Non-Christian Symbols

Non-Christian Symbols

There are rituals and symbols that Hinduism shares in common with Christianity. A religious symbol is used to communicate concepts about human’s relationship with holy or sacred things. In contrast, rituals are patterned or repetitive conducts approved by or tied to a spiritual belief or tradition with the intent of communicating with supernatural power or deity (Liu, 2019). Hinduism and Christianity have symbols and rituals that share common characteristics and others that differ.

The first symbol that Hinduism and Christianity share in common is the Hinduism Swarga and Naraka. The Swarga and Naraka are the same as the concept of Heaven and Hell in Christianity (Narayanan, 2018). Therefore, Swarga in Hinduism is the same as Heaven, which is the place where people who have done good things while staying on earth go after they die, commonly called the ‘afterlife.’ Like Heaven among Christians, Swarga is a place of eternal happiness and pleasure. Similarly, Naraka in Hindu is equated to Hell, where people who never did good things while on earth go after they die (Nityananda, 2019). Therefore, Naraka is similar to Hell in Christianity because, like Hell in Christianity, it is marked with torment and punishment.

The difference between Heaven and Hell in Christianity and the Swarga and Naraka in Hinduism is that these places are temporal stopovers for Hindus before the dead are reincarnated or raised into Lord Vishnu’s presence. In contrast, Christians do not share nor believe in reincarnation because the ultimate destination of the dead is Heaven or eternal life if they lived in Christ or Hell for sinners who were never saved or repented. Hence, among Christians, these places are eternal, but for Hindus, these are just passages of the afterlife hence temporal places.

The other symbol is Trimurti (the Hindu’s Godhead). This symbol is similar to the Christian concept of the Holy Trinity. In Hinduism, Trimurti consists of Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma, who are separate Gods manifesting the ultimate reality or Brahma (Liu, 2019). This is the same as Christianity, the Trinity, composed of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who are co-eternal and equal yet different individuals. The only difference is, in the Christian Trinity, all three are united under a single Godhead who is ‘God, the Father’ and are equally existing and eternal but different individuals. In addition, the doctrine of the Trinity is much more complex in Christianity than Trimurti in Hinduism. In the Christian Trinity, the individuals have the same importance, while in Trimutri, they are separate individuals and deities.

Moreover, the ritual that both Hinduism and Christianity share is the Dvija. The word Dvija among Hindus is the same as “born again” in Christianity. Like Christians, Hindus believe an individual must be firstborn physically, and they get born the second time spiritually (Liu, 2019). The disparity with Christianity being born again is that it means spiritual birth or regeneration, which happens when an individual who is alive physically yet dead in sin is saved in Christ. The person is given a new life through Baptism, as in (John 3:5); Baptism is an important ritual among Christianity and less important among Hindus (Romito, 2018). In Hinduism, being born again means coming of age, which happens when a small child grows and can undertake the teachings of a spiritual leader to live a fulfilling life (Liu, 2019).

The last ritual is purification with water. For Hindus, water is sacred because they believe it can cleanse and purify one’s spirit and soul. During feasts and holy days, they congregate in sacred rivers to bathe in them to be cleansed (Narayanan, 2018). This ritual of purification by water in Hinduism is similar to Baptism in Christianity. In Christianity, people are cleansed from sin and become born again by being immersed in deep waters (Romito, 2018). Also, in the Old Testament, people washed and cleansed themselves from impurities using water before entering temples. The difference between Baptisms in Christianity and purification by water among Hindus is that Baptism is an external symbol of purification Christ has done to a believer’s soul. Hence, Baptism is executed as a public declaration that someone is saved. In contrast, Hindus have sacred rivers where they cleanse themselves, which they believe are sacred and pure. Christians use any water because only God can purify one’s soul, as He is the living water, which is completely different among Hindus, as they believe in sacred rivers.

Application

Possessing adequate knowledge of the rituals and symbols of a culture’s religion that share certain similarities is a great means to aid missionaries in effectively sharing the Gospel in a manner that particular culture comprehends (Liu, 2019). This will ease Gospel spreading as the people being informed can easily understand and relate to the information because it already exists within their belief system. In addition, this can aid missionaries in discipline since biblical concepts will be made easier to comprehend because they are relevant to their culture. For instance, one can share a Gospel with the Hindus using the rituals and symbols above. However, to appropriately introduce the issue of Heaven and Hell, one will have to use the Hindu concept of Swarga and Naraka. It is also prudent to tell them that, unlike the way they already understand, real Heaven and Hell are temporal places yet eternal. One can use this idea and explain where individuals go when they die.

Having adequate knowledge of the similarities and differences is important because similarities can confuse missionaries when targeting converts of a particular religion. Instead of converting them to Christianity, they might mix it with their religion. To avoid such theological understandings, the missionaries must make the Christian gospel central to their evangelism and utilize it as the standard for comparing rituals and symbols of a specific culture to Christianity (Liu, 2019). Lastly, missionaries must often present Christianity and the Gospel as the only truth and inform the converts that whatever they believed previously is incorrect and that the Bible only has the truth that can satisfy them and let them grow in faith.

References

Liu, D. (2019). The Influence of Christianity on Lisu People’s Cultural Development. Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 329, pp. 2047-2050. https://dx.doi.org/10.2991/iccessh-19.2019.438.

Narayanan, V. (2018). Hinduism. In Her Voice, Her Faith (pp. 11-57). Routledge.

Nityananda, S. (2019). Symbolism in Hinduism. Central Chinmaya Mission Trust.

Romito, R. (2018). The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Ritual. Oxford University Press

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Benchmark – Non-Christian Symbols

Assessment Description
Matthew 28:18-20 says: “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.'”

In response to this call, Christian churches send missionaries to other cultures to spread the gospel, plant churches, and disciple people in those cultures. In this process, missionaries communicate important rituals and symbols of the Christian faith as well as learn about non-Judeo-Christian religious symbols from the cultures they are evangelizing. As a result, it’s important to understand the meaning of these religious symbols when conveying the gospel message and forming discipleship relationships.

For this assignment, you will research the symbols or rituals of a non-Judeo-Christian religious organization or culture. The terms “symbol” and “ritual” may be interpreted variously; the focus should be on verbal and nonverbal choices used to convey religious meaning. As long as you cover this in principle, there is flexibility about what particular symbolic or ritualized communication pattern you choose.

Then, in 750-1000 words, compare the symbols or rituals they use with those of mainstream Christianity. How are the two sets of symbols or rituals similar? What makes them different? How could someone apply this knowledge to accurately convey the gospel, aid missionaries in teaching other cultures to obey all that Christ has commanded, and avoid theological misunderstandings that may be expressed in that culture’s symbols or rituals?

In addition to your textbook, you should use two to three reputable and authoritative sources.