Religious pluralism and theology Flashcards
(13 cards)
what is the exclusivist view
exclusivism
salvation can only be gained through christian faith and not through other belief systems
other religions cannot lead people to the right relationship with God.
most christians believe that Christs sacrificial death on the cross was a unique event of cosmic significance.
the view claims that Jesus bought salvation to the world once and for all. only through hearing the gospel and responding to it by faith in Jesus can a person be saved
some people who hold this view prefer the term ‘particularist’ finding it less negative than exclusivist which might convey hostility and arrogance
Alan race
in his book christians and religious pluralism 1982 he identifies 3 broad perspectives that christians might adopt when understanding there relationship to believers of other faiths
exclusivism - there is no salvation outside explicit commitment to the christian faith
inclusivism - those who agree that christianity is the key to salvation but think that it might be possible for non christians to be saved by christ
pluralism - hold that there are many different paths to salvation and that truth and salvation can be found in many different religious traditions and contexts
narrow and broad exclusivism
narrow - salvation is available only to people who belong to their own particular denomination within christianity
augustine in the 4th century and Calvin in the 16th both took this view, believing and teaching that god elects through grace only a small amount of christians for heaven so simply being christian is not a garantee of salvation
some catholics take the view that salvation is only for those baptised into the catholic churchand who regularly receive Eucharist.
the church still officially teaches this. for a long time the motto ‘extra ecclesial nulla salus’ which translates as their is no salvation outside the church
however attitudes began to change after Vatican II. not as narrowly exclusive as before shown through the lumen gentium document
broad - all people who accept christ through faith are saved, regardless of the kind of church to which they belong
the writer Gavin D’costa divides exclusivists into two groups
‘restrictive access exclusivists’ - view of Calvin
‘universal access exclusivists’ - salvation is offered to all
D’costa takes the second. one of the biblical texts he uses in support is 1 Timothy 2:3-6 - ‘god our saviour who wants all people to be saved’
meaning he thought there was one way to salvation but that the route was available to everyone
Hendrik Kraemer
a well known christian exclusivist
1888-1965
leading figure in the Netherlands in the movement to bring different christian denominations together (the ecumenical movement)
his book the christian message in a non christian world 1938
he emphasised that non christians cannot achieve salvation through there own faith systems
one of his arguments for this is that the religon as a whole either accepts the salvation offered by christ, there is no middle ground or partial truth to be found
doesn’t matter that buddhism, hinduism and christianity all teach ‘always treat others as you would like them to treat you’ as this doesn’t show that the religons are linked
he writes that religon ‘is not a series of tenets, institutions, practices that can be taken one by one as independent items of religious life’ - religions have to be evaluated as a whole not considered bit by bit in a piecemeal way
Karl Barth
most consider him exclusivist
Barth believed that people cannot know god through their own efforts but that god chooses to reveal himself through Jesus, bible and church
–> in ‘theology of the world’ he asserted that god can be found only where god chooses to reveal it
‘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’
for Barth then gods self revelation through Jesus was and is unique. even if people are sincere god cannot be known through human efforts so other religions and beliefs can’t know god. god can only be known through christ
inclusivism
middle path between exclusivism and pluralism
many people are uncomfortable with the view that salvation is totally impossible outside christianity but want to maintain that christinty holds the truth
some believe that salvation is still possible even if someone turns to christinty after death . argue that end of human life is not the end of opportunites to respond to gospel.
many adopt idea that gods omnibenevolence leaves open possibility for salvation even for non christians . suggest other religions hold a degree of truth
some believe that truth found in other religons is the work of christ. people may call christ other names but are still following him
Karl rahner
catholic theologian who was extremely influential during 20th century and was one of the leading voices in the discussions of Vatican II
associated with inclusivism
in his book ‘theological investigations 1967’ he set out his thinking on the relationship between christianity and other religions.
he explained that christinty has a unique position in being that it was founded on gods ultimate act of revelation, when god came to earth as Jesus
described it as the ‘absolute’ religon, seeing it as normative in the sense that it sets the standard for other religions to be measured
however that this understanding excluded salvation from anyone before christ and this did not seem wise for an omniscient omnibenevolent god
other religions must therefore have some means of guiding their followers to the saving grace of god.
therefore he rejected the exclusivist view
thought there was partial truth in other religions but once person jerks about salvation through christ they should become christian in order to be saved
rejected that all religions are in some ways equal as paths to god. christianity holds truth but the grace of god makes allowances for some
for kraemar other religions are cultural constructs rather than revelation of god in christ. however rainier disagreed and thought non christian religions can hold some degree of truth. to support this he used the example of figures from the old testament who were praised for their faith in the bible but who were obviously not in the position to respond to christ as they lived before eg Moses and Abraham
rahner used these examples to argue that the bible supports the view that people who do not know christ can have genuine faith in god. he called such people ‘anonymous christians’
uses bible to support inclusivist view - ‘ they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts’ - romans 2:14-16
parable of sheep and goats can also support inclusivist view
Hans Urs Von Balthasar
colleague of rahner and a fierce critic of the idea of the ‘anonymous christian’
argued that the church should not go into hiding in the modern secular world or present a watered down version of the christian message in order to appease people of other faiths it should instead be able to stand out in the open and be courageous In its claims that salvation is to be found only in christ
pluralism
range of positions which hold that many different religious tradtions can have value and the potential to lead their followers to salvation
tend too argue that different religions share the same ultimate goal
the parable of the blind men and the elephant is often used by pluralist to support their views
originated in India where blind men come across and elephant and each feels a different part and therefore having a different understanding of what an elephant is.
John hick
pluralist
was an evangelical christian firmed in spreading chritianty however when he worked in Birmingham he was impressed by the faith and service to others of people he met of other religions
–> ‘soon as one does meet and come to know people of other faiths a paradox of gigantic proportions becomes disturbingly obvious’
hick suggested that there was a need for ‘copernican revolution’ in theology
copernican was a shift in the way scientists understood the universe
hick used this copernican revolution as an analogy for what he thought was the right direction for theology.
thought instead of seeing christianity as absolute people should put god at the centre and christianity is then see as one of the ‘planets’ alongside others
hick drew upon kant
kant drew distinction between the ‘nomumenal’ and the ‘pehnomenal’
nomunenal world is a world of things as they really are whereas the phenomenal world is the world as it appears to us.
Hick argues that religion is a human, phenomenal attempt to understand God
All religions are human constructs, where we filter our understanding of God in accordance with our own contexts and cultural upbringing
christianity should not be seen as the truth as in his view it has flaws just as every religon does
Raimon panikkar
had a different pluralist view to Hick
didn’t think that there are many different truths instead he talked about the need for openness
came from a mixed faith family dad hindu and mum catholic
was quoted in the New York Times - ‘ I left Europe as christian, I discovered I was hindu and returned as a buddhist without ever having ceased to be a christian’
he met and studied with several christian monks who embraced the spiritual richness of India. panikkar was deeply impressed by the ways these people overcame differences between faiths
wrote ‘the unknown christ of hinduism’ 1965
biblical basis of exclusivism
John 14:6: Jesus said “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” This seems to back up exclusivism. Jesus is ‘the truth’ – implying other religions are false.
John 3:18: ‘whoever does not believe stands condemned’
