The Gospel Answer to Pluralism

In a blog post last week, I put forward one possible way for a Christian to respond to the common charge that holding to the exclusivity of Christ (that is, the idea that God has spoken finally and definitively in and through Jesus, and that no one can come to God or hear from God apart from His revelation in Christ) is a narrow-minded bigot.

Specifically, I tried to highlight the fact that all religious claims are exclusive; even the person who says, “All religions are basically the same, so it’s narrow-minded and intolerant to tell another person that their beliefs are wrong,” is, by definition, being narrow-minded and intolerant. They’re saying that their view of religion – that they’re all basically the same – is the right position, and trying to persuade others of the rightness of that position.

So, all of us are all exclusive in our beliefs about religion, but in different ways. And I suggested at the end of last week’s post that the religious claims of Christianity (i.e., the gospel) – as bigoted and arrogant as many people think they are – actually provide a much better basis for having peaceful, respectful dialogue with people whose views differ, than that of any other approach to God. I promised another blog post to explore how and why that is so? So (again, with the help of Tim Keller’s book, The Reason for God) here it is.

Keller says that within the key beliefs of Christianity, there are rich resources that can make its followers agents for peace in the world. It has the power to purge divisive, arrogant tendencies within the human heart. The biggest of these resources is the message of the gospel itself.

Most religions and philosophies of life assume that one’s spiritual status depends on their religious accomplishments. This view naturally leads adherents to feel superior to those who don’t believe or behave like they do. But we know that the message of the gospel is that all people are dead in sin and therefore enemies of God, and that it is only because of the mercy of God in offering up His beloved Son for our sins that any of us can be forgiven and accepted by Him (Ephesians 2:1-10).

At the core of our faith is a Man who died for His enemies, praying for their forgiveness. This should lead – if we really believe the message we proclaim – to great humility, patience and respect for those who don’t believe like us. For we know that the only reason we differ from anyone else is God’s lavish grace bestowed upon us in Christ, received through faith alone. Embracing this gospel, we can be agents of peace and love in a world that opposes us, just as Jesus was God’s agent of peace and love in a world that opposed Him.

There is a vivid and powerful illustration of this in the early centuries of the Christian Church. The predominant religious beliefs in the Greco-Roman world was very much like our own day – everyone had his or her own god. The practices of the society were quite brutal, though. There was a huge class gap between the rich and the poor. But as the gospel took root in that society, the Christians (who believed that the one true God had revealed Himself finally and definitively in Jesus) were remarkably welcoming to those who the culture had marginalized.

The early Christians mixed people from different races and classes in a way that seemed scandalous to those around them. Christians gave generously to the poor, not only to those of their own faith, but to those of other faiths as well. In the culture, women had very low status, leading to high levels of female infanticide. Christians, however, afforded women much greater security and equality than had ever existed in the ancient world. During the rise of terrible plagues in the first two centuries, Christians cared for all the sick in the city – whether Christians or not – often at the cost of their lives.

Strong faith in the gospel led these early believers to a radically sacrificial and generous love towards all the members of their society, regardless of their religious beliefs. So as we continue to herald the exclusive message of forgiveness of sins and peace with God through Christ alone, may we meet the charges of intolerance and bigotry with a manner of sacrificial love that silences our opponents and leads to the praise of God’s glory (1 Peter 2:12, 15).