Where are you now in your spiritual journey? What was your religious background as a child? How was that experience? These are examples of questions that Christians are sometimes encouraged to ask strangers in order to begin a “spiritual conversation.” A recent op-ed piece written by an international student in her university’s newspaper questioned the…
In the Hindu world, relationships matter. But as Alongsiders, what kinds of relationships can and should we have with our Hindu friends? Most of us belong to non-Hindu communities. For us, relating with Hindus requires crossing community and culture lines. But as outsiders, what posture should we take as we begin to make these relational…
How important are relationships to you? How many close friends do you have? How easily can you build relationships with people who are different than you? These are questions that have challenged and inspired me over the last several years. The longer I’ve come alongside Hindus, the more I continue to learn how important relationships…
Despite a lot of reading and study on missionary contributions in Hindu contexts I have written very little on this topic. The main reason for this is that the most significant thought and action related to sharing Christ among Hindus has not come from outsiders, but from people born in Hindu families. Nonetheless, an impressive…
Close your eyes and picture oil lamps flickering, rising smoke releasing the strong smell of incense, basins for ritual washing, loud prayers being chanted and sung, and bright colored flowers and fruits on display. Where are we? We may be in a typical Hindu temple, but we may also be in the first century Jerusalem…
Inside a Gujarati Hindu Temple Between 2 pm and 4 pm on any Sunday afternoon, a steady stream of cars approaches the 20-acre BAPS (Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan) temple complex in an eastern suburb of Los Angeles County. The cars, some of which have come from up to 50-75 miles away, are directed to a…
