Paste your esJesus as Represented in Islam, Christianity and Hinduism
Introduction
This essay aims to detail on how Jesus is represented and viewed upon in the three religions – Islam, Christianity and Hinduism. This essay also aims to make comparisons of how each religion sees Jesus as a religious authority and a source of salvation to the followers of Islam, Christianity and Hinduism.
Jesus in Islam
In the holy Qur’an [Surah An-Nisaa, 4:150], it proclaims that the true belief includes the belief in all prophets and no distinction should be made of the prophets in Islam. This applies to Jesus (or Isa in Arabic) where he was one of the prophets of Allah. Isa Peace be Upon Him (PBUH), is born to a virgin Mary (or Maryam in Arabic) and was referred to in the Qur’an in different aspects, each with their respective manifestation of divine favour bestowed to him and his mother by Allah.
References of Isa PBUH in the holy Qur’An is classified into four groups. “(1) birth and infancy stories, (2) miracles, (3) conversations between Jesus and God or between Jesus and the Israelites, and (4) divine pronouncements on his humanity, servanthood, and place in the prophetic line which stipulate that “fanatical” opinions about him must be abandoned” (Khalidi, 2003, p14).
The Qur’an refers to his miraculous birth to a virgin mother and they are often narrated together in the passages emphasising this pure and sinless birth. The Qur’an also account the miracle when he spoke as an infant in the cradle declaring himself to be a prophet of God (Allah). Isa PBUH said, “Truly I am a servant of God. He has given me the Book and made me a prophet. He has made me blessed wheresoever I may be, and has enjoined upon me prayer and almsgiving so long as I live, and [has made me] dutiful towards my mother. And He has not made me domineering, wretched. Peace be upon me the day I was born, the day I die and and the day I am raised alive!”[Qur’an, Surah Maryam, 19:27-33]
In Islam, Isa PBUH is revered as a man of humility and piousness towards his mother Maryam. With fellow disciples believing in him as the bearer of message of Allah’s omnipotence, serving a reminder to mankind in general that Allah is the ultimate creator and master of the life and destiny of all of his creation including Isa. Qur’an describes a true Isa, one who is “cleansed” of the “perversion” of his followers – Isa, a prophet obedient to his Creator.
Isa PBUH’s miraculous birth and “death” and his representation in the Qur’an are proofs of Allah’s power and omnipotence. In the Qur’an, unlike Christian beliefs of Crucifixion and Redemption, Isa PBUH is lifted up to Heaven, where references from the Qur’an [Surah An-Nisaa, 4:157] denies the reality of Crucifixion and his death at the cross. In Muslim tradition and nuances from the Qur’an, Isa PBUH is still alive and will return back to Earth before the Day of Judgement to restore justice in Islam and defeat “the false messiah”, also referred to as al-Masih ad-Dajjal in Arabic or Antichrist, a term that is not strange to Christianity.
With reference to Isa PBUH’s conversation with Israelites, the Qur’an cited that he is sent to the Jews who has deviated from the teachings of prophet Musa (Moses in biblical reference) and other messengers before him. Isa PBUH confirmed the validity of Torah, the holy book of Islam which was revealed to Prophet Musa and also conveyed the news of a final messenger of Allah – prophet Muhammad – who would follow him through this verse in the Qur’an, “O children of Israel! Lo! I am the messenger of Allah unto you, confirming that which was (revealed) before me in the Torah, and bringing good tidings of a messenger who will come after me, whose name is the Praised One” [Surah As-Saff, 61:6].
Jesus in Christianity
Like Islam, Christianity is a monotheist religion where Christians believe in only one God called Father. Unlike Islamic representation of Isa being a prophet of God, Christians recognise Jesus as the Son of God who is sent by God to offer salvation for mankind from death and sin. Christianity believes that through Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, humans will be reconciled to God whose and will be offered salvation and promise of eternal life.
In Christianity, Jesus is reported to be conceived by a virgin Mary where she “was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18; cf. Luke 1:35). Similar to Islam, Christianity revers Jesus and affirm his holiness as a pure birth and in Christian accounts, he has performed a number of miracles. However, in comparison to Islamic accounts, Christianity believes that Jesus is both divine as Son of God as well as human. Christians who believe in the Holy Trinity believe that Jesus is the God incarnate – both fully divine and fully human.
In Christianity, as a symbol of his full obedience to the will of God the Father and as an ‘agent and servant of God’, Jesus chose to be crucified on the cross. (Cullmann, p.79) This is aligned to the Gospel of John’s salvific theme where it was proclaimed – “The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (Pollard, p.21).
The belief that the death of Jesus via crucifixion happened “with the foreknowledge of God, according to a definite plan”(Matera, p.67) is presented in the Acts of the Apostles. Thus, from this account, Christians believe and viewed the crucifixion not as an act of scandal but instead as a fulfilment of God’s plan (Matera, p.67).
In Eastern Church, it was believed that the crucifixion of Jesus was “pre-eternally” determined by the Father to redeem humankind from the Adam’s fall from grace. (Bulgakov, p.129). Whereas, in Western Church, it was accounted that the blood of the Jesus (and the water from his side) shed at the crucifixion had cleansing properties, akin to baptisimal water. (Rahner, p.74)
The New Testament accounts that the resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of the Christian faith [1 Cor 15:12-20] and through faith in the working of God [ Col 2:12], there is an act of redemption for the Christians to walk in a new way of life [Rom 6:4]. Jesus is also known as the Messiah (Christ) as accounted in the Old Testament (McGrath, p4-6).
Jesus in Hinduism
The image of Jesus is not something strange in Hindu homes and shrines, be it in India itself or Western countries. This emphasises (Jesus) Christ’s significance as a religious figure for Hindus. (Neufeldt, p. 162). There are two views of Christ in Hinduism – as an incarnation or as an ideal.
Christ is referred to as an “incarnation” of Vishnu’s avataras to the devout Hindus. Other Hindus “venerate him as a great teacher of righteousness, as a saint whose selflessness and spirit of sacrifice are a model to men. Others again consider him a great miracle-worker, like the yogis in ancient times, or like Ramakrishna or Sai Baba nowadays” (Klostermaier, 1969, p.107).
Jesus is seen as an avatar to Vishnu. An avatara or avatar is a Hinduism concept that refers to the reincarnation of a deity or divine being on earth. (Parridner, 1997, p.19 – 20).
Theologically, avatars are often linked to the Hindu god Vishnu though it might be applicable to other deities in Hinduism. (Kinsley, 2005, p. 707-708). This is particularly significant in Vaishnavism (Vaishnava dharma) theology where the followers, Vaishnavas, view Lord Vishnu as the Supreme Lord (Pal, 1986, p 24-25).
Monier-Williams (1923,p. 90) defined avatars as “descent, alight, to make one’s appearance” and make reference to the reincarnation of the essence of a deity (or divine or superhuman being) in another form. (Sheth, 2002, p. 98)
Taking into account a passage from the Bhagavad Gita, a 700-verse Hindu scripture, the typical role of an avataras of Vishnu is “Whenever righteousness wanes and unrighteousness increases, I send myself forth. For the protection of the good and for the destruction of evil, and for the establishment of righteousness, I come into being age after age” (Bhagavad Gita, 4.7-8)
Thus, with the reference of Jesus as one of Vishnu’s avataras, the role of Jesus could be defined as a divine being who in the avatar state provide protection and upholds righteousness in religion.
The similarity in Christ’s representation in Christianity and Hinduism is the fact that the respective Trinitarian and incarnational formulations symbolise the oneness of the divine and the human.
Comparison of how Islam, Christianity and Hinduism View Jesus as A Religious Authority Salvation
The “Praised One” was referred to in the New Testament John 14:16-17, “And I will give you another Counselor, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of Truth” which was interpreted as the Holy Spirit.
Conclusion
Jesus
1) Tarif Khalidi, The Muslim Jesus : Sayings and Stories in Islamic Literature, (Harvard University Press, 2003), p.14
2) Oxford Companion to the Bible, p.69
3) Daniel Deme, The Christology of Anselm of Canterbury (2004), p. 199-200
4) Oscar Cullmann, The Christology of the New Testament (Westminster John Knox Press, 1959), p.79
5) T.E. Pollard, Johannine Christology and the Early Church (Cambridge University Press, 2005), p.21
6) Frank J. Matera, New Testament Christology (Kregel Classics, 1999), p. 67
7) Sergei Bulgakov; Boris Jakim, The Lamb of God (Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2008), p. 129
8) Karl Rahner, Encyclopedia of Theology: A Concise Sacramentum Mundi (Burns & Oates, 2004), p.74
9) Harold Coward, Hindu-Christian Dialogue: Perspectives and Encounters (Orbis Books, 1990)
a. Ronald Neufeldt, Hindu Views of Christ, p.162
10) Klaus Klostermaier, Hindu and Christian in Vrindavan (London:SCM Press, 1969), p.107
11) Alister E. McGrath, Christianity: An Introduction (John Wiley & Sons, 2006), p. 4-6
12) Geoffrey Parriner, Avatar and Incarnation: The Divine in Human Form in the World’s Religion (Oneword, 1997), p. 19 – 20
13) David Kinsley, Lindsay Jones ed., Gale’s Encyclopedia of Religion (Thomson Gale, 2005), p 707-708
14) Pratapaditya Pal, Indian Sculpture : Circa 500 BCE – 700 CE (University of California Press, 1986), p 24-25
15) Monier Monier-Williams, A Sanskrit-English Dictionary (Oxford University Press, 1923), p. 90
16) Noel Sheth, Hindu Avatara and Christian Incarnation: A Comparison (University of Hawai’I Press, Volume 52, 2002), p. 98say in here…