Christianity represents 31% of the world's population, of which Catholics are approx. 18% and Protestants 37%, other Christian religions making up the balance.

Hindus represents 15% of the world’s population

 

PROTESTANTISM

HINDUISM

Founded

Founded by various reformers who denied the universal authority of the Catholic Pope, Papal Magisterial Authority, Papal Infallibility, and objected to Roman Catholic Orthodoxy, some portions of doctrine, and a number of specific practices.

Martin Luther specifically objected to the selling of indulgencies for the full or partial remission of temporal punishment due for sins which have already been forgiven. The money raised from selling indulgencies was being used for the building of St. Peter's Basilica. Martin Luther was excommunicated, sentenced to death for heresy and had to go in to hiding for 3 years to save his life.

The main reformers were: 12th century - Peter Waldo. 14th century - John Wycliffe. 15th century Jan Hus. 16th century*  - Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, Jacobus Arminius, Heinrich Bullinger, Balthasar Hubmaier, Menno Simons, John Smyth, Huldrych Zwingili, amongst many others.

Today there are estimated to be some 33,000 denominations under the "Protestant Umbrella" however there are only a few denominations that have major or secondary theological differences, with the others only having minor subtle theological differences.

Protestantism, in line with most other religions, suffers from divisions based mainly on arguments over interpretation and semantics.

There is also argument over whether "Anglican" churches are in fact "Protestant" or "Reformed Catholic"

 

* The 16th century is considered to be the Reformation Proper.

Based on traditions that stared around 2000 BC, but probably became Hinduism as a specific identity about 400 BC

God(s)

One God who is a Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

The doctrine of the Trinity developed gradually over several centuries and through many controversies including threatened schisms.

It was not until the 4th century that the distinctness of the three and their unity were brought together in a single orthodox doctrine of one essence and three persons (1+1+1=1). God, Jesus the incarnation of God, and the Holy Spirit as the bond between them.

This generally placated the factions, although the controversies re-emerged during the enlightenment period and continue until today.

The Hindu tradition encourages Hindus to seek spiritual and moral truth wherever it might be found, while acknowledging that no creed can contain such truth in its fullness and that each individual must realize this truth through his or her own systematic effort. Our experience, our reason, and our dialogue with others—especially with enlightened individuals—provide various means of testing our understanding of spiritual and moral truth. And Hindu scripture, based on the insights of Hindu sages and seers, serves primarily as a guidebook. But ultimately truth comes to us through direct consciousness of the divine or the ultimate reality. In other religions this ultimate reality is known as God. Hindus refer to it by many names, but the most common name is Brahman.

 

Prophet(s)

Jesus of Nazareth

Personified Gods and Goddesses created to assist (through stories) understanding of Brahman. Known as Saguna Brahman (Brahman with attributes) these personified forms of Brahman correspond to three stages in the cycle of the universe. Brahmā corresponds to the creative spirit from which the universe arises. Vishnu corresponds to the force of order that sustains the universe. Shiva corresponds to the force that brings a cycle to an end—destruction acting as a prelude to transformation, leaving pure consciousness from which the universe is reborn after destruction.

Other personified forms widely worshiped by Hindus are Shakti, the female aspect of divinity, and Ganesha, the elephant-headed deity associated with the removal of obstacles. Krishna appears at times to save the world.

The majority of Hindus choose a personal deity, a saguna form of Brahman with whom they can feel a direct personal connection. Devotion to this deity can take a number of forms, including prayer, ceremonial worship, chanting of the deity’s name, and pilgrimage to sites sacred to the deity.

 

Leader(s)

Deacons, Bishops, Vicars, Clergy amongst others.

Spiritual authority in Hinduism flows from enlightened sages called gurus. The guru is someone who has attained realization and acts as a guide for other human beings. He or she guides the individual seeker of truth and self-realization to the appropriate deity, practice, or yoga within Hinduism. The disciple’s goal is to transcend the need for a guru through direct experience of the divine and self-awareness. Having a guide is considered critical for traversing the complexities of spiritual practice and self-discovery. The guru thus constitutes an important centre of spiritual activity in Hinduism.

*Yoga - there are different forms of yoga within Hinduism, hatha yoga  (a physical yoga well known in the west), karma yoga (appropriate selfless deeds and actions), bhakti yoga (the yoga of devotion and love for a personal deity), Jñāna yoga (the yoga of knowledge)

 

Afterlife

Eternal heaven or hell (or temporary purgatory before heaven).

We normally think of ourselves as coming into being when we are born of our parents and as perishing when we die. According to Hinduism, however, this current life is merely one link in a chain of lives that extends far into the past and projects far into the future. The point of origin of this chain cannot be determined. The process of our involvement in the universe—the chain of births and deaths—is called samsāra. Samsāra is caused by a lack of knowledge of our true self and our resultant desire for fulfilment outside ourselves. We continue to embody ourselves, or be reborn, in this infinite and eternal universe as a result of these unfulfilled desires. The chain of births lets us resume the pursuit.

The law that governs samsāra is called karma. Each birth and death we undergo is determined by the balance sheet of our karma—that is, in accordance with the actions performed and the dispositions acquired in the past.

Time in the Hindu universe moves in endlessly recurring cycles, much like the motion of a wheel. The duration of the various phases of the universe’s existence are calculated in units of mind-boggling astronomical duration.

 

Practices

Prayer, Bible study, baptism, Eucharist (Communion), church on Sundays, numerous holidays. The belief in the Bible as the supreme source of authority for the church. The early churches of the Reformation believed in a critical, yet serious, reading of Scripture and holding the Bible as a source of authority higher than that of previous Church Tradition. The right and duty of the Christian laity not only to read the Bible in the vernacular, but also to take part in the government and all the public affairs of the Church. It is opposed to the hierarchical system which puts the essence and authority of the Church in an exclusive priesthood, and makes ordained priests the necessary mediators between God and the people.

Daily individual or household worship, occasional communal worship, worship at temples, religious festivals.

Texts

The Bible (Old and New Testaments)

There is no single revelation or orthodoxy (established doctrine) by which people may achieve knowledge of the divine or lead a life backed by religious law. The Hindu tradition acknowledges that there are many paths by which people may seek and experience religious understanding and direction. It also claims that every individual has the potential to achieve enlightenment.

Although Hindu tradition maintains that the ultimate reality lies beyond all scriptures, it is equally convinced that the scriptures help people orient their minds and lives towards Brahman. This attitude has given rise to a body of sacred literature so vast that by one calculation it would take 70 lifetimes of devoted study to read all of it.

 

Human situation/

Life's purpose

All have sinned* and are thereby separated from God. Salvation comes by grace through faith alone in Jesus as the Christ, rather than through good works as in the Catholic faith.

 

*St. Augustine (354-430AD) imported an idea foreign to the Bible: the notion that the taint of sin is transmitted from generation to generation by the act of procreation following the fall of Adam. He took this idea from the 2nd-century theologian Tertullian, who actually coined the phrase original sin.

The highest aim of existence is the realization of the identity or union of the individual’s innermost self with the ultimate reality. Although this ultimate reality is beyond name, the word Brahman is used to refer to it.

(But how can the human mind, with its limitations, conceive of this transcendent reality? Human comprehension requires a more personal reality, with attributes.

Therefore Saguna Brahman—that is, Brahman with attributes—generally takes the form of one of three main Hindu deities: Brahmā, Vishnu, or Shiva to serve this purpose.)

 

Punishment for heresy

Historically: Death.

 

Currently: Nothing.

Not applicable

Attitude to Women

Historically: Various, but generally unequal

 

Currently: Various, but generally Liberal.*

 

*Many churches now allow female clergy, and the first female bishop has been appointed.

From the 6th century, the Tantric tradition influenced the role of equality of women in Hinduism including allowing women to be gurus.

Main objectives in theory

To spread the teachings of the Bible and Jesus and encourage believers to live lives in accordance with those teachings.

 

More strikingly than any other major religious community, Hindus accept—and indeed celebrate—the organic, multileveled, and sometimes pluralistic nature of their traditions. This expansiveness is made possible by the widely shared Hindu view that truth or reality cannot be encapsulated in any creedal formulation, a perspective expressed in the Hindu prayer “May good thoughts come to us from all sides.” Thus, Hinduism maintains that truth must be sought in multiple sources, not dogmatically proclaimed.

Anyone's view of the truth—even that of a guru regarded as possessing superior authority—is fundamentally conditioned by the specifics of time, age, gender, state of consciousness, social and geographic location, and stage of attainment. These multiple perspectives enhance a broad view of religious truth rather than diminish it; hence, there is a strong tendency for contemporary Hindus to affirm that tolerance is the foremost religious virtue.

On the other hand, even cosmopolitan Hindus living in a global environment recognize and value the fact that their religion has developed in the specific context of the Indian subcontinent. Such a tension between universalist and particularist impulses has long animated the Hindu tradition. When Hindus speak of their religious identity they emphasize its continuous, seemingly eternal existence and the fact that it describes a web of customs, obligations, traditions, and ideals that far exceeds the Western tendency to think of religion primarily as a system of beliefs. A common way in which English-speaking Hindus often distance themselves from that frame of mind is to insist that Hinduism is not a religion but a way of life.

 

Main objectives in practice

As above.

 

 

As Above.

Major

benefits to the human

condition

The socioeconomic and moral teachings of Jesus are generally good (irrespective of which church teaches them) and the effects of these teachings on society in general, and individuals in particular, has been generally beneficial. There have been many exemplary achievements by individual Protestants in many areas of life.

The Protestant church for many centuries was the "Power Behind the Throne" in the leadership of many countries upon whose support many kings relied, and therefore kept a certain amount of reign on their behavior.

 

Many beautiful works of art and architecture.

A religious love of theatre, drama, music and dance.

Generally, when not defending themselves from attack, Hindus live in a gentle and peaceful social order.

 

Major detriments to the human condition in deaths.

Religious wars Mainly fought defensively against Catholic armies (See Catholicism for details). With the Reformation many kings who had previously been unwilling subjects of the Catholic church and the power of the Popes, took the opportunity to support the new churches to release themselves from papal power, thereby making themselves enemies of the Catholic church and therefore subject to attack by the armies of kings still supporting and beholden to the Popes. Later this developed in to loosely based religious wars between kingdoms where religion was an excuse rather than a reason for the war, with territorial gain and power being the real objectives.

 

Witchcraft the belief in witches* and that they were in league with the devil mainly ran from 1484 to 1750. During this time, many people (80% women) were accused, convicted and either burned or hanged as witches to punish heresy.

 

*Witchcraft was believed by many cultures and religions throughout history.

 

Colonialism  Whilst the Spanish and Portuguese  Catholic Conquistadores were pillaging South America and other areas. The British, Dutch, French and to a lesser extent German countries were exploiting other areas of the world (Africa, India, North America, China etc.) Although these countries benefited from the exploited wealth it was done in the main through companies set up for those purposes. Companies who had shareholders and their own company armies (such as the British East India Company and the Dutch East India Company) although their respective governments drew wealth from taxing their trading. These companies also fought de-facto wars on their governments behalf.

On the back of colonialism, and to give colonialism some form of credence other than pure capitalistic greed, rode the Protestant Evangelical cause. Evangelists were at the forefront of the colonialist operations and spent their lives bringing their various churches / beliefs to the native populations with the object of converting them to their particular form of Christianity. Again, untold numbers of native peoples were killed by war, disease, slavery and rape. These deaths and despicable behaviors were not however directed by Protestantism, but by the companies / governments involved, and the wealth went not directly to the churches but to the same companies / governments. Although the link between colonialism and evangelicalism is clear, church involvement in the wars and pillage that resulted is less so.

 

Slavery The enforced slavery of Africans who were then sent in chains to work in the Caribbean and America was a stain on the countries (mainly Protestant) who were involved in it. Often 30 or 40% of the shipload of slaves would die and be thrown overboard before reaching their destination. The cruelty involved in this despicable trade in human beings is well recorded. Again the Protestant churches were not involved in this trade but were close bystanders who did little to object to, or stop it. Admittedly, the Parliamentarians who did eventually bring the trade in slavery to an end were no doubt devout Protestant Christians, however it was through parliamentary democracy, rather than church intervention, that they were able to do so.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hindus live with a legacy of domination by Muslim and Christian rulers that stretches back many centuries—in northern India, to the Delhi sultanate established at the beginning of the 13th century. The patterns of relationship between Hindus and Muslims have been different between north and south India. While there is a history of conquest and domination in the north, Hindu-Muslim relations in Kerala and Tamil Nadu have been peaceful.

 

Yet there were periods when the political ambitions of Islamic rulers took strength from the iconoclastic (to destroy religious images) aspects of Muslim teaching and led to the devastation of many major Hindu temple complexes, from Mathura and Varanasi in the north to Chidambaram, Sriringam, and Madurai in the far south; other temples were converted to mosques. Since the 14th century this history has provided rhetorical fuel for Hindu anger against Muslim rulers.

 

In 1946 the Muslim League declares August 16, Direct Action Day for the purpose of winning a separate Muslim state. Savage Hindu-Muslim riots broke out in Calcutta the next day and quickly spread throughout India. As independence approached Hindus and Muslims continued to fight and kill each other.

 

Three wars have been fought between India and Pakistan:-

 

1947.                     Pakistani forces invaded independent Kashmir, Kashmir asked for military help in return for Kashmir's accession to India. India then joined the war in defence of Kashmir.

 

1965.                     Military personnel disguised as local Kashmiris began to infiltrate into the Kashmīr Valley in early August. Once they entered the valley, the infiltrators intended to foment a rebellion among Kashmiri Muslims. The Kashmiris did not respond as expected; instead, they turned the infiltrators over to the local authorities. Accordingly, the Indian army moved to secure the border and on August 15 scored a major victory after a prolonged artillery barrage. Attacks and counterattacks followed in quick succession.

On September 1 the Pakistanis opened a new front catching Indian forces unprepared. Indian forces responded with air strikes, leading to Pakistani retaliation. On September 5 the Pakistanis made a significant thrust into Indian territory that threatened to cut off Kashmir state from the rest of India. The following day Indian troops crossed the international border near Lahore. Faced with this threat to Lahore, the Pakistanis launched a counterattack in the neighbouring Indian state of Punjab. This attack, was anticipated by the Indian forces and failed, with Pakistani forces suffering major losses.

 

1971.                     The 1947 partition had created a Pakistan comprised of two “wings”—West Pakistan (present-day Pakistan) and East Bengal (later renamed East Pakistan; now Bangladesh)—that were separated by 1,600 km of Indian territory. In the wake of Pakistan’s first free and fair election in December 1970, the leaders of the western and eastern wings failed to reach an understanding about power sharing. In March 1971, after talks failed to break the deadlock, the Pakistani government launched a military crackdown in East Pakistan.

Large numbers of the Bengali intelligentsia in East Pakistan were killed and many prominent Bengali leaders were thrown in jail. In response, the leadership of East Pakistan declared the province’s independence on March 26. As the crackdown escalated into a full-blown and brutal civil war over the next two months, some 10 million Bengalis fled East Pakistan and took refuge in the neighbouring Indian state of West Bengal. The Indian leadership of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi quickly decided that it was cheaper to resort to war against Pakistan than to absorb millions of refugees into India’s already bloated population.

The third Indo-Pakistani war formally began with a Pakistani air attack on a number of air bases in north-western India. The Indian air force responded the next day

An invading Pakistani tank column was bombed by the Indian air force, which carried out as many as 4,000 sorties during the conflict.

An Indian thrust made by three Indian army divisions launched a five-pronged attack on Dhaka, the provincial capital, and received the surrender of Pakistani forces there on December 16.

East Pakistan immediately seceded from Pakistan and became the sovereign nation of Bangladesh.

 

The bloody partition of the subcontinent from India into India and Pakistan in 1947 mobilized Hindu sensibilities about the sacredness of the land as a whole, Hindus have sometimes depicted the creation of Pakistan as a dismemberment of the body of India.

 

At the end of the 20th century in a campaign to destroy the mosque built in 1528 by a lieutenant of the Mughal emperor in Ayodhya, a city that has traditionally been identified as the place where Rama (Rama - incarnation of Vishnu) was born and ruled. In 1992 militant Hindu nationalists from throughout India, who had been organized by the VHP “World Hindu Council”, the RSS “National Volunteer Alliance”, and the BJP “Indian People's Party”, destroyed the mosque in an effort to “liberate” Rama and establish a huge “Rama's Birthplace Temple” on the spot.

 

The continuing tensions in the Kashmir region have also spawned outbursts of sectarian violence on both sides, including the destruction of some Hindu temples there by militant Muslims.

 

Other Major detriments to the human condition.

Teachings

Some of the teachings in minor Protestant churches have led to beliefs that are peculiar to say the least - such as teachings today that the world is only 6,000 years old and evolutionarily unchanged since the beginning, and a church based on a nine year old child prophet. These peculiar minor churches tend to be mainly in the USA and Africa.

 

Christian Fundamentalists (both Catholic and Protestant) have long battled in the courts, particularly in the USA to either stop the teaching of Darwinism in schools, or to ensure the equal teaching of Creationism under various other names such as intelligent design. The courts successively struck down such cases stating that State and Church must be separated and schools free to teach Darwinism and under no obligation to teach Creationism.

 

The traditional caste system of India developed more than 3000 years ago when Aryan-speaking nomadic groups migrated from the north to India about 1500 BC. The Aryan priests divided society into a basic caste system. Sometime between 200 BC and 100 AD, the Manu Smriti, or Law of Manu, was written. In it were the four great hereditary divisions of society still surviving today, placing their own priestly class at the head of this caste system with the title of earthly gods, or Brahmans. Next in order of rank were the warriors, then came the farmers and merchants. The fourth of the original castes were the labourers, born to be servants to the other three castes, especially the Brahman. Far lower, in fact entirely outside the social order and limited to doing the most menial and unappealing tasks were those people of no caste, formerly known as Untouchables. In the modern world any form of caste system is totally unacceptable.

 

Notes