religious pluralism and theology

Question 1

theology of religion

Answer 1

-refers to christian thinking about its relationship with people who belong to other religions or who have no religion
-deals with issues such as salvation, truth, belief and practice
-alan race identifies 3 perspectives within it, exclusivism, inclusivism and pluralism

Question 2

exclusivism

Answer 2

-view that people must only have faith in jesus or they wont be saved
-jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection were real events of significance for humanity
-some see truth in other religions but not enough for salvation
-separated into narrow and broad

Question 3

kraemers exclusivism

Answer 3

-argued salvation is only for christians although gods revelation can be seen by those outside the christian faith
-religions must be understood as a whole and you cant say some aspects of religion are true and some not

Question 4

inclusivism

Answer 4

-christianity is the best route to salvation but there are other ways
-uncomfortable with the idea that a loving god would reject someone who was trying to follow good just through a different faith
-possibility for non christians to accept it after death
-other religions have rays of truth where they agree with christianity

Question 5

rahners inclusivism

Answer 5

-people can be christian without realising so, anonymous christian
-there could be a partial truth in other religions
-some people arent exposed to christ through no fault of their own
-christianity is the absolute religion with a unique salvation offering
-people can be saved if they seek god with a sincere heart

Question 6

pluralism

Answer 6

-people who argue many religions can lead their followers to salvation
-pluralists argue religions share goals despite having different practices
-no need for conversion people can share different perspectives and styles of worship

Question 7

hicks pluralism

Answer 7

-believed a god of love wouldnt deny salvation to people just because they werent born in a christian culture or chose another religion
-god wills universal salvation, it helps people continue their journey
-wanted to remove christianity from the centre of the universe and replace it with god/the real which all religions revolve around

Question 8

panikkars pluralism

Answer 8

-emphasised the mystery of the divine and the need for humility
-he thought god makes himself known in a variety of ways and cultural contexts, there is a need for people to understand this
-pluralism is a spiritual attitude not a philosophical perspective