“Thou Art Thy Own Friend”
One of the oldest Jain scriptures speaks straight to the reader: “Man! Thou art thy own friend; why wishest thou for a friend beyond thyself?” (Akaranga Sutra 1.3.3.4, Jacobi). Those words are not careless pride. They come from a people who take wrongdoing, suffering, and self-denial more seriously than many churchgoers do.
Jainism is one of India's oldest living religions. India's 2011 census counted about 4.5 million Jains, some 0.4 percent of the country, and Pew researchers have estimated fewer than 250,000 elsewhere, though some Jains believe the true number is higher. They are few, but Jain families now live across North America and beyond. This study sets out what Jains believe from their own scriptures, answers from the Bible, and helps you share the Gospel with a Jain friend.
That old question holds the whole difference. Jainism says that no one beyond yourself can free you. Scripture says that Someone has.
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Jainism is its own religion, not a branch of Hinduism, and Jains differ among themselves. These are broad lines. Ask your friend what he believes.
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For Deeper Study
- Neighboring Faiths: A Christian Introduction to World ReligionsAmazon Winfried CorduanFair, careful descriptions of the major world religions as their adherents practice them, with a Christian assessment. Includes a chapter on Jainism.
- Introducing World Religions: A Christian EngagementAmazon Charles E. FarhadianA Christian survey of the world's religions with a chapter on Jainism.
- The JainsAmazon Paul DundasA standard academic survey of Jain history and teaching, not written from a Christian point of view.
- The Jaina Path of PurificationAmazon Padmanabh S. JainiA classic account of Jain teaching and practice by a scholar raised in the tradition. Read Jainism as your friend's tradition explains it. More demanding.
- Jaina SutrasAmazon Hermann Jacobi, trans.The primary source: the Akaranga, Kalpa, Uttaradhyayana, and Sutrakritanga in the translation quoted in this study (Sacred Books of the East, vols. 22 and 45).
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
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Engaging Other Religions
Sincerity is not the same as truth: every religion makes exclusive claims, and Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father.
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