Religious pluralism and theology Flashcards
Define exclusivism
The idea that salvation can only be achieved by Christians. Jesus reviled the true message of Christianity, and therefore you must accept him to be saved.
Quote from Jesus supporting exclusivism
I am the way, […] No one can come to the Father except through me
What are the two main types of exclusivism?
Narrow- only Christians from a particular denomination will be saved
Broad- all Christians will be saved
Explain the Catholic view on salvation
Mainly exclusivist (both broad and narrow)
N- The sacraments are essential to achieve salvation
‘Extra ecclesium nulla salus’ There is no salvation outside the Church
B- Lumen Gentium states ‘He communicated truth and grace to all’
Purgatory allows for salvation after death (broad cos Jesus must still be accepted)
What are Augustine’s and Calvin’s views on salvation?
Narrow exclusivists
You need God’s grace, and to hear and respond to the Gospel on earth.
Quote from Timothy on exclusivism
‘All people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth’
Quote from Acts on exclusivism
‘Salvation is to be found through him alone’
How did Gavin D’Costa distinguish between types of exclusivism?
Restrictive access- Similar to Calvin, respond to the Gospel, God only saves who he has chosen
Universal access- salvation is open to all, anyone who comes to love God will be saves, salvation is possible after death
What ideas did Hendrik Kraemer use to support exclusivism?
Religions are completely different belief systems. Although they may hold similar teachings such as love it does not make it the same. You cannot pick and choose beliefs, you must accept Jesus and salvation as a whole.
No partial truths
Explain Barth’s views on salvation
Exclusivist
You cannot come to know God through reason, God id ‘radically other’.
Jesus is God’s direct revelation, and therefore the only way to gain any knowledge about him
God may reveal himself through anything he chooses (inc other religions?)
Traditional Christianity is superior to liberal, because it gains knowledge directly from God
The word of God exists in three ways-
The living word (Jesus)
The written word (Bible)
The preached word (The Church)
Salvation must be done through Jesus as he is the only way to know God. God made Christianity true through the incarnation. It is superior cos God chose to reveal himself through it.
Religions are human constructs and therefore fallible
Quote from Barth on salvation
‘Jesus does not give recipes which show the way to God as other teachers of religion do. He is himself the way’
Give 3 main criticisms of exclusivism
- Exclusivism leads to suffering, persecution and imperialism. Hierarchical and arrogant, causes divide
- Many are incapable of accepting Christ- those who die young or with disabilities, those never exposed to Christianity etc. Unjust and unloving
- Barth’s ideas about God being free means he may have chosen/ may choose to reveal himself through other religions also
Define inclusivism
The idea that Christianity is the right route to salvation, however God may also provide some alternative routes eg salvation may be possible for those who follow God but in the context of the wrong religion, those who accept Christ after death, there may be some truth in other religions.
Explain 3 types of inclusivism
Eschatological- salvation is possible for those who accept the Christian faith after death (dependant on purgatory)
Omnibenevolence- Possible for those who have lived good lives (but not rejected Christianity)
‘Anonymous Christians’- possible for those who follow Christianity without knowing it
Give another name for an exclusivist
particularist
explain Rahner’s ideas on salvation
Exclusivism is incompatible with the belief in a benevolent, omnipotent God
Anonymous Christians- salvation is possible for those who follow Christianity without knowing it, and are unable to accept it through no fault of their own
Explain von Balthasar’s views on salvation
Jesus’ resurrection is central to salvation and the church should not hide/ water-down beliefs to appease other faiths or fit with a modern, secular, society
Give 4 main criticisms of inclusivism
- Eschatological inclusivism is the same exclusivism (r- however is less problematic, allows for salvation after death)
- Inclusivism from omnibenevolence is exclusivism in disguise, as Jesus must still be accepted
- The phrase anonymous Christian is patronising and demeaning. Undermines the value that can be found in other faiths (r- It isn’t the fault of Christians that God chose to reveal himself through Christianity)
- Inclusivism waters-down the true Christian message to appease other religions and to fit into society (r- making it cohesive rather than inoffensive?)
Quote from Peter about about inclusivism
‘Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone perish, but everyone to come to repentance’
Define pluralism
All religions share the same goal of knowing God. The differences between religions comes from cultural contexts which are superficial. There is no right or wrong religion.
What biblical story is useful when discussing inclusivism?
The Sheep and the Goats
Explain Hick’s views on pluralism
All religions are attempting to understand the ‘transcategorical Real’
All religions worship the same God, however view the Real through different cultural lenses. As all humans are fallible, so are their interpretations of their experiences of the Real.
Hick’s multi-faith work in Birmingham helped him understand this
God is ineffable, transcategorical, other and unknowable
Religious experiences are important- the rationality of trusting REs as a mediated awareness of that reality (reliant on the principle of credulity)
How can Kant’s ideas be used to support pluralism?
Kant distinguished between the noumena (the world as it really is) and the ‘phenomena’ (the world as it is experienced by humans)
Which parable would be useful in describing pluralism?
A parable shared in Eastern religions (Hinduism and Buddhism) about 6 blind men’s first experience of an elephant. They touched the same object, yet in different parts, experienced it differently, and described it in different ways.
The blindness symbolises the limits of humans
Suggest why some may believe all religions can be right
Prophets all came from the same source at different times
All religions ask the same questions in an attempt to describe the truth
The only differences are cultures and traditions, and humanities limited understanding of God
Suggest why some may believe it is impossible for all religions to be right
Complete contradictions between religions (principle of non-contradiction)
Jesus is the only way
Some preach lovers, other preach hate and discrimination
The source of religions is humanity, not God
All manifestations of God seem to be male
Scientific evidence doesn’t prove God
Explain the Copernican theory
Hick’s idea that similarly to how there was a shift from scientists’ belief that the earth was central to the belief that the sun is central, there needs to be a shift to the belief that Christianity is one of many planets orbiting the sun (God should be central rather than Christianity being seen as a normative absolute)
Theo-centric not Christo-centric
What did Hick believe about Jesus?
Jesus should be treated as a myth, therefore the truth claims of different religions become symbols, and therefore not contradictory, but meaningful in their own contexts
What is the Vatican II?
A council that discussed how the Catholic church should adapt/ present itself in the modern world
Define proselytisation
The act of religious conversion, and what caused it
What is meant by the term culturally relative belief?
A person’s belief should be understood based on their culture, rather than judged against the criteria of another
What phrase did Hick use to describe Christian exclusivism as contradictory?
‘a paradox of gigantic proportions’
A benevolent God would not refuse to provide salvation for good people of other faiths
Give 5 main criticisms of pluralism
- Pluralism contradicts many Bible passages
- Pluralism makes Jesus’ death pointless, universal election means Jesus never had to suffer
- There are direct contradictions between religions, meaning they cannot all be right
- Some must have interpreted the Real better than others. Masao (Zen Buddhist)- some glass gives a more accurate view of reality than others
- Goulder- if the Real is so unknowable and vague, what is the point? How do we know it is something of love rather than hate?
