Powerful Analogies for Reaching Your Hindu Neighbors

You love Jesus and want to tell other people about Him. Maybe you have even shared your faith with many people in your own country or from your own culture. That’s great! How do you begin to reach your Hindu neighbors?

Would it be better to study the language first? Do you need to be close friends with the people you are trying to reach before sharing your faith?

I’d like to try to answer these questions in this article.

Learn Language First?

Learning the language is highly beneficial in becoming a more effective cross-cultural worker. If you don’t make a habit of sharing your faith now though, you probably won’t do it, even when you are fluent in their language.

A few basic foundational understandings are helpful. You can get started sharing Jesus with Hindus right away.

Two Principles Related to Friendship Evangelism

In response to the question of friendship evangelism, I want to present two principles.

I have seen some of our staff invest deeply in friendships with Hindus for many years. When they finally present the gospel, their friends have rejected it outright.

You can only measure a Hindu’s openness by sharing.

We don’t know how a Hindu will respond to the gospel until we talk about Jesus with them. It’s best to share your relationship with Christ early on.

It’s normal to quickly talk about what matters most.

When we meet someone for the first time, we talk about the things that are most important to us within the first thirty minutes. Think about it – you talk about your family, your ideas and your dreams. Some people say it’s not normal or it’s awkward to share our faith right away.

If we say Jesus is central to our lives, yet we don’t mention Him when we begin a conversation with someone we recently met, that’s not normal.

Now that you know that you CAN share your faith with Hindus right away, let’s talk about HOW you can go about doing that.

Barrier: Christianity is the barrier, not Christ.

Though this idea may be difficult for us to understand, the reality is that Hindus respect Jesus as a spiritual teacher. Christians and Christianity are a different matter.

This has much to do with history. The imperialistic nature of the British rule of India, during the colonial period, had a great impact. This caused Christianity to seen by Hindus as a religion for a different culture and community than their own.

In their view, it was not a culture of high morals.

Gandhi was impacted by the teachings of Jesus. But he grew up thinking that a Christian was someone, “born with beef in one hand and brandy in the other.” For a Hindu, drinking alcohol and eating beef is immoral.

This feeling was increased by the negative connotations associated with the word “conversion”.

Hindus believe that conversion means being removed from their family, community, and culture. It may even mean losing their identity. Added to this is the belief that conversion is something that is forced. It is something that is done to someone, not a positive decision they make themselves.

There is an irony in asking the question, “Do you want to be forgiven of your sins and follow Jesus?” To a Hindu, their underlying assumption of what they would be doing, if they took that step, is that they would be committing a great sin. They would be abandoning their dharma – their social obligations and responsibilities.

Bridge: Break the barrier of the false Christianity they know

You must combat this great unspoken assumption of Hindus. Following Jesus is not the “conversion” they have heard about. Speak directly against that misconception. Affirm that this is not what Jesus taught – along with a clear presentation of the Gospel.

The Issue of Conversion

In Matthew 23:15, Jesus condemned the Pharisees who traveled far and wide to make converts. This verse uses the Greek word proselytes. It is where we get the modern word ‘proselytize’. Jesus taught about a heart transformation, not an outer conversion. You can share this as you present the gospel to Hindus.

One of our staff invited me to come and speak to a friend of his. He was still learning the local language, so he hadn’t been able to give a full presentation of the gospel to his friend. As I shared with this young man, I told him about who Jesus was, what He taught, and how He died for our sins but was then raised to life again! I didn’t stop there.

I also told him the story of the demoniac from Mark chapter five. After the man was dramatically healed, he wanted to follow Jesus. I shared how Jesus’ disciples were from a different community than the man. Coming with Jesus would have cut him off from his community and family.

Jesus’ response to him was this, “No, go home to your family and tell them everything the Lord has done for you.” I shared with this young man that Jesus doesn’t ask him to leave his family or community. Jesus wanted him to be the vessel through which his family comes to faith!

I said, “Jesus didn’t talk about conversion, he talked about transformation. Not an outward change, an inward change of the heart. That’s what following Jesus is about.“

As I shared this story, I saw this young man’s eyes open. He understood what following Jesus truly meant. The stumbling blocks of foreign religion and imperialistic Christianity were removed. This left only Jesus Himself as the door through which to pass.

Barrier: The concept of sacrificial atonement turns some Hindus away

Sin and atonement are central to the Gospel story. For many Hindus (especially high caste groups), killing and sacrificing animals is a sin. That’s a hard place to start. There is another option.

Bridge: The offering of a coconut as a symbol of sacrifice

One of the most powerful illustrations of the sacrifice of Jesus is the use of the coconut as an analogy for His death. Hindus use coconuts as offerings. They are broken open as an offering to their gods.

Hindus offer countless prayers and make offerings of flowers and coconuts. We can refer to this, then share that Jesus was the only true offering to God which made it possible for our sins to be forgiven forever.

Using this analogy, we can say that in the same way that the coconut is broken, the body of Jesus was broken for us. As the milk spills out of the coconut, Jesus’ blood spilled from His side. Through this perfect and holy offering, we are made clean and white, just like the inside of the coconut.

A video demonstration of how to use this analogy and other great resources are available in Create International’s Tool Kit for Hindu Peoples. Grab a copy today!

Discover as You Go

There are many other bridges that you will come across in your journey of sharing the Gospel with Hindus. These may be a story from their culture, a word or concept, or even a poem or song.

You will notice other barriers as well, false underlying assumptions they have about what Christianity is. By keeping an eye out for these things, you can discern what is going on under the surface.

If they say “no” when you invite them to follow Christ, you can ask, “What are they saying no to? Is it no to following Jesus or to something else that is unspoken but understood?”

Finally, remember this. Until we get out there and start sharing with Hindus, we won’t discover what the unique bridges and barriers are for our Hindu friends. Be mindful of these cultural things, but share the story of Jesus and the testimony of what He has done in your life with love and boldness. God be with you as you go!