At Elevate last Sunday night we did lesson 2 of a short series called "Jesus Among other Gods" by Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias.
We discussed the differences between Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam when looking at the nature of ones relationship with God.
What we learned is that Hinduism is about union with God. In Hinduism the goal is to unveil the divine within yourself. Your identity is absorbed with the divinity.
In Islam the pendulum swings totally to the other side. The Muslim God is distant and far away. Your identity is totally separate from God. And any attempt to bring God closer to man to have an intimate relationship with God is sacrilegious.
In Christianity we see that God is not distant and unattainable but at the same time he is not so close that we become a God or join him once we unveil "our" divine nature.
Instead we see that through the work of Christ on the cross we are brought into communion with God. Thus we have a relationship with God that is a combination of a God who is both incomprehensibly great and yet incredibly loving and involved in our life.
C.S. Lewis puts it this way when comparing Jesus with other religions.
"There is no half-way house, and there is no parallel in other religions. If you had gone to Buddha and asked him, 'Are you the son of Bramah?' he would have said, 'My son, you are still in the vale of illusion.' If you had gone to Socrates and asked, 'Are you Zeus?' he would have laughed at you. If you had gone to Muhammad and asked, 'Are you Allah?' he would first have ripped his clothes and then cut off your head."'
Jesus is unique among religious leaders in claiming to bring God to our world in His own person and making good that claim by such powerful evidences.
(Taken from "But Don't all Religions Lead to God?" by Michael Green)
If you want to listen/watch a quick video on part how to witness to a Hindu by Ravi Zacharias then please watch the below clip. Its only about 9 minutes long. At the end of the video it shows you how to get access to the first two parts of this 3 part lesson.
Just go to http://www.rzim.org/ Click on USA. Resources. Let my People Think. Archive. And do search on: The Spurious Glitter of Pantheism
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