If so, why do those vedas and upanishads say they are older than the bible. Jun 27, 2018 the answer is that we may never know for sure. In the field of comparative religion, many scholars, academics, religious figures have looked at. Around 500 bce, several new belief systems sprouted from hinduism, most significantly buddhism and jainism. The majority of the vedas are considered the shruti, which is translated to that which is hard.
The 5 best things about being hindu facts about hinduism. This sacred text is divided into two main sections, the old testament and the. There are two main beliefs in judaism, that the sabbath is holy, and that you must follow the ten commandments. Find out more about the oldest religions still practiced. However, the holy books in hinduism are the basis on which we have evolved our culture and way of. In comparison, similar textual analysis of the torah first five books of the old testament, the oldest part of the bible indicates that it was composed between 600950 bce. Hinduism is the world s oldest religion, according to many scholars, with roots and customs dating back more than 4,000 years. What about hindus claim that hinduism is the oldest religion. Hinduism is a compilation of many traditions and philosophies and is considered by many scholars to be the worlds oldest religion, dating back more than 4,000 years.
Hinduism is an ancient religion, and is thought by many to be older than judaism or christianity. Sometimes called the official religion of ancient persia, zoroastrianism is one of the worlds oldest surviving religions, with teachings older than buddhism, older than judaism, and far older than christianity or islam. How old is christianity, when compared to other religions. The vedas and these other works are further divided into two sections. Other holy scriptures in hinduism are called the upanisads, the smrutis, the puranas, the ramayana and the mahabharata. Get an answer for what came first, judaism or hinduism. Hinduism and judaism are among the oldest existing religions in the world. Jul 23, 2019 most americans are familiar with some of the basics of christianity and the bible, and even a few facts about islam. We can ask the question such as how old is christianity in comparison to hinduism or judaism but the answers will always be. Answer 1 followers of both judaism and hinduism will say that their religion is older, pointing to the fact that their religion contains a creation story and must therefore be as old as creation. Islam, judaism, christianity, hinduism and buddhism. I hope that from this short introduction to the holy books of hinduism it is apparent that hindus consider a great variety of literature important, and that this literature is as diverse and complex as it is beautiful. In some ways hinduism is the oldest living religion in the world, or at least. Religion in the ancient world ancient history encyclopedia.
What are all the holy books and their religions answers. In search of one of the worlds oldest religions the getty iris. Prayer, repentance, and the need to perform the mitzvot with the proper intention or kavannah are also important. Some of the other holy works and books of hinduism are stories and epic poems. Observance of mitzvot, study of torah and other holy books leads to blessing in life. Hinduism download books, sacred, spiritual texts and pdf e. Christianity, islam, hinduism, buddhism and judaism. List of world religions and founders, religious books, place.
Shintoism has a claim to great age, but i dont know how old people believe it to be. The vedas are not books, they are revealed facts by rishis. Judaism is considered by religious jews to be the expression of the covenant that god established with the children of israel. We are trying to list out here as many hindu scriptures and books as possible. So why do i see so many posts on the web claiming that hinduism is older. Mesopotamian religious beliefs held that human beings were coworkers with the. Today, with about 900 million followers, hinduism is the thirdlargest religion behind christianity and islam.
Judaism is my vote, since they have been around to help construct the pyramids of egypt back in 2000 bc or so. In comparison, similar textual analysis of the torah first five books of the old testament, the. Hinduism table of contents center for the study of world religions harvard divinity school religions of the world and ecology series hinduism and ecology volume mary evelyn tucker and christopher key chapple, eds. Hinduism and judaism similarities pakistan defence. Throughout its extensive history, there have been many key figures teaching different philosophies and writing innumerable holy books. Hinduism is the oldest religion, it may date to prehistoric times. While the number of living religions is staggering, nearly 75 percent of the population belongs to one of five religions. Hinduism is the worlds oldest religion, according to many scholars, with roots and customs dating back more than 4,000 years.
The religious scriptures are not followed word to word. Rishis are the seers of the mantras, not its authors. More than one buddhist has eyed a christian church curiously, and plenty of jews. Or the very opposite all faiths can be seen as ways of life, neither religion nor mythologies. Vedas and upanishadas are the most authoritative amongst all hindu scriptures and holy books. In this paper, a comparison of hinduism and judaism will be analyzed where a comparison of the beliefs of life after death and prayerworship will be looked at. Buddhism, hinduism, traditional judaism, and the gospel. Download the bible, the holy quran, the mahabharata, and thousands of free pdf ebooks on buddhism, meditation, etc. The holy books of world religions sacred texts in world. Why do people claim hinduism is older than judaism when judaism is the oldest religion. The scriptures of the vedas are meant to guide hindu believers in their daily lives.
The hindu holy scriptures are mainly comprised of the following works written in the sanskrit language. Buddhism download books, sacred, spiritual texts and pdf. If hinduism is the oldest religion, why does it not have more followers than. Indian hindus claim that hinduism is the oldest religion, but bible teaches us that god created all this in jewish form. For these reasons, writers often refer to hinduism as a way of life or a family of religions rather than a single religion. What about hindus claim that hinduism is the oldest. Depending on how one dates the religion, however, it could be markedly older. Apr 03, 20 that is why there are many holy books in hinduism.
Similarly, you could make an argument that the religion of the vedic people wasnt quite hinduism. The two share some similarities and interactions throughout both the ancient and modern worlds. However, hinduism as it is practiced today came into being in the 19th century, making it a fairly new concept, but one whose origins dates back centuries. Egyptian religion and sumeriam worship, to name two, are almost certainly older, but i doubt there are any living. Which is the oldest religion between islam, christianity and hinduism. Interestingly enough, three particular kurdish religious variants practiced. Though ayyavazhi continues to officially exist within hinduism and is considered by some observers to be a hindu denomination, members of the religion claim that it is independent. Hinduism, major world religion originating on the indian subcontinent and comprising several and varied systems of philosophy, belief, and ritual. Hinduism is a major world religion, not merely by virtue of its many followers estimated at more than 700 million but also because of its profound influence on many other religions during its long, unbroken history, which dates from about 1500 bc.
Hinduism, as the worlds most ancient surviving religion, could have it. On the other hand, judaism is a monotheistic religion and it endorses the worship and belief of one sole deity, god. Kaliyan bought the vedas as a boon and so all the previous religious books including agamas and puranas lost their substances, leaving. Hinduism is neither monotheistic nor restricted to one religious scripture. We can only mark the starting points of religions based on their interaction with societies and cultures at the time or through the holy books that they pass down to us. The most notable distinction from hindu are the ayyavazhi religions concepts of good, evil and dharma hindus view vedas, gita, and other. Bce on the indian subcontinent, and the faiths oldest scriptures which make hinduism. Just because a religion, a thousand years ago from a primitive group, taught that child sacrifice to the gods was good, this didnt make their belief or their practice true or good. Youre right, pagans beliefs are a lot older than christianity and even judaism.
Hindus value many sacred writings as opposed to one holy book. Hinduism table of contents the yale forum on religion. A comparison enables analysis of disparity among different aspects of a religion as it relates to another religion. The possible links between jews and hindus livemint. Hindus believe that existence is a cycle of birth, death and rebirth governed by individuals karma. God is the source of both the jewish and hindu traditions. First, hinduism has changed and added books with their vedas over the years, and its difficult to say all the vedas are older than the torah. Judaism is a monotheistic religion and one of the first religions. The most holy of the hindu books is written in sanskrit and is referred to as the vedas. Your question seems to be a complex question with multiple implications and i think we need to be careful to define some of our terms. Hinduism has more than a billion adherents, and they have a lot to brag about when it comes to their religion. Like christianity and islam and judaism, hinduism can be seen as a religion as well as mythology. Hinduism is practised by more than 80% of indias population.
In fact, all faiths can be seen as religions or mythologies. Reaching the stage of king rama is following all traditions of hinduism religion ceremoniously. The holy trinity of christianity, consisting of the father, son, and holy spirit, is sometimes seen as roughly analogous to the trimurti of hinduism, whose members brahma, vishnu, and shivaare seen as the three principal manifestations of brahman, or godhead. May 30, 2009 indian hindus claim that hinduism is the oldest religion, but bible teaches us that god created all this in jewish form. Sruti consists of four vedas, upanishads, brahmanas, aranyakas, and bhagavadgita while smriti consists of manu smriti, 18 puranas, ramayana, and mahabharata and other hindu holy books. According to a report by the pew research center conducted in the us, of all religious groups, hindus and jews remain the most successful at retaining. Ayyavazhi and hinduism are two belief systems in india. Judaism began as early as 2000 bce as the religion of abraham and of the small nation of the hebrews.
Moses was the first prophet and law giver of the hebrews. Zoroastrianism is thought to have arisen in the late second millennium b. The bnei menashe are a group of more than 9,000 jews from the indian. Science and history clearly states that judaism is the oldest religion. Coffin texts, and the egyptian book of the dead to help the souls passage. Holy writings, the most important are the torah, or the first five books of moses. Choose from 500 different sets of judaism and christianity hinduism major religions flashcards on quizlet. In the 20th century, hinduism began to gain popularity in the west. Through thousands of years of suffering, persecution, dispersion, and the occasional victory, jewish religion and culture has been profoundly influential. Learn judaism and christianity hinduism major religions with free interactive flashcards.
Unlike christianity or islam, it is a not a religion that is governed by the book. If the indus valley civilization 3rd2nd millennium bce was the earliest source of hindu traditions, then hinduism is the oldest living religion on earth. Hinduism holy book important books and writings of hinduism sacred text of hinduism some important books and writings on hinduism hinduism does not possess a single holy book like bible in christianity and quran in islamic dharma. There is no single scripture as it is in other religions like christianity and islam. Hinduism, as the worlds most ancient surviving religion, could have it no other way. Some of the other holy works and books of hinduism. For these reasons hinduism is referred as way of life or a family of religions. Hinduism and judaism are amongst the oldest existing religions in the world. There are a number of scriptures and holy books in hinduism. Most americans are familiar with some of the basics of christianity and the bible, and even a few facts about islam.
If you know the answer to this question, please register to join. The specific formulation of this trinitarian relationship is not identical. Why do people claim hinduism is older than judaism when. In fact, scholars make a distinction, calling it vedic or ancient hinduism, versus classical hinduism that appeared around 600 bc. Many of hinduism s core beliefs such as reincarnation or karma didnt appear until then. The holy books in hinduism are there only for guidance. In judaism, however, actions are more important than beliefs. Hinduism is one of the oldest religions on earth today and of course god wiped out a lot of pagan beliefs when he was rising up israel, who was a nation who believe. Buddhism download books, sacred, spiritual texts and pdf e. The vedic religion and its sects are thousands of years old and older than judaism. The oldest religion, it may date to prehistoric times.
He outlawed the torah, the jewish religious book, and said that they. But the traditional view of judaism is that the torah was written by moses himself. In order to save the hebrews from the cruel pharaohs of egypt, moses led them to the promised land of god. Islam came into existence few thousand years ago, while christianity branched from judaism and judaism was only in existence during egyptian rule. This is the logical fallacy argumentum ab annis argument because of age. Within judaism there are a variety of movements, most of which emerged from rabbinic judaism, which holds that god revealed his laws and commandments to moses on mount sinai in the form of both the written and oral torah. One of the worlds oldest surviving religions, zoroastrianism played an. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study. If the indus valley civilization 3rd2nd millennium bce was the earliest source of hindu traditions, then hinduism is. Hindu scriptures and holy books hinduism facts hinduism facts. Its different worldview and its tolerance for diversity in belief made it an attractive alternative to traditional western religion. Im not near my references now, but i suspect that zoroastrianism and hinduism might be older than judaism among religions still practiced. Taoism taoism is a religion that was begun in china in the late 4th. The corresponding influence of these various religions on hinduism it has an extraordinary.
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