Hello all, I am christian and came here becuase I want to get to the bottom of something which has been a thorn in my side for many years, do hindus, muslims and christians all pray to the same god? Here's what I am thinking guys, that hindus, muslims and christians pray to the same one god who is an invisible force which governs the universe just that they all worship that same one god in different ways. Putting muslims aside for now, please post your thoughts on this topic, thanks.
After considering this question a lot, I don't believe it is the same God. The Hindu God doesn't punish or reward us by heaven or hell. The Hindu God has many forms and is formless, and is essentially genderless. The Hindu God is totally a God of love ... for all mankind, not just those who adhere to a particular path or book. The Hindu God emanates the universe as an extension of Himself. I don't believe this describes the Christian God at all, at least by the way most Christians have described their God to me.
One view that is said to be prevalent in Hinduism is what some writers have dubbed "henotheism". This is the idea that the ultimate god-nature (Brahman) is a kind of impersonal principle that causes the universe to be the way it is, while the other gods are particular manifestations of Brahman. (I've probably stated this clumsily but maybe it gets at the idea) The god of Abrahamic religions is what theologians call a "personal" god - meaning not that it's specific to any person but that it's person-like in characteristics. So in other words, an entity with thought, will, intentions, feelings, and can intervene in the material world and relate to humans, tells people what to do and so on. 'Anthropomorphic' might be a better term. In terms of henotheism, then, the Hebrew / Christian / Islam god would be conceived of as a manifestation, not as ultimate god. Some writers even rank it/him as something called an 'asura' (?) which apparently is a sort of lesser spirit or demon (??). This is consistent with the character of that god as reported in Bible and Koran, where he appears as arbitrary, unjust , tyrannical, jealous, biased, etc. as well as sometimes benevolent. Undoubtedly Abrahamics would reject this classification and insist their god is supreme, despite its being anthropomorphic and provincial.
