1.2 How did you come to believe that?

Many Hindus believe what they believe because they received it from family. Their religion came through parents, grandparents, festivals, food, stories, temple visits, and community life. This should be treated respectfully. Christians also know what it means to inherit faith through family. The Bible honors parents teaching children about God (Deuteronomy 6:6-7).

But inherited faith still has to face the question of truth. A belief is not true merely because it is ancient, beautiful, or loved by our family. It is also not false merely because it was inherited. The question is whether it corresponds to reality. First Thessalonians 5:21 says, "Test everything; hold fast what is good." A Hindu who has never seriously examined Jesus should not be pressured, but neither should they be told that inherited identity is enough.

This is emotionally difficult because religion is rarely just private belief. For many Hindus, to question Hinduism feels like questioning one's mother, father, ancestors, language, and people. Christianity must speak honestly here: following Jesus may create painful division. Jesus says he must be loved above family (Matthew 10:37). That is not because family is worthless, but because God is supreme. If Jesus is Lord, he cannot be placed beneath inherited loyalty.

The need for salvation in Christ is important precisely because family inheritance cannot save. A person may inherit rituals, stories, moral values, and community, but cannot inherit forgiveness of sins merely by birth. John 1:12-13 says those who receive Christ become children of God, born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Christianity offers a new birth, not just a new religious label.

The apologetic issue is whether Christianity is a foreign betrayal or a universal truth. If Jesus rose from the dead, then he is not a Western option or a colonial identity marker. He is Lord of all nations. Matthew 28:18-20 says all authority belongs to him, and therefore all nations are called to him. The Hindu seeker does not need to hate family or culture to follow Christ, but they must be willing to let Christ judge every inherited loyalty.

Closing Question

If Jesus is truly risen and Lord of all, should inherited identity have the final word over him?