At the Foot of the Bed

[Ahimsa]

From his hospital bed, a Hindu taught me reverence for a central symbol of my Christian faith. http://images.beliefnet.com/imgs/x.gif

By the Reverend Jon Arnold http://images.beliefnet.com/imgs/x.gif http://images.beliefnet.com/imgs/x_ccc.gif

During my daily rounds at the hospital, I came across a room where I could immediately tell by looking through the glass doorway that the man inside, though his back was to me, was visibly disturbed. He was anxiously sitting up on the far side of the bed with his feet hanging off while he pulled repeatedly at the unkempt sheets.

 

[Neithan]

It’s an interesting story, but I sense a subtle critique of the Occident behind it. For us Christians, it is touching that a man foreign to our culture would show such respect for ‘a God’ whom he does not worship. Fact is, however, the Hindu does in fact believe that this God exists. It is not a problem to assimilate any number of foreign gods. He is not disturbed because he is afraid he will offend someone, but he is afraid of offending a God. The motivation is a little bit different. If I walk into a Hindu temple with statues of Shiva and Vishnu, I am not going to be worried about disrespecting actual gods, but only the people who worship them.

Christians have been criticised since ancient times by polytheists for our ‘intolerance’ and even ‘atheism.’ It was a peculiarity of the Jews to worship exclusively one God, a ‘jealous God,’ and Christianity inherited this practice. The western philosophers paralleled monotheistic developments by arriving at the conclusion through reason and logic that there can only be one God. Modern Hinduism recognises this as well, but in the pantheistic concept of Brahman.
While I appreciate a Hindu showing respect for Christ, I also realise that this is not only because he wishes not to offend me, but that he fears offending an actual deity. That’s an important distinction to keep in mind. Lastly, in opposition to any syncretic tendency such sentimental tales might arouse, I would say that Peace is to be everywhere and always pursued, but not at the expense of Truth. It is well and good that the Orient is so tolerant of western beliefs, but this does not destroy the principle of non-contradiction. :twocents:

 

[Eileen_T]

I have Hindu friends and have to agree. They are so respectful to those who have other beliefs. In fact, their respect and Charity to others puts many Christians to shame.

 

[Aquarius]

This characteristic of Hinduism is one of its great strengths. It doesn’t have to clash with other religions, it just absorbs them.

 

[Ahimsa]

Neithan:

For us Christians, it is touching that a man foreign to our culture would show such respect for ‘a God’ whom he does not worship.

Hmmm…how do you know he doesn’t worship a particular God? Maybe he sees the Christian God as the same as the God he worships (albeit from a different angle)?

 

[cestusdei]

So he worships the Holy Trinity exactly as we do? Believes in the God revealed to the Church? Probably not. If so then become Christian.

 

[Ahimsa]

cestusdei:

So he worships the Holy Trinity exactly as we do? Believes in the God revealed to the Church?

I make no claims in the affirmative nor negative. But, perhaps, he himself believes that he and Christians are worshipping the same God, ultimately.

 

[Neithan]

Ahimsa:

Hmmm…how do you know he doesn’t worship a particular God? Maybe he sees the Christian God as the same as the God he worships (albeit from a different angle)?

Exactly! That is how he sees it. But from the perspective of the story-teller–a Christian–the Hindu man is paying homage “for a faith not his own,” and made a model of respect and tolerance for all cultures.
So there’s a touch of deception here. The man is simply recognising his own object of worship, albeit in another form. This is why he is so “visibly disturbed,” even if unaware that anyone else is around.