I think that some unfortunately have succumb to this temptation.

hg;h' hagah - meditate 6, mourn 4, speak 4, imagine 2, study 2, mutter 2, utter 2, roaring 1, sore 1, talk 1

x;yfi siyach - complaint 9, meditation 1, prayer 1, talking 1, communication 1, babbling 1

As much as loath to do it:

"In Christian theology, Kenosis is the concept of the 'self-emptying' of one's own will and becoming entirely receptive to God and his perfect will." (Wikipedia)

"Kenosis is only possible through humility and presupposes that one seeks union with God" (Ibid)

Kenosis, relative to the human nature, denotes the continual epiklesis and self-denial of one's own human will and desire" (Ibid)

"...Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our persons -- but they are helpless against our prayers."

Sidlow Baxter

Thanks again Margaret!

I would disagree that Hindus are the primary reason that relativism is so widespread in America.  I would say they are a factor, of course.  I speculate that relativism is a natural tendency of fallen man, particularly when pressed against the hard facts of Christianity.  Of course, this is all just uneducated me shooting from the hip.  Nevertheless, thanks for reminding me about Hinduism.  

There was relativism in the Garden of Eden:  "You will not surely die..."

He writes,

He was insistent and continued to challenge me. "Go ahead, speak on that subject, and I will bring my philosophy class with me. They will take you apart after you are through." Without question, by his polemic stance he was waging a psychological war.

By this point quite a crowd had gathered to listen with gladiatorial glee to this verbal slugfest. Unable to shake off this determined man, I finally made him a counteroffer. I had been planning to speak one night on "Why I Am a Christian"; I suggested that perhaps that would provide sufficient material upon which his philosophical heavyweights could pounce. "I would be delighted," I said, "to respond to any challenge on that. After all, implicit in that presentation would be why I am not anything else." And so he agreed.

As the lecture unfolded I could sense his discomfort, for I was touching upon the nerve of his worldview - the basic laws of logic and how they apply to reality. I began by establishing the law of noncontradiction, which contends that if a statement is absolutely contradictory, without qualification, that statement cannot be true. I continued by demonstrating that in the myriad postulations by Hinduism there are numerous contradictions, a fact admitted by even some of its leading proponents. If the law of noncontradiction applies to reality and Hinduism is plagued by contradiction, then I concluded that, as a system, Hinduism is false. To this very day, Hinduism lives with a titanic struggle between its two poles of theism (a belief in a personal deity) and monism (a belief in an impersonal, absolute reality). In fact, more and more, Hindus are prone to offer Hinduism not as a religion but as a culture because of its admixture of so many contrary strands.

Parenthetically, for those who are not familiar with this kind of thinking, and for whom philosophy is not part of the daily diet, the law of noncontradiction works something like this: Suppose my wife and I were walking together and you came by and said, "Hello, Mr. And Mrs. Zacharias. I hear you are expecting a baby." If, to your question, my wife answered "Yes" at the same time that I said "No," what would you think? You might conclude that an attempt at humor was being made, or that perhaps the woman accompanying me is not Mrs. Zacharias, or possibly that she has not yet broken the news to me. This is because the same question, at the same time, meaning the same thing cannot elicit two absolutely opposite answers. It is the simple clue to truth that we use in the courtroom and at our workplace. It is the law of noncontradiction. This was the key issue that this professor was going to address in our discussion.

At the end of the lecture, he stormed to the front with his note-takers and exploded, "You have done the greatest damage to Eastern philosophy I have ever seen anyone do, and the reason is that you don't understand the Eastern mind." Even his own students could not help but see the irony of a Westerner telling an Easterner that he did not understand the Eastern mind. This was indeed comical.

I decided the time had come to rescue this discussion from ridicule, so I asked him to meet me for lunch the next day where we could try and work through our disagreement. He accepted, and when we met, he wasted no time. He began with, "Your biggest problem is that you do not understand Eastern logic." I concluded it would be best to let him explain Eastern logic to me. His argument expounded on two kinds of logic, one the either/or logic and the other, the both/and logic. "The either/or logic," he said, "is built on the law of noncontradiction, meaning that if a statement is true, its opposite has to be false." So far I agreed with him.

As the professor waxed eloquent and expounded on the law of noncontradiction, he eventually drew his conclusion: "This is a Western way of looking at reality." I disagreed with that conclusion and asked him to cross it off his place-mat where he had delineated his syllogisms. He refused, and I allowed him to proceed, knowing that sooner or later he would have to reject his conclusion.

His next major explanation was on the dialectical method. This is not either/or; this is both/and. G.W.F. Hegel used this in his dialectic between an idea (a thesis) and its opposite (an antithesis) to form the synthesis (finding a middle ground). …My philosopher friend went to great lengths to establish the both/and logic as a superior way by which to establish truth.

"So Dr. Zacharias," he said, "when you see one Hindu affirming that God is personal and another insisting that God is not personal, just because it is contradictory you should not see it as a problem. The real problem is that you are seeing that contradiction as a Westerner when you should be approaching it as an Easterner. The both/and is the Eastern way of viewing reality." Again I asked him to strike out the last line of his conclusion on the both/and system, but of course he did not.

After he had belabored these two ideas of either/or and both/and for some time and carried on his tirade that we ought not to study truth from a Western point of view but rather from an Eastern viewpoint, I finally asked if I could interrupt his unpunctuated train of thought and raise one question. He agreed and put down his pencil.

I said, "Sir, are you telling me that when I am studying Hinduism I either use the both/and system of logic or nothing else?"

There was pin-drop silence for what seemed an eternity. I repeated my question: "Are you telling me that when I am studying Hinduism I either use the both/and logic or nothing else? Have I got that right?"

He threw back his head and said, "The either/or does seem to emerge, doesn't it?"

"Indeed it does emerge," I said. "And as a matter of fact, even in India we look both ways before we cross the street - it is either the bus or me, not both of us."

Do you see the mistake he was making? He was using the either/or logic in order to prove the both/and. The more you try to hammer the law of noncontradiction, the more it hammers you."

The universal, invariant and abstract nature of the laws of logic are unavoidable. There is no getting around

Beautiful exchange, Tim!  Thanks for posting that transcript.  I've heard him speak that three different times on the radio.  Perhaps I'm just underestimating how deeply Hindu thought is permeating American culture, assuming postmodernism/relativism had another source. 

It is indeed a very serious problem!  I posted on the bankruptcy of relativism a month or two ago.  The majority of "born again" Christians believe absolute morals do not exist!

Hi Tim,

I beg your pardon for my untimely disappearence.  Let me explain 'Hinduism' first. It is not one way.I is not one method and it is not one faith.  There are numerous ways and numerous gods.  Some of the friends who practise 'hinduism' have no trouble accepting Jesus as the million plus oneth 'god'.  The trouble is they dont accept that 'Jesus' is the only way, to God.

The hindu gods differ from village to village, from town to town and from region to region. 

However, there are other points for your consideration.  In the year around 1600s, when Bartholomew Zigenbalg was one of the earliest missionaries from Germany to the southern part of India, he has recorded that the culture follwed by people of the region was highly appreciable because of the cultural discipline. ( Even today, you will find people in India follow a systemmatic life style, a planned family life meaning joint family, arranged marriages, etc to name  a few).

The hindu scripture however says Jesus is the true God. Since the most hindu scripture is  in sanskrit, an ancient language, many of us do not understand what it says. Recently, some hindu scholors who have accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour have translated their scriptures and I am giving you the summary here below:  

There are some chants in Sanskrit ( Sahasvara namavali )  which is given here along with the translation in English.

1. Bramma Putrayaha namaha (Blessed be the Son of God )

2. Umathyaya namaha (Blessed be the One who is born of the holy spirit)

3.Kanni Suthayaha namaha ( Blessed be the one who is born of a virgin)

4. Daridhranarayanaya namaha (Blessed be the one who came in a simple / poor status )

5. Vidhirstya namaha ( Blessed be the one who was circumcised )

6. Pancha kayaya namaha ( Blessed is the one who had five wounds)

7. Viritcha soola arudhaya namaha ( Blessed is the one who died on a tree which looks like a 'trishul'  meaning trident. Please note if the two arms of a  trident is bent to the sides, it is a cross)

8.Mrithyan Jeya namaha ( Blessed is the one who was victorious over death)

9.Shibilishtaya namaha (Blessed is the one who gave his flesh to be eaten )

10. Dakshina murthyaya namaha (Blessed is the one who is near the Father)

11. Maha devaya namaha ( Blessed is the Great God ) 

So a true and Knowledgeable hindu does acknowledge and praise Jesus through the sanscrit chantings which is given above. Its a pity most of them are unaware of the real meanings of the chants in Sanskrit. When such is the case, many westerners and Americans feel that hinduism has some thing 'better' to offer.  Its a pity majority of christians do not know the real meaning of the christian faith. That is why we see, the churches in UK are empty today. ( Please remember the roles of christian missionaries in the UK in bringing the Gospel to India during the 1600s ). People like Mahatma Gandhi who is respected in India as the father of the Indian nation, for the role he played in the Independence of India, practised 'ahimsa' which is translated as non-violence, a basic principle by Jesus Christ.  He read the Bible thoroughly and declined to become a Christian because of the behaviour of the Christians he witnessed. There are cult leaders like Sai Baba (a religious leader) who say "Love your neighbour".  Where do you think he took this concept from? Jesus Christ! 

What I am saying is if ALL Christians follow the Commandment of Jesus as he said in John 13:34  And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another, we know what kind of world this would be transformed.

Tim, you and I have a great role to play in this world. All our brethren have a greater role to play. May God give us grace to be useful for other people of the world. God Bless you. 

STATEMENT DH-122

Of the 760-800 million Hindus in the world, approximately one million reside in the United States. In Part Two of this article, we will offer specific pointers on witnessing to Hindus. But first it is important for readers to have some understanding of the historical and philosophical background of Hinduism, and that is what this installment will provide.

The origins of Hinduism can be traced back to the polytheistic and ritualistic religions that began around 1500 B.C. in India’s Indus Valley. At first, the rituals were so simple that fathers could perform them. As the centuries passed, however, they became increasingly complex. This made it necessary to create a class of priests specially trained to perform the intricate rituals correctly, because the consequences for incorrectly performing a ritual were considered costly. During this time, the Hindu scriptures known as the Vedas were written to instruct the priests in how to conduct the rituals.

Because of how exclusive the priests became in appeasing the gods, they gained a power over the people that became unbearable. Around 600 B.C., the people revolted, and the form of Hinduism that emerged was more mystically oriented, focusing on the individual rather than the priest.
Between 800 and 300 B.C. the Upanishads were written. They expound on the idea that behind the many gods stands one Reality, called Brahman — an impersonal, monistic (“all is one”) force. The highest form of Brahman is nirguna (“without attributes or qualities”).

The Hindu concept of God continued to develop even after the Upanishads were written. Nirguna Brahman became saguna Brahman, which is Brahman “with attributes,” and is called Ishvara.

According to Hindu tradition, Ishvara became known to humanity through the Trimurti (“three manifestations”) of Brahman. Those manifestations include Brahma (the Creator), Vishnu (the Preserver), and Shiva (the Destroyer). Ishvara became personified even further through the ten mythical incarnations, or avatars, of Vishnu in the forms of both animals and persons. Beyond the principal deities of the Trimurti, it is estimated that there are 330 million other gods in Hinduism (Halverson, 87-89).

Hinduism is amazing in its diversity and in its ability to absorb such a diversity into one belief system. Such diversity can cause interesting situations, such as when that religion is transported to another country like the United States. For example, it was reported in Hinduism Today, “In Nashville, Hindus building a temple sent out a ballot to decide which would be the central Deity, since there [were] worshipers of Kali, Krishna and Shiva in their area. It was democratically voted to choose Lord Ganesha” (Melwani).

One of the ways in which Hinduism is divided is according to their varied views on how the universe is related to ultimate reality (Brahman). The nondualists (advaita) see Brahman alone as being real and the world as illusory (maya). The qualified nondualists (vishishtadvaita) affirm the reality of both Brahman and the universe in that the universe is extended from the Being of Brahman. And the dualists (dvaita) see Brahman and the universe as being two distinct realities.
While Hinduism is certainly diverse, most Hindus hold to the following beliefs:

1. The Impersonal Nature of Brahman. Hindus see ultimate reality, Brahman, as being an impersonal oneness that is beyond all distinctions, including personal and moral distinctions.

2. The Brahman-Atman Unity. Hindus believe they are, in their true selves (atman), extended from, and one with, Brahman. Just as the air inside an open jar is identical to the air surrounding that jar, so our essence is identical to that of the essence of Brahman.

3. The Problem Is Ignorance. Humanity’s primary problem is that we are ignorant of our divine nature. We have forgotten that we are extended from Brahman, and we have mistakenly attached ourselves to the desires of our separate selves, or egos, and thereby to the consequences of their resultant actions as determined by the law of karma (cause and effect).

4. Samsara (Reincarnation). Samsara refers to the ever-revolving wheel of life, death, and rebirth. Through the law of karma we are reaping in this lifetime the consequences of the actions we committed in previous lifetimes. A person’s karma determines the kind of body — ranging from human to insect — into which he or she will be reincarnated in the next lifetime.

5. Moksha (Liberation). The solution to the problem of attachment and karma is moksha — to be liberated from the wheel of life, death, and rebirth. This can only occur when we truly realize that our separate self is actually an illusion and that only the undifferentiated oneness of Brahman is real. We must therefore strive to detach ourselves from the desires and actions of our ego in order to attain true enlightenment.

Dean C. Halverson is world religions specialist for International Students, Inc., and Natun Bhattacharya, a former Hindu, is the director of support and development for international trainers with Mission Training International.

Sources Cited

Halverson, Dean, ed. The Compact Guide to World Religions. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 1996.

Melwani, Lavina. Stirring Up the Melting Pot, Hinduism Today. Kapaa, HI: Himalayan Academy, March 1998.

American Christians who take the Great Commission seriously cannot afford to ignore Hinduism. Not only are one million of its roughly eight million adherents living in the United States, but the beliefs and practices of Hinduism (e.g., pantheism, reincarnation, and yoga) have deeply penetrated Western culture. In Part One we provided necessary background information for understanding Hindus. Now we offer six specific suggestions that will help facilitate meaningful dialogue with them.

1. Ask and Listen. Hinduism is a vastly diverse religion in which adherents share similar beliefs but do not have a common doctrinal creed. As such, it is in some respects a tolerant religion, allowing some latitude for individual Hindus to choose their own set of beliefs.

Don’t assume, therefore, that you know what your Hindu friend believes. Ask questions about his or her beliefs concerning God, man, sin, and salvation, and listen carefully to the answers. Listen closely to the way your Hindu friend describes the way to enlightenment. He or she might use words such as “achieve,” “attain,” “overcome,” and “strive.” Such expressions are significant because they reveal how enlightenment — the Hindu equivalent of salvation — is based on human effort, and not on God’s grace. After your friend has used such words, you might discuss passages such as Romans 3:19-24 and Ephesians 2:8-9, which speak of the futility of attempting to earn one’s salvation and of how salvation is a gift from God to be received by faith.

2. Be Aware of Differing Definitions. Be aware of biblical terminology or concepts Hindus might misunderstand. For example, Hindus understand being “born again” as referring to reincarnation, a bondage from which they are striving to be liberated. In Christian terminology, however, being “born again” means to be made new or to be regenerated by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. It is something to be desired.

3. Offer Jesus’ Forgiveness. Bakht Singh, a convert from Hinduism and an Indian evangelist, once said, “I have never yet failed to get a hearing if I talk to [Hindus] about forgiveness of sins and peace and rest in your heart” (Hesselgrave, 169). Forgiveness is certainly a need for Hindus because it is not available in their karma-based belief system. The law of karma is like a law of nature — every cause has its effect and there is no place for mercy. The fact that forgiveness is not available in Hinduism troubles many Hindus, for they are aware that the actions that bind them to this illusory realm keep accumulating, and the prospect of escape is hopelessly remote.

One biblical passage that is good to use is Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” The people that Jesus had in mind when He spoke these words were those who felt burdened by the impossibility o