Eastern Customs and Idioms of the Bible: The Teachings of Orientalisms

As a convert to Christianity from Hinduism, Bishop Karnam Chengalvaraya Pillai, D.D. came to the Western world on a singular mission: to teach the Eastern culture of the Bible. Although Christianity is generally considered a Western religion, it is important to recognize that the Bible itself was written and set in the Eastern world, and it must be viewed through the light of that Eastern window. It is primarily the area referred to at varying times as the Near East, Middle East, or Orient where the people and events described in the Bible resided. Resultantly, in order to really understand the Bible, one must become knowledgeable of the culture, manners, and customs of the Eastern world. This book opens the doors of enlightenment into the culture that provides the setting for the lives, events, and tenets central to Christianity. It is a book that warrants more than a cursory reading. For the serious students of the Bible, it will occupy an important place in their reference library.


About the Author
As a convert to Christianity from Hinduism, Bishop K.C. Pillai came to the Western world on a singular mission: to teach the Eastern culture of the Bible. God called Pillai to reveal these Biblical truths he called Orientalisms. At the time of the Bishop's early life, his native India had remained an isolated country for thousands of years. Therefore, the customs and manners of the people were still aligned with the Eastern, Biblical culture. For over twenty years, Bishop Pillai taught these Orientalisms, bringing great enlightenment to the Christian world. His crusade of imparting this light of the Eastern Culture carried him to numerous universities and seminaries, as well as every major denomination throughout the United States, England and Canada. Still today, his teachings remain the foremost authority on the rare gems of Biblical customs and culture. Pillai's conversion to Christianity is a witness of God's heart, as well as a lesson in one of the most significant Eastern customs found in the Bible. The Bishop was raised as a Hindu. When a Hindu child of the ruling class is born, a little salt is rubbed on the baby who is then wrapped in swaddling cloth. This custom invoked one of the oldest and strongest covenants in the Eastern world, the "salt covenant." In this particular instance, the child was salted for a lifetime of dedication to the Hindu religion. The "salt covenant" is used in like manner throughout the Bible to seal the deepest commitment. As a result of the salt covenant it is difficult for Hindus to convert to Christianity. When they do, their family actually conducts a funeral service to symbolize that the individual is dead to their family, the community and Hinduism. Their family will carry a portrait of the "deceased" to the cemetery and bury it. Many times Bishop spoke of his "burial day" when he was disinherited by becoming a Christian; the only Hindu willing to break that covenant of salt in his community during that time. Pillai answered God's call and served as Bishop of North Madras in the Indian Orthodox Church. Sent on a special mission to the United States, he spent the last twenty years of his life acquainting Christians with the Orientalisms of the Bible. The interest Pillai generated in the field has led to numerous further studies by other scholars in the field of manners and customs in the Bible, as well. His books and teachings continue to illuminate and inspire students of the Bible throughout the world.