Hinduism Rebuke
God’s revelation of Himself in the Bible is unique. God making Himself and His ways known to Israel (to eventually raise up His Christ) through is unique. Thus, the record of these things happening (i.e. the Bible) is God’s unique inspired word. He did not work through another nation to prepare another set of inspired scriptures nor to prepare another way of acceptable worship. This means that God did not inspire the Vedas (main writings in Hinduism which are claimed as being of divine origin) nor did the true God inspire any other writings as a source of divine truth.
Deuteronomy 4:32-40: “For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it? Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live? Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the Lord he is God; there is none else beside him. Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he shewed thee his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire. And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt; To drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou art, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as it is this day. Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else. Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, for ever.”
On the uniqueness of God and the eternal distinction between God and His creation (which refutes co-exist pluralism, polytheism, and Pantheism- many Hindus are polytheists who believe there are many gods and/or are Pantheists who believe that God is in everything or everything is an extension of God or something along those lines Hindus are not well united in their beliefs, even in their concept of God):
Isaiah 43:10-11: “Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no savior.”
Psalm 86:8-10: “Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works. All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name. For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.”
Psalm 96:3-5: “Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people. For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens.”
Further evidence that Hinduism is idolatrous. Hindus use images in worship. Those who defend this practice will often not confess to worshiping these things, but will say that the images are aids to prayer or meditation or something along those lines. Yet such indeed qualifies as idolatry, because God said in Scripture that to represent Him by a statue or an image is a form of idolatry; and He said that bowing down before images is idolatry, period. Exodus 20:4-6: “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”
Worshiping idols is inherently demonic since they essentially represent demons, as they are demonic counterfeits of God whereby demons receive worship. A few of the many illustrations from Scripture of how seriously God takes idol worship.
1 Corinthians 10:19-22: “What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?”
Revelation 9:20-21: “And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.”
Though there is apparently some disagreement about how strongly the caste system is related to Hinduism, the caste system is supported by writings which many Hindus consider to be inspired and the caste system has been extremely influential in the mostly Hindu nation of India- and it still is to this very day. The highest caste, Brahmins, are considered much more privileged than other classes. One of the greatest sins in Hinduism is to kill a Brahmin. On the other hand, the lowest group called the Dalits or untouchables (regarded even as below the lowest caste) are often not even allowed to walk through Brahmin neighborhoods and have faced unspeakable abuse which law enforcement has frequently turned a blind eye to, even after India’s Government officially has legislated protection of Dalits from such abuse. The Bible on the other hand states over and over again that no person is inherently better before God than another, all have the same inherent value and dignity, and all should be treated accordingly, thus condemning all partiality and respect of persons. These are the very things which the caste system by its very nature advocates and promotes. Nor does the bible teach that anyone is better, or even better off, because they are born rich or higher in society. Obviously, any religion with writings which teach such abomination should be labeled as evil.
James 2:1-9: “My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.”
Psalm 33:13-15: “The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth. He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works.”
Sin in Hinduism is to go contrary to something called Dharma, what Hindus consider to be the moral law of the Universe. Dharma though is often vague, is categorized into various levels of sin in ways that are illogical and strange to the Bible, and Dharma is often at odds with the Bible altogether. What has been analyzed already regarding idolatry, the caste system, as well as the sacredness of cows in Hinduism are just a few key examples of how Dharma is a morality at odds with Biblical morality.
The Biblical concepts that man is fallen in sin, condemned before God, and unable to atone nor deliver himself through self-effort are utterly contrary to Hinduism. In Hinduism man is able to atone for himself through self-discipline and religious devotion over the course of multiple lifetimes (since Hindus believe in reincarnation) in order to achieve the end goal of Hinduism (which Hindus are far from being agreed upon among themselves, but often it is some form of union with God and/or escaping what they consider to be the illusion of the material universe). The Bible refutes the concept of self-atonement repeatedly, as it constantly reiterates that a fallen individual cannot atone for his own sins nor earn his way back into God’s favor through his works. The Bible also clearly contradicts and refutes the concept of reincarnation (Hebrews 9:27).
Thus it is no wonder that Hinduism denies Jesus Christ as being the unique Son of God and the unique Redeemer of mankind. The need for a redeemer to offer a perfect blood atonement to redeem fallen man to God is an essential Biblical concept which has no place in Hinduism. Hinduism rather sees Jesus Christ as just one of many enlightened masters or appearances of one of its gods (in its idolatrous and overall heathen context). If a Hindu says that they worship Jesus they mean that they have some type of devotion or reverence for him like they would other Hindu gods and goddesses. “Jesus” in the Hindu context is inherently a false jesus (like 2 Corinthians 11:4 warns of). Hindus reject the real Jesus Christ as long as they remain in the idolatry, false world view, and false system of atonement which are in Hinduism. Hindus do not worship and believe in the real Jesus Christ in the context of the Biblical Scriptures- otherwise they would cease to be Hindus and instead be Christians.
The real Jesus said in John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” He spoke of Himself as being the unique Son of God who would make a unique blood atonement which would be necessary for anyone to partake of in order to attain salvation and escape condemnation before God. John 3:13-16: “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Here are some Scriptures related to a basic understanding of Biblical atonement. Leviticus 17:11, 14: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul… For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.” Life belongs to God; and thus transgression of God causes one to forfeit their soul and be condemned (“the wages of sin is death”). Only a perfect blood atonement can redeem a condemned life. Leviticus 22:24-25: “Ye shall not offer unto the Lord that which is bruised, or crushed, or broken, or cut; neither shall ye make any offering thereof in your land. Neither from a stranger’s hand shall ye offer the bread of your God of any of these; because their corruption is in them, and blemishes be in them: they shall not be accepted for you.”
There is no true atonement for sin then, except through Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God’s, blood (an incomprehensible price): Isaiah 53:8-10: “He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.”
Hebrews 1:3-4: “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high: Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.”
Hebrews 2:9: “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.”
Hebrews 9:14 “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
Jesus Christ commanded His Gospel to be preached to all nations, and for disciples of His to be made of all nations, because there is no other way of salvation. And as was seen earlier from many Scripture passages, all the gods of the nations are idols.
Luke 24:46-47: “And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”
Romans 1:5: “By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name.”
Acts 4:12: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
Revelation 1:7-8: “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”
Christ’s blood atonement will not profit, and not redeem, those who continue in sin and refuse to surrender to His authority as God. These include those who continue in the idolatry of Hinduism or in any religion which denies the supreme authority of Jesus Christ, as well as professing Christians who call Jesus Lord yet obey not His Gospel and do not what He says.
John 13:13: “Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.”
Luke 6:46-49: “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.”
Romans 1:16-23: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four footed beasts, and creeping things.”
2 Thessalonians 1:7b-9: “The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.”
Bro Aaron’s email is: [email protected]