Posted by on February 25, 2010 at 14:58:30
In Reply to: Re: Prof. M.M.Ninan Emergence-of-Hinduism-from-Christianity posted by Farmer on February 24, 2010 at 05:36:19:
Farmer:
From we can read :
"Though Hinduism may seem far removed from our everyday experience, it's becoming increasingly important that we as Christians understand this mysterious religion from India. This is so, if for no other reason than that Hinduism claims 1/6 of the world's population, with over 750 million followers worldwide. But it's also important because its influence is being felt more and more in our own country.
Most of us have had at least some exposure to what has become known as the New Age movement. If so, we have probably realized that Hinduism is the wellspring of a good deal of New Age thinking. Most of us are probably also aware than an increasing number of Asian Indians are residing in the U.S. We may be surprised, in fact, to learn that there are approximately 200 Hindu temples or Hindu centers in the U.S. Many believe that due to its eclectic nature, Hinduism has the potential to serve as a major vehicle for uniting much of the non-Christian religious world.
The appeal of Hinduism to Western culture is not difficult to comprehend. For one, Hinduism is comfortable with evolutionary thinking. As modern science emphasizes our physical evolution, so Hinduism emphasizes our spiritual evolution. As much of modern psychology emphasizes the basic goodness and unlimited potential of human nature, so Hinduism emphasizes man's essential divinity. As modern philosophy emphasizes the relativity of all truth claims, so Hinduism tolerates many seemingly contradictory religious beliefs. As a religion that also emphasizes the primacy of the spiritual over material reality, Hinduism appeals to many who are disillusioned with strictly material pursuits.
Though there are some core beliefs common to virtually all Hindus, there really is no "Hindu orthodoxy"--no hard and fast dogma that all Hindus must believe. It's actually a family of gradually developing beliefs and practices.
Hinduism has its roots in the interrelationship of two basic religious systems: that of the ancient civilization residing in the Indus River Valley from the third millennium B.C., and the religious beliefs brought to India by the Aryan people (possibly from the Baltic region) who began infiltrating the Indus Valley sometime after 2000 B.C.
The religion of the Aryans is described in the writings of "holy men" contained in the Vedas (meaning "knowledge" or "wisdom"). The Vedas are four collections of writings composed between about 1500 and 500 B.C., which form the basis for Hindu beliefs, and which reveal a gradual development of religious ideas. The later sections of the Vedas are known as the Upanishads. These Vedic writings are considered inspired. Later Hindu writings, including the renowned Bhagavad Gita, are of lesser authority, but widely popular."
Here's something very interesting, if not conclusive, about the oldest book of the Bible, Job, and its relation to post-Flood chronology:
In the '70s, I remember those who, without any proof whatsoever, claimed that Jesus disappeared for a period of His life, to go to live in India and become a Hindu guru; just another avatar, or "ascended master". I believed it; again, with NO proof.
That led me into my experiennces of Yoga, which I regret, except for the opportunity to testify AGAINST its beliefs and experiences, and FOR Jesus Christ as the Bible portrays Him; ALONE!
Basically, in the Biblical point of view, God minus the universe still equals God, and in Hinduism, the equation equals, by comparison, zero. Biblically, we are personal, finite and spiritual, and God is personal, Infinite and spiritual. In Hinduism, what we see is not "real", but illusory, and there are "devas" (spirit beings who want to interact with us), willing to ""play lila", or intentionally deceive us on any number of levels--with NOTHING guaranteed!
In Hinduism, the question is NEVER ASKED: "If god is all, and all is one, where did evil come from?" Evil is not a non-eternal bastardization and/or aping of good in Hinduism; it is necessary to see it as a co-equal OPPOSITE of good--in fact, good is called evil, and evil called good, with no real difference made. It all "washes out" in t he great Dharmic Wheel" of karma.
Later--got to go!
OT2
And, the isolated Hinsu doctrine of karma, as humorous as it comes across in the TV show, "My Name Is Earl", has serious philosophical problems. First, it is inly a half-truth, in that it shuts out the existence of God as God, Who has the RIGHT to decide on things like vengeance and divine retribution by Himself. If the law of karma were strictly true, then a man who rapaed a woman would come back as a woman doomed to be raped, whose rapist would have to come back as another rape vitim, and on and on, ad infinitum, ad nauseum--BIG problem. No WONDER they have to beleive in a circular, deja-vu circle of eternity, where everything MUST happen again, and again and again, like an outsize "Groundhog Day" movie played out to infinity. The Dharmic Wheel; they call it---Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young really liked the idea, when they were taking psycheddelics!
I have also read that the post-Flood pagan religion(s) also grew into modern Hinduism, and that Nimrod killed his father, married his mother, and was possessed by the spiritual offspring of Diana and Lucifer/Pan, and was part of the white-skinned peopkle wwho were the first Brahmins of India.
I always got a kick out of the Airport Krishnas, who kept showing me Gitas, where Krishna's "ministry" was to purposely DECEIVE (through "maya" and "lila"--he basically told Arjuna to "kill them all and let Karma sort 'em out!", and Krishna made hundreds of women believe he was making love to only them, when it was hundreds of women at a time he was screwing! and, in another drawing, mister K was making hundreds of people believe THEY were elevating a mountain with stikd, when HE was performing the miracle himself.
Any of you exers ot there hungry for THAT kind of religion. I tried it BEFORE TF--no thanks. It's empowered by DEMONS, as I have warned before--same old garden of Eden triple lie.
Caveat emptor!
By the way, except for an IDIOT, Christianity and Hinduidsm are DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED!
Duh!
In Him,
OT2