DCT - religious pluralism and theology

the soteriological problem

can people of non-Christian religions or who hold no religious belief receive salvation?

Biblical support for restrictive access exclusivism

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" - John 14:6 "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved." - Acts 4:12

types of D'Costa's controlling beliefs - God and creation

the belief that God alone created the world; the belief that although God is one, he is also trinity or triune - comprising Father, Son and Holy Spirit

types of D'Costa's controlling beliefs - Eschatology

the belief that God promises a future state of bliss or 'beatific vision' after death for the elect or damnation for the wicked

universalism

the belief that God will restore the whole of the world to perfection; it rejects the belief that hell is eternal UAEs reject universalism because there can be no salvation outside the Church

types of D'Costa's controlling beliefs - Sola Christus

the belief that God's grace is possible only through Christ

types of D'Costa's controlling beliefs - Sin and election

the belief that humans are fallen and incapable of knowing God fully by themselves; God calls or elects some to salvation and some to damnation

types of D'Costa's controlling beliefs - Extra ecclesiam nulla salus

the belief that salvation is not possible outside the Church as the Church is the continuing mediator of Christ's presence on earth

types of D'Costa's controlling beliefs - Fides ex audito

the belief that true faith is only possible through hearing the Gospel as witnessed in the Bible and preached by the Church

theology of religion(s)

the branch of Christian theology that looks at the relationship between xianity and other world religions from a xian perspective

how can those born before Christ or into non-Christian societies be saved under UAE? - Preparation

the following qualities might be considered good preparation for a person to receive the Gospel when it is finally preached to them - living the moral life according to conscience and natural law - practice and devotion to God through a non-Christian religion - having a sensus divinitatis

epistemology

the study of knowledge

soteriology

the study of salvation or liberation according to Christian teaching and the different ways in which humans achieve this

universal access exclusivism (definition)

the view that God wills the redemption of everyone (universal salvation)

inclusivism

the view that although one's own religion is the normative (setting the standard of normality) means of salvation, those who accept its central principles may also receive salvation

exclusivism

the view that only one religion offers the complete means of salvation

restrictive access exclusivism (definition)

the view that salvation is only possible by directly hearing the Gospel (fides ex audito) and accepting baptism into the Church

pluralism

the view that there are many ways to salvation through different religious traditions

inculpably ignorant

those who cannot be blamed for not having heard or understood the Gospel due to age, place, culture, time in history or poor teaching

the epistemological problem

to what extent may the truth claims of non-Christian religions also be considered true within Christian theology?

criticism of exclusivism

RAE = cause of Xian imperialism, religious conflict and suffering RAE presents an unjust and unloving God because of his treatment of those who, through no fault of their own, are not Xian UAE lacks consistency - contradictions in what is sufficient for salvation Barth's emphasis on the ultimate unknowable mystery of God leads to theological agnosticism and incoherency - unsatisfactory as it undermines all theological attempts to compose a theology of religions exclusivists wrongly judge universalism as undermining Xian controlling beliefs - universalism's eschatological emphasis recognises God's love for all his creation and that all humans have the ability to enter the beatific vision

anonymous Christians

Rahner bases his argument on the following: famous speech given by St Paul at the Areopagus in Athens, where Paul refers to the altar of 'an unknown god' - although the Greeks worship what they cannot see, Xians know this unknown God explicitly through their encounter with Christ Rahner's interpretation = Paul does not condemn the Greek religion but sees it as a way for those who have not yet heard the Gospel to know God

Karl Rahner - the invisible and visible Church

Rahner considers the Church's role in salvation the Church cannot be an 'exclusive community' but has an important role to play in bringing the teachings of Christianity into the wider world in an increasingly secular world, a Christian has a duty to make God (who is greater than the Church) known to the world it is the role of the visible Church to proclaim the explicit means of grace as expressed in the person of Christ

Dominus Lesus (The Lord Jesus)

a Roman Catholic declaration made by the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith in 2001 its subtitle is 'On the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church' reasserts and clarifies that the Catholic Church is the one true Church of Christ BUT - RCC accepts that non-xian religions "often reflect a ray of that Truth" + advocate respect and non-judgement towards non-xian denominations

phenomena

a kantian term to describe reality as it appears to us, filtered by the human mind

noumena

a kantian term to describe reality as it really is, unfiltered by the human mind

plural society

a society which tolerates many different beliefs and lifestyles

anonymous Christianity (definition)

a term coined by Karl Rahner to refer to any religious institution which through its structures, practices and values is a means of grace

anonymous Christian (definition)

a term coined by Rahner for someone who is open to God's grace but not a Christian

restrictive inclusivism

although God makes provision for individuals who have not heard the gospel but nevertheless respond positively to natural law, conscience and true elements of their religion, they do not consider that a non-Christian religion can be salvific, as Rahner does a non-Christian religion at best may only be a good preparation for salvation BUT - this is really no different to UAE

particularism

an alternative name for exclusivism, meaning that salvation can only be found in one particular way

liberalism

an ideology which develops its laws based on the principle that humans flourish when given maximum freedoms and minimum control by governments

structural inclusivism - Karl Rahner

any religion whose structures develop an openness to God's grace as revealed in Jesus Christ may receive God's salvation the most sophisticated and influential version of this form of inclusivism was developed by the German Roman Catholic Jesuit, Karl Rahner

restrictive access exclusivism - the middle knowledge argument

attempt to justify the criticism that double predestination limits human freedom + the purpose of faith argument states that although God is omniscient and humans have some free will, God knows all that could happen Thus it is possible that God knows who would truly receive the Gospel had it been preached to them, including those born before the Gospel was revealed in Christ

why is there a need for the term 'anonymous Christians'

based on his argument that all humans desire grace, Rahner develops Aquinas' notion of the votum ecclesia - even wanting grace by faithfully following a non-Xian religion is sufficient to receive God's grace BUT not all non-Xian religions are equally legitimate - must be judged by the quality of salvation which it offers even so, some individuals live morally and religiously good lives outside the institution - how should they be judged? suggests that in addition to anonymous Xianity there are also anonymous Xians

different Christian responses to necessary and sufficient conditions for salvation

belief in the one God is necessary but not sufficient as you must also believe in Christ belief in Christ as God's son alone is necessary and sufficient for salvation belief in Christ is sufficient for salvation but not necessary as there are many other conditions e.g. kindness which may also enable salvation

criticisms of Rahner's inclusivism

he has made Christianity imperialist and offensive to non-Christians, especially his use of 'anonymous' to describe non-Christians it might be more accurate to say that Xians are anonymous Buddhists or Jews - if so, that suggests that Xianity is not the truth as it is supposed from the traditional Christian point of view focused too much on grace independent from Christ - moving too much towards theo-centric religion anonymous Christianity and the invisible Church is unbiblical - the Church grew out of the Israelite religion - false analogy to compare a non-Christian religion to the Israelite religion of the Old Testament i.e. Judaism is not non-Xian he has misused the term votum ecclesia - phrase refers to those who consciously wish to become members of the Christian Church; it does not make sense implicitly to wish to become a member of something without knowing what it is the fides ex audito principle is not possible for anonymous Xians - how can they confess their sins in a way which is recognisably Christian are all anonymous Xians better off not being Christians? - e.g. if a devout non-Xian of a lawful religion were to listen to the gospel but reject it, would he be better off not having heard it?

necessary and sufficient conditions

important relationship to distinguish a sufficient condition is one where it is enough for something to be the case; whereas a necessary condition is required for something to be the case is it necessary or sufficient for a person to believe in God to receive salvation? Gavin D'Costa - answer depends on the 'controlling beliefs' of a specific Christian tradition or community

how can those born before Christ or into non-Christian societies be saved under UAE? - Life after death

in hell, purgatory or in an intermediate state a person may encounter the Gospel and accept God's redemption in Christ

restrictive access exclusivism

most traditional version of the theology of religions particular emphasis on the sinfulness of human nature and thus the uniqueness of Christ as the only means of salvation Calvinists - humans are inherently sinful and God is under no obligation to save anyone BUT he is just and loving so he elects a few who have lived virtuous and devoted lives - limited election and double predestination

phenomenology

phenomenological existence refers to the experience of things as we encounter them and the structures of consciousness (as opposed to abstract or theoretical ideas of existence)

inter-faith dialogue

sharing and discussing religious beliefs between members of different religious traditions, with an aim of reaching better understanding

Rahner's existential openness to grace

strongly influenced by the existential philosophy of Martin Heidegger Rahner argues - all human experience of knowledge is limited and finite because human knowledge is finite, humans have to accept that they can only have an unconditional 'openness' to existence this 'openness' suggests that all humans, whether they know it consciously or not, desire grace and salvation deep down all humans are aware of their mortality and limitations and this prompts them to think about the nature of their existence or 'being' - reminiscent of Calvin's sensus divinitatis it is this claim that at the heart of 'being' we encounter God's grace which separates Rahner from Heidegger

Vatican II

the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, held from 1962 to 1965 to discuss the place of the Catholic Church in the modern world

Karl Barth - e.g. of exclusivist/inclusivist ambiguity in his discussion of Christianity and other religions

writes in the Calvinist exclusivist tradition BUT there are many points where he departs and even challenges the UAE position heart of Barth's theology = God may be known only when he reveals himself to those people whom he chooses - RAE + truth claims of non-xian religions should be abolished - Church Dogmatics BUT others say he is a UAE/Inclusivist - German word translated 'abolition' does not mean to destroy by to transform - Barth meant God's revelation transforms all religions as all religions are human attempts to understand the divine and none can claim to know the truth of God + Barth's teaching on the Trinity does not necessarily imply that only believing xians have access to God's saving grace