The poes view on hinduism and re-incarnation

[vijay]

>And Hinduism, he said, offers `false hope'; it guarantees `purification' based on a `morally cruel' concept of reincarnation resembling `a continuous circle of hell'."

 

I am curious to know what he thinks of the Christian worldview in which a man is born into this world, naturally takes on the beliefs of whoever raises him, and after death suffers eternally if he was not raised or converted to Christianity.

 

By this logic, everyone born into this world before Christ automatically goes to hell eternally.

 

And those who are born after Christ, but are geographically isolated from Christians, also go to Hell despite whatever virtues they may possess.

 

With its "one-lifetime,Jesus only," and "eternal Hell" beliefs, Christianity strikes me as a very cruel and illogical religion.

 

Consequently, the only criticisms they can make of other religions are also confused and mixed up. This remains the case even when "highly respected" theologians (who are still highly respected even though they eat beef) make these statements.

 

 

 

Aravind Mohanram <psuaravind> wrote:

 

Hare Krishna,

I came across this on a website (I assume it is authentic) that quotes the Cardinal's (now pope) views on Hinduism/Buddhism. Not to be drawn into the controversy of whether he appreciates other religions or not, what made me curious was his take on reincarnation - see this for example,

 

"In 1997 Ratzinger annoyed Buddhists by calling their religion an ‘autoerotic spirituality’ that offers ‘transcendence without imposing concrete religious obligations’. And Hinduism, he said, offers ‘false hope’; it guarantees ‘purification’ based on a ‘morally cruel’ concept of reincarnation resembling ‘a continuous circle of hell’."

 

I have known people who have been fascinated by the Vedic concept of karma and reincarnation, as it offers an opportunity to the living entity to play out his desires in various life forms and ultimately gain the human form for self-realization - even if a person is extremely sinful his whole life, he is still given a chance through devolution (to lower species to pay for his sins) and evolution (to human form after he nullifies the sins), a concept not found in the western religions.

 

So, I'm not sure, why Cardinal Ratzinger, a highly respected theologian holds such views. He says 'continuous circle of hell' - however, anyone who even gives a cursory reading of Vedic philosophy will know better than this, in my opinion. So, my question is, do the Pope's views reflect the general thinking of christians about reincarnation? can members enlighten me on what christians think about reincarnation?

 

iys

Aravind.