A letter to my Hindu neighbor: Christ is more satisfying
One evening, I sat with my Hindu neighbor while I asked him questions about his religion. Yes, this is an actual letter I have written out to a specific person I actually spoke with. I hope this helps you when you talk with your Hindu neighbor…
Dear XXXXX,
Thank you for allowing me to sit with you and ask you questions pertaining to your faith. I was honored by you, and you showed me great hospitality! I felt like I was able to learn a lot from you, and I have a lot of respect for you and your beautiful family. Your children seem to be great kids!
After going over my notes with you, I decided to sit down and write you a letter to give you a few things to think about regarding Hinduism. I am a Christian, and I know for you, that means I worship Jesus, and that is also acceptable, but the difference between your Hindu understanding of me worshiping Christ and my understanding of my worship of Christ is that I believe that there is absolutely no other God to worship except Christ.
I also believe that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh and has stepped into creation in order to save mankind from our enemy: sin and death. You mentioned that you have chosen to worship Krishna and that you believe that God is one – which I also believe! However, God’s identity is not one for me to choose out of many. He can be known and worshipped for who He truly is.
I asked you what inner peace means to you. You replied, “I do not have any trouble in my life. I would say satisfaction. We can choose to do good and have a good life.” However, if we are all honest, life is full of trouble. This type of peace is contingent upon circumstances. Unexpected tragedies and hardships happen to people daily, which can leave them feeling anxious about the future, etc. Christ taught that inner peace truly meant to have peace with God. The reason people do not have peace with God is because of sin (disobeying God’s moral law). The Bible says that everyone on the face of the earth has sinned, except one man, Jesus Christ.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23).
Because of sin, people do not have true inner peace. The Bible teaches that the wages of sin is death, but because God loves us, He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to pay for our sins completely. When Jesus hung on that cross, he endured the punishment and wrath of God that we all deserve for the sins we have committed in this life. Jesus satisfied God’s wrath in our place. Not only that, but He resurrected from the dead and ascended into Heaven, where He is at the right hand of God. When we place our faith in His life, death, and resurrection, we will be completely forgiven of our sins and have peace with God (true inner peace). This peace is something we can have regardless of the circumstances of our lives.
But here is one amazing reality about Jesus Christ…
He is God in the flesh! Yes, the God of the universe entered His own creation through Jesus Christ! Jesus confessed He was God when He said things like this: "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father….” (John 14:9). He is not a distant, uncertain, and unknown God. The true God is personal and can be known in the person of Jesus Christ.
The scriptures also teach that we are not bound to an endless cycle of reincarnation, but we live once and then face judgment, “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,” (Hebrews 9:27). This means that we have one life (this one), not endless cycles of reincarnation. When we die, we will face our creator and will have to account for every sin we have committed, every evil thought, every wrong word, and every act of rebellion against God.
This is a scary thought unless you place your faith in Jesus Christ, who has paid for all your sins. If you place your faith in Christ, your sins will be forgiven, and you will have true peace with God. You can also know Him personally (now), and He will come and live inside of you. You will not have to worry about the next life or the bad karma you may or may not have committed.
You can know that you are forgiven because God keeps His promises, and He never lies.
Finally, I understand that your idea of true spiritual liberation is to be absorbed into Brahman and to be relieved of the cycle of reincarnation. However, I would like to suggest to you what the Bible teaches as an alternative to that belief. First, the Bible teaches that the final spiritual liberation is eternal life with God, as He has created us, where there is no sin or death.
We do not lose all sense of ‘self’ but become who He has created us to be. Our final spiritual liberation will be when we are transformed by being completely rid of our sinful nature and given a new body, new heart, and new mind, and we will live on a new earth in perfect fellowship with God and His people. One day, God will make everything new.
To sum up why Christianity is way more satisfying and better news than Hinduism:
1. You can know God personally; he is not unknown, vague, or impersonal. God loves us. He is a relational God, not an impersonal, distant God.
2. He is not uninterested in good and evil, but cares very much for your personhood and soul. He is actively involved in His creation, not sitting back and allowing you to go through centuries of Karma cycles without any help.
3. In Christianity, humans are not required for all sense of self to be annihilated in order to be free, because God loves our individuality and personhood. We are to deny our sinful flesh patterns to be in a right relationship with God, which helps us realize our true identity in Christ; but in no way does God expect annihilation of personhood - to the point of the self not existing.
4. Good news! Reincarnation is not true. You will live once and then face God.
5. You do not need to be afraid of facing God if you place your faith in Jesus Christ to forgive you of all your sins. He has already paid for the punishment you deserve on the cross. There are no bad karmic consequences in the next life if you believe in Christ.
6. You can have peace and joy that are not contingent upon how good your life is going. If difficult things happen in life, it is not necessarily a sign of judgment or ‘bad karma.’ Bad things happen because we live in a sin-cursed world subjected to death, decay, disease, natural disasters, and all kinds of suffering. However, God said that He would bring justice one day and make everything right.
Please consider these things. The good news is that God is loving and personal. He has also entered creation through Jesus Christ; how amazing is that!? So many people missed it, but we don’t have to. You don’t have to.
To receive Christ is very simple. Believe in Him, call on His name, and repent of your sins, trusting Him with your life. You will see that when you genuinely place your faith in Him, you will have a peace that the Bible says surpasses all understanding, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).
I know there is so much more to say, but this is a good start. The story (reality) is much more beautiful than you have been taught in Hinduism.
With love,
Sarah