Christian Theology of Religions Assignment
Olivia M. Morgan
APOL-525: Pluralism and World Religions
March 2023
Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................................1
Pluralism Introduced And Defined..............................................................................................1
Pluralist Arguments.......................................................................................................................3
Arguments of Reduction..............................................................................................................4
Arguments of Obfuscation...........................................................................................................6
Arguments for a Turn to Theocentrism (Via Pneumatology) over Christocentrism...................8
Response To Pluralism................................................................................................................11
Many Paths to Many Gods........................................................................................................11
Only One Path to the Sovereign Creator...................................................................................12
Addressing Reductionism: Affirming the Uniqueness and Personhood of God.......................13
Addressing Obfuscation: Affirming the Uniqueness of Jesus Christ........................................14
God Is a Particular Being...........................................................................................................16
The Christian Response..............................................................................................................17
Conclusion....................................................................................................................................20
Bibliography.................................................................................................................................22
ii
1
Introduction
In many faiths, multiple perspectives on both God and humanity are recognized. Unlike
"exclusivism," which maintains that there is only one authentic way to God, "pluralism" in
religion goes beyond fundamental tolerance to realize that other paths leading to God are
possible.1 Similar concepts or coming to the same views about specific social concerns are
significantly more limiting in religious diversity definitions. The two primary goals of this essay
are (1) to discuss the pluralistic religious perspective and (2) to provide a Christian apologetic
rejection of that perspective.2 This paper will examine the claims of religious pluralism and the
world's major religions and contrast them with the distinctive claims of Christ and the Christian
worldview. This essay will help readers gain a more nuanced understanding of the world's major
faiths and the role of religion in fostering mutual understanding and respect.
Pluralism Introduced and Defined
On September 11, 1893, Chicago hosted the inaugural World's Parliament of Religions.3
Despite 41 religious groups, the event was organized and managed chiefly by Christians.
Christians authored nearly three-quarters of the over 200 papers presented in the Parliament,
Christian missionaries were prominently featured on the agenda, Christian hymns were
performed, and the Parliament concluded with the singing of Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus."4 In
1993, approximately 6,000 participants representing 125 religious groups attended the same
gathering. However, the 1993 Parliament was "predominantly a non-Christian assembly, with the
Christians who were present maintaining a low profile and eschewing Christian claims of
1 Todd Miles, A God of Many Understandings? The Gospel and a Theology of Religions (Nashville, TN:
B&H, 2010), 137-141.
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
2
uniqueness or superiority."5 Pew Forum & Public Life Forum Report, based on a 2008 study,
demonstrates this major shift in the post-Christian West by showing that 52 percent of Christian
respondents believe that at least some non-Christian faiths can lead to eternal life.6
Religious pluralism is the belief that multiple religions can lead to eternal life. However,
just 45 percent of white evangelicals think one must be reborn through faith in Jesus to attain
eternal life.7 This is due to a lack of knowledge of the gospel and the emergence of philosophical
pluralism, marked by persistent epistemological skepticism and a distrust of any truth claim that
forces one side against another.8 The radical perspectivalism that asserts that objective
knowledge is unattainable and that any claim that one ideology or religion's truth claim is
superior to another is inherently incorrect is accompanied by philosophical pluralism, which is
committed to the culturally situated nature of truth. This book's central argument is that there is
only one almighty God, the creator.9 God has revealed Himself as triune and has uniquely
revealed Himself in the incarnate Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ.10
Humanity stood condemned before God because of its rebellion against Him, but He
reached out to us via Jesus Christ in His kindness and love. Only through His Son, Jesus Christ,
can it be possible to approach the Almighty Creator God. America in the twenty-first century is
multicultural and post-Christian, with numerous religions and conflicting truth claims. We live
and study alongside Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Pagans, and Scientologists. With the various
5 Todd Miles, A God of Many Understandings? The Gospel and a Theology of Religions (Nashville, TN:
B&H, 2010), 137-141.
6 Ibid.
7
Ibid.
8
Ibid.
9
Ibid.
10
Ibid.
3
religions come various views and recommended treatments for all of our ills.11 Many ideas,
ideologies, and religions have coexisted for millennia, but thanks to modern technology, the
world is today more interconnected than ever before.12
Our modern environment is irreducibly pluralistic, according to John D. Caputo, and the
public understanding of religious and intellectual diversity has evolved over the past century.
This is due to the emergence of the global community and the relativistic mentality of
postmodernity, in which tolerance has been reinterpreted and elevated to paramount virtue. In the
current postmodern society, plurality is embraced and esteemed and is regarded as the way
things should be.
Pluralist Arguments
In post-Christian America, unbelievers respond with skepticism and antagonism to the
exclusive truth claims of Christianity.13 Academic religious pluralists like John Hick, Paul
Knitter, Raimunda Panikkar, and Stanley Samartha give persuasive arguments for religious
plurality. At the same time, authors such as Eckhart Tolle wield widespread influence through
fictional and nonfictional works.14 The pluralist's two primary sorts of justifications in response
to the question, "Are there numerous ways to one God?" are reductionism and obfuscation.15
Reductionism aims to reduce the core of each religion to its lowest common denominator. In
11 Todd Miles, A God of Many Understandings? The Gospel and a Theology of Religions (Nashville, TN:
B&H, 2010), 137-141.
12 Chris Seiple, and Dennis Hoover. The Routledge Handbook of Religious Literacy, Pluralism, and Global
Engagement. Edited by Chris Seiple and Dennis Hoover (London, England: Taylor & Francis, 2022), 37.
13
Todd Miles, A God of Many Understandings? The Gospel and a Theology of Religions (Nashville, TN:
B&H, 2010), 141-143.
14
Ibid.
15
Todd Miles, A God of Many Understandings? The Gospel and a Theology of Religions (Nashville, TN:
B&H, 2010), 141-143.
4
contrast, obfuscation is unique to Christianity and attempts to demonstrate that the beliefs that
lead to difference and supremacy are nonsensical and unreliable. Religious pluralism's assaults
on the church's worldview would have much less impact if professed Christians did not use the
same language as those who deny knowing or loving Christ.16
Christian faithfulness necessitates a response to each pluralist author, but space
constraints compel us to respond broadly to the work of pluralists who claim to be Christian.17
John Hick has been the leading proponent of Christian religious pluralism for the past forty
years, and his engaging story makes him an exceptionally appealing speaker. In his book God
and the Universe of Faiths, he discusses a mental transition from believing that Christianity was
at the heart of theology to see that God is at the core and that all religions of humanity, including
our own, serve and revolve around him.18 He no longer speaks to God as "the Real" because he
has since reached a pluralism where some truth assertions about the divine are impractical.
Arguments of Reduction
Reductionism is a tactic employed by pluralists to minimize the differences between
world religions and assert that there is no fundamental distinction between them.19 It appeals to
God's transcendence, frequently arguing a Kantian distinction between God's essence and human
experiences of Him. As a result of the Transcendence of God, there are several, often divergent,
conceptions of Him held by people. Hick bases his notion of God on the ontological necessity of
religious others and their reality.20 To account for the existence of the different religious and
16 Ibid.
17 Ibid.
18 Ibid.
19
Ibid.
20 Todd Miles, A God of Many Understandings? The Gospel and a Theology of Religions (Nashville, TN:
B&H, 2010), 137-141.
5
cultural totalities, he argues, we must postulate an ultimate transcendent reality, the source, and
ground of everything, which is in itself beyond the scope of human conceptualization but is
conceived, experienced and responded to in life differently from within these different religious
totalities.21 He also contends that we cannot worship the Real in and of itself, but rather specific
manifestations of it to humans (such as the heavenly "father" of Jesus' teaching, the Qur'anic
Allah, and the Jewish Adonai). The Global Religions as Diverse Receptions and Responses to
the One Unfathomable God In his poem Blind Men and the Elephant, John Godfrey Saxe
popularized the now-familiar fable of numerous blind men attempting to describe an elephant.22
According to Raimundo Panikkar, God's ineffability has more to do with God's pluralistic
character than human epistemic constraints. He contends that no single religion can be
universalized, as each represents a viable perspective on a profoundly complicated God. John
Hick argued that the world's major faiths are "culturally conditioned human responses to the one
ultimate reality" and that God, known by Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and
others, represents various manifestations of the Real to humanity.23 Hick anticipates differing
degrees of continuity between different human views of the Real, given that it has its ontology
and is not conditioned by human vision. This tendency also explains religious experience
diversity.
Hick contends that the disparities become less significant as religious cultures are
exposed. He believes that all faiths are equal salvific answers to the Real and that salvation must
be redefined using more universal conceptions that are not confined to the specificity of any one
21 Ibid.
22
Ibid., 143-147.
23 Ibid.
6
religion. According to Hick, salvation is the progressive shift from self-centeredness to reality-
centeredness, which Christians call the fruit of the spirit.24
Hick contends that the essential human change from self-centeredness to a focus on the
ultimate Real is shared by all major faiths. Jacques Dupuis makes a case for "de jure" religious
plurality, concluding that beliefs outside of Christianity have "positive salvific meaning" for their
adherents and fit into the long-term purposes of God for humanity.25 There is a little moral
distinction between the adherents of various religions. Pluralists contend that there are few
ethical differences among each religion's adherents as well as among the ultimate goals of the
many faiths. They find that moral superiority cannot be established amongst religions. Hick
claims that Christianity should not be given special status because its results are not inherently
better or worse than those of other religions.26 Religious plurality provides a rationale and an
encouragement to consider alternative routes to God.
Arguments of Obfuscation
Obfuscation is intended to illustrate that theological concepts that favor one religion over
another are ultimately nonsensical and untenable.27 The orthodox and historical Christian
articulation of beliefs like the inspiration of Scripture, the deity of Christ, and the hypostatic
union are intrinsically non-pluralistic. The purpose of pluralists is to undermine non-pluralistic
claims by denying the coherence of these doctrines.28 The Christian Scriptures assert that the
24 Todd Miles, A God of Many Understandings? The Gospel and a Theology of Religions (Nashville, TN:
B&H, 2010), 143-147.
25 Ibid.
26
Ibid.
27 Ibid., 147-150.
28 Todd Miles, A God of Many Understandings? The Gospel and a Theology of Religions (Nashville, TN:
B&H, 2010), 147-150.
7
Bible is the work of the holy God and a human author. The theory of inspiration asserts that the
Bible's words are truthful and accurate because they were inspired by the Lord, who is flawless
and cannot lie. Hick's attack on the Scriptures exemplifies pluralist efforts to dispute the Bible's
reliability. It was written over a thousand years ago by various authors in various genres and
during an era when scientific understanding was limited, and disease was attributed to
supernatural causes.29 Hick and other pluralists deny that God discloses propositional truth
through human language, distinguishing the historical Jesus from the Christ of faith.
Religious experience is the source of pluralist conceptions of revelation and inspiration.
They say that anyone can understand the words God gives them and that authors do not have
control over what they mean. Pluralism is quick to reject that the Bible accurately recounts the
terms of the historical Jesus when the veracity of the Gospels is called into doubt.30 When the
Gospel stories are dismissed as untrustworthy, and the remainder of the New Testament is
disregarded as prejudiced theologizing, the church's doctrines about the person of Christ have no
historical relevance. Pluralists reject Christ's hypostatic union, the union of His authentic human
and true divine natures in one person.31
Alan Race, Todd Miles, and Hick argue that Jesus' divinity is more a function of his role
in facilitating access to the love and grace of God the Father than of his nature. They believe
Jesus exemplified heavenly moral traits more than anyone in history and was especially receptive
to the Holy Spirit. This perspective has the advantages of avoiding incoherence in the language
29 Ibid.
30 Ibid.
31 Ibid.
8
of pre-existence, freeing Christianity from humiliation in an age of radical historical
consciousness, and allowing him to offer a novel contribution to the discussion.32
Arguments for a Turn to Theocentrism (Via Pneumatology) over Christocentrism
Religious pluralists frequently urge the church to evaluate religions using theocentric
criteria rather than Christocentric criteria.33 Comparing religions to God apart from Jesus Christ
is necessary to achieve religious pluralism. Doctrinal revision is required to transition from
Christocentrism to Theocentrism. Christian beliefs like God and Christology need to be
reexamined to have a solid pluralist theology of religions. Pneumatology, based on the
universality of the Holy Spirit, is a popular route to theocentric pluralism. Stanley Samartha,
Paul Knitter, and Peter Hodgson are part of this pneumatology turn.
Hodgson How the pluralist worldview is reinterpreting biblical doctrines is demonstrated
by Peter Hodgson's pneumatological pluralist theology of religions.34 Hodgson believes that
Christians should begin their theology of religions with "Spirit," which he considers to be a
"more universally available religious symbol" than "Christ."35 For this to work, Hodgson must
modify traditional Christian doctrines regarding God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit.36 Hodgson,
like process theology, sees God as a process. The Trinitarian figures are the result of God-world
interactions. God is both perfect and amorphous. Christ is constrained, self-critical, and
determined. Though he is not the entirety of Christianity, he is its key. He must look beyond
32 Todd Miles, A God of Many Understandings? The Gospel and a Theology of Religions (Nashville, TN:
B&H, 2010), 150-152.
33 Ibid.
34
Ibid.
35 Ibid.
36
Ibid.
9
himself to other creative-redemptive figures and practices and demand that they be welcomed."
By "consummating the world in God," the spirit creates a more inclusive whole.37
Hodgson denies the existence of the Holy Spirit (and the Son, for that matter).38 All that
exists is God and human relationships. God's creative and redeemed power in the world is known
as spirit. Everything is created and inhabited by God's power. Being is the source of power."
Humans, the world, nature spirits, and the Holy Spirit of Christian theology are all
manifestations of the spirit.39
Christians recognize the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ, as Hodgson correctly states.40
Through the anointing of the Holy Spirit, Jesus became Christ. The spirit is defined by Jesus'
character and power, which helps Christians distinguish between divine and demonic power.
Hodgson thinks that the spirit goes beyond Christ and shows up in the leaders of many religions.
So, the spirit goes beyond the historical and concrete details of Jesus. In addition to the Father
and Son, the spirit originates from God's interactions with the rest of creation. As a result, Christ
cannot subjugate the spirit.41 Hodgson cautions Christians against using Christological criteria to
determine Spirit-led work. He believes one can be opposed to Christ without being opposed to
Christ. Hodgson believes that "various forms of divine presence" save humanity and that
Christians must be able to say that the Holy Spirit does not come from Christ alone but from all
of these other sources. Spirituality rather than Christology determines the work of the spirit. As a
result, Christ's criterion for determining the presence of the spirit in the world needs to be
37 Todd Miles, A God of Many Understandings? The Gospel and a Theology of Religions (Nashville, TN:
B&H, 2010), 150-152.
38 Ibid.
39
Ibid.
40
Ibid.
41
Ibid.
10
revised. "Concretions of the Spirit in other religions," according to Hodgson, help us understand
the complex relationship between Christ and the Spirit.42
Hodgson's religious theology accomplishes two goals. A religion's theology should first
reveal and eliminate evil in other religions. Second, a religion's theology should promote
interfaith dialogue and practice.43 Since the Spirit permeates all creation, pneumatology is the
most appropriate framework for a theology of religions that acknowledges and celebrates
religious diversity. It must recognize that different religions view diversity in different ways. It
does not own the truth." Righteous Christians, according to Hodgson, should always be willing
to follow the spirit's guidance. Christians should pay attention and learn.
Stanley Samartha established a theology of conversation based on the following three
concepts: dialogue is exemplified by God in Jesus Christ, reconciliation between peoples leads to
discourse, and the Holy Spirit guides His people into all truth.44 Samartha advocated a
theocentric perspective on religions, rejecting the filioque clause and accepting the action of the
Holy Spirit as evidence of God's commitment to saving people of other religions. Stanley
Samartha stated that the Holy Spirit's activity outside the church could not be limited to Christian
participants and that Christian denial of the Holy Spirit's presence in other religions has led to
arrogance and confusion.45 Samartha thought that the Bible is silent on the relationship between
the Holy Spirit and adherents of other religions and that there is no standard by which to judge
one position over another. People of many religious traditions should engage in spirit-led
42 Todd Miles, A God of Many Understandings? The Gospel and a Theology of Religions (Nashville, TN:
B&H, 2010), 150-152.
43 Ibid.
44
Ibid., 156-161.
45
Todd Miles, A God of Many Understandings? The Gospel and a Theology of Religions (Nashville, TN:
B&H, 2010), 161-162.
11
discourse, and the role of the Holy Spirit in world history should be examined. Samartha claimed
that theological distinctions should be abolished, and existential factors should be utilized to
distinguish the Holy Spirit's action.
Response To Pluralism
Religious pluralists' arguments are hardly novel to biblical writers. The existence of other
religions or religious pluralism is not surprising to the Bible. Biblical authors and readers
constantly interacted with people of similar religious beliefs. Old Testament prophets responded
to Israel's religious neighbors by proclaiming the existence of the one true God. Jesus Christ and
the apostles had an apparent response to the religious diversity of their time: they spread the
good news of the existence of the one true God through the person and work of Jesus Christ.46
The response of those called to witness the living God and His redemptive ways contain no hints
of theological compromise or revisionism.47 What about other religious people? According to the
Bible, we should tell them about Jesus Christ.
Many Paths to Many Gods
According to the Christian Scriptures, there are numerous routes to God, but only one to
the living God. This is true of both the Old and New Testaments, as Israel and the early church in
the Greco-Roman Empire was surrounded by people who worshipped other gods.48 As He
forbids the worship of other gods, the Lord's response to those who worship other gods is crucial
for the current discussion on pluralism. Any form of idolatry is forbidden because it violates
human rights to attempt to represent the true and living God through human creations. Jewish
monotheism does not deny the existence of religious others or the existence of gods worshipped
46 Ibid.
47 Ibid.
48
Ibid., 162-163.
12
by other nations (e.g., Lev 17:7; Deut 32:17; Josh 24:15).49 Rather, it is a clarion call to the
nation of Israel to worship the LORD by the LORD's instructions.50
The most critical information in this text is contained in Genesis 1:1-14:19, Daniel 4:34-
37, Isaiah 40:28-45:18, and Zeph 2:11. These claims have significant implications for the claims
made about other gods. In the Christian monotheism of the New Testament, Jesus Christ is added
to the monotheistic equation. Jesus Christ is the Creator, the Sovereign, the Saviour, the Faithful
High Priest, the Lord of Lords, and He rules over the nations. Also in His hands are life and
death, judgment and reward.
Only One Path to the Sovereign Creator
According to the Bible, there is only one road to the highest God, and all forms of
syncretism are severely prohibited.51 The Mosaic law required Israel's seclusion from the nations
that surrounded her, and Israelite worship traditions tend to combine the worship of the Lord
with that of Baal and other false gods. Jesus Christ, the Jewish Davidic heir, arrived in
fulfillment of prophecy and claimed to reveal God in unprecedented ways.52 Jesus taught that
those who trust in Him would escape judgment and obtain eternal life and that He possesses both
life and the unique authority to judge. Christ also descended from heaven to fulfill the Father's
desire.53
49 Todd Miles, A God of Many Understandings? The Gospel and a Theology of Religions (Nashville, TN:
B&H, 2010), 162-163
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid., 163-165.
52 Ibid.
53 Tomoko Masuzawa. The Invention of World Religions: or How European Universalism Was Preserved
in the Language of Pluralism (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005), 42.
13
Jesus is the Son of God and the Good Shepherd, the only way to God. Jesus is the
resurrection and the life, and He provides exclusive access to the Father; no one can see God
apart from Him. The Bible acknowledges the presence of religious others and the fervor with
which they worship, but it does not sanction compromise or permit good-faith religious
activities.54 The response of Jesus to the Samaritan woman's misunderstanding over places of
worship attests to the exclusivity of the Father's commandments. Jesus corrected her mistake and
presented Himself as the One she longed for.
When confronted with her inaccuracy, her reaction was correct: "When [the Messiah]
arrives, He will explain everything to us" (4:25).55 The Samaritans had little hope inside their
tradition or people, so they relied on the Jewish Messiah's uniqueness to guide them to the
correct worship of God.56
Addressing Reductionism: Affirming the Uniqueness and Personhood of God
Pluralist reductionism reduces Christianity to a watered-down version of Buddhism,
based on the presuppositions of non-Christian Westerners in the twenty-first century and not on
historical truth.57 Religious pluralism is the sole appropriate perspective for judging individual
religions. However, because the world's major religions have various conceptions of God, it is
illogical for a religion that asserts the existence of God to be compatible with a religion that
rejects his existence. Pluralists commit tautological reasoning when they define salvation in
terms of Jesus and then assert that Jesus is the only way. Still, intellectual integrity requires that
they answer Christianity's truth claims. Heim advocates a pluralistic theology of religions that
54 Ibid.
55 Ibid.
56
Ibid.
57
Todd Miles, A God of Many Understandings? The Gospel and a Theology of Religions (Nashville, TN:
B&H, 2010), 165-171.
14
acknowledges and supports the variations across religions. He argues that the notions of
salvation are diverse and can only be unified by destroying each religion’s character.58
Recognition of the sinful nature of humanity, forgiveness by the one holy God, regeneration of
the believer, and the activity of the Holy Spirit to transform the believer into the image of Christ
are the foundations of Christian behavior modification. The failure of self-proclaimed Christians
to be morally distinct is deplorable and demonstrates that the Christian message is ineffective.59
Addressing Obfuscation: Affirming the Uniqueness of Jesus Christ
The most effective reaction to religious diversity is to proclaim the uniqueness of Christ
unwaveringly, as Christianity rests on the claims that Jesus is the Son of God and the resurrected
Savior of the world.60 Pluralists frequently dispute the validity of making valid claims about God,
as if God were unknowable and it was impossible to make valid claims about Him. However, we
cannot know that He is unknowable. Therefore, if we can learn something about God, then He is
at least somewhat knowable, and the pluralist claim is wrong.61 Religious pluralists like Hick
believe that it is impossible to worship the Real in and of itself and that the various world
religions are always some expression of the Real to humanity, but what evidence supports this
claim? Without open access to God (the Real), knowing what His attributes are impossible.62
Pluralists frequently dispute the Christian notion of revelation because God cannot
unambiguously reveal Himself through a human agency, as evangelicals assert. Nonetheless, the
Bible's self-description must be the beginning point for any assessment of its truth. It is
58 Todd Miles, A God of Many Understandings? The Gospel and a Theology of Religions (Nashville, TN:
B&H, 2010), 171-177.
59 Ibid.
60
Ibid.
61
Ibid.
62 Todd Miles, A God of Many Understandings? The Gospel and a Theology of Religions (Nashville, TN:
B&H, 2010), 171-177.
15
constructed of many genres authored by multiple authors over centuries.63 Although the Bible
was written before our scientific revolution, this does not entail that its authors were naive or
ignorant. The miracles in the Bible are depicted as remarkable happenings orchestrated by divine
intervention, and obfuscations actively attack the theology of Christ, specifically his divinity.
The church created the theory of the incarnation after Christ's death, but is it true that Jesus never
taught it?64
Pluralists can present biblical critics who reject the veracity of the Gospels, but their
scholarship is not convincing. To deny that Jesus ever claimed to be God, they must identify the
substance of Jesus' sayings, refute scholars who claim there is a high Christology and
demonstrate that meaningful knowledge of Jesus is still available even without the Gospels.65
Pluralists also argue against the intelligibility of the hypostatic union, which indicates that the
eternal Son of God assumed human nature without sacrificing His divine character. Hick and
Knitter contend that Christocentric criteria for judging religions should replace theocentric bars.
The emergence of religious pluralism in the West coincides with the rise of postmodernism, in
which truth claims are viewed with skepticism.66
The indeterminacy of language, particularly discourse about God, is a compelling
justification for the pluralist perspective. Wilfred Cantwell Smith claimed that when comparing
rival faiths, dogma is of secondary concern and that the legitimacy of religion is grounded upon
63 Jenny Daggers. Postcolonial Theology of Religions: Particularity and Pluralism in World Christianity
(Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2013), 65.
64 Ibid.
65 Ibid.
66 Jenny Daggers. Postcolonial Theology of Religions: Particularity and Pluralism in World Christianity
(Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2013), 65.
16
experience.67 In a postmodern setting, arguments for and against religious diversity frequently
boil down to hermeneutics, the question of whether a text contains meaning and, if so, who has
the power to instruct, correct, or challenge the autonomous reader. The postmodern individual
aspires to become an author in his own right, whereas the pluralist contends that humans have no
access to who God is in and of Himself. The autonomous individual becomes the creator of
meaning and the judge of divine reality and attempts to postpone the truth question owing to the
subjective nature of religious truth are invalid. Despite pluralist protestations, religious others
assert and evaluate the nature of reality.
God Is a Particular Being
The God of the Bible is neither ambiguous nor subject to human musings and
sensibilities.68 He is the Creator of heaven and earth and distinct from His creation. He is self-
sufficient and completely independent of whatever He made. He is infinite, all-knowing, and
aware of everything. In addition to being personal, He speaks, acts, and reveals His covenant
name.
The biblical teaching on God's creation of Adam and Eve as imago Dei is clear and
enlightening. The biblical depiction of God emphasizes His uniqueness, such as when He talked
to Moses and commanded him to approach Pharaoh, when He was upset by the Israelis' worship
of the golden calf, and when He was neither furious nor pleased with the Israelites' wrongdoing.
Why should we expect God to be any different?69 People, as personal creatures, are uniquely one
67 Robert B. Stewart. Can Only One Religion Be True? Paul Knitter and Harold Netland in Dialogue
(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2013), 52.
68 Todd Miles, A God of Many Understandings? The Gospel and a Theology of Religions (Nashville, TN:
B&H, 2010), 177-179.
69 Todd Miles, A God of Many Understandings? The Gospel and a Theology of Religions (Nashville, TN:
B&H, 2010), 177-179.
17
way and not another; why should God be any different? God is not a human-created image, and
He has existence apart from human cognition.70 Such worship is equivalent to self-worship, and
the biblical polemic against idolatry is appropriate to such pluralist constructs. According to the
Bible, we insult the almighty God when we approach Him on our terms or by choosing.
The Christian Response
The biblical response to pluralism is to declare the saving God and His one and only Son,
the Lord Jesus Christ. The New Testament does not encourage or endorse the Christ-less
ethnocentrism of religious pluralism.71 Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, courageously preached
the gospel to towns and societies that did not know the living God and worshiped false gods.
Paul was determined to preach the cross-centered gospel in Corinth, even though "the Jews
search for signs and the Greeks seek understanding" (1 Cor 1:22).72 Paul's assertion contains no
suggestion of accommodation, compromise, or syncretism: Christ is God's might and God's
wisdom, since God's folly is wiser than human wisdom and God's frailty is more potent than
human strength.
In response to pluralist requests to recognize the fundamental similarity of the major
world religions, the Christian faith does not proclaim equality. The essence of Christianity is
based on the fact that the God of grace reaches out to those who have rebelled against Him and
that He does not present Himself as one of many paths nor the best one. The Gospels were
written forty to seventy years after the death and resurrection of Jesus.73 In contrast, Paul's letters,
70 Ibid.
71 Ibid.,179-182.
72 David Pitman. Twentieth Century Christian Responses to Religious Pluralism Difference Is Everything
(Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, 2014), 24.
73 David Pitman. Twentieth Century Christian Responses to Religious Pluralism Difference Is Everything
(Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, 2014), 24.
18
which contain the significant events of his life, were written fifteen to twenty-five years later.
These narratives have strong declarations by Jesus, such as his claim to be the king of an eternal
kingdom, his authority over life and death, and his insistence that only God is worthy of worship.
He paved the way for God when He died for sinful humanity, receiving the punishment they
deserved so that those who believe in Him may live.74
The apostles recalled these events and proclaimed from the very beginning, "There is no
salvation in anyone else, for there is no other name under heaven by which we may be saved"
(Acts 4:12). When the apostle Paul stood before Athens Areopagus to explain Christianity to its
members, he said the following to a thoroughly pluralistic society: as God's children, we should
not believe that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, a creation of human creativity and
imagination. Pluralism collapses in the face of the resurrection, as the fact of the resurrection
requires that Jesus' claims be heard and taken seriously.75
The most crucial facts in this book are that it is not sufficient to deny that Jesus rose from
the dead; an alternative explanation for the church's birth must be historically plausible.
Moreover, the unique claims of the Bible to be the Word of God are irreconcilable with all other
theological systems, and Christians must stress this demand.76 Jesus, what He said and did, must
be addressed by the pluralist before He can be disregarded as merely another knowledgeable
spiritual teacher who brought insight into God. Intellectual integrity requires that the pluralist
begins with the claims of each religion and that the Christian can know things about this
74 Ron Dart, J. I. Packer, and J. I. (James Innell) Packer. Christianity and Pluralism. Bellingham (WA:
Lexham Press, 2019), 36.
75 Ibid.
76 Aaron Fehir. Kierkegaardian Reflections on the Problem of Pluralism (Lanham: Lexington Books,
2015), 26.
19
wondrous and enigmatic God precisely and solely because God has revealed them via His Word
and most fully through the Lord Jesus Christ.77
The most crucial aspects of this text are that Jesus Christ's claims and person are
qualitatively distinct from those of other religious leaders and that it is illegitimate to assert that
there are no essential differences between religions when Christians believe that Jesus Christ's
claims and person are qualitatively distinct.78 If Jesus Christ is only a highly spiritual individual
with the amazing ability to see and hear God, the Bible's redemption narrative falls apart, and the
church has perpetrated an unforgivable lie. However, if Jesus Christ is who He claims to be,
there is hope for the world and an urgent need for missions. Orthodox Christianity does not fit
into a pluralistic framework because Jesus demands every follower to answer the question He
posed to His disciples: "Whom do you say I am?" The apostle Peter delivered the necessary
response: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."79
Conclusion
In conclusion, the beliefs and understanding of this term are consistent with the definition
of religious pluralism as a point of view that acknowledges that all religions go back to God in
their ways.80 Humans are imperfect; God is tolerant of all faiths. The wars and conflicts caused
by religions with entire worldviews throughout history may also be a compelling argument for
77 Ibid.
78 Ibid.
79 Keith Ward. Religion in the Modern World Celebrating Pluralism and Diversity (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2019), 34.
80 Keith Ward. Religion in the Modern World Celebrating Pluralism and Diversity (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2019), 34.
20
adopting a pluralistic viewpoint.81 Many faiths, including Christianity, attempted to win over
skeptics by any means necessary, including violence.
Numerous Christian scholars have strengthened the notion that exclusivism is the only
position most religions hold. As a result, Christians can confidently argue that Christianity is the
only true religion and the only way to repair a broken relationship with God by presenting
reliable historical evidence for these claims. This renewal came about because Jesus of Nazareth
was born of a virgin, grew up in Galilee, ministered in Jerusalem, was tried and convicted in
several courts, was crucified on the hill of Golgotha, buried for three days, and rose on the last
day to pay for our sins.82 Scripture and other historical records prove this claim more
convincingly than any competing faith.
Many people know that the Bible teaches that those who reject Jesus as their Savior will
be damned for all eternity, and this knowledge makes it difficult for Christians to defend their
faith.83 God will never coerce anyone into a religious or spiritual relationship with Him because
of His immense worth and love for each of us. God longs to spend eternity with us because we
are loved so profoundly. We must take Him up on His offer of grace through faith in Jesus
Christ.
81
Andrew Fiala. Secular Cosmopolitanism, Hospitality, and Religious Pluralism (New York: Routledge,
2017), 32.
82 Keith Ward. Religion in the Modern World Celebrating Pluralism and Diversity (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2019), 34.
83 Ibid.
21
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