Interfaith Dialogue - June 23, 2009

Scripture:

• John 14:6
• Acts 4:11-12
• Romans 3:1-2
• Romans 11:1-2, 25-29
• 1 Corinthians 3:11
• 1 Corinthians 8:4-6
• Colossians 1:19-20
• 1 Timothy 2:3-6

Articles:

• "Is Our God Listening?" Diana Eck Encountering God
• Jerusalem launches debate on sharing holiest site
  
• Interfaith dialogue is pointless without intra-faith reflection
• The Pluralism Project

Our discussion this week examined the Christian response to the reality of religious plurality. We focused upon the tripartite model of exclusivism, inclusivism, and pluralism as explained by Dr. Diana L. Eck. The meeting began with some brief explanatory notes elaborating upon Eck's description. She defines Christian responses to religious plurality based upon how they answer the question, "When people of other faiths pray, is our God listening?" This question appears simple enough but has deep repercussions for how we as Christians engage those of other faiths, as well as how we understand God.

Is it OK to just say, "I don't know"? God is far beyond our understanding, none of us has access to the Book of Life, so can we just leave the issue at human ignorance? Some members of the group were fine to do so, but it cannot be ignored that some Christians feel that they do know, largely based upon scripture. We turned our focus to the scripture and looked at how each verse could be read according to a specific slant. While John 14.6's "No one comes to the Father except through me" could be taken as being black-and-white exclusivist, some viewed this statement as being more inclusivist (i.e. Christ's salvific acts allow humanity to come into a new relationship with God not possible without Jesus; one doesn't have to believe in Jesus in order to be saved by him). The conclusion was reached that an exclusivist would have the easiest time using the Bible to prove his/her point while a pluralist would have a more difficult time.

The term "pluralist" continued to cause some problems in comprehension. When one of the basic tenets of the Christian faith is that salvation comes through Jesus Christ, is an individual who believes salvation is possible apart from Christ really a Christian? How does pluralism differ from syncretism or relativism? Further reading will (eventually) be posted in order to better explain these differences.

When dealing with interfaith dialogue in modern society, one must also factor in the accompanying political and cultural ramifications. This is true in America as it is elsewhere in the world. In addition, religious communities are often self-segregating, which might allow for greater religious harmony. However, does this arrangement allow for true engagement with other faith traditions? While it might create a superficial peace and tolerance, without making strides towards mutual understanding, true peace cannot be reached between those of different religious traditions until the move is made from tolerance to curiosity to understanding to celebration.

As requested and as I trepidatiously agreed, here are a couple of papers I wrote in college on the topic:

• The Ramifications of Religious Pluralism for Ministry: How Christian Communities Are Currently Responding to this Challenge and a Vision for the Future
• Exclusivist Christians and Islam: Misperceptions Due to Internal Insecurities
  

Questions for further reflection:
- What is the goal of interreligious dialogue?
- Which Christian response to the issue of religious plurality holds the most promise for American society?
- When people of other faiths pray, is our God listening?