On_a_Quest
Member
I've been throwing around some ideas in the back of mind, comparing Christianity (what I grew up with) to other religions that I've been learning about. I was reading a book by Diarmaid MacCulloch and he made this really great statement: "Christianity is, at root, a personality cult." This got me thinking about Christianity and the way it is entirely centered around the personality (as reported/portrayed in the Bible) of Jesus Christ. I believe that if one were to boil down Christianity to one point, you could say that the goal of the religion is to love God/Jesus with all your heart.
This thought brought me to when I was learning a bit about Hinduism and the different paths the religion has to God. Specifically, Christianity reminded me strongly of Bhakti Yoga because (correct me if I'm wrong!) the principle of Bhakti Yoga is to worship one god (aspect of God) and love that god with all your heart. In that way, isn't Christianity like Bhakti Yoga? For most people, it is probably easier to love something more concrete like an image of God. Couldn't Christianity be to Judaism what Bhakti Yoga is to other branches of Hinduism?
This thought brought me to when I was learning a bit about Hinduism and the different paths the religion has to God. Specifically, Christianity reminded me strongly of Bhakti Yoga because (correct me if I'm wrong!) the principle of Bhakti Yoga is to worship one god (aspect of God) and love that god with all your heart. In that way, isn't Christianity like Bhakti Yoga? For most people, it is probably easier to love something more concrete like an image of God. Couldn't Christianity be to Judaism what Bhakti Yoga is to other branches of Hinduism?