Pluralism

Question 1

define exclusivism

Answer 1

• there is no salvation outside explicit commitment to Christian faith

Question 2

define inclusivism

Answer 2

• those who think Christianity is the key to salvation but think it might be possible for non-Christians to be saved by Christ even if they do not recognise Christ as such

Question 3

define pluralism

Answer 3

• the view that there are many different paths to salvation and that truth and salvation can be found in many different religious traditions and contexts

Question 4

sum up exclusivism

Answer 4

• only Christianity leads to salvation and the right relationship with God
• Jesus as the son of God brought salvation to the world once and for all through the crucifixion
• only though hearing the gospel and responding to it by faith in Christ can a person be saved
• for some Christians this includes baptism as a symbol of being cleansed from sin and re-born into Christian life as a new person
• salvation requires giving up one’s old way of life and developing a new one centred on Christ/Church
• Christ did not simply come to add another option to the many different routes to heaven but to provide a pathway to God that cannot otherwise be found

Question 5

define particularist

Answer 5

• some people who hold the exclusivist position prefer the term pluralist finding it a less negative tone that doesn’t seem to be as arrogant, hostile or disrespectful to others and their beliefs

Question 6

what is narrow exclusivism

Answer 6

• salvation only belongs to certain denominations of Christianity
• some fundamentalist Christians who take a literal view of the Bible might believe only those who have the same view of scripture as their own are ‘true’ Christians destined for heaven
• Catholic Church teach salvation only for the baptised and those who regularly receive Eucharist at Masses celebrated by Catholic priests
• motto - ‘extra ecclesiam nulla salus’ - there is no salvation outside the Church
• however, Vatican II changed attitudes - led to a more outward-looking Catholicism with views that were not as narrowly exclusivist as before

Question 7

what view did Augustine and Calvin take

Answer 7

• narrow exclusivism
• taught divine election
• God elects through grace only a small number of Christians to go to heaven
• simply belonging to the Christian religion and adopting Christian beliefs is not a guarantee of salvation
• God chooses who he will save and people cannot force his choice

Question 8

what is broad exclusivism

Answer 8

• belief that all people that accept Christ through faith are saved regardless of their denomination
• some exclusivists hold that truth can be found through other religions but it is only partial truth which is not enough for salvation
• salvation can only be found through Christianity

Question 9

Professor Gavin D’Costa

Answer 9

• divides exclusivists into 2 groups - restrictive and universal access exclusivists
• Costa supports his own stance of universal access exclusivism with 1 Timothy quote
• “God our own saviour who wants all people to be saved… there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Jesus Christ”
• although there is, in Costa’s view, only one exclusive way to salvation, it is the will of God that this one route is available to all

Question 10

what are restrictive and universal access exclusivists as defined by Professor Gavin D’Costa

Answer 10

restrictive access exclusivists

• those who follow a similar view to Calvin and hold salvation is only for those who hear and respond to the gospel during their earthly lives before death
• God chooses who he saves

universal access exclusivists

• hold Christ’s salvation is offered to all an that it is the will of God that everyone should come to love him
• some in the Catholic tradition draw attention to the possibility of salvation after death as part of the concept of purgatory

Question 11

Hendrik Kraemer

Answer 11

• leading figure in the ecumenical movement to bring dif Christian denominations together
• his book was v influential for Christian missionaries working in non-Christian countries as he emphasises non-Christians must convert to be saved
• God’s revelation can be seen by others outside Christian faith, but salvation only found in Christianity
• doesn’t make sense to look at other religions and pick out the beliefs/practices that seem to be the most Christian as if they’re points of contact
• religions have to be considered in their entirety as whole systems/ways of life
• the religion as a whole either accepts the salvation offered by Christ or it does not there is no middle ground or partial truth to be found

Question 12

who was Karl Barth

Answer 12

• Protestant theologian
• known for expressing views about the essential importance of Christ
• most classify him as an exclusivist

Question 13

what did Karl Barth believe

Answer 13

• believed people cannot know God through their own efforts
• God chooses to reveal himself through Christ, the Bible and the teachings of the Church
• in the beginning word quote
• argued the Word consists of three forms
• bible/church become the word of God when God chooses to use them to reveal himself
• Jesus is the only totally reliable way to genuine knowledge of God because Jesus is the way God chose to make himself known - unique self revelation

Question 14

what did Barth argue where the three forms of the Word

Answer 14

• most important is Christ, present from creation and made known to humanity through his life, death and resurrection
• Jesus was word of God in human form teaching and exemplifying God’s love to humanity
• second form is the Bible - not the word of God in a literal sense but a witness to the revelation of god in Christ
• third form is the Church’s teaching - bring the Christian message to people/spread the Gospel so everyone has change to hear it and respond

Question 15

what do some argue about Barth’s theology

Answer 15

• it’s not entirely exclusivist
• he does emphasise the centrality of Christ in salvation as the self-revelation of God
• but he also emphasises that God can and does reveal himself when he chooses which could which could leave open the possibility of God choosing to reveal himself in other ways

Question 16

sum up pluralism

Answer 16

• many different religious traditions can have value and the potential to lead their followers to salvation as they share the same ultimate goal
• the beliefs and practices associated with different religions arise because of human culture and the differences are only superficial
• people shouldn’t feel that they have to convert each other to ‘true’ religion as there are many different ways for people to make their way to God/reality

Question 17

parable of the blind men and the elephant

Answer 17

• blind men encounter an elephant
• each feels a different part and therefore has a different understanding of what the elephant is like and the men argue
• however they’re all encountering the same elephant

Question 18

what stance is John Hick

Answer 18

• pluralist

Question 19

what does hick believe

Answer 19

• in youth firmly convinced of truth of Christianity and need to convert others to the Christian message of salvation through Christ
• later life he met people of other faiths and witnessed their own commitment and devotion - wondered whether a loving God would condemn people just because of their cultural heritage
• every religion falls short of the truth as a human construct
• none is capable of nomumenal understanding so can be different and contradictory

Question 20

what did Hick suggest there is a need for

Answer 20

• a need for a Copernican revolution
• Copernicus caused a huge shift in the science of Hick’s day proposing he earth was not at the centre of everything but just another planet that orbits the sun
• instead of measuring other religions against Christianity as a normative absolute, we should put God in the centre
• religion is a human attempt to understand and relate to God - human constructs in which we filter our understanding of God with our own context and culture
• truth claims of Christianity aren’t literal or cognitive but myths to express the human relationship with God
• religions become symbol of culture in this view

Question 21

kant

Answer 21

• nomuneal - world of things are they really are
• phenomenal - world as it appears to us
• thought the nature of God belongs in the nomuneal world and were are not capable of knowing him
• finite minds
• make a limited attempt at knowing him relative to who we are

Question 22

the relationship between Christianity and other religions in the thinking of Raimon Panikkar

Answer 22

• did not explicitly think there are many different truths or that religions are different ways to express one truth
• he saw a need for openness rather than to make claims about what truth is or where it can be found
• he was impressed by Christian monks trying to live life by Christian principles within the cultural context of Hindu and Buddhist beliefs
• did not claim to have uncovered truth about the way to understand the relationship between faiths but emphasises the mystery of the divine
• discover the truth by living it
• try to find out what it means to be human in the presence of the divine without destroying diversity in culture

Question 23

how is Panikkar’s view different to Hick

Answer 23

• Panikkar spoke of ‘Christophany’ - Christ being made plain to human consciousness
• Christ not as a specific individual but as a name for God showing himself to people
• other religions just have different names for it

Question 24

sum up inclusivism

Answer 24

• used for the range of views that take a middle ground between exclusivism and and pluralism
• some don’t like the idea that salvation is impossible without the Christian church but still want to maintain that Christianity is the truth

Question 25

what are some different views of inclusivism

Answer 25

- some thinkers believe salvation is possible for those who turn to Christian faith even after death - many believe God's omnibenevolence allows for non-believers to have a chance at salvation - it suggests that non-Christian religions hold a degree of truth, God in his wisdom will make allowances for those who seek him through the wrong religion - some believe truth found in religions other than Christianity is the work of Christ

Question 26

discuss the inclusivist views of Rahner

Answer 26

- idea of no salvation for those who don't know Christ through no fault of their own was not compatible with God being omnibenevolent - used the OT to argue those who don't know Christ can still have genuine faith in God and thus is evident in the way they live - some people have turned to C without even knowing - passage in Romans aids his stance - latter from Peter - law was written on their hearts - non believers have intuitive senses for Christ and God will show justice for this - parable of the sheep and goats - those who treat others with unconditional love are working for Christ

Question 27

discuss Balthasar as a critic of Rahner

Answer 27

- Rahner's thinking not universally accepted - Balthasar argued Church shouldn't shy away from the modern secular world or water down its version of the Christian message to appease other people's faith or lack of it - should distinguish itself for all to see and exclaim its beliefs that salvation is found in Christ - used example of Saint Cordula - she went into hiding when she knew the Huns were attacking but then came out of hiding remembering that her belief taught that death wasn't final - because she did that she was matyred