Running head: CRITICAL THINKING 1
Critical Thinking Paper
Marissa T. Rall
Liberty University
Author Note
This paper was written in Proper APA Style
Selected worldview: Hinduism
CRITICAL THINKING 2
Similarities Between Hinduism and Christiantity
With every comparison, there is always one or more shared similarity between religions.
Religion is considered “the belief in and worship of a god or group of gods.” Massive varieties of
religion can be found internationally and practiced globally. One may find it very surprising the
many similarities between the worldviews of Hinduism and Christianity. Some similarities
include the belief in reincarnation. Not only do Hindus believe in reincarnation, but Christians as
well. While some may think or believe Christians dismissed this, it was in fact openly embraced.
Both births (Christ and Krishna) were born to virgin mothers. Angels warned both parents of
Christ and Krishna that there were people seeking to kill the babies. Both worldviews share a
similarity of how the universe, as we know it, came into being. They both believe that one day
the “truth” is to only be revealed by God himself to us humans. Both religions also have some of
the same teachings and morals such as prayer, forgiveness, maintaining self-control, nonviolence
use, and to love your neighbor as yourself. To sum it up, we see both worldviews are alike in
various ways. They are very popular religions and both have a considerable number of followers
as well.
Comparisons Between Hinduism and Christianity
When there are similarities, one may begin to think about the comparisons as well. While
Hinduism and Christianity have many similarities, the two also have comparisons as well. The
first big difference between the two is Christiantity believes there is only one God which
CRITICAL THINKING 3
manifests Himself as Father, Son, and Holy spirit - Trinity. Whereas Hinduism believes that
there are many gods, but that they all come from Atman. Hindus are said to have millions of
gods. Christians believe a relationship with God is with Him (God) being our Father and we
being His children are to obey the Father. Hindus, on the other hand, do not view their gods as
their father to others who worship them. When it comes to the holy book, Christians only read
from one, the Holy Bible. The Bible is the word of God and it is believed that God used man to
write the scriptures in the Bible. Whereas Hindus read scriptures from Vedas which are a
collection from different sacred writings but do believe as Christians do that they were divinely
inspired. There is a belief that Vedas have no beginning nor an end. These writings are highly
respected by Hindus. For Christians, places of worship are churches but Hindus worship in
temples, as well in their homes. Both religions believe that their places of worship bring people
together for a time of reverencing with their God. All in all, the comparison of the two
worldviews demonstrate some resemblance in how they practice.
Word count: 430
CRITICAL THINKING 4
Critical Thinking Paper
The Question of Origin - Hinduism
“Because Hinduism is plural, with a vast collection of customs and beliefs of numerous
communities, over many periods of history, there is no single story of creation”,
(Pattanaik, 2017). According to Hinduism, there is no specific moment of origin.
Everything is timeless and invariably existing. The Vedas tell of Brahman (the Cosmic
Principle) that holds responsibility for bringing in being the earth, sky, and atmosphere.
Brahma is the Hindu creator God. He created human beings and all life. It is said that he
created man as the first of the animals and created them from his soul. When compared to
a biblical worldview, Christians believe that first God has always been, and that “God is
triune and all three persons of the Godhead were involved in the creation of the universe
and mankind,” [Lew Weider (2015). (p. 65).
The Question of Identity - Hinduism
Hinduism does not believe in individuality of just one person. A person that follows and
practices Hindu is not looked at as an individual but more like a part of a whole. It is the entire
unit that is most important. In Christianity our identity lies in Christ it’s in and through us that he
manifests himself.
The Question of Meaning and Purpose
According to Hinduism, the meaning (purpose) of life is four-fold: to act virtuously and
righteously which also means to act morally and ethically throughout one’s life, to obtain
CRITICAL THINKING 5
enjoyment from life, to obtain wealth and prosperity and fourth to seek enlightenment from life. (
https://u.osu.edu/group5/2014/10/12/the-meaning-of-life-according-to-hinduism/comment-page-
1/)On the contrary Christians believe their main purpose for life is to glorify God down here on
the earth.
Heading 3 is the beginning of a paragraph ending with a period.
The Question of Morality.
In Hinduism it is believed that Dharma (Morality) can be described as having right
conduct and that one should strive to do the right thing at all times. In Chrisitianity the Bible
(God's Word) is the moral standard that Christians live by.
The Question of Destiny.
Since Hindus believe in reincarnation they believe that a soul that does good in this life
will be significantly rewarded in their next life and that that soul will continue to be reborn.
Christians believe too that they will be rewarded in their eternal life with Jesus upon their earthly
death in this life and that will be their final life for all of eternity.
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id feugiat scelerisque, tortor nulla interdum mauris, ac porttitor odio dolor eget eros.
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placerat libero ullamcorper. Maecenas id luctus ligula. Cras condimentum eleifend nibh sit amet
CRITICAL THINKING 6
iaculis. Suspendisse placerat sollicitudin mi, vel ornare augue hendrerit ac. Nulla sed suscipit
sapien. Cras pellentesque orci lectus, eu consequat enim.
First Heading 5 level in the section.
Nulla congue egestas ante, id ultricies orci dignissim
commodo. Fusce placerat, libero eu pharetra pulvinar, lorem dui pulvinar nisi, et semper orci orci
vitae magna. Nullam sodales, felis id feugiat scelerisque, tortor nulla interdum mauris, ac
porttitor odio dolor eget eros.
Second Heading 5 level in the section.
Duis sit amet ipsum pretium erat accumsan iaculis
vitae eget risus. Donec ut dui in lorem volutpat fermentum bibendum pulvinar libero. Nunc
imperdiet eros et mi posuere pellentesque. Donec tincidunt ipsum eget nisl ullamcorper eu
placerat libero ullamcorper. Maecenas id luctus ligula. Cras condimentum eleifend nibh sit amet
iaculis. Suspendisse placerat sollicitudin mi, vel ornare augue hendrerit ac. Nulla sed suscipit
sapien. Cras pellentesque orci lectus, eu consequat enim.
Results
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placerat sollicitudin mi, vel ornare augue hendrerit ac. Nulla sed suscipit sapien. Cras
pellentesque orci lectus, eu consequat enim.
Outcome 1
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh
euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat.
CRITICAL THINKING 7
Outcome 2
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh
euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat.
Discussion
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euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor
in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat, vel illum dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis
at vero eros et accumsan.
CRITICAL THINKING 8
References
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after colon. The Journal or Publication Italicized and Capped
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numbers.
Lastname, O. (2010). Online journal using DOI or digital object identifier. Main Online
Journal Name
, Vol#(Issue#), 159-192. doi: 10.1000/182
Lastname, W. (2009). If there is no DOI use the URL of the main website referenced.
Article Without DOI Reference
, Vol#(Issue#), 166-212. Retrieved from
http://www.example.com
