Hinduism vs. Christianity

[nds1]

Hindus believe we, as in our souls, get unlimited chances to be accepted into the heavenly realm while Christians believe that we get ONE chance on this earth to be accepted into the heavenly realm.

Hindus believe that there are 136 “hells” involving temporary torture while Christians believe that there is one hell, or Lake of Fire, which involves permanent torture.

Hindus believe hell is temporary. Christians believe hell (or the Lake of Fire) is eternal.

Hindus believe that all of the Avatars, such as Rama, Krishna, and Jesus are all separate, individual, spiritual enities with their own consciousness and that they all are equal in authority. Christians believe that the individual spirit of Jesus has been given sole authority over everything and every angel.

Hindus believe that people's souls are in animals. Christians do not.

Hindus believe that it doesn't matter whether or not you accept or reject Jesus as the sole savior of men. Christians believe that if you don't accept Jesus as that, then you cannot be saved and will go the eternal Lake of Fire.

Hindus (or Buddhists, or both) believe that when you die, if you were good, you will become one with God and will no longer be an individual. Christians on the other hand believe that when you die you retain your individuality as an angel and will still be held accountable for your individual actions in heaven.

I could go on and on and on about the differences between religions which lightgigantic calls "insignifigant differences," yet in reality these differences are very signifigant.

For example, the Hindu God has an entirely different nature than the Christian God. The Christian God is incredibly more harsh and unforgiving than the Hindu God. If you dissapoint or don't follow the will of the Christian God, you will go to hell and the Lake of Fire for eternity. Let me repeat: You will be tortured and in incredible unbearable pain for eternity. If you dissapoint or don't follow the will of the Hindu God, you simply turn into some kind of animal and work your way up to human status again to give it another go. Not a bad deal. Of course, in Hinduism, if you went against the will of God to a high enough degree you will go to timeout in one of the 136 hells of Hinduism. In these hells you will be cleansed of your sins and corruption through a bath of liquid fire, then you will go into an animal again until becoming human again.

So the Christian God is very scrict, very harsh, and only gives you one shot to get your shit together on this earth. The Hindu God on the other hand is much more merciful and forgiving, and is much less harsh. The Hindu God will give you unlimited chances to get your shit together and enter the heavenly realm.

Which God do you choose?

Do you believe the Bible, or do believe the Vedas? Do you believe Jesus, or do you believe Rama, or Krishna?

All religions teach different truths about not only the reality and nature of life, the afterlife, and God, but also in many cases of how to live life. So which God or religion or set of beliefs should you believe in?

 

[Adstar]

I believe the Bible.

For salvation is not about getting things right it is about believing in what is right. It is not about striving and achieving but about trusting and believing.


All Praise The Ancient Of Days

 

[lightgigantic]

basically you have a lot of stacked cards in your deck so i will just gloss through this

Hindus believe we, as in our souls, get unlimited chances to be accepted into the heavenly realm while Christians believe that we get ONE chance on this earth to be accepted into the heavenly realm.

either way the focus is on perfection (BTW there are teachings by early christians such as Origien that suggest there are a variety of strains on this thought even in christianity)

Hindus believe that there are 136 “hells” involving temporary torture while Christians believe that there is one hell, or Lake of Fire, which involves permanent torture.

actually there are three planetary systems that operate on distinctively different paradigms - the lower (hellish) the middle (earthly) and the upper (heavenly) - and there is a fourth which is beyond all these material heavens and hells - the eternal transcendental abode of god

Hindus believe hell is temporary. Christians believe hell (or the Lake of Fire) is eternal.

either way, it is not recommended one goes there, even if one wars a black leather jacket and rides a harley

Hindus believe that all of the Avatars, such as Rama, Krishna, and Jesus are all separate, individual, spiritual enities with their own consciousness and that they all are equal in authority. Christians believe that the individual spirit of Jesus has been given sole authority over everything and every angel.

actually krishna and rama are accepted as operating out of vishnu tattva, which to keep things simple, means that they are the same entity. Regarding angels, there are also numerous descriptions of how a pure devotee is in a superior position to gandharvas, caranas, apsaras etc (ie - angels)

Hindus believe that people's souls are in animals. Christians do not.

I would argue that the difference is due to a misunderstanding in semantics (it is difficult to get a unanimous definition from christians on what is meant by the word 'soul' so cross analysis becomes difficult

Hindus believe that it doesn't matter whether or not you accept or reject Jesus as the sole savior of men. Christians believe that if you don't accept Jesus as that, then you cannot be saved and will go the eternal Lake of Fire.

I think we have been over this before - but just to recap - the statement about jesus being the truth and the ligh t and the way is spoken in a present tense - and in the vedas there is strong indications that unless one accepts a bona fide guru one will end up in hell sooner or later

Hindus (or Buddhists, or both) believe that when you die, if you were good, you will become one with God and will no longer be an individual. Christians on the other hand believe that when you die you retain your individuality as an angel and will still be held accountable for your individual actions in heaven.

you are using the advaita school definitions of hinduism, which run contrary to the vaisnava definitions

I could go on and on and on about the differences between religions which lightgigantic calls "insignifigant differences," yet in reality these differences are very signifigant.

not really
if hell is temporary or eternal, would one still act sinfully?
if we get one chance or numerous chances to enter heaven, do we still have to make a 'grade' before we attain it?
if we are eternally individual or homogenous, how will that greatly affect one's activities in thois conditioned existence?

For example, the Hindu God has an entirely different nature than the Christian God. The Christian God is incredibly more harsh and unforgiving than the Hindu God.

St francis of Assisi seems pretty mellow

If you dissapoint or don't follow the will of the Christian God, you will go to hell and the Lake of Fire for eternity. Let me repeat: You will be tortured and in incredible unbearable pain for eternity. If you dissapoint or don't follow the will of the Hindu God, you simply turn into some kind of animal and work your way up to human status again to give it another go. Not a bad deal.

the problem is that an ex human needs special 'training' before they take an animal body - therefore they take an interim period in the hellish planets to get trained up (a lot of training is behind the enthusiasm that a pig has in its search for the delectable) - and there are numerous sufferings innvolved just in making one's appearance in hell, what to speak of what happens there in the name of training

Of course, in Hinduism, if you went against the will of God to a high enough degree you will go to timeout in one of the 136 hells of Hinduism. In these hells you will be cleansed of your sins and corruption through a bath of liquid fire, then you will go into an animal again until becoming human again.

and that inspires you to sign up for a tour of hell? The time window between regaining and losing the human form of life is usually billions of years

So the Christian God is very scrict, very harsh, and only gives you one shot to get your shit together on this earth. The Hindu God on the other hand is much more merciful and forgiving, and is much less harsh. The Hindu God will give you unlimited chances to get your shit together and enter the heavenly realm.

if you think that the vedic understanding of hell offers a greater license for nonsense you seem to be missing the point

Which God do you choose?

If you are looking for a god that will offer a greater license for nonsense it won't matter which one you choose

Do you believe the Bible, or do believe the Vedas? Do you believe Jesus, or do you believe Rama, or Krishna?

practically there is no difference - although there may be a few discrepancies regarding the nature of the absolute (the processes will be practically identical)

All religions teach different truths about not only the reality and nature of life, the afterlife, and God, but also in many cases of how to live life. So which God or religion or set of beliefs should you believe in?

mentioned in the gita

- people generally worship god according to their nature

BG 17.1: Arjuna inquired: O Kṛṣṇa, what is the situation of those who do not follow the principles of scripture but worship according to their own imagination? Are they in goodness, in passion or in ignorance?

BG 17.2: The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: According to the modes of nature acquired by the embodied soul, one's faith can be of three kinds — in goodness, in passion or in ignorance. Now hear about this.

BG 17.3: O son of Bharata, according to one's existence under the various modes of nature, one evolves a particular kind of faith. The living being is said to be of a particular faith according to the modes he has acquired.

sifting out the wheat from the chaff comes about by seriously endeavouring to surrender, which is why there is practically no difference between a sincere christian and a sincere hindu

 

[nds1]

religious principles are only acceptable (or perhaps its more correct to say 'properly functional' when they are performed under the mode of goodness - if you read the descriptions of the three modes in the gita (sattva - goodness, rajas - passion, and tamas - ignorance) you can see that two get it wrong and one gets it right

Are we finally admitting that there actually is a right and a wrong? Finally. So you will finally admit that there is then an optimum "mode" or way to live. This optimum mode is goodness.

The Muslims believe that by commiting suicide in a car bom for their faith they will go to heaven and be greeted by virgins or something like that. According to you, these Muslims have been told falsities, not truths. They followed your advice of having a guru, and this guru led them right into the mode of passion so now they are killing themselves in vain.

Guess why the "car bomb" Muslims chose their Guru: Because they were born to that guru. But apprantly, the Hindu God doesn't take that into consideration. He doesn't take into consideration that many Muslims are brainwashed from childhood to believe a certain set of beliefs, and that they really have no choice as to what religion they will choose. He just sees the car bomb as a mode of passion, so it is not acceptable. Muslims are killing themselves, commiting the ultimate human sacrifice, every day for their faith, but that just isn't acceptable to the Hindu God, because it was in some "mode" of passion. And I thought the Christian God was harsh...

sifting out the wheat from the chaff comes about by seriously endeavouring to surrender, which is why there is practically no difference between a sincere christian and a sincere hindu

Practically no difference? What happened to the mode argument? A Muslim can be 100% sincere in killing himself in a car bomb, yet still not be "accepted" by God into heaven because this act is labeled as the "mode" of passion or the "mode" of ignorance.

if you think that the vedic understanding of hell offers a greater license for nonsense you seem to be missing the point

The point is that the vedic understanding of hell is completely different than the Bible, or Jesus' description of hell. If they both were inspired by the same God or Spirit, then why should there be any difference whatsoever as to how each scripture describes the afterlife or any other area of reality? Why would God tell one of his avatars to say one thing about reality, and another avatar to say a completely different thing about the same reality?

you are using the advaita school definitions of hinduism, which run contrary to the vaisnava definitions

Oh, I see. So one school is better than the other. One school has more truthful or accurate definitions, therefore this religious sect is more optimum than the other. I'm glad you finally admit that some religious sects are more truthful than others.

not really
if hell is temporary or eternal, would one still act sinfully?
if we get one chance or numerous chances to enter heaven, do we still have to make a 'grade' before we attain it?
if we are eternally individual or homogenous, how will that greatly affect one's activities in thois conditioned existence?

The point is that if the Bible and the Vedas were both truly inspired by the same God, then why do they proclaim completely different things about the nature of reality?

 

[VitalOne]

Hindus believe we, as in our souls, get unlimited chances to be accepted into the heavenly realm while Christians believe that we get ONE chance on this earth to be accepted into the heavenly realm.

This is technically true, but to clarify all places in the material world are places of suffering:

"From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kunti, never takes birth again" (BG 8.16)

And its not that you can sin and sin again and you'll be forgiven, inversely its:
"Those who are envious and mischievous, who are the lowest among men, I perpetually cast into the ocean of material existence, into various demoniac species of life.

Attaining repeated birth amongst the species of demoniac life, O son of Kuntī, such persons can never approach Me. Gradually they sink down to the most abominable type of existence." (BG 16.19-20)

Hindus believe that there are 136 “hells” involving temporary torture while Christians believe that there is one hell, or Lake of Fire, which involves permanent torture.

There are technically more hells and heavens (and earths), there are supposedly trillions and trillions of world-systems in the universe....

Hindus believe hell is temporary. Christians believe hell (or the Lake of Fire) is eternal.

This is true, in Hinduism everything in the material world is temporary, so even if the devas have immortality, it is still temporary since when the universe is destroyed they go too, the only thing eternal is the soul, God, and the absolute (brahm)

Hell may last for 100,000 years or even millions of years, or even an entire mahayuga, but its still not eternal

Hindus believe that people's souls are in animals. Christians do not.

Indeed, in Hinduism male, female, deva, human, etc...are just physical bodies, the soul is independant, the material mind however is intermingled with the physical body, hence why Krishna states:
"The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste]" (BG 5.18)

Hindus believe that it doesn't matter whether or not you accept or reject Jesus as the sole savior of men. Christians believe that if you don't accept Jesus as that, then you cannot be saved and will go the eternal Lake of Fire.

Indeed, if a person does good deeds, regardless of their religion, good must happen to them, where as "Christians" declare that even if a man does pure good deeds his entire life but does not accept Christ he will eternally suffer in hell....

Although Christians disagree, Christ agrees:
“And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us” (Luke 9:49-50)

Quite the opposite of what "Christians" (like Bush) seem to declare, almost as if they are anti-Christian at heart or against Jesus's words...

Hindus (or Buddhists, or both) believe that when you die, if you were good, you will become one with God and will no longer be an individual. Christians on the other hand believe that when you die you retain your individuality as an angel and will still be held accountable for your individual actions in heaven

This is not really true, you will still maintain your individuality, but you'll have the same nature as God, you will be dwelling in the kingdom of God, you will not created nor destroyed...

"By becoming fixed in this knowledge, one can attain to the transcendental nature like My own. Thus established, one is not born at the time of creation or disturbed at the time of dissolution" (BG 14.2)

Gautama-Buddha on the other hand seems to agree that their is some level of individuality, as he declares that anyone can become a Buddha, and that many in the past have become Buddhas...you will attain a nature akin to his own

 

[nds1]

According to wikipedia.com, in the The Artharva-Veda there are charms of a positive character to obtain benefits, to insure love, happy family-life, health and longevity, protection on journeys, even luck in gambling.

VitalOne, LG, can one of you give me the gambling charm so I can make some money? Thanks.

 

[VitalOne]

According to wikipedia.com, in the The Artharva-Veda there are charms of a positive character to obtain benefits, to insure love, happy family-life, health and longevity, protection on journeys, even luck in gambling.

VitalOne, LG, can one of you give me the gambling charm so I can make some money? Thanks.

Krishna, Rama, Buddha, and others were against the ritualistic principles of the Vedas just as how Jesus was also against the rituals of his time...

"The unwise who delight in flowery words (or the chanting of the Vedas without understanding the real meaning) stress Karma-Kaanda, the ritualistic aspect of the Vedas, O Arjuna, and say that there is nothing else (except material enjoyment)" (BG 2.42)

 

[Michael]

I'd choose Hindu - seems like a better deal

 

[lightgigantic]

nds1

“
Originally Posted by lightgigantic
religious principles are only acceptable (or perhaps its more correct to say 'properly functional' when they are performed under the mode of goodness - if you read the descriptions of the three modes in the gita (sattva - goodness, rajas - passion, and tamas - ignorance) you can see that two get it wrong and one gets it right
”
Are we finally admitting that there actually is a right and a wrong? Finally.

I wasn't aware I had said otherwise
???

So you will finally admit that there is then an optimum "mode" or way to live. This optimum mode is goodness.

actually there is a state beyond goodness (since goodness pertains to the material world), namely transcendence - but goodness is accepted as the platform for entering into transcendence

The Muslims believe that by commiting suicide in a car bom for their faith they will go to heaven and be greeted by virgins or something like that.

obviously not all of them do, otherwise there would probably be millions of suicide bombers in the history of islam and it would have had great difficulty in being so widespread (since the easy means to the goal involves suicide) --- in other words you clearly have the wrong definition of mainstream islam

According to you, these Muslims have been told falsities, not truths. They followed your advice of having a guru, and this guru led them right into the mode of passion so now they are killing themselves in vain.

agreed that some are being led by a 'gurus' who encourage this - hence scriptures are full of descriptions on how to locate a saintly person (rather than knocking on the door of any one who has the sign 'guru' - or equivelant - out the front)

eg

NoI 1: A sober person who can tolerate the urge to speak, the mind's demands, the actions of anger and the urges of the tongue, belly and genitals is qualified to make disciples all over the world.

Guess why the "car bomb" Muslims chose their Guru: Because they were born to that guru.

therefore you generally find recommendations in scripture based on karma (action) and guna (quality) rather than janma (birth)

But apprantly, the Hindu God doesn't take that into consideration. He doesn't take into consideration that many Muslims are brainwashed from childhood to believe a certain set of beliefs, and that they really have no choice as to what religion they will choose.

the laws that govern one's birth in a particular environment with a particular nature are quite complex since they are related to one's previous pious and impious activity - but that aside, every one is born with free will (not all muslims are lead astray into actions of passion and ignorance - and similarly not all persons born into ideal religious communities pursue lifestyles in the mode of goodness)

He just sees the car bomb as a mode of passion, so it is not acceptable. Muslims are killing themselves, commiting the ultimate human sacrifice, every day for their faith, but that just isn't acceptable to the Hindu God, because it was in some "mode" of passion. And I thought the Christian God was harsh...

actually its not acceptable to god at all (if you took a poll of the world's muslims you would see that a majority of them even agree with it - this explains why the world is dealing with a few thousand that are potential suicide bombers rather than a few million)

“
sifting out the wheat from the chaff comes about by seriously endeavouring to surrender, which is why there is practically no difference between a sincere christian and a sincere hindu
”
Practically no difference? What happened to the mode argument? A Muslim can be 100% sincere in killing himself in a car bomb, yet still not be "accepted" by God into heaven because this act is labeled as the "mode" of passion or the "mode" of ignorance.

being sincerely in the mode of passion is not possible - what to speak of the mode of ignorance

“
if you think that the vedic understanding of hell offers a greater license for nonsense you seem to be missing the point
”
The point is that the vedic understanding of hell is completely different than the Bible, or Jesus' description of hell. If they both were inspired by the same God or Spirit, then why should there be any difference whatsoever as to how each scripture describes the afterlife or any other area of reality? Why would God tell one of his avatars to say one thing about reality, and another avatar to say a completely different thing about the same reality?

even jesus said there were many things in his father's house that he couldn't speak about because people were not ready

“
you are using the advaita school definitions of hinduism, which run contrary to the vaisnava definitions
”
Oh, I see. So one school is better than the other. One school has more truthful or accurate definitions, therefore this religious sect is more optimum than the other. I'm glad you finally admit that some religious sects are more truthful than others.

doesn't the word 'gradation' suggest that?
(I would degree with your fatalistic definition of all religions being out to lunch while one is the only means of any spiritual advancement)

“
not really
if hell is temporary or eternal, would one still act sinfully?
if we get one chance or numerous chances to enter heaven, do we still have to make a 'grade' before we attain it?
if we are eternally individual or homogenous, how will that greatly affect one's activities in thois conditioned existence?
”
The point is that if the Bible and the Vedas were both truly inspired by the same God, then why do they proclaim completely different things about the nature of reality?

because the audience is different

is the maths you learn as an 8 year old wrong since you are learning something different in maths when you are 18?
Or does the difference in time place and circumstance dictate a different syllabus on the subject?

 

[lightgigantic]

According to wikipedia.com, in the The Artharva-Veda there are charms of a positive character to obtain benefits, to insure love, happy family-life, health and longevity, protection on journeys, even luck in gambling.

VitalOne, LG, can one of you give me the gambling charm so I can make some money? Thanks.

why should we cheat you by empowering you to advance in suffering?

arthamanarthaM bhaavaya nityaM
naastitataH sukhaleshaH satyam.h .
putraadapi dhana bhaajaaM bhiitiH
sarvatraishhaa vihiaa riitiH .. 29..

Wealth is not welfare, truly there is no joy in it. Reflect thus at all times. A rich man fears even his own son. This is the way of wealth everywhere.

 

[nds1]

the laws that govern one's birth in a particular environment with a particular nature are quite complex since they are related to one's previous pious and impious activity - but that aside, every one is born with free will (not all muslims are lead astray into actions of passion and ignorance - and similarly not all persons born into ideal religious communities pursue lifestyles in the mode of goodness)

We need to clear up some Hindu beliefs here, or whatever school of Hindu you are from.

Question 1:

Are there a finite or infinite number of souls in the material world today going through the reincarnation process?

Question 2:

Were all of the souls in the material universe today created at the same time?

Question 3:

Are new souls being created today?

Question 4:

If no new souls are being created today, what happens when every soul finally reaches heaven. Will there be no more material world?

 

[nietzschefan]

Well gee if you put it that way...

Actually who cares, just roll the bones.

 

[Zardozi]

During my stages of a pshychotic episode where I was having Kundalini awakenings and lucid dreams of higher enlightenment. I had 1 particular dream and it went like this:

I walked up a dirt road up to a girl i know whos name is Kristen Rupert. I gave full frontal hug and said to her in my deepest vibrational voice, " I know you want me to love you, but I can't". I walked away and evil spirits came flying in and grasped her. i awoke to anylize the name and dream, deciding I should be hindu.

Heres a picture: http://img404.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rupertxz7.jpg

 

[lightgigantic]

We need to clear up some Hindu beliefs here, or whatever school of Hindu you are from.

Question 1:

Are there a finite or infinite number of souls in the material world today going through the reincarnation process?

there are a finite number of souls in the material world (since the material world is finite)

Question 2:

Were all of the souls in the material universe today created at the same time?

the soul is not created - it is eternal

BG 2.20: For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.

(yet it is contingent on god, just like an eternal fire would have eternal smoke, yet the smoke would be contingent on the fire)

Question 3:

Are new souls being created today?

no - see above

Question 4:

If no new souls are being created today, what happens when every soul finally reaches heaven. Will there be no more material world?

there is an infinite number of souls in the spiritual world

 

[nds1]

So these are three basic Hinduism beliefs of reality:

1. The soul is not created - it is eternal.

2. There is a finite number of souls in the material world.

3. There is an infinite number of souls in the spiritual world.

Sorry to nag you LG, but I thought of a few more questions for you. Please bear with me. Thanks for your help.

Question 1:

If God didn't create us (our souls), then how do our souls exist, or what is the source of our souls' existence in the spiritual world and the material world?

Question 2:

Did God intend for our souls to exist? In other words did God make a conscious decision to bring our souls into existence, or are we a natural by-product of God?

Question 3:

If God intended for our souls to exist or made a conscious decision to bring our souls into existence, then for what purpose did he bring us into existence?

Question 4:

If God did not intend for our souls to exist or did not make a consious decision to bring our souls into existence, then what is his ultimate goal for our souls? Or does he have an ultimate goal?

Question 5:

If there are billions of other planets with intelligent, reasoning life on them which have souls, similar to humans, then does every planet have its own Jesus, or savior? Did Jesus have to be crucified billions of times, one for each planet? If so, did he have 12 apostles and 1 betrayer on each planet?

Question 6:

Will a material world with physical living beings exist for eternity?

 

[Zardozi]

Oh Can I try this one.....

So these are three basic Hinduism beliefs of reality:
Sorry to nag you LG, but I thought of a few more questions for you. Please bear with me. Thanks for your help.

Question 1:

If God didn't create us (our souls), then how did we get here?

If we werent created, we are here due to a natural evolution of our known universe.

Question 2:

Did God intend for our souls to exist? In other words did God make a conscious decision to bring our souls into existence, or are we a natural by-product of God?

In my opinion, yes the intention to have a soul is there in creation in order to have responsive religion.

Question 3:

If God intended for our souls to exist or made a conscious decision to bring our souls into existence, then for what purpose did he bring us into existence?

To nurture his needs/desires. What would you do as God general?

Question 4:

If God did not intend for our souls to exist or did not make a consious decision to bring our souls into existence, then what is his ultimate goal for our souls? Or does he have an ultimate goal?

A good ultimate goal would be to retain "moksha" of all living souls becoming part of him. Everything else would just be fun at times.

Question 5:

If there are billions of other planets with intelligent, reasoning life on them which have souls, similar to humans, then does every planet have its own Jesus, or savior? Did Jesus have to be crucified billions of times, one for each planet? If so, did he have 12 apostles and 1 betrayer on each planet?

Doubt it is that boring. There would be different castes of christians and probably different saviors.

 

[nds1]

If we werent created, we are here due to a natural evolution of our known universe.

Sorry my original question was not specific enough. The revised question:

If God didn't create us (our souls), then how do our souls exist, or what is the source of our souls' existence in the spiritual world and the material world?

To nurture his needs/desires. What would you do as God general?

I'm not sure what I would do. Honestly, if I were a God who had everything and who consequently had no hope for anything, I would probably kill myself.

A good ultimate goal would be to retain "moksha" of all living souls becoming part of him. Everything else would just be fun at times.

Yes, but according to LG there are unlimited souls, so retaining moksha of all living souls would be theoretically impossible. As long as there is a material world with material beings with souls, every soul cannot be in heaven.

 

[nds1]

For salvation is not about getting things right it is about believing in what is right. It is not about striving and achieving but about trusting and believing.

Trusting and believing in what exactly?

Atheists trust and believe that there is no God. Are they saved?

Many muslims trust and believe that by killing americans and other Muslims with car bombs and killing themselves, they will go to heaven guarenteed. Are they saved?

Many people from the past trusted and believed in Zues, Hercules, and all those other Gods. Many Indians and other civilizations believed in God's for everything from rain, to harvests, to flooding, etc. Are they saved?

Muslims trust and believe that the Bible and Christianity is false and that Jesus was not unique, but was "just another messenger" according to Mohammad. Are these Muslims saved?

Buddhists trust and believe in a God which is not conscious but which is simply a force of nature. Are they saved?

People used to trust and believe that the earth was at the center of the universe. Are they saved?

 

[lightgigantic]

nds1

Question 1:

If God didn't create us (our souls), then how do our souls exist, or what is the source of our souls' existence in the spiritual world and the material world?

I am not sure if I understand your Q
maybe I should reiterate that the symptom of the soul is life
either way, in material or spiritual existence, the cause of life (or perhaps it would be more correct to say that in answer to what life is contingent on, since we are dealing with an eternal phenomena) is god

Katha Upanisad 2.2.13
The Supreme Lord is eternal and the living beings are eternal. The Supreme Lord is cognizant and the living beings are cognizant. The difference is that the Supreme Lord is supplying all the necessities of life for the many other living entities.

Question 2:

Did God intend for our souls to exist? In other words did God make a conscious decision to bring our souls into existence, or are we a natural by-product of God?

god doesn't do anything unconsciously - its not just that we have intrinsic significance (in connection to god) but everything does ..... (or alternatively, anything has intrinsic insignificance when it is not related to god - ie under the constraints of illusion)

Question 3:

If God intended for our souls to exist or made a conscious decision to bring our souls into existence, then for what purpose did he bring us into existence?

it is said that the living entity has an irrevocable quality (or 'dharma') and that is the rendering of service - on the liberated platform one serves god and on the conditioned platform a person serves someone/something other than god (usually themselves)

There are many different explanations of "why" this is so - one is that it enables god to be truly omnipotent by displaying both scales of potency (the fully infallible potency, exhibited through his own persona and the fully fallible potency, exhibited through his parts and parcels, the living entities)

Question 4:

If God did not intend for our souls to exist or did not make a consious decision to bring our souls into existence, then what is his ultimate goal for our souls? Or does he have an ultimate goal?

the ultimate goal of the living entity is to be happy (anando mayo 'bhyasat) - under illusion there is one idea how to do this (namely through the exploitation of god's energy - BG 7.5: Besides these, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is another, superior energy of Mine, which comprises the living entities who are exploiting the resources of this material, inferior nature.) and when one is liberated there is another different view (BG 6.28: Thus the self-controlled yogī, constantly engaged in yoga practice, becomes free from all material contamination and achieves the highest stage of perfect happiness in transcendental loving service to the Lord.)

Question 5:

If there are billions of other planets with intelligent, reasoning life on them which have souls, similar to humans, then does every planet have its own Jesus, or savior? Did Jesus have to be crucified billions of times, one for each planet? If so, did he have 12 apostles and 1 betrayer on each planet?

jesus is accepted as a saktya avesa avatar that appeared in a particular time place and circumstance - his lilas or pastimes are not accepted as eternal but appearing at a certain time place and circumstance to meet the requirements of a certain cultural development of godlessness - like this, god i s seeing that religious principles are present by constantly re-establishing them in the material world

BG 4.8: To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear, millennium after millennium.

thus there are some 'lilas' of the Lord that are eternal, which doesn't necessarily mean that all the details are eternal (perhaps you could say that the general plotline is the same)

Question 6:

Will a material world with physical living beings exist for eternity?

the nature of material existence is eternal, which means it is sometimes manifest and sometimes unmanifest, just like the season of spring is constant although cyclic (you don't see spring in winter, although it is just around the corner)
concerning the living entity, they can exist in the material atmosphere for as long as they remain adverse to the service of god

 

[mindtrick]

Karma rocks