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notions exhibit two additionally significant problems. These later world religious concepts carry
largely different meanings than the Christian sense, meaning that they were not in fact saying the
same thing anyway. Further, the books in which these teachings are reported are far too late to
track these different teachings to the original founders, both their original time of writing as well
as their earliest extant copies.
The Case of Krishna
Representing Hinduism, perhaps Krishna comes the closest to being understood as God,
according to their own texts. The most important manifestation of Vishnu, Krishna is referred to
in the lofty terms of deity in the Bhagavad-Gita and even worshipped (for example, 4:13, 15;
9:18-20, 23; 18:65). The Bhagavad-Gita is a part of the larger text, the Mahābhārata.
Yet, there are several serious problems here. Initially, in what sense does Hindu teaching
consider this notion of deity? Is it a reference to deity in the full theistic sense, or is it conceived
some other way? To be God in the normal Hindu sense would be quite distinct from the views
of the Jewish, Christian, or Muslim traditions. 25
In the monotheistic religions, God is by nature
totally separate from his creation. Further, human beings do not become God. In Christianity,
there is only one such Incarnation of God, Jesus Christ. In the Bhagavad-Gita, however, the
25 An exceptional example of this difference in outlooks between Christian and Hindu believers is an older volume
by Swami Akhilananda. He argues clearly that Jesus was actually an incarnation of God (37-39, 50, 55) and
additionally agrees “in regarding Christ as unique” (56). Incredibly, he even quotes Swami Vivekananda as saying,
“If I, as an Oriental, have to worship Jesus of Nazareth, there is only one way left to me, that is, to worship Him as
God and nothing else.” (55)! But as to the meaning of these comments, Akhilananda is also exceptionally clear that
there are major differences with the Christian view, for Hindus hold that there are many such incarnations of God
(38-56, especially 44, 49, 51, 55-56). Swami Akhilananda, Hindu View of Christ (New York: Philosophical Library,
1949). The page numbers in this footnote are taken from an essay drawn from this book, Akhilananda’s “Hindu
View of Christ” in Christianity: Some Non-Christian Appraisals, ed. by David W. McKain (New York: McGraw-
Hill, 1964), 34-56.
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