Issue of Intolerance
Issue of Tolerance
Another difference between Hinduism and Christianity is the tolerance towards the views of other religions. A Protestant would only be a good Protestant by following the tenants of the denomination he belonged to. Any deviation would be seen as sinful and apostate. So, if I, as a Christian wanted to include some Hindu practices into my religion, I would be functioning outside of God’s declared order for me. On the other hand, if I were a Hindu, my Hindu religion would gladly allow me to be a Catholic or Protestant as well. However, despite such differences, there are some similarities. Both religions think that we should take the focus off the self, and on to something higher.
Issue of God in Everything (Good and Evil)
If God is in everything, then God is in both good and evil. But then there is no absolute morality, no divine law, no divine will discriminating good and evil. In Hinduism, morality is practical; its end is to purify the soul from desires so that it can attain mystical consciousness. Again, the Jews are unique in identifying the source of morality with the object of religion. Everyone has two innate senses: the religious sense to worship, and the moral sense of conscience; but only the Jewish God is the focus of both. Only the God of the Bible is absolutely righteous. A distinctive belief in Hinduism is that they believe that everything possesses a part of God, therefore God persists in both good and evil. Christians believe that God did not create evil, but instead, He created mankind free to choose, and that freedom includes the possibility of doing wrong.
