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Surname 1 Name: Instructor’s Name: Institution: Course: Date: Understanding the Concepts of God in different Religions If ideas have like a certain force, then the concept of God is as powerful and massive an idea as any. A shift in one’s notion about the divine shapes controls other ideas that govern his or her life, such as, the ideas about power, freedom, politics, and time. Today, there is great uncertainty about the idea of God. Our comprehension about the universe in the current times is much more thorough than was the enlightenment of our ancestors that the concept of God they based on their inadequate information are by no means sufficient to explain the universe. God, as presented in various holy books and other influential sources of thought, is outside of nature and thus beyond our domination. This paper will examine, specifically, the differing ideas of God in two religions, namely, the Hebrews and Hinduism. Therefore, having a brief summary of these two religions is important to have a clear picture of the focus of this informative essay. The words Hebrews, Jews and Israelites all refer to the same people, the chosen nation in the Old Testament. Each term seeks to emphasize a particular aspect of these people’s origin. In Genesis 14:13, the writer of the Bible uses the term Hebrew for the first time to refer to Abraham. Later, in Genesis 39: 14-17, it refers to Joseph. Furthermore, the scripture does not give any specific reason why it refers to the nation that came from Abraham through Isaac and Jacob as Hebrews. The term, however, does refer to this nation as descendants of Abraham. Exodus 9:7 refers to this nation as Israelites. When the nation dividend, however, the ten Surname 2 northern tribes arrogated themselves the name Israel and the other two became the tribe of Judah. Both the nations were taken captives; the Israelites by Assyrians and Jews by Babylonians. However, once captivity ended, they returned to their homeland and united under the designation of Israel. In light of this, Hebrew was the original name for whom we call Jews today. On the other hand, Hinduism, a religion mostly practiced in India and Nepal, is the third largest religion in the world after Christianity and Islam. Nevertheless, there exist many Hindus outside India. Hinduism is a congregation of many traditions, closely related and with similar themes, but lack a unified set of beliefs and practices. Additionally, it lacks a common scripture and agreed set of teachings. Hinduism’s specific date of origin and its founder are unknown. However, according to descriptions of modern Hinduism, it results from religious development in India spanning over four thousand years, which makes it the oldest religion in existence. Following diverse traditions within Hinduism, the idea of God also varies depending on particular beliefs and practices of each community. Concept of God in Hebrew Hebrews arrived in Palestine from the desert as they pursued their nomadic lives. According to their beliefs, God was a god of the nomads. He cared for them, fought their battles, and protected their herds of cattle and flocks of sheep. In relation to their clansmen, they showed responsibility but showed none to alien nations. (Heiser, 277) Particularly, this was a reflection of the ideas they held about God. Before freight from Egypt, the concept of God remained vague in minds but became clear following spiritual leaders’ teachings. Additionally, in understanding Deity, man included all gods, then subordinated foreign gods to his or her tribal deity, and finally secluded all these gods from that Supreme Being, The True God. In the same token, Hebrews Surname 3 synthesized all gods into their concept of the Lord God of Israel, who they called Yahweh. Accordingly, they kept Yahweh for themselves and believed that each tribe had a separate god. Consequently, their notion was, there were as many gods as there were nations. According to Heiser (2009), Hebrews saw everyday operation of nature, for example, rain, drought, and storms as part of Yahweh’s plan for the universe. Hebrews attributed anomalies in nature to Yahweh claiming that they were the judgment to disobedient Israelites and alien nations. In addition, these anomalies stressed the magnitude of the unexpected in nature that depicted the great power of divine action. For example, the Plagues were judgments by Yahweh against Pharaoh. Through these Plagues, Hebrews saw Yahweh mirrored in Nature. Similarly, saving the Israelites from Egypt and creating dry land in the Red Sea were more actions of wonder that proved Yahweh is superior to Egyptians’ gods. Following the death of Moses, Hebrews’ enlarged concept of Yahweh rapidly reverted to the desert idea of God, who used anomalies to punish them. In addition, after settling in the Promised Land, a land full of milk and honey, this concept deteriorated further because they came near to losing all notion of monotheism, they nearly lost the opportunity to become the chosen nation. Conversely, Joshua took to uphold Moses’ concept of Yahweh as he wrote, “As I was with Moses, so will I be with you”. Further writing depicted Yahweh as a “God of power, judgment, and justice. Concept of God according to Hebrew Scriptures In the Hebrew Bible, Yahweh plays many roles and possesses diverse personalities. According to Exodus 34:6, He is a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and with steadfast love. However, He is also a vengeful God, which creates a conflicting notion. Yahweh has a real Surname 4 personality as the Hebrew bible depicts Him in nonphilosophical human terms. He experiences anger, patience, jealousy, and love. In addition, physical imagery gives God a clear description. Specifically, in Deuteronomy 26: 8, He delivered Israelites from Egypt with a “mighty hand and an outstretched arm”. Equally important, Yahweh is accessible to humankind through prophets and spiritual leaders. Despite the inability to have a one-way dialogue with Him, He listens to all complaints. According to the Hebrew Bible, Yahweh has two attributes, namely, His creative ability and His oneness. The Bible begins with the creation story where God creates heaven and earth in six days. (Tasker, 33) God’s role as a creator plays a significant role, as it is in this context that humans get the description of being in God’s image. Concept of God in Hinduism A perception exists that Hinduism is a polytheistic religion. Indeed, most Hindus would authenticate this, by professing belief in many gods. While some Hindus believe in the existence of only three gods, namely, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiv, some believe that God exists in a thousand forms. However, educated Hindus, who have adequate knowledge of their scriptures, insist that a Hindu should believe in only one God. (Badlani, 133) Nevertheless, a common belief in Hinduism is the philosophy of Pantheism, which considers everything, whether living or nonliving, as Divine and Sacred. Therefore, the common Hindu considers everything as God and thus worships them. Among the animals, most Hindus worship cows, monkeys and snakes. Others even revere some human beings as manifestations of God. They make sculptures of these gods and worship them. Like all other religions, Hinduism states that God is merciful, kind and the giver of all wealth. However, it believes in Avatarhood, God’s incarnations on earth, even outlining a long Surname 5 list of Vishnu’s incarnations. The Hindu trinity consists of Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Sustainer and Shiv the Destroyer. According to the Dasam Granth, a Sikh holy book, there are 24 incarnations of Vishnu. However, Hindus mention only ten but the most significant include the Fish, the Tortoise, the Narsingh, and the Dwarf gods, Rama, Krishna, and Kalanki. From this list, the most revered are Rama and Krishna. Hindus consider God not just as a Supreme Being, who commands human beings to trend according to His ways, but also as a personal God who individuals should worship out of love. In addition, true Hinduism belief states that God is beyond any attribute of the form, color or shape, despite many Hindus making numerous images to worship Him. Kapoor and Mohinder (2005) refer to the attributeless God as Nirguna Brahman and the one with attributes as Saguna Brahman. These forms avail a basis for Hindu worshippers to follow easily the otherwise incomprehensible Supreme. Consequently, Hinduism supports both worships, as both Nirguna Brahman and Saguna Brahman is ultimately the same God. Nevertheless, a question may arise, “Does it mean that there is no evil force against God?” In Hinduism, the concept of good and evil is at a lower level. There exist divines called Devas, for example, the sun, the moon, and air, who protect and support the world. On the other hand, demons referred to as Asuras disrupt these life support mechanisms. Conflict does occur often between these forces but Hinduism epics detailed talks about them. Concept of God according to Hindu Scriptures According to Verna (2009), the Hindu Scriptures give a different concept of God. The Bhagavad Gita, the most popular among all the Hindu Scriptures, separates the one True God from other demigods. Pursuant to Bhagavad Gita 7:20, people who are materialistic worship Surname 6 demigods besides the one True God. In the same token, the Upanishads articulates that God is the only one and there is no likeness of Him. In addition, the scriptures allude to the inability of humans to imagine God in a distinct form. Conforming to the Vedas, the most sacred of all Hindu scriptures, they echo a similar concept. The four principle Vedas include Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samveda, and Atharvaveda. Particularly, Yajurveda 40:9 states that those who worship sambhur, created things, sink deeper into darkness. The Atharvaveda praises God as a verily being without any evil against Him. However, Rigveda, the oldest of all the Vedas and the most sacred, gives the Almighty God different attributes. Among these attributes, Brahma means The Creator, a god with four heads with each having a crown. Vishnu is the second beautiful attribute of God as articulated in Rigveda 1:3 as The Sustainer. (Verma, 55) He has four arms with one of the right arms holding a Chakra and one of the left arms holding either a conch shell or riding a bird or lounging on a snake’s crouch. Conclusion Conclusively, the concept of Yahweh has undergone an extensive development of all the mortal propositions of God. Its continuous evolution compares wells with the rebirth of Buddha idea amongst the Hindus of Asia, which led to the notion of the Universal Absolute, as the concept of Yahweh finally led to the notion of Universal Father. Nevertheless, it is important to note that, while the Hebrews changed their prospects from the tribal god of Mount Horeb to the merciful and loving Father, His name remained unchanged, Yahweh. Consequently, the attribute of Monotheism appears in both religions, which views that only one God exists. Additionally, it views God as both immanent and transcendent. Surname 7 Polytheism is also common in both religions. In other words, it is a belief in more than one god. Before Hebrews upheld the notion of the Universal Father, they believed in tribal gods categorized according to each nation. Additionally, they had the God of the Desert and Yahweh. Similarly, many Hindus worship multiple gods. Majority believes that God exists in three forms while others believe He exists in a thousand forms. In the same token, they form animal imagery of God, which they worship. In addition, having various incarnations of Vishnu supports polytheism largely. Finally, according to both religions God is the Creator and the Sustainer of the universe. However, He depicts conflicting personalities. On one hand, He is merciful, gracious, kind, loving, and the giver of all wealth. He provides for the Hebrews while in the desert, protected them and their animals. On the other hand, God is jealous, shows anger, and uses forces of nature to judge the disobedient humans. In addition, in Hinduism Trinity, Shiv is the Destroyer. In summary, these two religions’ concepts of God depict great similarity. Surname 8 References Badlani, Hiro G. Hinduism: Path of the Ancient Wisdom. New York: iUniverse, Inc, 2008. Print. Heiser, Michael. "Monotheism, Polytheism, Monolatry, or Henotheism? Toward an Assessment of Divine Plurality in the Hebrew Bible." Faculty Publications and Presentations (2008): 277. Kapoor, S S, and Mohinder K. Kapoor. Hinduism: An Introduction : History, Scriptures, Prayers and Philosophy. New Delhi: Hemkunt Publishers, 2005. Print. Tasker, David R. Ancient Near Eastern Literature and the Hebrew Scriptures About the Fatherhood of God. New York: P. Lang, 2004. Print. Verma, Rajeev. Faith & Philosophy of Hinduism. Delhi, India: Kalpaz Publications, 2009. Print.