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Before you begin

Three promises:

  1. A conversation between friends We are followers of Jesus who care about our Hindu neighbors. We will be open about what we believe, and fair about what you believe.
  2. The same fair test for both The Hindu texts and the Bible face the same questions. We describe Hindu teaching accurately, and say plainly where we think it fails.
  3. Check everything You do not have to agree to keep reading. If something sounds unfair, keep asking. Honest questions are welcome.

This guide is written to help you understand your Hindu friends and share Christ with them. The questions are about whether ideas make sense, never about mocking a text or the people who love it.

  1. UnderstandListen until you can state their view in a way your friend would agree with.
  2. LocateFind the verse your friend has in mind. Look it up together; you do not need to know it by heart.
  3. TestWalk through the argument. Name the logical problem plainly.
  4. AnticipateKnow how a thoughtful Hindu would answer. If you cannot say what their best reply is, you have not yet understood their view.
  5. BridgeShow how the meets the longing underneath the question.

New to these words? Tap any word with a dotted underline, like , for a plain-English meaning. Tap any verse to read it. The Glossary tab lists every word.

How each step works. Most steps follow the same shape:

  1. What the Hindu texts teachStated as accurately as we can, with the references
  2. Put to the testQuestions any text that speaks for God should answer, asked of the Hindu text and of the Bible
  3. What your friend may sayWhat Hindus often sayThe best reply a thoughtful Hindu would give
  4. Your strongest answerHow a Christian answersHow a follower of Jesus responds
  5. Christ above allWhere we believe every question leads: to Jesus, and an open invitation to come and see for yourselfWhere the question points: to Jesus, and how to invite your friend to come and see

Two tests we use

1. Problem and solution
  1. Name the problem
  2. Agree on it
  3. Find the answer
  4. For everyone

Does the text name one problem, and give one answer that works for everyone?

2. Universal and particular
True of all, true of youAll dogs bark, so this dog barks.
A few examples do not prove a ruleSeeing one brown dog does not mean every dog is brown.
One exception breaks itSay "all swans are white", and finding just one black swan proves it wrong.

Does the claim hold in every case, and can it be tested?

Hindu thought is not one system. read the same texts differently, so ask which one your friend holds before you press a point.

  • All is one
  • God is personal, and we are part of Him
  • God and souls are always distinct

You do not need to learn the . Know the Bible and why you believe it; this guide, the glossary and the verse cards give you the rest.

"...always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect" ().

A good companion to this guide: read Luke or John for yourself, and see who Jesus is in His own words. "Come and see" ().

Made to know and be known

Whatever we grew up with, we all ask the same questions.

Both have voiced this longing

To belong, and to be beloved
Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita
"Fix your mind on Me, be devoted to Me... You will come to Me; I truly promise you this, for you are dear to Me."
A prayer from the Psalms
"As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants after you, God."
For the real, for light, for life

Many Hindus have known this prayer since childhood (). Jesus answers each line with Himself.

  1. From the unreal lead me to the real"I am the way, and the truth, and the life" ()
  2. From darkness lead me to light"I am the light of the world" ()
  3. From death lead me to immortality"I am the resurrection and the life" ()
Christ above all

The One who made you is the One who came for you. All things were created through Christ and for Christ (), so the joy you were made for is to know Him. Everything in this guide leads here.

Two answers to the same longing

Jesus says He is the answer. The Hindu texts give answers of their own. Rather than take anyone's word for it, we will put both to the two tests above, beginning with a map of the Hindu texts and what each one teaches.Your friend's texts give their own answers to this longing. Next comes a map of those texts, so you know what your friend may be drawing on, and how each one holds up to the two tests above.

In short

We all ask the same questions, and beneath them is a longing to belong, to be known and loved by someone greater than ourselves. The Upanishads and the Psalms both voice it. Jesus says He is the answer, and the Hindu texts give answers of their own. The next steps put both to the same two tests.

Pause and reflect

When have you most sensed that you were loved, or known, or made for something? What did that feel like?

Have a question?

Something here unclear, or worth talking about? Ask, and a real person will read it. No question is too simple, and none will offend us.