Question:

I am from India, a country with majority of Hindus. Hinduism is now proclaiming itself to be the ‘most glorious religion’. ‘Human Gods’,with ability to show miracles,are sprouting up in Hindu community.  Many Indian Christians are attracted to Hinduism through such miracles. Have you done a comparative study of Hinduism & Christianity? How can we prove that Christianity is ‘TRUE & SUPERIOR’ over Hinduism?

Answer:

I believe that first you must know what you are talking about.  You must have a solid understanding of the underlying principles and assumptions of both Christianity and Hinduism.  When Paul confronted the idolatry and polytheism in Athens in Acts 17 he made sure that he was thoroughly acquainted with the customs and beliefs of the Greeks in Athens.  He did not ridicule the pagan beliefs, but he respectfully confronted the false assumptions about the Greek gods and reasoned with the people about why the God of Jesus is the one and true God.  He applied the admonition in 1 Peter 3:13-17 that we should be PREPARED to give an answer (as was Paul) and that we should do this with GENTLENESS and RESPECT.  We should not act like worldly people, using worldly weapons of argument such as anger, deceptive arguments and emotional manipulation.

I have a good amount of material on this subject available at the web site.  By coincidence, I just taught on the topic of Hinduism (and other "Eastern" religions) versus Christianity.  Go to the Power Point section of my web site and you can view or download a presentation on Hinduism and Christianity.  My suggestion is that you should not try to "prove" the experiences of the miraculous to be bogus, as this tactic is not likely to work.  People are generally not willing to admit that they are deceived about their direct personal experiences.  Instead I suggest you talk about the world view of Hinduism versus Christianity.  Point out the benevolent work done in the name of Jesus Christ.  Get your friends into actually reading the New Testament.  Confront them with the historical nature of Jesus (as opposed to Krishna, Rama, etc.) and help the to understand the claims of Jesus.  The book of John is great for that.

I believe Christianity is superior to Hinduism because it accepts this world as real.  It does not call us to accept that this world is an illusion (the Hindu word is maya).  The truth claims of Christianity are supported by history, by fulfilled prophecy and by the public miracles of Jesus.  The Christian world view solves the problems of pain, suffering and evil in a consistent way, while Hinduism does not. Be sure to look at my power point presentation and feel free to ask me some more specific questions if you like.

John Oakes, PhD