A Christian Theology of Religions: The Rainbow of Faiths

by John Harwood Hick

Renowned theologian and philosopher of religion John Hick takes a hard look at an important intellectual problem facing Christians today: where exactly does Christianity fit into the scheme of the world in light of other world religions? And is it possible to remain Christian while accepting the truth of other beliefs? Offering good reasons for why the traditional stance that Christianity is the only true religion is no longer workable, Hick puts forth a cogent defense of Christianity in the global context of other religions.

Genres: Philosophy, Religion, Theology

172 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1995

Reviews

[Nathaniel Dakin · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Hick's influential and important ideas on religious pluralism have been widely discussed by both his critics and fans. Some of his critics agree with what he is trying to do but don't agree with how he is going about it. Others think that any attempt to undermine the uniqueness of Christianity is at best simply wrong and at worst actively leading others into Hell.

This book is consists of three main sections. The first section Hick makes a forceful and compelling case for his brand of religious pluralism. He argues that the great world religions are all equally valid paths to salvation/liberation as all seek to turn the individual from a self-serving person in to a more selfless person who is properly oriented towards the Real to use Hick's term. his argument for this is very simple. We see the same fruits come out of the world religions. If the fruits are the same, then they must all be responding to something transcendent that is beyond any one religion. These are more or less the main points of Hick's arguments.

The next two sections, which take up 4 of the books 6 chapters, are dedicated the Hick's responses to his critics from the world of philosophy as well as theology. The chapters make use of quotes from Hick's critics to form questions asked by Phil (philosophy) and Grace (theology). At this point Hick responds directly to these questions and tries to answer them in a satisfactory way. Obviously Hick's success in this is measured by how well the individual thinks Hick answers the questions. I think he makes a great effort to answer the questions in a clear and persuasive way. Some of his answers are pretty airtight whereas others will not convince people who really want to hold onto certain views. For example, if one truly thinks that Christianity is unique in that it provides the only real path to salvation, then nothing Hick has to say will change that person's mind. Likewise if one is an atheist, then one is going to find much of this book unconvincing as Hick postulating yet another entity who's existence is unproven.

That being said, this book does provide the interested reader a very interesting and enlightening look at religious pluralism and ways around it's critiques. On the whole, Hick does a good job defending his project and even if one doesn't agree with all of it one should still admit that he responds well to the critiques, albeit not convincingly for everyone.

I would highly recommend this book to students of philosophy of religion as it is a great summary of Hick's religious pluralism and the great number of critiques. I would also recommend this book to people interested in religious pluralism for the same reasons.

[Kaleb]

An argument for a strong version of religious pluralism, from both a theological and philosophical perspective. John Hick argues that spiritual experience and spiritual fruits (empathy, kindness, etc.) are common to all religions. From this, it can be inferred that all religions are culturally conditioned responses to the “Real,” which is ultimately ineffable, unable to be explained or known through human concepts.

For the Kantians, he draws a rough analogy between this and noumena and phenomena. Noumenon is the thing in itself, the thing as it really is. However, we can only perceive things through our points of view, conditioned by our senses. As such, we can never perceive the thing in itself “as it really is.” Similarly with religious experience, we can never know the “Real” as it truly is, but only through our culturally conditioned experience.

Hick then writes two Platonic dialogues: “Phil,” who offers a philosophical critique of his view, and “Grace,” who offers a theological critique.

Against “Phil,” Hick argues that his view best explains why so many people of different faiths have had their lives changed by religion. Of course, this requires revising the exclusive claims of most religions. He suggests that religions should begin to set aside their exclusive claims of superiority, understand much of their stories as expressing mythological rather than literal truth, and judge their success by spiritual fruits instead of adherence to doctrine.

Against “Grace,” Hick acknowledges that his view would require a revision of many traditional Christian beliefs, such as the Incarnation and the divinity of Jesus. Regardless, he believes such beliefs are either philosophically incoherent, undermined by historical criticism of the Bible, or morally problematic.

This is an interesting and thought-provoking book. I don’t agree with everything, but there is clearly a great deal of value in humility, especially in religious matters. After reading about the Reformation, when people were being murdered for believing in adult baptism, I can definitely see the value of religious pluralism!

3.5

Quotes

A further result, making an even deeper and more significant impression on many people is the fact that by coming to know individuals and families of these various faiths it has become a fairly common discovery that our Muslim or Jewish or Hindu or Sikh or Buddhist fellow citizens are in general no less kindly, honest, thoughtful for others, no less truthful, honourable, loving and compassionate, than are in general our Christian fellow citizens. People of other faiths are not on average noticeably better human beings than Christians, but nor on the other hand are they on average noticeably worse human beings.

Suppose, then, we define salvation in a very concrete way, as an actual change in human beings, a change which can be identified - when it can be identified - by its moral fruits. We then find that we are talking about something that is of central concern to each of the great world faiths.

For in coming to understand itself as one among several different valid human responses to the Real each will gradually de-emphasize that aspect of its teaching which entails its own unique superiority.

[Ehsan]

This book is a written compilation by John Hick, based on critiques presented during the Auburn Lectures at Union Theological Seminary in New York in 1994, concerning the idea of Religious Pluralism. The book is organized into six chapters.

Chapter 1 explains the concept of religious pluralism.
Chapters 2 and 3 focus on philosophical critiques.
Chapters 4 and 5 discuss theological critiques of Hick and his criticism of Christian theology.
Chapter 6 explores the possibility of pluralistic transformation within Christianity and offers predictions about the future of religions in the world up to 2056 (60 years after the book's writing).

Hick’s argument for religious pluralism can be summarized as follows:

Premise 1: In our time, familiarity with different religions has increased. We encounter followers of other religions in daily life and find that they are not significantly different from us in terms of morality, spirituality, and rationality. It can even be said that we are roughly equal. This perspective is further reinforced by studying the theology and sacred texts of other religions, which are readily accessible. Historically, all religions and the civilizations built on them have both positive and negative aspects, making it difficult to declare one superior to another, especially since no precise criteria for such judgment exist.

Premise 2: Religions are not ontological encyclopedias; rather, they primarily serve as guides to salvation. Their main aim is to connect people with the Ultimate Reality or the Truth, transforming them from self-centeredness to truth-centeredness.

Premise 3: The criterion for a religion’s salvific power is the extent of its moral and spiritual fruits.

Premise 4: Regarding the salvific nature of non-Christian religions, three logical positions can be taken:

Exclusivism: Only Christians will be saved.
Inclusivism: Non-Christians can be saved, but only through conditions related to Christianity.
Pluralism: Any religion that leads to a transformation from self-centeredness to truth-centeredness is salvific.
Premise 5: Given the first three premises and the fact that the non-salvific nature of other religions cannot be proven, exclusivism and inclusivism are not reasonable positions.

Conclusion: Religious pluralism is the most reasonable stance regarding the diversity of religions, based on abductive reasoning (inference to the best explanation).

John Hick’s Predictions for the Future of Religions (Especially Christianity) in 2056:
1. Religious pluralism will expand worldwide.
2. Christian fundamentalists or evangelicals may form their own independent church.
3. Islam and Christianity will be the two largest religions in the world.
4 .Interest in religion will persist among people around the globe.
5. Churches will draw closer to one another, and some will merge.
6. The Catholic Church may permit women to become bishops, and it is even possible for a woman to be elected pope.
7. Interfaith relations will generally be positive and based on mutual acceptance.
8. Religions will increasingly collaborate for common human goals and to achieve social justice in the world.