Christians and Buddhism/Hinduism
1. historical background
2. the understanding of God
3. commandments
4. church service
5. karma
6. reincarnation
7. sin and atonement
..1. Historical background
Buddhism and Hinduism are considered the fourth and third largest religions in the world, respectively. Both belong to the so-called experiential religions. Buddhism emerged from Hinduism. At the center of the Buddhist religion is the historical person Buddha, behind whom lies the Indian religious founder Siddhartha Gautama, who, according to traditional tradition, lived from 563 to 483 BC. lived. His teachings are the foundation stone for Buddhism. In Buddhism, a Buddha (= the awakened one) is understood as a person who, through his own efforts, has achieved the perfect state of mind that all Buddhists strive for.
..2. The understanding of God
Buddhism does not provide an answer to how and why the universe and life came into being. According to Buddhism, we are made of energy. However, energy is a personalityless, intangible force. The Bible, on the other hand, teaches that God created us humans as capable individuals with a personality and free will.
As in most pagan religions, Hinduism has countless "gods" and even "goddesses." These are called “Devas”. Hindus believe that each individual deity contains the entire world soul, which is called “Brahman”. In Hinduism, Brahman permeates and unifies the entire universe and everything in it. Each of the millions of Hindu "deities" possesses one or more properties of Brahman, such as happiness, beauty, education or strength. Each of them is honored with its own festival. The respective deities complement each other and combine all of Brahman's characteristics into a whole. In addition to Brahman, the most important "deities" of the Hindus include Vishnu, Shiva, Krishna, Rama, Sarasvati, Ganesha, Shak-ti, Kali, Parvati, Durga and others....
..3. Commandments
In both Buddhism and Hinduism there are various moral rules of life, some of which correspond to God's commandments in Holy Scripture. This includes, for example, being friendly and considerate towards people. In addition, there are countless ritual regulations such as ablutions, sacrificial rituals and various breathing exercises (meditation). While in the Old Testament God imposed ritual regulations such as dietary laws or various purity regulations on his people Israel for a limited time, which essentially had a figurative or symbolic meaning, these are no longer found in the New Testament. The most important moral commandments, however, which prohibit murder, theft or adultery, remain valid for all people.
..4. Church service
The worship in Hinduism is called Puja. This traditionally takes place in your own home or in one of the countless temples and shrines. Different gifts are offered as sacrifices to each “deity”; including fruit and meat and blood. In earlier times even children are said to have been sacrificed; something that is detestable in God's eyes. The everyday life of Hindus consists of various religious rituals. This includes, among other things, worshiping images of gods and worshiping them with incense candles. Plants, animals, rivers or mountains are also viewed as divine and worshiped; including the cow. In the Vedas, the religious texts of Hinduism, the cow is described as a sacred creature that must not be killed. It is said that various deities reside within the cow.
Even in ancient times, pagan “gods” were worshiped in the form of animals. However, God expressly forbids making an image of Him. This means that God may not be depicted or worshiped in this form either as an animal or as a human being. On the one hand, this is due to the fact that God is spirit and has no physical form. On the other hand, we humans should not reduce our all-powerful and all-knowing Creator to a transient creature. The Old Testament tells of how, after God freed them from captivity in Egypt, the Israelites, contrary to God's clear instructions, made a golden calf to worship as a god. As punishment for this, thousands of people had to die. As history progressed, God repeatedly had to judge his people because they turned away from their God to serve the "gods" of the pagans.
In Hinduism, deceased relatives, gurus and Bollywood stars are revered as saints; a practice that God strictly forbids in Holy Scripture. Selected priests who belong to the caste of the so-called Brahmins - the highest level in Hindu society - serve as mediators between people and the countless gods. These include, among others, temple priests, pilgrim priests and teachers (gurus). There are also astrologers, healers, priests of the dead and many more. God, on the other hand, condemns all forms of sorcery, fortune telling and necromancy, as these are associated with the devil and evil spirits (demons). Some Hindu priests live as monks. They undergo extreme asceticism, where they do not move for years and eat almost no food. The Bible calls this type of ascetic practice useless because it does not bring anyone closer to God. In contrast, Christians fast from time to time, abstaining from food for a limited period of time in order to fully focus on God.
The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and us humans. At the same time, the Holy Scripture describes everyone who believes in Jesus as priests of God. In contrast to the Hindu tradition, Christians no longer offer animals as sacrifices. Rather, our entire life should be a (spiritual) sacrifice to God. The worship of Christians is expressed in obedience to God's commandments and selfless love for their fellow human beings.
..5. Karma
Another element that appears particularly in Hinduism is karma. The word karma comes from the ancient Indian language. It means “action” or “effect” and describes a spiritual connection between cause and effect: According to the doctrine of karma, every physical and mental action has a consequence that can occur both in this life and in the next. Karma arises through a law and not as a result of an assessment by a world judge or God. However, a law cannot create itself. It needs a legislator who in turn must have a personality and free will. Furthermore, this legislator must have the power to ensure justice, that is, to reward good and punish evil. To do this, he must define what is good or evil or right or wrong and judge each person's actions individually. No one other than God comes into question for this. Without God there can be neither morality nor justice....
But God is not only just, but also merciful. This means that God does not punish us humans immediately for every wrongdoing we commit. If God were to do that, we humans would be hopelessly lost because we more or less constantly violate God's commandments; be it intentionally or unintentionally. The fact that God is merciful to us humans and wants to forgive us instead of condemning us is evidence of God's love. Love, in turn, corresponds to God's very own nature. In other words: God himself is love. The karma principle, on the other hand, knows neither love nor mercy nor forgiveness.
..6. reincarnation
In Buddhism/Hinduism there is also the concept of the so-called “(re)incarnation” or “transmigration of souls”. This teaching is also not found in the Bible. Only in the course of the Hellenization of Judaism were such ideas partially adopted from paganism. The claim that the doctrine of (re)incarnation was subsequently removed from the Bible is neither tenable nor tenable in view of the fact that the Bible (still) contains a large number of clear statements that testify against this doctrine understandable.
The doctrine of (re)incarnation states that humans have a soul, which is viewed as an immortal part of the human being. It is taught that after physical death this soul takes up residence in the body of a newly conceived human or animal. Thus, each individual - whether human or animal - is born anew into this world in a continuous cycle, giving their soul the opportunity to develop further. Depending on whether a person has done good or bad in his life, his soul can ascend or descend in this learning process. This process is called “Samsara”. The goal is to overcome the eternal cycle of rebirth and achieve the perfect spiritual state called "Nirvana." In this state there are no longer any desires or evil tendencies. However, since a person knows nothing of his previous existence, he cannot develop spiritually. Furthermore, since no one knows when they will reach the state of Nirvana, every person must assume that, theoretically, they will have to return to this world of toil and suffering an unlimited number of times; no matter whether he wants to or not.
The Bible, on the other hand, teaches that every person is given one life by God and that their eternal fate is decided in this life. There are only two options: either eternal life or eternal damnation. The Bible makes it clear that we can receive eternal life only through faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and that no human being can save himself. Furthermore, God promises that in the world to come, which God promises to those who accept his salvation, there will be no more sin, suffering, or death.
..7. Sin and atonement
Hinduism teaches that any person who commits wrongdoing can atone for their own sin, for example by making amends for a bad deed or apologizing to someone they have wronged. The Bible, on the other hand, makes it clear that all people are sinners and that every person needs forgiveness from God. Jesus Christ, who was without sin, atoned for the sins of the world by dying on the cross as a representative of all people. Anyone who believes in Jesus and confesses their sins to God will be absolved of their guilt. The forgiveness of sins is also the basic requirement for receiving eternal life. The subsequent reparation for wrongdoing is the visible expression that a person has sincerely regretted his guilt and changed his attitude.