Provision and Puppets

"I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God." This was Paul's response to the overwhelming provision he received from the church at Philippi. I can't help but relate to his sentiment here, because within this week alone our team has received ample provision for our mission in India. Full financial support was provided out of the abundant generosity of some families at our church here in Austin--$6,100!!! Along with that, Hill Country Bible Church Northwest, our sending church, provided us with 3 puppets to help with our children's programs AND a family member of one of our team members donated another 3 puppets. The cool part of this is that we will be able to leave the puppets with the ministry leaders in India for continued use in their efforts to draw children into the story of redemption!!!
What an amazing thing to see all the pieces coming together to provide us with this unique opportunity to demonstrate and declare the hope of Jesus to these children and families in India. The team is growing more and more excited as the countdown to departure is a mere 5 weeks away. We ask for your continued prayer as we are in the midst of preparing the childrens program and for continued team unity.

Hinduism

Nearly 82% of the people of India identify themselves as Hindu. So what does it mean to be Hindu? Here are its basic tenets of belief (taken from, Dean C. Halverson's, The Compact Guide to World Religions):

• Impersonal Nature of Brahman: As a Hindu, the end goal in all of life is to arrive at ultimate reality, otherwise known as, Brahman. Brahman is "an impersonal oneness that is beyond all distinctions, including personal and moral distinctions" (Halverson, 89). Many Hindus see the universe as a continuous extension of Brahman. In other words, the world and everything in it is actually an illusion with no creator.

• The Brahman/Atman Unity: Most Hindus believe their true identity or existence, known as atman, is actually an extension of Brahman. Halverson offers a good analogy, "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" (89).


• The Law of Karma: This is the system which dictates the cycle of life, death, and re-birth for a Hindu. According to Hinduism, the main problem for humanity is that we are ignorant of ultimate reality, or Brahman, and our true identity with it. This problem is manifested in giving into our natural desires and longings, which results in a life that extremely focused on performing good deeds in order to achieve "good karma." In other words, what you do in this life carries over to how you're next life will look.


• Samsara (Reincarnation): This concept is intimately connected with the law of karma. Since Hindus believe that all of existence is connected to Brahman and that as humans we have forgotten that it is our true identity. Life is therefore an endless cycle of life, death, and re-birth (The Baker Pocket Guide to World Religions, 19). When we die, we are reborn into some other life form, which is dependent on whether you had good or bad karma in your previous life. So if you did good deeds and therefore have good karma, you may be reborn into a happy human. But, if you did bad deeds and therefore have bad karma, you may be reborn into an animal or bug.


• Mosha (Liberation): Since the goal of Hinduism is to achieve ultimate reality, or Brahman, and since all of humanity has forgotten their true identity in it, then the solution is to be delivered from the endless cycly of samsara (reincarnation). This solution comes by self enlightenment, realizing that all existence, including one's self, is an illusion. Hindus strive to accomplish this enlightened state in three primary ways: (1) karma marga (the way of action and ritual), (2) jnana marga (the way of knowledge and meditation), (3) bhakti marga (the way of devotion) (Halverson, 91). This is essentially what the character Neo, played by Keanu Reeves, and his entourage in the movie The Matrix achieved when they were liberated from the Matrix--"Will it be the red pill or the blue pill?"

So how does this differ from Christianity, that is, how does this compare with the reality that there is One True God, Father, Son, and Spirit? Let's compare it with the tenets of Hinduism outlined above:

• Personal Triune God: Like Hinduism, the Bible teaches that God is distinct from creation, which is clearly seen in the Genesis creation account where God is separate from the elements of creation. The apostle Paul also declares the "otherness" of God to the Athenians who worshipped many gods, including an "unknown god," which Paul identified for them as the One True God who, "being the Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all humanity life and breath and everything" (Acts 17:24-25). However, this God is also personal in nature, as the Scriptures indicate that God is one essence and three distinct persons with each person being fully God, which is known as Trinity (see Gen. 1:26; Duet. 6:4-5; John 1:1-4; Acts 5:3-4; 2 Cor. 13:14). God's personal nature is seen explicitly in Jesus Christ, the one who was fully human and fully God, who experienced humanity as we do yet did not sin (Heb. 2:14-18; 4:14-16). Therefore, all creation and creatures matter to God and God has made himself known to humanity, both in His word and His Son.


• Rule of Sin: Like Hinduism, the Bible teaches that how we live in the here and now affects our relationship with God. This is seen through the first man and woman's deliberate rebellion against God in the Garden, thereby altering all humanity's relationship with God; going from harmony to enmity because of their sin (see Rom. 3:11-12; 5:12; Eph. 2:3; Col. 1:21). Sin is the condition all humanity is born with, which means that all humanity's relationships with God (Gen. 3:8-11), self (Gen. 3:16), and others (Gen. 4:8) is marred. So, unlike Hinduism which says that karma is humanity's problem, Scripture is clear that humanity's main problem is sin or rebellion or enmity with God.


• Substituionary Atonement: Like Hinduism, all humanity is in need of being rescued from spiritual blindness (2 Cor. 4:4), yet unlike Hinduism which says that the individual is able to rescue him/herself, Scripture teaches that only the blood of Christ can rescue us. Because sin is an offense towards God commited by humanity, an appropriate price must be paid--death (Gen. 2:16-17; Rom. 6:23a). So, God did for us what we could not do for ourselves, he offered his own Son over to death, which accomplished four needs: (1) completely satisfied God's wrath toward all humanity (propitiation, see 1 John 4:10), (2) paid the death penalty of sin on our behalf (sacrifice, see Heb. 9:26), (3) restored the broken relationship between us and God (reconciliation, see 2 Cor. 5:18-19), (4) paid the ransom for our release from the bondage of sin and its Master--Satan (redemption, see Rom. 6:11) (taken from, Wayne Grudem, Bible Doctrine, p. 255).

It is clear that there are some similarities between Hinduism and Christianity, which seems to indicate that from the most ancient developments of man's understanding of self and God, Truth has always been corrupted by sinful humanity. While there are similarities, the differences are striking as revealed in God's superintended (inspired and inerrant) Word and through the incarnate Word (Jesus Christ). Because it is human nature to corrupt Truth, we are all in need of God's compassion; we are all in need of being lifted out of our mess and into His loving arms. This is why the people of the untouchable class in India are in such need of those who are first and foremost passionate about Christ, while at the same time, compelled to show His compassion to those who are in a very real sense, blinded. Partner with us in this effort by contributing to Children's Relief International (enter "Team Crossroads" or the name of the team member you'd like to support in the Team field).