Pluralism and the Being of the Between
As a theologian by training and not a philosopher, I wish to explore the boundary line between the two so-called fields of study, utilizing metaphysical considerations to attempt to tackle what we would normally identify as purely theological issues, but which by their very nature beg boundary crossings. Theologians are notorious boundary crossers, often drawing upon philosophy both to generate the questions and cultivate the answers of their craft. My aim is to utilize metaphysics to explore the possibility of reorienting religious dialogue. Despite recent advances in dialogue, very real obstacles to real dialogue still remain, particularly for those who identify themselves as coming from "conservative" and "evangelical" sectors of religion who are more likely to view it as a threat to the integrity of their faith. Our world is one torn by violence and terror, at least partly motivated by religious dissent. Within this pressure-cooker of competing religious voices, there is a growing need for theologians and to find creative ways of bringing even the most reactionary of traditionalists to the discussion table. Addressing this situation presents one of the most pressing challenges for today's theologians, and by fiat, today’s philosophers as well.
The particular task of this essay is address this issue first with a criticism of the way in which the question of religious truth-claims is usually framed, moving to the development of a new framework for the discussion. I will first outline the traditional approach to this issue, pointing out how it accentuates the aforementioned problem. Secondly, I will reframe the problem using William Desmond's fourfold sense of being to formulate a stance toward religious dialogue that is more sensitive to evangelical needs. What I wish ultimately to accomplish is to provide a framework by which evangelicals can enter wholeheartedly into dialogue without a priori selling out what is most important about being evangelical.
Three Stances Toward the Religious Other
The standard typology used to address the issue of competing religious truth claims includes three approaches: exclusivism, inclusivism and pluralism. This typology most directly addresses soteriological issues, or how or whether a person of another religious tradition can find salvation without converting to my religion. Briefly put, exclusivism is the belief that the truth of one religion exclude the claims of others such that only one religious community can find salvation. Inclusivism generally is the belief in the ultimate
Religion has been a controversial topic among philosophers and in this paper I am focusing
Woodrow Wilson, our 23rd president, became involved in a war that he did not want any part of. Wilson wanted to remain neutral and have peace as in his first term of office. During World War I Wilson’s roles in the war became well known in all countries. Wilson wanted peace more than anything else. In seeking for peace Wilson asked Congress for the U.S. to enter World War I. which may not sound like a peace strategy but Wilson felt it was the only way to stop Germany and gain peace. Wilson wrote his speech for world peace, Fourteen Points, that he was probably most famous for. He attended and played an integral part in The Treaty of Versailles. He was the founder of the League of Nations, which he talked about in his Fourteen Points speech. .
Zora Neale Hurston’s, Their Eyes Were Watching God tells about the life of Janie Crawford. Janie’s mother, who suffers a tragic moment in her life, resulting in a mental breakdown, is left for her grandmother to take care of her. Throughout Janie’s life, she comes across several different men, all of which end in a horrible way. All the men that Janie married had a different perception of marriage. After the third husband, Janie finally returns to her home. It is at a belief that Janie is seeking someone who she can truly love, and not someone her grandmother chooses for her. Although Janie eventually lives a humble life, Janie’s quest is questionable.
Square Peg: Why Wesleyans Aren't Fundamentalists, a book edited by Al Truesdale and published by Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, examines two significantly different ways of understanding the nature and role of the Bible that mark different parts of Christ’s church. The first is represented by fundamentalism; the second by Wesleyan theology. The goal of the book is to help persons in Wesleyan denominations clearly understand the differences between Wesleyan theology and fundamentalist theology, and that even though both are of the Christian faith, how the theology between the two are incompatible with one another. “Without becoming divisive or claiming perfection in Christian doctrine, the various denominations hold theological positions that reflect their Christian experience, history and understanding of the Scriptures.” (loc 124 Kindle, Truesdale) Wesleyans believe that the proof of the gospel reside primarily in how a person lives their life and “not in logic and argumentation.” (loc 160 Kindle, Truesdale) They support the policy of that to get a better understanding of their faith, is the result of all fields of human exploration and research, from scientific to historical.
Theological objections, treated at length in the current volume, cut to the heart of the
Garrett’s concise treatment of an array of relevant questions is reflected in chapter titles like “Faith and Belief”, “The Bible and Theology”, “Sacramental Faith”, “Spiritual Practice”, “The Kingdom of God”, “The End of Things”, and “Friends or Rivals: Living in a Multifaith World”. Each chapter is a vivid explanation on how our life should be based on love, nothing else but the love of Christ, it contrasts the modern day depiction of God bein...
Cohen, Mark R. (1994) ‘Under Crescent and Cross, the Jews in the middle ages’ Princeton: Princeton University Press pp 30-50
There are three different perspectives towards all religions: Excluivism, Pluralism, and Inclusivism (lecture notes, 1/12). These views towards religions vary greatly and determine the parallels or disconnects between all of them. In brief, excluivism determines that whatever faith is outside their belief system is false. Pluralism is on the other side of the spectrum. Pluralism express the fact that though there are many different religions and practices they are all equal in truth. Catholicism takes the perspective of Inclusivism. This point of view stresses the fact that all religions have some grasps of objective truths but, to do not have the universal truth.
Woodrow Wilson, Born in Virginia in 1856 and raised in Georgia and South Carolina, was the 28th president of the United States. He enacted significant reform legislation during his two terms. Surprisingly, he was a political novice who had held only one public office before becoming president, but fortunately enough possessed considerable political skill. He was a brilliant and effective public speaker, but he found it difficult to work well with other government officials because he did not deal well with disagreements. Wilson developed a program of progressive reform and asserted international leadership in building a new world order. In 1917 he proclaimed American entrance into World War I a crusade to make the world "safe for democracy" (similar to George W. Bush, who has used this phrase in his war against terrorism).
"EXPLORING THEOLOGY 1 & 2." EXPLORING THEOLOGY 1 2. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2014.
In Federalist No. 10, James Madison stresses that “measures are too often decided, not according to the rules of justice and the rights of the minor party, but by the superior force of an interested and overbearing majority.” Madison philosophized that a large republic, composed of numerous factions capable of competing with each other and the majority must exist in order to avoid tyranny of majority rule.# When Federalist No. 10 was published, the concept of pluralism was not widely used. However, the political theory that is the foundation for United States government was the influential force behind pluralism and its doctrines.
Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States, led America through World War I and created the Versailles Treaty's "Fourteen Points," the foremost of which was the “League of Nations”. Wilson also signed the 19th Amendment allowing women the right to vote. Wilson considered himself the representative of the people and believed in creating a new world order of democracy. His ideas led to the philosophy known as “Wilsonianism”. This is a foreign policy which believes peace will prosper if given the right conditions around the world. His drive and belief in ideals is apparent throughout his life, and he is responsible for many of America’s achievements during World War I as well as many mistakes. (Sidey)
Smart, Ninian. "Blackboard, Religion 100." 6 March 2014. Seven Dimensions of Religion. Electronic Document. 6 March 2014.
The thesis of this essay is that philosophy is at an important crossroads at the end of the twentieth century in its role as paideia—philosophy educating humanity. An unprecedented challenge and opportunity for philosophy today is to mediate, and enhance understanding of the relationship, between science, ethics and faith. A central question arises: What can philosophy contribute to the emerging dialogue between science and theology? The emerging science-theology dialogue is characterized by complexity and considerable confusion regarding proper methodologies, goals, and possible interactions. There are at least three major schools, model...
Ian Barbour introduced four models to establish the relationship between religion and science in his book, “Religion In An Age of Science”. This included the Conflict, Separation, Dialogue, and Integration models. The dialogue model in particular describes the methodological parallels that exist between the two paradigms. In this model, both science and religion are areas with significant knowledge of the unive...