Tathagata Roy had serious objections to painting Muslims, Christians and Jews with the same coarse brush called “Abrahamic.” These three traditions are very different in some ways; for example: Jews do not proselytize, whereas Christians and Islamists do. Then again, Christians do it by persuasion (at least at present times), while Islamists do it by force. Thus, he implied that these three are much different.
Some one could counter this argument by saying that these three Abrahamic traditions are more or less the same. All three are monotheist, supremacist and exclusivist. All three believe that salvation is possible only through their version of the faith or that they are the “chosen” people. All three believe in their own version of god and have not accepted each other’s vision of the God. Further, all three believe that Hindus are “idol worshipers” and, two of these traditions believe that on the Judgment Day, the idol worshipers will get the “Hell of Fire” while they will be “saved.” All three traditions have based their scriptures on some variations of the Ten Commandments, that are supposed to be the stern injunctions from their “jealous God” .
Being raised a Hindu, I was taught “Isvar Allah tero nam” (both Isvar and Allah are equally valid names of One God). Further, all those who have good karma will achieve moksha (salvation), irrespective of which path they follow. It is your karma, not the specific tradition, or name of God, that is important. Hinduism teaches that there is only One Absolute Supreme power and thus it is a truly monotheistic religion. But Hinduism allows abundant freedom of expression for the forms of God; therefore Hindus, in general, have no problem with the concept of Jesus or Allah as a God. As a child, I was never confused by this all inclusive, pluralistic view. Contrary to that, leaders of all three Abrahamic monotheist religions believe that a child will get confused with teachings of two different faiths; therefore, parents in an interfaith marriage must pick one of the two faiths for their children1,2, 3. If so, then whose god will win? Followers of all three Abrahamic faiths expect a Hindu spouse and/or their children to undergo Baptism, Bris or Shahadah-Sunat to publicly announce that their God will rule in their married life.
Jews may not proselytize but they consider interfaith marriages “Silent Holocaust.” In a Hindu-Jew marriage, the Jew partner may do any thing possible, including giving “conditional” love, to have their children go through the Bris ceremony and raise them in the Jewish faith only. To a Hindu spouse, and their children in an interfaith marriage, how does it matter what method — force, persuasion or conditional love — is used when the ultimate result is the same: Baptism, Bris or Shahadah-Sunat?
As Lisa Miller has explained, a Hindu believes there are many paths to God. Jesus is one way, the Qur’an is another, yoga practice is a third. None is better than any other; all are equal. The most traditional, conservative Christians have not been taught to think like this. They learn in Sunday school that their religion is true, and others are false. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.”
Luckily, these days, majority of Abrahamics are no longer exclusivists and are happily tolerating spouses from other faiths in their married life. According to a 2008 Pew Forum survey, 65 percent of Americans believe that “many religions can lead to eternal life”—including 37 percent of white evangelicals, the group most likely to believe that salvation is theirs alone. As Lisa Miller has further stated, conceptually, at least, we are slowly becoming more like Hindus and less like traditional Christians in the ways we think about God, ourselves, each other, and eternity. Stephen Prothero, religion professor at Boston University, has long framed the American propensity for “the divine-deli-cafeteria religion” as “very much in the spirit of Hinduism. You’re not picking and choosing from different religions, because they’re all the same.”
Are all religions the same? It depends. Religious scripture may say one thing but an individual may interpret it differently based on current understandings of their scriptures. In reality, for an interfaith couple, it is not the spouse’s scriptures but an individual’s personal faith and beliefs that count. If so, then there are only two types of Abrahamics, for that matter Hindus too, those that are tolerant and respect others the way they are; and those that are intolerant and wish to transform their spouse (and children) from other faiths to acquiesce to their intolerant view of the world.
.
Also read if in relations with a Christian: Hindu-Christian Marriage, Will Gandhi go to Hell since he was not Baptized?, Bible on Hindus?, Idol-Worshippers, I am a Christian mother, I converted without knowledge of my family, I am Christian getting married to a Hindu, Do all Christians go to Heaven?, Ignorent Molly trying to convert a Krishna believer to Christianity ..a video, Namastey London movie…intolerant Christians ..a video, All religions are not same, A Hindu America?, Why I am a Hindu?, A fundamentalist Christian, Why I came back to Hinduism?, Dharma is not the same as religion, Text book on How to convert Hindu Students to Christianity,
.
Other articles written by InterfaithShaadi:
Bar Mitzvah for Hindus?,
Torah on Hindus?,
Koran on Hindus?,
Bible on Hindus?,
Hindus, Abrahamics and Intolerants,
Can Allah be the Father God?,
A Jealous and Angry God,
One God, Allah?,
Idol Worshippers: Who is and Who is Not,
Circumcision: Science or Superstition? ,
Saif and Kareena: Religion and Marriage,
Religious Conversion for Marriage,
Ten Points of Interfaith Dating ,
FAQ on Interfaith Marriage,
45% of Muslims Marry outside their faith,
38% of Hindus marry Abrahamics,
Interfaith Marriages: A Message to Dharmics,
Hindu-Muslim marriages,
Hindu girl/boy, Muslim girl/boy,
Hindu-Christian Marriage,
Hindu-Jew marriages,
Meera Verses Margaret,
Marriage laws,
Follow Jesus not the church
Be a friend on Facebook. Return to InterfaithShaadi.org. To share your experience, read.
(1) A hygienic Muslim Man is an oxymoron. (2) Main objection is that we don’t want population of terrorists to increase, in particular we don’t want the strength of our next generation enemies to increase. Knowing the history of Islam, doe one have to explain even such a simple thing.
Factual errors abound, generally conflating Judaism with Islam and Christianity – most likely through lack of education.
1. Jews do not proselytize, but are happy to receive self motivated converts.
2. Judaism and Islam are in agreement as the the nature of God – while Judaism
has certain reservations about the Christian (Trinitarian) concept.
3. Judaism teaches that salvation is available to anyone who leads an ethical life,
regardless of form of worship. In fact, it is easier, according to Jewish belief,
for non Jews than for Jews to enter the “world to come.”
4. Judaism does to believe in any “Hell of Fire”, as far as this Jew knows.
5. The concept of “choosiness” does not imply any superiority whatsoever of
Jews over non Jews, as persons.
Author, do your homework and stop conflating Judaism with either Islam or with Christianity. You show a lack of respect for the integrity of all three “Abrahamic”
religions, and do no credit either to the manifold beauties and complexities of your own Dharmic faith.