Leslie Stevenson wrote a book that has seen numerous iterations: I guess it's now called Thirteen Theories of Human Nature. See https://global.oup.com/ushe/product/thirteen-theories-of-human-nature-9780190604721?cc=ca&lang=en&
One interesting thing that Stevenson and the other authors of this book do, is compare varying diagnoses for the human condition. What is wrong with humanity? Why are humans so aggressive? Why do we fight one another, envy and slay one another? The answers to these questions are manifold, but a stark difference between Hinduism and Christianity can be witnessed by how each religion answers this question.
The basic Hindu answer to the human predicament is ignorance (avidya). We could say that for Hindus, speaking generally, human problems occur for epistemological reasons whereas the answer Christianity that gives is sin (Romans 5:12; 7:15-23), which is somewhat of a moral failing although it's also a spiritual problem--spiritual in the sense of being related to Almighty God. The heart of a human is bad from his youth up--that is why we sin and commit evils against God and others (Genesis 8:21; Jeremiah 17:9).
This is just one way among many that Hinduism differs from Christianity.
For more on avidya, see https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095437199
4 comments:
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Cl5-DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA120&lpg=PA120&dq=avidya+as+sin&source=bl&ots=PuRaae8p0S&sig=ACfU3U1ejzFCuo8MNWzWoHFY6sYqNsABjQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjh6JXShsvpAhWCUBUIHflrCksQ6AEwCXoECAMQAQ#v=onepage&q=avidya%20as%20sin&f=false
Addressing your link: Yes, there are many interpretations of sin in Christianity and even in the Bible, the concept of sin unfolds from the history of Israel to the beginning of Christianity. I don't personally have much confidence in humanly-generated conceptions of sin.
Is it true that avidya and the Judeo-Christian idea of sin are like best buddies? :)
Sorry, I don't buy the notion that the two ideas are close. Too much evidence says otherwise, even if avidya has some things in common with biblical/Christian notions of sin. At the end of the day, Hinduism posits an epistemological problem with humanity, not necessarily a moral/spiritual one. That is, spiritual in the biblical sense.
For example, sin is breaching the law covenant in Israel, and for Joseph, it is failing to do what God wants one to do. In Christianity, sin has no connection to samsara or karma.
As you know, Hindu is so diverse that scholars normally say it's technically not a religion but a family of loose-knit beliefs. Nevertheless, what do we find Hindu thinkers themselves saying about avidya?
See https://www.encyclopedia.com/philosophy-and-religion/other-religious-beliefs-and-general-terms/miscellaneous-religion/avidya
It says in part:
Avidyā is the conceptual starting point of classical Indian thinking about the nature of existence. The Sanskrit term connotes "ignorance," "false understanding," or "nescience." There are, broadly, two schools of thought on its nature: Sāṃkhya-Yoga and Vedānta. Sāṃkhya locates avidyā's genesis in the proximate association of puruṣa (spirit) with prakṛti (nature), which results in a sequential evolution of qualities and substances, from intelligence, embodiment, and senses to elemental traces of matter.
The site then relates the famous debate between Shankara and Ramanuja.
Another website states:
Avidya is a Sanskrit word most commonly defined as ignorance. This can be misleading if we think of ignorance as a lack of knowledge. Avidya is not simply a lack of knowledge; it is a lack of what Hindu philosophers sometimes refer to as true knowledge (Singh 394-395). The knowledge we have of the material world around us, our minds, thoughts, bodies, and emotions is worldly knowledge. Avidya is our mistaken belief that these things make up reality, or our true self (Puligandla 218). Avidya, then, is not simply ignorance, but spiritual ignorance (Lipner 246). It is ignorance of our true selves and of the true nature of reality (Puligandla 244). “It is no accident that light and the reflection of light are common symbols in Hinduism of vidya and the knowing process, respectively. Avidya is spiritual ignorance, symbolized by darkness” (Lipner 247).
Also read Keith Ward's book, The Case for Religion and David Bentley Hart has written a work about divine consciousness, etc. Both very informative works.
I found a website in which Ward discusses avidya and related matters. Please see https://metanexus.net/has-science-made-belief-god-obsolete-excerpt-big-questions-science-and-religion/
Use the search term, avidya
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