ABSTRACT
The question, “Is Brahman God?” may be answered “yes” or “no” and explained any number of ways, but it is important at the outset to examine briefly the way it is posed. It may be asked in various contexts and from various perspectives, but it is at least an apologetic question. That is to say, it is a question posed from the perspective of a theologian, one who speaks of God. It is a question posed to the Indian tradition, or more precisely to one who speaks of Brahman. Apologetics may be viewed as that branch of Christian theology which reaches beyond the historical boundaries of Christian thinking in order to converse with people of other worldviews. It usually involves a defense of Christian thinking, but it may be viewed more cooperatively as the attempt to present Christian ideas for another person's inspection and appraisal. Its sister discipline is dogmatics, that branch of theology which seeks self-understanding of one's own doctrines, practices and ideas. Now the question “Is Brahman God?” may be taken as apologetic in the sense that its direction flows from Christian to Hindu. The Christian asks the Hindu, “Is your religious ideal the same as mine?” But apologetics is not an autonomous discipline. We may pursue a dogmatic goal in concert with the apologetic. We may attempt to change our self-understanding as part of a process of intellectual and spiritual growth. We thus contemplate the possibility of an affirmative answer to the question, “Can I make your religious ideal mine?”
