Romans

& World
Religions
 Hinduism and Romans

Pluralism and Singularity

Hinduism has been said to be simultaneously monotheistic (only
acknowledging the existence of one god), polytheistic (many gods
exist), henotheistic (many gods exist, but only ours is great),
panenthiestic (god is in every molecule), pantheistic (god is the
power behind nature, while not necessarily being in all
expressions of nature), agnostic (there may be a god), Gnostic
(god is known through secret revelations), and the list goes on
and on. Like Buddhism, this very old religious system seems to
be difficult to pigeon hole in terms of beliefs – especially in terms
of beliefs about their god who seems at times to be one: “Krishna”,
or a variety of over a million avatars of Krishna such as Vishnu
and Ganesh. The study of Hinduism is much more like the study
of history than it is the study of mathematics, it is a study of a
history of interpretations throughout the years that differ greatly
rather than a study of those interpretations for the source of
singular truth claims. Even the “singular” umbrella term by which
we know this religion by, “Hinduism”, is a development
necessitated by other “singularistic” religions such as Christianity
and Islam moving into Hinduism’s home of South Asia.
• Read Romans 8:6-11
• What singular “truth claims” is Paul making in this
section of Romans?

Vedas and Karmas

Next to the Abrahamic claims to knowledge of the beginning of the
world, Hinduism’s original beginning seems to be one of the
earliest still-existing religions. Again, Hinduism appears to be
more akin to a vague notion of “spirituality” than of an established
religion. Hinduism’s story reads much like if you asked a
pluralistic American teen who believed simultaneously in Buddhist
teachings and the power of the Roman Catholic sacraments – and
then asked about why each belief system was held in such high
regard for that individual. Yet, Hinduism’s history is at least easier
to trace than the sets of simultaneously held contradictions (such
as animal sacrifices to the Kali deity and monastic refusals to
harm any living creature, even inhaling a bug).
Hindu history begins with a set of four poem/hymns known as the
four “Vedas”. These four Vedas, written in approximately 1400
BC (the time of the Judges) to 500 BC (Exiles return from
Babylon, build, and dedicate the 2nd Jerusalem Temple), serve as
the basis of Hindu history, laying out the basics of this spirituality.
Those basics include Karma (essentially, the fate of a person as it
plays out in their lives), Samsara (the cycle of life, death, and
rebirth awarded to those who have not escaped or been
“released”), moksha (the release from Samsara), and dharma (the
required proper duty of every human according to their caste).
Essential in an understanding of Hinduism is an understanding of
fatalism, the belief that each person has a minimal amount (if any)
free choice in the activities and consequences of life.
• Read Romans 8:1-7
• Compare Christian and Hindu approaches to freedom
and fatalism.

Grace and Sin in Hinduism

Throughout this series, we are going to be especially interested in
each religion’s concepts of sin and grace.

Sin: Like in Buddhism, the Hindu sense of “samsara” (the cycle of

life, death, and rebirth) may provide ideas similar to Christianity’s
sense of original sin (i.e. the suffering experienced by all, the
presence of evil in the world, etc). Yet also like in Buddhism, the
Hindu does not necessarily believe in a personal god whom you
can go to for the repenting of sins and their subsequent
forgiveness. Therefore, “sin” in Hinduism is understood more in
the sense of things that prevent the spirit of the Hindu from
reaching moksha (release) which may be true or untrue (like if
holding your tongue in a certain way really does help you do better
on tests).
• How does your opportunity to repent and have your sin
forgiven help you to understand what things are (and are
not) sins?
Grace: All of Hinduism points the practitioner to four aims of life:
artha (material gain), kama (sensory pleasure), dharma (proper
duty, especially in terms of one’s caste), and moksha (release).
To a Hindu, there is little or no divine intervention in their personal
lives to assist them with these four aims. One Hindu scholar puts
it in a very interesting way: “Grace is there, but grace doesn’t
mean forgiveness, grace doesnt forgive. But, how does the grace
work? Suppose a son, a small child, goes against the orders of
the father. The father beats the child. That is the natural way the
father should prevent the child from doing that bad thing again.
But, at the same time, the father loves the child. He tells the child,
’I told you not to do that act, but you have done it.’ He makes it
clear why he has punished the child. The father then says, ‘Don’t
worry,’ and the father gives love to his child. That love makes the
child forget all the punishment.”
• If this were the Christian sense of grace, what would it
mean Christians could expect from God in the afterlife?

We’re done!
Next Sunday is Easter, and the Sunday after that, we will
have “Stump the Pastor”. After “Stump the Pastor”, we will
consider our next study.

Please don’t throw this away. If you’re not going to use it, leave it for
someone else to use.