Hinduism Handout

	Biblical Christianity	Hinduism	New Age
Key person or founder, date, location	• Jesus Christ, • about AD 30-33, • in the Judean province of Israel (Palestine), under the Roman empire.	• No one founder• 1800 to 1000 BC• in India.	• Based on Eastern mystics, Hinduism, and paganism• Popularized in part by actress Shirley MacLain in the 1980s-90s.• Beliefs vary
Key writings	The Bible, written originally in Hebrew and Aramaic (Old Testament), and Greek (New Testament).	• Many writings.• Vedas (oldest, about 1000 B.C.)• Upanishads •	• No holy book • selected Bible passages • I Ching• Hindu, Buddhist, and Taoist writings.• Native American beliefs • writings on astrology, mysticism, and magic
Who is God?	The one God is triune (one God in three persons, not three gods): Father, son, and Holy Spirit. • Often the title "God" designates the first person, God the Father. • God is a spiritual being without a physical body. • He is personal and involved with people. • He created the universe out of nothing. • He is eternal, changeless, holy, loving, & perfect.	• God is "the Absolute," a universal spirit.• Every one is part of God (Brahman) like drops in the sea.• People worship manifestations of Brahman (gods and goddesses).• People are God, but are unaware of it	• Everything and every one is God.• God is an impersonal force or principle, not a person.• People have unlimited inner power and need to discover it.
Who is Jesus?	• Jesus is God, the second person of the Trinity. • As God the son, He has always existed and was never created. • He is fully God and fully man (the two natures joined, not mixed). • As the second person of the Trinity, He is equal with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. • In becoming man, He was begotten through the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. • Jesus is the only way to the Father, salvation, and eternal life. • He died on a cross according to God's plan, as full sacrifice and payment for our sins. • He rose from the dead three days later, spiritually and physically immortal. • For the next 40 days He was seen by more than 500 eyewitnesses. • His wounds were touched, and He ate meals. • He physically ascended to Heaven. • Jesus will come again visibly and physically at the end of the world to establish God's kingdom and judge the world.	• Jesus Christ is a teacher, a guru, or an avatar (and incarnation of Vishnu) • He is a son of God, as are others • His death does not atone for sins • He did not rise from the dead	• Jesus is not the one true God. • He is not a savior, but a spiritual model, and guru, and is now an "ascended Master." • He was a New Ager who tapped into divine power in the same way that anyone can • Many believe he went east to India or Tibet and learned mystical truths. • He did not rise physically, but "rose" into a higher spiritual realm.
Who is the Holy Spirit?	• The Holy Spirit is God, the third person of the Trinity. • The Holy Spirit is a person, not a force or energy field. • He comforts, grieves, reproofs, convicts, guides, teaches, and fills Christians. • He is not the Father, nor the son, Jesus Christ.	• The Holy Spirit is not part of this belief	• Sometimes a psychic force• Man is divine and can experience psychic phenomena such as contacting unearthly beings.

How to be saved	• Salvation is by God's grace, not by individuals good works. • Salvation must be received by faith. • People must believe in their hearts that Jesus died for their sins and physically rose again, (which is the assurance of forgiveness and the resurrection of the body). •Salvation is God's loving plan to forgive sinful people.	• Can take many lifetimes.• Release from the cycles of reincarnation.• Achieved through knowledge, through yoga and meditation• Devotion to a deity• Final salvation is absorption or union with Brahman.	• Need to offset bad karma with good karma. • Can tap into supernatural power through meditation, self-awareness, TM, and "spirit guides." • Use terms such as "reborn" for this new self-awareness.
What happens after death?	• Believers go to be with Jesus. • Before the final judgment, both saved and lost people will be bodily resurrected: Those who are saved will live with Jesus in Heaven. Those who are lost suffer the torment of eternal separation from God (Hell). • Jesus’ bodily resurrection guaranties believers that they, too, will be resurrected and receive new immortal bodies.	• Reincarnation into a better status (good karma) if a person has behaved well. • If one has been bad, he can be reborn and pay for past sins (bad karma) by suffering.	• Human reincarnation occurs until person reaches oneness with God. • No eternal life as a resurrected person.• No literal heaven or hell.
Other beliefs or practices	• Group worship, usually in churches. • No secret rights. • Baptism and the Lord's Supper (Communion). • Active voluntary missionary efforts. • Aid to those in need: the poor, widows, orphans, and downtrodden. • Christians believe that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah promised to Israel in the Old Testament. • Jesus said that his followers would be known by their love for one another.	• Some disciples wear orange robes and have shaved heads • Many Hindus worship stone and wooden idols and temples• Gurus demand complete obedience. • Disciples meditate on a word, phrase, or a picture.• Yoga involves meditation, chanting, postures, breathing exercises. • Foundation of a New Age and Transcendental Meditation	• Can include yoga, meditation, visualization, astrology, channeling, hypnosis, trances, tarot card readings, and contact with spirits. • Use of crystals to get in harmony with God (Energy), for psychic healing, for contact with spirits, and for developing higher consciousness, or other psychic powers. • Strive for a world of unity and peace, and holistic health.

Witnessing to Hindus

Pray that God will give you direction as you share.
Dress modestly. Live a pure life. Share your testimony.
Be hospitable. Respect their customs (many Hindus are vegetarians). Build relationships with each individual Hindu and make them your friends. Be a good listener.
Treat the Bible with respect: Hindus revere literature as being almost “holy”.
Communicate the Gospel in a clear manner, emphasize God's personal nature.
Keep the focus on Christ. Do not argue and debate on points of disagreement. Do not criticize or condemn Hinduism.
Do not begin your relationship by talking about hell. Do not be in a hurry to push for a decision or conversion – that’s the Holy Spirits job.
Do not present Christianity as a Western Religion. The Gospel reached India some 1500 years before it reached North America.

Witnessing to New Agers

Pray that God will give you direction as you share.
Always define one another's terms and establish a biblical reference. This is necessary even though New Agers will be unlikely to accept the Bible as authoritative.
Ask questions. Start with, “If we are all God, then why do we act so badly?”
Listen for contradictions. Inconsistencies usually arise when discussing the relationship between reality and belief. New Agers believe they can create their own reality.
Stress the uniqueness of Jesus as the Savior and His resurrection as proof of His true divinity.
Look for opportunities to present Jesus as a person who is knowable and who desires a relationship. (New Agers views God as being impersonal.)
Show the New Ager that man's problem is sin and not ignorance of his personal divinity. You want them to understand not only God's grace, but also Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was sufficient for the New Ager as well.