Religious Pluralism & the Question of Truth - Essay Example

Full and Number Netland, Harold. Dissonant Voices: Religious Pluralism & the Question of Truth. The author describes various religions. It states that the exclusivity of Christianity means that any religion that does not adhere to the main theme, core, and claims of Christianity is not a true religion. In other words, anything other than, as stated by Wikipedia (2006) a "religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ" is not Christianity. To be a Christian, one should believe that God sent His son to die on the cross and that He rose again to save us from our sins. Christians believe that God created man and then man chose to sin. Because God is so holy, man had tainted himself with his choice to sin and that there was no other way to make us pure and unite us back to Him without the blood shed by Jesus. So God made Himself a human known as Jesus who lived on this earth to face life and all of its temptations and responsibilities so that He can be an example for us. Then he was crucified on the cross, which was necessary to deliver us from our sins in order to unite us with God. Then Jesus came back from the dead and descended up to Heaven to be with God, the Spirit again. After Jesus' death, God came as a spirit into the conscience of Christians and now dwells within Christians. The Holy Spirit, as Christians believe, is their conscience which speaks to them about right and wrong. Therefore, Christianity comprises of the Holy Trinity, which means that God consists of God himself, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Christian exclusivism states that Student's Last Name 2 this is the only true religion and anything that does not agree with the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is not Christianity and is a false religion. It also comprises of the belief that God inspired twelve different apostles, or disciples, to write the Bible. Christians believe that anything that goes against the Bible is false. The author of this book states that religious pluralism means that in various religions, or all religions, God is there and is being revealed. It is the opposite of Christian exclusivism. Not one religion is right or wrong, true or false. God makes Himself known in all religious practices. This is a very open-minded view. All religions disagree on three main subjects, or beliefs. These contradicting topics include: the one true God (Mohammed, Allah, Nirvana, the Holy Trinity, and other names that people call God), that man rebels from God, and that mankind is will be reincarnated as we will eventually change to something else. In other words, this means that our current life is not what it will always be. (Netland, 1999.) The author believes that theologians basically hold these opinions, or views, on truth: That there is personal truth and propositional truth. Groothius (2002) states that "propositional, or declarative statements, are subject to various kinds of verification and falsification. A statement can be proven false if it can be shown to disagree with objective reality. The photographs from outer space depicting the earth as a blue orb (along with other kinds of evidence) falsified any stubborn flat-earth claims. Certainly, not all falsification is as straightforward as this; but if statements are true or false by virtue of their relationship to what they attempt to describe, this makes possible the marshaling of evidence for their veracity or falsity." Student's Last Name 3 Netland writes that theologians believe that rightfully, one can apply personal truth to religious matters but propositional truth cannot be applied to religion. He also states theologians believe that although both types of truth can be applied to religion, personal truth forms the base, or foundation, of religion. The author does not believe that these views are enough. He finishes up with saying that if someone believes that the various religions all bring us to the same place or teaches the same thing, then logic must be applied. Base your thoughts, ideas, and views on logic. For those who believe in Christian exclusivism, the author's ideas and views can support your beliefs in one religion. Lipner, Julius. Truth Claims and Inter-religious Dialogue. Religious Studies 12 (1976); 230. Dr. Lipner discusses the nature of cross-cultural and inter-religious dialogue. He is a scholar of Hinduism. By empathizing and focusing on the goal of mutual understanding, constructive dialogue is better achieved. We do not have to be just like another or adopt the other's beliefs but we should be open to the idea of trying to understand where the other person is coming from and to appreciate the differences. Inter-religious dialogue is necessary was we have existing relationships and live together with people who have faith in different religions. Truths can be spoken to people of all faiths and walks. The truth claims and dialogue are not just intended for one religion or a certain group of religious believers. He encourages love in both the Christianity and Hinduism religions. The Godly loves of these religions are called agape and Student's Last Name 4 bakhti. These loves are considered unconditional love and not a love that is romantic, physical, or conditional but an unconditional love that God offers. Lipner has studied both Christianity and Hinduism in full detail and in complete depth in order to discover the two religions' common ground. By the dialogue we choose and use, a Christian's message can be delivered just as one who in Hinduism can also deliver his/her message. It is the truth of each diverse religion that can be delivered through inter-religious dialogue. There is now a theology of religions. Various religions can merge as this is a system of theologies. If Christians want to keep up with the current then they must be accepting of this is what the author believes. Non-acceptance and close-mindedness will not help encourage others to believe in the Christian faith as this will appear judgmental and all-righteous. It is by our life examples and acceptance of others' difference that speaks more than anything we can say. The dialogue of communities must express this to others. The author believes that although there are many differences in the various religions, there are also similarities. For example, the religions of Christianity and Hinduism contrast and differ tremendously. However, each believes that by living in faith, the end result will bring blissfulness, peace, and happiness. Both also believe that God works in mysterious ways. The website http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/interreligious/77glines-e.html The website http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/interreligious/77glines-e.html was created by the World Council of Churches. It is about guidelines on dialogue with people of living faiths and ideologies. Dialogue is a conversation between two people. In this case, the Student's Last Name 5 dialogue is between people with different religious beliefs. The simple, small dialogues (or conversations) have resulted in big communities that are strongly connected regardless of differences in religion. The reason this website was created is to help people know how to converse with others whose religious beliefs are not the same as theirs. Its purpose is to help people improve the dialogue that happens between people with completely different views on religion. The theme of the website is "Dialogue in Community." The Christian community that lives within the community of those who do not believe the same have a message about their faith that they want to share. They want to communicate, serve, help, and participate with those who do not have the same religious beliefs without sacrificing, or diluting their own religious views. The World Council of Churches hopes to create and improve a dialogue that will reconcile and unite people of various beliefs. They have this hope through their faith in Jesus Christ. Religion is a topic that can cause all kinds of issues and problems when being discussed by those who do not believe the same and because of this, a community can be broken, torn down, and destroyed. Because Christians have to function in a community that does not believe fully, or if at all, in their religious views, it is important that all aspects of life whether it be political, scientific, technological, personal, etc. can and are influenced by our dialogue and religion. Christians believe that God created communities, judges them, and renews (restores) them. Christians pay close attention to what is going on in the world and they believe that they Student's Last Name 6 should deliver their message and carry on their faith yet in the respect and understanding of those who believe differently. Because of today's society, with work, school play, television, computers, technology, etc. our communities have grown and are quite varied. Humans feel that we belong to some communities and yet are very alienated, or do not fit in, with other communities. This is reality. Communities, like everything else in life, constantly changes especially in today's modern society. However, if change is so quick and so constant, people will seek a sense of belonging from other sources and not from a community. They may draw away and alienate themselves from a community if the changes in a community are too much to deal with. Communities can be interrelated, or drawn together, due to peace and under good diversity (differences) with communities especially when it comes to different religious beliefs. Christians believe that they should spread the message of peace throughout and yet they have to be aware of the peace that does not exist in communities. Christian communities have to live within communities that are influenced by other religions. They believe that they live in the world but are not of this world. Because of these religious differences, Christians and churches have been socially, culturally, and nationally suppressed. They have faced many threats and persecutions. The Christians and their churches have had their identities threatened and their freedom has been limited and restricted. Student's Last Name 7 Although Christians are very aware of the dangers and negative results of diversity, or differences, they also understand their responsibilities to God in keeping the peace and sharing the message of God's love. They understand God's judgment, His rule over all human communities, and His blessings for everyone. This website states that Christians believe in the good news of the Bible, which is also known as The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. As stated earlier, Jesus Christ is the son of God. God came down to earth in the form of a human being, Jesus, and delivered the Gospel, or the good news, that He has come to earth to live as a human, to be crucified, and to rise again. This is in order to deliver, or to save, us from our sins and to unite us back to God. All we have to do is believe in The Gospel and that Jesus Christ died for us on the cross and rose again. There are different ways that we can communicate, or carry on, a dialogue to others about The Gospel. Please read the following ways in which Christians can speak of their experiences and beliefs: our communion in the Church as sacrament (a rite which is believed to be a visible form of grace, which is a favor granted by God) of the reconciliation ( or reuniting) and unity of humankind recreated through the saving activity of God in Jesus Christ; our communion with God who, in the fullness of His Trinity (God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, or God within us-our conscience) calls humankind into unity with Him in His eternal communion with His entire creation; Student's Last Name 8 our communion in fellowship (relationship, time spent, and interaction) with all members of the Body of Christ (the group of Christian believers is known as the Body of Christ) through history, across distinction of race, sex, caste and culture; a conviction that God in Christ has set us free for communion (the act of sharing, spending time) with all peoples and everything which is made holy by the work of God. Dialogue is an important part of a Christian's service to the community in which they live. Christians are to "love God and their neighbors as (themselves)." Dialogue allows Christians to obey this command as it is a way to express love and faith through the example of our daily living and communicating with others especially those who do not share the same religious beliefs. Beverslius, Joel. Sourcebook of the World's Religions: An Interfaith Guide to Religion and Spirituality. Canada: New World Library Publishers, 2000. This book is an anthology, or a collection of literature, on interfaith (of relating, or involving persons of different religious faiths). Twenty various religious and spiritual beliefs such as Christianity, Taoism, Hinduism, Nature Spirituality, Wicca, etc. are included as their histories are Student's Last Name 9 discussed. (Christianity is the belief of the Trinity (God or Father, Son or Jesus, and Holy Spirit or the conscience; Taoism is a Chinese religion that believes that the universe consists of endless energy and motion-the Yin and Yang and complete wholeness; Hinduism is teachings based on ancient scriptures of a path that leads to God --like the branches of a tree; Nature Spirituality believes that the elements are nature spirits that are the life force; Wicca is also known as witchcraft and is earth-centered and focused on goddesses). The history and dialogue of each religion are evaluated. The book discussed how humans with such different beliefs can live in a united community, on that respects all aspects of nature, people, and the environment, as long as we work on developing a dialogue that will respect, accommodate, and consider the various religions and believes that make up a community. The author suggests that all religions can work together to help unite the world. Major religions are explored as their understanding is crucial as we live in interfaith communities. Regardless of what we believe or what we want to believe and accept, the reality is that we live side by side with people whose religious views (along with many other views) are very diversified and different from ours. So we must accept this and work with it and let it work for us and one another instead of against each other. Religion and spirituality should build and connect and not tear down and destroy. This is the direction in which spirituality is heading in the future as it is already currently happening. Student's Last Name 10 Wiggins, James. In Praise of Religious Diversity. United States Christians seek to communicate to other communities especially those of various religions and yet still keep a non-judgmental standpoint as they spread the word of their beliefs. Some minister, help and reach out, to people with good intentions and good will. Others do it more in a judgmental, condemning, or even wrongful way. The motives of Christians are usually always questioned. There are many different terms on how people view religion. From the pluralist to exclusivist to inclusivist, regardless of which point of view we tend to lean to (or take), humans are still saying that any religion other than the one that they believe in, the way they view things, is still sub-par and not the real, true religion. Religious pluralism is to believe that your religion of choice is not the only truth and that various religions and believers can relate with each other peacefully. Religious exclusivists believe that their religion is the only true religion out there. If someone disagrees and believes otherwise, or differently, then he/she is considered by exclusivists as believing in a false religion. Religious inclusivists do not believe that other religions, besides what they believe in, are wrong but they do see that these other religions are only half truths and incomplete. They do not disregard various religions all together and say that they are false religions but inclusivists do believe that these diversified religions are not complete. The author believes that to be a real Christian and act in the true manner of Christianity is to accept the various religions and to respect and praise people for worshipping and believing in different ways. He says this is the truest form of being a Christian and of the Christian faith. He Student's Last Name 11 encourages readers to have a dialogue that is open and accepting of the diversity of religions. As humans learn to be open-minded and willing to listen wholeheartedly to other people's views and beliefs, this is the truest form of religion and will attempt unite our diverse world and open up so many other opportunities. Student's Last Name 12 References Groothius, D. (2002). What is Truth Retrieved April 12, 2006, from http://www.leaderu.com/theology/groothuis-truth.html. Netland, H. (1999). Dissonant Voices: Religious Pluralism & the Question of Truth. United States: Regent College Publishing, 1999. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2006). Retrieved April 12, 2006, from http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity. Read More