Questions:

I am from India, which is the birthplace of Hinduism. I have some questions, Please kindly answer them

1. Hinduism says the incarnation of a human being in various forms occurs until he/she attains (moksha) heaven, Is not it a good idea, that it enables everyone to get into heaven?

2. What does the Bible teach that is better than the Hindu scriptures?

3. Is the God in Hinduism not a God?

4. Why should I consider that Jesus paid for my sins and that I shall inherit heaven because of his sacrifice on that cross? Or why should I consider the concept of salvation or the concept of biblical afterlife over other religious concepts?

5. Is not it a good idea that man earns salvation or heaven by himself by having multiple incarnations or avatars until he/she gets purified and qualified to meet God as it is said in Hinduism?

6. Why did Jesus have to die for my sins? What is the need for his cross? If my good deeds outweigh my bad deeds and I live a moral life does not it give me a place in heaven?

7. Can God not limit himself to just helping and guiding people in the good ways so that man can be in the right way to get into heaven?

Thank you

Answers:

First of all, of course I am well aware of the Hindu teaching of the transmigration of the soul/reincarnation.  The question is not whether this is a good idea.  The question is whether it is true, and it is not.  The Hindu idea has people passing through multiple lifetimes before removing all karma and becoming sufficiently sin-free to become fully atman–soul. At this point, this person dissolves into the universal soul.  The problem is that this is simply not the case.  There is no evidence for reincarnation.  Besides, according to historians, somewhere around 25% of all humans who have ever existed are alive today.  How could people have gone through dozens of lives? This does not make sense.  Reincarnation: a great idea, except that it is not true.
As for everyone going to heaven, a couple of things.  In Hinduism, the person does not exactly “go to heaven.”  Instead, they more like dissolve into the universe and cease to exist as individual souls.  Atman becomes Brahman.  Besides, what does this do with justice?  It is a happy idea for everyone to go to heaven, but the question is not whether it is a happy idea, but the question is whether it is true.  This ignores justice.  It simply makes sin go away, without any consequences.  It ignores the holiness of God.
Whether the Bible is “better” or not is not the relevant question.  God does not conform to your or my idea of “good.”  The question is whether Christianity or Hinduism are true.

Hinduism, with its pantheism, requires that the universe be eternal, as “God” pervades and is one with the universe.  The universe cannot create itself.  All HIndu cosmologies require an eternally oscillating of creation and destruction of an eternal universe.  The problem is that the universe is not eternal, and Hindu cosmology is not true.  And this is a problem.  On the contrary, the Bible tells us that the physical universe was created out of “unseen things” (Hebrews 11:3). Of course, as you know, physics tells us that this is the case.  We call it the big bang model.  So whether it is true or not, Hinduism is not true, and from the point of view of cosmology, Christianity is true.  Christianity also provides a “better” explanation of why there is evil.  Hinduism describes evil as an illusion–maya.  But evil is no illusion.  It is real.  It is the result of created persons rebelling against the loving Creator.  Again, Christianity is consistent with what we know to be true, and Hinduism is not.  Many more examples can be given, but I suggest a book I have written, True, Right, Better: A Defense of the Christian Worldview, which goes over all of these and more.  It is available here:  https://www.ipibooks.com/products/true-right-better-a-defense-of-the-christian-worldview
Whether the supposed “god” in Hinduism is an actual God is not clear.  I suppose it is a matter of definition, as this “god,” known as Brahman, is either a completely impersonal God, or not a God at all.  Whether the pantheistic “God” of Hinduism is a person is debatable at best. I should let a Hindu scholar answer this question, but I am skeptical of the idea of a personal supreme God in Hinduism. Is the universe a person?
As for believing that Jesus paid the penalty for your sins on the cross to bring you into a saved relationship with God, this a good question.  Why should we believe the Christian idea of redemption?  The answer for me is that I believe this because of the evidence for it being true.  This evidence is found largely in the person of Jesus Christ, who walked on water, turned water to wine, stilled a massive storm, healed thousands, raised at least three people from the dead, including Lazarus on the fourth day after his death, and who was, personally, raised from the dead on the third day.  This same Jesus fulfilled multiple and very specific prophecies of the Jewish Messiah, such as where he would be born (Micah 5:2), how he would die (Psalm 22), his betrayal and the price thereof (Zechariah 11), and so much more.  It is the clear evidence for the inspiration of the Bible that supports my belief in the idea of salvation from my sins.
I already answered your fifth question.  The relevant question is not whether it is a “good idea.”  The question is whether it is true or not, and it is simply not true.  Unlike the biblical claims, there is no evidence that this wonderful idea is true!  Believing something because it sounds good is not a good way to approach discovering truth!!!  The fact is that we are not good.  We have rejected God.  We have sinned.   We deserve consequences of this, as this is what justice demands.  Hinduism is man-made religion, plain and simple.  It is a kind of wishful thinking that we can become good over time and earn our way to heaven.
I pretty much also already answered your sixth question.  Either justice is real or it is not.  Either there is a true morality, with cause and effect, or there is not.  Either God is holy or he is not.  Either we can work our way to heaven or we cannot.  Well, justice is real, and the consequences of our evil actions are real as well.  The inspired Bible tells us the truth about such things, and the evidence for the reliability and truthfulness of the Bible speaks for itself.  We need a savior. Good deeds do not cancel bad deeds.  Our system of justice reveals this.  IF I murder someone, but also help a lot of poor people, this does not cancel out.  If I commit rape one time, but am otherwise nice to women (an extremely unlikely possibility), then this does not make the rape simply disappear.  Justice demands retribution.  Anything else is wishful thinking.
God’s holiness demands consequences.  This is the actual God who exists, not the creation of wishful thinking about a “nice” God.  The idea of a God who “just helps and guides” people is simply not true. Believing an untrue thing is not a good thing.
John Oakes

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