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christianity > religious pluralism and theology > Flashcards

religious pluralism and theology Flashcards

1
Q

what questions does this topic raise

A
  • What is religion?
  • Is Christianity unique?
  • What is the truth?
  • What is the relevance of the uniqueness of the Christ event?
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2
Q

What does Feuerbach said about religion ?

A
  • ’ religion is a project of human needs and desires- it is a man made construct, based on wishful thinking- it is an illusion’
  • we project our needs onto God
  • e.g. I want love so I say God is all loving
  • truth then becomes subjective to the individual
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3
Q

Exclusivism

A

only Christianity holds the truth and on,y Christianity can offer salvation

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4
Q

Inclusivism

A

Christianity is the one true faith and the normative way to salvation, but it is possible for non Christians to be saved

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5
Q

pluralism

A

Christianity is one of them may ways to be saved

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6
Q

how does Calvin support exclusivism

A
  • we need gods grace and to accept it to go to heaven. Grace is a Christian idea
  • we need God for single pre destination ( God chooses who goes to heaven) because we need him to choose us to go to heaven
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7
Q

restricted access exclusivism

A

salvation comes from hearing the Christian message and accepting it into your life

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8
Q

universal access exclusivism

A

the idea that God wishes everyone to be saved

Jesus’ salvation restored the whole of humanity, past, present and future.

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9
Q

how does the Catholic Church support exclusivism ?

A
  • no salvation outside of the church
  • a person must be baptised if they want to go to heaven
  • problem = even those who are good but not Christian cannot be saved.
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10
Q

what would Protestant exclusivist argue

A
  • you need to be baptised into the church in order to become a full Christian
  • seen in the bible. Unless you are baptised you are still tainted with inherited sin and therefore cannot go to heaven
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11
Q

ethical problem of exclusivism

A
  • preaching that non Christians go to hell seems wrong within a multi faith society
  • Jesus specifically told his disciples to ‘go make disciples of all nation’
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12
Q

two strengths of exclusivism

A
  • biblical texts to emphasise the importance of Jesus. E.g. John 14:6 . Jesus said ‘ i am the way, and the truth, and the life’
  • retains the distinctiveness of Christianity and the need for Jesus sacrifice
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13
Q

four weaknesses of exclusivism

A
  • if God is truly omnibenevolent and ants salvation for the whole world then why would he create a criteria of salvation which is on,y open to some? Would seem wrong of God to send good people to hell just because they aren’t Christian
  • Jesus sacrifice - only effective for a few
  • In a modern multi- cultural world it doesn’t seem a very positive way to engage with non Christians. Seems to promote intolerance
  • the parable of the sheep and the goats implies that judgement is done on the basis of work not of faith. People will be sent to hell if they have not helped those in need
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14
Q

questions raised by inclusivism

A
  • how do we define good?
  • If Christ is the truth, is there any other way to be saved?
  • Who about those who don’t know Christ ?
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15
Q

explain D’Costa’s views on inclusivism

A
  • Christians can learn from non Christian religions . Christ is revealed in the, in a way which might actually add to the Christian understanding
  • God is more than just Christ because to claim that you can only know God through Jesus ignores the role of the Holy Spirit
  • all good people are saved
  • revelation of God through Jesus is the the normative way to salvation but Christianity isn’t the only way to get there. E.g. you can be saved through the Holy Spirit
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16
Q

why does D’Costa’s not like exclusivism ?

A
  • it is incompatible with gods love and ignores the importance of moral action and behaviour ( parable of sheep and goats )
17
Q

Explain Karl Rahner’s view on inclusivism

A
  • all good people can be saved even if they aren’t Christians
  • anonymous Christian = someone who is open to Gods grace but not a Christian
  • Jesus died for human sin and enables people to be saved through grave - still highlights the role of Jesus
  • the story of Paul preaching to the men of Athens is used by inclusivism so to suggest that non Christians might have knowledge of God but not the personal relationship that Christians have ( anonymous Christians )
  • parable of sheep and goats to support as people being good by following Christian morals without even knowing it
  • Jesus died for all
18
Q

what is the difference between the visible church and invisible church ? Karl Rahner

A

visible church = the Christian church

invisible church = anonymous Christians

19
Q

strength of inclusivism

A

fits in with omnibenevolent God

20
Q

two weaknesses of inclusivism

A
  • if non Christians can be saved then why should you adopt a Christian faith over other religions
  • inclusivism has been accused of being patronising to other faiths - why could a Christian not be an anonymous Hindu ?
21
Q

three weaknesses of pluralism

A
  • it undermines all religions as they all claim to have the whole truth but pluralism suggests that all religions are equal and can be saved
  • if all religions are equal and can reach salvation then why should you choose a Christian religion over another ?
  • ‘if all people are saved then why did Christ die? What was the point in his resurrection ?
22
Q

Hick on pluralism

A
  • ‘the real’ replaces ‘God’ . Each person interprets it differently as the world is ambiguous and different cultures shape people’s experiences
  • noumena = experiencing things as they really are
  • phenomena = experiencing things through our senses
  • all religions are talking about the same reality although they may do it through different ways
23
Q

explain Hicks ideas about theology

A
  • theology needs to move away from a christocentric ( Christ centred) approach and instead favour a theocentric approach
  • this is because Christianity doesn’t seem to produce better people than non Christians religions
  • a christocentric approach to non Christian religions could cause offensive attitudes to people of non Christian religions
  • we can never know for certain what God is like so we cannot know which religions are most accurate
24
Q

what is a problem with Hicks theology ?

A
  • Jesus becomes simply one of the many great religious leaders who have been used by God to provide salvation for humankind. Jesus ha slots his uniqueness
  • Counter = Hick would agree but see that challenging Jesus’ unique status is a positive step
25
Q

why can Hicks’ ideas be described as a global theology ?

A
  • because he tried to provide a method of approaching theology which accounts for all religions
  • go is greater and many more sided than one religion can do justice to
26
Q

three texts to support pluralism

A
  • sheep and goats as suggests that salvation is based on an individual’s contribution to helping others, not just a Christian faith
  • 1 Timothy 2:3-6 as it says that God ‘desires everyone to be saved’ not just Christians
  • The Roman Catholic Church as it says ‘the church considers all goodness and truth found in these religions as a preparation for the Gospel’ . There is truth within all religions
27
Q

what is a weakness of pluralism from Barth

A

Theologians like Barth who emphasise the centrality of Jesus as gods self revelation would almost certainly consider Hicks deception of a fully human Jesus as damaging to Christianity

28
Q

How does Keith Ward support Pluralism ?

A
  • believed that each religion has equally valid reasons for its beliefs and that different religions are complimentary to each other
29
Q

how does Paul Knitter support pluralism ?

A
  • all religions want an ethical system - share the aim of justice
  • this should encourage dialogue between religions
30
Q

three strengths of pluralism

A
  • more appropriate for a multi cultural society
  • it means that all good people are saved. This is better than exclusivism which says that only Christians can be saved - if this was the case then what would be the point to being good if you weren’t Christian
  • fits in with the idea of an omnibenevolent God who would surely want all to be saved

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