Transcript Pantheism and Monism

From the East:
Pantheism and Monism
Apologetics Part III
Early History
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Aryan Invaders (2000-1500 bc)
Vedic Scriptures: “I Know”
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Syncretism: Harmonizing
Polytheism
Monism: “Oneism”
Pantheism: “God is All”
Ceremonial & Caste System
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Priestly, Nobility, Warrior,
Laborer classes
Later History
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Upanishads (“He Sits
Near”) 800-300 bc
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Underlies modern
Hindu metaphysics.
“Thou Art That” -“During
tat the late Vedic period, the
complexities of ritual were
tvam asi
emphasized to such an extent that
only highly trained Brahmans and
 The universe andpriests could carry them out correctly.
Vedic thought in its late period
God are the same.
became more speculative and
 More Speculative philosophical in approach... Much
speculation was directed toward the
and Philosophical.search for harmony..” (Enclyc.Brittt)
Buddhism
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Siddhartha Gautama (560bc).
Rebelled against the Caste
System.
Spent years in aescetic isolation.
Experienced “Nirvana” and
discovered:
 Theory of the Enlighted Way:
Salvation available to all
mankind.
 The clarity and universality was
appealing.
 Four Noble Truths
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The Buddha
Four Noble Truths
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Suffering is Universal
The cause of suffering
is selfish desire.
The cure for suffering is
to eliminate selfish
desire.
Eliminate selfish desire
by following "The Noble
Eightfold Path":
1) right viewpoint 2) right aspiration 3) right speech
4) right behavior 5) right occupation, 6) right effort
7) right mindfulness, and 8) right meditation.
Siva
Siva
Ganges River
Brahma
Vishnu
Indra
1000 “Eyes”
God
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Indra: “Supreme” among
300 million gods
Brahman: (Upanishads)
develops as the
impersonal, singular
force behind the
universe.
Theological agnosticism:
"The Divine Darkness is that
of which nothing can be
said.”
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Buddhism retains the
same views.
Doctrine: Creation
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Early Vedas are inconsistent
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Different dieties: Prajapati, or Brahma from the
golden egg.
From existing materials.
Later Vedas:
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Creation came out of the nature of "the one which
breathed breathless, of its own power"
Nasadiya Hymn, X.129
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Concludes by saying "Who Knows?".
Later Brahmans:
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Four classes came from the head, arms, thighs, and
feet of the creator Brahma.
Implications
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No distinction between the creator and
creation.
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"The dreaming self, subject as it is to the
accidents of experience, must not be confused
with the true self", [Encyclopedia Britannica,
XII.248].
The Need to Syncretize 300 million dieties
& various legends and myths.
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Leads to syncretizing all: good vs bad, light vs
dark, god vs man, etc.
Not a high-minded principle: a practical
necessity.
Doctrine: the Afterlife
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Earlier Vedas taught a “heaven” and “hell” concept.
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Upanishads taught release (“Moksha”) of
the “atman” from “Maya” into “Brahman”.
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Descriptions of the afterlife are vague.
Destiny is determined by reward and punishment according
to deeds good or bad.
Through the Transmigration of Souls:
Reincarnation through the Caste system.
Governed by Karma: impersonal, just, & final.
Buddhism: Immediate release through 8-fold path.
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Nirvana: an Enlightened state, only for monks, and means
in Sanskrit “Extinction”, or the “Blowing Out” of a candle.
Afterlife: Implications
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Karmic Fatalism:
The infant starving to death…is getting his just reward.
"In practice, it means that neither Hinduism or Buddhism in its
classical formulation pays the slightest attention to what
goes on in the world today.” 1
“Their dominant teaching has been that the wise man is he
who seeks to be content with the world, to be released from
attachment to it, but not …change it.” 1
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The Goal: release from “sickness of the mind”.
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Not by performing “Good” vs. “Bad” works.
“If you want to get the plain truth, be not concerned with
right and wrong. The conflict between right and wrong is the
sickness of the mind.” Yun-Men, Buddhist master (Oz Guiness, "The
East: No Exit", p.221).
1 Zaehner, professor of Eastern Religions at Oxford University, quoted by Oz Guiness,
“Dust of Death”.
Problems for American Adherents
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You probably don’t know what you’re
talking about.
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Expect to reincarnate as a Sudra or worse.
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“George Lucas” Pantheism.
Not as “Philip of Macedonia”.
Not a “charming” doctrine.
Nirvana is not heaven.
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Nirvana is equated with emptiness.
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Not dissimilar to the Atheist's view of extinction.
Are you a monk?
The Christian Alternative View
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God is personal and knowable!
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And because you are sons, God has sent forth
the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying,
“Abba! Father!” Galatians 4:6 (NASB)
Compare to the Eastern offering:
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"For it is an unbroken torture to me that I am still so
far from Him, who, as I fully know, governs every
breath of my life, and whose offspring I am." Ghandi,
quoted by Rodenour, p.80
The Christian Alternative View
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God is personal and knowable!
He paid for your sins Himself!
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You don’t have to pay for your own sins!
“having canceled out the certificate of debt
consisting of decrees against us, which was
hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way,
having nailed it to the cross.” Col. 2:14 (NASB-U)
These Views are in Opposition!
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Eastern thought has no authoritative
revelation!
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Brahman cannot communicate.
Relies entirely on speculation:
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“For these good reasons the Buddha maintained
about Reality a ‘Noble Silence’” 1
Is Siddhartha Gautama wrong?
After a 40-day fast, could he be imagining?
 Could it be a 9-Fold Path? 10-Fold? 1-Fold?
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Chapman, p.148 "The Case For Christianity", by Colin Chapman. Wm. B.
Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1981.
1
These Views are in Opposition!
1.
Eastern thought has no authoritative
revelation!
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Only the Bible claims to be inspired by God:
“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for
teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in
righteousness…” 2 Tim. 3:16 (NASB-U)
These Views are in Opposition!
1.
2.
Eastern thought has no authoritative
revelation!
Eastern thought is dogmatic that “god” is
an impersonal force.
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Can you know enough about “god” to be
dogmatic about this?
The Bible says God is a personal being:
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God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said,
“Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has
sent me to you.' This is My name forever…to all
generations.” Exodus 3:14-15 (NASB-U)
These Views are in Opposition!
1.
2.
3.
Eastern thought has no authoritative
revelation!
Eastern thought is dogmatic that “god” is
an impersonal force.
Eastern thought says you have to work
your way to heaven.
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The Bible says ‘no way’:
 “Because by the works of the Law no flesh
will be justified in His sight;”
Romans 3:20 (NASB-U)
These Views are in Opposition!
1.
2.
3.
4.
Eastern thought has no authoritative
revelation!
Eastern thought is dogmatic that “god” is
an impersonal force.
Eastern thought says you have to work
your way to heaven.
Eastern though views all religions as equal
paths to God.
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But Jesus says:
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the
life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
These Views are in Opposition!
Eastern thought has no authoritative
revelation!
2. Eastern thought is dogmatic that “god” is
“To maintain that all religions are paths
an impersonal force.
leading to the same goal, as is so frequently
3.done
Eastern
thought
says you
have to work
today,
is to maintain
something
that is
way to heaven.
notyour
true...they
are simply not starting from
4.the
Eastern
though views
religions
as equal
same premises.
The all
great
religions
are at
paths to God.
cross-purposes”
1.
Zaehner,
of Eastern Religions at Oxford University,
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ButProfessor
Jesus says:
quoted in Roddenhaur, “So What’s the Difference?”
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the
life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.