Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity fitting together?

[Trevor_Stamm]

It’s important to remember that there are probably as many different Buddhist sects as there are Christian sects!

One of the fundamental teachings of the Buddha is that asceticism is the wrong path. True Buddhists should follow the Golden Rule: “Everything in moderation.”

So shall we take the First Precept in moderation? Or the others?

According to the Theravada Buddhists, the Fifth Precept is to be viewed like the others. “… And there is no ground for the view that a little doesn’t hurt. We wouldn’t consider applying this standard to the other precepts; a little bit of killing or stealing for example. A small pile of dung still smells like dung. The right amount of drink is none.”

We can observe through the Eightfold Path that consuming alcohol is wrong, through the basis off the 7th principle “right mindfulness”. By taking into account the 5th Precept you observe that alcohol causes headlessness and thwarts the mind from making a “mindful” choice. Therefore what obstructs the mind from being mindful is wrong and can prevent enlightenment.

The catechism is quite clear that Baptists (and Methodists, Pentecostals, etc.) are “Christian”, because they all have Trinitarian baptisms (not because they believe in Transubstantiation in the Eucharist):

Baptism constitutes the foundation of communion among all Christians, including those who are not yet in full communion with the Catholic Church: “For men who believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in some, though imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church. Justified by faith in Baptism, [they] are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers by the children of the Catholic Church.”
​

Ah the Unitatis Redintegratio, a readthrough of that part of it:

“…Nevertheless, our separated brethren, whether considered as individuals or as Communities and Churches, are not blessed with that unity which Jesus Christ wished to bestow on all those who through Him were born again into one body, and with Him quickened to newness of life-that unity which the Holy Scriptures and the ancient Tradition of the Church proclaim. For it is only through Christ’s Catholic Church, which is “the all-embracing means of salvation,” that they can benefit fully from the means of salvation. We believe that Our Lord entrusted all the blessings of the New Covenant to the apostolic college alone, of which Peter is the head, in order to establish the one Body of Christ on earth to which all should be fully incorporated who belong in any way to the people of God. This people of God, though still in its members liable to sin, is ever growing in Christ during its pilgrimage on earth, and is guided by God’s gentle wisdom, according to His hidden designs, until it shall happily arrive at the fullness of eternal glory in the heavenly Jerusalem.”

(vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19641121_unitatis-redintegratio_en.html)​

 

[Luke1983]

Hi Luke: I think it’s possible to mistake Jesus’ actions in the temple for hate. I think it was more like being actively involved. Just because you love people doesn’t mean that you don’t take action to correct bad behavior when you can. The Gita is all about taking action of the most severe kind while still loving the people or things whom you have to act against. If my child steals a car, I must certainly take action, but it doesn’t mean that action has to be attended by hate. I don’t recall Him saying that He hated the people in the temple or that He hated anyone.

It is far from nonsensical to say that you have entered the realm of evil when you hate. You most certainly have. Our duty is to be IN this world and not OF it. Yes, we have to act while in this realm in which we live, but that which we truly are is beyond all of that, and what is in our hearts should be a reflection of the divine ability to love that is in us. Now you may think that Mohandis Gandhi was some sort of weakling pacifist, but it most be noted in any summation of his achievements that this weak pacifist who tried to love everyone brought down the British Empire in his country and drove them out without hatred or violence. For me he is a fine role model on that front.

If you feel that you have to hate people or hate this thing or that in this world and beyond, then that is the level of spirituality that you are on, and what you are capable of. You should do it fully in that case, and hate what you feel you need to hate to the utmost that your being can muster. This way over time you will be able to burn all this hatred away and God will then find fertile ground within you from which the harvest of hate has been scorched and is now ready plant the seeds of unconditional love. So if hating is part of who you are, then don’t hate lightly. Do it with all the intensity you can so you can move past all that and realize the Kingdom of God. There will be no full realization of that while there is still a stalk of hate in your field of being.

Your friend
Sufjon

Your friend
Sufjon

I don’t mistake his actions outside the temple as hate just that you said that Jesus never used his fists he used a whip made out of chord and whipped the moneylenders and rightly so so more than just a fist. That was my answer. Jesus was no hypocritical pacifist. You made him look like one. Telling a rabbi (priest at the time of Jesus) “you work for the devil” translated into plain language means: you suck at your work. That’s what it means! And I can assure you the pharisees understood it. And put in plain english it loses its force too!

Gandhi did not drive England out on his own its a hyperbola. If there was no one in the streets protesting i.e. if the masses weren’t hooked up by the protest the English would still be there. Gandhi wasn’t alone in his quest. He became an icon of passive resistance against the English. For the style of his protest. For his fasts which were a means to an end. Publicity in the international arena. The present day revolutions in Maghreb aren’t to be ascribed to a vegetable seller committing suicide. They were mounting for years and years that was just a pretext to “unleash the beast”. Even though that vegetable seller became an icon and by many is considered the man who ushered the revolt in Egypt.

I’m glad you refined the realm bit. Hating bad things isn’t evil though. What you say is nonsense but at least now, one does not interpret it as before. The mirror image and all the philosophical metaphors after that. Which as I stated before would lead to the logical conclusion that if you hated God you would enter his realm. Now instead what you say is just a logical fallacy and not a theological one like before.

The logical fallacy being that hating evil is not evil. Hating evil is a double negative which entails a positive. In math, and logic is mathematical, 3 - -3 = 6 and not 0!!!
3 being a person - being a negative: hate and the -3 being a negative man i.e. a bad one.
So person hates a bad person…the outcome is a positive result!! So no it is not ALWAYS a bad thing to hate someone! this is the logical fallacy that is intrinsic in pacifism, Gandhianism put to the extreme.

Love one’s enemy doesn’t mean to tell him please do me wrong and beat me up more than you did before! I.e. literally loving him notwithstanding him doing you a wrong. It means pray so that he converts and therefore stops beating you up!!

Of course I hate people who pick on others who are weaker.
Christians are killed in muslim countries. And badly beaten up. Now them loving their enemy doesn’t mean they have to literally. Imagine this. A christian gets beat up he passively stands there then he reaches a point when enough is enough and he defends himself. The muslim tells him “why do you defend yourself turn the other cheek and love me! That’s what jesus tells you to do! Do it or you will go to hell!” That’s adding insult to injury! And many twist Jesus’ teachings like this!!

 

[Ahimsa]

Ah the Unitatis Redintegratio, a readthrough of that part of it:

“…Nevertheless, our separated brethren, whether considered as individuals or as Communities and Churches, are not blessed with that unity which Jesus Christ wished to bestow on all those who through Him were born again into one body, and with Him quickened to newness of life-that unity which the Holy Scriptures and the ancient Tradition of the Church proclaim. For it is only through Christ’s Catholic Church, which is “the all-embracing means of salvation,” that they can benefit fully from the means of salvation. We believe that Our Lord entrusted all the blessings of the New Covenant to the apostolic college alone, of which Peter is the head, in order to establish the one Body of Christ on earth to which all should be fully incorporated who belong in any way to the people of God. This people of God, though still in its members liable to sin, is ever growing in Christ during its pilgrimage on earth, and is guided by God’s gentle wisdom, according to His hidden designs, until it shall happily arrive at the fullness of eternal glory in the heavenly Jerusalem.”

(vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19641121_unitatis-redintegratio_en.html)

I don’t see where this statement denies that Baptists are Christian.

 

[Sufjon]

J

esus was no weak pacifist and you made him look like one. Telling a rabbi (priest at the time of Jesus) “you work for the devil” translated into plain language means: you suck at your work. That’s what it means! And I can assure you the pharisees understood it. And put in plain english it loses its force too!

It wasn’t my intent to call Jesus a pacifist. Being peaceful doesn’t make one a pacifist. You can be very active in this world and have plenty of effect on the outcome of things without being violent. To take this path, however, one must use their minds to the best of their ability rather than to jump into situations emotionally.

Gandhi did not drive England out on his own its a hyperbola. If there was no one in the streets protesting i.e. if the masses weren’t hooked up by the protest the English would still be there. Gandhi wasn’t alone in his quest.

.

Few great leaders accomplish anything on their own. They think and establish direction and then inspire. Having inspired those around them, they are able to press them into collective action.

I’m glad you refined the realm bit. Hating bad things isn’t evil though. What you say is nonsense but at least now, one does not interpret it as before. The mirror image and all the philosophical metaphors after that. Which as I stated before would lead to the logical conclusion that if you hated God you would enter his realm. Now instead what you say is just a logical fallacy and not a theological one like before.

Hate is hate. A hatred of evil is hate nonetheless. I don’t have to hate drug dealing to avoid it, nor do I have to hate serial killers to catch one. The employment of hate in your activities is to lack understanding of the nature of things. As I said before, it sounds as though hate is in your mental toolkit and if you are unable to overcome it, that is because you haven’t had enough of it yet. Therefore you should chose what you hate wisely and move into it deeply so that you can get past it. If you hate well enough and long enough then it will fall away of it’s own eventually. It’s like Saint Paul who avoided sex all his life. All he accomplished was not having sex. On as spiritual level he likely left this world still craving something he could have overcome by moving into it. If things like sex and hatred and pleasures of the flesh are still in your suitcase when you leave this world, they will still be there to be dealt with. If you are a Catholic that means you will have some real work to do in purgatory, but don’t think that you’ll pass through the customs agents of heaven with anything like hate in your luggage. You’re going to have to claim it and pay the duty.

The logical fallacy being that hating evil is not evil. Hating evil is a double negative which entails a positive. In math, and logic is mathematical, 3 - -3 = 6 and not 0!!!
3 being a person - being a negative: hate and the -3 being a negative man i.e. a bad one.
So person hates a bad person…the outcome is a positive result!! So no it is not ALWAYS a bad thing to hate someone! this is the logical fallacy that is intrinsic in pacifism, Gandhianism put to the extreme.

Mathematical logic is hard to apply when talking about that which is formless. It is also not so plain as one might think even in the practical world. One with eyes open sees more. Eight divided by two can certainly be four depending on how you look at it. It can also be a lower case letter o over an upper case letter O, as well as the number three facing an inverted number 3. Everything in this world is multifarious in it’s nature.

Love one’s enemy doesn’t mean to tell him please do me wrong and beat me up more than you did before! I.e. literally loving him notwithstanding him doing you a wrong. It means pray so that he converts and therefore stops beating you up!!

I don’t believe I have told you to let people walk all over you. That is not what turning the other cheek is all about Listen to the words of that scripture carefully and you’ll see what it means. It says when someone smacks you on the right cheek, offer them your left. In olden days being smacked on the right cheek was being smacked with a right handed persons backhand, and very disrespectful. Making someone smack you on the left cheek makes them use the open hand. It means to make people respect you. They will respect you if you think and act smart.

Of course I hate people who pick on others who are weaker.
Christians are killed in muslim countries. And badly beaten up. Now them loving their enemy doesn’t mean they have to literally. Imagine this. A christian gets beat up he passively stands there then he reaches a point when enough is enough and he defends himself. The muslim tells him “why do you defend yourself turn the other cheek and love me! That’s what jesus tells you to do! Do it or you will go to hell!” That’s adding insult to injury! And many twist Jesus’ teachings like this!!

You simply don’t have to hate someone to fight back, and I already explained what turning the other cheek means. It doesn’t make you a doormat. It means you think, THEN you act. And you act in whatever way is needed, but hatred is never needed as a catalyst for action. Hatred will often lead one to making the wrong choices when determining what action to take. It is such lack of thought that causes one nation to tear up a whole other nation because the objective was to remove a bad leader. There are probably smarter ways to remove a bad leader.

Your friend,
Sufjon

 

[Trevor_Stamm]

I don’t see where this statement denies that Baptists are Christian.

The article denies them, and any other denomination outside the Church, the full definition of being a Christian. If you want me to call them their full title, they are heretical Christians that revolt against Christ’s wishes. But I will also say what they do, they do out of ignorance which puts them under catechism paragraph 847 and 848.

 

[JenniferB]

I guess I see religion a little differently. There is only one God, but every religion has their own name for Him, whether it’s Buddha, Christ, Shiva, or Jesus.
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” - Romeo and Juliet

The practices of each are very different, but if we all get to the same place, God, what’s the difference? The methods of reaching God may be different, but whose to say which one is absolutely correct? Isn’t it a bit arrogant to say which way to God is correct because then we are speaking for God? Can’t we approach God from different angles?

A BIG amen to you, sister! That is exactly how I feel! God loves us too much to send us to hell for living a good life and loving others, but not praying to Jesus. Because I was born in America, Jesus is my way and my salvation but may not be for others. I think God will judge our hearts mercifully and see where our love and devotion lies.

 

[benedictus2]

A BIG amen to you, sister! That is exactly how I feel! God loves us too much to send us to hell for living a good life and loving others, but not praying to Jesus.

If all religions are the same, why did Jesus come?

I mean there was already Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism and all sort of religion before Him. Why did Jesus come if it did not matter? Why would He command “Make disicples of all nationas baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spriit”?

If it does not matter, it was really pointless all that incarnation, crucifixioni, dying and rising isn’t it?

Because I was born in America, Jesus is my way and my salvation but may not be for others. I think God will judge our hearts mercifully and see where our love and devotion lies.

That is total absolute rubbish.

Jesus said He is the Way. He IS the Only Way. He is the Truth. Either you got that one or there is no point claiming to be Christian.

Jesus is not one guru among many or one enlightened being among many. He is the Son of God, One in Being with the Father.

i think you need to brush up on your faith. You’ve bought into this relativist hogwash.

 

[benedictus2]

Because I was born in America, Jesus is my way and my salvation but may not be for others. I think God will judge our hearts mercifully and see where our love and devotion lies.

With this kind of relativism, God can that our love and devotion lies on the self. Because this 'you’ve got your truth I’ve got mine" philosophy basically deifies the self.

And that is as old as Adam and Eve.

 

[benedictus2]

Because I was born in America, Jesus is my way and my salvation but may not be for others.

An Excerpt from Absolute Relativism - the New Dictatorship by Chris Stefanick

It seems that most people today are under the false impression that if something is scientifcally verifiable, it is objectively true, whereas everything else is only “subjectively true” that is, sentiment or opinion. Such a belief reduces God from the status of actual living Being to personal sentiment that can legitimately vary from person to person.

Because of this demotion, relativists are able to say thing like “jesus is God for you, but Vishnu is God for someone else”. By this, they mean, not only that people see God differently but that God is, in fact, different for each person, as if each person is able to create his or her own deity based on his personal tastes, much in the same way that he would craft his own drink at Starbucks. There’s a joke that the main difference between humans and God is that God never thinks He’s us. By subjectifying God, relativism sets us up as creators of God rather than God as the Creator of us.

This idea is incompatible with the notion of God as actual being. If God is someone or something that each person creates - rather than someone we discover or someone who seeks us out - then he is no more real than a creation of a person’s imagination. He is reduced to a mere projection from the mind of the believer, or group of believers. However, if an intelligent and personal God really exists (as over 95% of the world’s population would contend) then he has attributes that our individual or collective opinions don’t create or change, just as you have attributes that aren’t changed by what people believe about you.

Unlike make believe characters, a real God would be a Being who exists indepent of what we think of Him and with attributes that our beliefs don’t affect. This means that some people believe things about God that are wrong.

 

[rossum]

Unlike make believe characters, a real God would be a Being who exists independent of what we think of Him and with attributes that our beliefs don’t affect. This means that some people believe things about God that are wrong.

Since God is infinite and we are finite it is inevitable that there are things we believe (or don’t believe) about God that are wrong. We cannot know all of God so our own internal image of God is always a pale reflection of the reality.

The Hindu approach tends to ignore the differences between these various pale reflections and merely bears in mind that all they can ever be is just pale reflections. Is it worth getting so worked up about a mere reflection?

Is the Jewish God the same as the Christian God? One is a trinity, the other isn’t.

rossum

 

[CompSciGuy]

If all religions are the same, why did Jesus come?

I mean there was already Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism and all sort of religion before Him. Why did Jesus come if it did not matter? Why would He command “Make disicples of all nationas baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spriit”?

If it does not matter, it was really pointless all that incarnation, crucifixioni, dying and rising isn’t it?

That is total absolute rubbish.

Jesus said He is the Way. He IS the Only Way. He is the Truth. Either you got that one or there is no point claiming to be Christian.

Jesus is not one guru among many or one enlightened being among many. He is the Son of God, One in Being with the Father.

i think you need to brush up on your faith. You’ve bought into this relativist hogwash.

A big AMEN to you.

JenniferB, you say that “since you were born in America, Jesus is your God.” Well, if that is the case, and Jesus truly is your God, do you know that Jesus said he was the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and noone gets to the Father except through Him? It is in the New Testament. If Jesus is truly your God, even relatively speaking, then you have to come to terms with this. Either you must believe that Jesus is who he says he is, or you must believe that Jesus is lying, in which case you have a lying God on your hands. Why would God lie to us? Could a liar really be God?

 

[Ahimsa]

A Because I was born in America, Jesus is my way and my salvation but may not be for others. I think God will judge our hearts mercifully and see where our love and devotion lies.

I can relate to that.

 

[Sufjon]

Because of this demotion, relativists are able to say thing like “jesus is God for you, but Vishnu is God for someone else”.

This idea is incompatible with the notion of God as actual being. If God is someone or something that each person creates - rather than someone we discover or someone who seeks us out - then he is no more real than a creation of a person’s imagination. He is reduced to a mere projection from the mind of the believer, or group of believers. However, if an intelligent and personal God really exists (as over 95% of the world’s population would contend) then he has attributes that our individual or collective opinions don’t create or change, just as you have attributes that aren’t changed by what people believe about you.

Unlike make believe characters, a real God would be a Being who exists indepent of what we think of Him and with attributes that our beliefs don’t affect. This means that some people believe things about God that are wrong.

This would all be rather cogent if God were to be trapped within the confines of limited thinking. God is beyond the physical realm, but able to express Himself within it in any way He sees fit. If He is able to be Both the Father and the Son and also the Holy Spirit, this means He is capable of being One thing expressed as three, and if He can be expressed as three, He can be expressed as more than three. And the fact that He has certainly revealed Himself to others long before Jesus,(and many times since as well) further supports His ability to be existent as a being, and manifest in more than one way. And as such, He is reaching out to various peoples in various ways. This sort of diversity is evident in His very handiwork, which is all of creation. All of creation is diverse in form and aspect. It would be counter-intuitive to conclude that His being would be different. It is more logical that the diversity evident in creation is a reflection of His very nature, and His nature is evident in the design.

Absolutism, exclusivity and religious snobbery are the work of the father of all lies, and in your faith, the father of all lies is Satan. Narrow thinking is his playground.

Your friend,
Sufjon

 

[Conor7]

I’ve come to this thread a little late, but still would like to address the OP’s original thoughts.

In my opinion, albeit perhaps unpopular on this forum, religion is simply a means for accessing the divine.

There is only one God in the same way that there is only one Internet. Some of use Internet Explorer, while others use Firefox, Safari, or Opera to access the Internet. Same Internet, different methods access it. So what browser are you using to connect to God?

 

[hn160]

I’ve come to this thread a little late, but still would like to address the OP’s original thoughts.

In my opinion, albeit perhaps unpopular on this forum, religion is simply a means for accessing the divine.

There is only one God in the same way that there is only one Internet. Some of use Internet Explorer, while others use Firefox, Safari, or Opera to access the Internet. Same Internet, different methods access it. So what browser are you using to connect to God?

There is only One True Triune God ( Christian ), not a one god that many can worship and come to the God of the Christian. Who can with a straight face worship a god that has a face of an elephant and a body of a man?

 

[theyuha]

I have been Catholic all my life but have come into contact with Indian people through Bollywood. They do not talk about their religion or try to convert- they dont even seem to talk about polytics. They do let me in their home and we are welcome in their temples but they only ask us to take off our shoes and dress modestly.
What I was tought as a Catholic and American about Hinduism does not reflect how Hindus actually practice. In the last 30 years the Church has somewhat changed their anti- Hindu tone but only a little. I am finding these errors in Catholic websites but not necessarily at the official Vatican website but it scandalizes me greatly and harms the Catholic Church greatly.
I have addressed the issues on my blog at theyuha.blogspot.com
On the other hand Hindus (Hindus dont call themselves this) do understand and respect the Catholic and other religions but they do not get the respect in return. We need to stop the spiritual warfare and learn in an honest way about others. The Priests I know cannot tell the difference between Moslems and Hindus and they do not care either it seems. What you know about Hinduism is likely not accurate unless you learned it from a qualified Priest, Guru or official Hindu publication–and I dont mean opening a book in the middle and reading a page or 2 and coming up with a conclusion. Many Catholic websites are innaccurate partly because they use innacurate older information. To be frank Catholicism and Christianity makes Hindus and other related religions look like fools at best, I do see some improvement and I think Pope John 2 may have had something to do with it.
What bothers me is I see catholics and Christians trying to convert the Hindus and they insult the religion without really understanding what they insult. I fear it is breeding resentment and the normally peaceful Hindus may become violent. Their leaders teach them to be peaceful and forgiving but I sence they are becomming impatient. This could cause persecution of Christians, the people of India did not ask the Church to come. Civil war could erupt and all religion especially the Christians could be made to look bad.
I take pictures at Indian events, they have not complained about this here in the US but in India it is a different story. They are very kind people. I simply did my own research on what they believe and I bought some books and looked up what they believe. It is not a simple religion you can learn in a few months, but neither is God.
Here is an excerpt from research I did:
Quotes from Indian or Vedic scripture:
Kena Upanisad
“Who is not possible to see with our eyes, but who, has endowed us with eyes to see, he we know , is God. He alone is the One we worship, none else”

Bhagavad-Gita 4:7-8
“Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, o descendent of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion-at that time I descend Myself to deliver the pius and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principals of religion, I advent Myself millenium after millenium”

RIGVEDA 1:164:46 ( oldest Hindu scripture)
“Sages call one God by many names”

Rigveda 6:45:16
“There is only one God, worship him”

Rigveda 8:8:1
“Do not worship any one beside Him”

Explanation of “many Gods and demigods”:
youtube.com/watch?v=mEVRHwn2XKU

Differences between Hindu concept of God and other religions:
youtube.com/watch?v=91JAN88NpSw&feature=related This is really well done but I do disagree on what they say about the Moslem Kaab stone being phallic. It shows how errors pervade everything.

I saw it in comments on this website saying Hindus are polytheistic–these quotes disprove that and the Guru I met agrees. Hindus believe in One God with many titles-- this is only one issue I deal with on my blog.

PEACE

 

[Conor7]

There is only One True Triune God ( Christian ), not a one god that many can worship and come to the God of the Christian. Who can with a straight face worship a god that has a face of an elephant and a body of a man?

In all fairness, if you weren’t born into a culture where Christianity was dominant, you would probably think that a man dying on a cross then been raised from the dead in three days’ time is pretty absurd. And that’s just the main tenet of Christianity, it gets even stranger with talking snakes who tempt women in a garden with a forbidden tree, a man being swallowed by a whale, a man wrestling with an angel on desolate road, and a massive body of water being parted so some Jews can tarry across. Not to mention the Gospel authors can’t even get their stories straight.

And, if you want to talk about funny looking, lets talk about a Cherub with four wings with a calf’s feet and man’s hands, or a seraph with six fiery wings.

 

[Tantum_ergo]

In all fairness, if you weren’t born into a culture where Christianity was dominant, you would probably think that a man dying on a cross then been raised from the dead in three days’ time is pretty absurd. And that’s just the main tenet of Christianity, it gets even stranger with talking snakes who tempt women in a garden with a forbidden tree, a man being swallowed by a whale, a man wrestling with an angel on desolate road, and a massive body of water being parted so some Jews can tarry across. Not to mention the Gospel authors can even get their stories straight.

And, if you want to talk about funny looking, lets talk about a Cherub with four wings with a calf’s feet and man’s hands, or a seraph with six fiery wings.

Well, if you weren’t born into a culture where the wheel existed (I believe this is the case for some South American cultures), would you expect, when you made contact with a culture where the wheel DID exist, that you would simply REJECT having wheels, because ‘we don’t use them in our society?’ That you’d find it too ‘weird?’

How about a culture which didn’t have horses? Would they reject having horses and using them once they knew of them and they were made available?

The idea that a person ‘born into culture A’ is NEVER going to be able to learn anything about any other culture is bunkum.

What about the many throughout history who had searched, as the Greeks did for the “Unknown God” who greeted the news of Christ with a sigh of relief, “So THAT’S what we had been searching for, without knowing. .”

 

[Conor7]

Well, if you weren’t born into a culture where the wheel existed (I believe this is the case for some South American cultures), would you expect, when you made contact with a culture where the wheel DID exist, that you would simply REJECT having wheels, because ‘we don’t use them in our society?’ That you’d find it too ‘weird?’

How about a culture which didn’t have horses? Would they reject having horses and using them once they knew of them and they were made available?

The idea that a person ‘born into culture A’ is NEVER going to be able to learn anything about any other culture is bunkum."

I don’t disagree with you in the least, but I would be very cautious making that argument. To make that argument is to make a case for Islam, the LDS, Protestants, and the Pentecostal movement. They just might think they are a little more advanced than us and can’t understand why we won’t use their wheel.

 

[Sufjon]

I have been Catholic all my life but have come into contact with Indian people through Bollywood. They do not talk about their religion or try to convert- they dont even seem to talk about polytics. They do let me in their home and we are welcome in their temples but they only ask us to take off our shoes and dress modestly.
What I was tought as a Catholic and American about Hinduism does not reflect how Hindus actually practice. In the last 30 years the Church has somewhat changed their anti- Hindu tone but only a little. I am finding these errors in Catholic websites but not necessarily at the official Vatican website but it scandalizes me greatly and harms the Catholic Church greatly.
I have addressed the issues on my blog at theyuha.blogspot.com
On the other hand Hindus (Hindus dont call themselves this) do understand and respect the Catholic and other religions but they do not get the respect in return. We need to stop the spiritual warfare and learn in an honest way about others. The Priests I know cannot tell the difference between Moslems and Hindus and they do not care either it seems. What you know about Hinduism is likely not accurate unless you learned it from a qualified Priest, Guru or official Hindu publication–and I dont mean opening a book in the middle and reading a page or 2 and coming up with a conclusion. Many Catholic websites are innaccurate partly because they use innacurate older information. To be frank Catholicism and Christianity makes Hindus and other related religions look like fools at best, I do see some improvement and I think Pope John 2 may have had something to do with it.
What bothers me is I see catholics and Christians trying to convert the Hindus and they insult the religion without really understanding what they insult. I fear it is breeding resentment and the normally peaceful Hindus may become violent. Their leaders teach them to be peaceful and forgiving but I sence they are becomming impatient. This could cause persecution of Christians, the people of India did not ask the Church to come. Civil war could erupt and all religion especially the Christians could be made to look bad.
I take pictures at Indian events, they have not complained about this here in the US but in India it is a different story. They are very kind people. I simply did my own research on what they believe and I bought some books and looked up what they believe. It is not a simple religion you can learn in a few months, but neither is God.
Here is an excerpt from research I did:
Quotes from Indian or Vedic scripture:
Kena Upanisad
“Who is not possible to see with our eyes, but who, has endowed us with eyes to see, he we know , is God. He alone is the One we worship, none else”

Bhagavad-Gita 4:7-8
“Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, o descendent of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion-at that time I descend Myself to deliver the pius and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principals of religion, I advent Myself millenium after millenium”

RIGVEDA 1:164:46 ( oldest Hindu scripture)
“Sages call one God by many names”

Rigveda 6:45:16
“There is only one God, worship him”

Rigveda 8:8:1
“Do not worship any one beside Him”

Explanation of “many Gods and demigods”:
youtube.com/watch?v=mEVRHwn2XKU

Differences between Hindu concept of God and other religions:
youtube.com/watch?v=91JAN88NpSw&feature=related This is really well done but I do disagree on what they say about the Moslem Kaab stone being phallic. It shows how errors pervade everything.

I saw it in comments on this website saying Hindus are polytheistic–these quotes disprove that and the Guru I met agrees. Hindus believe in One God with many titles-- this is only one issue I deal with on my blog.

PEACE

Excellent post - thank you!

Your friend
Sufjon