Norman Metzler

A fundamental question that has dogged Christianity from its earliest beginnings is raised by “the scandal of particularity,” a term coined by the English missionary and theologian Lesslie Newbigin in his book, The Gospel in a Pluralistic Society. [Eerdmans, 1989] Why would the almighty God of the universe reveal truth that is meant for all of humanity through such an obscure, particular person like Jesus of Nazareth, a humble carpenter in the hinterlands of Palestine, 2000 years ago? Is it not presumptuous of Christianity to claim that its Gospel is the only way of salvation for all of humanity, when most of humanity has never heard the Chistian message during their lives on earth? If the God revealed in Christ is so loving and gracious, why would he have blessed only a minority of humanity with the privilege of hearing the Gospel and receiving the gift of faith? Various biblical passages give the impression that only a relatively select few people are chosen to receive the gift of salvation, which is widely understood to mean that those not chosen are excluded from salvation and destined for an eternity of torment in hell – or at the very least destined for annihilation. [Mt. 22:14] How can Christians reconcile the scope of divine grace revealed through Christ with the view that most of those for whom Christ died never got to hear that Good News during their sojourn on earth? These are reasonable and sobering questions that Christians need to address forthrightly if we wish to fulfil our mission of sharing the Gospel winsomely in our modern, globally connected world. We offer a number of perspectives that may assist Christians in dealing with “the scandal of particularity.” Our contention is this: only if salvation through Christ is truly universal in scope does the Gospel overcome the “scandal of particularity” inherent in the fact that only a relatively small percentage of humanity has been blessed to hear what is supposed to be “good news of great joy that will be for all people.” [Lk. 2:10]

I
Let us begin by considering how any knowledge or truth claims, including religious knowledge or truth claims, come into our world and are accumulated in the repository of human information. They are brought into our collective awareness only through particular events, insights, or revelations. Let us take as an example the scientific truth that the earth revolves around the sun, which was discovered by a particular scientist, Copernicus, at a particular time in history, around 1508, in a particular part of the world, Poland. That scientific truth discovered by Copernicus at a particular time and place is now known to be true for all people of all times and places, including all those who were unaware of this truth and lived their lives believing that the sun revolved around the earth. Copernicus was a faithful Christian and learned teacher when he offered his revolutionary heliocentric theory to the Church and thereby added it to the storehouse of human knowledge.

Similarly, Christianity claims that the Gospel revealed to the world through a particular person, Jesus of Nazareth, approximately 2000 years ago in Palestine, applies to all people of all times and places, including all those who have lived their lives unaware of this Gospel truth. Those with the gift of faith in Christ are blessed to live with a hopeful and confident awareness of this saving work of Christ for them. However, in order for Christianity to avoid the scandal of particularity, its message necessarily has to be Good News for all people, not just the minority of humanity that has heard and believed the Gospel. The problem with most traditional Christian messaging is that it sounds to the non-Christian world very much like the Jewish religious leaders sounded to Jesus – arrogant, exclusive, judgmental. Although traditional Christianity claims in general terms that Christ died for all — referred to by some as “objective justification” – it seriously qualifies this general claim by insisting that only those with faith in Christ will actually be saved. This means that the rest of humanity is condemned to endless torment in hell, even though they may never have heard the Gospel and had the chance to believe it. It should be obvious that this significant condition placed upon the supposedly unconditional grace of God in Christ cannot be heard by any critically reflective unbelievers as Good News, and therefore poses a huge scandal to the non-Christian world. Only if Christianity unambiguously proclaims the universal scope of Christ’s saving work without conditions can it avoid Newbigin’s scandal of particularity.

If salvation is universal, then by God’s grace, those who never get to hear and believe the Gospel are only fated to live without this saving knowledge during their relatively brief time on earth. At the Final Judgment they will hear directly from Judge Jesus what those with the gift of faith will already have known, namely that his saving work on the cross covered their sins along with the sins of all humanity, and that his resurrection assured them of eternal life with him in the kingdom of God, even though they never got to hear and live with that Good News during their lifetime.

Our point is that all claims of divine revelation have come through particular persons or segments of humanity, in particular times and places in human history. Some elements of religious truth are to be found in many of the major religions; one need only think of moral guidelines like the Golden Rule, spiritual communication through prayer and meditation, and some concept of life after death. Other elements of religious truth, on the other hand, are unique to a particular religious tradition; the trinitarian understanding of God, for example, is unique to Christianity.

II
While the affirmation of the unique truths of Christianity need not nullify truth claims that have come into the world through other religious traditions, most Christians throughout history have arrogantly ignored or discounted these truths revealed in other religions. Let us briefly consider three possible ways of understanding the relationship of the truth claims of Christianity to the truth claims of other religions, using the categories enumerated by Lesslie Newbigin. [The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, pp. 182-183]

1. The “Exclusivist” approach claims that Christianity alone has revealed truth from God, while the claims of all other religions are simply human creations. This approach may affirm the biblical idea that “Christ died for all,” but it understands this to be true hypothetically, not in actuality. Because of the Fall of Adam and Eve into sin, all of humanity is rightly deserving of eternal damnation for their sin. Only those blessed with the gift of faith in Christ will escape this fate and inherit eternal life in God’s heavenly kingdom. In their view, the Bible makes it very clear that the rest of fallen humanity – the majority of the human race – will receive their just punishment of eternal torment in hell. “For many are called, but few are chosen.” [Mt. 22:14]

2. A contrasting view, the “Pluralist” approach, claims that all religions are equally true and valid paths to salvation, whatever their understanding of salvation may be. This approach makes salvation very accessible compared with the Exclusivist approach; people can be saved through whatever path or means their particular belief system provides. However, Pluralism begs the question of the universality of the truth claims of the various world religions, including Christianity. Pluralism essentially reflects theological and philosophical relativism, which holds that there is no such thing as objective, universal truth, and therefore that all truth, including religious truth, is relevant and normative only within its particular historical and cultural context.

3. A third approach to the relationship between Christianity and the other world religions is the “Inclusivist” view that takes seriously the truth claims of the other world religions while asserting the unique claims of Christianity. This approach acknowledges that the true God has revealed truth in various ways through the different world religions. At the same time, it affirms the unique claims of Christianity and explores the implications of the Gospel for the other world religions.

III
As we reflect upon these three ways of understanding the relationship of Christianity to the other world religions, we are confronted with a fundamental difficulty inherent in the Exclusivist approach. By refusing to acknowledge the truth claims of any other religion than Christianity, it renders meaningless any serious dialogue between Christianity and the other religions. It evades the obvious question: what makes the Christian claims about Jesus and his Gospel any truer than the teachings of other religious leaders like Moses or Mohammed — especially if Moses and Mohammed are found to express truths very similar to the teachings of Jesus? The dismissive attitude of Exclusivism toward the truth claims of other religions undermines any credibility that the truth claims of Christianity might otherwise have had for those of other religions who were open to meaningful dialogue.

The Pluralist approach effectively negates any serious conversation between Christianity and the world religions because it denies the universality of any religious truth claims. There is really no need for inter-religious dialogue because each religion is true and valid within its own circle of influence, and thus no reason to debate the truth claims of the various religions. Contrary to this Pluralist perspective, traditional Christian theology does not simply claim that the Gospel is true and relevant for those who live within the sphere of Christian religious and cultural influence. It rather asserts that the Gospel is true and relevant for all people of all times and places, and presumes that the other religious traditions are likewise making universal truth claims that should be taken seriously.

The Inclusivist approach affirms the unique truth claims of the Christian faith vis-a-vis the claims of other religious traditions; Christianity claims that salvation is only possible because of the Good News revealed in Christ. Unlike Exclusivism, it asserts that the truth claims of other world religions should be taken seriously; and in contrast to Pluralism, it also claims universal validity for the unique truths of Christianity, beyond the religious and cultural contexts where Christianity is dominant. The Inclusivist approach honors the universality of the truth claims of all religions, along with the claims of Christianity, and therefore offers the most realistic approach to meaningful dialogue among the world religions.

If the Inclusivist approach to the truth claims of Christian and the other world religions is adopted, then it becomes important to compare critically the specific truth claims of Christianity with the truth claims of other religious traditions:

A. Such a comparison reveals numerous common features among the world religions, such as:

• Moral guidelines, like the Golden Rule and the 10 Commandments

• Religious rituals, like prayer, meditation and song as part of worshiping the deity/deities

• Religious buildings, such as temples, churches, mosques

• Key founding figures, like Moses, Lao Tsu, Jesus, Mohammed

• Spiritual leaders, such as ministers, rabbis, priests, imams

• Some concept of life after death, like heaven and hell, Nirvana, or Brahman

• A merciful element in the nature of the deity/deities

The particulars of these phenomena vary by religion, but the commonalities among them are too numerous and notable to reasonably argue that only the Christian version is revealed truth from God, while the versions found in other religions are mere human inventions. This is particularly evident when comparing Christianity with Judaism, since Jesus was himself a Jew, as were the earliest Christians. Many elements of Judaism, like the Ten Commandments, the Psalms, and the hope for a Messiah who will usher in the kingdom of God, were carried over into Christianity. In fact, Christianity includes the Hebrew Scriptures as part of its own sacred writings.

B. A careful comparison will also uncover what is unique about the Christian Gospel and is of significance for the other world religions.
• Only Christianity claims that salvation — defined as eternal life with God in his heavenly kingdom — is totally and unconditionally a gift of God. No other world religion makes this claim.

o As has been indicated above, a significant problem for the Christian mission lies in the seemingly obvious assumption that personal faith in Christ is a necessary condition of salvation. Some additionally require the rite of Baptism in order to inherit eternal life. Christianity cannot meaningfully claim that salvation is solely and unconditionally a gift of God revealed in Christ as the Savior of all people, and then proceed to place any conditions or limits on that gift – not even the condition of faith. While faith is certainly a gift to those privileged to hear the Gospel, the fact is that most people are never exposed to the Gospel and therefore are unable to receive the gift of faith.

o Jesus cites the example of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who are alive with God in the kingdom of heaven, even though they lived some two millennia before him and therefore were not in a position to profess faith in him. [Mt. 22:31-32] Jesus demonstrates through this case of the patriarchs that more people are included in his gift of salvation than those who personally profess faith in him. Salvation as a truly unconditional gift of God through Christ necessarily includes those of other religions who never heard the Gospel – like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

o St. Paul explains that even the Jews who were rejecting the Gospel would ultimately be saved because of God’s faithfulness to his Covenant. [Rom 9-11] This is another indication that salvation through Christ reaches beyond those who actually profess faith in Christ.

o At various times in his letters, St. Paul asserts that salvation through Christ is as extensive as the disobedience of the descendants of Adam. [see e.g., Rom. 5:18] Such scriptural passages clearly affirm Christ as the Savior of all humanity.

C. While the Gospel is Christianity’s unique contribution to the spectrum of world religions, Christians can humbly affirm and even learn from God’s truth revealed in other religions, wherever such truth does not conflict with the Gospel. For example, Christians can learn from the meditation practices of Hinduism or the prayer disciplines of Islam.

D. Through a properly humble, respectful approach to other religions, Christians will have the best chance of fulfilling their mandate to share the Gospel with all nations, including those of other religions. Only through such a humble and engaging approach can Christians credibly offer to the world the unique insight into the gracious nature of God that is revealed through the particularity of Jesus — precisely so that the Gospel may transform the lives of people in all religious traditions.

• The Gospel was able to inform and reshape the Jewish faith for the first Jewish converts to Christianity, maintaining what was good and true from their tradition, without requiring that all Gentiles had to become Jewish in order to be followers of Christ.

• Likewise, Christians can invite people of all faiths to consider how the Gospel can inform and reconfigure their religious traditions while incorporating those elements that may be compatible with affirming faith in Christ.

In light of these perspectives, we propose that the particularity of the Gospel proclaimed by Jesus, like the Copernican revolution in science, reveals truth that is universally valid and applicable, whether people are aware of it or not. “The scandal of particularity” appropriately brought to the fore by Bishop Newbigin is addressed and overcome by the Christian faith precisely because of its unique claim to be Good News for all people of all religions and all times and places, just as Copernicus’ scientific discovery was true for all people, whether they were aware of it or not. In fact, only if the Christian Gospel – revealed through the particularity of the Jewish tradition and the person of Jesus as the Jewish Messiah – is clearly proclaimed as God’s unconditional gift of salvation for everyone, will its message be relevant and winsome for people of all religious traditions. Limiting salvation to those who profess faith in Christ, while condemning most people to eternal torment in hell, effectively portrays the God of Christianity as a supremely cruel and vindictive divinity rather than the gracious God revealed in Christ. The very nature of that particular person, Jesus, and the very content of his particular Gospel, uniquely embraces all people of all cultures and religions within his gracious welcome into the kingdom of heaven.
July 2024

Reverend Doctor Norman Metzler is professor of theology emeritus following his retirement from Concordia University Portland.