Religious Pluralism and Theology Flashcards
Exclusivism
Humanity is fallen but the broken relationship was restored by christ, only through Jesus can people have salvation as he is the mediator, so only christians who follow Jesus can be saved
What do most exclusivists believe is necessary for salvation
Membership of a church community
What would protestant exclusivists need for salvation
Baptism and living a christian life
What would the Catholic Church need for salvation
Jesus is the mediator between gods grace, the church carries out this mediation by offering the sacraments which allow people to access Jesus, the church is the only way
Biblical evidence for exclusivism
John - ‘I am the way the truth and life’
Romans - ‘All have sinned and fall short of the glory of god’
Reasons why exclusivism makes sense and christ is the only way to salvation
- coherent idea as if Jesus was god incarnate then he would logically be the way to get to god and achieve salvation
- Biblical evidence shows gods plan was Jesus could offer salvation
- Church is Jesus legacy of his mediation so would offer salvation
- Jesus death saved all people not only christians
Reasons why Christ isnt the only way to salvation
- Why would a benevolent god exclude so many people from salvation
- Exclusisvism ignores ideas of the trinity and holy spirits role in salvation
- Parable of sheep and goats shows all good people will be saved
- If other religions have rays of truth why cant they be saved themslelves
What is the catholic churches rays of truth idea, that they came up with to modernise in the 1960s at Vatican 2
Other religions have rays of truths concerning salvation but the Catholic Church possesses the true insight into the truth of salvation
Inclusivism
Although Christianity is the true faith, loving god doesn’t condemn all non christians to hell, Jesus sacrifice has an effect on all people so non christians can be saved if they pursue a good and moral way of life
What does inclusivity rely on
God can be revealed in different ways, People can know god without the church due to sinus divinities, sense of divinity
Explain the story of Paul in Acts that supports inclusivism
Paul visits Athens to spread christianity where they have an altar for an unknown god, he tells them the Christian god is the unknown god, they still accessed god through sense of divinity but not the true christian god becauese they didn’t have the christian church
How does Parable of the sheep and the goats support inclusivism
People are judged on their actions not their beliefs
What is Karl Rahners support of Inclusivism in anonymous christian
Old Testament had many great religious figures who preceded Jesus, did they miss out on salvation as they weren’t christian, he argues they were anonymous christian as they experienced gods grace but not in christianity
What is Karl Rahners support of Inclusivism in anonymous christianity
Other religions and institutions can be forms of anonymous christianity as they reflect the structures of christianity in accessing gods grace
Who did Rahner argue couldn’t be anonymous christians
People who openly reject the christian message or gods grace when encountered with it
Reasons why anonymous christians can receive salvation
- Maintains central christian belief of Jesus as saviour of the world, but rejects a malevolent god
- Clarifies how non christian aspects of human experience come from god
- acknowledges reality of multi-faith societies
Reasons why anonymous christians cant receive salvation
- Patronising to other religions, as it enforces Christianity as superior
- gets rid of individuality of religions as it enforces they are all the same god
- Little biblical evidence
- undermines Jesus death on the cross for christians
- Rahner undemrines churches importance as mediators with the sacraments
Why was did John Hick advocate for religious pluralism
he spent time in Birmingham where he was exposed to multicultural life, seeing different types of genuine worship
What did Hick have as the reason why people experience divinity through different lenses and religions
Cultural and geographical differences
Hicks analogy of the blind men and the elephant
- Group of blind men all touching an elephant, they are all touching different parts so they disagree on what they are touching, but it is actually the same thing
- The blind men are all different religions that have different gods, they all have the same god and need to come together to figure the full picture