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The Particularity of Christ and the Plurality of Religions

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The Particularity of Christ and the Plurality of Religions This material has been provided by Asbury Theological Seminary in good faith of following ethical procedures in its production and end use. The Copyright law of the united States (title 17, United States code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyright material. Under certain condition specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to finish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specific conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law. By using this material, you are consenting to abide by this copyright policy. Any duplication, reproduction, or modification of this material without express written consent from Asbury Theological Seminary and/or the original publisher is prohibited. Contact B.L. Fisher Library Asbury Theological Seminary 204 N. Lexington Ave. Wilmore, KY 40390 B.L. Fisher Library’s Digital Content place.asburyseminary.edu Asbury Theological Seminary 205 North Lexington Avenue 800.2ASBURY Wilmore, Kentucky 40390 asburyseminary.edu ABSTRACT The Particularity of Christ and the Plurality of Religions: A Dialectical Paradigm for Developing A Christian Theology of Religions Narendra Singh The purpose of this dissertation is to interpret and evaluate contemporary representative proposals for a Christian theology of religions on the basis of the dialectical relational paradigm the historic Christian church has used in formulating its doctrine and practice. In the process, a viable Christian theology of religions is developed congruent with this historical model. The author demonstrates in chapter tv^o that the dialectical relational paradigm is a historical reality. The church has again and again resorted to retaining dialectical tensionality in resolving christological, theological, and ecclesiological issues. Chapter two thus functions not only as a model of dialectical tension to evaluate the positions discussed in chapters three, four, and five, but also gives historical foundation to the dialectical theology of religions developed in chapter six. This study demonstrates that three prominent approaches to a Christian theology of religions-religious pluralism, Christian exclusivism, and ecumenical inclusivism resolve the dialectical relation between the particularity of Christ and the plurality of religions. The study focuses on two main contenders for each position. John Hick and Paul Knitter represent the pluralistic position; Hendrik Kraemer and Ronald Nash represent the exclusivistic position; and Karl Rahner and Clark Pinnock represent the inclusivistic position. The author discusses the pluralistic theology of religions in chapter three, the exclusivistic theology of religions chapter four, and the inclusivistic theology of religions in chapter five. Each chapter focuses on revelation, christology, and soteriology. Each chapter concludes with a brief evaluation based on the model of historical reality of dialectical tension. In an attempt to construct a dialectical Christian theology of religions, the author shows in chapter six that a dialectical Christian theology of religions, as opposed to the other three types of Christian theology of religions, is congruent with the historical model of dialectical tension. Chapter seven provides a missiological strategy congruent with the dialectical theology of religions of chapter six, arguing that dialogical discernment holds both the proclamational and dialogical natures of Christian mission together. The following conclusions emerge from this study: (1 ) God is open to the people of other religions. (2) Religious pluralism contributes to the fuller understanding of the whole truth about Jesus Christ. (3) Christian theology can become relevant in a religiously pluralistic world without losing its proper understanding of the mystery of God in Christ authenticated in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. (4) The church experiences God's revelation both in Jesus Christ and in other religions. Dialogical discernment is a useful approach for relating to the people of other religions. DISSERTATION APPROVAL SHEET This dissertation, entitled THE PARTICULARITY OF CHRIST AND THE PLURALITY OF RELIGIONS: A DIALECTICAL PARADIGM FOR DEVELOPING A CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY OF RELIGIONS written by Narendra Singh and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy has been read and approved by the undersigned members of the Faculty of the E. Stanley Jones School of World Mission and Evangelism Asbury Theological Seminary Date: November 1998 Clark H. Pinnock THE PARTICULARITY OF CHRIST AND THE PLURALITY OF RELIGIONS: A DIALECTICAL PARADIGM FOR DEVELOPING A CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY OF RELIGIONS by Narendra Singh A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the E. Stanley Jones School of World Mission and Evangelism In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree Asbury Theological Seminary Wilmore, Kentucky November 1998 � 1998 Narendra Singh ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Table Of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction 1 The Problem of Religious Pluralism 2 Religious Pluralism in India 2 Hinduism 3 Islam 4 An Overview 5 Religious Pluralism in America 5 Background to the Problem: Three Popular Approaches to Theology of Religions 9 Exclusivism 9 Pluralism 10 Ecumenical Inclusivism 10 Statement of the Problem 11 Dialectical Relational Method 12 Focus and Limitations 15 Procedure 16 Chapter 2 Dialectical Tension: A Historical Reality � � 17 Christological Tension: Divine or Human: Early Church Period .... 17 Theological Tension: Transcendence or Immanence: Enlightenment Period 27 Ecclesiological Tension: Proclamation or Social Action: Modern Period 42 Missiological Tension: Particularity or Plurality: Post-modern Period . 48 Summary 51 Notes 53 Chapter 3 Religious Pluralism: A Global Reality 54 A Global Reality of Religious Pluralism 54 Revelational Commonness 56 Christological Relativity 64 Soteriological Oneness 74 Many and not One: Pluralistic Theology of Religions 82 Notes 84 Chapter 4 Christian Exclusivism: An Absolute Reality 86 The Uniqueness of Jesus Christ 87 Revelational Discontinuity 90 Christological Finality 99 Soteriological Exclusivity 105 One and not Many: Exclusivistic Theology of Religions Ill Notes 115 Chapter 5 Ecumenical Inclusivism: A Bipolar Reality 116 Revelational Universality 118 Christological Anonymity 124 Soteriological Openness 133 ii 143 One in Many: Inclusivistic Theology of Religions ^47 Notes Chapter 6 148 Christian Theology of Religions: A Dialectical Reality 1 50 The Particularity of Christ and Plurality of Religions Revelational Plurality Christological Particularity ''^2 Soteriological Experienciality 183 One and Many: Dialectical Theology of Religions ^89 Notes Chapter 7 . nyu Dialogical Discernment: A Contextual Reality The Missionary Nature of the Church 1Q8 Dialogical Proclamation 205 Experiencing Vulnerability in Dialogue 908 Presence Prior to Proclamation . 216 Conclusion^ , 220 Notes 221 References Cited Ill ACKNOWLEDGMENT I am indebted to many people for making this project possible. Most of all. I am indebted to my mentor for this dissertation, Dr. A. H. Mathias Zahniser who encouraged me to undertake this project and helped me to bring it to completion. Many insights and thoughts in the process of finishing this dissertation I owe to him. The other members of my dissertation committee. Dr. Eunice Irwin, Dr. Howard Snyder, have also been valuable sources of wisdom, insight, and encouragement. I am deeply grateful to them and to other faculty members, and to Mrs. Pat Richmond of the E. Stanley Jones School of World Mission and Evangelism. They provided me an atmosphere to continue to grow in commitment and openness in my Christian pilgrimage. My special thanks is due to Dr. Clark H. Pinnock. professor of McMaster Divinity College, for serving in the committee and providing helpful suggestions, insights, and encouragement. I am also grateful to the Partners International. Canada, and Southland Christian Church. Lexington. KY for granting me financial assistance for my doctoral studies. I am thankful to Dr. Mathias and Ann Zahniser for providing me housing and hospitality during the last two months I was away from my family for the purpose of bringining this project to completion. Above all, I am grateful to my wife Pushpanjali and my two sons Nishant and Niyash for their constant support for the completion of this project. They have all been eagerly waiting for its completion so that I can be more tangible to them as husband and father. V 1 CHAPTER 1 Introduction Religious pluralism has been regarded by many theologians and missiologists as the single greatest challenge to the Christian faith at the beginning of the twenty first century. Max Warren, former general secretary of the Church Missionary Society in London, predicted in 1958 that "the impact of agnostic science will turn out to have been as child's play compared to the challenge to Christian theology of the faith of other men" (Cited in Smith, 1972:121). Similarly, sociologist Peter Berger claims that "modernity has plunged religion into a very specific crisis, characterized by secularity,
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