Christianity and Hinduism Compared

Hinduism and Christianity Compared.
By Agharowu E.E. (Honsbira), BRS, MRS/MTS, Cert in Conflict Analysis.


Introductory

For now, let it be!
Seeds in A can thrive at B;
Kiss like he and she.

Now, it must be hinted, reader, that the science-tailored shirt which this discourse wear, shirt, most scientific, by which the world thrives, which man must hold – if he must thrive with it (Pauline thought-flow, 1 Co. 15:1-2). If careful observations proves there is scientificity in all things (Rom. 1: 19-20; Psalms 19:2), none can excuse himself from the penalty of its ignorance (Rom 1:28). This explains why the discourse is as science-laden as it is. All things are science-laden – The Vedas, The Bible and Hinduism-Christianity interrelatedness. How? Why? Since “How” is in “Why,” one starts with the “Why.”
Naturally, in humanity, nothing is from anything completely removed (Pagels 1983). One thing/idea influences all else – this is called “Implicate Order/Non-locality” (Bohm 2004). As in Chaos Theory (Lorenz 1963), any action, however minor, taking place in, say, Kurosiwo can lead to a resultant action in, say, Ohio, and vice versa (Kellert 1993). This agrees with Structural Functionalism: since both points of origin belong to the same global environment, everything at one point influences everything at others (Parsons 1952).
Therefore, the distance between the Indian Sub-continent where Hinduism sprang up, and the Middle East where Christianity did, far from hindering similarity, also causes similarity. (Near or far) there is a distance between these two places. Following Liminality “… spaces and places are basic conditions for all transitions of human beings, things and occasions,” and “inflects how we understand … and transform in the world” (Casey 1993: XV in Kupers 2011: 45; Kupers 2011:46). Thus, events in a place/space cause changes in others because of System Interconnectivity (Easton 1965). Since no space is really empty, older ideas must, of scientific necessity, move to outside locales, across the “Limen of the Liminality” (Kupers 2011) – as though by osmosis (Umeh 2010). Really, nothing is from scientific laws removed (Kelvin, 1883, in Honsbira, 2012: 432).
Phenomenologically, interestingly, this decides why there are similarities between Hinduism and Christianity.


Hinduism-Christianity Similarity: How?
I. Worldview
Worldview is a creed of a person/people/group by a person/people/group for a person/people/group for living as a person/people/group – a mental configuration of realism/idealism showing a view about the world and an inclination towards, and determination in view, of this configuration. Following are the two worldviews and their cosmo-religio-scientific interconnectivity.
Hinduism believes in the Atman (self) of the Guru through union with the divine, leading ultimately to Liberation as Christians are spiritual lots (Pneumaticos anthropos), heading towards salvation.
Hindus’ belief in a supreme God around which some 330 million smaller gods, all capable of making one a Sadhu, assonates with Christian need to look closely at natural elements (sun, moon, stars, rivers and so on) to learn God’s ways ( Pro. 6:6; Ps. 19:2; Ps.8). Longing for salvation/Liberation, Hindus have to be internal (Sadhu) like Christian who must be inward-tending (endo-anthropos).
In its world view, Hinduism, like Christianity, recognizes “…that One Infinite Absolute Ageless / Eternal thing Exists and created all things, linking all things (Brahman). Also – yes – Christianity teaches that God is infinite, eternal, connecting, and a Rock of Ages.
Hinduism though nods to Christian theology, frowns at Christian anti-karmic characterology – aggrieved for Christian failure to drag Karma to universality. However, Christian tears that others, including Hindus, would not drag the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20) to unanimous Universality. So, here, they are diverse! So, here, too, they are alike – Universality in view!

2. God and Creation.
Both religions are theistic: Hinduism, Brahma; Christianity, Jehovah. Hindus think of God as a Trimurti/Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and Christians, of the trinitarianism of God (the Father), God (The Son), and God (The Holy Spirit). Brahma is the creator; The Father is the creator. Vishnu is the preserver; The Son is the mediator – the “preserver.” Shiva is the destroyer; The Holy Spirit both constructs and destroys (Is 37:36; 2 Kings 7: 6). This is because the Holy Spirit (analogue of Shiva) is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29), laying evils bare (Matt. 12; 31; Acts 5) for destruction, (Matt. 26:53).
The two supreme God(s) share many essential attributes, showing they are almighty, showing they are similar. Christian Omnipenetrability (all-penetrative capacity), is Hindus Savaga. Christian omnipresence (everywhere-at-all-time- present ability), is Hindus’ sarvakartrtva. Christian omnipotence (all-doing capacity), is Hindus savanja. Christian omniscientificity (His all-knowing quality) is Hindus savargnata. Christian God unlimited goodness/love is equivalent to Hindus sankara (goodness). How congruent!
In terms of Creation, Hindus, like Christians, believe that the Supreme Being created the universe from voidism that created the creationary explosion. Also, Christians believe that God created the universe from the dark, blank, and aqueous voidism. Although the Hindus “ Big Bang” that birthed the universe is not mentioned in the Bible, the free-mind Christian suspects the Word (Jon 1:1) contains something undisclosed, something like a Big Bang, too (Acts 16:25-26). In both – in the beginning – there was no sun – water, water everywhere – since Air must liquefy within any - 0 degree geography (Adeleke and Leong: 1999). In both, hovering God, sunlessness, darkness, and original water (Gen 1:1-2; Barbara 1995) synchronizes the two religions/creations. These points to the scientific nature of the two processes/contents.

3. Origins and Nature of Sacred Scriptures
Though neither believes in the view of neither, both believe that its sacred scripture emanated from the supreme God. As Hindus believe that the Vedas (their holy book) is God-revealed, Christians also hold believe that the Bible is divinely wrought. As Hinduism, in addition to the scruti, has the smirti, a script from intuition, Christianity has the sacred Hymns, Catechism and other commentaries as analogues of the Hindu’s smirti.
Though Christian disinclinations to see the Vedas as scruti and Hinduism disinclinations to see the Bible as revealed differentiates them, these inherent traditional tendencies to disbelieve and discard allies them in a “Similarity in Dissimilarity” manner.
Scientificity of origin makes them similar, too. That Hinduism is Scientific, that some of its positing are yet to be met by modern science, is too familiar to detain one here. Like Hinduism, Christian revelation is scientific as the following considerations witness.
a. The sun measures 93, 000000 miles from the earth.
b. The earth rotates once in 24 hour; it revolves once in 365.25 days.
c. The “empty” space contains to sustain the flights of birds and airplanes. Is the filler not more knowledgeable that the maker of the airplanes, therefore?
d. To continue to live, plants, taking in the carbon dioxide given out by animals, give out oxygen to be taken in by plants.
Did God make these? (Gen. 1; John 1:3). If “Yes,” is He not a scientist? (Pro. 6:6; Ps. 19:2) If yes, then do we say the Bible itself is unscientific? If scientific, does it not, then, tally with Brahma/Hinduism?

4. Other Matters to Establish this Similarity.
Although the above establishes Hinduism-Christianity similarity, they are not all, hereunder witnessing.

i. Water and Pilgrimages
The roles of water in both religions elucidate … Both Hindus and Christians make use of water to achieve religious desires. Hindus’ trips/baths in the Ganges/Indus Rivers are as important as Christian search for the Jordan/Dead Sea (2 Kings 2) and Water Baptism (Matt. 4). Ah, Hindus’ pilgrimages to Kashi City (Modern Banaras) equate them with Christians “searches” for Jerusalem.


ii. Solitude
Like Hindus, who, at the last stage of their religious lives, must retire into the forest, some Christians of some denominations (Catholicism) have to seek solitude in the forest so as to grip divinity. In solitude, the Arayankas in hand (Hindus) and the bible/hymns in hand (Christians), the life styles and determinism of both can look alike here. If locales were one – or near to each other – it would have been pretty hard to differentiate who is who.

iii. Contemplation/meditation.
Christians practice Concentration/Contemplation/Meditation – in fact, Jesus meditated (Matt. 17:1-9). In Hinduism, this is called Dashan, the act of solemn view or thought concentration on the divine world (Eck (1998). Hindus’ Dashan, combining love with the intellect (Smith 2000), looks like the Trinity of Mental Operation (Lynn 2012).

iv. Women
In some texts, in classical Hinduism, women, even of the higher castes, cannot be representative representatives (priestesses/Dvijas): in most cases, always Shudras, being “contaminated” by their monthly sanguinary flow. This is so, also, in Christianity where women are by status low (1 Cor. 14: 34; Saunders 1996).

V. Capitalism
The more one pursues wealth, the more wealth-inclined one is – the more wealth-inclined, the more capitalistic – the more capitalistic, the more ideologically round-about one becomes (Hansen 1999). This, true of capitalistic Hinduism, is also true of capitalistic Christianity.

vi. The Summits
Hindus finally retires into the Forest, Aranyaka-led life in view. This renunciation-seeking-experimental expedition in the forest paves the way for series of rebirths (reincarnation) to grip Moksha (bliss). This is different from Christians”, who, at any age, need being “born again (baptism), exercising faith in the grace towards eternity (salvation). However, that these two journeys lead to the same summit – Liberation/salvation – allies them.

Vii. God-Cosmos-Man Relations
Epistemologically, Hindus hold two positions: i. the cosmos is God; ii. the cosmos is not God. Cosmologically, Christianity considers the second positing. Phenomenologically, this allies Hinduism with Christianity.

viii. I Am That I Am
The Hinduism statement, "I am Brahman" is a postulation on the state of Brahman closely relating it to the Christian “I Am Who I Am” (Ex. 3:14).” These declarations on the nature of God keep them similar.

ix. Indescribability
In Hindu everything is Brahman, the eternal Now, Then, and The No Time. There is nothing before or after, everything, everywhere. Sucker (1998) quotes Pascal: “It is a circle the center of which is everywhere and the circumference nowhere.” In Christian cosmo-visionary perspective, God, in close control of everything, present everywhere and in everything, is unseeably “nowhere.”
x. Hinduism believes in physical exercises (Yoga) uniting man to God; also, Christianity believes in Physical exercises, backed up with spirituality for same. (1 Tim. 4:7-80). How allying!

Conclusion
Hinduism and Christianity are similar in view of their worldviews, God and creation, origin and nature of their sacred scriptures, and all else. This similarity, studied in detail, prophesizes creeds capable of balkanizing inter-religio-geographical discrimination and segregation, producing

Kisses to breed peace,
In seasons as dire as these,
Greasing all with bliss.

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