MERCY BY VEDIC GOD, MASSACRE BY BIBLICAL GOD 1] BIBLICAL GOD CREATES CONFLICT, VEDIC GOD PRECEPTS PEACE 1.1 BIBLICAL GOD CREATES CONFLICT (i) Biblical God : ‘I came not for peace, but a sword.’ In the New Testament, Biblical God declares that He came to the earth not for peace, but to wield a sword : “34. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth ; I came not to send peace, but a sword.”- Matthew, 10/34 (ii) Biblical God’s mission : to create rift in family In the New Testament, Biblical God reveals His mission categorically. He says : “For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.” - Matthew, 10/35 1.2 VEDIC GOD PRECEPTS PEACE Vedic God bestows peace and harmony on all the members of family. Vedas are harbinger of love and light, peace and prosperity, sweetness and serenity. The first learning centre of man is family. If there prevail peace and love, respect and reverence, dignity and decency, affection and integrity in each family, the citizens will build a strong nation. That is why God precepts in Atharva Veda lesson of love, harmony, sweetness and unity in each family: Let no brother hate his brother,Let no sister hate her sister, Mayest thou speak and behave With harmony and sweetness, Mayest thou be unanimous With one accord. - Atharva Veda 3/30/3 How fine ideal of family concord is set in following mantra of Atharva Veda May son follow The footsteps of his father, May he have unity of mind With his mother May wife talk to her husband In gentle words, as sweet as honey. - Atharva Veda 313012 Unlike Bible God, who Himself declares in Bible that He has come to create rift in families, Vedic God declares in Atharva Veda that He has bound all men with common bond, so all should sit together, eat together, drink together and pray together. Let your drinking place be common Let the share of your food be common, I bind you together With common bond; Just as all spokes (rods) of a wheel Are united at its hub From all directions, So should you remain united To pray together to glorious God. - Atharva Veda 3/30/6 Vedic religion ordains men to remain united having common minds, common aims and objects, and common goal. March together, speak togetherLet your minds be united, Like sages of yore, being of one mind, Accept your share of fortune. - Rig Veda 10/19/12 Vedic God, unlike Biblical God, urges men to assemble on common platform to think together, plan together and work together with one aim, one object, one purpose, one mind, one intention, one determination, one mode, one goal and one destination. May your counsel be common,May you belong to one fraternity, May your minds move With one accord. May your hearts work in harmony For one goal. May you be inspired By common ideal. May you offer worship With common oblation - Rig Veda 10/191/3 May you resolveWith one accord. May your hearts be in unison May your thoughts be harmonious, So that you may live together With happiness and hilarity. - Rig Veda 10/191/4 2.1 MERCY BY VEDIC GOD Pro. F. Max Muller “The Vedas, I feel convinced, will occupy scholars for centuries to come, and we take and maintain for ever, its position as the most ancient of books in the library of mankind.” - Prof. F. Max Muller Holy Vedas state that Supreme Being is benevolent Father of all. All beings of the universe irrespective of caste, color and creed, enjoy the bliss of His unfathomable mercy and grace. He bestows bliss and showers mercy on sinners even Providence showers mercy On the most heinous sinners even May we be sinless Before Merciful God ! And endeavor to rise high By following the universal laws Of the Eternal Almighty. - Rig Veda 7/87/7 According to Holy Vedas, Creator of the cosmos is benign Father of all creatures. Father never harms his children. He may scold his children but never destroys them. God Almighty, being beneficent Father of all His children, never hurts and harms them. He is ocean of mercy which is showered on all equally and impartially. He pours His benign bliss, bounty and benediction on all beings. It is His grace, greatness, grandeur and glory. Oh Loving LordIt is Thy divine grace and glory Grandeur and truthfulness That Thou bestowest Thy bliss and benediction On Thy devotees. - Rig Veda 1/1/6 2.2 MASSACRE BY BIBLICAL GOD (i) Biblical God massacred all first-born babies At midnight God killed all the first-born babies, both human and animal, in the land of Egypt. “29. And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.” - Exodus , 12/29 Colin Maine “If we examine the Bible-both Old and New Testaments-we find that the Bible god is more of a sadistic monster than a god of love. If he were to appear on earth as a human being, he would most likely be incarcerated in a mental hospital as a dangerous psychopath.” - Colin Maine James Anthony Froude “I will not, I must not believe that the all just, all merciful, all good (Christian) God can be such a Being as I find Him there (in the Bible) described.” - James Anthony Froude (ii) Biblical God killed the Jews by sending “6. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.” - Numbers, 21/6 What was their offense ? They spoke against the Lord and against Moses. (iii) Biblical God got the Jews swallowed alive by the earth “32. And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them (the Jews) up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Ko’rah, and all their goods.” - Numbers, 16/32 “33. They (the Jews), and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them ; and they perished from among the congregation.” - Numbers, 16/33 What was their offence ? Because they gathered themselves and spoke against Moses and Aaron. (iv) Biblical God burnt alive 250 Jews Biblical God burnt alive 250 Jews in fire because of their only fault that they offered incense. “35. And there came out a fire from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men (of Israel) that offered incense.” - Numbers, 16/35 (v) Biblical God threatens to kill children of Jews by wild beasts “22. I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate.” - Leviticus, 26/22 (vi) Biblical God killed 70,000 Jews by pestilence “14. So the Lord sent pestilence upon Israel; and them fell of Israel seventy thousand men.” - I Chronicles, 21/14 (vii) Biblical God killed 50,070 men for looking into His box “19. And he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the ark (box) of the Lord, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men ; and the people lamented, because the Lord had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter.” - I Samuel, 6/19 Contd..
BIBLE PRESCRIBES DEATH PENALTY, VEDAS PREACH REFORMATION 3.1 BIBLICAL VERDICT OF DEATH PENALTY The Holy Bible prescribes death penalty by stoning for a number of offences, sometimes trivial. ‘Rocks were hurled at the victim, until he or she became a bloody pulp, and the mass of flesh ceased to move.’ This horrible method of execution was carried out in Europe for several years in the past. (i) Death penalty by stoning for blasphemy “16. And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him;……” - Leviticus, 24/16 (ii) Death penalty for straying near Tabernacle “51. And when the tabernacle setteth forward, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the 1Avites shall set it up; and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.” - Numbers, 1/51 (iii) Death penalty for not observing holiday (sabbath) ‘Sabbath’ “14. Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you; every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death; for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall he cut off from among his people.” - Exodus, 31/14 “2. Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the Lord; whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.” - Exodus, 35/2 In Exodus, the reason given for observing seventh day as a day of rest is, ‘because God made the heavens and the earth in six days, and rested on the seventh day.’ It is a human being, not God, who gets fatigued on account of continuous work for six days, and needs rest on the seventh day. God Almighty is Omnipotent. To say that He rested on the seventh day, as if He was fatigued and exhausted, amounts to blasphemy. Thus the above vese in Exodus degrades God to the position of frail human being. (iv) Death penalty for disobeying parents Here is the most inhuman and the most brutal Biblical law which authorises parents, the father and the mother, to bring their own son to the elders of the city to get him stoned to death, for trivial fault of disobedience and stubbornness. Read the following four verses : “18. If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:” - Deuteronomy, 21/18 “19. Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;” - Deuteronomy, 21/19 “20. And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.” - Deuteronomy, 21/20 “21. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die; so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.” - Deuteronomy, 21/21 No civilized state will approve of and enact the aforementioned brutal Biblical laws. In fact the Church was, is and will be the enemy of civilization. The Church and civilization are antipodes to each other. Ms Matilda Joslyn Gage corroborates the statement in the following words- “The church and civilization are antipodal; one means authority, the other freedom; one means conservatism, the other progress; one means the rights of God as interpreted by the priesthood, the other the rights of humanity as interpreted by humanity. Civilization advances by free thought, free speech, free men.” - Matilda Joslyn Gage (v) Death penalty for cursing parents 36. “And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.”- Exodus, 21/17 (vi) Death penalty for homosexuality “13. If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.” - Leviticus, 20/13 (vii) Death penalty for sexual intercourse with a woman during her menstruation period “18. And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he bath discovered her fountain, and she bath uncovered the fountain of her blood; and both of them shall be cut off from among their people.” - Leviticus, 20/18 (viii) Death penalty for loss of virginity The Holy Bible prescribes capital punishment by stoning for loss of virginity in the following two verses : “20. But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel;” - Deuteronomy, 22120 “21. Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die; because she bath wrought folly in Isreal, to play the whore in her father’s house; so shalt thou put evil away from among you.” - Deuteronomy, 22/21 (ix) Death penalty for adultery “10. And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.” - Leviticus, 20/10 Jesus Christ in Matthew 5/17 endorses the afore-mentioned first seven laws of death penalty prescribed by Moses in the following words : “17. Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets, I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” - Matthew, 5/17 If the above mentioned Biblical verdicts of death penalty are carried out strictly in modern Europe, a great portion of the population of the Western world would be put to death. In modern permissive society, there are not many virgins around. In the Western countries there are millions of people who do not observe holiday for going to the Church. Now-a-days the Church premises are being sold in Europe. In modern scientific era, thousands of educated rationalists in Europe and America have started questioning the unscientific and undemocratic teachings of Holy Bible. If the above verdicts of death penalty are applied seriously to such rationalists, the population of the Western world will surely decrease to a large extent. (x) Death penalty for disobeying leaders of the Church Clement, the Bishop of Rome from 90-100 C.E., argued that God alone rules all things, that He lays down the law, punishing rebels and rewarding the obedient, and that His authority is delegated to Church leaders. Clement went as far as to say that whoever disobeys these divinely ordained authorities has disobeyed God Himself and should receive the death penalty.46 argued that the ends justified the means. He said :Even in the beginning of the twentieth century, “The death sentence is a necessary and efficacious means for the Church to attain its end, when rebels act against it.” - Pope Leo XIII 3.2 VEDAS PREACH REFORMATION Holy Vedas, unlike Holy Bible, do not formulate hard and fast laws for each offence. This task is left to the legislature. If religious books legislate laws, and those are carried out, the existence of legislature will be nullified and there will be no need to elect the members of legislature. Vedas never say that criminals should not be punished. But to a man of common sense, death sentence prescribed by Holy Bible appears to be too big a punishment for too small an offence like ‘not observing a holiday’. However, Vedic approach to the criminals or sinners is reformative and constructive. Holy Vedas admonish us not to look down upon those who have spoiled and stained their life on account of sins or crimes. Indeed they are the wretched souls. But they ought not to be despised, discouraged and denounced. They are to be pitied upon rather than hated. They deserve compassion and kindness. They should be reformed, elevated and encouraged to shun vice and lead virtuous life in future. ‘Uplift the fallen and forlorn’ is the slogan of Vedic religion. Vedic philosophy urges upon reformative and constructive approach. Ye enlightened men,Uplift once more The fallen and forlorn Lowly and forlorn Ye illustrious men, Raise him who has sinned And degraded himself, Restore him to life again. - Rig Veda 10/137/1 4] BIBLICAL GOD IS WRATHFUL, VEDIC GOD IS A BENEVOLENT FRIEND 4.1 BIBLICAL GOD IS WRATHFUL (i) Blood oozed and flowed upto level of horse bridles The New Testament states that Biblical God’s angel threw his sickle into the earth with force, collected the vine of the earth and threw it into the winepress of the wrath of God. Consequently the blood oozed and flowed from the winepress upto the level of horse bridles throughout the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. Here is the text : “19. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.” - Revelation, 14/19 “20. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.” - Revelation, 14/20 4.2 VEDIC GOD IS BENEVOLENT FRIEND Holy Vedas state that God is kind to all, cruel to none. He bestows bliss on all alike, whether high or low, virtuous or sinner. He is the most gracious, the most merciful and the most benign friend of all. He, the resplendent LordIs our benign and benevolent friend. - Rig Veda 8/93/3
I am shocked that anyone is comparing the Vedas with the Bible. The Bible is full of violence and adharma.
Hi Amit. I can see the cause of your concern regarding these passages. On their own I too can see how concerning they may be but Christianity in actuality is not a noun but an action verb, it’s not something we attend but pursue, and so we much pursue the text. Much like the Vedas one can study the Bible for a lifetime and never reach the full depths of it’s meaning. But at least for somethings, such as you have made, we can discover their meaning and context. 1.1 Jesus did bring a sword, and it did come to pass. But if we read the whole chapter for context we can see where that sword is pointed. Matthew 10:16-23 “16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.” Here we see the sword is actually pointed toward Christians, not Christians toward their families. Context really matters. In fact if we read the whole chapter we see that the sword is a symbol of the consequence of Christs coming. Christians would soon be hated for the light they were given. Just as we find conflict within ourselves when we try to accomplish good, when we try to accomplish good in the world there is always a Tamas to oppose it. 2.2 In comparison 2.2 you compare 1 example of Divine judgement on a neighboring nation, many examples of Divine judgement upon Israel itself, and an additional punishment of another nation for stealing the Ark of the Covenant. To understand these deaths one must understand what Israel was. Israel was Yahwehs portion of the world, they were Yahwehs people. Yahweh created all mankind, but mankind gave themselves to other gods and became slaves to them. But not Israel, God made a covenant with Abraham over the land, and that Covenant is carried in the Ark of the Covenant. Israel would be Yahwehs people and Yahweh would prosper them. However if Israel broke the covenant the land would spew them out. But it goes much further than this. God’s plan was to redeem all mankind through Israel, because through Israel Christ would be born. The fate of all mankind rested on Israel's faithfulness to that Covenant. That is why they suffered a harsh penalty for their transgressions. That penalty was not damnation in some cases but simply a transition from mortal life to that part of Sheol where good souls reside and await the Resurrection that would come through Christ. The deaths in 1 Samuel 6 came because the Philistines stole the Covenant Contract between Israel and Yahweh. They sought to make that contract, which the fate of all mankind relied on, void. But that Covenant was too much to bare for them. Not even the gods of Philistia could bare it, as it destroyed the statue of Dagon to which it was placed by. They were so terrified of this that they decided to give it back to Israel along with a guilt offering to Yahweh. You quote two people as authoritative commentators. One is Colin Maine who I cannot find on google, the other is James Anthony Froude who was an English historian known more for his dramatic treatment of history (as we see quoted) rather than his scientific treatment of history. 3.1 This section regards the death penalty in Judaic law. You list several scriptures that refer to different types of law. Some are divine laws, like the Sabbath from the 10 commandments, some are ceremonial Law, and some are Nationalistic laws. It’s important to identify what these laws are. Indian laws are not necessarily Hindu laws just as Israeli laws are not necessarily divine laws. It’s also important to understand what the national consequences were for breaking the covenant with God. It means dispersal from the land. But there were not just national consequences, there were global consequences as well. Christ would come from Israel, and through Christ the world would be ransomed from it’s captors. Israel carried the heavy burden of the fate of all mankind upon their backs. I agree with your contrast between the Hindu God and the Judeo Christian God. The difference I think is not what Yahweh lacks compared to the Hindu God but what he has in addition. Yahweh is merciful, He sent His son, who died willingly in our place that the entire world might be redeemed. But Yahweh is also a Just God. Those in Christ will appeal to His mercy, and those outside will appeal to His justice. When I say “those in Christ” I do not just mean those who are Christians, but Hindu’s as well. One can either know Christ from the Bible, or though the revelation of his invisible attributes found all throughout the world. When you value mercy and compassion for their own sake you worship God invisibly. Justice is not an attribute of the Hindu God but is a separate force of Karma. The other difference is that the Yahweh while in three person, is singular in nature. For example: Mercy is not arbitrarily good... It’s not good because God does it, or commands it. Mercy is not greater than God either….God does not command mercy because it is good. Instead the divine attributes like love, mercy, compassion, and goodness refer to God’s nature. His nature is the paradigm to which goodness refers too. There is no bliss that can be given to the sinner, because goodness refers to Gods nature, and sin refers to the absence of his nature. Hell is the absence of God, because the absence of God is the absence of all goodness. Heaven is the presence of God because in the presence of God is all goodness. All that can be given to the sinner is Mercy through Christ or Justice. A God that rewards bliss to the virtuous and the sinner is not a God that embodies all virtue. The lack of the virtue of Justice does make the Hindu God appear more friendly I agree, but I think when it comes to Gods, virtue is what assigns status not the indulgences and gifts that are provided by a diety.
