3F- Pluralism Flashcards
(22 cards)
Give the 3 views on the potential salvation for those who aren’t christian
Exclusivism
Inclusivism
Pluralism: belief all religions are true path towards creator- all equally valid paths- religions can live side by side
Explain exclusivism
: salvation belongs exclusively to Christianity
Give a scholar for exclusivism
Keller- exclusivist scholar
Give 2 bible passages to support exclusivism
John 14 ‘no one gets to the father except through me’
‘There is salvation in no one else’ (Acts 4:12)
Explain inclusivism
Christ’s work includes all people if they act in a Christian way
Who’s Rahner
Rahner- 20th cen Roman Catholic theologian
Inspired by vatican 2
Explain Rahner’s view on inclusivism
Believed God is actively offering grace to all- ‘grace always surround man, even the sinner and unbeliever’
All human beings have an awareness of something beyond the finite realm
What did Rahner call non-christians
Rahner felt as God offers grace to all then church should not refer to those outside of the church as ‘non-christians’ but instead ‘anonymous christians’
Explain Rahner’s anonymous christians
An anonymous christian is that which responds to God’s presence but not fully aware of the Church
Thesis 1: christianity= ultimate religion- God has chosen to relate to the world through the incarnation
Thesis 2: a non-christian religion can be recognised as a lawful religion without denying the error within it
Thesis 3: if 2nd is correct then christianity accepts them as an anonymous christian
Thesis 4: christian hope is present as a hidden reality even outside the visible church
What’s the Catholic response to inclusivism
Catholic response: traditional, no one outside the church is saved
Give Hick’s criticisms of inclusivism
Sees it as an awkward epicycle- adjustments of the theory so it still works
Ptolemaic theology depends on where a person is born- outdated and imperialistic way of looking at the world
Salvation is taking place for people who have no conscious connection with christ- like sticking a ‘christian label’ and predicting one day they will join the church
What’s Hick pure argument for pluralism
explains how perspectives can shift- eg Ptolemy suggested sun and planets revolve around the earth, however this theory couldn’t be maintained due to gain in knowledge
What’s the copernican revolution
Copernican revolution- the sun and not the earth is at the centre of the universe
Hick believed Copernican revolution is needed for theology today
What does Hick say we need to do
Need to move from ‘christocentric’ (church/ Christianity at the centre) to ‘theocentric’ (God at the centre) model
Give Knitter’s view on pluralism
Knitter believes there’s a strong biblical reason to accept pluralism- ‘love your neighbour as yourself’- to love someone includes seriously considering their views, not assuming
Give 2 bible passages to support pluralism
God wills that everyone be saved- (1 Timothy 2)- God cannot fail
Jesus died for the sins of the entire world-
(1 John 2)- even Origen taught the devil at time of punishment would be purified for heaven
Explain Hick’s view of pluralistic universalism giving the analogy
Hick argues for common universal experiential basis underlying all the major world religions
We only know something through our interpretation of it- the noumenon (beyond the senses) is always a phenomenon (something we grasp from interpretation)
common core of noumenal reality behind religions
Hick’s analogy of earth atmosphere refracts light from the sun into different colours of the rainbow ‘the lamps are different but the light is the same’
Explain Hick’s view of religious experience
When we attempt to communicate these experiences we have to use culturally conditioned language and express through myth/ stories from cultural concepts
Overtime this language is hardened into doctrines of the religion
Explain why If one experience why so many religions giving the analogy
Parable attributed to the Buddah of the blind man and the elephant
Elephant brought to a group of blind men who each felt a part of the elephant and thought it was the whole creature
Eg one man felt the leg and concluded it was a giant pillar
Hick compares this to the different accounts of God- we’re only witness tp the partial understanding that we have
However, should not be used to say there’s different ‘parts’ of the divine- only 1 ultimate reality
What’s an issue with pluralism
Difficulty with doctrine of incarnation in christianity
Hick notes issues with viewing Jesus in the traditional way- need to view Jesus as being on a spiritual journey
give 3 points that agree with ‘It’s possible to be both a committed Christian and a religious pluralist’
There’s an alternative way to thinking of Jesus than the 2 natures approach
Hick himself is a christian pluralist
Sees issues with miraculous beliefs about Jesus life
Say experience is at the heart of christianity and having an authentic experience, rather than believing in the ‘right things’
give 3 points that disagree with ‘It’s possible to be both a committed Christian and a religious pluralist’
To say other religions offer a path to salvation is to deny Jesus’ status and the most important doctrine in christianity
Rahner’s inclusivism and ‘anonymous christian’ means can still hold onto doctrines and still appreciate other religions
This way of thinking can lead to an ‘anything goes’ philosophy
Does this mean all religions are automatically ‘good’
