I found this article very interesting. It is a letter in response to another article. However, the points about the theologically weak position of religious exclusivism are very good.
Richard Berquist's Jan. 5 Counterpoint page article, "Truth of religion is God's business," makes a good philosophical point: There is no necessary link between the belief in the superiority or exclusive truth of one's own religious tradition on the one hand, and religious totalitarianism and intolerance (let alone violence) on the other. But the jump from the former theological position to the latter attitude is a short one and has been made with disturbing frequency throughout history.Any thoughts?Religious exclusivism (the belief that one's own tradition alone has truth in its entirety, and therefore exclusively possesses "salvational efficacy") is also a very weak theological position.
For one thing, as the overwhelming majority of people remain in the tradition into which they are born, one should be highly suspicious of the fact that many people believe that they, and not others, have had the good fortune to be born into the "one, true religion." The criteria by which they judge the superiority of their own religion are derived from within the religion itself, thus stacking the deck in their own favor. And all too often, religious exclusivists come to the theologically untenable and morally repugnant conclusion that God would consign others to damnation simply for practicing another faith.
The more one approaches the study of the world's religions with an open heart and mind, the more one discovers that all major world religions contain beauty and truth, and that all of them also have their dark sides and blind spots.
This is not to say that all religions are the same; I agree with Berquist's criticism of Thomas Friedman here. But the fact that, along with significant similarities, many important differences exist is precisely why members of different religious traditions need to learn from each other. If we approach interfaith dialogue with humility and an acknowledgment that we can never know truth in its entirety, we achieve not only a deep appreciation for others' traditions, but can gain an enriched understanding of our own.
Religious pluralism is both a theologically strong position and one that is truest to religious humility; it is also the path to harmony among the world's religions (though not unison, for harmony depends on difference). Friedman is ultimately correct in believing, therefore, that a commitment to pluralism is an essential component in world peace.
— Mark Berkson, St. Paul. Assistant professor of religion, Hamline University.Star Tribune, Saturday, January 13, 2002
Thirdson