I spotted this little gem on the way into work and my mind has boggled at it. Apparently, a Church of England priest as converted to Hinduism and is to remain a vicar in the Church of England. Now I'm not particularly religious, but I do know enough to know that Chrsitianity is monotheism, and Hinduism is polytheism. I also know enough to quote the following rather clear Commandment from Exodus:
You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Putting it simply, Christiainty and Hinduism are not compatible. Now I've always a healthy respect for Vicars as I was brought up in the Church of England. I;ve always concsidred them particularly learned and wise in their considerations. However, my mind has changed thank to this man when I read his justification for claiming he can be both a Christian and Hindu at the same time. He said:
"I have neither explicitly nor implicitly renounced my Christian faith or priesthood.... [his conversion should be] read in the spirit of open exploration and dialogue, which is an essential feature of our shared modern spirituality... My philosophical position is that all religions are cultural constructs... I am acting out God’s story in local terms."
No it isn't and no you're not. What you are in fact doing is talking complete and total bollocks.
The above story has been emailed to His Grace the Archbishop
4 comments:
How does all of this stand in respect to Unity ?
For those that don't know, Unity is a doctrin which attempts to unify all faiths. For example, Hinduism has many gods but believes that they are all facets of one god; Islam and Judeism all have many prophets but only one god; Christianity states that god is everywhere and in everything. Buddhism is the striving to see a form of god in all things and to become one with the unity. Humanism is based on the belief that god is within us all, as a spirit unifying us all. I suppose it's most like Asimov's concept of Gaia but on a universal scale.
His Grace thanks Mr Dizzy for bringing this to his attention.
He is considering a post on the theological incompatibilities and conjecture on the motives of the Church of England's indifference to this conversion.
Maybe Jesus was really an elephant...
I have to say that I think people of faith have far far more in common than that which divides them.
(Well OK fundamentalists of all shades scare me shitless)
But this realy takes the biscuit. I have no problems with the Hindu's who rever Jesus for what ever reason they wish to do so.
There are many Mosques with inscriptions about the life and teachings of Jesus.
However whilst there is much that unites all faiths, there are some important differences.
The key one for Christians is you either believe in one God, whos only Son Jesus gave his life for us or you don't.
It is absolulty fine to see the wonder of Hinduism, and appreaciate it. You may even wonder, and why not if it may be an alternate path to God. However you can not believe it is THE path to God and be a Christian at the same time.
If you really appreciate Hinduism and understand its teachings, you would never consider it THE path. Infact you would not consider any path THE path. All paths are equal paths and will lead to the same goal. All religions teach us the same values. Love thy neighbour is one of the tenets of Christianity. Now, if that means it love thy neighbour only if he is a fellow Christian, it defeats the purpose of Jesus's teachings.
I would also add that the Bible was not written by Jesus but was a compilation of interpretations of the Apostles and the Church of Jesus's teachings.
There is no doubt Jesus was enlightened. As a hindu myself, I believe all enlightened men are God. When He said I am the only God, and will be the only God, it might have been taken out of context. Hinduism also believes there is only one God, there always was one God and will always be only one God. There is only one truth and there are many names for it. How can any God be a Jealous God? Isn't jealousy a vice and how can the source of all love and acceptance be jealous?
Every time there is a lot of negativity and depravity in the world, to balance there is a birth of a enlightened soul who is the fount of positivity.
It does not matter which God you pray to. The object of prayer is to focus your mind and energy on a positive ideal. It promotes selflessness and gives you the ability to love others and God as you love your self. The day you love all beings equally, you are God.
Savi
Post a Comment