins. The unmarried teenage pregnancy rate, however, in the US in 1990 was 99.2 per thousand teens. Teenage suicide rate per 100,000 (15-19 year olds) in 1990 was 11.3. Many Hindus would wonder: "Don't tell me your country is much better!" I can tell you this, because I have seen such reactions among the Hindus. Can one blame them for this? After all, when one attacks another person or his culture, one can certainly expect that person to get defensive; this is a rational course of action for most human beings. As such, arguments about how the Western culture (in this case, the US) did benefit tremendously from the Bible's teachings but is not totally Christian, may well be lost.
I mentioned the "educated" Hindu: let's think about him or her for a moment. Many Christians in America point to -- and sometimes gleefully -- the Hindus of India as being mostly poor, but these many also seem to be blissfully ignorant of the fact that the Indian population in the US (the majority of which is Hindu) is among the richest of ethnic groups (at the time of this writing, the richest). The average, materially successful, Hindu knows that Christianity appeals to those who are poor in India. (Many materially successful Hindus in the US are from the higher classes such as the Brahmin which has been known to look down on the lower classes.) There are, of course, other reasons that Hindus may also bring up in defense of their dislike for Christianity, but these are usually provided by orthodox Hindus who want to stay with their religion.
At this point, let me digress to make one point absolutely clear: this article is not meant to address the concerns of these orthodox people, nor is it making an effort to. No, this is meant to defend the Hindu who cannot be blamed for what he or she has been brought up to believe and is open to ideas from another person. This is meant for the Hindu who swims to the surface but finds that he or she is thrown back to the depths of the sea because of a huge and weighty rock of insensitivity.
What then? Are we are to agree with Hinduism? Far from it. As Bob Larson of the "Talk-Back" radio show notes, "the polytheistic and idolatrous practices of Hinduism" and "Karma's system of salvation-by-conduct" are clearly contradictory to Christian belief and practices and the Bible. Other points of differences may be found that clearly show that Hinduism is incompatible with Christianity. Let us remember, however, that a lot of people look for common traits in the building of a friendship. And as such, common points of interest must be found within Hinduism itself.
Big talk, one might say. But can one accomplish this? Are there really points of commonality? In my ongoing study of other religions, such as Hinduism, I have found similarities along with differences. Did you know that the Vedas, oldest of the Hindu sacred texts, speak of a "Prajapati" or a Supreme Being? Did you know that mention is made of a "Purusa" which can be translated as "Man"? Some schools of philosophy that appeared later in India interpreted "Purusa" to mean "Self." This is especially relevant since the Vedas also make mention of the belief that by knowing the Purusa, one can know the Prajapati! In addition, Purusa and Prajapati are one and the same! The Vedas also say that by knowing Purusa, one can have eternal life!! Does this sound familiar?
The discerning Christian knows exactly what I am talking about here. Since the translation of "Self" is generally preferred by Hindus over the "Man," one can understand a lot of their self-oriented philosophy: by knowing one's self, one can know God, etc. If one takes the meaning of "Purusa" to mean "Man" (the context seems to indicate only one person), one's perspective may change dramatically: Christian philosophy states that Jesus is the Way to God (John 14:6), that by believing on Him we will be saved (Acts 4:12, Acts 16:31), that Jesus and the Father are one and the same (John 10:30, 1 John 2:23), etc. I believe that "Christ in ancient Vedas," a book which was written by a Christian Sanskrit scholar from India, namely Joseph Padinjarekara, can shed more light on this issue. (This scholar contends -- and there are others who concur -- that the fourth Veda, which contains information on magic was written much later than the first three. Several other arguments are also presented.) One may not necessarily clear up all the inconsistencies that might be present, but one would certainly be optimistic about more amiable discussions!
The preceding two paragraphs contain one example, but there are more. The point, however, is that one must interact with the Hindu, or for that matter anyone, on a personal level if possible, if one is to have an honest and fruitful exchange of ideas: this should be done regardless of the person's caste, class or creed (and there are many within Hinduism itself). An interesting point to note here would be that although strict, orthodox Hindus (particularly those of the higher castes) practise the caste system, the classes were originally (apparently) designed as a form of division of labor; the idea of division of labor (based on one's choice) is, of course, compatible with Christian belief. This again would be something worth discussing about.
Anyway, this personal approach is no magic formula by any means but it should, at the very least, indicate that effort, and sometimes a lot of it, must be put into understanding the "whys" of another person's belief (or unbelief).
If the fear arises because of what one might discover, do realize that Christian teachings have a solid foundation. Paul Johnson in his "A History of Christianity" notes that a Christian need not be afraid of the facts. Josh McDowell in his famous "Evidence that demands a Verdict" notes the wonderful factual and historical foundation of the New Testament. Charles Sellier of "Ancient Secrets of the Bible" fame notes the many available facts and research that support the authenticity of the Old Testament. Many unnamed others join this list. I am one of them; you can be one of them too (I must qualify this with a warning: if you do not have a strong relationship with Christ Jesus, this could be a very dangerous journey). Christ is Truth (John 14:6) and if we are not afraid of Him, then we know that we will not be afraid of the truth that we will uncover or expose.
For those cocerned with being unequally yoked with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14), let me just say that I am not asking you to do this. When one yokes to another person or thing, one's direction is literally dependant on that other. No, I am asking that you be sympathetic to the humanity of the Hindu and everyone else. How could you not? Are you not also human?
The fact that Christ interacted with us sinful humans by becoming human should be more than enough reason for us to try and interact with people of other religions. In addition, the fact that it is by God's grace that we are saved (through faith) (Ephesians 2:8) should be ample reason for us becoming humble when we minister and witness to people of other faiths.
Our Lord Jesus Christ identified two key points in the law that should be of importance to every Christian, laws that are certainly applicable in this case:
First of all, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." (Deuteronomy 6:5)
Secondly, "Love thy neighbor as thyself." (Leviticus 19:18) A point to ponder here is whether one can love someone one doesn't know. In light of this, one might ask if one should be sensitive to the culture of the other person..
Let us remember John 13:34 which says "Love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another"? Let us also remember 1 John 4:7, 8: "Let us love one another: for love is of God and every one that loveth is born of God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love."
Let us pray that each time we approach a Hindu, or a person of any other faith, we realize that he or she is a person whom God loves too. We who are Christians were once sinners too, and should know that it is the blood of Jesus Christ that has washed away our sins.
Let us never forget our past, where we came from, if are to provide the world a brighter future in Christ Jesus.
-- Binoy Samuel (November 7, 1995)
(Updated on January 3, 1996)
This article has previously gone under two titles: "In defense of the
Hindu," and "How to treat a Hindu."
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