Hinduism: does it include Christianity?

[LoungeLizard]

Am I right in thinking that Hinduism asserts that there is one main God and many minor Gods - one of which could be Jesus Christ?

If the above is broadly true, is the corollary of this that a Hindu could participate in Christian worship whereas a Christian is unlikely to be able to participate in Hindu worship?

In other words, is it true to say that Christianity  excludes Hinduism whereas Hinduism does not exclude Christianity?

This is exclusively a theological question and not one about inter-community relationships.   

[jno]

I don't think so - I think the Hindu system is more like the Greek/Roman scheme - a pantheon (many gods) rather than a monotheistic (one god) system. Also, the defining mark of Christianity is that it features not only one God, but his son, who is in effect his representative on earth but also identical with his father. (There may be other religions this complicated, but I doubt it.) If you're thinking of a system that has only one God, Judaism and Islam might fit the bill better - their God is pretty much the same as the Christian God, but they see Jesus as at best one of the prophets.

Actually, for a really unusual religion, try Caodai, which venerates Buddha, Winston Churchill, Jesus, Lenin, Victor Hugo and others. They do believe that there is one god who created all religions.

[brionon]

I find the Hindu religion to be very tolerent of other religions, certainly when I was a Buddhist i had many hindu friends who, quite happily ,revered the Buddha. My experience has been that the more Gods and Goddesses a religion has ,the more tolerance it shows.