If you are looking for a single hinduism holy book like the quran or the bible you will be disappointed. Scholars regard hinduism as a fusion or synthesis 6 note 4. Hinduism is often referred to as sanatana dharma, a sanskrit phrase meaning the. In several tests the bible surpasses the hindu vedas, and all other books of antiquity, for that matter. Hinduism does not possess a single holy book like bible in christianity and quran in islamic dharma.
The earliest hindu writings date from roughly 1500 b. Among the vast body of indian sacred texts there are stories, prayers and teachings analogous to parts of the bible. In this evergrowing community of endless gods and goddesses, the roles of the gods and even their hierarchy are somehow. You may also purchase an mp3 cdrom that contains the lectures from this class, as well as the summary lectures on african traditional religions, buddhism and islam by clicking here. Hinduism, christianity, and liberal religious toleration jstor. Regarding pantheism, the bible declares that all is not god. Here some powerful quotes from the gita that will give you a different perspective on life, and maybe even change the way you look at hinduism. There are a variety of sacred writingsthe vedas and upanishads. Hinduism and islam are two of the worlds four largest religions. You may access the seminary level course on this subject by dr. The nature of hinduism, hindu metaphysics, how hindus worship, spiritual practices, family life and culture, and hindu ethics. It is often heard in popular culture that hinduism has a trinity.
Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as sanatana dharma, the eternal tradition, or the eternal way, beyond human history. For the church of the east, this includes most of the deuterocanonical books of. The vedas are religious texts that are the oldest written works in hinduism, emerging approximately 2,500 years ago. There is not one central, authoritative book in hinduism. The people in ancient india have followed hinduism.
In hindu thought, church or temple membership or belief is not as. Therein, in the third section, the gita forms chapters 2340, that is 6. Hinduism is the socioreligious way of life of the hindu people of the indian subcontinent, their diaspora, and some other regions which had hindu influence in the ancient and medieval times. Hinduism is a very recent noun to mean all the religions professed in india. The hindu bible is called shruti, and contains four subchapters called vedas. There are big differences between christianity and hinduism. I am a hindu, why should i consider becoming a christian. The best of those works are assembled in what is hinduism. Hindu islamic relations began when islamic influence first came to be found in the indian subcontinent during the early 7th century. A list of sins from the bible september 8, 2014 jack wellman patheos explore the worlds faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality.
Hinduism is an indian religion and dharma, or way of life, widely practiced in the indian subcontinent and parts of southeast asia. The four books of the vedasrig, yajur, sama and atharvainclude over 100,000 verses. The bhagavad gita is often preserved and studied on its own, as an independent text with its chapters renumbered from 1 to 18. The book contains 270 pages and is divided in 57 small easytoread chapters, containing authentic information about all the important aspects of hindu religion, culture, and philosophy. Comparing hinduism and christianity is difficult, in part, because hinduism is a slippery religion for westerners to grasp. Hinduism is the worlds oldest religion, according to many scholars, with roots and customs dating back more than 4,000 years. Hinduism believes this supreme being is without form, personality, or thoughtin effect, it is the only reality.
Hinduism teaches that humanitys main problem is the mistaken belief that we are individuals and not one with the ultimate divine reality, brahman. They differ from literary texts by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual practices, commandments or laws, ethical conduct, spiritual aspirations, and for creating or fostering a religious community. Religiously significant symbolic images adorn temples, statues of the gods and goddesses, sacred texts, and. There are holy books like vedas, ramayan and bhagavad. The bible is the holy scripture of the christian religion, purporting to tell the history of the earth from its earliest creation to the spread of christianity in the first century a.
Cains mark is the hindu tilakabindi his background as the crop worker and murderer of his brother leads him to develop awakening and the teachings of karma. In others christianity, the canonical texts include a particular text bible but is. Hindus believe god revealed truths to wise men who passed them on for thousands of years through a rich oral tradition. November 2018 11 october 2018 1 november 2017 1 may 2016 4 april 2016 12 march 2014 1 february 2014 8 january 2014 2 july 20 1 february 2012 1 june 2011 3 may 2011 26 february 2011 2 january 2011 9 june.
Is hinduism mentioned in the bible, quran, and other holy books. Hinduism can be traced back to ancient indian seers who transmitted to their followers their ideas about ultimate truth. Thats why hinduism is often thought of as polytheistic. Christianity revolves heavily around the life of jesus christ as detailed in the bible, whereas hinduism is not based on any one personality or one book, but rather on the philosophy that there is a god, or no god and just self, etc. So hindu writings generally make no claim to be the very words of a god, but bible writings claim that the whole bible speaks the very word of god. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The new community bible ncb stirred up some controversy when it was published, with official church approval, by a roman catholic group in mumbai last summer. But no hindu has accepted the theology of the atonement as explained by traditional theories. May 15, 2008 hinduism has the vedas, which if it werent for them, you would never have your christian bible. Jan 12, 2017 hinduism is the worlds oldest religion and the upanishads are some of the most insightful pieces of religious literature i know of. May 12, 2011 because hinduism is an amalgam of popular religious traditions developed over thousands of years, the term official as opposed to unofficial can only be applied loosely. While hindus believe in three central deities among the 330 million, this is far from the christian understanding of the trinity.
Christianity came to regard jesus as in some sense gods presence in human form. Around 1750 bc aryan invaders from central asia settled in north west india and introduced their own religious. The epic of gilgamesh from sumer, although only considered by some scholars as a religious text, has origins as early as 2150 bce, and stands as one of the earliest literary works that includes various mythological figures and themes. Central to hinduism are the smritis, or books of revelations, which include the vedas, the agamas and the bhagavadgita, which hindus revere as god in word form and which are considered to be eternal, inviolable and revealed by god for the welfare. Religious texts are texts related to a religious tradition. Does hinduism have any official books like the bible. Parallel teachings in hinduism and christianity university libraries. Jun 14, 2019 meditation in its basic form has origins in the bible.
But hinduism is rich in scripture with a vast collection of ancient religious writings. Aug 15, 2017 is hinduism mentioned in the bible, quran, and other holy books. Buddhist meditation often involves mantras which edify the gods of either buddhism or hinduism. For children, hinduism from a to z, is an illustrated alphabet designed as twentysix minilessons on hindu thought and culture. In the full lectures, i also give a summary of five different models of how christians witness in modernday contemporary india. The roman catholic church acknowledges tradition along with bible as the source for their doctrine. Currently, hinduism is the thirdlargest religion in the world. Nor is it based on the teachings of a founder or holy book. It is a religious symbol representing divine sight and shows that one is a hi foreward magazine. However, buddhist meditation often involves mantras which edify the gods of either buddhism or hinduism. One god, one book, one son, one church, one nation of god. Because hinduism is an amalgam of popular religious traditions developed over thousands of years, the term official as opposed to unofficial can only be applied loosely. Hinduism is the worlds oldest religion and the upanishads are some of the most insightful pieces of religious literature i know of. Hindus value many sacred writings as opposed to one holy book.
A summary of hinduisms historical and theological themes. Ignorance regarding this oneness, hindus say, gives rise to our bad actions, which results in bad karma, which in turn traps us in a supposed cycle of. One could even say that the history of the bible is so compelling that to doubt the bible is to doubt history itself, since it is the most historically verifiable book of all antiquity. Can a christian practice buddhist meditation methods. Introduction hinduism stands for the faith and the way of life most of the people who live in india. Hinduism a christian examines and responds to hinduism. Hinduism holy book important books and writings of hinduism. Hinduism has the vedas, which if it werent for them, you would never have your christian bible. About that dot on the forehead, the ten questions people ask about hinduism says this. A summary of hinduism s historical and theological themes. The bible affirms the necessity of meditation numerous times, but does biblical meditation differ from buddhist meditation. Im scared him do holy man named ralph flirted with worldwide fame in 1960 six.
Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. The relative authority of religious texts develops over time and is derived from the ratification. In fact, many religious scholars do not believe that hinduism is one religion, but rather a conglomeration of many distinct religions. Hinduism has numerous sacred scriptures because unlike christianity, god is always with us and there is none of this one time in history he came down ins human form and gave us one authoritative book. May 11, 20 abrahamanic religions are dominated by the notion that one is better than many. Sure, there are a few sects within hinduism that believe the deities are literally real, but the vast majority believe in that deities, just like humans and all of creation, are connected and manifested by a supreme being. Hinduism is the worlds third most popular religion, with around 900 million followers. Comparing hinduism with christianity evidence unseen. Meditating on and chanting a word or phrase praising or seeking a false deity is contrary to the principles of christianity. Christianity broadly consists of individuals who believe in the deity jesus christ. Hinduism and the church of jesus christ of latterday saints.
The primary sacred texts, known as the vedas, were composed around 1500 b. Jan 02, 2020 the only book more historically verifiable than the old testament the hebrew bible is the new testament. Rather than a single holy book such as the bible or quran, hinduism has. Although hinduism is often treated as a single religion, it is more accurate. Today, with about 900 million followers, hinduism is the third. Rather than god being all that there is, the bible says that god created all that there is genesis 1. One of the oldest known religious texts is the kesh temple hymn of ancient sumer, a set of inscribed clay tablets which scholars typically date around 2600 bce. Christianity vs hinduism difference and comparison diffen. You see, in a sense, hindus dont really see jesus as a christian at all. The vedas are the most important and sacred texts of hindus. The essence of it all can be summed up in tat tvam asi thou art that. Moreover, historically the church has tried to distance. Like the taoist tao te ching, the buddhist dhammapada, the sikh adi granth, the jewish torah, the christian bible and the muslim koranthe veda is the hindu holy book.
The purpose of this study is to compare the main doctrines of hinduism to the teachings of the bible. Hinduism is such an ancient religion that it had many types of beliefs and religious practices. Of course, the pantheism and polytheism of hinduism is absolutely contradicted by the bible. God had no possibility of being god and i came across a story yesterday that i wanted to read to you the category the point of across its about hinduism holy man and so it goes like this. A protestant pastor called it a complete turn back from the real bible. Is hinduism mentioned in the bible, quran, and other holy. Hopfe writes, brahman, who is ultimate reality, is at. Hinduism does not just have one sacred book but several scriptures. Nearly all other bible writers made similar claims.
To compare hinduism with the church of jesus christ of latterday saints, apparently, is like comparing a lake with the pacific ocean. Due to this extreme diversity, i want to respectfully exercise caution in making assertions like hindus believe this, or hindus teach that. Years ago hinduism had few adherents in western countries, but many would be surprised how much influence it has in western cultures today. An ancient indian book dense with wisdom, the bhagavad gita is the most important and beloved spiritual text to billions of hindus. The bhagavad gita manuscript is found in the sixth book of the mahabharata manuscripts the bhismaparvan.
The holy bible, the new testament, book of revelation, chapter 4 verses 1 to 11 67 monks some hindus leave their social world and material possessions, then engage in lifelong sannyasa monastic practices to achieve moksha. Its been followed by people from several generations. It represents limitless depths of profundity, a rich history, and an elaborate theology. Its followers, called christians, often believe christ is the son of the holy trinity and walked the earth as the incarnate form of god the father. Tuesday, february 21, 2017 if you are looking for a single hinduism holy book like the quran or the bible you will be disappointed. The bible is necessary and helpful for the believer to concentrate and embed the doctrines, law, and testimony vital for our spirituality. In other words, there are approximately 70 hindus for each. Christianity is the religion of my upbringing and i currently. Buddhism and jainism can be and have been considered hinduism. You may also purchase an mp3 cdrom that contains the lectures from this class, as well as the summary lectures on african traditional religions, buddhism and islam by clicking. Information on hinduism for kids primary homework help.
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