Pluralism Flashcards

1
Q

‘*I am the Way, the Truth and the… *

A

… Life. No one comes to the Father except through me’ - John 14:6

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2
Q

What does John 14:6 support

A

An exclusivist position, meaning others from different religions, atheism or those predating Christ are excluded

The aligns with Augustine

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3
Q

Liberalism

A

Belief in more progressive ideas - in this context means allowing other religions to be right

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4
Q

Inter-faith dialogue

A

Dialogue in between faiths, not in the attempt convert but to understand - emerged off the back of Vatican II

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5
Q

Pluralism

A

All religions lead to God, none are better or faster

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6
Q

Vatican II

A

A meeting within the Church (1962-1965), which arrived at the conclusion that other religions weren’t heretical, even atheistic ones like Buddhism

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7
Q

Restrictive access

A

Only some will go to heaven

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8
Q

Universal access

A

Everyone can get into heaven

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9
Q

Three main approaches to Christian salvation

A

Pluralism

Exclusivism (Particularism)

Inclusivism

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10
Q

Exclusivism

A

Salvation can be found solely through Christ

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11
Q

What two types of Exclusivism are there

A

Narrow and Broad

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12
Q

Narrow Exclusivism

A

It’s not enough to be Christian, but you have to be the right type

Augustine and Calvin believed this

Found in much Catholic scholarship in the phrase ‘There is no salvation outside the Church

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13
Q

D’Costa’s two groups of Exclusivism

A

Restrictive access

Universal access

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14
Q

Restrictive access

A

Followed by those like Calvin, arguing Christ is the only way to salvation and that hearing Gospel is essential in order to be a candidate for heaven

A vital component is the focus on the Elect. All scripture to support this view is focused on them and means those outside the Elect can and will not be saved

Scripture is:
John 14:6
Acts 4:12
Corinthians 5:18

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15
Q

There is salvation for…

A

… no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved’ - Acts 4:12

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16
Q

All this from God, who…

A

… reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, Christ God was reconciling the world to himselfCorinthians 5:18

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17
Q

Universal access

A

They do not consider the Restrictive access Biblical quotes relate only to the Elect

Not universalism but rather claims anyone can be saved, however only through the Church

Scripture:
1 Timothy 2:3-6 (abridged)

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18
Q

This is right and is acceptable…

A

… in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth… Christ Jesus, himself human, gave himself a ransom for all’ - 1 Timothy 2:3-6 (abridged)

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19
Q

Hendrick Kraemer

A

Non-Christians cannot achieve salvation through their own faiths but have to convert to Christianity

God’s revelation can be seen by others outside the Christian faith (they can know what God is like, creative etc) but will not find salvation

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20
Q

Support of Kraemer

A

Religions are whole belief systems and ways of life unto themselves - we cannot pick out ‘points of contact’ e.g golden rule and suggest they are linked

Religion is not a series of tenets, institutions, practices that can be taken one by one as independent items of religious life - Kraemer

All religions have to be evaluated as whole systems; there is no ‘middle ground’

21
Q

Karl Barth

A

People can’t know God by themselves as He chooses to reveal himself to people through Jesus, the Bible and the Church

Jesus is fully and uniquely the way God chooses to reveal himself - Barth’s rejection of Natural Theology is due to his rejection that we can know God through our own strength

Rejected Calvin’s idea of arbitrary Election for being too abstract and baseless in regards to Jesus, instead he believes God Elects himself - his rejection of Jesus means he can say yes to all of us

We cannot presume universal salvation but it’s possible

22
Q

Quotes of Barth

A

God created the world for no other reason than to enter into covenant fellowship with it in the incarnation, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ’ - Barth

There is no God behind the back of Jesus Christ’ - Barth

Sometimes quoted as saying other religions should be ‘abolished’ in the face of Christianity, however another translation offers the word ‘transform’

23
Q

Structural Inclusivism

A

Argues any religion whose structure permits or develops an openness to God’s grace may receive salvation

Main proponent is Catholic Theologian, Karl Rahner

24
Q

Karl Rahner

A

Human beings:
- Human experience and knowledge is finite
- The above means humans can only have an unconditional ‘openness’ to grace
- This ‘openness’ means all humans desire grace and salvation, whether they realise it it or not

Human realisation of mortality leads to spiritual thinking, creating openness to Grace

Distinguishes between explicit knowledge (Bible) and implicit knowledge (Natural Law) which allows the inculpably ignorant (not their fault) to access God’s grace - Anonymous Christianity

25
Q

Anonymous Christianity

A

A system which, without design, nonetheless is promoting within a framework of practices and values that permit grace

This means he is open to other religions, but may draw the line at those that don’t open to God’s grace e.g Buddhism

26
Q

Rahner quotes and explanation

A

Somehow all men must be capable of being members of the Church; and this capacity, must be understood not merely in the sense of the abstract, but as a real and historically concrete one

For this reason a non-Christian religion can be recognised as a lawful religion without thereby denying the error or depravity contained within

He is saying that it must be possible for everyone to have been able to be part of the Church, in more than an abstract sense. Therefore, non-Christian religions can be seen as Christian if they held the right values which prepare them for grace; yet he is not saying they are good, highlighting the ‘error or depravity contained within’.

27
Q

What does Rahner consider a priori

A

Humans are sinful and they are unconditionally loved by God

This means that people can have access to God’s grace outside the Church

This isn’t official doctrine of the Catholic Church, citing the story of Paul in Athens where he criticises them for worshipping an unseen God - the Church assert that Paul was condemning the Greek god

Rahner claims Paul wasn’t condemning the Greeks but is instead saying the ‘unknown god’ they worship is actually the Trinitarian God of Christianity

28
Q

Biblical evidence for Rahner

A

I know my redeemer lives and that in the end he will stand on earth’ - Job (predating Jesus, yet predicting)

In Matthew 25, the sheep didn’t know they were acting for Christ ‘when did we do these things for you Lord

Romans 2:14-16, if someone acts from their heart and their conscience in a Christian manner they are able to go to heaven

29
Q

Evaluation of Rahner

A

Kraemer claims we must respect the divide and borders of religion - we can’t find ‘points of contact’

For people of other beliefs, it is very colonial and patronising by claiming they are unwitting Christians when they are not actually

Pluralists say he doesn’t go far enough and is wrong to dismiss or brand other faiths as less equal and of less value

30
Q

What is purgatory in this context

A

Another way of structural Inclusivism

31
Q

He who believes in Him is…

A

… is not condemned; but who he does not believe is condemned already… He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides n him’ - John 3:16-18, 36

32
Q

William Hendriksen

A

Says that John 14 (I am the Way etc) shows ‘both the absoluteness (exclusivism) of the Christian religion and the urgen necessity of Christian missions is clearly indicated

33
Q

Parable of the Blind Men and the Elephant

A

The Blind Men (different faiths) disagree on what the Elephant (God) is due to the different areas they are touching and eventually kill each other for their different perspectives.

They can only understand about the true nature of God if they collaborate to decide - there is no monopoly on God

This parable inspired Hick

34
Q

What does Hick focus on

A

The fact that only a small number of people can actually achieve salvation according to the Exclusivist perspective, yet this doesn’t seem in line with God’s traits as He has universal love and wills the ultimate salvation of all - ‘paradox’

35
Q

How does Hick use Kant

A

Kant argues there was the noumenal (as it really is) and phenomenal (as it appears to be) world

Hick argued God was part of the noumenal world and thus unknowable

This explains why God is mysterious and some believe God does not exist; due to our ignorance of the noumenal

However, they all promote the same reality

36
Q

Hick’s past

A

Life at the Uni of Birmingham led him to multi-faith communities and he eventually renounced his earlier evangelical brand of Christianity

His pluralistic views led to some, like D’Costa, arguing they don’t recognise Christianity in Hick’s views

He remained a committed Christian his whole life, ending it as a Quaker

He aimed to create a global theology which would give both a philosophical and theological framework for greater co-operation between the six world faiths and others

37
Q

How does Wittgenstein further Hick and Kant

A

Further demonstrated the noumenal-phenomenal relationship by the wide range of experiences of God humans claim to have

Hick refers to Wittgenstein’s duck rabbit (which can present as either), showing there is a reality to find here but some express it differently, like people do with religion

38
Q

How does Hick determine authentic religions

A

Using Kant’s categorical imperative of treating people as ends in themselves - all authentic religions uphold this

In Christianity, this is summed up as the Golden Rule

39
Q

How does Hick see separate religions in comparison to one another

A

He does not argue any one religion has superiority but rather their own distinctiveness

40
Q

What does Hick argue religions should be centred around

A

He argues revelation emanates from God, no other source, and resultantly it should be theocentric

The doctrine of incarnation, resurrection and others are myths not facts

41
Q

What does Hick see as the biggest hurdle for Christianity to becoming pluralist

A

The insistence on the special place of Christ as a person of the Trinity

Hick wishes to disband this idea and argues Jesus had a special relationship, even special consciousness of, with God but mustn’t be objectified as God

42
Q

Pluriform theological pluralism

A

Pluriform argues there can be as many ‘Realities’ as there are experiences

They argue all aspects of religious experience can be considered real

This allows for those experience to be considered valuable in and of themselves rather than trying to justify them against an arbitrary unitary Reality

Proposed by Keith Ward

43
Q

Ethical theological pluralism

A

Concerned with action

Argue all religions share the same aim of reducing suffering, injustice, intolerance and falsehood and are concerned with saving people, not accessing reality

Proposed by Paul Knitter, an advocate of Liberation Theology. However he does not see LT as being wholly encompassed in the Catholic Christian faith

44
Q

How does Hick respond to the contradictions between religions and ultimate reality

A

Hick says they are aware of different things but this ultimate is the same

45
Q

Why does Hick reject exclusivism

A

Different culturally created, human traditions provide different lenses, leading to different options and ways forward to access the Real

46
Q

How does Hick justify the equality of religion

A

Through the two tier system between religions (reality as we see it) and the transcendent (God, who remains unknown to us)

Due to this separation, no religion has priority or power to explain religion any better but consequently there is no literal truth to any religion

47
Q

Raimon Panikkar

A

Talked about the need for openness rather than discussing what is ‘the truth’ or where it may be found

He treated life as a pilgrimage, thinking it was necessary to respect the freedom of God to work in ways that go beyond human attempt to define and doctrinalise it

Thought ‘Christ’ was the word for God making himself known and other religions had similar instances - Christ was not the only Christophany

Didn’t like being called a pluralist as he didn’t attempt to take an academic stance but rather a spiritual one

48
Q

Who is Panikkar similar to and why aren’t they the same

A

Similar to Rahner, but Rahner thought Christianity held more truth than other religions

Panikkar thought that this limits God’s freedom

49
Q

I left Europe as a…

A

… Christian, I discovered I was a Hindu and returned as a Buddhist without ever having ceased to be a Christian’ - R.P New York Times 2010