{"id":13082,"date":"2015-12-22T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-12-22T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reasons.org\/how-christ-s-incarnation-differs-from-the-hindu-idea-of-avatar\/"},"modified":"2015-12-22T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-12-22T18:00:00","slug":"how-christ-s-incarnation-differs-from-the-hindu-idea-of-avatar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reasons.org\/religions\/belief-systems\/how-christ-s-incarnation-differs-from-the-hindu-idea-of-avatar","title":{"rendered":"How Christ\u2019s Incarnation Differs from the Hindu Idea of Avatar"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
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\n<\/p>\n

The doctrine of the Incarnation (God became man in Jesus of Nazareth) lies at the heart of Christianity; it\u2019s a truth-claim celebrated all over the world at Christmastime. Historic Christianity affirms that Jesus Christ is a single person with both a fully divine nature and a fully human nature. As C. S. Lewis aptly put it, \u201cThe Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.\u201d1<\/sup><\/p>\n

Here are four biblical passages that testify to the truth of Jesus Christ\u2019s Incarnation:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \u201cThe Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.\u201d (John 1:14)<\/li>\n
  2. \u201cYour attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.\u201d (Philippians 2:5\u20137)<\/li>\n
  3. \u201cFor in Christ all the fullness of Deity lives in bodily form.\u201d (Colossians 2:9)<\/li>\n
  4. \u201cThis is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.\u201d (1 John 4:2)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    But is Jesus Christ\u2019s Incarnation unique among the world\u2019s religions? Some would point to Hinduism\u2019s concept of avatars as a very similar religious belief. Let\u2019s examine briefly what Hinduism affirms concerning its idea of avatars and how that compares to the Incarnation.<\/p>\n

    Hindu Avatars<\/strong>
    \nPrince Krishna is considered an appearance or the descent of a deity (an avatar) to the earth. In traditional Hinduism, Krishna is considered the eighth avatar of the Lord Vishnu. However, for Krishna devotees in Bhakti Hinduism this is reversed so that Vishnu becomes the avatar of Krishna. Here is Krishna from the Bhagavad Gita describing his cosmic divinity and his appearance as an avatar:<\/p>\n

    \u201cAlthough I am unborn, everlasting, and I am the Lord of all, I come to my realm of nature and through my wondrous power I am born\u201d (Bhagavad Gita 4:6).2<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n

    How the Incarnation Differs<\/strong>
    \nWhile both Krishna and Jesus Christ are affirmed by their followers to be God Incarnate, they do differ in five key points:3<\/sup><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. The Incarnation of Jesus Christ took place in history where testimony is available for evaluation (see Luke 2:1\u20137; 3:1\u20132); whereas the historicity of Krishna is dubious and lacking any direct eyewitness testimony.<\/li>\n
    2. The Incarnation of Jesus Christ was a once and for all event (see Galatians 4:4\u20135); whereas the Bhagavad Gita reveals that Krishna comes into the world age after age. Thus Hinduism\u2019s avatars came in the past and many more are expected to come in the future:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      \u201cWhen righteousness is weak and faints and unrighteousness exults in pride, then my Spirit arises on earth. For the salvation of those who are good, for the destruction of evil in men, for the fulfillment of the kingdom of righteousness, I come to this world in the ages that pass\u201d (Bhagavad Gita 4:7\u20138).4<\/sup><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. In historic Christianity the Incarnation happens once in the person of Jesus of Nazareth (the God-man; John 1:1; 1:14); whereas the avatars of the Hindu gods appear in various forms and figures including humans and animals.<\/li>\n
      2. Orthodox Christology does not allow for the mixing or blending of the two natures of Jesus Christ (see the Chalcedonian Creed<\/a>). But the Hindu avatars do mix and blend to the degree that true humanity is lost.<\/li>\n
      3. The specific purpose of the Incarnation was to reveal God to humankind and to reconcile lost sinners back to God through Christ\u2019s sacrificial atonement (see Titus 2:13); none of the Hindu avatars provides revelation nor do they in any way make atonement for human sin.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Thus while at first glance the Hindu idea of avatars seems similar to the Christian concept of the Incarnation, upon closer inspection the two ideas differ significantly. The Incarnation sets Christianity apart from all other religions of the world. It is unique to Christianity to discover a God who takes the initiative to put on flesh in order to redeem sinful human beings and Christmas is the special time of year for the church to celebrate this central and unique truth-claim.<\/p>\n

        \n
        Endnotes<\/h5>\n
          \n
        1. C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity<\/em> (New York: Macmillan, 1952), 154. In this quote, Lewis slightly rephrases a statement made by the ancient church father Athanasius (ca. 296\u2013373).<\/li>\n
        2. Bhagavad Gita (London: Penguin, 1962), 61.<\/li>\n
        3. These points were influenced by Peter Toon, Jesus Christ Is Lord<\/em> (London: Marshall, Morgan and Scott, 1978), 114\u201315.<\/li>\n
        4. Bhagavad Gita, 61\u201362.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n

          \n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Explore the unique Christian doctrine of Christ’s Incarnation and how it significantly differs from Hindu avatar beliefs in theology and history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":581,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_person_authors":[],"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","footnotes":"","_classifai_error":"","_classifai_text_to_speech_error":"","_classifai_text_to_speech_scheduled":false},"categories":[64139,64003],"tags":[71032,69644,70606],"discipline":[64075],"reading-level":[64149],"class_list":["post-13082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-belief-systems","category-is-jesus-god","tag-incarnation","tag-uniqueness-of-christianity","tag-christian-faith","discipline-biblical-studies","reading-level-advanced-deep-dive"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow Christ\u2019s Incarnation Differs from the Hindu Idea of Avatar - 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Belief systems around the world attempt to answer these questions, shaping how people see reality, morality, and the divine.\r\n\r\nFrom Buddhism and Islam to New Age spirituality and atheism, each worldview presents a different picture of truth. But do all paths lead to the same destination? And how do their claims hold up against history, philosophy, and science?\r\n\r\nBy examining the beliefs of world religions\u2014and how they compare to Christianity\u2014we can better understand the search for truth and what sets the gospel apart.","cat_name":"Belief Systems","category_nicename":"belief-systems","category_parent":64009},{"term_id":64003,"name":"Is Jesus God?","slug":"is-jesus-god","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":64003,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Did Jesus claim to be God? The Bible presents him not just as a great teacher but as a divine being. From his miracles to his resurrection, Jesus\u2019s words and actions reveal his dual nature\u2014fully God and fully man. 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Learn why Jesus's provocative claim to be one with the Father is the key to our salvation.","cat_name":"Is Jesus God?","category_nicename":"is-jesus-god","category_parent":64001}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":71032,"name":"Incarnation","slug":"incarnation","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":71020,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":11,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":69644,"name":"Uniqueness Of Christianity","slug":"uniqueness-of-christianity","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":69644,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":70606,"name":"Christian Faith","slug":"christian-faith","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":70603,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":375,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reasons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reasons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reasons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reasons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/581"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reasons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/reasons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13082\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reasons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reasons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reasons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13082"},{"taxonomy":"discipline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reasons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/discipline?post=13082"},{"taxonomy":"reading-level","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reasons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reading-level?post=13082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}