I know it has been over a week since Twitter exploded with Hindus going against Christians praying evangelistically for Nepal in light of the recent earthquake. They have been going around labeling Christians with the hashtags “#Soulvultures.” I can’t help but to notice how some of the Hindus Twitter arguments against Christianity are self-refuting; that is, they come up with arguments that go against Hinduism itself. It’s like they are bringing a revolver to a gunfight; only that it’s a revolver that aims at their own head. I’m doing them a favor by telling them not to use it.
An example of such arguments is when a Hindu gives a “Where was Jesus (or God)” form of argument. Note this Tweet from a self-professed Krishna lover from Thiruchirapalli, India:
look at how these
#SoulVultures r Ridiculing Nepal Quake!Where was Jesus during Sandy?!
Of course the reference to Sandy is Hurricane Sandy. Here’s another example of another Tweet from a Hindu from Bangalore:
wherewas their Jesus hiding when such earthquake struck in South America? Indonesia? In a bunker? Morons
And a final example:
Where was Jesus, what he was doing when Haiti Earthquake happened? Ohh i just forget they practice Voodoo not Christianity. Fair!
I mentioned the above (all can be googled) to show that I’m not making it up, but the “Where was Jesus” argument was continuously thrown at us on Twitter during the week of Hindu harassment. Unfortunately, Twitter with their word limitation does limit a full meaningful response especially if one wants to move beyond soundbites. Hence, I am writing out my observation here as a post. Readers must remember to read this post as a sort of “internal critique” in which I am applying back the Hindus’ own rhethoric and religious doctrines to themselves.
1.) It is fascinating to wonder if any of the Hindus realized that the same “Where was Jesus” argument can be turned around back to the myriads of gods and goddesses of Hinduism. It doesn’t take a Christian to make this observation; even an honest Hindu should see that this form of argument can be applied to Hinduism. Where was the Hindu deity Krishna? Vishnu? Etc.
2.) For a Hindu who uses this type of argument the question of where were the Hindu gods is even more relevant in light of the fact that Hindus on Twitter kept on referring to Nepal as “Hindu land.” Where are the Hindu gods and goddesses in their own self-professing Hindu land?
3.) One approach of getting the Hindus gods and goddesses “off the hook” can be gleam from exploring Hinduism’s view on suffering and Karma. But I think this creates more problems than it solved for those who are going to condemn Christians as #Soulvultures. Over at Patheos religion library on Hinduism there is a page on suffering and the problem of evil. The following excerpt is relevant to my observation:
The key to understanding the existence of suffering and evil in Hinduism is the central concept of karma. Karma is at once the simplest of concepts and the most complex. The word itself simply means “action,” and originally referred to the sacrificial action that was at the center of the Vedic world. Karma gradually took on the meaning of both action and the effect of action.
…
According to this worldview, there is no such thing as evil. There are “bad” people, who are bad because they have done or continue to do bad things; bad events happen as a result of karma as well
(Source)
Note what I have in bold. How can a Hindus whine on Twitter against Christians who pray evangelistically because a Christian believes there is a need to share the Gospel of grace of Jesus Christ to sinners when a Hindu himself understand that bad things such as the earthquake is the result of the earthquake victim’s own karma?
4.) The same source also goes on to tell us the following:
here is another way of understanding things that might appear evil that focuses not on humans but on the gods. Sometimes things happen that do not seem to be the result of any karmic activity: earthquakes, say, or tsunamis, or droughts. One way to understand such events, which of course can be quite catastrophic, is that they are the result of the play of the gods, or lila. Although the gods’ lila can be a profoundly positive source, such as the “play” of Krishna with which he combats demons, it can also be negative in the human realm. Ultimately, such divine play is mysterious. Humans cannot possibly understand why the gods do what they do, why they allow bad things to happen to good people. It is simply lila, mysterious.
(Source)
So the Earthquake might have happened as a result of the gods playing?
5.) In light of observation point number 4, we also note that Hindus appeal to mystery as to why some natural disasters happen. This therefore is a self-defeater to the Hindu who object to the Christian’s appeal to mystery with the problem of suffering.
If the situation wasn’t so desperate and tragic, I’d call this observation hilarious. Instead, I’ll call it poignant.
“How can a Hindus whine on Twitter against Christians … when a Hindu himself understand that bad things such as the earthquake is the result of the earthquake victim’s own karma?”
Exactly Michael. I feel the same way about how it would be so funny if it wasn’t so sad.
Thanks for reading this brother! I hope you have a blessed week!
You read Ravi Zacharias?
I do! Were you thinking about any particular work?
Jesus Among Other Gods!
I need to read that. I also need to reread Ravi’s “New Birth or Rebirth?: Jesus Talks with Krishna.”
Reblogged this on My Delight and My Counsellors.
Thanks for blogging this! Welcome back by the way!
Thanks SLIMJIM…. had a few medical issues to take care of.
I’m praying for you
Excellent blog post, although the first sentence has a grammar mistake. I’ve written about hinduism here on my website http://www.godorabsurdity.com/hinduism.html
Thanks for pointing out the grammatical mistake. I’m bad with grammar. Hopefully I fixed it rightfully! Thank you for sharing the link to your website and the page on Hinduism! Grateful to have another Presupper in the house!
Excellent blog.
Thanks =)
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