RELIGIOUS PLURALISM AND THEOLOGY Flashcards
Exclusivism
The belief that salvation can only be found through Christianity- other religions can’t lead people to the right relationship with God
Why do some Christians believe Christ came to earth?
To provide a pathway to God that cannot otherwise be found
What is a narrowly exclusivist view held by some christians?
That salvation can only be made available only to people who belong to their own denomination within Christianity
Example of this narrowly exclusive Christian view?
Christians who take Bible literally might claim that only those who have the same view of scripture as them are true Christians destined for heaven
Augustine and Calvin both held narrowly exclusivist views. What are they?
- God elects through grace only a small number of Christians for heaven
- God chooses whom he will save; we cannot force God’s choice
Strength of narrow exclusivism
- Examples of ‘unfairness’ (like only some Christians being saved) are present in nature e.g notion of luck
Weakness of narrow exclusivism
Those who believe in the Christian God arent guranteed salvation- undermines Jesus’ sacrifice
Describe Hendrik Kraemer’s exclusivist argument (3)
- ## Non-Christians cannot achieve salvation through their own faith systems but have to convert to Christianity
- God’s revelation can be seen through the beauty of nature by non-Christians
- Salvation can only be found only in Christianity
Beliefs from other religions
Describe Kraemer’s arguments about other religions (2)
- We can’t pick out partial truths of religions that seem the most Christian- they have to be evaluated as a whole
- The religion as a whole either accepts the salvation offered by Christ or it doesnt- there’s no middle ground to be found
What did Kraemer think other religions were?
Little more than misguided attempts by some people to try and find the truth for themselves
Biblical evidence to possibly support exclusivism: John 14:6
“I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Biblical evidence to possibly support exclusivism: John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him shall not die but have eternal life”
Biblical evidence to possibly support exclusivism: Romans 10:13
“For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”
3 strengths of Exclusivism
- Upholds Christian uniqueness: makes it more valuable than any other religion
- Supports Evangelism
- Is supported by Biblical evidence and word of Jesus
4 weaknesses of Exclusivism
- Undermines God’s love and wisdom
- Puts limits on God’s freedom to save and who he chooses to save- assumes knowledges of God’s will
- Cherrypicks interpretations from Bible
- Fails to account for God favoured jews in OT who didn’t know Christ
Describe Karl Barth’s argument on exclusivism (2)
- Can only know God via his revelation through Jesus, Bible and Church
- It’s up to us to follow Christianity and achieve salvation as soon as we learn about Jesus
Barth and ‘theology of the word’
- Knowledge of God can only be found where God chooses to reveal it
- Jesus is the living word of God
Biblical evidence to support Barth’s argument: John 1:14
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us”