Interreligious Studies

Jose M. Vigil

Theology of Religious Pluralism

LIT
 Jose M. Vigil

Theology of Religious
Pluralism

LIT
 Cover Picture Photographer Lysbeth Santena

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface 13

Prologue 15

Introduction 17

0.1 Purpose and Objectives of the Course 17

0.2 Methodology 18
0.3 Using this Text for Personal Reading and Study 19
0.4 Specific Methodology for Group Study 19
0.5 Questions for Dialogue and Reflection 20

PART I: SEE 23

Chapter 1 Our Experience as a Starting Point 25

1.1 Objective 25
1.3 Recommended exercise: True or False? 26

Chapter 2 The New Situation of Religious Pluralism 27

2.1 Discussing the topic 27

2.1.1 Something New in History 29
2.1.1.1 Causes 30
2.1.1.2 Challenges 31
2.2 Related Texts 32
2.3 Questions for Reflection and Discussion 33
2.4 Recommended Exercises 33

Chapter 3 Starting from History 35

3.1 Introducing the topic 35

3.2 Related Texts 35
3.3 Discussing the topic 38
3.4 Questions for Sharing and for Going into Greater Depth 39

Chapter 4 Religious Pluralism in Latin American History 41

4.1 Discussing the topic 41

4.2 Related Texts 42
4.3 Questions for Reflection and Discussion 43
4.4 Recommended Exercises 44
6 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

Chapter 5 The Hermeneutics of Suspicion 47

5.1 Discussing the topic 47

5.1.1 Two Observations 49
5.2 Testimonial Readings for Use in Group Exercises 50
5.3. Applications to Life 53
5.4 Questions for Reflection and Discussion 54

PART II: JUDGE 55

Chapter 6 Tools for Analysis: Terms, Concepts, Categories 57

6.1 Introducing the Topic 57

6.1.1 Terms and Concepts 57
6.1.2 Classifications: A Mapping of Various Models for a
Theology of Religions 59
6.1.3 Difficulties 64
6.2 Related Texts 65
6.3 Recommended Educational Exercises 66
6.4 Questions for Reflection and for Group Discussion 66

Chapter 7 Overview: Exclusivism, Inclusivism and Pluralism 69

7.1 Discussing the topic 69

7.1.1 Nearly twenty centuries of Christian EXCLUSIVISM 69
7.1.1.1 Reflections 71
7.1.2 A half-century of INCLUSIVISM 72
7.1.2.1 Theory of "fulfillment" 72
7.1.2.2 "Anonymous Christians" 73
7.1.2.3 Taking stock of inclusivism 75
7.1.2.4 Crisis of inclusivism? 77
7.1.3 Towards a new paradigm: PLURALISM 78
7.2 Recommended exercises 84
7.3 Questions for group consideration 84

Chapter 8 A new understanding of Revelation 85

8.1 Discussing the topic 85

8.1.1 Exclusivism and fundamentalism 85
8.1.2 The old concept of revelation 87
8.1.3 The crisis 88
8.1.4 Current view of revelation 89
8.2 Related Texts 92
8.3 Questions for reflection and discussion 93
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 7

Chapter 9 Two basic principles: Pluralism is positive. There are no

chosen ones 95

9.1 Discussing the topic 95

9.1.1 First principle: "Religious pluralism is positive and desired
by God" 95
9.1.1.1 Classical view of religious pluralism 95
9.1.1.2 A new appreciation of religious pluralism is
underway 96
9.1.1.3 Theological foundation of "religious pluralism in
principle" 99
9.1.1.4 Theological consequences of this positive
assessment 100
9.1.2 Second principle: "There are no chosen ones" 105
9.1.2.1 Election in the Bible 105
9.1.3 Brief Excursus: the chosen are...the poor! 109
9.2 Related texts and recommended exercises 110
9.3 Questions for reflection and discussion Ill

Chapter 10 Biblical and Jesuanic Aspects 113

10.1 Discussing the topic 113

10.1.1 First Testament 113
10.1.2 Jesuanic aspects 115
10.1.3 New Testament aspects 123
10.2 Questions for group consideration 126

Chapter 11 Ecclesiological Aspects of Religious Pluralism 129

11.1 Discussing the topic 129

11.1.1 Classical preconceptions of the Church 129
11.1.2 What Jesus intended 130
11.1.3 The most important thing for Jesus 131
11.1.4 The fourth-century Copernican revolution 133
11.1.5 A theological audit of the Constantinian revolution 137
11.1.6 Recovering Kingdom-centeredness at the present time 142
11.1.7 Consequences for pluralism and inter-religious dialogue 145
11.1.8 Annex: Note on the subject of religious dialogue 147
11.2 Related texts 150
11.3 Questions for reflection and discussion 151

Chapter 12 Dogmatic Christological Aspects 153

12.1 Discussing the topic 153

8 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

12.1.1 SEE 153

12.1.1.1 The nucleus of the problem 153
12.1.1.2 The problem in history 154
12.1.1.3 The hermeneutics of suspicion applied to
christological faith 154
12.1.2 JUDGE 155
12.1.2.1 The problem does not stem from Jesus 155
12.1.2.2 The actual construction of christological dogma.... 156
12.1.2.3 A recent proposal for reopening the question 164
12.1.3 Conclusion: ACT 169
12.1.3.1 Serious (unacceptable?) deficiencies 169
12.1.3.3 Believing in Jesus and believing like Jesus 170
12.1.3.4 Expendable Hellenism 171
12.1.3.5 Reinterpreting understanding of the incarnation ....172
12.2 Related texts 175
12.3 Questions for reflection and discussion 175

Chapter 12 Excursus: The Development of Christological Dogma 177

Chapter 13 The Golden Rule 197

13.1 Discussing the topic 197

13.1.1 SEE 197
13.1.2 JUDGE 199
13.1.2.1 Biblical foundations 200
13.1.2.2 Theological Interpretation 204
13.1.3 ACT 206
13.2 Related texts 209
13.3 Questions for group discussion and action 210

Chapter 14 A Different Model of Truth 211

14.1 Discussing the topic 211

14.1.1SEE 211
14.1.1.1 The Old Model of Truth 212
14.1.2 JUDGE 215
14.1.2.1 A Different Model of Truth 216
14.1.2.2 Various Interpretations 217
14.1.3 ACT 221
14.1.3.1 Abandoning the old model of truth 221
14.1.3.2 A sincere and serene acceptance of relativeness ....222
14.1.3.3 Freedom from self 224
14.1.3.4 Theology 'in dialogue': for several generations 225
14.2 Related Texts 226
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 9

14.3 Questions for discussion 226

Chapter 15 All Religions Are True 229

15.1 Discussing the topic 229

15.1.1 SEE 229
15.1.1.1 All religions have been exclusivist 229
15.1.1.2 Not only Christianity 230
15.1.2 JUDGE 231
15.1.3 ACT 235
15.1.4 Tnreligionation' and interreligiousness 239
15.1.5 Ecumenism on the March 241
15.2 Related Texts 242
15.3 Questions for reflection and discussion 244

Chapter 16 All Religions are True....and False 247

16.1 Discussing the topic 247

16.1.1 SEE 247
16.1.1.1 Religions have not been holy 247
16.1.1.2 Religions have not been infallible 248
16.1.2 JUDGE 250
16.1.2.1 Relativity 250
16.1.2.2 Ambiguities 250
16.1.2.3 Asymmetrical Pluralism 251
16.1.3 ACT 252
16.1.3.1 Renounce Absolutisms 253
16.1.3.2 Every religion is a map, not the actual territory 253
16.1.3.3 The Beam in our own Eye 254
16.2 Related Texts 255
16.3 Questions for reflection and discussion 255

Chapter 17 Latin-American Macro-ecumenism 257

17.1. Discussing the topic 257

17.1.1 God's macro-ecumenism 257
17.1.1.1 God present in all peoples and persons 257
17.1.1.2 God as macro-ecumenical mystery 258
17.1.2 The macro-ecumenism of the Christian mission 260
17.1.2.1 Common to all human beings 260
17.1.2.2 In relation to others 261
17.1.2.3 Conflict in Christian mission 261
17.1.3 Macro-ecumenical attitudes 263
17.2 Related Texts 264
10 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

17.3 Questions for Group Discussion 266

Chapter 18 A New Axial Age: Widening Horizons 267

18.1 Discussing the topic 267

18.1.1 Religions in crisis 267
18.1.2 Diagnosis 269
18.1.3 This distinction between religion and spirituality 269
18.1.4 A hypothesis: the metamorphosis of Christianity 270
18.1.5 This is not the first time 271
18.1.6 The metamorphosis of religion in the axial time 273
18.1.7 Are we in a new axial age? 274
18.1.8 The past: Recovering the spiritual history of the human
race 278
18.1.9 Questions 280
18.2 Suggested Activities 287

PART III: ACT 289

Chapter 19 The Death and Resurrection of Mission 291

19.1 Discussing the topic 291

19.1.1 A distinction: the "great mission" and "missionary
mission" 291
19.1.2 The great mission of the Church: various interpretations 292
19.1.3 A critical review of the missionary mission: historical fact
and its theoretical basis 294
19.1.3.1 Review of historical fact 294
19.1.3.2 Review of theoretical principles 296
19.1.3.3 The universal saving will of God 297
19.1.3.4 "We are the new Chosen People" 298
19.1.3.5 Jesus' missionary mandate 299
19.1.3.6 The need to belong to the Church (exclusivism) ....300
19.1.3.7 The negative view of religious pluralism 302
19.1.4 Is missionary mission necessary? 303
19.1.4.1 It is NOT necessary for the salvation of the
recipients 303
19.1.4.2 It is NOT necessary for the recipients to reach
the fullness of salvation 304
19.1.4.3 It IS necessary if all religions - including
Christianity - are to reach the fullness of
salvation and the fullness of their self-
understanding 304
19.1.5 So what mission today? 305
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 11

19.2 Related Texts 308

19.3 Suggested activities 310

Chapter 20 Globalization and Religions 313

20.1 Discussing the topic 313

20.1.1 Globalization old and new 313
20.1.1.1 Globalization forces religions to live together 314
20.1.1.2 Globalization creates an "intra-dialogue" among
religions 315
20.1.1.3 The "detraditionalization" of societies 316
20.1.1.4 Syncretism, interpenetration, interspirituality 318
20.1.1.5 Towards an interreligious theology? 320
20.1.1.6 The role of religions in the search for a global
ethics 321
20.2 Related reading 322

Chapter 21 Many Poor, Many Religions. World Liberation and

Religions 325

21.1 Discussing the topic 325

21.1.1 Liberation and religious pluralism 327
21.1.2 Many poor, many religions, only one world 329
21.2 Related readings 333

Chapter 22 The Practice of Dialogue 335

22.1 Discussing the topic 335

22.1.1 The first step is intradialog 335
22.1.2 Attitudes to think about 335
22.1.3 Forms of interreligious dialogue 338
22.2 Some practical suggestions 339
22.2.1 For an attitude of religious pluralism 339
22.2.2 To practice religious dialogue 341
22.2.3 To work systematically for peace 342

Epilogue 343

Bibliography 347
Preface
When I heard from my good friend Jose Maria Vigil that the Institute for Mis-
sion Studies at Radboud University Nijmegen was considering the possibility
of translating his book, Teologia del Pluralismo Religioso: Curso Sistemdtico
de Teologia Popular, in English, I was thoroughly delighted to hear that and
urged the Institute to go through with the project.
Amid all the recent publications on interreligious dialogue, theology of
religions, religious pluralism, comparative theology, Vigil's book is an "uni-
cum." That it provides a broad perspectival review and assessment of various
Christian approaches to other religions is not anything new. What is definitely
and encouragingly new is that it does so from the perspective of the experience
of Latin American Christians, which means in the framework of liberation the-
ology.
Though I have urged such an ethical, practical approach to interrelig-
ious dialogue (especially in One Earth Many Religions: Interfaith Dialogue
and Global Responsibility), Vigil is actually carrying out this project. In ap-
proaching the demanding reality of religious pluralism and the urgency of in-
terreligious dialogue, he draws on his broad experience of many years in work-
ing among liberation theologians of Latin America. His is a distinctive voice in
urging a marriage between "liberation" and "dialogue" - a marriage that will
challenge and enhance both partners.
I am convinced that the translation and publication of this book will
serve as a new voice in the discussions about liberation and religions that is
going on in the English-speaking world.
I imagine there will be many others who, like me, will want to add this
book to the list of required readings for courses on the theology and dialogue
of religions.

Paul F. Knitter
Paul Tillich Professor of Theology, World Religions and Culture
Union Theological Seminary
Prologue
This book is a "theology of religions," or what is today usually referred to as
the "theology of religious pluralism."
It is meant to be used both in the academic world of theology and for
theological formation purposes. Thus, while it is certainly a good personal
reading source for research theologians (who won't feel far removed from the
real problems the topic poses for Christians), it can just as easily be a study
guide for pastoral education activities with Christian church members or pas-
toral workers. This is "popular theology," presenting some of the most difficult
concerns of the theological frontier with accessible language and a constant
reference to practice and to today's world.
The book was conceived and developed in Latin America and from the
Latin American perspective, in dialogue with the universal theological world. I
have not made any attempt to disguise this peculiarity. On the contrary, I be-
lieve it is one of the reasons that this book is unique and has something to con-
tribute to the world. Certainly, many theologians would like to listen to the
voice of Latin American theology on issues beyond strictly those of "libera-
tion." Besides, one of the issues at play in the liberation of humanity is pre-
cisely the world's ability to accept religious pluralism, and Latin American
theology does not want to be silent on the topic.
Born out of Latin American spirituality, this theology of pluralism is a
liberating theology from Latin America. It may be the first Latin American
book that seeks to express something complete and systematic on this topic
from the perspective of our continent and that of liberation theology.
Theologians from the academic world can certainly skip some of the
brief passages that are clearly focused on group pedagogy. I would just remind
them that the topic addressed here opens a door and calls us all to a much risk-
ier task - that of doing a pluralist rereading of Christianity as part of the crea-
tion a pluralist theology. This task was taken on more explicitly in the interna-
tional magazine Concilium, Issue 2007/1 on 'Pluralist Theology: the Emerging
Paradigm.'
As for groups who use this book as the study guide for a class on the
"Theology of Religious Pluralism," I would encourage them - and especially
their leaders - to feel free to adjust the contents creatively to the specific char-
acteristics of their work and context.
The theology of religious pluralism, and everything that is part of the
pluralist paradigm, is still an adventure in its early stages. As with all theology,
it will need time and dialogue to grow and mature. We are just beginning the
journey. But already, many disquieted people are sensing radical challenges on
the horizon and they are looking for ways to face these challenges. This book is
for those uneasy and seeking people. It is not so much for those who prefer
security to risk, possession to the quest, the known to what is yet to be discov-
ered.
16 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

I am the first to acknowledge the provisional nature of these "frontier" ideas

and I am more than willing to revise, deepen, and improve on what is here. I
will be grateful for any suggestion, correction, or invitation to dialogue on the
part of the theological community, or even on the part of censors, since we
should all be at the service of Truth. In any case, I believe that "the safest
thing" to do is to take a risk, share the quest, and keep searching.

Jose Maria VIGIL

An updated bibliography on the Theology of Pluralism can be found at:

www.latinoamericana.org/2003/textos/bibliografiapluralismo.htm
 Introduction
This book has an unusual feature: it can be for individuals to read by them-
selves or it can be used as a study guide for formation courses. Individual read-
ers can skip this chapter and go directly to the next. Those who plan to use it as
a text for a formation or reflection course will find this chapter useful for their
first meeting.

0.1 Purpose and Objectives of the Course

"Theology of Religious Pluralism" is a new name being given these days to the
"Theology of Religions," which is itself a new theological branch of study that
began to be developed in the 1960s. It is a very recent subject, and most theo-
logians and pastoral agents did not study it in college or in seminary.
"Theology" is reflection illuminated by faith, and "religious pluralism"
means the plurality of religions - the fact that there are many religions in the
world, not just one. The theology of religious pluralism tries to answer ques-
tions like the following: What does it mean for God's plan that there are so
many religions? Has God actually wanted it this way? Is it something "natu-
ral?" Is it the result of human error? Is there, perhaps, "one" religion beloved
by God? Is our religion the true one and the others false? Or are all religions
equal?
But it's also more than that. Not only is this branch of theology new, it
has also taken new steps during the last twenty years that imply a qualitative
leap from theological positions maintained over centuries and even millennia.
Some of what this theology suggests is so new and different that our ancestors
could have never imagined it, nor can many people around us today. For this
reason, it is giving rise to a very lively debate, with no lack of angry censors
and scandalized detractors.
If we study the theology of religious pluralism, then, we are opening
ourselves up to a truly new set of ideas, still in the making, whose significance
many people are unaware of. The subject has all the fascination of cutting edge
work and the ability to open the way to unknown horizons. It may also lead us
to ideas that shake our deepest convictions and unsettle the beliefs we have
held peacefully until now.
For those of us who are believers, the study of the theology of religious
pluralism is not the study of something external, something outside of and
separate from ourselves. It is not just a theory that doesn't affect us. Rather, it
is something that touches us intimately, something that can send our faith and
the very meaning of our life into crisis. It may lead us to reinterpret, re-
understand, and to express in different ways many formulas that we've been
repeating since the earliest days of our childhood, things we always thought
18 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

were a given - "just because." We may have never imagined there would come
a day when we would dare to examine them critically and even change them.
Studying the theology of religious pluralism will not only help us ac-
quire new information (something simply theoretical); it will also lead us to a
questioning, a reformulation of our already existing religious knowledge, and a
renovation of our basic religious convictions, which will take us to a new way
of living our religion (a new practice).
It has been said that some schools of theology of religious pluralism are
proposing a "new paradigm" - a new overarching way of articulating and
combining elements of faith, using new foundations and different overall as-
sumptions. The purpose of this study guide is to help people take an open and
accepting look at this paradigm shift that is coming, and coming to stay. It is
not for those who have made a decision not to be open to any possibility of
change or for those who have the best of intentions but are unable to change.
The theology of religious pluralism is almost always discussed in rela-
tion to interreligious dialogue, because you can't begin to dialogue with people
of other religions without first setting the stage for the dialogue, which means,
of course, that you have to talk about what religion and religious pluralism
mean. But it's not necessary to have experience with interreligious dialogue in
order to study the theology of religious pluralism, nor is it the case that this
theology is only useful for those who have the mission and the possibility of
entering into dialogue with people from other religions. In fact, all religious
people need to think about the plurality of religions, because these religions are
present among us in the only world we have - the world that the media has
now made "as small as a handkerchief." Taking a look at the theology of reli-
gious pluralism also helps each of us to dialogue with ourselves about our own
religion - to carry out an "intra-dialogue" - as we will discuss further ahead.

0.2 Methodology

This book uses a methodology guided by the "See, Judge, and Act" framework.
It begins precisely with reality, not with theoretical and abstract prin-
ciples. In other words, it aims to "See" what is happening in the world around
us, both in history and at the moment, using the lens of religious pluralism.
Then, it attempts to "Judge," or analyze, this reality. To do that, it has
to shed some light on it, and this is where theory comes in as a resource. You
have to equip yourself with some tools of logic, get a handle on some basic
principles, and review them critically.
Everything is directed towards returning to reality again in the end,
armed with a new way of seeing this reality, which then translates into a differ-
ent kind of "Action," - a new practice.
For some people, there is a conflict between theory and practice; some have an
aversion to theory (anti-intellectualism), while others take refuge in a theory
that makes no reference to practice (idealism, pure speculation). The right rela-
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 19

tionship is one of union and mutual service between theory and practice. All
practice needs theory in order to be lucid, and all theory must have meaning in
practice. (If not, what good is it?) I believe "there is nothing more practical
than a good theory, and that the best practice is one that includes an under-
standing of its own theory." This course and its methodology are directed at
that line on the horizon where theory and practice come together - the typical
Latin American way of doing things.

0.3 Using this Text for Personal Reading and Study

While this course comes complete with a methodology for group work, it is
also a resource for personal study. The sequence of ideas for the group course
is the same path that a single reader will follow. The individual reader will take
the journey accompanied by the author's explanations and by a sense of collec-
tive reflection.
While the chapters are complete in and of themselves and can be read
independently, their order is not random. The recommendation is to read the
book in the logical sequence established for the systematic course.
The individual reader may skip some parts that refer to group method-
ology (preparations for the course, instructions for the leader, etc.) but he or
she may find the suggested questions for the group meeting useful and may
want to reflect on them or try to answer them. This will allow help him or her
to become more deeply immersed in the understanding of the topic.

0.4 Specific Methodology for Group Study

The course is meant for groups of young people or adults with a mid-level edu-
cation. It is not meant for experts or theologians, or for censors!
The methodology we recommend is the one used by so-called "popular
theology" - weekly work sessions or study meetings, ideally accompanied by
the assistance of a group leader or facilitator.
The twenty-two sessions outlined in this book lend themselves to hav-
ing weekly group meetings over the course of eight or nine months. If the
number of lessons seems excessive for a particular group, the facilitator may
decide to skip one or combine several.
The length of the work sessions or study meetings will depend on the
possibilities of each group. In general, a session of one hour or an hour and a
half should be sufficient. The suggested pre and post-session readings and
complementary activities can help the group go into greater depth on the topic.
Each unit or lesson usually includes the following elements:
• Introduction of the topic
• Related texts
• Questions for in-depth group discussion
20 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

• Suggestions for complementary activities (occasionally)

The facilitator or teacher will prepare for the session ahead of time and will
take the liberty of selecting the aspects he or she believes are the most useful,
enriching the material with other readings and resources, and adapting the ses-
sion to the level and life context of the group members. Mostly likely, he or she
will have to choose from among the many suggestions, related texts, and ques-
tions that the lessons offer.
The group work sessions must be carried out in an environment of
trust, total freedom of opinion, and religious democracy. Each person needs to
be able to say what he or she is feeling, what doesn't seem clear to them, what
they do not believe, and how they are evolving in their feelings and beliefs
throughout the length of the course. This is necessary because the course will,
very probably, challenge people, affect them in some way, and lead them to
take positions that may be new, unexpected, or even disconcerting.
On one hand, the group is going to build a body of knowledge collec-
tively using a participatory methodology. But in some ways the group will also
become a community of people sharing a spiritual journey and quest, a journey
that includes rethinking old certainties and sharing crises, challenges, perplexi-
ties, doubts, fears, and decisions. That's why it is so essential to create an at-
mosphere of trust and respect.

0.5 Questions for Dialogue and Reflection

A) Begin by having each person introduce him or herself to the others by

saying their name, where they are from, the work or study they are in-
volved in, their personal situation, and any other interesting aspect of
personal identification.
(Go around the circle, giving each person a maximum of three minutes
- or more if the leader believes it is necessary).

B) To go into a little more depth in this introduction, a second round

could be done answering these questions.
• Why have I decided to take this course?
• Do I have any fears about it?
• What have I heard so far about the theology of religions or
about religious pluralism?

C) If there is enough trust in the group, it would be good for participants

to share about what kind of significance the course has for them relig-
iously. For example:
• What does it mean for me religiously to decide to take this
course?
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 21

• Are there topics related to religious pluralism that I am a little

afraid to deal with because they may lead me to doubt some
fundamental principles of my own faith?
• For example: Am I willing to rethink my faith if necessary? In
what sense?

D) Decide on the schedule, meeting place, and length of each session be-
fore the end of the first session.
PART I: SEE
Chapter 1

Our Experience as a Starting Point

This very brief chapter is also meant for groups beginning their communal
study experience. However, the individual reader may also want to read it and
ask himself or herself the questions recommended for the group.

1.1 Objective

As mentioned in the introduction, this book draws inspiration from the "See,
Judge, and Act" methodology. So, we begin by looking at the reality around us.
The objective of this first work session is to use the reality of our own
experiences as a starting point on the topic. Let's begin by sharing these ex-
periences with each other and enriching ourselves in this way.
This session is not about solving problems. It is simply about sharing
our experiences. The broader and more detailed the experiences, the better.
We will also be getting to know each other and making closer connec-
tions so that this study group will become a little bit more like a community of
friends.
The following guide can help us to share our experiences on various
levels, step by step, in an orderly way.

1.2 Suggested Questions for Sharing Our Experiences1

1. What We Were Taught.

• What was I taught about other religions in the first places
where I received my education? (school, catechism, church,
family)

2. Our Experiences with Religious Pluralism

• What kind of religious environment did I have in my life early
on? (What was it like? What problems or advantages did it
bring?) What kind of thinking was present in my family, so-
cial, or religious environment?
• What is the religious environment like in my world today in
terms of how I see the plurality of religions?
• Who in the group has read a book about another religion? Who
has read a sacred text of another religion?

1
The facilitator may want to adapt this set of questions to the particular group he or
she is working with.
26 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

• What special, significant experiences can I contribute for the

group's consideration?

3. What We Think Now

• What opinions about other religions learned during our child-
hood are no longer useful for us today? What did we used to
believe that we no longer believe?
• How would I explain, in just a few words, what I think about
other religions now?

4. If there is time, talk about the following:

• Do we need to convert people from other religions to Christi-
anity in order to please God?
• After 2000 years, two-thirds of the world is still not Christian.
What has failed here? God? The churches? Missionaries? The
people we used to call "infidels?"
• What could be done to accelerate the "conversion of the
world" to Christianity? Or does it not need to be converted?
• The Christian faith: Is it true? Is it the Truth? Is it one truth
among many? Is it the truth for some? Is the truth for every-
one?

1.3 Recommended exercise: True or False?

Choose one of the sentences below and go around the circle in the group, each
person saying only whether they would classify the sentence as "true" or
"false." Then do a second round where each person says why they believe the
sentence to be true or false. There is no conversation or back and forth at first.
As each person speaks, the others only listen. Finally, open a time for dialogue
to talk about the various opinions of the participants. The idea is not to reach a
conclusion, but just to share the different ways people have of seeing things. If
there is time, pick another sentence and repeat the process.

Only Jesus saves.

Saint Francis Xavier - who went to India and Japan as a mis-
sionary and believed that all of the people there who did not
know Christ were condemned - was wrong.
The plurality of religions is something that comes from evil,
not from God.
In Christianity, God seeks out human beings. In other relig-
ions, human beings are the ones who seek God.
The word "faith" refers only to the Christian faith. Other relig-
ions do not have faith, only "beliefs."
Chapter 2

The New Situation of Religious Pluralism

In order to "make reality our starting point," this chapter asks us to look at the
new situation of religious pluralism in the world today. We are in the "See"
phase of our theological method.

2.1 Discussing the topic

The topic of religious pluralism is not some theoretical idea that comes from a
kind of speculative reflection or from certain thinkers who want to transmit the
idea to society. Religious pluralism - its challenge, its demands, and its ques-
tioning - comes from today's world, from the reality of current society. In this
course, we want to make today's reality our starting point.
For better or worse, the world has changed religiously as well as cul-
turally. We are in a world that has been shuffled, moved around. From the
dawn of humanity, from time immemorial, human societies have been almost
watertight, each society in its own little world, in its habitat, closed off by itself
and isolated from others, hardly knowing about anything other than its own
existence. Human migration and trade date back quite far in history, but the
sum total of it was nothing in comparison with what is happening today. Due to
progress and improvement in means of communication (including transporta-
tion, travel, communications systems, telecommunications...) societies have
been interacting with each other and getting to know each other in a process
that has been accelerating so quickly that the greatest sociological phenomena
of the last few decades has been what we call "globalization." When we talk
about globalization in this book, we are not simply talking about neoliberal
economic globalization. Globalization means that the world is becoming one,
that all of the elements and dimensions of the planet's societies are interrelat-
ing and becoming mutually dependent. Societies are no longer "separate
worlds;" they have become members of one larger social entity, a single world
that includes them as sub-societies.
Travel, migration (primarily for economic reasons), tourism, and fam-
ily connections have made it so there is almost no place on the planet where
only native people remain or where they live without relating to other socie-
ties. Increasingly, what we do affects others with greater intensity and greater
immediacy, through increasingly broad and numerous networks.1

"Current technological transformations are interconnected with another

transformation - globalization - and together they are creating a new paradigm: the age
of networks," UNDP, 2007 Human Development Report, Mexico: Mundi-Prensa,
2001, p. 12.
28 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

This phenomena of globalization grew exponentially in the twentieth century

as communications media developed new technologies It is turning the world
into a single large society, into a global village, in which cultures and relig-
ions that were previously isolated from and ignorant of each other are becom-
ing neighbors and are forced to coexist Today "practically all religions have
entered into contact,"2 it is inevitable that they are present one to another
In the old days, for as long as the world has been a world, the daily
life of societies took place within the framework of that society's culture and
religion Certainly, people knew of the existence of other societies with other
cultures and other religions, but they were far enough away that they didn't
have to think about it much, much less enter into any kind of dialogue These
other societies remained confined to the sphere of imagination or to the fan-
tasy of classic literature that told stories of travel to exotic places
In today's world, it is now a fact that religions and cultures must
coexist Many societies are multicultural and made up of groups of people
who have come from other countries Entire neighborhoods are inhabited by
people of a specific ethnic groups or culture Different religions are no longer
far away from each other, they now live in the same society and in the same
cities A simple drive through any of the large cities of the world will take us
near churches and chapels of different Christian denominations as well as
synagogues, pagodas, mosques, and Hindu or Baha'i temples People of dif-
ferent religions are no longer separated by oceans, they live next to each other,
on the same street, even in the same building Now we do not have to travel or
leave our own environment to encounter people who believe differently than
we do In fact, many families today have members (especially younger mem-
bers, whether blood relatives or in-laws) who practice a religion other than
what was the "traditional" religion of the family Religious pluralism is not a
theory, it is a fact that is getting closer and closer to us in all of our surround-
ings in society, in our city, in our workplace, in the media - even in our own
family No one can remove him or herself from this new human landscape
The diversity of cultures in the world is increasingly entering our con-
sciousness via some conflictive event After the fall of the Berlin wall, many
political analysts in the first world have come to believe that we have now
arrived at "the end of history" and that the ideological problem has been re-
solved They suggest that the mam conflict in the world today is no longer
economic but cultural, those in conflict are the great civilizations of the world
Samuel P Huntington's book, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of
World Order, is probably the best proponent of this thesis The terrorist acts
of September 11, 2001 have further accentuated this first world idea that the

2
A Torres Queiruga, El dialogo de las rehgiones, Sal Terrae, 1992, p 38 Also La
revelacion de Dws en la reahzacwn del hombre, Madrid Cnstiandad, 1987, pp 390-
391
3
New York Simon & Schuster, 1996
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 29

conflicts that exist today are between civilizations and cultures. Of course,
religious pluralism is on the front lines of this confrontation since cultural
blocks overlap to a large degree with religious blocks.
In addition to this physical coexistence - whether peaceful or conflic-
tive - among people of different religions, we also have the coexistence of
knowledge. Today we are acquainted with, or can become acquainted with,
various religions at a level of depth that was not possible for our ancestors.
All developed societies now have good, serious, documented, in-
depth, and accessible books that allow anyone to acquire sufficient and valid
knowledge about many religions of the world. The best cultural anthropolo-
gists are selling their books, as are theologians, and eastern sacred texts are
selling just as well as the Bible. In the western hemisphere at least, the time
when each society only had books that apologetically defended the "official"
religion against all others is now over.
One only has to surf through the many television channels available in
many countries to see that at almost any moment of the day or night, some
channel is offering a report on an American Indian religion or on monks from
Southeast Asia, or a good in-depth interview with a philosopher-thinker who
defends agnostic or atheist positions.
Information technology and communications in the world have cre-
ated the possibility for this kind of uninterrupted human encounter, and uni-
versal coverage is not far away. In this new situation, we also now have the
possibility for a worldwide interreligious encounter. "The unifying instrument
of electronic communications systems in the world arena creates a forum for
worldwide encounter of religious diversity. We can no longer avoid interrelig-
ious encounters. Other religions come to us even as we meet our neighbors.
They can no longer be treated as abstract systems of belief from foreign cul-
tures or religious practices executed at a safe distance in far away lands. They
have human faces: the faces of our neighbors."5 Today we could almost say
that if we do not sustain interreligious dialogue with any of the world's great
religions, it is because we have not taken initiative. Our possible counterparts
in dialogue are within our reach.

2.1.1 Something New in History

We are the first generation in the entire history of humanity to be in this situa-
tion. It is the first time that a large part of humanity is living in a truly diverse
religious environment. It is also the first time that those who have spent their
lives without relating to people or institutions of other religions have the pos-

Forecasts say that we are nearing a time in which we will be able to tune into some
500 TV channels from any place on the globe.
C. Schwobel, 'Encontro inter-religioso e experiencia fragmentaria de Deus,'
Concilium 289, 2001-1, p. 114.
30 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

sibihty to do so If we don't practice interreligious dialogue, it is for lack of

habit and imagination, not because it is something out of our reach The col-
lective awareness of the new generation has to sort out a wide supply of cul-
tural and religious messages about the meaning of life What young people are
seeing is not just diversity, but enormous diversity The various religions are
not converging or harmonized in any way, they are simply juxtaposed without
order or internal dialogue (so far) It is a transformation that supposes a "real
revolution in the religious awareness of humanity We are living in a moment
of history in which the access to different religions has unprecedented depth
and breadth " 6
"The course of the world and its culture, as well as the live contact
among diverse religions, has made us very aware that this is a whole new
situation for religious living - in important and radically new ways "7
But religions are not theories they are made up of flesh and blood
people who are believers We can see how religions transform people and in-
fluence their lives They can even lead people to live "saintly" lives This
gives us a "lived knowledge" of these religions that is much more influential
than any theoretical knowledge that books may provide us about their doc-
trines or theologies
In some environments, such as the world of university students, a new
way of thinking is already a reality Free and restless children of a generation
once used to ready-made and inherited answers, university students are also
children of the media (with which they have spent more time than with their
professors), and they do not accept monorehgious ways of looking at things
Presented with any ethical or philosophical idea about the meaning of life,
they ask about what other religions have to say, they want to compare, per-
haps to choose the best one They no longer feel spontaneously tied to one
religion They feel like free people without "official ties" to a concrete relig-
ion, they are citizens of a multi-religious world, in which they can discern and
choose a religion for themselves Without a doubt, the perspective of religious
pluralism has already entered into the consciousness of the younger genera-
tion 8

2 111 Causes
Four major factors have brought about the current situation of religious plural-
ism, according to Jean Claude Basset "The interreligious experience is both a
social and a cultural phenomenon In the social sense, it is about the interac-
tion of significant and active religious minorities (a situation that has charac-

6
C Arthur, Religious Pluralism A Metaphorical Approach Aurora, Colorado The
Davies Group, 2000, p 1
7
A Torres Queiruga, 'El dialogo de las religiones en el mundo actual,' in El Vaticano
III, Barcelona, Herder El Ciervo, 2001
8
C Davis, Christ and the World Religions, New York Herder and Herder \9~"\ p 25
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 31

terized the Indian subcontinent for a very long time, though it has also charac-
terized contemporary western Europe with the presence of millions of Mus-
lims as well as Buddhist, Hindu and Sikh communities alongside Christians
and Jews), as well as emigrated workers, economic and political refugees,
students, and professional executives who because of their work live a cosmo-
politan life as international citizens or citizens of the world. There are an in-
creasing number of mixed marriages in the religious sense, so children are
receiving a mixed religious formation. And the media is also disseminating
diversified religious information.9

2.1.1.2 Challenges
This situation brings profound challenges (especially for the generation born
in a time when societies had just one religion). "The vision of a coherent and
secure world is shaken by contact with other perspectives, and the scale of
established values is altered by the relevance of other values and other norms.
Not only has the field of information gotten wider, but the very notion of truth
is called into question. Western philosophy becomes just one current of
thought among others, along side Muslim, Indian, Chinese philosophies etc.10
This interpenetration of societies, with different cultures and religions
becoming present to each other, is a new phenomenon (in terms of the scale in
which it is now occurring all over the world). It has just begun. We don't
know what is going to come of it. Today's children are growing up within a
religious pluralism that is here to stay, and we don't know yet what they will
be like as men and women. We can't yet come up with the reflections that we
will produce in thirty years when this new generation takes the floor and tells
us how they perceive the world from their experience. It is surely an experi-
ence that we, who have been born and configured in another non-plural, sin-
gle-culture, and single-religious environment, cannot imagine.
Up until now, humanity (the more than eight hundred human genera-
tions that are said to have set foot on this planet) has always been convinced
that reality was ONE particular way, the way described and presented by their
culture and their religion. But during the course of this generation, humanity
must come to terms with the fact that all of the "universal" religions and cul-
tures will be living nearby, each competing with the other to present its under-
standing of the meaning of life.
A significant change is happening in the history of humanity. We are
witnesses to it. This is the reality that is our starting point and it is the context
in which we want to pose our questions about religious pluralism. What reper-
cussions is this pluralism having in society? What repercussions will it have?
What transformations does it imply in or demand of religions themselves?
Can religions that have always lived in their own worlds, without the presence

9
J.C. Basset, El didlogo interreligioso, Bilbao, Desclee, 1999, p. 7.
32 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

of other religions, continue to repeat the same things they have always said?
Are these changes producing fear? For whom? If we look at this with religious
eyes, might we say that God is using this situation to present both a challenge
and an opportunity to religions? Is this kairos, a time of special opportunity
for the accomplishment of God's plan? In what sense?

2.2 Related Texts

• Nearly 450 imams preside over prayers in some 500 mosques spread
throughout the Netherlands. According to government figures, by
2015 about 50% of the people who live in the four largest urban areas
- Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht - will be from an
ethnic minority group. Of these, 80% will be Muslim. (El Pais, Ma-
drid, October 5, 2002).

• In Spain, Islam is not a foreign religion. Statistics show that it is the

largest religion after Catholicism, owing its growth to increasing
flows of migration. More than a half a million residents of Spain are
followers of Islam, and the number is growing. (El Pais, Madrid, Sep-
tember 19, 2001.)

• 1995 figures indicated that there were 536 practicing Muslims in

Great Britain, compared to 854 practicing Anglicans. In 2002, the
number of practicing Muslims exceeded that of practicing Anglicans.
(Adista 39, May 1997, pp. 10-11.)

• There are already 1.1 billion Muslims in the world. Islam has sur-
passed Catholicism in 1986 in terms of the number of faithful and it
continues to grow. The number of believers is increasing even in tra-
ditionally Christian areas like Europe, Western Africa, Brazil, and the
United States. (Super interessante, May 1997, p. 59.)

• See updated general information about world religions in "Panorama

de las religiones en el mundo y en America Latino" by Franz Damen
in the 2003 Agenda Latinoamericana, pp. 36-37. Also on:
latinoamericana.org/2003/textos/Damen.htm

• We are surprised to find that there are more Muslim Americans than
Episcopalians, more Muslims than members of Presbyterian Church
USA, and as many Muslims as there are Jews-that is, about six mil-
lion. We are astonished to learn that Los Angeles is the most complex
Buddhist city in the world, with a Buddhist population spanning the
whole range of the Asian Buddhist world from Sri Lanka to Korea,
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 33

along with a multitude of native-born American Buddhists. Nation-

wide, his whole spectrum of Buddhists may number about four mil-
lion. The United States has become the most religiously diverse nation
on earth.

The new era of immigration is different from previous eras not only in magni-
tude and complexity but also in its very dynamics. Many of the migrants who
come to United States today maintain strong ties with their homelands, linked
by travel and transnational communications networks, e-mails and faxes, sat-
ellite phone lines and cable television news. They manage to live both here
and there in all the ways that modern communications and telecommunica-
tions have made possible. (D. L. Eck, 'A New Religious America. How a
'Christian Country' Has Become the World's Most Religiously Diverse Na-
tion,' Harper San Francisco, New York: 2001, pp. 3-5.)

2.3 Questions for Reflection and Discussion

Is our specific society, country, or environment as diverse as these

examples?
How many people do each of us know who are not from the same re-
ligion we are? (family members and friends, people at work, at school,
in our building, on our street, etc.)
What books, videos, and information sources do we know about relat-
ing to the topic of religions in the world?
What means, channels, and possibilities does a person in our envi-
ronment have to get to know other religions or to begin to relate to
them in some way?
Is it true that the main problem of the world isn't economic any more,
but rather cultural and religious, as Samuel Huntington seems to be
saying? Could this idea be a way of hiding economic conflict?

2.4 Recommended Exercises

• Use various internet search engines and find web pages on different
religions.
• Make a list of the religions present in our neighborhood or city.
• Look on any search engine for "religious pluralism" or "theology of
religions."
• Try to establish contact with people from other religions on the inter-
net. Evaluate the experience afterwards.
Chapter 3

Starting from History

As part of our quest to use reality as a starting point, let's also take a look back
in time. What has pluralism - or the lack of pluralism - been like in the past?
Perhaps we carry this history inside of ourselves without knowing it. We need
to keep our history present in our minds, so that we aren't conditioned by it or
led to repeat it. Because no one starts from zero, even if we think we do.

3.1 Introducing the topic

To really study the topic of pluralism well, it is important to look back in time
to the history of humanity. Today we all more or less have a sense of pluralism
and tolerance, at least on the surface, but the history we come from is one of
centuries, even millennia, of attitudes that have been very contrary to plural-
ism.
This book will be speaking from the experience of Christians, and spe-
cifically that of Catholics (though the experience may well be similar for other
Christian traditions or even other religions).
The following readings on various moments of symbolic significance
in this history will be useful.

3.2 Related Texts

• The Old Testament

All of the Old Testament texts that refer to the divinities of neighbor-
ing peoples categorize them pejoratively as "idols." They are described
very negatively as "works of human hands," or "dead things." (Wis.
13.10), or as "nothing" (Is. 44. 9), "empty" (Jer. 2.5; 16.9), and "lies"
(Jer. 10.14; Amos 2.4; Bar. 6.50), or "demons" (Deut. 32.17; Bar. 4.7
). Only Yahweh is "a true God." (Jer. 10.10).
The Hebrew people of the Old Testament have the conviction that they
are a different people, a "people of God," the "chosen people," that
should live separate from the gentiles and not mix with them. "When
the Lord your God brings you into the land which you are entering to
take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you, the
Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canannites, the Perizzites,
the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than
yourselves, and when the Lord your God gives them over to you, and
you defeat them; then you much utterly destroy them." (Deut. 7.1-7)
Israel must, without compassion, destroy the altars and images of these
 JOSE MARIA VrciL

defeated and expelled peoples and not make any covenants with them
or make any marriages with them. The Israel of Deuteronomy has the
conviction that it is the chosen, holy people pit against other peoples
who adore vain idols.
This forceful position of Deuteronomy is not present throughout the
whole Bible, but it is a point of culmination and a particularly sym-
bolic and striking reference.

In the Fifteenth Century

Another very symbolically important culminating moment occurs in
fifteenth century Europe. In 1452, the Council of Florence declared
that it "firmly believes, professes, and proclaims that those not living
within the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but also Jews and heretics
and schismatics cannot become participants in eternal life, but will de-
part 'into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his an-
gels' (Cf. Matthew 25:41), unless before the end of life the same have
been added to the flock... no one, whatever almsgiving he has prac-
ticed, even if he has shed blood for the name of Christ, can be saved,
unless he has remained in the bosom and unity of the Catholic
Church." (DS 1351)
"Extra Ecclesium nulla salus," it was said. (There is no salvation out-
side the Church.) All those who die outside the Church (at that time,
there was still no Protestant Church) will not be able to participate in
eternal life and will go to everlasting fire. The statement might seem
strong, but it is not just a statement of the Council of Florence, it is
also a common and consistent Christian assertion throughout the Mid-
dle Ages.

In the Nineteenth Century

In his encyclical Mirari Vos of August 13, 1832, Pope Gregory XVI,
states:
"We consider another abundant source of the evils with which the
Church is afflicted at present: indifferentism. This perverse opinion is
spread on all sides by the fraud of the wicked who claim that it is pos-
sible to obtain the eternal salvation of the soul by the profession of any
kind of religion, as long as morality is maintained. ... This shameful
font of indifferentism gives rise to that absurd and erroneous proposi-
tion which claims that liberty of conscience must be maintained for
everyone. It spreads ruin in sacred and civil affairs, though some repeat
over and over again with the greatest impudence that some advantage
accrues to religion from it... Experience shows, even from earliest
times, that cities renowned for wealth, dominion, and glory perished as
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 37

a result of this single evil, namely immoderate freedom of opinion, li-

cense of free speech, and desire for novelty." (No. 9, 10)
This is just one of the many examples in which popes of that era made
solemn pronouncements against the "errors of the time," against mod-
ern thought, social freedoms, democracy etc. - things we now recog-
nize as human rights. The text in question, not yet two centuries old, is
a direct and contemptuous rejection of the freedom of conscience, reli-
gious freedom, and religious pluralism, dressed in all the solemnity of
pontifical magisterium.

In the Second Vatican Council (1965)

"This Vatican Council declares that the human person has a right to re-
ligious freedom. This freedom means that all men are to be immune
from coercion on the part of individuals or of social groups and of any
human power, in such a way that no one is to be forced to act in a
manner contrary to his own beliefs, nor is he to be restrained from act-
ing in accordance with his conscience, whether privately or publicly,
whether alone or in association with others within due limits. The
council further declares that the right to religious freedom has its foun-
dation in the very dignity of the human person as this dignity is known
through the revealed word of God and by reason itself." (DH 2)
"The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these re-
ligions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and
of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many
aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect
a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men." (NA 2).

The "Dominus Iesus" of Cardenal Ratzinger (2000)

The theory of the limited, incomplete, or imperfect character of the reve-
lation of Jesus Christ, which would be complementary to that found in
other religions, is contrary to the Church's faith. (No. 6).. .The distinction
between theological faith and belief in the other religions, must be firmly
held...[This] is religious experience still in search of the absolute truth
and still lacking assent to God who reveals himself. This is one of the
reasons why the differences between Christianity and the other religions
tend to be reduced at times to the point of disappearance. (7) ...The sa-
cred books of other religions...receive from the mystery of Christ the
elements of goodness and grace which they contain. (8) Whatever the
Spirit brings about in human hearts and in the history of peoples, in cul-
tures and religions, serves as a preparation for the Gospel and can only be
understood in reference to Christ... (12). Although participated forms of
mediation of different kinds and degrees are not excluded, they acquire
meaning and value only from Christ's own mediation, and they cannot be
38 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

understood as parallel or complementary to his Hence, those solutions

that propose a salvific action of God beyond the unique mediation of
Christ would be contrary to Christian and Catholic faith (14) It is clear
that it would be contrary to the faith to consider the Church as one way of
salvation alongside those constituted by the other religions (21) If it is
true that the followers of other religions can receive divine grace, it is
also certain that objectively speaking they are in a gravely deficient situa-
tion in comparison with those who, in the Church, have the fullness of the
means of salvation (22)

3.3 Discussing the topic

We have highlighted just a few important moments in a history that are

plagued with gestures and actions contrary to the acceptance of religious plu-
ralism While we can't demonstrate it fully here, the overall balance of this
history could be summed up as follows

• We have had almost twenty centuries of exclusivism - almost two

thousand years in which the official, overarching, and majonty think-
ing of Christianity has been that it is the only true religion and that all
other religions are either false, of human invention, or simply "prepa-
ration for the Gospel" or for "participation" in the Chnstian religion
• In the Catholic world, it has been less than fifty years since Vatican II
teachings led to abandoning the idea of exclusivism The change has
begun only now in the current generation, and it hasn't had time yet to
be spread widely or to take root in the popular imagination On the
contrary, the common popular thinking still holds a certain subcon-
scious "ancestral certainty" that Christianity is the "only true religion "
• The pluralist position - that God is revealed in all religions without
discrimination on God's part - is a theological position that still elicits
surprise and incomprehension
• It is civil, philosophical, scientific, and secular thought that has led the
Church through these transformations of thought Science, philosophy,
and social and political movements in general have pushed Christian
churches to abandon positions of monopoly, of exclusivism, and of
Christendom, forcing the transformation of society's imagination Un-
fortunately, many Christian churches have throughout history been op-
posed to all "modern freedoms" and are still against "religious plural-
ism " They have only gone as far as to proclaim "interreligious dia-
logue" in spaces where they are forced to because they are in the mi-
nority Religious institutions are normally very influenced by their own
institutional interests, as demonstrated on this point
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 39

• It must also be said that there has always been another face of Christi-
anity: thinkers, philosophers, and theologians who have been the ex-
ception in intuiting that the common position of closed exclusivism
does not respond to the truth. These people have opened themselves to
more tolerant and pluralist attitudes (Erasmus, Nicolas de Cusa, Llull,
Marsilio Ficino etc.), but they really have been the exception to the
rule.
• The Second Vatican Council was, for the Catholic Church, an accep-
tance of a good deal of the criticism that modern culture had made to-
ward the integrist attitudes of the Church in the last centuries. The up-
dating (aggiornamento) of church thinking and the reconciliation with
the modern world came from modern culture. But soon it became evi-
dent that that renovation was not enough and that it was necessary to
do a new reading of religious pluralism. Nevertheless, an involution
took place in the Catholic Church and official doctrine lagged behind
the evolving theology.

3.4 Questions for Sharing and for Going into Greater Depth

• Were the religions of the peoples that surrounded the people of Israel
good and valid religions? What does the Old Testament say about
those religions and their gods? (See Deut. 7.2-6)
• What do we think about the statements of the 1452 Council of Flor-
ence?
• Freedom of expression and conscience were negative things for Greg-
ory XVI in the 19th century. Does anyone think that today? Was this
negative attitude towards modern freedoms something that came from
Gregory XVI or from the Catholic Church as a whole?
• Are there religions today that believe that religious freedom (other than
the freedom to practice their own religion) is negative? What are some
examples? What do you think about that?
• Notice the difference between the opinion of Gregory XVI and that of
the II Vatican Council? Does the Church of Vatican II condemn or re-
ject non-Christian religions? What does it say about them?
• One interesting exercise might be to study the history of your own
country. What role has religion, or religions, played in this history?
Has there been any religion that has tried to exclude others from within
the national identity? Do religions coexist currently? Is this a coexis-
tence based on a conscious conviction in favor of pluralism or is it
simply resignation?
Chapter 4
Religious Pluralism in Latin American History
While we are loolang at history (still the "See" part of the methodology), we
are going to dedicate a chapter specifically to Latin America The arrival and
consolidation of Christianity on this continent is not just a particular or local
event, it tells us a lot about the way in which the western Christian world began
the modern globalization that we are still experiencing today The process was
directly affected by the theology of religions that Christianity had at the time,
and the lessons that can be drawn from this period are very relevant for today,
not only in Latin America

4.1 Discussing the topic

The history of the Latin American continent has particular characteristics that
make it especially interesting to look at from the perspective of religious plu-
ralism
It is the only continent where most of today's population has de-
scended from an invasion by another continent (another kind of people, another
culture, another religion) The native population was almost completely deci-
mated in the invasion, and survivors today are confined to living in poor condi-
tions in remote places or have been displaced into marginal social sectors This
is the result of a process that happened with the presence of a religion that le-
gitimated conquest through its "evangelization " Today the continent is primar-
ily Christian (and half of the Catholics in the world live in the Americas)'
"In the Americas today not a single religious monument of pre-
Hispamc origin remains They were all destroyed, and m many cases the mate-
rials were used to build new colonial churches or palaces This didn't happen
in many places in the Far East (Japan, China, Thailand, Java), in India, or in
the Near East and Africa, where millenary forms of worship continue to exist
in many places despite the arrival of European missionaries "2
How is it possible that Christians carried out an invasion and conquest
of a Continent that was already inhabited7 How is it possible that this Christian
invasion destroyed peoples and religions7 What kind of attitude did the con-
querors' religion have towards other religions7 When we ask what kind of atti-
tude the conquerors had towards other religions we are asking - in modern

1
According to the 2004 Pontifical Yearbook "50% of all Catholics live in the
Americas, 26 1% are in Europe, 12 8% are in Africa, 10 ^% are in Asia, and 0 8% are
in Oceania "
C Siller, 'El monoteismo mdigena,' in Teologia India, Vol II, Quito Abya Yala,
1994, p 94
42 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

terms - what kind of "theology of religions" did the conquerors have, con-
sciously or unconsciously, verbally or in practice What value or meaning did
they give to other religions7
Let's look at some aspects of the conquerors' attitude - or their theol-
ogy of religions - by looking at the following historic testimonies

4.2 Related Texts

• The first catechism written in the Americas (perhaps between 1510 and
1521) by Pedro de Cordoba begins with the revelation of "a great se-
cret that you have never known of or heard o f that God made heaven
and hell In heaven are all of those who converted to the Christian faith
and lived their lives well, and in hell are "all those who died among
you, all of your ancestors fathers, mothers, grandparents, relatives,
and everyone who passed through this life, and you will be there as
well if you do not become friend of God and become baptized and be-
come Christian, because all those who are not Christians are enemies
of God" 3

• One excellent resource we have today is Los coloquios de los doce

apostoles (The Colloquiums of the Twelve Apostles) Rediscovered in
1924, this book is the result of the admirable research of Fray Bernar-
dino de Sahagun It was written in the Nahuatl language and is the last
public record of surviving Aztec priests and wise men who defended
their religious beliefs and their way of life before the missionaries that
arrived in Mexico The missionaries proclaim that what their Aztec an-
cestors have taught them and left them as their inheritance is "all a lie,
vanity, fiction, it contains no truth "4 "Know and be certain that none
of the gods that you worship is God the giver of Life, all are devils
from hell," they say 5 The wise men reply "You said that we do not
know the Lord that our gods were not true gods This is a New Word
that you are speaking We are disturbed by it, we are offended by it
Because our forefathers gave us their rules for life, they honored the
gods, they taught us all of their ways of worship, all of the ways of
honoring the gods It was the teaching of our elders that all life comes
from the gods We know to whom we owe our lives we know how to
call them, how to beseech them And now, shall we destroy the old
rules of life7 It is enough that we have been defeated, that you have

See J G Duran, Monumenta catechetica hispanoamencana Vol I, Buenos Aires,

1984
4
See 'Los coloquios de los doce apostoles,' in Monumenta , op cit 215 5 Ibid P
187
5
Ibid P 187
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 43

kept our government from functioning Leave us alone, then, to die

Let us perish, now that our gods have died "6

• Fray Vicente Valverde, official chaplain who accompanied Francisco

Pizarro in what was, m the end, the invasion of the Inca empire, or-
dered Atahualpa to worship God, the cross, and the Gospel, "because
all else is a mockery " Atahualpa responded that he did "not honor
anything but the Sun that never dies and the gods who also have their
law "7

• In Bahia, Brazil, the famous missionary Antonio Viera said to the

black slaves "your slavery is not a disgrace but rather a great miracle,
because your forefathers are in hell for all of eternity while you have
been saved, thanks to slavery " 8

• In 1985 when John Paul II visited Peru, Maximo Flores, of the Kol-
lasuyo Indian Movement (Aymara), Emmo Valenano of the Indian
Party (Aymara), and Ramiro Reynaga of the TupacKatan (Keshwa)
Indian Movement gave the Pope a letter in which they had written
We, the Indians of the Andes and of the Americas, have decided to use
the occasion of John Paul IPs visit to give him back the Bible, because
in five centuries, it has given us neither love, nor peace, nor justice
Please, take your Bible back and give it back to our oppressors because
they need their moral precepts more than we do Since the arrival of
Christopher Columbus, the European culture, language, religion, and
values have been imposed on us by force The Bible came to us as part
of an imposed colonial project It was the ideological arm of this colo-
nialist assault The Spanish sword that attacked and murdered Indian
bodies by day became a cross at night to tie down the Indian soul " 9

4.3 Questions for Reflection and Discussion

Once you have read these historical testimonies, look at some questions that
emerge from them in terms of both theory and practice

6
M Leon Portilla, El reverso de la conqmsta, Mexico Mortiz, 1990, pp 23 28
Complete text can be found in the 7992 Latin American Agenda, p 51 Available also
on servicioskomonia org/agenda/archivo
7
M Leon Portilla, Ibid , pp 113 121 (complete story) An adequate summary can be
found in the 7992 Agenda Latinoamericana, pp 74-75 Available also on
servicioskomonia org/agenda/archivo
8
AViera, Fourteenth Sermon (1633) See Sermoes, Vol 4 tomo 11 No 6 Porto
Lello/Irmao, 1959 p 301
1992 Agenda Latinoamericana, p 57
44 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

• What traits characterize the attitude of Christianity towards the indige-

nous religions it found when it came to the Americas?
• Did the Christians think that indigenous religions had any value? Did
they see them as something negative? How can you explain the fact
that they had no qualms about eradicating and destroying them?

Now we can ask ourselves the following questions:

Did/do the pre-Colombian indigenous religions (and non-Christian
religions in general) have any value for God's salvation?
Were the indigenous people idolatrous since they didn't know the God
of Jesus Christ and worshiped their own gods?
Does God hear the prayers that indigenous people say to their gods?
Do indigenous religions have some or part of the truth? The whole
truth?
If Christ brought us salvation and they didn't know Christ, could they
enter into God's salvation? How?
Why did they not know Christ? Why did God become manifest in
Europe and Asia and not in what we would later call the Americas?
Was God being unjust in depriving them of something essential for
their salvation? Was God silent to them during thousands of years? Did
God decide for centuries to only relate to people inside the walls of the
Jewish world that the Old Testament tells us about?
• Do you have to be a Christian to be saved?
• If you don't have to be Christian, then what good is it to be Christian?
• Do missions, missionaries, missionary evangelization have any mean-
ing? What meaning do they have?

(Don't worry about answering all of the questions or arriving at a conclusion in

this dialogue. They are only to stimulate discussion on the subject in the group.
We will return to these subjects later.)

4.4 Recommended Exercises

• Study the origins of the religion that is currently the majority religion in
your country, whether that is Christianity or not. How did that religion ar-
rive to that part of the world? Were there native people with another relig-
ion living there? What was the attitude (the theology of religions) of the re-
ligion that arrived? What was the encounter like? Make an effort to learn
about the history of the relationship between the religions that have been
present in your place.
• The facilitator can distribute a selection of various readings to group mem-
bers several days before the work session. Each group member can present
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 45

the content of the reading he or she was assigned and add what he or she
thinks about Christianity's attitude towards the indigenous religions as pre-
sented in these readings. A general discussion should follow.
Chapter 5

The Hermeneutics of Suspicion

To conclude the part of our work that looks at reality - the "See" part of the
methodology - we are going to examine an interpretative approach or mindset
necessary for making sure that our vision of reality is mature and critical and
for helping us keep alert so that our theological constructions are not uncon-
sciously influenced by our own interests or those of others.

5.1 Discussing the topic

The past lessons helped us to focus on the topic of religious pluralism by tak-
ing a look at history. Each one of us will have to evaluate what we have seen of
this, but what this book puts forth as a critical assessment is quite worrisome:

• The foundational scriptures and traditions of Christianity do not recog-

nize the principle of religious pluralism;
• Christianity, once a marginalized and persecuted religion, was later
accepted by the Roman Empire and then became the official religion of
the empire. It imposed itself as the only religion and persecuted others,
legitimating the empire;
• The Christian religion was for many centuries an ally of the powerful -
a state religion. The Christian regime was imposed as an obligation; it
was intolerant, and it held itself out as the only and absolute religion;
• Christianity has waged religious wars against other religions (the Cru-
sades, primarily) and has peacefully coexisted with some of the great-
est acts of violence in history (slavery, the conquest of the Americas,
the globalization of capitalism, the usury involved in current foreign
debt, etc.) legitimating these things in practice.
• Christianity allowed European powers to use it in the invasion of the
Americas and in the persecution and destruction of indigenous relig-
ions. Later it took advantage of western neocolonial expansion in order
to go into other continents.
• In every text and expression, Christian theology and spirituality exudes
the conviction that it is the only true and absolute religion, the final re-
ligious destiny for all of humanity.

Christians have lived with these ideas for almost 20 centuries (until about 40
years ago), serenely and unquestioningly convinced that theirs was the only
true religion, the predestined one, the chosen one, the one called to evangelize
the world with its missions and missionaries, the religion that would sooner or
48 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

later convert all of humanity. But the world has changed rapidly in recent
years. Now, the development of communications systems, the demographic
growth of the Third World, the expansion of Islam, large scale migration, the
resulting coexistence of many religions, and the development of a much more
conscious and critical mentality have all given rise to an "attitude of suspicion"
that is leading many Christians and theologians to question convictions that
were previously thought untouchable.
It is becoming increasingly clear to Christians, and especially to histo-
rians and theologians, that certain convictions that were presented in the past as
purely theological and religious thinking may have also been the result of hid-
den motivations and disguised interests and that they were functioning in real-
ity as an "ideology;"that is, as "rational theoretical constructions aimed at justi-
fying someone's own corporative interests."1
If we look back at Christian history with hearts that are sensitive to
poor people and to victims, we see a great deal of suffering and lack of free-
dom - a history of the subjugation, persecution, and destruction of other relig-
ions, of the conquest and colonization of other lands, of international economic
exploitation of the poor by a rich and "Christian" north. It is clear to us that
these things are not good, and that we can't justify them by calling them the
will of God.
The question is: Has the doctrine of Christianity as the one and only re-
ligion played a role in this history of violence, expansion, conquest, and domi-
nation? Have our doctrine, theology, and spirituality been autonomous, inde-
pendent, neutral, and purely religious, emanating directly from the divine
source itself? Or have they also in some way been the result of the human in-
terests of their protagonists? In other words, have they had an ideological com-
ponent?
One good method for adopting a consciously critical attitude is to ask
the old question from the days of the Roman Empire: "Cui bonoT ("Who
benefits?") Who does a specific theology or doctrine benefit? Is it possible that
certain doctrines have developed theologically due to the influence of certain
groups who benefitted from them? Were these doctrines used to justify the he-
gemony of certain groups and make their domination of others possible? It is
possible... because it is human.
Some authors have called this critical attitude the "hermeneutics of
suspicion." Hermeneutics is a word that means an interpretative approach. The
hermeneutics of suspicion seeks to discover the unconscious or intentionally
hidden root causes or factors involved in the making of theory or doctrine, in
this case in the making of Christian theology.
It is necessary to reexamine history with this attitude and see where there are
cases of doctrines, theologies, or rules of the Church that present themselves as

The word "ideology" has another more positive meaning, but here it is used in its
negative sense.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 49

strictly religious statements but end up functioning as an ideological justifica-

tion for a Christian group to exercise force against other groups, who become
victims of our collective selfishness, disguised religiously
Let us affirm this principle any doctrine or theology or spirituality that
has produced the harmful effects of oppression, domination, or disdain, or has
inflicted pain on, or caused the destruction of, other groups, peoples, or relig-
ions must be subject to critique under this hermeneutics of suspicion and
should, at the very least, be reconsidered because in principle, it could be sus-
pected of being ideology
This principle opens the way to the second part of our course the
"JUDGE" part Here we will reexamine and reconstruct our theology from the
perspective of the plurality of religions, very attentive that our theology not be
ideology and trying to be conscious - and free - of any interests that may un-
derlie our theological affirmations
The hermeneutics of suspicion is not the invention of some philosophi-
cal genius, nor is it simply the result of modern critique, it is also founded in
the Gospel We can look directly at the words of Jesus "no good tree bears bad
fruit" (Mt 7 15-20, Luke 6 43) A doctrine that produces hurtful or sinful ef-
fects cannot be considered a true and correct doctrine It cannot be "orthodoxy"
(correct doctrine) because it is not "orthopraxis" (correct practice)
Many of the opinions and doctrines we've seen do not fulfill the
"minimum ethic," or that Golden Rule expressed in the Gospel "Do unto oth-
ers as you would have them do unto you "(Mt 7 13, Luke 6 31) If other relig-
ions took positions about us that were similar to some of the ones we've taken
towards them in our doctrinal positions, we would be very offended, indeed
The doctrines that we have been naively proclaiming for so long must be sub-
mitted again to the judgment of the Gospel, we must put them under the scru-
tiny of the hermeneutics of suspicion and reconsider them 2

5.1.1 Two Observations

• By adopting this hermeneutics of suspicion, we are actually giving a
non-neutral orientation to the theology of religions that we are devel-
oping It needs to be a theology with "an option for the poor," under-
standing "the poor" to be not only the economically poor, but also the
culturally poor, "the other," those who are marginalized because of
their gender or race, disdained because of their culture, exploited be-
cause of their social class, or marginalized for being a minority When
we take an option for the poor, we understand "the poor" to be those

"We should follow the Golden Rule and concede to the religious experience of other
great traditions the same presumption of possible cognitive reliability that we claim for
ourselves " Hick, God has Many Names, Philadelphia The Westminster Press, 1982, p
24
50 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

who are not able to get justice 3 We want, from the very beginning to
build our theology of religious pluralism with this perspective and this
option This is the perspective and the option of the God of Life and of
Justice
• The hermeneutics of suspicion can be applied in socio-economic and
political fields to detect the ideological elements present in religious
doctrines But it can also be applied in other areas - the cultural area,
for example Anthropologically speaking, religion is part of culture and
owes a great deal to the cultural context in which it has developed his-
torically Culture also has material foundations that make it possible,
condition it, and give rise to different interpretations and explanations
according to the vital needs of the people who create that culture In
fact, as a whole, culture can be considered "a body of knowledge with
certain inherent interests " Today, cultural anthropology studies the re-
lationship between religion and the material influences and social in-
terests of human groups — which doesn't mean that religion cannot also
be autonomous All of this is also an aspect of hermeneutics, cultural
in this case We won't go into detail on this subject now, but it is im-
portant to keep in mind By using the hermeneutics of suspicion, one
can and should uncover the possible ideological or self-interested as-
pect of a doctrine, as it relates to any dimension of reality, whether it
be economic, political, cultural or gender related 4

5.2 Testimonial Readings for Use in Group Exercises

• El Requenmiento, ("The Requirement") was the text that conquerors

from 16th century Spain read to the indigenous chieftains to tell them
about the royal titles that they believed legitimated their right to be-
come owners of the "islands and the tierra firme " If the indigenous
leaders heard these explanations and rebelled against the Crown in-
stead of submitting to it, that was sufficient reason to wage war against
them El Requenmiento was written during the time of Spain's Catho-
lic kings, so it is not surprising that it was a legal document based on
theological and religious arguments It is interesting to examine the
explicit and underlying theology used in the document and to decide

J M Vigil, 'La opcion por los pobres es opcion por la justicia y no es preferencial,'
Revista Teologica Xavenana 49 (January-March, 2004), Bogota "Enfoque" (June
2004), Cochabamba
4
Mary Aquin O'Neill says, for example, that this is one of the constants of the
methodology of theology done by women "Women approach the Christian texts with a
suspicion Convinced that there is an andro centric bias, we can no longer simply
accept as revealed truth that which we have been told to accept " ('La naturaleza de
la mujer y el metodo de la teologia,' Seleccwnes de Teologia 142, 1997, p 99
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 51

how much of it is theological and how much is ideological El Re-

querimiento helped 16th century Spain justify to itself its right to take
possession of lands it had only recently learned existed The Junta of
Valladolid entrusted this argument to theologian Palacio Rubio, who
supported the economic and political ambitions of the day using the
most universal principles of his theology

Read El Requerimiento and discuss in the group what kind of real principles
are present in the theology What aspects had more of an ideological function ?
Apply the 'hermeneutics of suspicion "5

• For three centuries, during the time of the famous "slave triangle" be-
tween Europe, Africa, and the Americas, black slavery was not only
tolerated, it was justified by using very theological and religious state-
ments 6

Comment on whether the theological statements were orthodox or heterodox -

purely religious or self-interested and ideological

• "The Roman pontiff, vicar of Jesus Christ and successor of the owner
of the keys to heaven, examines with paternal attention all the places in
the world and the qualities of the people who live there Seeking the
good of all, he orders and rules on what he believes will be pleasing to
the Divine Majesty and will take into the only flock of the Lord the
sheep with which he has been entrusted, obtaining for them forgive-
ness and the prize of eternal joy

"Considering everything we have presented with due attention, and

keeping in mind that in another letter a short time ago we conceded full
authority and freedom to the aforementioned King Alfonso to invade,
conquer, take by force, reduce, and subjugate all of the kingdoms,
dukedoms, principalities, dominions, possessions, goods, and proper-
ties of the Saracens and pagans and other enemies of Christ and to re-
duce them to permanent slavery and to take for themselves and their
successors all these kingdoms, dukedoms, principalities, dominions,
possessions and goods, we now declare that the Prince has acquired

This text can be found in Spanish in the 1992 Agenda Latinoamericana, pp 18-19
On the internet it can be found in the archives of the Agenda Latinoamericana
(agenda latinoamericana org/archive) by searching under the year 1992 It can also be
found in many history books
This text is a selection (the second part) of the article titled 'La mision profetica de la
Vida Rehgiosa ante el neohberahsmo,' in Diakoma, 68 (December 1993) pp 16-25,
Managua, by J M Vigil It can also be found on servicioskoinoma org/relat/048 htm
52. losfe M A R I A VIGIL

and legitimately possesses all of the islands, lands, ports and seas of
this kind... and through this letter we give them in perpetuity and ap-
propriate them to the aforementioned King Alfonso, the Prince, and to
their successors.

"And to all the Christian faithful... this decree prohibits you from di-
rectly or indirectly carrying firearms, or swords, or other things prohib-
ited by law, to any of the places... conquered or possessed by King Al-
fonso and his successors. Neither can you sail to or fish in their seas,
nor interfere... nor attempt to disturb the peaceful possession of these
places by King Alfonso and his successors, either directly or indi-
rectly..." 7

There are only a few theological premises in this text that refer to the ministry
of Peter, but they seem to be enough to legitimate an "apostolic authority" to
divide up the world and authorize the perpetual slavery of its inhabitants to the
benefit of Christian princes who supposedly received these favors in order to
continue fighting "for the salvation of souls and the glory of the Holy Catholic
faith." Can a conception of papal ministry be orthodox if it appeals to the
Gospel (Mt 16: 17-19) and deduces from it such terrifying rights over the
"Saracens and pagans and other enemies of Christ?" Can one conclude that
Jesus' words to Peter gave him this kind of imperial, absolute, and total au-
thority over the whole world? Is this "theology of the primacy of Peter" ideo-
logical in nature? Is this kind of theology true or false?

• "The fundamental affirmation of Christian theology is that 'there is no

salvation outside the Church.' For that reason, Indians and blacks
should take on the values and traditions of western civilization."8

• "No text and no research [nor any theology or religious doctrine], no

matter what objectives it claims to have, can keep from being guided
by a horizon of self-interest. To learn is to interpret. The hermeneutics
of all knowledge and of all science is such that a person will always
enter with his or her own models, paradigms, and categories into the
understanding of a particular matter which is also influenced by lan-
guage. Human beings are not pure reason: they are inserted into his-
tory, into a socio-political context, and they move according to per-

7
Bullarium Romanum V, pp. 111-114.
8
B. Ferraro, 'Cristologia,' Vozes, Petropolis 2004, p. 23.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 53

sonal and collective interests For this reason, no knowledge is exempt

from ideology and purely disinterested" 9

Comment on the above text, which summarizes a philosophical conviction from

the modern age there is no text, nor science, nor technique not even a reli-
gious or theological doctrine that is neutral, purely objective, aseptic, and apo-
litical, without ideology, without conscious or unconscious interests

• "Let he who is without ideology throw the first stone " Famous state-
ment of Mons Smith, Auxiliary Bishop of Lima, during the rV Con-
ference of Latin American Bishops in Santo Domingo in 1992 Discuss
this

• "The truth, Pilate, is this [we must] put ourselves on the side of the
humble and of those who suffer " Van der Meersch 10 Discuss

• Recommended exercise The Council of Lima prohibited the ordina-

tion of Indians as priests Imagine together what theological and Bibli-
cal reasons they may have used to justify their decision At the same
time, let us "be suspicious" of the economic, political, cultural and
other reasons there might have also been behind keeping the Christian
priestly ministry from being open to the indigenous ' l

5.3. Applications to Life

The hermeneutics of suspicion studied in this session is a principle of maxi-

mum applicability to life, both at the collective level (in secular or church life)
and at the individual or personal level We all should know that there are no
neutral principles, no neutral science, not even neutral technology Theology
and spirituality are not neutral either Everything is situated withm a social bal-
ance of power, where the various interests of society and history confront each
other
Our own opinions, science, theology, and spirituality are also located
in this magnetic field of interests that belong to us and others We can t extract
ourselves from it That s why we should examine the influence that our mter-

L Boff, L Paswn de Cristo pasion del mundo, Bogota Indo-Amencan Press

Service,1978, p 15 Also in Jesucnsto y la hberacion del hombre,' Cristiandad,
Madrid, 1981, p 289
10
A Cormn Miswn Abierta 70 (March 1977) Back cover
11
See information on the Council of Lima in Marzal, Manuel and others, O rosto Indw
de Deus, Petropohs 1968, pp 202-203 See also M Marzal, La transformacwn
rehgwsa peruana, Lima Pontificia Universidad Catolica, 1983, p 322
54 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

ests may have on us and see how we may be allowing ourselves to be led by
these interests.
What we can do, at the collective Church level or as Christians in gen-
eral, is to try to be Christian adults who judge our own history in order to keep
from justifying it and to keep from repeating the abuses we have committed
throughout the history of Christianity with the Bible and theology in our hands.
We want to ask forgiveness for the ideologized conduct that has occurred in the
past and to reverse history with a present and a future that are truly faithful to
the Gospel and to those who have been the victims thus far. Another Christian-
ity is possible.
This kind of analysis is not done simply because we enjoy criticism or intellec-
tual subtleties. It must be done in order to simply put into practice with great
care the words of Jesus "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,"
or other perceptive words that were so characteristic of Jesus; "Not everyone
who says Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but rather those who
do the will of my Father."

5.4 Questions for Reflection and Discussion

• What is your own assessment of the history of Christianity on the issue

of religious pluralism? Is it different from what is presented here? In
what ways? Share and discuss with your colleagues.
• The word "ideology" is used sometimes in the negative sense and
sometime in the positive sense. There are two different meanings. Can
you distinguish them? What is the difference?
• Is it true that our interests influence our way of thinking? Discuss here
the saying "Live as you believe, because if you don't, you'll end up be-
lieving as you live."
• Is it acceptable to argue against a doctrine or theology but by appealing
to its practical or social effects instead of using theoretical arguments?
Isn't this an inadequate form of argument?
• Begin to explore this topic: What theological or Biblical statements
have been used, in practice, as ideological underpinnings for machismo
and patriarchy in society and in the Church?
PART II: JUDGE
Chapter 6

Tools for Analysis: Terms, Concepts, Categories

It is time to move on to the second part of our methodology: to "Judge" the
reality that we have just "Seen." To do this, we first need to give ourselves the
tools we need to be able to reflect on what we have learned. Specifically, we
need:
a) some instruments to help us structure our information (concepts, terms,
definitions, distinctions between certain terms...) and;
b) a way of classifying and distinguishing between the possible positions
people might take as they think about this particular topic.

6.1 Introducing the Topic

6.1.1 Terms and Concepts

Theology of Religions: "Theology" can be defined in many ways, but in its
broadest sense, it is a concept that is part of our common cultural knowledge.
Theology is reflection illuminated by faith. "Theo" "logy" means the science
of, or the study of, God. By extension, "theology" is all faith-based reflection
on a suitable subject or topic.
Reflection on some particular aspect or subset of the world of faith is
considered a branch of theology. Some examples of the different branches of
theology we may have heard of are: the theology of the sacraments, or sacra-
mentology; the theology of the Church, ecclesiology; and the theology of the
ultimate destiny of things, or eschatology.
The "theology of religions" is the branch of theology that reflects on
religions. Religions are the "subject matter" of the theology of religions, just as
sacraments are the subject matter of sacramentology and as the Church is the
subject of ecclesiology. The theology of religions seeks to reflect on the mean-
ing of religions, the role they play in God's plan, their value for God's salva-
tion, the relationships between various religions, what they have in common,
what their differences are, etc. This is the formal objective of the theology of
religions.
Theology of Religious Pluralism: This is simply a new name for the
theology of religions. It's a synonym.1
This new name is being used now because theologians appear to be discover-
ing that religious pluralism itself - the fact that there are many religions and

1
This book uses both terms interchangeably, especially to avoid - as we will see later
- confusing pluralism (the plurality of religions), which is the subject of the theology
of religious pluralism, with the paradigm of pluralism, one of the possible positions
that theologians may take on the issue.
 58 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

not one - is the central issue today for this theology Several decades ago, "sal-
vation" was the biggest issue for the theology of religions The big question
was Is there salvation in other religions'? Now there is a peacefully held con-
sensus on the answer to that question (Most theologians believe that, indeed,
salvation can be found in "other" religions ) But now the main point of debate
is religious pluralism itself Why do so many religions exist 7 How is God
working through these religions 7 2 Today, "a theology of religions cannot help
but be a theology of religious pluralism " 3
Whether or not salvation is present in non-Christian religions has been
an issue of concern throughout the twenty centuries of Christianity's exis-
tence, 4 and there have always been thinkers or theologians who have asked
themselves these questions, directly or indirectly, and have given their re-
sponses But, until recently, there has never been a doctrinal body that could be
considered a systematic reflection on the existence of other religions In other
words, there was never a real theology of religions The theology of religions
became a theology during the last half of the twentieth century Towards a
Theology of Religions by Heinz Robert Schlette published in 1963 is usually
considered its first body of work 5
It was during the time of the II Vatican Council that the Christian
Church began to talk more about non-Christian religions and to do so in a posi-
tive way This was something without precedent or parallel in all of history
The statements made at Vatican II opened the door for theologians who ad-
vanced rapidly in this untilled soil It was a groundbreaking topic in a new era
of relationships between religions, and it was that shift in thinking that has al-
lowed us to engage in this new reflection today Some of the best known books
on the theology of religions today still reflect in their titles this sense of being
new and in a process of construction Towards a Christian Theology of Reli-
gious Pluralism is the title of one of Jacque Dupuis's most representative
works The liveliness of the debate that the subject has brought into the theo-
logical fray is also a reflection of its newness, as is the reactionary stance and

2
Dupuis explains the reasons behind the change in the name of this branch of theology
in Verso una teologia Cnstiana del plurahsmo rehgwso Brescia Quenmana, 1977, p
18 19
3
J Dupuis, Ibid , p 271
4
It might be interesting to look at F A Sullivan s book, Is There Salvation Outside the
Church7 which looks at the history of the saying, 'extra ecclesia nulla salus ' from the
dawn of Christianity until now There, it is evident that this question about the
significance of other religions - especially in terms of the presence or absence of
salvation in them - has always been part of the debate in Christian churches, even
though no systematic treatment, or theological branch, came out of it until much later
5
H R Schlette, Die Rehgionen als Thema der Theologie, Freiburg lm Breisgau Verlag
Herder KG, 1963, Le rehgiom como tema della teologia, Morcelliana, Brescia, 1968,
Towards a Theology of Religions, London, 1966
6
F A Sullivan, Ibid , p 195
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 59

censorship of Catholics by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (ex
Holy Office).
The adjective "Christian" in the title of Dupuis' work helps us realize
that a distinction is being made. "Theology" is a word and a concept of Greek
origin that existed before Christianity. Today, however, it is often considered a
Christian concept, even though all religions have theology (though it may be
called by other names). All religions engage in "faith-based reflection." All
religions have a faith that seeks to comprehend and reflect on things in a
somewhat systematic way. So, the theology of religions doesn't happen only
among Christians. There can also be a Muslim theology of religions, or a Bud-
dhist theology of religions, or a Hindu theology of religions. Again, it may not
be called "theology" in some of these other religions (for example in Hindu-
ism, where even the concept of God "theos" is alien) but, for our purposes we
can talk about the "theologies" of religions that come from non-Christian reli-
gious platforms. We should know that they exist, or may exist, and that it is
good that they exist.
A question comes to mind then: Would it be possible to construct a
theology of religions that was neither Christian, nor Muslim, nor of any other
religion, but rather an attempt to be "interreligious," open to all religions?
Some say yes and some say no, and this book doesn't attempt to answer that
question right now. If not otherwise specified, we will be working within the
realm of a "Christian theology of religions," but we want to recognize that
there are also non-Christian theologies of religions, and that, furthermore, we
might at some point want to begin thinking about an interreligious theology of
religions.
Finally, perhaps it is obvious and unnecessary to point out, but the theol-
ogy of religions should be distinguished clearly from the science of religions,
the anthropology of religions, the comparative history of religions etc. All of
these are also very young disciplines, just a little over a century old.

6.1.2 Classifications: A Mapping of Various Models for a Theology of

Religions
In spite of its youth, the theology of religions has already made a quite a path
for itself. Looking back, we can see that there have already been a significant
number and variety of positions taken by theologians as they deal with the im-
plications of the presence of so many religions in our world. In the last 25
years, several attempts have been made to classify these positions. This lesson
will present a summary, albeit a bit simplified, of the ways that various opin-
ions and positions can be grouped or classified within the theology of religions.
That will give us a snapshot of the overall picture and provide us with elements
of judgment that we can use as we begin mapping our own positions. It will
also help us to understand what the most important building blocks are cur-
rently in the construction of a theology of religions.
60 JOSE M A R I A VIGIL

Many typologies have been made, we'll just include the most recognized ones
The first is a three-part classification that has been universally accepted for its
clarity and simplicity As you will see, it is a logical extension of the structure
of reality itself Some theologians find it insufficient, and that makes sense be-
cause everything that is simple simplifies and needs to be made more complex
later with subdivisions and provisions that make room for the nuances that oc-
cur in reality The following classification is the simplest and generally the
most universally accepted of the models or positions in the theology of relig-
ions 8

A Exclusivism The theological position that maintains that there is only

one true religion revealed by God is called exclusivism This one relig-
ion is the exclusive possessor of truth, and all others are false religions,
or simply human or "natural" religions that cannot provide salvation
This position was the dominant and official position of Christianity for
twenty centuries until the 1960s 9

B Inclusivism This position maintains that while truth and salvation are
found in one particular religion, they are also found -in somewhat de-
ficient or imperfect forms - in other religions as well This can only
happen, however, because of the participation of the truth and salva-
tion belonging to the one true religion
In Christianity, this position occurs when people say that only the
Christian religion has real truth and salvation and that, while there are
"elements" of truth in other religions, God has only given full truth and
salvation to the Christian religion Salvation for humanity was won
specifically by Jesus Christ, who has given the authority of his salva-
tion to his Church Non-Christians can also participate in salvation, but
not because of any validity of their own religions, but rather because of
the power of Christ who can reach them "in ways only known to
God " 10 In reality, non-Christians are not saved "by" participating in
their religion, but "in spite o f the fact that they participate in it This

7
Sometimes this just means that those theologians feel uncomfortable with being
classified without nuances as pluralists or inclusivists
8
In his major work, Verso una teologia Cristiana dell rehgwni, Dupuis says m
passing "Using Schmeller's classification for clarity's sake " Ibid, p 252
Schmeller's classification is this three part classification, though it is subdivided in the
third part
9
"The Koran affirms that good works without faith (Muslim faith) are "vain," a mirage
(6 88, 18 103 105, 24 29 ) in the same way, most [Muslim] theologians from the
most diverse schools did not hesitate to relegate to hell all those who were not Muslim,
no matter what the value of their works " R Caspar, Para una vision Cristiana del
Islam SalTerrae, 1995, p 181
10
GS 22
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 61

position is what opened a space in the theological world, primarily

through the Catholic Church during the years of the Second Vatican
Council.

C. Pluralism.11 Pluralism is the theological position that affirms that all

religions participate in God's salvation, each one in its own way and
autonomously. That is to say, no religion is at the center of the reli-
gious universe. Only God is at the center, and religions revolve around
God as planets revolve around the Sun. God uses all religions to make
a connection with human beings but there is no one, true religion. Nei-
ther is there a privileged and inclusive religion to which all others are
in debt or of which they are subsidiaries.
Within Christianity, this position maintains that Christianity itself is
not at the center, but rather that it is just one more religion revolving
around the center, which is God.
As an explicit, written theological position, pluralism is new in the
Christian theological world. It is very recent and implies a radical shift.

While we used Christianity as an example to illustrate the three groups, the

three positions do not belong to Christianity or to any particular religion. Any
religion may adopt one or another of these positions. There are also inclusivist
positions in Hinduism or Islam, and there are pluralist positions among mys-
tics, Sufis etc.
Of course, this classification can be made more complex by making
space for subdivisions, nuances, variations etc. That is what we will look at in
the next lesson.
In the Christian world, this three-part classification tends to also use
other categories and names that corresponding to the three already cited. The
following is another classification system:

A. Ecclesiocentrism: In Christianity, the exclusivist position cannot help

but put the Christian Church (any Christian Church) at the center of
everything. The Christian Church is at the center of God's plan for sal-
vation. Only the Church is the repository of salvation and all other re-
ligions are destined to disappear or to be subsumed into the Church.
Everything in the world and in human history points to the Church as
its center and its destiny. This position is exemplified in the well-
known maxim, "there is no salvation outside the Church."12

11
Remember, "pluralism" here does not mean the "plurality of religions" but rather a
specific concrete position within the theology of religions.
Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus.
 62 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

B Chnstocentnsm This is the Christian name given to inclusivism In

this position it is no longer thought that salvation is only to be found in
the Chnstian churches and that all other religions are completely lack-
ing the saving presence of God The position is, rather, that the truth of
God and God's salvation are present in other non-Christian religions,
but that the definition of truth and salvation is determined by Christian-
ity In other words, it is the truth and salvation manifested by Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, when he came to this world No one can be
saved if not for the mediation of Christ, even if those belonging to the
other religion do not know Jesus Christ That is why we speak of
Chnstocentnsm The example of this position is the slogan, "Only Je-
sus Saves "

C Theocentrism Within Christianity,13 this third position maintains that

God, and only God, is at the center All religions are situated around
God and relate to God directly, without any need for Christian media-
tion Christ and Christianity are situated along side the other religions
without needing to be considered as absolute mediations for them

These two sets of classifications are identical in terms of their structural logic,
but the second one uses Christian terminology This course will use the first set
of terms which is more universal and can be applied to any religion, though we
might adopt the second group of classifications when we are referring specifi-
cally to the Christian realm
Let's look at another of the most well known classifications in the the-
ology of religions
Knitter is the author who has proposed the most terminology and the
most classifications In his famous 1985 work, No Other Name7 Knitter offers
the following typology 14

a) The conservative evangelical model (radical exclusivism)

b) The mainline Protestant model (moderate exclusivism)
c) The Catholic model (inclusivism)
d) The theocentnc model (pluralism)

In a 1986 article that has found its way into many anthologies,15 he offers an-
other, more symbolic grouping

13
Some people say this position is not Christian - that it is not compatible with the
pnmary beliefs of Christianity We will deal with that issue later
14
P Knitter, No Other Name? A Critical Survey of Christian Attitudes Toward the
World Religions, Maryknoll Orbis Books, 1985, twelfth printing, June 2000
15
P Knitter, 'La teologia de las religiones en el pensamiento catolico Concilium 203
(January 1986) pp 123 124 Also found on www servicioskoinoma org/relat/315 htm
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 63

a) Christ against other religions

b) Christ within other religions (inclusivism)
c) Christ structurally above other religions (normative pluralism)
d) Christ with other religions (pluralism)

In 2002, he revamped all of the theological work of his last thirty years and
gave us a new proposal

a) The replacement model, total or partial (exclusivism)

b) The fulfillment model, (absolute inclusivism)
c) The mutuality model (pluralism)
d) The acceptance model (postmodern pluralism9)16

Raimundo Panikkar provides two four-part classifications

a) exclusivism
b) inclusivism
c) parallelism
d) interpenetration
or,
a) The geographical model (the ways in the mountain peak)
b) The physical model (the rainbow)
c) The geometrical model (the topological invariant)
d) The anthropological model (language)
e) The mystical model silence17

Finally, Juan Jose Tamayo puts forth a six-part typology18 of approaches that
were inspired by Niebuhr s work (Knitter s work was also inspired by Nie-
buhr)

a) Christ opposed to religions and cultures exclusive Christology and

ecclesiology
b) Christ above the cultures and anonymous Christians
c) Harmony between Christ and culture
d) Christ as normative for salvation
e) Plural manifestations of God and plural mediators, and
f) Salvation through the praxis of liberation in history

16
See P Knitter, Introducing Theologies of Religions, Maryknoll Orbis Books, 2002
17
R Panikkar, R // dialogo intrarehgioso, Assisi Citadella Editnce, 1988, Second
Edition 2001, pp 27 58
18
J J Tamayo, Fundamentahsmo y dialogo entre las rehgiones, Madrid Trotta, 2004
64 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

6.1.3 Difficulties
Classifying and cataloguing theologies and theologians can be useful and nec-
essary as well as delicate and unpleasant None of us likes to be put into a box
that we haven't chosen for ourselves or whose definitions we may not even
share, and we have to respect this reluctance to be categorized On the other
hand, it is intellectually necessary to try to understand reality in all its many
forms by uncovering commonalities and differences that exist This is, in part,
what intellectual activity in general, and theology in particular, is all about We
have to find a balance between respecting the right of each person to interpret
his or her own position (a respect that must be the starting point) and the com-
pelling professional need to know and to understand So we classify and cata-
logue, recognizing that each person has a fundamental and legitimate right to
express his or her disagreement with our conclusions
One clear example of the difficulty of classifying theologies is that Af-
rican-American and Latin American indigenous theologies do not find them-
selves easily represented in most of the existing classifications This has caused
some unease among the representatives of these theologies They say that the
theological categories underlying some of these classifications can't be com-
pared with, translated to, applied to, or equated with their own categories, and
so they can't accept them In spite of this difficulty - which may be an mtercul-
tural issue - theological dialogue and the effort to understand what is happen-
ing around us will continue to look for a way forward, one way or another We
can't allow ourselves to become paralyzed by the cultural differences present
in the categories used
The classifications - like the theology itself - are alive and well and
one can perceive a certain evolution in them With time and dialogue, new
headings are created within these classifications and old names are abandoned
or they disappear For example, the term "open inclusivism" has all but disap-
peared today For some years the term was used to include theologians who felt
uncomfortable being grouped under "inclusivism" - a position that was beg-
ging to be improved upon - but who couldn't accept being classified as
"plurahsts" because of the inevitable association between pluralism and
relativism Today the primary authors who used to be included in the "open
inclusivism" category prefer to speak of "asymmetrical pluralism" and have
made a notable contribution in this way to the theological panorama of
religions They have shown the "realistic" nature of pluralism, pointing out that
it would be extreme to deny the real, concrete, and inevitable differences19
between various religions, no matter how pluralistically we may believe that all
of these religions are paths to salvation
These are not flighty theologians who move from one position to another They
are a sign that this is a very young branch of theology, still in the making We

19
Not because of God's will, but because of human finiteness itself
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 65

are all growing and learning something new almost every day. This is a sign of
vitality.
Let's conclude by remembering and making an explicit distinction that
we have thus far only alluded to in passing. The word "pluralism" actually has
two meanings within the realm of the theology of religions. It has the direct
meaning found in the dictionary: religious pluralism is the plurality of relig-
ions, the fact that there are many religions. This is direct and simple. But the
word pluralism is also used to refer to one of the three (or more) models in
which the theology of religions is classified (exclusivism, inclusivism, and plu-
ralism). This second meaning - which is a technical meaning - doesn't appear
directly in the dictionary. Rather, it refers a specific way of conceiving of the
relationships between the religions, as contrasted with exclusivism and inclu-
sivism. We must be careful. When many people hear the word "pluralism" they
may understand it in the first sense (as written in the dictionary) even when it is
being used in the technical sense. It is a very common confusion and generates
many errors, because the two meanings are not comparable.
To clarify further: if we talk about the "theology of religious plural-
ism," we know what kind of pluralism we are talking about here (the fact that
there are many religions); but if we talk about "a pluralist theology of religious
pluralism" we can understand that the adjective "pluralist" expresses that this
theology is not coming from the exclusivist or inclusivist model, but rather
from the position of pluralism. The greatest novelty in the area of the theology
of religions is not religious pluralism in the sense that there are many religions,
but the "pluralist" way of understanding the relationship between these relig-
ions. We will take a look at this in the next chapter.

6.2 Related Texts

• And Peter opened his mouth and said: "Truly, I perceive that God
shows no partiality, but in every nation any one who fears him and
does what is right is acceptable to him." Acts 10. 34-35

• There is one sure way to not find God, and that is to become part of a
religion. Raimundo Llul.

• We cannot pretend that one religion has the entire truth, nor can we
box God into any particular one of them. We have to let God be God,
beyond our categories and definitions. Because to the extent that we
give up on owning him, we will find him as a true God. The true God
is never cut to our measurements, as Eloi Leclerc says.

• The primary future of dialogue is conversion to God. It is not first and

foremost about changing religions; or that each one should follow the
66 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

one that is the most convincing. We may be convinced that the Chris-
tian religion is the best, but we should respect the others, who are also
convinced that theirs is the best. No one possesses the whole truth.
Only God. "Antonio Peteiro Freire, Obispo Catolico de Tanger", Vida
Nueva 2308 (December 2001) p. 50.

• When someone acquires an infinitesimal bit of love, he forgets about

being a Muslim, a wise man, a Christian, or an infidel. Ibn 'Arabi
(1165-1240)

• The Internet causes billions of images to appear on millions of com-

puter monitors around the planet. From this galaxy of sight and sound
will the face of Christ emerge and the voice of Christ be heard? For it
is only when his face is seen and his voice heard that the world will
know the glad tidings of our redemption. This is the purpose of evan-
gelization. And this is what will make the Internet a genuinely human
space, for if there is no room for Christ, there is no room for man.
Therefore, on this World Communications Day, I summon the whole
Church to... Message of John Paul II for the XXXVI World Communi-
cations Day, May 12, 2002.

• Whatever the Spirit brings about in human hearts and in the history of
peoples, in cultures and religions, serves as a preparation for the
Gospel and can only be understood in reference to Christ... No one
can enter into communion with God, except through Christ, by the
working of the Holy Spirit. Dominus lesus 12.

6.3 Recommended Educational Exercises

Classify each of the above texts and others according to the various categories
of thought discussed earlier in the chapter.
Look for texts written by other authors or classic religious writers
(Christians or not) and for prayers or liturgical texts (Christian or not). Decide
which category they belong to, according to some of the classifications pre-
sented. Then discuss in the group whether you have classified them correctly.

6.4 Questions for Reflection and for Group Discussion

• What is "theology?"
• Every Christian man and woman is a theologian. True or False?
• Explain in your own words what the theology of religions is.
• The central theme of the theology of religions is now the plurality of
religions. What was it before? Do you know why the change occurred?
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 67

Is all theology Christian?

Had you already heard about these categories of thought in the area of
the theology of religions? Where?
Which of the categories of thought described (exclusivism, inclusiv-
ism, pluralism) resembles the kind of Christian thinking that you were
raised in?
What is the position of your local church?
What is your personal opinion?
Has my thinking changed on this issue or do I hold the same position I
always have? If there has been a change, what is it due to?
In the expression "a pluralist theology of religious pluralism," explain
the difference in meaning between the words "pluralist" and "plural-
ism?"
Chapter 7

Overview:
Exclusivism, Inclusivism and Pluralism
In the previous session we tried to develop the basic concepts that would guide
us in the area we wish to cover within the theology of religions Now we will
try to enter into a broader vision of the various theological positions which
have appeared in this field throughout history We will attempt to present them
through a historical-genetic methodology, that is, to try to discover the internal
logic that explains the evolution of these theological positions

7.1 Discussing the topic

7.1.1 Nearly twenty centuries of Christian EXCLUSIVISM

Until well into the twentieth century, exclusivism has been the dominant theo-
logical position within Christianity With a history spanning so much time and
covering so much ground, it is not hard to find thinkers and schools of thought
within the church which present broader concepts of salvation ' But even with
these exceptions, the exclusivist accent can be clearly shown to be the one that
dominates this history with an overwhelmingly explicit and official weight
The exceptions merely confirm the rule in this case
The famous judgment "extra ecclesiam nulla salus" (outside the
church there is no salvation) constitutes the ultimate symbolic expression of
this exclusivism Attributed by some to the Christian thinker Origin and by
others to Saint Cyprian, its actual formulation seems to have come from Ful-
gentius , bishop of Ruspe, in the sixth century , a formulation later used by the
Council of Florence in 1442 in its decree on the Jacobites Its categorical and
official language makes it worthy of citation here
The Council of Florence proclaimed "The Most Holy Roman Church
firmly believes, professes and preaches that no one remaining outside the
Catholic Church, not only pagans but also Jews, heretics and schismatics,
could participate in eternal life They would go to the eternal fire prepared for
the devil and his angels (Matt 25 41) unless they became part of the Church
prior to their death No one, however great their almsgiving, even by shedding
their blood for the name of Christ, can be saved unless they abide in the bosom
and unity of the Catholic Church "

1
Erasmus (1467-1536), Raimundo Luho (1232 1316) and Nicholas of Cusa (1401
1464) warrant special mention
Holy Roman Church «firmiter credit profitetur et praedicat nullos intra Cathohcam
Ecclesiam non existentes non solum paganos sed nee Judaeos aut haereticos, atqu
70 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

In Catholicism, the doctrine was continuously affirmed at the highest level.

Let's listen to it from the lips of Pope Pius IX (1846-1878) at the close of the
nineteenth century:

"that impious and pernicious idea: that the path to eternal salvation
can be found in any religion. Surely we must maintain that faith deter-
mines that no one can be saved outside the Roman Apostolic Church,
which is the sole ark of salvation and that whoever does not enter into
it will perish in the flood. But, nevertheless, we must by the same token,
defend as true that those who toil in ignorance of the true faith, if that
ignorance is invincible, will never be accused of any sin in the eyes of
the Lord."3

For Catholics, the doctrine was certainly very clear: in this world, only the
Catholic Church has been instituted by God, by God in person, through his
Son, and only she is the depository of revelation and salvation; all other relig-
ions, or any of the branches that break away from the Catholic Church are out-
side of truth and salvation. Only those persons who accept this salvific plan
and join the visible Catholic Church will attain salvation. Of the people who
are not part of it, only those to whom guilt cannot be attributed for it may be
saved. From that stems the urgency of missionary action, to make known the
salvific will of God and make it possible for those who are unaware of it to
become part of the Church, the only means of salvation. Therefore, in the
Catholic arena, exclusivism, as a paradigm of the theology of religions, is equal
to ecclesiocentrism: the Church becomes the required mediator for salvation,
the center, the very door to it.
In the Protestant camp exclusivism does not acquire an "ecclesiocen-
tric" form but rather one centered in "one Faith, one Grace, one Scripture."
There is no salvation outside of them, either.
A typical figure and important symbol of the Protestant position is Karl
Barth (1886-1968). His position became famous for its theological radicalism,
despite his not being from the Protestant fundamentalist sector. Barth con-
ceives of "religion" as the effort made by humankind to seek God, an effort to
which he radically counterposes the fact of revelation, by which God "freely
turns towards" humanity. In revelation, it is God who seeks out humankind.
This distinction will be key for Barth: religions - all except the biblical Chris-
tian one - are ultimately a human effort, an attempt to attract God's benevo-
lence, and therefore, a desire to "manipulate God." Religion understood thus,
is, therefore, a lack of faith, a lack of confidence in God, a desire to rule God,
something definitely sinful. Salvation comes only by a human being's surren-

schismaticos aeternae vitae fieri posse participes, sed in ignem aeternum ituros, q
paratus est diabolo, etAngelis eius...» (Denzinger 1351).
3
Pius IX, Singulari Quadam, Article Pii IX, III, p. 626.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 71

der - through faith - to the grace that God himself offers in Jesus Christ. Only
the acceptance of the grace of God through Jesus Christ can save someone.4
Outside of Christianity, which is the perfect religion, and the only true one, all
is darkness and distance from God.
The Protestant vision of the world was also profoundly pessimistic.
Even as late as 1960, the Congress on World Mission in Chicago declared: "In
the years since the war, more than a billion souls have passed into eternity, and
more than half of these went into the torment of hell fire, without even hearing
of Jesus Christ, who he was, or why he died on the cross of Calvary."5
While different words were used in the case of Catholics (zeal for the
salvation of souls, apostolate for the conversion of sinners, missionary effort to
bring non-believers to the Holy Mother Church...) it was the same exclusivist
vision of salvation that has hegemonically dominated Christianity until the mid
twentieth century in both the Catholic as well as Protestant camps.
This is a theological position that today has been practically abandoned
by Christianity as a whole. Only fundamentalist groups, some fanatical "new
religious movements" and marginal religious "sects" maintain an exclusivist
position today. Christianity, for the most part, abandoned that position, moving
on to inclusivism which we will see later on.

7.1.1.1 Reflections
We should carefully ponder what exclusivism has meant and what legacy has it
left us, for several reasons:
- because all the symbolic Christian heritage we currently possess - in-
herited from more than three millennia of Judeo-Christian history - was cre-
ated, understood and assimilated within an exclusivist mindset. The language,
references, symbols...invariably exude exclusivism, even though we see our-
selves in an inclusivist position today. This is one of the "schizophrenias" that
is painfully felt and needs an urgent solution.
- because Christianity cannot ignore the solid fact that throughout al-
most 98 per cent 6 of its existence it has been thinking and affirming, formally
and officially, in a conscious, solemn, belligerent and even intolerant way, that
all other religions were outside of salvation. It wasn't a small miscalculation,
nor was it a momentary error, nor the opinion of a minority sector, or just a
mistake in an area of lesser importance...It was a monumental error about itself
and about God himself, that involved the Church as a whole as well as its high-
est executive bodies and in a sustained way. It was a mistake by which we

4
Barth, K., "The Revelation of God as the Abolition of Religion".
J. O. Percy (ed.), Facing the Unfinished Task: Messages Delivered at the Congr
on World Mission, Chicago 1960, p. 9, cited by John Hick, God has Many Names, p
30.
6
This is what an exception of barely forty years means within two thousand years of
existence.
72 J O S E M A R I A VIGIL

condemn many people and show disdain for entire peoples, cultures and relig-
ions It is irresponsible to consider it a page in history that we can shrug off
without qualms or major consequences 7 Nearly twenty centuries of solemnly
affirming such a grave error does not allow us to continue "pontificating" on
the theoretical position we should hold on a subject today - the theology of
religions - which until barely fifty years ago we still upheld what today seems
a "monstrosity" 8 To consider and ponder this fact, as a healthy penitential atti-
tude, may give us some much-needed humility and keep us from tripping on
the same stone for centuries to come On this subject, the best thing the Church
could do is to never pontificate again

7.1.2 A half-century of INCLUSIVISM

We have already examined the meaning of the concept "mclusivism " Surpris-
ingly, it was the Catholic Church that made the leap towards it This occurred
around the time of the Second Vatican Council We say "surprisingly" 9 be-
cause within Christianity, it was precisely the Catholic Church that lagged be-
hind in the field of biblical and theological updating compared to the tremen-
dous renewal effort that had already been displayed by Protestantism
Two positions within the Catholic Church prepared the way for Vati-
can II the theory of fulfillment and that of the presence of Christ in religions

712 1 Theory of "fulfillment"

So named because it maintains that, concerning religions, Christianity is the
"fulfillment", that is, their consummation, and thus their completion, plenitude,
and also their perfection
The theory of fulfillment signifies certain progress with respect to ex-
clusivism It proposes considering that non-Christian religions do not have
salvific capacity in and of themselves because they are "natural" religions, the
work of human beings who are seeking God (thought similar to K Barth's)
However, Christ's salvation reaches people in these religions because God re-
sponds to the aspirations of the men and women who seek him out through the

7
That is precisely what the International Theological Commission of the Vatican's
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith does - the latter being heir to the Inquisition
and the Holy Office - in its "Christianity and Religions" declaration of 1996, numeral
10 In merely six lines among seventy pages, it resolves the matter, stating simply that
it "was the fruit of a determined theological system or of an erroneous understanding of
the phrase 'extra ecclesiam nulla salus " In three lines under numeral 70 it is declared
redeemed "it is no longer in contradiction with the call to salvation for all men "
8
Term used by A Torres Queiruga in El dialogo de las rehgiones, Santander Sal
Terrae, 1992, pp 4 & 7 With different words the very title of Pedro Casaldahga's text
in El Vaticano III (Barcelona El Ciervo, 2001, p 95) expresses the idea How could
we have been so ignorant for so many centuries9
9
Knitter, P , Introducing Theologies of Religions Maryknoll, NY Orbis, 2002, pp 63-
64
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 73

mediations available to them Their non-Christian religions will not save them
because they are merely "natural"10 religions, but would serve as "preparation
for the Gospel" in the lives of those men and women To be "gospel prepara-
tion" (not "paths to salvation") is the highest value we can place on non-
Chnstian religions, according to this theory of fulfillment
In this school of thought we find, in varying shades, Jean Damelou,
Henri de Lubac and Urs von Balthasar, theologians from the pre-concihar and
concihar milieu
Damelou, perhaps the most notable theologian in this current, clearly
distinguishes between the "natural and the supernatural" For him, only the
Christian religion is supernatural, the non-Christian religions are natural and
are likened to an "old testament" or "pre-history of salvation" for the men and
women members And they are therefore called to move on to the New Testa-
ment of supernatural religion that has been given to us only in Christ
The theory of fulfillment is an inclusivist proposition which on the one
hand no longer focuses everything on belonging to the Church, like the classic
exclusivist posture, nor negatively values non-Christian religions, as K Barth
did Some positive value is attributed here to these religions a "natural" value
and one of "preparation for the coming of the Gospel," although an autono-
mous, intrinsic salvation value is not recognized The followers of these relig-
ions - the fulfillment theory says - will not be saved on their own but in spite
of themselves, they will only be saved by Christ A salvific value is recognized
in non-Christian religions, but this salvific value is said to be Christian, that is,
pertaining to Christ In other words, those religions are not independent of
Christ, it is Christ who acts within them Thus, we have included non-Christian
religions within Christianity
This theory of fulfillment, while surpassed in later developments, will
find echo in the documents of Paul VI and even in those of John Paul II

712 2 "Anonymous Christians"

This theory, developed by Karl Rahner (1904-1984) signified a great leap for-
ward, and is the one which most influenced the Second Vatican Council Rah-
ner states that religions cannot be considered simply "natural" but rather pos-
sess positive salvific values, since in fact, Christ's grace reaches its members
through them They are also supernatural religions
Rahner starts from a broad vision of the history of salvation which is
co-existent and equal in length to the history of humanity Not that there are
two different histories, but rather that God's saving actions m history encom-
pass all of it On a personal level, God's self-communication transforms human
beings, placing them in an existential climate of Grace In some way, every
human being has an original God experience, even if lacking a specific theme
and, perhaps seemingly a-rehgious All those who freely accept God's offering

Human, not divine, designed by human beings, not revealed by God

74 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

of self-communication through faith, hope or love, enter into the category of

"anonymous Christians", according to Rahner. This category applies as much
to members of other religions as to atheists. God's self-communication in
Christ may be lived by these people - beyond Church parameters - in a non-
thematic way, giving origin to the expression "anonymous Christians."
It is easy to see that this approach indicated a considerable advance. It
was the first time that it was said within Christianity that the grace and mystery
of Christ completely exceeded the Church in such an explicit and well-founded
way. It was a vision full of optimism, as opposed to the pessimism of the ex-
clusivist vision, which was always reticent when it came to dealing with attain-
ing Salvation.
Rahner's is a christocentric inclusivism: all humankind is included in
Christ's salvation. The Church and Christian churches are small and in the mi-
nority compared to humankind, but Christ fills not only the Church but all re-
ligions. Explicit Christianity is tiny, but implicit or "anonymous" Christianity
is as extensive as all human beings of good will whose hearts are open to em-
bracing God's self-giving.
It was in the context of these reflections that what later became almost
a motto arose: non-Christian religions are the ordinary path of salvation, while
the Church would be the extraordinary path of salvation.11 Non-Christian relig-
ions would be the "ordinary" path, ordinary because they are the majority.
Compare this vision to the exclusivist axiom ("outside the Church there is no
salvation"). What's being said now is that there is salvation outside the Church,
and there is more salvation - quantitatively - than within it, although qualita-
tively the fullest mediation of salvation may be in the Christian Church.
Rahner's position was accepted by the Second Vatican Council, which
signified a qualitative leap, a very important leap forward. However, due to its
short duration, the Council did not settle important dogmatic aspects that war-
ranted a more refined discernment. It just unfroze the rigidity of the previous
thinking and opened a door through which the new road of theological reflec-
tion could thread. But let's look more closely:
First of all, Vatican II stopped calling the Catholic Church the only
embodiment of the "Church of Christ." Until the time of this Council it had
always been said that the Church of Christ "is" the Catholic Church, and that's
what the "sketch", the basic text proposed to the conciliar fathers said. But they
purposely changed the verb and left in writing that "the Church of Christ sub-
sists in the Catholic Church."12 The express avoidance of that identification, as
well as the subsequent affirmation that elements of grace and holiness are also
found in other Christian communities, clearly communicated the desire to leave

11
Although the expression is usually attributed as much to Rahner as to Kiing, the
original expression seems to belong to H.R. Schlette, Le religioni come tenia della
teologia, Brescia: Morcelliana, 1968, pp.85-86.
Lumen Gentium 8.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 75

behind the exclusive identification ("the Church of Christ is the Catholic

Church"), moving to a more nuanced, realistic identification (the Church of
Christ IS FOUND IN, SUBSISTS IN the Catholic Church" without denying
that it may also be found in other places) 13 As a fully-conscious step taken by
the Second Vatican Council, this leap forward is irreversible 14
The Council declared that it respected and valued the many good and
holy things aroused by the Spirit in other religions 15 And it recognized that the
salvation of human beings goes way beyond the parameters of the Church, and
that many are saved outside of it, but not without a link to Christ16
As we have said, Vatican II spoke about non-Chnstian religions in a
more positive way than any other official document of the Catholic Church had
ever done before 17 It accepted the presence of salvation beyond the Church,
proclaimed that God saved humanity "in ways known only to God,"18 and rec-
ognized the positive elements of life and holiness present in non-Christian re-
ligions The Council did not have time to go any further it did not raise the
issue of whether it was possible to affirm that non-Christian religions were
paths of salvation for their members in and of themselves, and not through
their participation in the mystery of Christ
Inclusivism is currently the predominant posture in Christianity, both
Catholic as well as Protestant

712 3 Taking stock of inclusivism

Looking back at the nineteen centuries of ecclesiocentnc exclusivism, thinking
that there was no salvation outside the Church, considering other religions
lacking in salvific value, or categorizing them as merely natural religions, the
inclusivist idea of the theory of fulfillment, anonymous Christianity or the final

Sullivan, Francis A , «In che senso la Chiesa di Cnsto «sussiste» nella Chiesa
cattolica romana9», in Latourelle, Rene (ed), Vaticano II Bdancio Prospettive,
venticinque anm dopo (1962-1987), vol 2, Assisi Cittadella Editnce 1988, 817
Vatican Ill's first task, in my opinion, would be to protect Vatican IFs clear
teachings against the clouding and retraction they currently suffer It would do well to
strongly reaffirm the major principles of the Unitatis Redintegratio decree, so that they
could no longer be ignored or interpreted abstractly Among these principles the
following warrant special attention
The Church of Jesus Christ doesn't automatically identify itself with the Catholic
Church It certainly exists in Catholicism but is also present in different ways and to
varying degrees in other Christian communities to the degree that they remain faithful
to what God initiated through Jesus and follow the Spirit of Christ ( ) Cardinal Avery
Dulles Ecumemsmo problemas y perspectivas para el futuro, in Tracy-Kung-Metz,
Hacia el Vaticano III, Cnstiandad, Madrid 1978, p 97
Nostra Aetate 2, Unitatis Redintregratw 3, Lumen Gentium 13
Gaudmm et Spes 22
Sullivan, F , ^Hay salvacion fuera de la Iglesia9, Bilbao Desclee, 1999, 195
Gaudmm et Spes 22
76 J O S E M A R I A VIGIL

conciliar position signified, as we said, a very great qualitative leap, truly a

"new era " The integralist and conservative sectors were very disturbed, since
theological positions considered until then "dogmatic and unreformable" were
entrenched in the Church But the general reception by the People of God was
very positive and enthusiastic Ecumenism took a gigantic leap, and mterrehg-
IOUS relations began to be considered in many sectors where they had frankly
never even been imagined
The passage of time and reflection, however, would soon give way to
new reflections and challenges Right from the start, the theory of "anonymous
Christians" was criticized by some authors, such as Hans Kung, who considers
it a form of "conquest through embrace" non-Christians are extolled and
praised only to then tell them that ultimately, they are Christian Paul Knitter
declared that inclusivism let non-Chnstians into the Church through the back
door 19
Inclusivism represents, as we say, a great leap forward with respect to
exclusivism, but still retains a number of common elements, for example
• inclusivism opens the door to a positive but limited appreciation of
other religions the other religions have no value in and of themselves
(except through Christianity), they are not autonomous, and Christian-
ity continues to be the source of salvific value in which other religions
may participate,
• in the inclusivist vision, Christianity continues to be the center of the
universal plan for salvation, the sole religion, the chosen one, the relig-
ion instituted on earth by God himself In a sense, inclusivism is a
tempered exclusivism, an exclusivism that does not disregard other re-
ligions, recognizing value in them, but still reserves Truth, the pleni-
tude of revelation and salvation exclusively unto itself,
• both continue to affirm the absolute nature of Christianity, 20
• it is easy to see that the distortions produced by exclusivism are still
possible in inclusivism the Western Christian culture can continue to
be legitimized as superior, and the superiority of white Western Chris-
tians is easily presumed, which unconsciously leads to many forms of
domination, imperialism or neo-colomalism 21

19
Knitter, "Christianity as Religion True and Absolute7", Concilium 136 (1980) 12
21
20
Catholic theologians usually understand the absolute nature of Christianity in the
sense that it is not only the highest of existing religions but also constitutes the
definitive manifestation of God to all human beings of all times, a manifestation which
is, by essence, insuperably, exclusively and universally valid W Kasper, "Absolute
character of Christianity", in Sacramentum Mundi, II, 54 Also in RELaT
servicioskoinoma org/relat/328 htm
21
Experts m missiology such as Aloysius Piens, Tissa Balasunya and Ignace
Puthiadam have alluded to the hidden imperialism and crypto colonialism behind the
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 77

• it is clear that in any Christian society, consciously or unconsciously,

the exclusivism of "our religion" turns into "our exclusivism" we be-
long to an exclusive human group, because we are privileged, unique,
superior and "preferred by God" Jesus himself had to correct the
"group exclusivism" developed by his disciples

712 4 Crisis of inclusivism ?

The assessment we have just made points to the fact that new questions and
discussions would arise
• After twenty centuries of Christianity's absolute self-enthronement
through exclusivism, can we be content with a mere flexibihzation of
that posture, moving to the relative self-enthronement that inclusivism
presupposes'?
• If we have been wrong for twenty centuries,23 where are we going to
find a solid basis for affirming the new position, inclusivism7 Isn't it
necessary to make drastic changes in tone, attitude, security in devel-
oping or affirming the new position7
• If inclusivism is just a "softened exclusivism," doesn't it demand of us
a deeper, more radical restructuring, which tries to hear what the Spirit
transmits to us today from the conscience of humanity and in the signs
of the times7 Is it time for a "change of paradigm," for a break that
takes us beyond what exclusivism and inclusivism have in common,
paradigms in which we are still caught after twenty centuries7
• Should we think that inclusivism, like exclusivism, has been a sponta-
neous cultural mechanism, also occurring in other religions, which re-
sponds to the very structure of human knowledge and which we
should not be afraid to let go of7
• Inclusivism is in crisis Any lucid Christian and any honest theologian
recognizes that serious questions hang over this theological position In
the Catholic camp, officialdom is pressuring to prevent any theological
advance that would surpass inclusivism, while also recognizing that
the pluralist position "exerts great attraction and intellectual pressure
on theologians "

facade of the inclusivist model, which, according to them, proclaims the beauty of
other religions, only to then include and consume them Knitter, Dialogo inter
rehgwso e agao misswnaria, CNBB, Sao Paulo COMINA 1994, p 9
22
Cfr Mark 9 38-40 "We saw a man who is not one of us casting out devils in your
name, and because he was not one of us we tned to stop him But Jesus answered,
'You must not stop him no one who works a miracle in my name is likely to speak
evil of me Anyone who is not against us is for u s ' " For those disciples, Jesus'
supposed exclusivism became the exclusive privilege of all the members of the group
In a mistake that we unanimously recognize today and consider a 'monstrosity," as
has been said
78 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

• But despite this containment pressure being exerted in the Catholic

camp to prevent the spread of the pluralist position (one which we will
look at next), other factors are pressuring strongly in the opposite di-
rection, in favor of the pluralist position We could group them into
three blocs
• There is a new spirit, a new "spirituality of religious pluralism" sprout-
ing up all over, which gently but firmly demands a new appreciation
for religions, a positive assessment of religious pluralism, a rejection
of the classic "theology of the chosen" ultimately, a new image of
God 24 It is an a priori argument
• In contrast to the Middle Ages, when Christianity thought it reached
and had been preached in all of the known world, today Christianity re-
flects a fixed regional image as much in geographical spaces as in his-
torical time, or even in the demographic dimension How could such a
regional religion continue to make absolute and universal claims? It is
an a posteriori argument
• A sympathetic factor also bears weight there are more and more adult
believers (including theologians) who choose adult theological
thought, unconditioned, uninhibited, without fear,25 who see that often
the only reason26 to maintain traditional postures is fear, the fideist at-
tachment to what "has always been this way", to "what the Holy
Mother Church has always said " As they discover a new perception,
there are more and more Christians who realize that they can and want
to "cross the Rubicon"
All these factors are causing the so-called pluralist current to grow, while at the
same time challenging exclusivism and inclusivism Let's look at it now

7.1.3 Towards a new paradigm: PLURALISM

In the previous umt religious "pluralism" (which is not just the plurality of re-
ligions) was explained To provide an historical presentation of it now, we will
turn to the person whose name is most often associated with pluralism John

24
Vigil J M , Espirituahdad del plurahsmo rehgioso in ASETT Por los muchos
caminos de Dws Desafios del plurahsmo rehgioso a la teologia de la hberacion,
Quito Verbo Divmo, 2003, «Tiempo axial» collection, n° 1, p 137-155
25
Fear touches all Christian theologians because they readily sense that the pluralist
position will demand a "deconstruction and reconstruction" of the entire Christian
theological edifice
26
Knitter emphasizes that the "the only reason" ultimately keeping many theologians
from "crossing the Rubicon" is their attachment to traditional positions, fear of the
break inherent in the pluralist position, the argument of the authority of the Bible and
the churches in "what has always been said and beheved" not true reasons or
arguments Hans Rung s Theological Rubicon m Swidler, Leonard (ed) Toward a
Universal Theology of Religion, Maryknoll, NY Orbis, 1988, p 224-230
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 79

Hick, considered the emblematic source of this theological position and its
most distinguished representative
A native of Great Britain with many years of residence in the United
States, he relates his theological biography in his works 28 In an early phase of
his life he felt the "infinite boredom" of institutional Christianity in England A
spiritual "conversion" made him a strongly "evangelical" and fundamentalist
Christian Jesus became his "beloved Lord and Savior, the incarnate Son of
God, humanity's only savior" Hick became a pastor in the Presbyterian
Church of England
Upon continuing his studies in philosophy and theology, however, he
kept feeling persistent questions that besieged his clear evangelical convic-
tions One point that particularly tormented him was the diversity in revela-
tions The existence and challenge of religious pluralism, especially as Hick
experienced it in the many Muslim, Sikh, Hindu and Jewish communities that
surrounded him in Birmingham, brought him to a new "conversion" in which
he retained his personal commitment to Jesus Christ but from a completely re-
modeled theology 29 He experienced what he later called a "Copernican revolu-
tion," which is what he then began to propose theologically
In 1973 - in perhaps the pioneering action which would give rise to the
pluralist current as we know it today - Hick launched the declaration30 on the
need to accept a "Copernican revolution" and draw "a new map" of the uni-
verse of faiths His proposal has stood since then and continues to be heard in
universities, churches and among scholarly believers The graphic image of the
Copernican revolution continues to be his characteristic sign
We all know today that the earth and the other planets revolve around
the sun The previous view was the Ptolemaic vision - that of Ptolemy - which
maintained that the earth was the center of the universe, and all other celestial
bodies - including the sun - revolved around it This was "geo-centrism "
It was Copernicus who, through his astronomical observations, pre-
sented and proposed building a new cosmological model, a "new map," not
geo-centnc but heliocentric, with the sun in the center and the other celestial
bodies revolving around it This signified a total change in conception of the
world, a "Copernican revolution" so profound that it could not be accepted by
society or by the Church of the time
Hick believes that exclusivism is, theologically speaking, a Ptolemaic
idea, "geo-centnc," that is, a model which has the Church or Christianity in the
center and that sees all other religions revolving around this center, while plu-

John Hick has his official webpage at johnhick org uk

A Spiritual Journey m God Has Many Names, Philadelphia Westminster Press,
1980, p 13-28
29
Knitter also presents Hick's biography this way in No Other Name7, p 146
30
Hick, God and the Universe of Faiths Essays in the Philosophy of Religion, London
Macmillan, 1973, p 131
80 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

ralism is theologically Copernican, "heliocentric," that is, a model with God in

the center, with Christianity revolving around God as just another planet. Hick
claims that we must adjust our theological thinking to the theocentric reality
through a Copernican revolution. It is necessary, he says, to design a new map
which has God in its center, not Christianity, with the latter, along with other
religions, revolving around God. This means moving to theocentrism, either
from ecclesiocentrism or christocentrism.
When Copernicus proposed the new paradigm, after observing anoma-
lies in the paths of the planets which until then were said to revolve around the
earth, the defenders of geo-centrism tried to find fix-it formulas to explain
those anomalies. These fix-it formulas were called "epicycles" and were al-
ways partial, never providing complete explanations. Through these "epicy-
cles", Hick says, they tried to keep the old theory that was crumbling in the
face of scientific observations afloat a little while longer.
Hick says that in theology of religions, the theories about belonging to
the Church through implicitly desired baptism, invincible ignorance, the pres-
ence of Christian salvation in other religions, the theory of completion, anony-
mous Christians, etc., are theological "epicycles" by which we attempt to jus-
tify the inconsistencies of the exclusivist and inclusivist models, which cannot
be resolved by the old philosophy. Because what we need today - says Hick -
is to create a "new map" in which we recognize reality as it truly is, in other
words, theological heliocentrism, theocentrism. The Church is not in the cen-
ter, nor is Christianity or even Christ, but only God. The Church, Christ and
other religions revolve around God.
Hick declares: we must stop trying to find new theories to explain the
old model, with partial and unviable fixes, new "theological epicycles", which
are nothing more than a bridge that is slowly leading us to theocentrism...What
we have to do is cross the bridge and recognize that the universe of faiths is
organized and arranged differently than what the old map shows, which was
made before we knew of the other planets, other religions, the way we know
them today.
The Copernican revolution that Hick sets forth is truly a major chal-
lenge. It may be the greatest theological challenge in history because it entails
a qualitative and total rearrangement: we must deconstruct everything in order
to rebuild it from another paradigm.
As we can easily see, the fundamental change, the break comes from
the shift in center: we go from geo-centrism to heliocentrism, from ecclesio-
centrism or christocentrism to theocentrism. That the Church may not be in the
center is not a big problem today since the majority of Christians abandoned
exclusivism fifty years ago. But that Christ "may not be in the center," as Hick
seems to be proposing, is without a doubt the most difficult element of the plu-
ralist position. The absolute nature of Christianity and the uniqueness of Christ
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 81

as Savior is what pluralism does not adequately resolve, and is the reason why
its critics consider it a "non-Christian" position, outside current orthodoxy 31
Hick has been reflecting, dialoguing and writing on the subject for
thirty years His 1977 book, The Myth of God Incarnate, made a tremendous
impact on English society and marked the beginning of an as yet uninterrupted
theological dialogue In 1993 he published a new version of his position, one
that is more mature and refined32 We will go into this point, in detail, in the
chapter on the aspects of Chnstology and dogma
To round-out this brief presentation on the pluralist paradigm we need
to look at some charges made against it
If pluralism is the opposite pole of exclusivism, it is logical that a sim-
plified consideration of pluralism could conceive of it as the symmetrical ob-
verse of exclusivism In other words, if exclusivism says that "only one relig-
ion is true and all the rest are false," pluralism conceived as a symmetrically
opposite position would maintain that "all religions are equally true and
equivalent," either because it believes that all are equal, or because they are all
one, or that while different, they are all equally close to (or far from) the truth
This concept of pluralism as the opposite pole of exclusivism might be
a proper use of classical logic (on opposition of concepts) but does not reflect
reality The pluralist theological positions that we know are much more sensi-
ble, and they are not designed in symmetrical opposition to exclusivism (they
are not "the opposite pole of exclusivism")
In the face of some critics we must remember that pluralism is not de-
fined by Hick's position but on the contrary, Hick's position can be framed
within the group of pluralist positions, as only one among many although it
may be the most emblematic In other words, pluralism is greater than Hick
and independent of him
In addition, Hick has been reflecting and writing and evolving m his
theological positions for many years There is no question that at the beginning
he was particularly radical and polemic, but we must not forget that in later
years he produced works of synthesis, of a nuanced maturity of his position
enriched by all the debate stirred up Hick goes to great lengths to clarify that
he is not an advocate of relativism or of indifferentism, and that his pluralism is

For example, Dhavamony, M , Teologia de las rehgiones, Madrid San Pablo, 1998,
p 203, Dupuis, J , Jesucristo al encuentro de las rehgiones Madrid Paulinas, 1991, p
152, Boff, Clodovis, Retorno a la arche de la teologia, «Alternativas» 18/19 (enero
mho 2001) 122, Managua
La metafora de Dios encarnado Abya Yala, Quito 2004, "Tiempo Axial" collection,
no 2 Two chapters of this book are published in Spanish and Portuguese in RELaT,
servicioskoinoma org/relat/305 htm
82 J O S E M A R I A VIGIL

not "egalitariamst" At any rate, let's leave Hick and talk about the common
pluralist position that many more authors support
This pluralist position supports the basic equality of religions, not an
egahtansm that wants to make them all almost identical What is this "basic
equality'"? In essence it denies the possibility of inclusivism That is, the plural-
ist theological paradigm maintains that religions are "basically equal" in the
sense - and only in the sense - that there isn't any one of them that is the true
one, or the depository of salvation, to which the rest would be indebted or sub-
sidiaries or shareholders, but that they all hold a basically equal salvific status
With this affirmation of their "basic equality", pluralism accepts and
recognizes the real inequality of specific religions, which have different devel-
opment, a variety of sensitivities and capabilities, more or less advanced or
backward routes and evolutions as the case may be Pluralism does not deny
this evident inequality, it is realistic Not all religions are equal, not even for
pluralism 34 Maybe we are indebted to the theologians, who a few decades back
preferred to be described by "open inclusivism" and later considered them-
selves in "asymmetrical pluralism", for the conviction that the way has largely
been cleared, that this "asymmetry" is essential to sensible pluralism An egali-
tananist pluralism would be unreal, lacking in realism 5 All realistic pluralism
is asymmetrical until the opposite is proclaimed
But if being realistic makes it asymmetrical, it cannot be indifferentist
That which is not equal cannot be indifferent just because it is different Not
having one religion above all others (inclusivism) does not mean that all relig-
ions are now equal and therefore, not indifferent Pluralism recognizes and ac-
cepts real differences and appreciates specific identities which are often in-
comparable, non-translatable, irreducible
An issue that has damaged the image of the pluralist paradigm theol-
ogy is also its relationship to the Kantian idea of knowledge, which comes -
once again - through association with Hick's thought This author reaches for
the Kantian idea as he tries to create this new theocentnc map, with only God
in the center and the other religions revolving around God For Hick the multi-
plicity of religions and their relationship to God can be exemplified by the plu-
rality of "phenomenal" appearances corresponding to a "noumenon" which is
far beyond them, according to the Kantian idea of knowledge The problem is
that an idea like this would endanger the objectivity of religious knowledge

Personally, I think that Hick only talks about the "great religions" precisely because
he takes for granted that among the "small" (without "great" or "small" being a
numerical question) it is clear that second- class religions also exist, with very clear
"ideological" markings about their origins Not even Hick himself believes that all
religions are equal, although his critics say so
4
They would only be so in excessive pluralism
35
An egalitariamst pluralism only exists today as a logical concept, no one argues in
favor of it
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 83

Stated more simply: we would know nothing about God, just as we know noth-
ing about the "noumenon", only about our "phenomenal" views, which would
be equivalent because they are not reality, and only reflect the variety of our
own positions.
This is not the time to have a philosophy of religion debate , but just to
point out that that the Kantian philosophy does not belong to the pluralist theo-
logical paradigm, however useful (or not) it was to Hick's reference in order to
explain his particular idea of pluralism. The statement that formal variety in
religions is merely phenomenal and does not contain some degree of real truth
(noumenal) in what it says about God is not part of theological pluralism. Let
me reiterate: the Kantian theory of knowledge is not part of the pluralist para-
digm, although some may use it to explain their position, perhaps more due to
analogies than to exact equivalence. One can be pluralist and state that relig-
ions transmit and possess concrete knowledge (although always inadequate,
tentative and changing). Which is why the truth of religions is also real (not
merely "phenomenal") and their differences are also real. Any difference in the
truth proclaimed by the various religions is not simply indifferent.
Does the pluralist theological position fall into relativism! Some of its
detractors believe so, intentionally creating a mental enemy to fight, and one
which practically does not exist. Pluralism affirms the relativity of religious
conventions but not relativism with respect to religions. We must express our-
selves clearly and recognize that relativity is one thing and relativism quite an-
other. Pluralism recognizes the relativity of some things that were unduly held
as absolute, but does not fall into relativism because of this. It recognizes as
absolute that which is absolute, and as relative that which is relative, even what
was wrongly held as such. And in order to avoid relativism it does not make
the mistake of absolutizing the relative.
In other words, a serene, nuanced, asymmetric, non-egalitarianist, non-
indifferentist pluralist position is possible. Not one skeptical about the true
knowledge that religions transmit, or relativist, but one that recognizes the
many relative things held before as absolute as well as the "basic equality" that
is fundamental to religions along with their unavoidable and evident concrete
inequality...Positions of excessive pluralism which are theoretically possible
could also appear, but it is better not to fight non-existent enemies unless they
are actually before us.
This is enough for an initial characterization of the pluralist paradigm.
Further discussion will arise as we get into the successive aspects of the build-
ing we are constructing.
What is the future of the pluralist position? Copernicus was so con-
vinced that society and the existing Church were not prepared to take up the
challenge of his vision that he was very careful about publishing his theories,
allowing them to appear only when the Inquisition could not touch him be-
cause he was already on his death bed. Years later, the weight of the Inquisi-
84 JOSE M A R I A V I G I L

tion and the Roman Curia would come down on Galileo in the most famous
case of conflict between science and religion The Catholic Church did not ac-
cept heliocentrism until 1822, nearly three centuries after Copernicus invited
the cardinals to observe it through his telescope 36 How long will take - if it
ever happens - for the pluralist position to be accepted 7

7.2 Recommended exercises

• Use an internet search engine and see what turns up for the following
"exclusivism", "inclusivism", "religious pluralism " Develop an idea
of the current concept of these issues on the web
• The 2000 Jubilee celebration abounded in expressions of the meaning
of Christianity Recall phrases, gestures, interpretations in vogue at
the time For example, "Christ as center of history", "only Christ
saves" Rate these affirmations theologically
• "Find internet examples of theological or ecclesiatical discourse and
identify sections containing mclusivist positions (or exclusivist or plu-
ralist ones, if they appear) Share with the study group and see if they
have been properly categorized "

7.3 Questions for group consideration

• Has the presentation of the evolution of theological thought within the

theological positions discussed in this educational unit been clear to
me 7 Is it expressed in a genetic way 7 How 7
• Which position do I resonate with 7 With which one do I identify 7
Show the various positions of members of the group and dialogue
about them
• To what theological position do certain people, entities, books that I
know belong that have some position on this matter 7
• If it pertains to me, I could ask myself John Hick's question (God Has
Many Names, p 26) what transformation has my faith undergone
when I accept the salvific nature of other religions, when I accept that
Christianity revolves, along with the other religions, as a planet around
God 7
• If this is not my case what fears do I experience about the possibility
of adopting a pluralist posture in my Christian faith 7

36
J I Gonzalez Faus, speaks of typical and customary historical arrears of two and a
half centuries, 'a figure that seems to mark the average backlog of today's Catholic
Church with respect to historical truth," in accepting science, the modern
understanding of biblical revelation and exegesis, etc Cfr La autondad de la verdad,
Barcelona Herder, 196, p 109
Chapter 8

A new understanding of Revelation

Here we begin the second part of the course, the "Judge" phase of our method-
ology. In the previous session we covered the major theological positions exist-
ing today or in the past in the area of theology of religions. You have probably
perceived some things, resonated with others...about the way we look at relig-
ions theologically. But we are not going to define our options yet: we are still
not ready to do so. Now with a complete vision of the theology of religions
before us, we should shift levels and go more deeply into other elements.
We need to deal with and systematically examine the basic elements
that will allow us to assemble the edifice of the theology of religions in an or-
derly fashion. And the first element is the Revelation. In fact, a misunderstand-
ing of revelation invariably skews our entire theological vision. In this unit we
will take up, in summary form, the transformation that has occurred in under-
standing revelation within modern Christianity, in order to be free of harmful
influences caused by faulty mediations.

8.1 Discussing the topic

8.1.1 Exclusivism and fundamentalism

Today we call someone who thinks in an exclusivist way a "fundamentalist."1
Fundamentalism is a concept which originated in the Protestant camp in the
United States in the early twentieth century. Today we more broadly consider
fundamentalist the posture of someone whose thought is a closed circle, lack-
ing dialogue with the modern world, based on a literal interpretation of the Bi-
ble (or, by extension, of their own religion's Holy Scripture), which he or she
believes is the only religious source of truth, and is error-free.
What we call fundamentalism today, or just conservative mentality,
has been the dominant posture in Christianity for centuries, for one and a half
millennia. Protestantism was the first to open itself to "modern", critical
thought, in a laborious and even painful process,2 which had begun in the
eighteenth century. Catholicism remained closed to the theological and biblical

1
Where "fundamentalism" is used, we could also say integralism, conservatism,
traditionalism, immobilism, reactionary thought. We are using the famous term
originating in U.S. Protestantism.
2
Tillich used to say that Protestant Christianity was the only religion that had made a
serious effort to dialogue with modernity. He pointed out that at the time, neither
Catholicism, nor Judaism nor Islam had done so.
86 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

renewal of the Protestant world until at least the 1940s In other words, as a
group, we Christians came from a theology and a spirituality like the ones we
today call fundamentalist Until only sixty years ago for Catholics, and one
hundred or two hundred for Protestants in some sectors, our "fathers in the
faith" were fundamentalists The religious education of people taught before
that time was clearly similar to the postures we would call fundamentalist to-
day In a certain sense we could say that as Christians, we all come from fun-
damentalism, for the most part
Is it possible to think that this fundamentalism has disappeared from
Christianity and that we are free of if7 Definitely not For example although
exclusivism has been "happily overcome" within Christianity as a whole, many
of the principle elements of the fundamentalism that sustained it continue to
survive in the inclusivism which has replaced it 4 Let us look at some affirma-
tions currently in effect in the majority sector of Christianity which still sound
like exclusivism
• only the Bible is God's Word, the "holy books" of other religions are
"religious literature", we can read them with respect and admiration,
but not as "revelation", nor can we use them in the liturgical setting,
• God has come forth only to us and has given us his Word in his revela-
tion, other religions try to seek God out, groping for him blindly,
• our religion is "the" true one, because it is the only one God estab-
lished on this earth,
• therefore, we must preach our religion missionally to those who are
ignorant of the message of salvation that God has entrusted to us to
take to the ends of the world

Although Christianity as a whole and theology in particular, may have ad-

vanced considerably in revising their thought, a conflict exists - sometimes a
blazing one - between modern culture and the religious culture of many Chris-
tians today Their vision is still fundamentalist and conservative, anchored in
positions that are incompatible with modern thinking Progress in renewal of
theological thinking, therefore, becomes impossible Nor is it possible in the
field of theology of religions under consideration Without changes in basic
theological postulates, one cannot let go of classic conservative mindsets nor
advance towards more open and realistic positions

3
Pope Pius XII's 1943 encyclical, Divino Afflante Spiritu, marked Catholicism's
opening to and admission of scientific or critical means of examining Scripture The
affirmation of this opening would not take place until Vatican II, in 1962-65
We should keep in mind , as seen in the previous session, that inclusivism is nothing
more than a "moderate exclusivism " In inclusivism there are still many elements held
"exclusively" by the inclusivist religion It no longer exclusively possesses and retains
salvation, now salvation is also present outside of it, but it continues to "belong" to it
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 87

Actually, the principal concept at the base of the conservative vision of Christi-
anity - and of exclusivism specifically - is that of "revelation." When we ask
someone with an exclusivist mind what the defining points for their position
are, they invariably cite the Bible and revelation as their ultimate reason: "it is
God himself who has given us the truth and we must accept it with religious
submission." When some Christians today oppose the pluralist position (like
when the inquisitors of the sixteenth century opposed heliocentrism), their ul-
timate reason was and continues to be the Bible, Christian revelation: it is God
himself - they said and continue to say - who has revealed the truth to us, who
has told us what we should believe. And that revelation is literally true and un-
changeable.
That is why it is very important to review this topic of revelation,
which is found at the very basis of any position that could be adopted, not only
in the field of theology of religions, but also in all of theology and in Christian
faith as a whole.

8.1.2 The old concept of revelation

We are operating in the field of Christian revelation, which, as we know, finds
its maximum expression and point of reference in the Bible.
We could highlight several key elements of biblical revelation - in the
classic view - which were later superseded. Here is an attempt to describe
them.

• The first is what we could call the authorship of God understood in an

extreme and unilateral way. The Bible is "God's" word, as if it were
not the work of human hands; it is an entirely divine book with no hu-
man elements. In this vision, while it may not be a book that literally
"came down from heaven," it is something similar: a book inspired by
God through the human beings that wrote it. They were instruments of
God's hand.5 At the far end of this interpretation it was even declared
to have been "dictated by God."6 In the popular mind, the Bible takes
on a magic aura, sometimes fetishist: seeing and touching the word of
God in a book held in one's very hands, with words used by God to
speak to us personally. This produces a temptation to look to it for
immediate responses to all of our problems.

Much was theologized on the type of moot cases that the sacred scribes placed in
God's hands (or mouth). The pronunciations that ultimately set the norm were those of
St. Thomas.
Regarding the Bible, J. Gerhard presented an extreme case, saying that the Bible had
been dictated even as far as its vowel signs, precisely those vowels which are not
written in Hebrew. Cf. A. Bea, Inspiration, IV. Die Lehre bei Protestanten, in LThK 5
(1960) 709; cf. 708-711.
88 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

• Another key element is the excessive verbalization that took over the
very concept of biblical revelation Although Vatican II restored the
presence of "works" in the discussion of revelation,7 the idea held
about it for more than one and a half millennia, and which remains in
the collective Christian subconscious, is that the revelation is, above
all, the word, with everything that verbalism and conceptuahsm entail,
a revelation primarily understood as doctrine, revealed truths, "recep-
tacle" for truths that must be obeyed and preserved intact
• Another is having lived by literal biblicism placing the Bible, the ac-
tual text, above reality, outside of history, beyond anything human,
adorned by unique qualities such as "inerrancy" (the impossibility of
containing any error), and infallibility For anyone holding this view, it
is possible to choose any text, take it out of context, not even ask one-
self when it was written, by whom, or what the author was trying to
say, and to read it straight up, with completely uncritical naivete, and
apply its most literal interpretation to any human situation
• Another element not usually studied, of which we are not usually con-
scious but which is present in this fundamentalist idea of the Bible is
its "uniqueness" only the Bible is what it is There is nothing equal or
even similar to it in the world Only it is the word of God, and there-
fore, warrants our faith and blind obedience There can be no "other"
word of God Any other claiming to be the Word of God is false

Obviously, this uniqueness is ultimately based on the very words of the Bible,
as an "internal a priori criteria," or as a circular argument the Bible and only
the Bible is God's word because it says so When you push Christians reluctant
to move from mclusivism to pluralism to state the ultimate reason for their re-
sistance, the argument of the Bible's authority and tradition is put forth the
Bible says so, we have always thought this way, that is what our parents told
us, that is what the Church tells us to think It is a circular argument,8 lacking
in critical, adult thinking

8.1.3 The crisis

This old concept of revelation (old and also current) slowly cracked as it was
attacked by modern thought We will not discuss this crisis, which is described
in many manuals of introduction to the Bible, and which we recommend eve-
ryone study or recall, if they are already familiar with it
But it is important to say that this evolution was truly a crisis on one
hand the theologians and biblicists were studying, discovering, and proposing,
and on the other, the institutional churches were rejecting proven discoveries

7 i.
'Revelation takes place through acts and words that are intrinsically linked," Dei
Verbum 2
8
In classical logic, this fallacy is called "begging the question "
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 89

and the hypotheses advanced as plausible. Conservatism is in the nature of re-

ligious institutions. In the religious realm, intellectual resistance knows how to
cloak itself in "infallible" arguments, defense of the faith, or "God's honor."
Sometimes a new mindset needs time to take shape, such as when the next
generation comes to the fore, after growing up with a new comprehension of
the faith in keeping with new cultural tenets.
Along this line, it is interesting to recall what happened when Lessing
published Reimarus' work, the first critical "scientific" investigation on the life
of Jesus, in 1778. The prefabricated image held until then about Jesus' life,
which lacked foundation in Scripture, was dismissed. Many seminary students
left seminary in search of another profession.9 It is a clear and telling sign:
theological theories are not useless or superficial theories that we can ignore,
but rather essential symbolic elements in which the meaning of human life is at
stake. What is at stake in these issues and problems is great and very deep.
This opposition by institutions to the transformation of thinking that
assimilates and reconciles the relationship of faith to cultural advances seems
to be the rule in life and the rule in history. Nevertheless, ideas move the
world, propel history forward, and also propel religions forward.
So it is the transformation of the concept of revelation which is at the
core of the emergence of pluralism vis a vis inclusivism, as successive para-
digms in the development of the theology of religions. Just as the "end of
Christendom" was confused by conservative theologians with the "end of
Christianity," the pluralist position is confused with the negation of Christian-
ity. Just as heliocentrism was considered contrary to the Bible, pluralist theo-
centrism today - in a theological Copernican revolution similar to the astro-
nomical one - is also considered by some theologians to be contrary to the Bi-
ble. The classic idea of revelation is at any rate a key locus of resistance to the
advance of a pluralist mindset. That is why we must delve into this topic on the
transformation of the concept of revelation.

8.1.4 Current view of revelation

Where has this transformation of the concept of revelation taken us? We will
not make an exhaustive presentation here either, but rather a short synthesis of
the principle elements of this new vision which make possible, among other
theological transformations, a shift in mentality from inclusivism towards plu-
ralism.
• Revelation takes place within a human process and within history.
Revelation does not come down "ready-made" from heaven. "Revela-
tion - whatever its innermost essence may be - did not appear as a
predetermined word, an oracle from a divinity perceived by a psychic

9
So states Semmler in the prologue to his rebuttal of Reimarus. Cf. A. Schweitzer,
Gesichte der Leben-Jesu-Forschung, Munich Hamburg 1976, p. 67. Investigacione
sobre la vida de Jesus, Valencia: Edicep, 1990, p. 76.
90 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

or fortune-teller, but rather as living human experience, like "catching

on," stemming from the suggestions and needs of the setting and
founded on the mysterious contact with the sacred."10
Revelation is not really a set of words or texts, but the vital existential
process of a people who had a religious experience, an experience
which later took shape in written form. Revelation is not the text or the
words; it is not a book. Rather, it is the process, the very religious ex-
perience by which this people, like all other peoples, tried to give
meaning to their lives, based on the myths of the religious and cultural
world in which they lived, but colored and reshaped by the experience
of God in their history.11
There is no revelation in a pure state. Revelation only occurs within the
thick of what is human, in the laborious process of traditions, in the
cultural capacity of the setting and in the possibilities of language, in
the effort to respond to the questions and concrete needs of the differ-
ent communities, in the theological reflection of individual figures or
certain communities. "It occurs in" all of this; we are not saying that
"it is limited to" this. 12 Revelation is "manifesting the deepest part of
being to human perception".13
Revelation is a universal process which takes place in all peoples. All
peoples are human, and the need to give oneself a religious meaning is
part of all human beings, both individually as well as communally. Pa-
leontologists note the difference between finding an archeological site
of "human" remains and not merely of "hominids" by the fact that re-
ligious signs are found in the site, for example, in the interments. We
could say that homo sapiens has been, from the beginning, equal to
homo religiosus.
In the so-called "axial period" (800-200 B.C.) a good number of peo-
ples of the old world experienced the same type of religious transfor-
mation, which gave rise to the great world religions, the "great relig-
ions" or "universal religions" that still exist today. Religious scientists,
as well as anthropologists, archeologists, theologians, and biblicists,
agree that the internal process lived by God's people and reflected in
the Bible is a process structurally similar to the religious processes of

Torres Queiruga, Andres, La revelation de Dios en la realization del hombre,

Madrid: Cristiandad, 1987, pp. 66-67.
11
Ibid.
12
Ibid, 85-86.
13
Tillich, Paul, Teologia sistemdtica, I, Barcelona: 1972, p. 128 {Systematic Theology,
Vol. I, Univ. Chicago Press, 1951).
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 91

other peoples, separate from and prior to the process of the people of
Israel14
All religions are revealed There was a time when religious historians
made a categorical distinction between "natural" religions and "re-
vealed" religions, but "a more careful study has shown that this an-
tithesis is very hard to sustain" 15 We Christians logically tend to con-
sider the Bible as a separate world, with hardly any contact with the
surrounding reality, as if born entirely of itself, free of outside influ-
ence or tainting In reality, no serious theologian today would claim
that the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures could be separated from the
other works in which the beliefs and religious experiences of the other
religions are recorded 16 "Revelation belongs to the self-understanding
of every religion, which always considers itself a divine, not merely
human, creation " n "All are religions of revelation "18
In classical language we could say that God wants to reveal himself to
all human beings and to all peoples, and as fully as possible, always, at
all times We must understand that the limitation of that revelation is a
limitation of reception and reflects our own limitation,19 that of every
people, of some more than others
This new understanding of revelation leads to an awareness of the
"broadening of the revelatory sphere " We should "discover all reality
as a manifestation of God It is the place for the Lord's revelatory pres-
sure on the human spirit So much so that even in the radical and con-
stituent darkness, there is evidence of revelation in all that is real To
the degree that something exists, it is a manifestation of God "20
"Religions definitely are the points where that general 'proof is con-
densed, those places where revelatory pressure expressly manages to
break the opaqueness of the finite spirit Biblical religion is no differ-
ent That is why, far from outdated exclusivisms, it should start from

14
Norberto Lohfink talks about the case of Man, where, fifty years before Moses,
before Israel existed as a people, a full millennium before the fulfillment of the
prophesy in Israel, there were men who, despite all their differences, appeared in ways
similar to the later prophets of the Jewish people Los profetas oyer y hoy, in Gonzalez
/ Lohfink / Von Rad, Profetas verdaderos profetas falsos, Salamanca Sigueme, 1976,
p 107 Cfr Torres Queiruga, Ibid , 69
James, E O , Introduccion a la histona comparada de las rehgiones, Madrid
Cnstiandad, 1973, p 16 Torres Queiruga, A , Ibid, 29
16
Torres Queiruga, A , Ibid, 29
17
Edsmann, C M , Offenbarung I Cited by Torres Queiruga, Ibid, 28
18
Torres Queiruga, Ibid 32
19
These are summary conclusions representing of the treatment of Revelation by
Torres Queiruga, Ibid, 459, epilogue
20
Ibid, 466
92 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

the basic axiom: 'all religions are true,' in the sense that the presence
of God is truly captured in them, although not adequately. The limits
are determined by the means and the definitiveness.21
• We could say that, in some sense, the word "revelation" seems inade-
quate. Because it refers to a mystery, to a profound dimension of the
human being, expressed by a deficient image of a magical thought:
"re-velation", or "un-veiling," pulling away the veil that kept us from
seeing something, an uncovering that is evidently attributed to some-
thing external to us. No matter how much we update the understanding
of this mystery - as we just tried to do - the very word "revelation", by
spontaneous association of ideas, unconsciously betrays us by surrepti-
tiously evoking the old understanding that we wanted to overcome.
Words are not innocent. I believe it is better not to use the word, or at
least, to alternate it with other synonyms that are not laden with magi-
cal thought in the literalness of the image they transmit. What we have
traditionally called "revelation" could be better labeled a "human proc-
ess of awareness", a "process of religious reflection."
With these conclusions by Andres Torres Queiruga, we also close our brief
presentation on the transformation of the concept of revelation, which, as we
have seen, leaves us with a very different attitude regarding the paradigms or
various theological positions within the theology of religions. Obviously, the
synthesis presented here does not preclude the usefulness of a broader personal
study of the matter. We sincerely urge the reader to do so.

8.2 Related Texts

• The word of God is the word of people who talk about God. To say sic
et simpliciter that "the Bible is the word of God" does not square with
the truth. It is only indirectly the word of God. The biblical writings
are testimonies from men of God with concrete experiences and who
have made God known. When the Bible says: "God has said, Christ
has said ..." it is not that God has said it, or that Christ literally has said
it, but rather the people who have told the story of their relationship
with God. Their experience comes from the Spirit, and this is why we
can say that the Bible is inspired.
But at the same time we must be mindful of human, historical,
accidental mediation. There is never a direct encounter, a one-on-one,
between God and human beings; it is always through mediations. It is
people who are talking about God.
For theological research and in order to understand the evolution of
dogmas, this is very important. The new theology cannot be under-
stood without this concept of revelation mediated by history, by the in-
21
Ibid, 467 and 471.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 93

terpretative experience of humankind. When mediation is not accepted,

we inevitably fall into fundamentalism. (E. Schillebeeckx, Soy un
teologo feliz, Madrid: Sociedad de Education Atenas, 1994, 72-73.)

• This occurs not only in common thought, but also in ordinary preach-
ing, in resource books and even in many theologians. The idea usually
presented as obvious and presumed contains the following elements: a)
God revealed himself through apparitions, visions and words spoken or
dictated to be written down, to certain people such as the prophets or
the apostles; b) these people transmit them to others verbally or in
writing, sometimes confirming them by signs and miracles; c) people
trust them and on the basis of their testimony, believe that God said or
revealed what is being told by them. In short, believing in revela-
tion is "to accept something as God's word because someone says that
God told him or her so they could tell others". (A. Torres Queiruga, the
word "Revelation," in Diez palabras cloves en Religion, Estella:
VerboDivino, 1992, p. 179-180.)

8.3 Questions for reflection and discussion

• How old was I when I first read the Bible? Why was the Bible largely
unknown to Catholic laity before Vatican II? Recall the historical rea-
sons.
• What image of the Bible was given to me as a child?
• Have I had the opportunity to refresh my biblical studies?
• What relationship can I see between this subject and the renowned
theological
• postures in the area of theology of religions (exclusivism, inclusivism,
and pluralism)?
• Does the Bible say that it alone is "the word of God"? Where? And if it
does, is that the word of God or our way of perceiving it? Reason this
out in the group.
• What initiatives, opportunities, books, courses, resources, can we use
to renew our biblical knowledge?
• Have we seen any other "holy books" from other religions? Are they
available in our area? Where? What other important religions (world or
local) exist in our society? What holy books "should" we know about,
in order to see the quality of the religion of our brothers and sisters of
other faiths?
• What other "holy books" have we read? Let each person relay their
experience.
94 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

Can a reading of the Word of God in other religions be given proper

space in my personal prayer, in our community prayer sessions, in our
paraliturgical celebrations, in the Eucharist...? Why?
Chapter 9

Two basic principles:

Pluralism is positive. There are no chosen ones
We are now ready to delve into the very heart of the theology of religions. And
we enter into its core announcing what we believe may be a new basic "princi-
ple": the affirmation of the positive character of religious pluralism, making it
not only a pluralism "in fact" but also "by right", in principle.
Here we will establish another major criterion which completes it and
rounds it out: the one which will lead us to relinquish "election" as a category.

9.1 Discussing the topic

9.1.1 First principle: "Religious pluralism is positive and desired by God"

9.1.1.1 Classical view of religious pluralism

What was the classical view of religious pluralism (the plurality of religions)?
What value was placed on it?
We could ask it first of ourselves: what were we told in our religious
education about the existence of other religions, and the fact that there were
many? Most of us probably remember that we were told hardly anything, at
least not explicitly. The topic was not found in our subjects nor was it part of
the theological concerns of the time.
But probing our memories, we may indeed find that something was
said, at least implicitly. In one way or another, we all picked up the idea, by
implication, that the other religions did not matter much. We could go through
life without knowing much about them. We might say they did not have much
religious significance, despite being religions, and some great ones at that.
Of course we knew other religions existed, but it was a fact outside the
realm of Christian religion. It was not a part of the Christian view of life. And
it was really just information, a regrettable fact, and negative. If human access
to God took place through the religion that God himself had revealed to hu-
manity by means of his own Son, Jesus, what sense did those other, strange
religions make? How could we explain that those estranged human masses
would have remained "outside" God's (sole) "salvation plan", that they did not
participate in the one religion, the religion given to humankind by God himself,
the Christian religion?
Religious pluralism, the plurality of religions had a negative connota-
tion. It was a mysterious "shortcoming" in God's plan. Or perhaps a shortcom-
ing tolerated by God in order to test us, since God had entrusted us with taking
Christian salvation to those peoples. Having a plurality of religions was, there-
96 J O S E M A R I A VIGIL

fore, a temporary situation, since it was destined to disappear with the expan-
sion of Christianity through missionary action, which was long overdue
(twenty centuries')
In sum, religious pluralism was then a fact, but a negative fact, regret-
table, not desired by God, perhaps merely tolerated, transitory, and therefore
destined to disappear, the sooner the better If it hadn't disappeared yet, it was
due to insufficient missionary spirit
(For the time being we will not go into what the Judeo-Chnstian tradi-
tion has felt throughout its history regarding those religions that make up the
religious pluralism bloc In early times, it was thought that religions were
place-specific, like the gods themselves, linked to the earth with a geographi-
cally determined jurisdiction ' In other times the gods of other religions were
considered diabolical, idols, false gods, nonsense, the source of all evil ) 2

9 1 1 2 A new appreciation of religious pluralism is underway

Several times in previous units we talked about "novelty", about a new phase
in relations among religions, a new spirit of Christian appreciation for relig-
ions Well, we have reached the center of this stage All those novelties revolve
around that frontal novelty which emerges in the core of the theology of relig-
ions and in the nucleus of the new spirit3 making itself felt throughout this
field a new and "positive" appreciation of religious pluralism is springing
forth all over
Let's put it this way the religious pluralism we just said had always
been considered as pluralism in fact, negative, meaningless and temporary, has
gone from:
being considered negative
to being considered positive
pluralism in fact
to pluralism by right, in principle
regrettable pluralism
to pluralism with a role 4 in God's plan

1
Menezes, Rui De "Pluralismo religioso en el Antiguo Testamento", Selecciones de
Teologi'a, 163 sept 2002), 178-179
2
Teixeira, F Teologia das rehgictes Uma visao panoramica, Sao Paolo Paulinas 1995,
pp 15-16, presents a summary of this common negative appraisal
3
Vigil, J M , Espintuahdad del pluralismo religioso, in EATWOT Theological
Commission, Por los muchos caminos de Dws Desafios del pluralismo religioso a la
teologia de la hberacion, Quito Verbo Divino, 2003 ID, Macroecumenismo teologia
de las religiones latinoamericana, in EATWOT, Por los muchos caminos de Dws - II
Hacia una teologia plurahsta de la hberacion, Quito Abya Yala, 2004, «Tiempo
Axial» collection, n° 3 (latinoamericana org/tiempoaxial)
4
C Geffre would say a pluralism with a specific raison d'etre La singolanta del
cnstianesimo nell'eta del pluralismo religioso, in «Filosofia e teologia» 6/1 (1992) 38
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 97

pluralism that must be condensed down to one

to pluralism that must be accepted
temporary, provisional pluralism
to pluralism perhaps forever...

The old view (often just unconscious, never expressed) of religious pluralism
as a pluralism in fact, negative, without meaning, destined to disappear, is in
crisis. Throughout the Christian world there is a growing sense that religious
pluralism is not negative but positive, that is, desired by God. That one religion
may ultimately prevail over all others, replacing them, is no longer seen as
ideal.
What factors cause this new positive appreciation? We could group
them in four areas:

a) a new image of God: it is not acceptable to think that God could have
left a huge portion of humanity unattended, left merely to its own de-
signs, without "seeking out" humankind, waiting for the Christian
church's missionary action;
b) a new image of revelation: 5 this is not God's positive action restricted
to his relationship with only one people, but is a process linked to the
existence of all human beings and all peoples, in which all historical
reality becomes revelation; 6
c) a new image of human beings: we now understand much better the
socio-cultural nature of human beings, and why God necessarily re-
lates to them in an "ecclesial" form which, within their own culture,
can only be transmitted by their religion. All human beings, all peo-
ples, can receive God's revelatory action, because "all human beings
are raised to the order of salvation"; 7
d) a new image of Christianity, which is, in this new era of history, con-
fronted as never before 8 with its own limitations with respect to its
claim of universality. 9 Having gone through historical periods in which
it believes to have preached the Christian message to all the inhabited

58. Cited by Dupuis, Verso una teologia, 19. A plurality «che ha un suo posto nel
disegno di Dio per la salvezza deH'umanita», Dupuis would say, Ibid. 271.
5
We dealt with this point in the previous lesson.
6
Torres Queiruga, A., La revelation de Dios en la realization del hombre, Madrid:
Cristiandad, 1987,466.
7
Casaldaliga-Vigil, The Spirituality of Liberation, London: Burns & Oates, 1994, lOff;
Political Holiness. A Spirituality of Liberation, New York: Orbis Books 1994, lOff;
LIberatin Spirituality. A Spirituality of Liberation, Manila: Claretian Publications
1996, lOff.
8
"A situation like this had never existed before in history," P. Berger, The Heretical
Imperative, New York: 1979, 35.
9
Torres Queiruga, A., Ibid, 335.
98 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

world, and periods such as the early twentieth century, when it

thought it would religiously convert the rest of the world in a few more
decades, now it seems to be discovering that its numerical limit is in-
surmountable, 11 and that missionary action aimed at converting the
world has, in essence, failed 12

Although it is not necessary, we could ask ourselves how could there have
been a negative assessment of religious pluralism for two thousand years by
Christianity and by Judaism for nearly three and a half millennia 9
We are going to hint at - and right now only hint at - three reasons:

a) First of all, modern thought broke the classical postulates on the ques-
tion of truth, which was a Greek postulate, basically Aristotelian, based
on the visions of metaphysics and classical ontology, in which the
Truth (Verum) is always One (Unum) and cannot be questioned by an-
other truth What is, cannot cease to be, and two things cannot be in
different categories at the same time Modern thought perceives a truth
that is compatible with plurality, which even comes from the "concor-
dance of opposites," from "chaos" 13
b) Second, it is the price of limited knowledge, due to the very laws of
human evolution Why did all original peoples think that they were the
center of reality 9 Why did they thmk that their religion was "the" true
one 9 Why did they negatively value the plurality of other religions?
We could call it a "natural" law human beings, who evolve, begin to
perceive knowledge and reality in relation to themselves, and from the
start, are in the center of all perception From this center, they slowly
broaden the field of knowledge, and only gain new perspectives

This was in fact how people thought since the time of St Augustine "As far as we
know, there are only a few people very far-away to whom [the Gospel] has not been
preached " St Augustine, De Natura et Gratia, II, 2, PL 44, 905
11
In fact, although the 2002 Pontifical Yearbook statistics register a quantitative
increase in the Catholic population in the world, which has gone from 757 million in
1978 to 1 07 billion in 2002, as a percentage of world population it continues to
decline, going from 17 99% in 1978 to 17 20% in 2002 Cfr More info in REB 255,
Petropohs julho 2004, 723
Dupuis would speak of the "falhmento della missione cnstiana" Verso una teologia
cnstiana del plurahsmo rehgioso, Brescia Quenmana, 1997 518 "From a human
stand point, we must remember that historically we had an apparently unsurpassed
experience of religious pluralism This coincides with the awareness of some failure of
the mission of the Church, especially when we consider the small number of Christians
on the Asian continent" Geffre, C , O lugar das rehgwes no piano da salvaqao, in
Teixeira (org), O didlogo inter rehgioso como afirmagao da vida, Sao Paulo
Paulinas, 1997, p 112
13
We will deal with the issue of Truth in Chapter 14
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 99

through this expansion. "What is received is received according to the

capacity of the receiver," states the classic Thomist scholastic adage.14
The religious exclusivism that, as we saw in previous lessons, has been
the spontaneous structural model of (almost) all religions, follows this
rule (it is not a "sin" specific to any one religion, but a "natural defect"
which may be unavoidable). Moreover, the negative assessment of all
the religious plurality around us, is and has been, a spontaneous, natu-
ral mechanism, structurally attributable to the evolutionary and proce-
dural nature of human beings, viewed individually as well as collec-
tively,
c) And why does an awareness of pluralism burst forth at this point in
history? We could also say that it is a result of the new conditions of
the times. We find ourselves in a time of globalization. Through the
communications revolution, the ease of travel and the increase in mi-
grations,15 religions have now come into contact with one another. The
era of their isolation is over, when they were confined to their "own lit-
tle worlds" considered the "only world that existed." In this situation
they cannot help but make religious and theological reflection on this
heretofore unknown plurality of religions an issue. By observing other
religions, each one necessarily begins to look at itself. Each religion
comes to know and to experience itself as "a" religion. Inevitably, each
one must examine its own "theology of religions": what does that plu-
rality of religions mean, and what does the religion doing the reflecting
mean, what role does it play in that plurality of religions? The obvious
perception that emerges is that one's own religion is "one more," "one
among many," even though that perception clashes with the original
exclusivist heritage of each religion. At first the compromise solution16
is a more or less moderated inclusivism. In the long run everything
points to a long journey towards a pluralist paradigm.17 But, aside from
the apparent evolution of thought, religious pluralism must be theo-
logically grounded.

9.1.1.3 Theological foundation of "religious pluralism in principle"

What could the theological foundations be for religious pluralism in principle?
Actually, if we think a bit, everyone can see what the basic principles are
which support this positive assessment of pluralism: They are:

14
Summa Theologica, I, q. 79, a.6 in corp.
15
Cf. See content of Chapter Two.
16
Are we talking about a new "epicycle", as John Hicks would say?
17
The fact can be compared to the phenomenon of "de-traditionalization" spoken of by
Guiddens, Anthony, Consecuencias de la modemidad, Madrid: Alianza, 1993; cf also
Mardones, Jose Maria, lAdonde va la religion?, Santander: Sal Terrae, 1996, pp.
108ss.
100 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

• God's universal salvific will for all human beings and all peoples
• the overabundant wealth and variety of God's self-manifestations to
humankind18

Both theological affirmations are of such caliber and depth as to be indisput-

able They are practically axioms or like postulates that, when linked together,
produce the obvious affirmation - given today's sensibility - of "pluralism in
principle "
Along with Dupuis we could add "The fact that God had spoken
'many times and in many ways' before he spoke through his Son (Heb 1 1) is
not accidental, nor is the plural nature of God's self-manifestation merely a
thing of the past The decisive character of the coming of his Son in the flesh in
Jesus Chnst does not nullify the presence and universal action of the Word and
the Spirit Religious pluralism in principle is based on the immensity of a God
who is Love" 19

9114 Theological consequences of this positive assessment

To list but a few -

Change in the image of God

The image of God in the First (Old) Testament - at least as it seems now, with
all due respect - was of a very "Jewish" God, quite confined to his people,
closely linked to the culture of one ethnos The Christian God during the time
of Christendom was also a biased God, who might seem unjust due to his pref-
erence for his Church and his tolerance for the wrongdoings committed by his
children against other peoples and religions Perhaps the same thing has hap-
pened in other religions which have lived their religiosity in the same exclusiv-
ist paradigm the pompous God in exclusivism is "our" God, belonging to our
people, who thinks like us, speaks our language, considers himself part of our
people, defends us blindly against our enemies and is partial to us beyond any
universal concern for justice 20
"Pluralism in principle", knowing that pluralism is desired by God,
changes our image of God, and cleanses it of the chauvinism and ethnocentric
obstinacy of exclusivist religions God is not "ours," God is not a member of
our race or culture, although we ponder and experience God through them
God is not partial towards us like the local gods, the "interceding demiurges,"
or the "gods of the tribe or clan" of primitive peoples God is way above all

18
Dupuis, Ibid, 520
19
Ibid
20
These cases are innumerable, such as "Santiago Matamoros" in Spain, or in the
many places in Latin America where the tradition boasts of divine or Marian protection
in defense against the indigenous population, for example
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 101

that and cannot be manipulated God is pluralist, universal, and belongs to all
peoples
This has numerous consequences, as we can imagine

Change in perception about the "People of God"

The "People of God" issue is a thread with a very long history in the Church
and in the Bible itself and is a topic of great importance Forgotten for a few
centuries, Vatican II was wise enough to recover it and place it in the fore-
ground For several years, the issue and expression People of God was the ma-
jor theme of postconcihar theology and spirituality One goal, among others, of
the 1985 Synod seemed to be to lower this concept a notch21 In fact, in recent
years it has practically been stripped of its prominent position
Setting this last-minute change aside, and returning to Vatican IPs fo-
cus, which is still authoritative, we should point out that the Second Vatican
Council's approach was to be a starting point, rather than a conclusion 22 Cur-
rent theological postulates have progressed Today's Christian theology of re-
ligions can no longer speak of the "People of God" m the singular, identifying
it historically as the people of the Judeo-Chnstian tradition, or as present-day
Christianity or any particular Church At the very least, we must consider the
concept as polysemous, not specific and unique
There are many "peoples of God", and each invokes God with its own
name The people of God transcend boundaries, not only of races but also of
religions God does not have a preference for particular people or for particular
religions "God shows no partiality, but rather accepts all, regardless of nation-
ality, who honor him and work for justice " (Acts 10 34-35) There is a People
of God that cuts across all peoples, made up of a "multitude of sons and daugh-
ters of God coming from every race, language, people and nation" (Rev 5 9-
10),23 a people pleasing and acceptable to God We cannot, therefore, continue
to solely, exclusively and constantly identify the idea of the "People of God"
with Christianity or any particular Christian church
"People of God" was a way of speaking which in this day and age needs rem-
terpretation We can no longer use it "as always" with uncritical naivete We
can no longer think that the People of God is one race, as so many peoples

See extensive information and arguments on the issue in J Combhn, O povo de

Deus, Sao Paulo Paulinas, 2002, 115 132
We must admit that today, after only a few years, the conciliar text seems strangely
timid and restrictive Torres Queiruga, El dialogo de las rehgwnes, Sal Terrae 1992, 3
Elsewhere Queiruga says that the seed of what was affirmed by the Council in the
realm of dialogue among religions has grown like a planted seed Cf El dialogo de las
rehgwnes en el mundo actual, in Joaquim Gomis (ed) El Conciho Vaticano III,
Barcelona Herder-El Ciervo, 2001, 71
23
In the Book of Revelation, and in all the ancient world, including the medieval
world, the concept of "nation" implies the specific religion of that nation
102 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

thought about themselves, we cannot even think that the People of God is only
one or that it can be identified with a culture or even a religion or that this
sole people of God is us and only us

End of the "chosen ones" and "only begotten" syndromes

The classical negative appraisal of religious pluralism is found at the source of
all the imperialisms, invasions, conquests, colonialisms, neocolonialism, mis-
sionary proselytism campaigns (religious, cultural or political)24 undertaken by
exclusivist religions
We must keep in mind that exclusivism and negative assessment of re-
ligious pluralism are correlative realities if one exists, so does the other And
when they are both present, a personal and communal mindset is created - a
"syndrome" - that predisposes us to justify all those errors if we are the only
ones, those who enjoy God's favor, the only ones who know revelation, and we
are surrounded by peoples who do not walk hand-in-hand with God, who do
not know him, who can only be saved if we bring them into our religion it is
clear that we are in a situation of superiority which justifies our paternalistic
presumption of his "protection " This is the "syndrome of the chosen ones "
We have already seen an abundance of testimonies in the third and fourth les-
sons about this syndrome in the history of the Church
Logically, this syndrome can also develop within a society This is the
case in fundamentalist sectors, who think like this if God's Word - as we
know it - is the Truth, it should reign everywhere possible,25 even if it means
conquest and imposition to make it happen The religious Truth perceived by
us (sometimes not only in the strictly religious dimension but also cultural and
social) can be imposed on the whole of society thus we become part of the
confessional society, of the society of "Christendom" in the case of Christians,
forcing everyone to submit to this faith which is the Truth No one has the right
to violate this confessional regimen, because our religion is the true one, and
because "mistakes have no rights", the only right it has is to convert and sub-
mit to the Truth, which fortunately, is ours Not only religious pluralism but
also the purely social, ideological, and cultural, are made invisible by this fun-
damentalist vision of negative assessment of religious pluralism This also
makes democracy, tolerance, respect for freedom of expression, thought and
religion, impossible, as well as respect for human rights Only those in the truth
(ours) have human rights, not those who might use them in the service of error
What I would like to call the "only begotten syndrome" deserves special atten-
tion, to refer symbolically to the psychological mindset of the one who falsely
considers himself an only son Let us imagine a big family, living in the same

"The missionary", it was said classically, "serves Church and Fatherland" (of the
metropolis')
25
ACAT, Fundamentahsmos Integnsmos Uma ameaca aos direitos humanos, Sao
Paulo Paulinas, 2001, 35
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 103

house, where one of the brothers or sisters, who is very affectionate with his or
her father, constantly addresses him as if the other brothers and sisters weren't
in the room In talking to his or her father, there is never a reference to the
other siblings, s/he does not even look at them, does not speak to them, does
not listen, ask them anything or answer them S/he only relates to his or her
father, as if s/he were an only child, the only child begotten, as if the others did
not exist, despite the fact that they are present This is the attitude I wish to call
the "only begotten syndrome "
Note that this syndrome has been present throughout history, and it
still occurs today in Christianity, because it goes hand-m-hand with the exclu-
sivist mindset If I am the only one with the privilege of knowing the truth, if
the rest are groping in the dark, if God has so clearly displayed his preference
for me, then I do not need anyone else but God It is as if the others did not
exist They are external to my relationship with God, which I consider unique
All we need to do is browse through official spirituality, for example, the lit-
urgy, prayers, or the Divine Service, to see that we are the brother who ad-
dresses his father very affectionately but completely unaware of the other
brothers and sisters of other religions, who do not even appear on the horizon
of our relationship with God (except if we pray for the "evangelization of other
peoples", or on "mission" day, when they show up as objects of our pious
mercy) 26 We must re-design the entire liturgy, from beginning to end, because
it was conceived, designed, written and lived based on the assumption of ex-
clusivism and a negatively perceived religious pluralism
This change in appreciation for religious pluralism makes the person
with this new sensitivity realize they are uncomfortable, suffocated by the ex-
clusivist air being breathed in all of our classic official prayers And what we
are saying about the liturgy can also be said about theology and all the other
realities and dimensions of our faith
This new perception demands a radical renewal of everything "No one
puts new wine into old wineskins" (Mark 2 22)

Breaking old patterns

Now we should consider the tough question, the major theological difficulty
Although we are talking about a positive appraisal of pluralism, in
general, where many nuances may exist, it is clear that, as a hypothesis, a posi-
tive appreciation of the plurality of religions ultimately leads to the highest ap-
preciation for all religions As a methodological hypothesis, let us put our-
selves in that position God has loved all religions, they all fall withm his plan
for salvation, and all of them are salvific A plurality of religions understood in
addition from the standpoint of "pluralism as a paradigm" (in contrast to mclu-

«In a sense, from within the ongoing religious life of a particular tradition, we do in
fact normally proceed as though there were only one religion, namely our own,» J
Hick, God Has Many Names, p 40
 104 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

sivism and exclusivism) presents a great challenge to dimensions and elements

which classically have been considered "essential" to Christianity, and indis-
pensable. We could refer, for example, to the absolute nature of the Christian
religion, the universal salvific mediation of Christ, his uniqueness, etc. For
some theologians and, logically, for official theology, a religious pluralism
valued in such a positive way and adopted from the pluralist paradigm, would
exceed those essential Christian boundaries, producing a "fracture" and would
no longer be Christian.
For anyone who adopts an exclusivist position - or even an inclusivist
one - the question of truth, the epistemological framework, and the highest
criteria for judgment, coincide: they are within the same realm as their exclu-
sivist religion (whatever it may be). If we are talking about exclusivist Christi-
anity, then there is no salvation outside the Church, nor is there complete
Truth. If we go from exclusivism to extreme pluralism, this epistemological
framework occupying space within the Church shatters into pieces, and the
awareness that dissolves the truth is no longer enclosed within the framework
of institutional Christianity, producing an "epistemological fracture" of the
global framework itself of Truth.
Without jumping to subjects to be dealt with later on, it should be said
here that this change in appraisal of pluralism is truly too profound not to cre-
ate an upheaval in old criteria, and sacred and venerable traditions which have
been historically exalted as "essential", that is, "sine qua non". They would set
boundaries beyond what could actually be called Christianity.
It is important to note that it is neither the first, nor second nor third
time that Christianity has been forced to review its supposed "essential bounda-
ries beyond which Christianity cannot exist," in order to realize that although
the profound truths do not change, the ways and even the frameworks in which
they are expressed may undergo very profound change. Many felt that allowing
historical-critical methods in Bible study destroyed the concept of revelation
which until then had been considered essential. And based on this fear, a futile
war was waged against the scientific methods for studying the Bible until these
methods were finally accepted, and through them, the old concept of revelation
fell, but was replaced by a new understanding of it. It was not revelation that
was destroyed, but rather its old and inadequate comprehension. Of course this
process could not take place without tensions, without fear, without patience
and impatience. Would we not be today in an historic moment of transforma-
tion in which classical formulas simply held as "essential" seem to be chal-
lenged and in jeopardy, beyond which it was believed that we would be outside
Christianity? Will we not be able to find some new expressions and some bet-
ter formulations for the eternal subject matter, which allow this new apprecia-
tion for religious pluralism to progress, a positive appraisal which asserts itself
and from which we cannot turn back?
From other vantage points, we will continue to reshape this challenge
in upcoming lessons.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 105

9.1.2 Second principle: "There are no chosen ones"

9.1.2.1 Election in the Bible
Neither "pluralism" nor "exclusivism" are words or concepts that we can find
in the Bible or in classical theology because they have been created or coined
recently. What would the equivalent biblical concept be (directly or indi-
rectly)? It would be this: "election."
According to the classical vision previously cited, God would have
"chosen" one people among all peoples. This people becomes the "people of
God," receptacle of the promises, God's reference point in humanity. "I will be
your God and you will be my people." The First Testament shows in the previ-
ously mentioned pages the vision he has of the rest of the peoples and their
gods: they have gone astray, subject to idols which are "dead things" (Wis.
13.10), "nothing" (Is. 44.9), "vanity" (Jer. 2.5; 16.19) "delusion" (Jer. 10.14;
Amos 2.4; Bar. 6.50), "demons" (Deut. 32.17; Bar. 4.7), "even the animals are
worth more than them" (Bar. 6.67). The worship of idols is "the cause and end
of every evil" (Wis. 14.27) Only Yahweh is "the true God" (Jer. 10.10).
This is why "the" People of God must be a "people apart", one which
does not mix with the other peoples. When the chosen people reach the land
God has promised them, the nations living there will be defeated, expelled and
sacrificed: "when Yahweh your God delivers them over to you, you will con-
quer them and curse them... You must deal with them like this: tear down their
altars, smash their standing stones, cut down their sacred poles and set fire to
their idols. For you are a people consecrated to Yahweh your God." (Deut. 7.2,
5,6).
Deut. 7.7-25 is the classic section about "election" in the First Testa-
ment. There it says:

You will be more blessed than all peoples. Yahweh will keep all sick-
ness from you; he will not afflict you with those evil plagues of Egypt
which you have known, but will save them for all those who hate you.
Devour, then, all these peoples whom Yahweh your God delivers over
to you. Show them no pity, do not serve their gods, for otherwise you
would be ensnared. (7.15-16)27

It has to do with a concept, that of "election" which has two sides: on the one
hand there is insistence in the Bible that election is not due to one's own merit,
that it is not that the people deserved it; that it is a gratuitous election, a
"whim" of God, who seems to chose precisely those who least deserve it. But,
on the other hand, it contains all the virtualities that consecrate the elected as
privileged: they are the ones chosen from all the rest, they enjoy intimacy with

It is important to read the entire text, even though it appears in some Bibles in very
small print, as if to say that it is of lesser importance.
106 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

God over and above all others, they are the protected ones, the favorites, the
special child who is loved more than the others
This is a central concept throughout the Bible 28 Running through it is
this perception that everything that happens to this people, everything about it
is told and celebrated in light of the understanding that it has to do with "the
people of God " Even when it is not mentioned, this supposition is implicit and
acting in the scene
Gerhard Lohfink, who highlights the significance and centrahty of this
concept in the Bible, also recognizes that modern thinking questions it 2 9 Nev-
ertheless, throughout the entire history of Judeo-Chnstianity, to the present
day, it has reigned in its sphere without any objections Theological as well as
apologetic explanations have never been absent why does God choose 7 Is it a
good thing to do 7 And what about the non-chosen 7 Lohfink himself gives a
masterful exposition of the reasons for the election
Lohfink points out that in order for salvation to take place God needs a
concrete location, and that place is Israel 3 0 Why Israel 9 The author responds
invoking a "constellation " The constellation alludes to an overlap or combina-
tion of three magnitudes "the right place, the opportune moment and the ap-
propriate people " 31 And he "reasons" extensively and convincingly why Israel
was the right place, as well as why everything happened at the opportune mo-
ment In terms of God's plan being carried out with the appropriate people,
Lohfink's argument refers to the same biblical texts, unable to avoid the bifron-
tal nature of election on the one hand, it is an unwarranted election, an election
so undeserved and gratuitous that it almost borders on the "irrational," but, on
the other hand, what is underlined is that God chooses the human community
that can best serve him and shows a greater capacity to respond Thus, two
slightly contradictory aspects Nevertheless, Lohfink reasons it all out so ex-
tensively and clearly, with such a profusion of scholarship and conviction, that,
in the end, one has the impression of having understood the very strategy of
God, that the mystery has been unveiled, and along with it, what comes to
mind is the adage "if you understand it, it is not God "

28
Lohfink, Gerhard, LNecesita Dws la Iglesia?, Madrid San Pablo, 1999, 58-59
29
"Currently, this concept has more detractors than supporters For some it is an
insurmountable scandal It seems not to be very democratic, contradicting the oft-
referred to "open" and "universal" thought, and is indicative of dangerous
fundamentalism The term "election" has become very unattractive," G Lohfink, Ibid,
57 58
30
Unfortunately, Lohfink constructs his entire argument using as a starting point -
perhaps as merely a literary tool - the difference between God's way of acting and the
way that anti capitalist popular revolutions act (') Regrettable proposition Ibid, 42 43,
46 But we wanted to mention the position of this author since it concerns a remarkable
present-day biblicist and an extremely recent text from 1998
31
Ibid, 49
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 107

We cannot deny that Lohfink's position causes deep insatisfaction. Why does
such an obviously superseded biblical concept require such apologetics? Why
so much "concordism," a reminder of when the book, The Bible was Right was
published. Despite so many words and such elaborate reasoning, something
inside us says that such a complicated discussion is not valid, and to settle it,
"common sense suffices."32 At this stage in time and current moment in theol-
ogy, it is clear that the biblical concept of election needs substantial decon-
struction.
I would like to complete this treatment of the subject of "the chosen"
with a reference to another author, Torres Queiruga, whose evolution, also on
this point, enlightens us regarding the current situation on this issue. Some
years ago, he supplely explained the issue using the "parable of Tetra-
gramathon,"33 a powerful and happy being who lived in the fourth dimension
and wished to communicate his happiness to beings living in the third dimen-
sion. He communicates with all, but in that communication finds a group of
these beings who, for various reasons, respond with greater receptivity. So he
cultivates this group more in everything that he gives of himself, using their
experience to better transmit the message directed to all. "What might seem
like privilege for the 'chosen', is nothing more than the strategy of his love: to
cultivate intensely just one is the best way to quickly reach all the others."34
It is easy to see that this interpretation of election is far from the nor-
mal concept held about it. Queiruga does not conceive of a choice made di-
rectly by God, capricious and arbitrary, "gratuitous", which through his will,
would segregate a people to privilege it, as election was traditionally inter-
preted. He does not believe in this type of election, which would mean privi-
lege and favoritism. The "election" that truly exists - if you can call it that (we
will get into it later) - has a different basis, which he exemplifies through an-
other comparison: that of the professor who, seeing that one student is grasping
his explanation more clearly than the others, pays a bit more attention to him so
he may grasp it fully, and in this way stimulate comprehension by the rest of
the students. Note that here it is not exactly a question of a capricious "elec-
tion" of one student by the teacher; it is really about the adoption of a "peda-
gogical strategy" by a smart teacher who uses one student's greater ability to
respond to the advantage of the entire group of students. It is not an arbitrary
choice but one with a concrete basis. And it is not really an election but rather a
pedagogical strategy.
The concrete basis of that election is one student's greater capacity for
response. It is not an arbitrary election, which would mean favoritism by the
professor; it is a pedagogical usage of the comparative advantage one student
possesses for reasons unknown to the professor for the benefit of all. There-

Torres Queiruga, A., La revelation de Dios... p. 322.

Ibid, 312ss. Also in El didlogo de las religiones, Sal Terrae, 1992, 39-40.
Ibid. 313
108 J O S E M A R I A VIGIL

fore, it is built on the concrete basis of the real inevitable inequality, also keep-
ing in mind that "sensitivity to the divine does not necessarily coincide with the
gifts of the 'learned and clever' of this world" [cf Matt 11 25] By this Quei-
ruga means that the so-called "election" by God cannot be understood as a ca-
pricious and favontist choosing, but one made on the concrete basis of a real
inequality
In fact, although God wants to communicate as much as possible with
all human beings without any limitation, as fully as possible, the truth is, given
human finitude, an equal response by all human beings or all peoples is not
possible 35 The author insists that the love of God has been given freely and
without distinction to all human beings and to all peoples from the beginning
of time But the reception of that love is conditioned by human finitude, which,
cruelly, makes equality structurally impossible 36 But God struggles against
that inequality, not exactly by reinforcing it with favontist choices but by using
the differences to the benefit of all "No other real universality has a place in
history " 37
The people of Israel must have been a people which, amid God's
communication with all peoples, must have developed a special sensitivity for
grasping God's religious pressure on the conscience of humanity In this group
God finds the opportunity to create the possibility for a path to total mamfesta-
tion 3 8
This interpretation of election presented to us by Torres Queiruga is
very far from the classic idea of "election " Moreover, I would say that this is
the only acceptable way to understand "election" today Any other version, the
election of privilege or favoritism is no longer acceptable And so a valid ques-
tion would be, can we continue to call the substance of this reinterpretation
"election" 7 If we continue to use the word "election", are we not promoting the
error by reviving or taking for granted the old idea 7
My choice is to heartily embrace the decision made recently by Torres
Queiruga to propose abandoning this category I will reference the text in
which he "imagines", under assignment by the editor of the collective work,
Joaquim Gomis, what a future Third Vatican Council would declare regarding
the "dialogue of religions in today's world" Along with Torres Queiruga, I
subscribe to this imagined declaration of Vatican III, quoted below

"It is the overall and terrible problem of inequality in all spheres, and it is linked to
the problem of evil If this were due to an arbitrary decision by God, a favoritism, it
would be awful If things cannot be any other way, then we must accept them and
understand them, in their appropriate measure despite the inevitable, as long as God
tries utilize the concrete advantages to the benefit of all" Torres Queiruga, pro
manuscnpto
36
Ibid, 323
37
Ibid 330
38
Ibid 327
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 109

"Therefore, conscious of the theological novelty that this presumes and

of the obligatory hermeneutical modernization required in the reading
of our sacred texts, this Council has decided to renounce the category
of election In God, "there is no preference for people," and let us add,
nor for religions With regard to his love, we are all, equally, without
the slightest discrimination, much loved sons and daughters "39

9.1.3 Brief Excursus: the chosen are...the poor!

With what we have just put forth and affirmed, more than one reader must be
asking him or herself so, God did not choose anyone9 Although today we
clearly see that God does not have preferences for people or even religions,
didn't God choose the people of Israel9 What real historical basis is there for
the tradition of election that the Bible recounts all through its pages?
Let me etch out some answers
There are three hypotheses on the origin of Israel The first is the one
narrated in the Bible descent from Abraham, move to Egypt, exodus, desert-
crossing and conquering of the land of Canaan Going way back, this people
would have descended from the patriarchs, and more recently, would come out
of the exodus from Egypt Today all the scientific exegetes recognize that these
affirmations are theological and have no probable historical basis
The second hypothesis is that the presence of Israel in the land of Ca-
naan was due to the emigration of semi-nomadic groups 40 The people that be-
came Israel would have been born in the steppe and the desert, having later
emigrated towards the arable land Neither does this hypothesis of peaceful
emigration, which has been the classic interpretation, hold up today against
criticism by current experts
The third hypothesis is that Israel was formed in the second half of the
thirteenth century B C through a peasant farmer revolution in the mountains of
Israel 41
According to this hypothesis, in the thirteenth century B C , Canaan
was strewn with independent city-states under the political and religious he-
gemony of Egypt, which exploited the region with tributes that fell most heav-
ily on the poor As one of the social and economic crises of the region intensi-
fied, the "Hapirus" (groups of displaced people, landless, excluded, very com-
mon in all the Near East at that time) lead a peasant farmer revolution fleeing
the mountains, in which they free themselves of exploitation by the Egyptian

Torres Queiruga, El dialogo de las religiones en el mundo actual, I c , 70

Albrecht, Alt, Die Landnahme der Israehten in Palastina ,in Kleine Schnften vol 1
1968, 89ss, 126ss
This hypothesis has been mainly presented by Norman Gottwald, The Tribes of
Yahweh A Sociology of Religion of Liberated Israel- 125 1050 BCE Maryknoll,
NY Orbis, 1979 Portuguese translation As tnbos de Yahweh, Sao Paulo Paulinas,
1986
110 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

empire and the kinglets of the city-states, and their religious-ideological domi-
nation. This revolution takes place in the name of a god "El" (which is the one
appearing in the theophoric name Isra-El), whose will is for the construction of
a different society, without exploiters or exploited, without kings or armies,
based on an ideal of collective fraternity. It would later become the confedera-
tion of the tribes of Israel in the mountains of Canaan.
There in these mountains, several groups with similar religious tradi-
tions are founded and give rise to the new Israel. One of the groups is Mosaic
(from Moses), and comes from Egypt, whose theology will prevail, is assumed
by all, and is the one which will be recorded in the book of Exodus.
Israel is a young people. It does not arise before the above-mentioned
thirteenth century. Who constituted the origins of Israel, the human group that
had the profound religious experience which made possible and transmitted the
biblical revelation? This group was the "Hapirus": the social group of the most
poor, people excluded from the society of the city-states, people devoted some-
times to less dignified activities in order to survive. We can say that in the true
historical base of the biblical tales, sociologically and archeologically speak-
ing, we find the Hapirus, who are not an ethnic or political people, not a race or
a nation, but rather "the poorest." Today we would call them "the excluded."
That means that even within the biblical framework, God did not
choose any race or any people, but rather the poor, the Hapirus. It is interesting
to recall that the exodus story itself says that "a mixed multitude" came out of
Egypt (Ex. 12.38), not exactly a clearly defined racial group. And it states sev-
eral times: "the God of the 'Hapirus' has come to meet us" (Ex. 3.18; 5.3) A
"revelatory" religious experience happened to them and led the Hapirus, the
poor, to flee to a new land, in the mountains of Canaan, and build a New Peo-
ple, in covenant with their God.
The word "Hapiru" evolved into "Hebrew" (it has the same consonants
since the p and b are phonetically equivalent). The Hapirus ended up being the
Hebrews, forming a people, but that would come much later. In the true origin
of the biblical story - oversimplifying - we find the religious experience of the
Hapirus (the poorest) from different parts of the Middle East, conveyed
through that peasant farmer revolution which converged in the mountains of
Israel. They are the only ones we can say that God "chose."

9.2 Related texts and recommended exercises

Organize a debate based on one of these texts:

• Vigil, Jose Maria, An Ecumencial Handbook, in servicioskoino-
nia.org/relat/351e.htm

• Torres Queiruga, A., El didlogo de las religiones en el mundo actual,

in Gomis, Joaquim (org.), El Concilio Vaticano III, Desclee, Bilbao
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM ill

2001, pp. 67-84. A summarized version is available at servicioskoino-

nia.org/relat/312.htm

9.3 Questions for reflection and discussion

• What do I remember being told about religious pluralism (the plurality

of non-Christian religions) during my religious education? Was it val-
ued positively or negatively?
• Is it true that for a long time I also had a negative assessment of un-
known religions?
• What features, particulars, affirmations do I discover in Christianity
which seem symptomatic of a negative assessment of religious plural-
ism?
• Do we also see some signs of change leading to a positive appraisal of
other religions?
• What do I think about the "only begotten" or "elected" syndrome?
Does it happen in our religion? Where can we see it or don't we see it?
• What role has the perception of being "chosen" or "personally called to
mission" played in me?
Chapter 10

Biblical and Jesuanic Aspects

In the previous unit we delved into the heart of the new theology of religions
by affirming those two fundamental principles. Now we must cover, in detail,
the various aspects present in every theological construct, in order to suggest
the reformulations that this new vision will signify for the global edifice of the
theology of religions.
The first of these aspects is the biblical one. We will pay special atten-
tion to references to Jesus. And given the fact that our objective is specifically
theological, we will be deliberately selective and functional in our treatment of
the biblical themes.

10.1 Discussing the topic

10.1.1 First Testament

In dealing with the Bible, we must realize, first of all, that we cannot project
our own ideas onto it. For example, when we read "god" in the First Testa-
ment, we should know that the concept presented there is very different from
the one that comes into our minds when we read that word. Texts written more
than two thousand years ago, or coming from even older oral traditions, cannot
be read literally, naively ignoring all kinds of distances that separate us from
their content. First we need to be conscious of these distances.
Secondly, we must be aware of the vast internal diversity within the
Bible. This is not a book, but rather, as its name indicates, a group of books, a
"library," written over a period of more than fifteen hundred years - and com-
plicating things further - includes the "oral texts." Because of this, in such a
diverse "world" as that of the Bible, you can find everything: support for any
position, as well as support for the opposite one. It is impossible to make abso-
lute generalizations regarding the content of the Bible, since everything has its
exception and contrary testimony.
We can begin by looking at some of those distances that make it im-
possible to directly transplant the Bible's thinking on religious pluralism to our
own situation.
The primitive religious environment reflected in the Old Testament is
polytheist, and the Old Testament presents many textual markings which re-
flect this polytheism. In the Near East in those biblical times, it was normal to
think that the gods of each nation had jurisdiction over its territory. There was
a god with jurisdiction over each territory, and it was necessary to worship that
deity when one was within its borders. Astarte was the goddess of the Sido-
114 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

mans, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, Milcom that of the Ammonites (1
Kings 11 33) and Beelzebub governed the Philistine territory '
Before the time of exile no one denied the ontological status of gods of
other nations David lamented having to adore other gods when he left his land
fleeing Saul (cf 1 Sam 26 19) Ruth leaves Moab and emigrates to Bethlehem,
joining in worship of her mother-in-law Naomi's god once outside the land of
the god of Moab (Ruth 1 16) Deuteronomy predicts that while in exile, the
Israelites will have to serve other gods made by human hands (cf Deut 4 28)
Divinity was linked to the land Naaman the Syrian, healed by the prophet,
would take soil in his baggage, in order to gratefully worship the god of Israel,
in whose name the prophet had healed him, once back in his own country (2
Kings 5 1-19)
The Old Testament texts prior to the exile reflect the religious plural-
ism of the era in all its vividness polytheism The idea of monotheism would
appear later, in a second moment of the unfolding of biblical history
In the previous lesson we spoke of the negative attitude that develops
in Israel towards the gods of other peoples, primarily in Deuteronomy 2 Here
polytheism is seen from an exclusivist perspective Criticism of other peoples'
divinities and idols stems from this 3
It is in some of the prophets that the Old Testament begins to open up
to a more universal vision in the future the nations of the world will stream
towards Mt Zion to adore the Lord (Is 2 1-5, Micah 4 1-3) The light of Yah-
weh's salvation will reach the ends of the earth (Is 49 6, 56 7, 66 23) This re-
flects a certain umversahsm, as it could be conceived at that time, but it is not
really pluralism other peoples will come to adore Yahweh (cf Zeph 2 11)
Micah is perhaps the one who goes the furthest, being tolerant of the worship
of all nations, recognizing their right to adore their divinities "For all the peo-
ples go forward, each in the name of its god, but we, we go forward in the
name of Yahweh, our God" (Micah 4 5) As we said in the beginning, this text
is practically the exception to the entire Old Testament, but it cannot be said
that a tolerant pluralism is completely absent in the Bible
In conclusion it is hard for us to find real religious pluralism accepted
in the First Testament Even less will we find arguments or even quotes in its
favor The First Testament is in another mental world, with a different perspec
tive (mostly exclusivist), and we cannot expect to base what "God has revealed

Cfr Rui de Menezes, ' Plurahsmo religiose- en el Antiguo Testamento", Seleccwnes de

Teologia 163, sept, 2002, 179 We follow him closely on this point
Deuteronomy is not a book of Mosaic origin but came later, probably in the eighth or
seventh century B C , "discovered" during the reign of Josiah around 627 B C (cf 2
Kings 22 23) "It probably gave Josiah the ideology necessary to defeat the much-
hated Assyrian yoke weighing on Israel," Menezes Ibid 181
Cf previous lesson in the section "Election in the Bible "
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 115

to humanity" on it Humankind only began to perceive much later what we are

just beginning to put forth ourselves today

10.1.2 Jesuanic aspects

Moving to the New Testament, we will divide it into two categories every-
thing concerning Jesus as one, and the rest of the New Testament as another
In this section, we would like to see if, in contrast to the Old Testa-
ment, we find attitudes and words of Jesus of Nazareth that enlighten us in
dealing with religious pluralism We are referring to "Jesuanic aspects" and not
"chnstological" ones to differentiate between the "historical Jesus" and the
"Christ of the faith " We would like to look specifically at Jesus of Nazareth,
the concrete historical person, and not the image created about him afterwards
as a result of faith (We will take up the explicitly dogmatic "chnstological"
aspect in lesson 12 )
In approaching Jesus, we should ask ourselves whether he is in a posi-
tion to give us any guidance about religious pluralism Is it possible for a Gali-
lean peasant, who has hardly been outside of his own land, who knew nothing
about the great religions or other cultures beyond those present in his area, to
provide insights into the religious and theological judgments about the problem
of religious pluralism that we seek today, at the start of the third millennium7
Rather than jump to a conclusion, we will let the question stand, and instead
examine his life and his words, to see if we can find an enlightening response
through them
From the perspective of religious pluralism, which of Jesus' postures
stand out7
We could say Jesus was

Theo-reignocentric
This is indisputable the dream, the Cause, Utopia, ideal, and center, of the life
and person of Jesus was the Kingdom of God,5 and the God of the Kingdom, as
one sole dual reality The Kingdom of God is precisely his Cause, his ipsis-
sima verba Iesu,1 and especially his ipsissima intentw Iesu 8 For the historical

Remember that exclusivism is ecclesiocentnc, inclusivism is chnstocentnc and

pluralism is theocentnc Pluralist theologians also speak of sotenocentnsm (focus on
salvation, in what saves) and reignocentnsm
5
Boff, Leonardo, Jesucnsto el liberador, Sal Terrae 1980, ch 3, "Ultimately, what did
Jesus seek7" Several other editions in many countries and languages
Sobnno, J , Jesus in America Latina Sal Terrae 1982, 133-134
7
Expression in Latin by which the "very words of Jesus" are technically identified,
which exegetically, and on a scientific level (not by reason of faith) we are fairly
certain came literally from the historic Jesus
The same expression is used in a metaphonc sense, not to refer to words pronounced
by Jesus but to what would be - also with complete "historical scientific" certainty -
his fully conscious personal intention
116 J O S E M A R I A VIGIL

Jesus, the God of the Kingdom is the center, and there is no other mediation
with him except the promotion of God's own Reign
The mission of Jesus is none other than the proclamation and promo-
tion of that Kingdom (Luke 4 16ss) That the Kingdom of God is announced to
the poor through words and liberating acts is the great messianic sign, the sign
that affirms Jesus as the awaited Messiah (Luke 7 18-23) "The Kingdom of
God and his justice" (Matt 6 33) is what must be sought above all else,9 since
everything else "will be added unto it" or can wait
It is easy to see how this position of Jesus - which is his central pos-
ture, we must recall - can be the best grounds for a religious pluralism in prin-
ciple, a positive one The pluralist paradigm, in contrast to exclusivism and
inclusivism, is theocentnc In the language of Jesus' gospel, God is always the
"God of the Kingdom," and the Kingdom is always the "Kingdom of God," so
that theocentnsm and reignocentnsm are mutually implied Because of this
posture we wish to call Jesus "theo-reignocentnc "

Macroecumenical
Jesus has a macroecumenical understanding 10 of the Reign of God Because the
Kingdom is Life, Truth, Justice, Peace, Grace and Love " That is why, when
all these conditions are present, the Kingdom is present Where there is good,
there is the Kingdom 12 Jesus is optimistic m spite of everything, there is a
great deal of good in the world His Father, who causes the sun to rise on the
just as well as sinners (Matt 5 45), works and goes on working (John 5 17),
and that is why the field is high and ready for harvest Despite what the apos-
tolic imagery of his followers would later say, Jesus never sends anyone to
plant, nor does he complain that someone must be sent to do that work Jesus
sees the world as an enormous field where the most urgent task is to harvest
(not plant) as much good as is found everywhere, because of the borderless
presence of the Kingdom
Jesus is not a chauvinist He does not think that "only we" or "only our
own" are in the Kingdom He tells the Gentile, "you are not far from the King-
dom of God", and of the centurion he says, as he said of the Canaamte woman,
both pagans, "nowhere in Israel have I found faith like this" (Matt 8 10, Mark

9
Here is an echo of the famous expression from Paul VI's encyclical, Evangelu
Nuntiandi, fruit of the 1974 Synod "Only the Kingdom is absolute Everything else is
relative " We should all keep this quote engraved in our hearts and on a beautiful
poster in our home and work place
1(
Casaldaliga-Vigil, The Spirituality if Liberation, chapter on "Macroecumemsm "
11
The Kingdom "of God" cannot just identify itself with an "ecclesiastic" kingdom In
other words, it is not primarily about baptizing, catechizing, administering the
sacraments, building the ecclesiastic institution All of this is relevant to the Reign of
God but it is not equivalent to it
12
Ubi Bonum, lbi Regnum
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 117

7 24-30) He does not see enemies or competitors all over but quite the oppo-
site "he who is not against us, is with us" (Luke 9 50)
For Jesus, salvation has a name the "Kingdom," and that salvation is
obtained by human beings - any human being - through the practice of love
and justice, which is completely universal and within anyone's reach Where
love and justice are practiced, there is the Kingdom of God, and therefore, the
God of the Kingdom
Jesus' universahst vision and pluralist spirit are obviously reflected in
"The Judgment of the Nations" (Matt 25 31ss) Every nation will be judged by
its love and practice of justice towards the oppressed, with whom he personally
identifies "you did it unto me" (Matt 25 40) Their religious identity will not
count, nor will they be questioned about fulfillment of any "religious" duty
The practice of love and justice will be sufficient to build the Kingdom accord-
ing to the Gospel Many will come from East and West to sit at the table in the
eschatological Kingdom (Matt 8 10-11,11 20-24), while some who today con-
sider themselves citizens of the Kingdom will discover that they did not belong
to it
This is one of Jesus' postures that also becomes a clear basis for a
"pluralism in principle" that his followers could adopt today

Theopractic
Jesus is one of those who believes that "we must practice God "13 Or, stated in
biblical language, that we must "know him," but conscious that in the Bible,
that "knowing" is always practical, praxical, ethical, about behavior and inter-
vention in history For Jesus, God is not an entelechy, a supreme reason, a the-
ory, or a doctrine or orthodoxy Continuing in the best tradition of the prophets
(Jer 22 16), Jesus proclaims that God desires the practice of justice and love
Apart from that practice, religion, reduced to oral confession, doctrinal ortho-
doxy or ritual liturgies,14 becomes useless "It is not those who say to me,
'Lord, Lord,' but the one who does the will of my Father" (Matt 7 21), "Hap-
pier still are those who hear the Word and practice it" (Luke 11 27-28) Relig-
ion is "theopraxis", putting God's will into practice According to Jesus, this
would be a criterion for measuring the truth of all religions
Jesus places the criterion of testing our discourse about God and to-
wards God in praxis which of the two brothers did the will of the father, the
one who said yes, but in fact did not go, or the one who said he would not go
and in effect went9 (Matt 21 28-32) The one who "went", says Jesus, not the
one who "said he would go " In other words, Jesus means that while we remain
in the realm of words and intentions, ultimate truth cannot be determined We

Gustavo Gutierrez, El Dws de la Vida, Lima 1981, 6

1
"This people approaches me only in words, honors me only with lip-service Its
religion is nothing more than human customs and memorized lessons," says Isaiah
(29 13) in the same "theopractic" vein
118 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

must await the moment of practice, and there what matters is what is done, not
what is said. The nature of Truth is essentially what is practiced, not merely
confessed, declared, considered mentally, believed or recognized.
A religion's discourse, the beauty of its theology, formulation of its
creed, or brilliance of its dogmas, do not matter as much as the history of its
praxis, its historical behavior, the good or bad it has done or failed to do. Re-
member the content of the first chapters of this course, as well the "hermeneu-
tic of suspicion" regarding the theory of religions. Jesus is categorical and
states: "The good tree cannot bear bad fruit...By their fruits you will know
them" (Matt. 7.15-20; Luke 6.43).

Anti-organized worship
This is another, more refined facet of the theopractic nature of Jesus: the prac-
tice of love and justice is even more important than worship services and "reli-
gious practices."
It has to do with an anti-organized worship feature already present in
the Old Testament tradition. The prophets have been, for the most part, not too
fond of priests and temples. Amos' conflict with the priest of the royal temple
of Bethel, Amaziah, is a perfect example. And Jesus is another perfect exam-
ple, in his conflict with the Temple.
The diatribes and arguments between Jesus and the Pharisees (ex-
tremely religious people) show that Jesus was not a man of the religious
institution, not someone obsessed with fulfillment of the prescriptions, laws,
rules, prohibitions and mandates. Jesus has a vision and a practice of religion
that breaks the molds of the established religion in his society.
Jesus is a religious man, profoundly religious, but not religiosist. He is
not a sacristy person, not even a "man of the Temple." He is of course not a
priest, nor does he spend time in the circles that revolve around the temple. He
is a lay person. And some of his parables are certainly anticlerical, leaving the
official religious personnel in a very bad light (the parable of the good Samari-
tan, for example, Luke 10.25-37).
The Samaritan woman asks him a "question about religion": "Where
should we worship, in Jerusalem or on Gerizim?" (John 4.4-24) In other words,
"which religion is the true one, that of the Jews or that of the Samaritans? Jesus
leaps beyond the question - as if to say that it is not framed properly - and con-
fesses to her that the Truth is not enclosed in either of the two religions, but
beyond both of them: "the time will come when the true worshipers will wor-
ship the Father in spirit and in truth" (Ibid). Jesus does not think about one re-
ligion or another but about a "religiosity" that goes beyond the conventions of
this or that religion. Today we know that he did not want to found a Church or
a new religion.
Could it be that Jesus is beyond all religions? Could it be that he was
inviting us not to a new religion but to overcome religion itself?
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 119

Thomas Sheehan maintains that the novelty of Jesus has to do with the aboli-
tion of all religions, so that we can rediscover our relationship with God within
the process of creation and life and in history Perhaps Jesus has been misun-
derstood 16 Perhaps two thousand years later we can discover that his message
was suprarehgious, which has yet to be understood or placed in practice It is
known - and accepted even by Christians - that Jesus is greater than Christian-
ity, that Jesus does not belong to the Church His words and critical attitude
towards religion, his strong intimations that point to a religion beyond religion,
might these not be a very appropriate message for the current religious pluralist
situation"?
The next point follows from this Jesus was

Not eccleswcentnc
Even at the risk of stating the obvious due to its "anachronism," I feel it is im-
portant to underscore this aspect, and not just take it for granted
Indeed, if we have said that Jesus was "reignocentnc", that the "Reign
of God" was for him the center of his life and the absolute truth, this means -
by implication - that he was not "ecclesiocentnc," because both labels are
logically incompatible But there is more not only was Jesus not ecclesiocen-
tnc, he was not "ecclesiastic" either He never intended to establish a Church,
and we could even say that, to some degree, his central message implied super-
seding what constitutes an institutional Church
The fact that Jesus was neither an ecclesiastic, a clergyman, nor some-
one in the religious institution, is clear and we need not expand on that He was
a lay person, and in his society's religious institution he held not only a mar-
ginal position but one that was marginalized and persecuted In this sense, Je-
sus, who was a profoundly religious person, did not get along very well at all
with religion as an institution 17

15
The First Coming How the Kingdom of God Became Christianity, Random House
1986
16
"Throughout the centuries, many millions of people have venerated the name of
Jesus, but very few have understood him, and even less have attempted to put into
practice what he wanted us to do His words have been twisted to the point of meaning
everything, something or nothing His name has been used and abused to justify
crimes, to frighten children and to inspire heroic insanity in men and women Jesus has
more often been honored and worshiped for what he does not signify than for what he
truly does signify The supreme irony is that some of the things that he most
strenuously opposed in his time have been those most preached and spread all over the
world in his name'A Nolan ^Quien es este hombre? Santander Sal Terrae 1981, p
13
7
C Bravo, Jesus hombre en conflicto, Sal Terrae, 1986
120 J O S E MARIA VIGIL

That Jesus did not want to found a Church 18 is a fact that has been held without
qualms for decades in exegesis and theology, but one that has difficulty pene-
trating the consciousness of average Christians. For many "normal" Christians,
in fact, Jesus is still the "founder" of the Church in every sense of the word,
and moreover, "came to" found the Church. This would be the founding that
God himself did through Jesus on earth to give shape to "the" (only) religion
that God desired for humanity. The historical reality unanimously accepted
today by exegetes, biblicists and theologians is, as we said, that Jesus did not
found the Church, did not found a new religion - Christianity - never intended
to leave Judaism, and his first disciples remained peaceably inside it for a long
time, as just one of the many currents within it. It was only later that the sepa-
ration occurred.
Another issue is that although "Jesus did not found the Church, the
Church is founded in Jesus." This "founded in Jesus" and attributing its estab-
lishment to him is a "normal" mechanism, well-known today. By this we mean
that attributing the origins of a concrete religious institution to God is a com-
mon practice in the world of religions and also within Christianity. But for al-
most twenty centuries, 19 the Church itself has been mistaken thinking that it
had to do with an historical-legal foundation that took place at some time dur-
ing Jesus' life, and of which Jesus was fully conscious and willing, and that, in
addition, Jesus was very clear about the characteristics his Church should have:
its organization, structure, principle ministries, sacraments...All of this would
have been established by Jesus and, therefore not only would they be the sole
will of the one God, but also unalterable and irreformable.20 And they would be
the only valid form that human relationship to God could possible take.
Attributing the establishment of the Church to Jesus himself, and con-
sidering it - erroneously - an historical-legal act, transformed Jesus into the
strongest guarantor of the Church's historical countenance for twenty centu-
ries: everything went back to him, everything had been desired by him, and
nothing could be reformed because it would mean offending him. Thus, in the
vision of Christians, Jesus has served, ironically, as the greatest support and

In fact there is only one text in the gospels which specifically mentions the
"Church." Matt. 16:18. Cf. R. Velasco, La Iglesia de Jesus, Proceso historico de la
conciencia eclesial, Estella: Verbo Divino, 1992,
p. 18. "Research today unanimously recognizes that the passage from Matthew is post-
paschal in origin and does not come from the historical Jesus. H. Haag, A Igreja
catolica ainda tern futuro?, Lisbon: Editorial Noticias, 2001, 9.
19
In the second half of the twentieth century we can still find theology manuals like J.
Salaverri's, De Ecclesia Christi, in Sacrae Theologiae Summa (Madrid: BAC, 1958) -
indeed a widely accepted and influential manual in its time - in which this entire
monolithic vision is presented without the slightest bit of doubt.
20
They would not be "by ecclesiastic right" but "by divine right;" the Church,
therefore, would not have the right to abolish, change or reform these "divine
ordinances."
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 121

guarantee for ecclesiocentrism. And this mistake is still invoked today with
regard to many elements whose irreformability is alleged harking back to a
supposed will of Jesus for them to continue.
It is known - the Catholic Church has become quite famous for it -
that Christianity has particular difficulty with interreligious dialogue, because
it cannot participate without first saying: "I have the whole Truth and am the
only one who has it, because Jesus, the Only Son, gave it to me, from God
himself, and I cannot change anything I think, because it is God's truth, re-
vealed to me by the very Son of God." Such a starting point makes any interre-
ligious dialogue impossible. But, in light of what we know today about Jesus
exegetically and theologically, we could seriously ask ourselves whether Jesus
would not disavow this appeal to him if he were to appear in person in the in-
terreligious dialogue.

Beyond "religion " ?

Without intending to give a full explanation of this aspect of Jesus, we should
at least call it to mind.
The recurring opinion that Jesus' message might mean superseding re-
ligion is never lacking in theology. As we said, Jesus does not get along with
the established religion. He confronts its institutions, rules, prohibitions, rites
and other mediations, and clearly conveys that he wishes to free human beings
from that type of relationship with God. He wants a religion where there is
worship "in spirit and in truth," without tying oneself to times or sacred spaces,
with an ethic of freedom: "the Sabbath was made for humankind, and not hu-
mankind for the Sabbath" (Mark 2.27-28) since "when Christ freed us, he
meant us to remain free" (Gal. 5.1) To him, the most important thing is life
itself: "I have come so that they may have life and life in abundance" (John
10.10).
But this "new concept" to which Jesus calls us, does it fit within a "re-
ligion"? To what was Jesus calling us? To a purification of religion, to a new
religion, or to superseding religion itself? Could we say that Jesus' mission was
also to free human beings from the weight of the ancient religions, beginning
with his own, which imposed "burdens that they could not bear" on people?
"Would it then be heresy to say that what Jesus wanted was to make people
aware that religion itself, especially in its legislative, cultural and ritual aspects,
is really an enslavement, while true faith, true spirituality, should be the great
liberation of all that oppresses consciousness? He wanted a different type of
human relationship with God..."21

Juan Arias, Jesus, ese gran desconocido, Madrid: Maeva 2001, 136.
122 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

"Jesus did not call us to a new religion, but to life," Dietrich Bonhoeffer would
say 2 2 Earlier we referred to Sheehan's belief along the same line All of the so-
called "theology of secularization" or "of seculanty" unfurled during the dec-
ades surrounding Vatican II greatly accented this "suprareligious" message of
Jesus We need to add the flip side of this message of Jesus, that of religion
itself, its intrinsic tendency to guard the relationship of human beings to God
rather than clarify it 2 4
We do not need to deliberate on the importance that these facets of Je-
sus' message can have for one of his disciples when s/he tries to dialogue pre-
cisely with other "religions" Can we think that today, in our current situation,
in mterreligious dialogue concretely, Jesus' invitation to supersede religion and
all religions, would be especially relevant 7 The always surprising message of
Jesus would place us in the situation reflected in that well-known adage "Just
when we were getting the answer, they changed the question " In other words,
when we began the adventure in mterreligious dialogue as a response to the
new challenges felt by religions, we discovered that in some sense religions
themselves must be superseded Stated another way the question no longer is,
"which is the true religion 7 " but "what is true religion 7 "
Let us conclude this "Jesuanic" section with one of the thoughts we
began with in this man Jesus, in this Galilean peasant who had not studied or
traveled abroad, who looked at humanly would not seem to have much to say
to enlighten us on the problems of a globalized world two thousand years later,
in him, those of us who call ourselves Christians, do find responses and
enlightenment on this reality of religious pluralism seen from a stance of plu-
ralism in principle 25 His postures are, indeed, very enlightening for us

Quoted by Juan Arias, Ibid, 135 J B Cobb, "Es el cnstianismo una religion7",
Concilium, 156 (1980) Cf also Rene Marie, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, testigo de Jesucnsto
entre sus hermanos, Bilbao Mensajero, 1968
23
Harvey Cox, The Secular City, New York Macmillan Co , 1965 Gustave Thils,
Chnstianisme sans religion'' And the unencompassable modern bibliography on the
distinction between « faith » and « religion », as well as the frequent title "Christianity
is not a religion "
24
"Every religion places itself in God's position, unconsciously identifying the cause
of God with its own, the law of God with its own laws, believing it worships God in
this way, when what it really does is confuse honoring God with its own desire for
power " Moingt, J , El Hombre que venia de Dios, II, Bilbao Desclee, 1995 p 188
The Second Vatican Council (Gaudium et Spes 19) admits that, sometimes, "Christians
have guarded more than revealed the true face of God and religion "
25
For Roger Haight, "the primary argument for the truth and authentic saving power of
the other religions comes from the witness of Jesus Christ," Jesus Symbol of God,
Maryknoll, NY Orbis 2000, p 412
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 123

10.1.3 New Testament aspects

We can continue now with the New Testament, minus the gospels. We will
only highlight some elements that seem more enlightening vis a vis religious
pluralism.

Openness to the religiously others: Acts 10.1-11.18

The New Testament does not explicitly tell us about the process of Christian-
ity's separation from Judaism. It does contain many vestiges of the time when
the separation had not yet occurred. That process occasioned a necessary re-
flection about the "religion" desired by God, especially since separation from
Judaism took place at the same time as the opening to the "Gentiles." The old
deuteronomist mentality that all religions and their divinities are nonsense and
negative reality, gave way to a consideration shaped more by the experience of
Christians converted from gentilism, whose own experience makes them aware
of their sincere search for God.
In this sense, the entire episode about the Roman centurion Cornelius
of Caesarea is revealing. The text, which attempts to justify the Christian open-
ing towards the "pagans," presents everything as a direct act and initiative of
the Spirit, who takes a decided protagonism. Peter and the Christian commu-
nity's only task is to "understand that God does not make distinctions, but ac-
cepts all who are faithful to him and act righteously, from whatever nation they
come" (Acts 10.34), in the first place, and then, that the Spirit of God has also
been poured out over the pagans (10.45; 11.17-18). Peter and Christianity went
from thinking they could not enter the house of a pagan - due to his impurity
according to the law - to recognizing that "God gave them the same gift that he
gave us" (11.17). It must be pointed out that this early conviction was not just a
random opinion, but rather, supposedly an element of divine revelation within
the framework of Judaism.
This episode registers theologically an evolution in the "theology of re-
ligions" of the first Christians. From an exclusivist position by which they con-
sidered the pagans "impure", they moved to a certain posture of pluralism, by
recognizing the work of God beyond and apart from what they had known up
till then. It is about flexibility, a capability for reflection and change, which can
be a model for us in the current situation of globalization, in which it is no
longer a matter of entering the house of another religion or not, but of sharing
along with all religions the sole, common inhabited house, the globalized soci-
ety, the long-awaited "oekumeneP
This element could be completed with the issue of circumcision. It is
stressed ever more frequently that the behavior of the first Christians on this
point was quite exemplary for us (Acts 15.1-35). They were capable of distin-
guishing between what was essential and their ritual mediations, which they
were able to desacralize and value accordingly, as simple and not absolute me-
diations, subject to variation and inculturation. "As Christians, it makes no dif-
124 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

ference whether you are circumcised or not, because what matters is a faith that
translates into love." (Gal. 5.6).
In the current state of interreligious dialogue, we should also discern what is
essential and what are simply mediations26 that "need not be imposed on the
pagans" (Acts 15.19).

Universality of ethical conscience: Romans 2.6-16

The letter to the Romans, in its attempt to express a vision of overarching total-
ity of the panorama on salvation, cannot help but involve the subject of the
"theology of religions" in some way. It affirms the universality of the natural
law or ethical conscience regardless of the boundaries that divide humanity by
religion into Jews and Greeks, because "God shows no partiality" (Rom. 2.11).
Whether they know the law or not, people will be judged by it, mindful that
those who are outside the religion of the Law may practice it "spontaneously,"
while, on the contrary, for those subject to it, "it is not listening to the Law but
keeping it that will make people holy in the sight of God" (Rom. 2.13).
Ultimately, Paul senses that the Law does not exclude those who do
not know it, and that there really is no one who does not know it because the
law is present naturally within each human being. It is not specifically about a
"religious pluralism" but at least about a universalist inclusivism. God's law
makes itself accessible to all men and women regardless of the boundaries
separating religions. "The entire creation has been groaning in one great act of
giving birth" (Rom. 8.22), the birthing of the plan of God in that universal in-
clusivist vision.

Openness to all values: Philip: 4:8

"Fill your minds with everything that is true, everything that is noble, every-
thing that is good and pure, ...and everything that can be thought virtuous and
worthy of praise."
It shows sensitivity, openness to all that is good and beautiful that life
may hold, without thinking that there can be nothing good or better than what
is ours outside our vital circle. In other words, without thinking that "extra nos,
nihil bonum" "beyond ourselves, there is nothing good."

The universal religion of love: 1 John

In their most lofty perspectives, the letters of the apostle John proclaim love as
the essence and ideal of Christian life. "Love comes from God and everyone
who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Anyone who fails to love can
never have known God, because God is love." (1 John 4.7-8) "Those who do
not practice justice, that is, whoever does not love his brother, is no child of
God." (1 John 3.11)

See the clear reflections of Paul in this regard in Romans 2: 25-29.

 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 125

This identification of love with "knowledge" of God is a principle present

throughout the entire letter "Knowing God and being of God," religion's
greatest maxims, depend on or become interchangeable with the practice of
love and justice We could say that John is immersed in a profundity greater
than Christianity as a religion seen from the outside All who love and practice
justice belong to the best religion, the religion of "knowing God and being of
God " This transcendent religion, which goes far beyond a simple verbal con-
fession or formal membership (of those who "say T love God' but hate their
brother" 1 John 4 20), is a religion ready to dialogue with all religions Which
- here, too - does not mean that John is in an explicit pluralist position, but
certainly is at least in an inclusivist universalism
It is not about an enlightened attitude, such as that of one who believes
to have a special revelation, a source of Truth that others do not have, on the
contrary, it is a realistic and humble attitude, which shares the darkness with
all, illuminated by the only realistic floodlight, that of love "No one has ever
seen God, if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in
us "(1 John 4 12)

The "true religion" James 1 27

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this to care for
orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the
world "
Jose Maria Diez Alegrfa comments "This passage is extremely ex-
pressive because
the word 'religion' in the original Greek is threskeia, the word ex-
pressly used to indicate the religiosity of a worship service, as well as the ex-
treme, exclusively cultic religiosity Therefore, in James' text, it is clear that
the ontological-worship religiosity is rejected and in its place, ethical-prophetic
religiosity is forcefully affirmed " 27
Diez Alegrfa differentiates between two types of religion the "onto-
logical-worship" ones, which correspond to a circular idea of time, are pessi-
mistic, seek salvation removed from history by identifying with God through
worship, and "ethical-prophetic" religion which would correspond to the bibli-
cal religion of ancient Israel and to the religion of Jesus and the first Christians,
which has a linear idea of historical time, is open, optimistic, and seeks salva-
tion by achieving justice and love in history28
If Christian religion, according to James, is an ethical-prophetic relig-
ion, it means that it is a sotenocentic religion, placing the achievement of sal-
vation and liberation of human beings in the center, realized here and now, in

jFo creo en la esperanza' Bilbao Desclee, 1975, 61-62

28
"These two positions, 'ontological-religious' and 'ethical prophetic,' have been
clearly characterized in the work by Jose Maria Diez Alegrfa, says Clodovis Boff,
Teologia de lo politico Salamanca Sfgueme, 1980, 198
126 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

history. For interreligious dialogue, this positioning of the Christian faith is

very important.

Ephesians and Colossians

The pan-cosmic and pan historical visions of redemption carried out by Christ,
according to the letters to the Ephesians and Colossians, should also be pointed
out. They are universal visions, but belonging to an inclusivist universalism, if
not an exclusivist one.

To conclude
In this lesson we have looked at the Bible and the person of Jesus with an in-
terest in finding words and gestures that shed light on the issue of religious plu-
ralism, and the pluralist position we have adopted in constructing this theology.
We ratify the idea that the Bible (especially the Old Testament) does not come
close to our concerns and proposals on pluralism and that it cannot tell us much
about it, although it is necessary to listen to all of its possible teachings. We
also ratify the certainty that Jesus, in his person and message, sheds light on a
possible pluralist position.

10.2 Questions for group consideration

How do I react to knowing that ancient religious traditions that take

polytheism for granted appear in the Bible?
Share with the group everything you know about the difference be-
tween the "historical Jesus" and "Christ of the faith."
Do we realize that throughout his entire life, Jesus was not part of the
specific problem that we raise regarding religious pluralism? Why was
that? And why is it possible nevertheless for him to be a light that can
help us frame and resolve it properly?
Comment on each one of the features of the person of Jesus discussed
in this lesson, commenting on (expanding or even correcting) the ap-
plications or references that can be made to the theology of religions or
of religious pluralism.
Go back to either the third or fourth lesson (on historical issues) and
review the situations described there, judging them by the traits of the
person of Jesus highlighted in this lesson. What would Jesus have done
in those historical situations, according to those traits?
"The paradigm of pluralism (the third possible model in the theology
of religions) is theocentric and reignocentric, as was Jesus." Comment.
"Human beings ultimately obtain salvation through the practice of love
and justice." What role does religion therefore play in the salvation of
human beings? Discuss.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 127

What was covered in this lesson is certainly not everything that can be
found in the Bible regarding religious pluralism. Share other texts,
elements, biblical passages, that you feel can also contribute something
to the topic, in positive as well as negative senses.
Make a final assessment from the perspective of the theology of relig-
ions. Is the Bible exclusivist, inclusivist or pluralist? Show the relevant
shades of difference.
Chapter 11

Ecclesiological Aspects of Religious Pluralism

The entity 'Church' plays a major role in all aspects of religious pluralism. The
conception a religious body holds of itself as 'Church' or community is deci-
sive in its relationship to others. Because if this religion or Church regards it-
self as the exclusive occupant of the whole domain of truth, this leaves little
margin for any dialogue that is not to become a dialogue of the deaf. So we
need to tackle the theme of "Church" or - amounting to the same thing - the
ecclesiological aspects of religious pluralism.

11.1 Discussing the topic

11.1.1 Classical preconceptions of the Church

I alluded in the preceding lesson to the well-known fact that Jesus never
claimed to be founding a Church. We now know that most of what we were
taught in our children's catechism, that 'Jesus founded the Church', or that 'he
came to found the Church, and this was why he was sent on earth', is a form of
words that needs qualifying, since it represents a lack of balance in traditional
theology that has persisted down the centuries.
It is only in the modern era, over the last two centuries, that we have
recaptured the historical reality of Jesus, the 'historical Jesus'. We now know
more about the actual history of Jesus than at any stage during the two millen-
nia that have gone by since he walked among us. We now know that many
statements that were taken literally, as though they were 'historical' statements,
as direct and literal descriptions of what happened, are not really such but
rather theological propositions.
Something like this happened with the question of the founding of the
Church, or of the transition from Jesus to the Church. It has traditionally been
stated that Jesus would have founded the Church through a formal, juridical,
quite specific act. . . and that through his instructions to the disciples he would
have equipped it even with structures, ministries, sacraments. . . . The assem-
blage of elements that make up the Church would be the religion that God him-
self willed for the human race, the religious instrument God wished to establish
on earth for it to spread, fill the planet and save the whole human race. In this
way, all the structures, dimensions, and elements that shape the Church would
be something 'willed by God', 'of divine law', given and revealed to the world
by the very Son of God, without us being able to do other than accept this
without question and preserve it with the utmost fidelity. This is how the
Church has viewed it during almost two millennia. This is what we were
taught. This is what many Christians - and most of the rulers of the Church -
130 J O S E M A R I A VIGIL

still believe today This is the official teaching regarded by many as unques-
tionable
Logically then, with this understanding of the Church in our heads and
beliefs, religious dialogue is pretty problematic on principle, and it is obvious
what value will be placed on religious pluralism from this point of view - a
value that will skirt the limits of exclusivism, or, at most, of mclusivism
But suppose all we were told did not square with the reality 9
We are going to embark on a summary of what we now know of re-
newed ecclesiology, in order to discover that we can, in effect, tackle the sub-
ject of religious pluralism from better standpoints than those that these concep-
tual ecclesiological checks have made standard up till now

11.1.2 What Jesus intended

If Jesus did not found the Church, what did he want to found 9 Did he actually
intend to found anything 9 Or, 'what were his actual intentions' 91
I am not going to embark here on a detailed presentation of Boff's
fruitful chapter on Chnstology and ecclesiology, which many readers probably
know already I am simply going to summarize it
The most certain historical fact in Jesus' life is that his preaching re-
volved around the 'Kingdom of God' 2 This was the subject of his preaching,
his obsession, his dream, the passion that motivated him, the cause for which
he lived and struggled, what he gave 'absolute value' to in his life The figure
Jesus cut was not that of a founder of a religion but that of an impassioned
prophet of the Kingdom of God, the ultimate cause for which he lived and
died This means it is important to examine what this Kingdom of God he
preached was And in order to do so, we need to clarify what it was not
• For Jesus, the most important thing, the 'ultimate', 3 was not himself
Jesus did not preach himself He did not regard himself as the most
important thing He saw himself not as absolute but as relational at the
service of the Kingdom of God
• For Jesus, the ultimate was not simply God either Jesus does not speak
of God directly and on his own, God, for Jesus, is always the 'God of

1
This is the title of ch 3, quoted above, of the book by Leonardo Boff, Jesus Christ
Liberator, A Critical Theology for our Times Maryknoll, N Y Orbis Books, 1999
(and other editions in many languages, page refs here to Spanish trans , Jesucnsto el
hberador, Sal Terrae, 1980)
2
'In the Gospels the Kingdom of God appears 122 times, of which 90 on Jesus' lips'
Cf Boff, ibid, p 66
3
'The ultimate' as used by Jon Sobnno, can also be called 'the first', the main
objective It can also be explained in the scholastic tag primus in intentwne, ultimus in
executwne, meaning that what we seek to come to in the end is the first thing we seek
in the order of intention, our top priority
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 131

the Kingdom', the God who has a will, a plan, a closeness, a saving fa-
therhood. . . . Jesus does not see God as an 'in himself.
• The Kingdom of God, for Jesus, was not a new Church, which he
never thought of. It is simply not permissible to understand what Jesus
said of the Kingdom as being said of the Church. The parables that re-
fer to the Kingdom of God refer to the Kingdom of God, not to the
Church. The Church is not the Kingdom.
• The Kingdom of God is not 'grace', the 'life of the soul'. . . . The
Kingdom of God as the 'reign of God in souls through grace', the
grace brought by the expiatory death of Jesus, deposited in the Church
and distributed through the sacraments . . . is simply not something that
could have entered Jesus' mind at any point in his life.
• The Kingdom of God that Jesus spoke of is not heaven - however
much Matthew's Gospel replaces 'Kingdom of God' with 'Kingdom of
the heavens', so as to address Christians of Jewish origin, who tradi-
tionally avoided the word 'God' and replaced it with the circumlocu-
tion 'the heavens'. Jesus was not a preacher who pursued the 'salvation
of souls' so as to save them from Hell and enable them to reach the
'kingdom of heaven'.

11.1.3 The most important thing for Jesus

What, then, was the most important thing for Jesus, what he called the King-
dom of God?
Jesus never explains this systematically: among other things, this is
because the Kingdom of God is not a concept he created but one that was 'in
the air', deriving from the time of the prophets. All his contemporaries spoke
of the Kingdom of God; what Jesus did was to refine the concept and distin-
guish his understanding of it from that of the Pharisees, the Zealots, and the
Essenes, among others.
Jesus began by listening to his people and connecting with their great
hopes:4 'the people were filled with expectation' (Luke 3.15). They were hop-
ing for a divine intervention that would transform their situation. The Kingdom
of God was to be a radical transfiguration and transformation of their situation,
the situation of the time, that would finally be introduced through the agency of
God's will. It would be 'not another world, but this same world, though totally
other', totally renewed, finally subjected to God's design and therefore healed,
purified, and utterly changed. The Kingdom of God cannot be reduced to any
specific aspect: it is the totality of this world that is affected and transformed.
In any case, the Kingdom of God fits in with the expectation of the
end of the world. Jesus' message and preaching were deeply eschatological: in

4
Boff, ibid., pp. 7Iff.
132 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

expectation of the final fulfilment of a divine promise imminently due in his-

tory 5
He was, therefore, very far from thinking of developing a long-term
institutional initiative, something with an organized, juridical framework, de-
signed to last for ever and ever and to be extended to the whole human race,
displacing and replacing existing religions What Jesus encouraged through
his life and preaching was, in fact, a 'movement', the 'Jesus movement', the
narrow and broad circles of his disciples, with no organization, with no differ-
entiation either from Judaism, or at most as another 'current' among the many
that made up the many-faceted conglomerate that was the Judaism of the pe-
riod
What Jesus intended and brought into being was a movement inspired
by a vital message, by a hope placed in the Kingdom of God as a Utopia that
would set in train mechanisms leading to its acceptance, preparation, and con-
struction and bring about a committed struggle against the 'anti-kingdom' fac-
tors opposed to the Kingdom of God A passion, then, a hope, a meaning to
life, a summons to life and for life A religion"? Well, yes and no Yes, un-
doubtedly, in the sense of a 'deep religion', insofar as it dealt with an ultimate
meaning for human life, setting it in relation to the absolute basis of being that
we call God And no, not a 'sociological religion' - at least, not a specific es-
tablished Church, planned down to its last ritual and juridical details, conceived
as the sole actual institutional form in which 'deep religion' could take shape
We saw in the previous lesson that Jesus is not the founder of a new
religion, but that he simply issues a call to life (Bonhoeffer) and to the super-
seding of formahstic and extenonstic religion (Sheehan) Was Jesus calling
people to 'necessary' belonging to a Church7 Jesus' actual preaching abounds
in examples of how salvation spills completely over the human boundaries of
any religious institution In any case, there is no need to ask theological-
fictitious questions, since the 'Church' as the outer shape taken by an organiza-
tion and a belonging is the outcome of human beings' social nature And it was
there from the beginning Jesus did not found the Church, but the Church is
founded on Jesus At first it was just the 'Jesus movement', then it proceeded
to change and evolve along undoubtedly diverse lines 6 Still, during the first
three centuries, the Roman Empire subjected the Church to frequent purifica-
tion through persecution 7 The Jesus movement, taking shape as Church in dif-
fering forms, kept itself alive as a marginalized religion in the empire, sus-

On several occasions, Jesus gives the impression that he is waiting for an imminent
intervention by God And this imminence was also to become an 'error of perspective'
in the first generation of Christians, in relation to the second coming of Jesus
6
Jurgen Roloff, 'La diversidad de imagenes de Iglesia en el cnstiamsmo pnmitivo',
Seleccwnes de Teologia 164 (Dec 2002), 244-50
Since the time of Augustine, ten persecutions have traditionally been cited - like the
ten plagues of Egypt - but the number is symbolic and historically arbitrary
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 133

tained solely by its own spiritual strengths. The blood of the martyrs was the
seed that produced new Christians.
In the fourth century, however, major changes took place, and we
need to examine these in more detail.

11.1.4 The fourth-century Copernican revolution

In 311 Galerius granted toleration to Christianity.
In 313, in the so-called Edict of Milan, Constantine decreed total free-
dom of worship, with reparation for the wrongs suffered by Christians.
In 324 the same emperor showed his wish that all should become
Christian, although those who did not were not to be harmed. This, then, pro-
duced a situation of preference.
In 380 the Theodosius the Great, in the Edict of Thessalonika, decreed
that in the eastern part of the empire 'all the nations of the empire [should] em-
brace the faith that the Roman Church has received from St Peter'.
In 392 non-Christian cults were legally declared lese majeste. Christi-
anity had become the one and only religion of the empire, both in the east and
the west.
The space of eighty years, then, from 311 to 392, marked a radical his-
torical shift. Christianity moved from being a marginal and often persecuted
religion to become first a tolerated religion, then the preferred one, then the
official one, and finally the only tolerated one. It moved out of the catacombs
and into the imperial palace. And the worst of it was that it became a religion
that legitimized persecution of other religions as well as censure and persecu-
tion within its own ranks.
Something very serious happened here. Christianity achieved religious
freedom, which was important and only right, not to say very useful for its ex-
pansion. But what was really serious was that Christianity allowed itself to be-
come the official religion of the empire, meaning that it accepted the position
of official religion within an empire that already had a public official religion
that had from time immemorial given imperial society its character. Did Chris-
tianity realize what this acceptance implied? Did it appreciate the extent to
which that pagan, imperial, unequal and unjust, slave-based,8 polytheistic soci-
ety, with its emperors frequently made into gods . . . formed an indissoluble
unity with a 'state religion' that it was in the act of replacing? Had Christianity
any idea of the vast extent of social, cultural, religious, and even politico-
economic restructuring that would have be carried out in such a society if it
were ever to be considered truly 'Christian' and itself to be seen as its official
religion? If the Christian religion were finally to take this place, would it be the
one to transform imperial Roman society, or would the latter end by transform-
ing the Christian religion? Is it possible to imagine Jesus allowing himself to be

Out of Rome's one million inhabitants, 900,000 were slaves. Alex Zanotelli, in Adista
(13 May 2002), 5.
134 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

enthroned as king in such an unjust society, without first demanding that this
society should have ceased to be unjust, stopped being an empire, and estab-
lished love as society's law and gospel values as social norms 7
In the event, Christianity joyfully took on the role of official Roman
public religion The temples were emptied of the statues of their idols and re-
decorated with crucifixes and 'Pantocrators' Protection of the emperor, which
had been sought from the divinity, was now to be the task of the Christian God,
as was defence against the empire's enemies Constantine came to regard the
Christian God as his protector god in his wars and battles To this day, tourists
in Rome can see Christ the King seated on the central throne in the Pantheon
once occupied by Jupiter Seeing this, one has to ask oneself honestly Who has
converted whom 7 Did Jesus convert Jupiter, or was Jesus converted into Jupi-
ter 7 Can this Chnst the King, seated on his imperial throne, really be Jesus of
Nazareth, or is he basically thundering Jupiter simply disguised as Christ 7 Can
Christ really take Jupiter's place 7 Which converted which 7 Was the Roman
Empire converted to Christianity, or was it Christianity that adapted itself and
was converted to the empire 79
It is true that in this whole process it was not the Church that took the
initiative but the imperial authorities 10 The fact that Christianity became the
religion of the State,11 thereby sacrahzing the existing order, did not come
about because the rulers of the empire or the majority of its subjects had a per-
sonal faith in Jesus but, above all, because the decision-making circles rightly
intuited that it could be the most effective institution for maintaining political
cohesion and unity 12 The Christian message as such mattered little The real
aim was for it to play the part assigned to it, even at the cost of the autonomy
of the Church or of the Christian message itself 13 We do not even know
whether Constantine - though venerated as a saint in the Eastern Church - was
a convinced Christian In fact there were periods in his life when rivers of
blood, usually that of his relatives, flowed around him, and he was baptized
only the day before he died, by an Anan bishop It was probably his political

9
'Have Plato's ideas been Christianized, or has it rather been Christianity that has been
Platomzed7' Raymund Panikkar, // dialogo intrarehgioso, Assisi Citadella, 2001, p
142
J L Segundo, El Dogma que libera Fe, revelacwn y magisteno dogmdtico,
Santander Sal Terrae, 1989, pp 222 5
11
What in modern parlance has been termed 'National Catholicism'
12
The means adopted by the empire in this respect 'went beyond the framework of the
emperor's personal convictions They cannot be explained except by the wish to make
the Church an official body, to associate it with the life and workings of the State and
to strengthen the latter through the influence of the ecclesiastical hierarchy over the
faithful Christianity began to be a "State religion'" Crouzet, Aymard, and Auboyer,
Histoire generate des civilizations, vol II, Pans PUF, 1956, pp 499-500
13
Cf A Calvo and A Ruiz, Para leer una ecleswlogia elemental, Estella Verbo
Divino, 1986, p 39, whom I follow closely in this regard
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 135

flair rather than a heavenly apparition - as the legend claims - that made him
see that in hoc signo vinces, 'in this sign [of the cross] you will conquer', both
at the battle of the Milvan Bridge14 and in his struggles to keep the tottering
Roman Empire on its feet.
Soon after granting freedom of worship, the emperor took the initiative
in summoning the bishops to a 'council' to unify doctrine. He was the one who
called the council, who sent the invitations, who paid the costs. The bishops
were taken by imperial transport, in luxury coaches belonging to the State.
They began to be state functionaries. The council took place in one of Constan-
tine's summer palaces. The emperor invited the bishop to a regal banquet. It is
quite hard to keep one's peace of mind reading the account of this imperial
banquet held at the end of the Council of Nicaea, which goes like this:

Some detachments of the guard and the army surrounded the entrance
to the palace with unsheathed swords, and passing fearlessly through
them, the men of God [bishops] reached the emperor's private apart-
ments, where some of his companions were at table, while other re-
clined on couches placed at either side of the room. Anyone would
have thought that they were looking at a painting of the Kingdom of
Christ, of a dream come true.15

The author of this account is Eusebius of Caesarea, the well-known fourth-

century church historian, who was a bishop. John Dominic Crossan comments:
'The banquet and the Kingdom are again associated here, but the guests are
now the bishops, all male, who eat reclining on couches in the company of the
emperor himself and expect to be waited on by others.' Eusebius - whose his-
tory and viewpoint reflect the Church of his time - the Kingdom of God
brought about in the banquet for the bishops served by the emperor. Would
Jesus have recognized such a scene as the Kingdom he preached?
The banquet is a concentrated symbol of a general process of
'assimilation to the empire' that was taking place throughout the Church,
beginning with the bishops. This was the start of what has been called the
'Pharaonization of ministry',16 which came to be a 'power' that took on the
style, the concept, the titles, and even the regal Pharaonic clothing of the rulers
of the empire: their staff, mitre, ring, pallium, stole, title of 'pontifex' . . . all
originated in this process.
Crossan adds: 'Perhaps Christianity is an inevitable and absolutely
necessary betrayal of the figure of Jesus, since, if such were not the case, all his
followers would have died on the hillsides of Lower Galilee. But, was it neces-

'Against Maxentius', written in 312.

Eusebius, Vita Constantini, 3, 14.
R. Velasco, La Iglesia de Jesus, Estella: Verbo Divino, p. 128.
136 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

sary for this betrayal to come about in such a short time''' In reality, we know
that the Utopian message of Jesus' gospel is destined to collide with the selfish
and unjust dynamic of dictatorial, unjust, and oppressive regimes 18 Its place is
always in opposition to the regime, in defence of the little ones, in solidarity
with the excluded, in the option for the poor, making common cause with mar-
ginalized visionaries This being the case, how is it possible for a Church be-
lieving itself to be founded by Jesus to sit at table with the emperor and see that
banquet as the living image of the Kingdom of God1?1
The Constantiman revolution of the fourth century was only the begin-
ning The fall of the Roman Empire in 476, the power vacuum to which this
gave way, the Barbarian invasions, their subsequent mass conversions, the
building of a new social order on the ruins of the empire faced Christianity
with previously unknown tasks and opportunities The Church was the only
social power that could oversee the building of a new society
The process of the gestation and growth of 'Christendom' reached its
apogee with the 'Gregorian reform' carried out in the eleventh century by Pope
Gregory VIII Beginning with him, the popes considered themselves to be in-
vested with plenary temporal and spiritual powers and regarded themselves as
above emperor, kings, and princes This elevation gave them the right both to
appoint and to depose those who held political power This was the struggle for
hegemony between religious and political powers
In its first stage, temporal power was subordinate to spiritual power
The clearest theological and juridical expression of this position appears in
Gregory VIFs Dictatus papae 19 This pontifical theocracy increased under his
successors, and popes ceased calling themselves Vicar and Successor of Peter
and came to call themselves Vicar of Christ and Head of the Church (whereas
the Church Fathers had reserved the first title to the Holy Spirit or the poor,
and the second to Christ) Finally, although the temporal power of the Church
was gradually dismantled through the emancipation of the European States,
including Italy itself, the vision, approach, and theology of 'Christendom' were
to remain in force right down to the second half of the twentieth century Nei-
ther the Protestant Reformation nor the Councils of Trent and Vatican I proved
capable of bringing in a replacement Only Vatican II, just over forty years

17
Quoted in J Arias, Jesus, ese gran desconocido, Madrid Maeva, 2001, pp 132 3
18
Constantine's regime did not exactly shine in democratic spirit or social justice he
imposed an absolute monarchy and markedly increased the tax burden on the poor
(Velasco, op cit, pp 136 7), while slaves saw their social status go unchanged
19
Where it is said 'Only the Bishop of Rome is to be called universal Only he has
the right to use the imperial insignia Only he presents all princes with his foot for them
to kiss He has the right to depose the emperor, and his verdict cannot be appealed He
cannot be judged by anyone All the most important matters have to be argued before
the Holy See '
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 137

ago, succeeded, after almost sixteen centuries, in 'opening the door' (no more)
to a successor to the 'Christendom' mentality

11.1.5 A theological audit of the Constantinian revolution

The above historical survey is sufficient for present purposes Let us now move
to a simple audit of what this 'Constantinian' transformation of the Church
meant in theological terms
• The messenger displaced the message20 Jesus, who never preached
himself, came to be the central object of his Church's preaching What
Jesus preached was shifted to the background, to be replaced with
preaching of the person of Jesus The Kingdom of God, utopic, became
a 'topic' as part of Jesus Jesus was seen as the full realization of the
Kingdom of God 21 The focus of the Church shifted from the Kingdom
to Christ Pantocrator
• The messiah was 'de-messianized' 'After the resurrection Christ,
meaning Messiah, was turned into the surname of Jesus of Nazareth
This is used in manifesto form in the kerygma "God has made him
both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified" (Acts 2 36),
and it appears in every layer of the New Testament This name became
something so defining of Jesus that it was used to designate those who
believed in him as well, so that " the disciples were called
Christians" (Acts 11 26) They were no doubt important reasons for
this, but the actual outcome was the paradox that we might, paradoxi-
cally, call the de-messiamzation of Christ, that is, the de-
messianization of the Messiah '22
• In more specific terms the hope of historical salvation was replaced by
a hope of only transcendent - and furthermore individual and spiritual
- salvation Christianity ceased to present itself as a hope for the op-
pressed peoples, as 'good news for the poor', as a message of libera-
tion, and became simply a 'purely religious' message, of morality, of
forgiveness of sins, inner grace, salvation after death, and so on - spiri-
tual values so high that they made up for the sacrifice of goods in this

'Bultmann's judgment that Jesus preached the Kingdom while the Church preaches
Christ is well known And it is absolutely correct Jesus, bearer of the message, has
now become part of the message in its essential content from proclaimer he has been
changed into proclaimed'' E de la Serna, 'Teresa de Lisieux y la teologia de la
hberacion', Proyecto CSE 24 (Aug 1996), 36
21
Ongen was to say that Christ is autobasileia, 'himself the Kingdom of God' In Mt
Horn, 14,7,PG 13, 1198
Jon Sobnno, 'Messiahs and Messiamsms Reflections from El Salvador', Concilium
1993/1, 114 24 Also at servicioskomonia org/relat/069 htm
 138 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

world 2 3 The Kingdom of God, insofar as it represented the actual con-

tent of Jesus' preaching, was completely eclipsed in the Church for a
very long time, even though it constantly reappeared in reforming and
subversive movements, which were continually repressed and stigma-
tized by the ecclesiastical institution as heterodox or heretical
In this way, the Kingdom of God lost its 'historical-eschatalogwal
character'24, that is, it ceased to be understood as the 'utopia' Jesus
had preached, was no longer seen as God's plan for transforming the
actual historical reality and bringing it into the order of God's w i l l . .
and began to be brought down to a more 'topical' vision (more in an
actual place), which found its most plausible expression in its identifi-
cation with the Church the Kingdom of God is the Church The
Kingdom of God is embodied in the Church, which is its plenipotenti-
ary representative, the 'Kingdom of God on earth', 26 the 'City of God',
a Noah's ark for the salvation of humankind All this was to lead fi-
nally to the enthronement of the doctrine that 'outside the Church there
is no salvation'
This loss of consciousness of the eschatological nature of Jesus' mes-
sage is something that was to last till the end of the nineteenth century
or even early twentieth m the field of academic theology,27 and in the
field of ecclesial practice (and pastoral theology) it clung on till the
appearance of the so-called base ecclesial communities and liberation
theology (on various continents), or Christian movements inspired by
what were known as contextual theologies

23
Remember, for example, how preachers told slaves that their loss of liberty was well
worth while, since it gained them eternal life, which they would not have won had they
remained free in Africa (see ch 4, above)
24
P Muller-Goldkule, 'Post-Biblical Developments in Eschatological Thought',
Concilium 41 (Vol 1, no 5, Jan 1969), 13 21
25
J Sobnno, Christ the Liberator A View from the Victims, Maryknoll, N Y, Orbis,
2001, p 237 'The Church came to regard itself as the ultimate, not merely without
duly stressing its differentiation from the Kingdom of God, but taking its place with a
hubris inconceivable as coming from Jesus of Nazareth, conceiving itself in principle
on the basis of power It could even come to be anti-Kingdom and to lack a reality -
the Kingdom - that could judge it'
26
The growing identification of the Church - or of the Christian empire' - with the
Kingdom of God is a characteristic of this period See Velasco, La Iglesia de Jesus, p
125
27
'This ecclesiological discovery, which is obvious today and can be read in any
modern manual of ecclesiology, coincided roughly with the change of century [19th to
20th], when it was found that Jesus' message was an eschatological message' Sobnno,
Resurreccwn de la verdadera Iglesia Los pobres, lugar teologico de la eclesiologia
Santander Sal Terrae, 1984, p 217 See also his Jesus the Liberator Tunbndge Wells
Burns & Oates and Maryknoll, N Y, Orbis Books, 1991, pp 106ff
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 139

Preference for the poor gave way to alliance with the ruling classes,
with actual centres of political power. After the Constantinian turn-
around, being Christian produced not persecution but praise; it was no
longer a risk but an advantage. The Christian faith was now something
well regarded in society, something supported by the great and the
powerful. The rich decided they were Christian and wanted to have the
Church on their side. The overt tension between the gospel and riches,
power, and the wealthy was toned down and swept aside. The bishops
themselves became great lords, heaped with riches by the civil authori-
ties, distanced from the poor, unable to share or sympathize with their
subversive concerns. The option became one for the powerful, even if
with the good intention of encouraging the rich to be charitable to the
poor. . . .
The alliance with political power led the Church to make use of it, and
it came to help itself through violence, to impose itself, to impose the
Faith on society, to exclude dissidents, to extirpate heresies. . . .
Priscillian, bishop of Avila, was the first heretic to be condemned to
death and beheaded, along with six others, in 385. Constantine ordered
the destruction of the 'impious writings' of Porphyrius, 'enemy of the
true religion', providing perhaps the first example of religious censure
by the civil power within the Christian sphere. The Crusades were to
mark the climax of religious war waged by Christendom. And the In-
quisition became the most vibrant expression of this use of violence by
Christianity.
Christianity, which was originally a 'movement', inheriting the 'Jesus
movement', without temples, without rites, without laws, without sa-
cred authorities ('hier-archy'), without 'priests', without clergy, with-
out classes within itself . . . was transformed sociologically into a 're-
ligion', like the Roman religion whose place it took and whose func-
tion as 'state religion' it took over.28 It adopted many of its rtes, its
celebrations, its style, its functions, its 'ministries'. 29 It took on the sac-
ralizing role that religion as an element of social cohesion held in pa-
gan societies, specifically in Roman society; this led it to draw back

28
There is no need to labour the obvious point that in this way Christianity distanced
itself completely from the type of religion it was and had to be, an 'ethical-prophetic'
religion, and became more and more assimilated to the Roman and Greek model of
religion, generally pagan, 'ontological-cultic'. Cf. the 'two types of religion' proposed
by J. M. Dfez Alegria, cited in the previous lesson.
'The use of the word "pontifex", rejected by the early Church - as were other terms
deriving from the sacred and cultic spheres, such as "priest", "liturgy", and the like -
shows just how far the conversion of Christianity into an imperial "religion" must have
influenced its complete identification as one more religion.' J. L. Segundo, El dogma
que libera, p. 225.
140 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

from all that Jesus represented in 'moving beyond religions' It

adopted the sociological characteristics of the classical religions, char-
acteristics forbidden it by Jesus' message sacred spaces and times,
temples, a clergy set apart as a caste or social class, official involve-
ment in politics, development of its bishops and clergy into a steeply
hierarchical civil bureaucracy, marginahzation and reduction to passiv-
ity of its lay people
A profound Hellenizatwn of Christianity came about,30 which was to
usher in a phase of a Christianity deeply inculturated in Greco-Roman
culture that was to last more then a millennium and a half This process
was carried out in the first four centuries of this era, especially in the
fourth,31 and is still in operation in our day
The Church turned into the heir to the Roman Empire In practice it
had, since the time of Constantine, been used by the political power to
perform a service to the empire as a whole This led the Church to em-
brace the empire's organizational structures, institutional practices, and
legal system 32 When the empire collapsed, the Church found itself
having to act as the authority responsible for essential supplies, which
led it eventually to occupy the heights of social and political power in
the medieval society of 'Christendom' This marriage with power was
to weigh down the Church for centuries Society's efforts to emanci-
pate itself from ecclesiastical tutelage were to be a continual struggle, 33
lasting until civil authorities succeeded in wresting their independence
from the Church, against the continued opposition of the Church 34 In
effect, the way the Church fully identified itself with the Roman Em-

30
I shall discuss this at greater length in lessons 12 and 14 here Ijust mention it
31
'Of the first four centuries of the Christian era, the fourth was perhaps the most
decisive [ ] since Christian thought became fixed in a form that has remained
definitive till our time ' Ramon Teja, Emperadores obispos monjes y mujeres
Protagonistas del cnstwnismo antiguo, Madrid Trotta, 1999, p 231
32
Purely logically, there is no denying that the new function [of official religion, State
religion] it had to carry out required it to reformulate its own local gatherings,
structures, and authorities Furthermore, what the Christian emperor required of it did
not square with any other type of regime not, to some degree, copied, for obvious
pragmatic reasons, from the centralizing model of the empire See Segundo, op cit, p
226
33
This comprises all the theories and formulations of the relationships between the
'temporal' power of the princes and the 'spiritual' power of the Church theocracy,
hierocracy Caesaro papism, political Augustinianism, the theory of the two swords, of
the moon and the sun, etc A second wave would come with the Enlightenment
secularism, laicism
34
For centuries the Church confused the end of Christendom with that of Christianity,
while in fact the end of Christendom provided the great opportunity to purify itself of
its imperial contamination
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 141

pire, a state of affairs lasting down the centuries, means that the
Church can realistically be called the heir to that empire In one sense
the Church was founded on Jesus, but in another its foundations rests
to a very large extent on the Roman Empire Far from having moved
beyond this foundation, it is only at the present time that we can more
clearly see how far so many elements that we believed to be 'Jesus'
heritage' are still more the heritage of the Roman Empire and a be-
trayal of the gospel - in teaching, m worship,35 in law, m organization,
in ministries, in liturgy, and so forth Roman imperial and imperialist
traits are still an active - and very active - component of ecclesiastical
Christianity, above all Catholic Christianity, and purifying and extir-
pating this is a task that needs doing, both for its purity and fidelity to
the gospel and in order to achieve a minimal capacity for mter-
rehgious dialogue

The most important aspect of all the above is that we are not dealing with a
remote past in the history of the Church All this belongs to a very recent past,
since, as I have said, it lasted till yesterday, to the twentieth century, till around
forty years ago,36 in the lifetime of the present generation,37 it is, then still with
us in this sense This is not all in effect it cannot be said to have been super-
seded, not even with Vatican II It is true that the council abandoned the main
theological tenets of the era of Christendom, and that it opened the door to re-
flection set free from the conditioning of that era, the elements of which I have
just listed But this does not mean that the concihar decrees on their own, plus
a brief period of 'reception' of Vatican II in the Church,38 have succeeded in
closing the abyss opened between the Church of Christendom and the historical
Jesus There are two aspects to this first, that the actual configuration that the
Christendom situation left in the Church (ministries, organization, structures,

'After the fall of the empire, the pope inherited the tradition of imperial worship ' H
Portelli, Gramsci e a questao rehgiosa, Sao Paulo Paulinas, 1982, p 53
36
'The Church would need to reach Vatican II before superseding this ecclesiology of
Christendom Neither the Protestant reformation nor the First Vatican Council were to
prove capable of returning to the patristic ecclesiology of the first millennium ' V
Codina, Para comprender la ecleswlogia desde America Latina, Estella Verbo
Divmo, 1990, p 63
37
All Catholics over the age of fifty were brought up in the medieval vision of
Christendom All the current bishops were, and most of them - with some very worthy
exceptions - were nominated precisely because they showed no signs of aligning
themselves with a post Christendom mentality viewpoint
38
'Reception' is a technical term, referring to the fact that acts of the magistenum,
such as councils, are not fully naturalized in the Church until the People of God have
endorsed and consecrated them with their active 'reception' See Y Congar,
'Reception as an Ecclesiological Reality', Concilium 11 (1972), pp 57 85, also
available at RELaT servicioskoinoma org/relat/322 htm
142 J O S E M A R I A VIGIL

law, theology, liturgy, clericalism . . .) is still with us, and it will be a long
time before we discern and move beyond all its accidental elements that can
and should be changed; 40 second, because, as we know, the 'reception' of Vati-
can II has in fact been cut short.

11.1.6 Recovering Kingdom-centeredness at the present time

Having reached this point and considered sufficiently the historical aspects of
the subject, let us now very briefly look at the current state of Kingdom-
Church relations, 41 now that the recovery carried out by the renewal of biblical
and theological studies has been bequeathed to us. I shall summarize this in a
few points:
• We have to distinguish the Kingdom from the Church: they cannot be
equated or identified with one another. We can identify a presence of
the Kingdom 'in' the Church, but we cannot identify the Kingdom
'with' the Church. The Church is 'the seed and the beginning' of the
Kingdom (LG 5). 42
• The Kingdom is greater than the Church: it pre-dates it, is more exten-
sive and intensive, takes precedence over the Church in many ways. . .
. The Kingdom is the Absolute 43 , the 'ultimate', the Jesus' cause, the
'essential intention' of Jesus. 44

The structures of the Christendom Church 'make it recognizable for us, because they
are very largely its current structures, following its strong consolidation in the Middle
Ages and 'then the sort of continued Middle Ages the Tndentine Church sought to be'
(Segundo). In R. Velasco, op cit, p 148.
40
The Constantiman era, 'an era whose end does not seem to have fully arrived even
with Vatican I I ' Segundo, op. cit., p. 221.
41
Although we use the term 'Kingdom' here, on account of the Christian nature of the
context under discussion, it needs saying that in actual practice and above all in mter-
rehgious dialogue we should be concerned not with the word but with the content. We
can also use synonyms such as Utopia, cause, meaning of life, etc Jesus' cause, that of
human bemgs, or of the poor . . . I regard as interchangeable metaphors.
42
Bear in mind that Latin does not have articles, and so to translate that the Church is
'the' seed and 'the' beginning (as standard English translations of the documents of
Vatican II do) is not correct, since the original does not say that there are not others. If
an article is to be introduced, it should be the indefinite the Church is 'a' seed and
beginning of the Kingdom This is not the place for further discussion of the specificity
of this 'seed and beginning', which is clearly not just 'one among many', but neither is
it simply 'the' seed and beginning
Let us recall once more Paul VI's felicitous expression in Evangeln nuntiandi 8
(which we should all know by heart)' 'Only the Kingdom is absolute, all the rest is
relative'. I stress the absolute nature of the expression - 'only', 'all the rest'
The ipsissima intentio Jesu, in technical terms The ipsissima verba lesu, 'the actual
words of Jesus', is the way of referring to the words that we are virtually certain
(scientifically, in the margin of faith) came from Jesus, were pronounced by him
Ipsissima intentio lesu is an ingenious phrase coined to express the fact that, beyond
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 143

The Church is (or should be) wholly at the service of the Kingdom. Its
mission is to accept it as a gift, to assume it as a responsibility, to build
it in history, to recognize it where it already exists . . . and this mission
derives from its following of Jesus. It must spend and exhaust itself in
this service, even if it costs it its life. The Church is a temporal instru-
ment for the Kingdom, a mediation of it for the present phase of salva-
tion history; it does not represent a definitive eschatological stage.
The Kingdom is not tied to the Church.45 God is present, guiding, in-
spiring, summoning, impelling . . . in the Church and beyond it; before
and after it; in it and - much more - outside it, and even at times
against it; through it and through its enemies and rejects. As God is
perceived, sought, and invoked under 'many names', so too the King-
dom of God is received and also sought under many names. The name
'Kingdom of God' is one among many that can designate the mystery
to which it refers.46
The difference and distance between the Church and the Kingdom
makes it possible for the latter to be a critical overseer of the former,
and it is what gives rise to prophetic criticism from within the Church,
as well as conflict.47 Every Christian, as a follower of Jesus, is called to
denounce what in the Church runs counter to the Kingdom.

the literal sense of the words, we are absolutely certain (also by scientific exegetical
criteria, still in the margin of faith) that the Kingdom of God was most central in the
intention of the historical Jesus.
45
We must not accept expressions that, while theologically confessing the absoluteness
of the Kingdom, in practice relativize it by reducing it and subjecting it to the Church.
Such as: 'The grace of the Kingdom derives from the Church and leads to it. Grace that
brings belonging to the Kingdom derives from the Church, which, in its word and
sacraments, is seed and instrument of the Kingdom. At the same time grace leads to the
Church, because the Kingdom is not a purely inner reality but a reality that tends to
unite all in the Catholic unity of the Church. . . . The Church is the community the
Kingdom creates for itself. . . . The reality of the Kingdom is not complete if it is not
directed to the Kingdom of Christ, present in the Church. . . . The Kingdom cannot be
understood outside the mediation of the Church. . . .' (J. A. Sayes, Cristianismo y
religions, Madrid: San Pablo, 2001, pp. 220-1); 'The Kingdom of God cannot be
separated either from Christ or from the Church. The latter is ordered precisely to
bringing it about and is its seed, its sign, and its instrument. Althougth it is distinct
from Christ, it is indissolubly united to him and to the Kingdom' (M. Dhavamony,
Teologm de las religiones, Madrid: San Pablo, 1998, pp. 206-7).
46
A. Perez, 'El Reino de Dios como nombre de un deseo. Ensayo de exegesis etica',
Sal Terrae 66 (1978), 391-408.
'The discovery of the Kingdom of God as the absolute has brought this basic truth to
light: the Church, even in its totality, is not absolute, and so it can be criticized
structurally.' 'In that the Kingdom of God calls any historical reality into crisis, the
Church has to be criticized.' (Sobrino, Resurrection, op, cit., p, 16).
144 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

Salvation is the achievement of the Kingdom, here and there, in this

world and the other, inside and/or outside the Church Our adherence
to the Kingdom and its values is what makes the Kingdom of God pre-
sent in us, and it is what gives us our deep identity as Church, a sharing
in its mystery48 This is the reason why the Church's exterior or struc-
ture is not the main thing about it, its mystery and our participation in
it is And this is why we can say that 'not all who are in it are of it, and
not all who are of it are in it'
If it used to be said that 'outside the Church there is no salvation', to-
day not only are we aware that not only is there salvation (Kingdom)
outside the Church, but that we can even say, 'Outside salvation there
is no Church', meaning that outside service of the Kingdom, outside
Good News to the poor there is no true Church of Jesus
'The ordinary means - for the majority - of salvation for the human
race is the non-Christian religions' 50 The Kingdom is present beyond
the Church, in other religions The true religion of God is the uni-
versal history of God's salvation What we are used to calling 'salva-
tion history', 'revelation', or 'the word of God'51 was often no more
than the Judeo-Chnstian experience of these Salvation, Kingdom,
revelation, word of God completely overflow 'ecclesiastical'
boundaries and even 'Christian' boundaries even though they have a
specific embodiment within these
All human beings are raised to 'the order of salvation', and no one is at
a lower rung on the scale of salvation or grace for not having been
born into a particular ethnic group or culture Human beings make sal-
vation theirs through working love and justice, which is within the
reach of all Christianity is a reality inscribed not in 'the order of salva-
tion' but in 'the order of knowledge of salvation' Nor is it 'the'
knowledge of salvation, because there are many existing ways of
knowing salvation (The relationship between Christian knowledge of
48
Credit for re introducing the primacy of the mystery element m the Church is due to
Pius XIFs Mystici Corporis
49
'Some appear to be within [the Church] when in fact they are outside, while others
appear to be outside when in fact they are inside' St Augustine, De Bapt V, 37, 38
(PLXLIII, 196)
As said in ch 7, H R Schlette is considered the first to introduce this inversion of
the theological lexicon 'If, in the face of the universal history of salvation, the Church
[ ] is, as specialis dispositio, on the side of special history, then the way of salvation
of the religions can be defined as ordinary and that of the Church as extraordinary'
Towards a Theology of Religions (Quaestiones disputatae), London Burns & Oates,
New York Herder & Herder, 1966 (here quoting Ital ed , pp 85 6)
51
The Bible is word of God, but it is not 'the' word of God, it is salvation history, but
it is not the' history of salvation, it is rather the written record of its partial
manifestation in the specific Judeo-Christian People of God
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 145

salvation and other ways of knowing salvation is a subject for another

place.)
• From the Kingdom-centered point of view, Christians need to look at
the world not 'ecclesiastically' but from the parameters of the King-
dom and salvation. They will not categorize persons or situations ac-
cording to their relationship with the Church but, above all, according
to their relationship with the Kingdom. Non-Christians (including athe-
ists) are not part of the Church, but they can be very advanced in the
'economy of the Kingdom', able to claim a 'higher place' in the order
of salvation (or of the Kingdom) than many Christians. The most im-
portant thing for us is not to 'baptize' them and bring them into the
body of the Church but to convert them to the Kingdom, if they are not
already converted, and help them to progress farther and farther toward
it along their own route; we can also benefit from their help to convert
ourselves more and more to the Kingdom.

11.1.7 Consequences for pluralism and inter-religious dialogue

This exposition of the current recovery of Kingdom-centeredness has already
brought us to the subject of religious pluralism and inter-religious dialogue,
which is our destination. Let us gather up the conclusions of our deliberations
in these theses-suggestions:
• We need to make a clear distinction between what is and what is not
the 'religion of Jesus'. The Church needs to be converted to the King-
dom of God, to the 'religion of Jesus'. We need to recognize and com-
bat the Church's historical errors,52 the historical institutional dynamic
that has led it to contemplate itself, to enthrone itself, to see itself as
the chosen one, as the one and only depository of salvation. . . . With-
out this attitude of conversion it cannot dialogue with the other relig-
ions, because it would be betraying its very essence. We have to dis-
tinguish the Church in history from the Mystery of the Church, the in-
stitutional Church from the Jesus community. Without wishing to opt
for a disembodied mystery, we do have to opt for clear discernment.
• Kingdom-centered Christianity alone is the Christianity of Jesus, and it
alone can carry out authentic inter-religious dialogue. A Church-
centered Christianity would be taking the place of Jesus' religion, be-
cause it has no right to represent Jesus' religion in inter-religious dia-
logue, nor is it able to understand religious pluralism as Jesus would
wish us to understand it. There is still a lot of Church-centeredness in
all circles, from the highest to the most widespread.
• The rediscovery of Kingdom-centeredness has been one of the major
transformatory events in the recent history of Christianity, a basic

GS 43, 6.
 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

'change of paradigm', parting the waters between two types of essen-

tially different Christianity, even though they can theoretically shelter
under the same sociological or institutional umbrella. Nominally we
are dealing with the same Christianity, but really these are two distinct
Christianities that have little in common. Only Kingdom-centeredness
is Jesuanic and only it is authentic Christianity. The Church-centered
version is a serious distortion, a perversion that took shape from the
fourth century on and which dominated the first two millennia of the
Church and has finally now been discounted on the theological level;
what is needed now is for it to be superseded and eliminated, despite
the strong opposition the institution (logically) puts up, in a process
that, in the end, will - sooner or later - prove to be nothing other than
the 'chronicle of a change foretold'.
Kingdom-centeredness and Church-centeredness are two paradigms,
two distinct theological and spiritual galaxies. Uncritical dialogue be-
tween Christians belonging to the two paradigms is not possible: they
are like two players seated at the same table and using the same board,
on which one is playing chess and the other checkers; they may look as
thought they are absorbed in the same game, but they are stuck in their
separate worlds; their interaction produces no real communication be-
tween them. This is what is happening in Christianity today.
The Kingdom-centeredness paradigm on the one hand disqualifies
Church-centeredness and on the other establishes, subject to the abso-
lute of the Kingdom, a totally different evaluation of Church-
centeredness.
Kingdom-centered Christians feel more united to those who struggle
for the Kingdom (for salvation, for the gospel, for liberation), even if
they are outside the Church or totally disconnected from it, than to
those who oppose salvation, even if they do so in the name of Christ
and his Church. 'The Kingdom unites,/ The Church divides,/ unless it
is the same as the Kingdom' (Pedro Casaldaliga). The Kingdom brings
us together with all men and women with whom we share the Great
Utopia (Kingdom of God in our vocabulary), with whom we share in
the struggle for the cause of the poor (which for Christians in some
way coincides with Jesus' cause), for justice, for 'life . . . more abun-
dantly' (John 10.10), without their confession of another religion being
an obstacle. The same light of the Kingdom distances us from and can
even set us in conflict with brothers and sisters who, even if they be-
long to the same ecclesial institution, are opposed to the Utopia of the
Kingdom that we regard as an absolute, to the cause of Jesus that we
hold to be binding on us, to the cause of the poor sine qua non, to jus-
tice and to more abundant life. We are therefore dealing with a new
ecumenism - an ecumenism of the Kingdom that re-draws the tradi-
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 147

tional boundary-lines, rubbing some out and strengthening others, a re-

drawing based come what way on the pivotal criterion of the Kingdom.
What matters is not religious dialogue but the Kingdom of God. Or
rather: religious dialogue matters in that it forms part of God's reign.
As I have already said, the main and true ecumenism is 'ecumenism of
the Kingdom of God'. God clearly does not want religions (or
Churches) that separate, that disunite, that make collaboration impos-
sible, that are incapable of dialogue through thinking they alone poses
the truth. At this stage in the history of humankind, God's requirement
of us is that, respecting the riches of religious pluralism (a pluralism
'on principle', positive, willed by God), we should practice the 'uni-
versal religion' of life and truth, justice, peace, and love - the King-
dom, whatever name we give it!
This is, in any case, a message of joy and optimism: tackling religious
pluralism and inter-religious dialogue is not a 'new' problem, a diffi-
culty proper to 'these difficult and hostile' modern times',53but, on the
contrary, a handsome task set before us, a magnificent opportunity we
could not have imagined even a few years ago, a chance to re-fashion
and re-formulate our entire traditional Christian symbolic legacy on the
basis of a different outlook, a new mission (really new), a kairos.
• Ecumenism or inter-religious dialogue (which we shall come to in due
course, in the final lessons) should for the time being be more practical
than theoretical. Dogmatic questions cannot be solved head-on, in the
abstract. These can wait. It is very unlikely that we shall come together
in theoretical discussion without a stronger backing of collaboration in
action. It is important to begin with the principle, the center, the life to
which God calls us all, 'life . . . more abundantly', which we all need
and which is Jesus' plan and God's plan (which for us Christians is
called the Kingdom). Only in this way shall we avoid building the
house from the roof down, shall we find our support in the true center
of our religious experience, and will ours be an 'ecumenism of the
Kingdom'.

11.1.8 Annex: Note on the subject of religious dialogue

Who has to carry out the dialogue: the ecclesiastical institution, church authori-
ties, 'ad hoc inter-religious or inter-confessional commission', the Congrega-
tion for the Doctrine of the Faith (ex Holy Office, ex Holy Inquisition), or the
people of God? We usually think that religious dialogue has to be carried out
by the official representatives of a religion, whom we instinctively think of as
the hierarchies of the respective religions or Churches. Are we sure?

This was the view of Pius IX in his allocution Singulari Quadam and encyclical
Quanto conficiamur moerore . . . and of course in the Syllabus.
148 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

'The problem is if those who dialogue in the name of Christianity are mem-
bers of the structure of Christendom - as are many members of the hierarchy,
clergy, and Religious - we need to be very much on our guard Because they
will not be representing the Christianity of Jesus They will always be more
concerned not to step outside institutional orthodoxy than to stand within the
orthopraxis of the Kingdom What they will put forward as Christianity will be
orthodoxy, meaning the institutional system of Christendom The dialogue will
not be between Hindus, Muslims, or Buddhists and Christians, but with repre-
sentatives of the Christendom system ' 54 Let us provisionally comment as fol-
lows

First authorities or hierarchies, through holding the posts they do, are on prin-
ciple inevitably conditioned by the selfish concerns of the institution, which
tends always to perpetuate itself, to look after itself, to focus on itself, to seek
hegemony over other religions, even to serve its own economic interests and
those of its power groups In sociological terms, they are in the least favor-
able position to achieve a prophetic inter-religious dialogue, which the nature
of this dialogue requires it to be In many cases they are m truly non-
evangelical situations, from which it is practically impossible to carry out work
motivated by evangelical purity and simplicity

Second It is very likely that many among the hierarchies of the religions (or
Churches) will not be sufficiently 'up-to-date' in a theology or spirituality in
accordance with what the Spirit is today imparting to every People of God For
example, there is now an overwhelming opinion in society and the Church that
the Catholic hierarchy is incapable of free thought and honest appreciation 55
Hierarchies are theologically conservative, by their nature In this new era (af-
ter the 'change of era'), a dialogue carried out on the theological postulates of
the past two millennia56 is condemned to failure beforehand57

J Comblin, Teologia da missdo, MS notes

5
As an example from our days, the declaration Dominus Iesus - one of the documents
of the magistenum most rejected by the People of God, truly not 'receptus' - displays
the framework of hierarchical thought in the Catholic Church as applied to religious
pluralism and inter-religious dialogue Anyone who appears not to adhere to this in any
respect cannot advance in the church hierarchy and cannot take part in official
theological discussions, which thus become 'anti evangelical loci\ where neither truth
nor freedom is possible - and therefore certainly not sincere inter religious dialogue
56
In my humble opinion, it can also be said that the Catholic Church has lamentably,
despite so many celebrations occasioned by the year 2000, failed to shift truly into the
third millennium and is doing all it possibly can to hold itself back in the past
millennium It was Vatican II that tried to open the doors and abandon accidental
configurations and ballast accumulated over past history, marginal and even contrary to
Jesus' legacy, but the opening was cut short and urgently awaits a new occasion Or
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 149

Third: the People of God, equipped with its communities and all its charisms,
is entitled to dialogue. Perhaps the church institution has insuperable problems
over engaging in dialogue, or is simply unable to do it, while the People of God
has no difficulty. . . . The hierarchy knows the Spirit of Jesus surpasses us and
acts and blows where it will and as it will. You cannot put gates up to shut out
the land or the wind.

Fourth: if those who take part in inter-religious dialogue do so as representa-

tives of religious 'systems', of 'institutions', the outcome will not be religious
but institutional; it will take account not of the concerns of the Spirit but of
negotiations (doctrines, power relations, spheres of influence . . .) among insti-
tutions. The institutional problem is weightiest among Catholics, but it is not
inexistent in other religions, which also have the same institutional religious
structures to varying degrees (a clergy, a 'dogma', a conservative tradition,
economic interests, cultural and ethnic identifications, many power groups . .
.). Inter-religious dialogue should take place on another level, in an atmosphere
of freedom of spirit and freedom for the Spirit. We need to let the People of
God, and the peoples of God, speak to their communities, to their prophets, to
all their charisms. . . . As Pedro Casaldaliga says, 'God has the right to dia-
logue with God'.

Fifth: In any case, the Churches and religions have a role to play with regard
both to ecumenism and to inter-religious dialogue. The proposal made by Con-
gar for ecumenism can be extrapolated to inter-religious dialogue. He proposed
to carry out a 're-reception of the symbolic writings', of conciliar and pontifi-
cal decrees: that is, of the writings normative for the faith of each of the
Churches and of those from which these Churches have drawn nourishment
throughout their history. Each Church or confession should 're-accept' its own
normative writings so as to 're-situate them in the whole and the balance of
scripture'. We would be dealing with a process that should take place within
each of the Churches, but which should be convergent, as a preparation for a
possible reconciliation: 'it would be like a fragmentary anticipation of a future
council held in common'. 58

will this come too late? See Comblin, Um novo amanhecer da Igreja?, Petropolis:
Vozes, 2002.
7
This is the view of some Catholic analysts, who believe that at present an
'ecumenical' council of the Catholic Church would be counter-productive, because the
body of bishops imposed on it from the centre over the past twenty-five years, with
conservative criteria contrary in most cases to the faith of the People of God, does not
provide the minimal conditions necessary for a dialogue worthy of the historic times in
which we live.
58
Diversites et communion, Paris: Cerf, pp. 244, 250.
150 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

11.2 Related texts

• Jose Comblin has made a proposal for advancing down the road of in-
ter-religious dialogue: 'We should be preparing not a new council but a
World Meeting of Christians in order to identify problems and make
suggestions. Ecumenism will not come about through discussing prob-
lems, only through joint seeking for evangelical life in the present-day
world. The Meeting will not have to take decisions, which would re-
main just written, but to open horizons and prepare the way for joint
working. Clearly, this Meeting would be made up very largely of lay
people, or persons involved in the problems of the world. Not persons
enslaved by the system, collaborators in the system, but persons who
remain aware and clear-headed in the midst of the pressures applied by
the system.
Such a Meeting should be promoted by the Churches themselves with
the support of their hierarchies, so that they can show the Christian
masses they are involved and not remain in mutual isolation. But most
of the work will be done by lay people.'
J. Comblin, Teologia da missdo, pro manuscripto

• "Thy Kingdom come": this does not mean God reigning in his crea-
tion through his absolute dominion. This would be reigning when God
wants, and for ever. It implies a different sort of reign, which, through
his providence, God has left dependent on our will. "Thy kingdom
come" means that the kingdom of eternal glory should come to us after
death. And, since for that to happen people should live in grace, it
means that the kingship of God in our souls should come into our
hearts through sanctifying grace. And, since grace is given to us by the
Church, that the Church should reign and expand to all parts; since it is
the kingdom of Jesus Christ.
The Kingdom of God is the Church, in which God reigns here through
grace, preparing it for when, transposed little by little to heaven, it will
be his kingdom there, in which he reigns already through glory with all
his splendor and magnificence.'
Remigio Vilarifio, Vida de Jesus. Bilbao: Mensajero, 1924, p. 410

• 'The draft of a Constitution on the Church was discussed by the coun-

cil during a week at its opening session in 1962. Its first chapter, "On
the Nature of the Church Militant", repeated the basic theme of Mystici
corporis: that the Roman Catholic Church is the mystical body of
Christ, and it expressed this identification with even more force, de-
claring: "Only the Roman Catholic Church has the right to the name of
church" {Acta Synodalia Concilii Vaticani II, 1/4, 15).'
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 151

Francis A. Sullivan, Salvation outside the Church? Mahwah, N.Y.:

Paulist Press, 1992

• On 30 June 2000 Cardinal Ratzinger sent the presidents of Episcopal

conferences a 'Note on the expression "sister Churches'", in which he
aid that this term can be used only in the context of relations among
particular local Churches. The universal Church, being one, holy,
Catholic and apostolic, is not the sister but the mother of all particular
Churches. The note was secret and was not published in the AAS, but
the Italian review ADISTA made it known.
Vida Nueva 2248 (16 Sept. 2000), 16. On 29 June 2007 Cardinal Le-
vada, Prefect of the Congregation of the Faith, dictated a document on
the same lines.

11.3 Questions for reflection and discussion

• Try to re-compose among you the implicit 'ecclesiology' handed down

to us in our Christian schooling, through primary, secondary, and col-
lege catechisms. . . . Who founded the Church? When? How? What
for? Who commands in the Church? What part do lay persons play in
it? Can they change the Church? What can they change? Why can (or
can't) these things change? What other religions can save the human
race? What should the Church do with regard to the other religions?
• Would it be possible to make a distinction between Christianity as 'Je-
sus' religion' and the Church as existing institution and in the specific
form it has taken? As a group, make a list of (a) aspects or elements of
the Church that are as they are now, but which could be otherwise
without betraying the gospel; (b) aspects or elements that are as they
are now, but which would be better otherwise to make them more
faithful to the gospel; (c) current aspects or elements that are contrary
to the gospel.
• Study specifically everything in the present-day Church that is a legacy
from the regime of Christendom (and from the Roman Empire) and not
from the gospel. Decide on the possibility or advisability of changing
it.
• What do we think of Congar's suggestion for the way forward for
ecumenism? How do we see it; what could it be like? Let us be realis-
tic and think also of the worst outcome (we have no guarantee that eve-
rything would work out well or that we are on the right road): What is
the worst case scenario?
• Have we heard of the Utopia of the Guarani people, who believe they
are journeying to the 'land without evils'? Listen to the 'Mass of the
152 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

Land without Evils'59 and comment on its texts. Did/do this people
know the 'Kingdom of God'? Give theological grounds for your an-
swer. In the light of your answer, what would be correct course for a
Christian community (or missionary) to adopt in dialogue with this
people?
• Compare these three definitions of being 'Christian' and comment on
the differences between them: (a) being a member of the congregation
instituted under the power of the Vicar of Christ and sharing in its
sacraments; (b) being a disciple of Christ and being baptized; (c) living
and struggling for Jesus' cause.
• Study the theme of 'Kingdom-centeredness' more fully in P.
Casaldaliga and J. M. Vigil, The Spirituality of Liberation (Tunbridge
Wells: Burns & Oates, 1994; other editions: Political Holiness,
Maryknoll, N.Y., Orbis Boks, 1994; Liberating Spirituality, Manila:
Claretian Publications, 1966).
• The related text given above, by the Spanish Jesuit Manuel Vilarifio is
important. It comes from a book that enjoyed massive success among
Christians in the first half of the twentieth century. As you can see, it
provides definitions of the Kingdom of God that are the precisely those
we now reject on the basis of the most rigorous exegesis and elemen-
tary recourse to the historical Jesus. How do we view the 'Jesuanic'
authenticity of that earlier Christianity, which was, furthermore, given
so many blessings by institutional officialdom and so widespread
among ordinary Christians?

The text can be downloaded from the 'P. Casaldaliga page' on

servicioskoinonia.org/Casaldaliga
Chapter 12

Dogmatic Christological Aspects

The chapter we are about to embark on is important and difficult. The course
we have followed till now will have made more than one reader experience the
classic objections, which we have not touched on yet. This has been deliberate,
waiting for the right moment. Having first sensitized ourselves to the historical
reality of religious pluralism (chs 3-5), we needed then to clear away the ob-
stacle of an inadequate understanding of revelation (ch. 8) and make the first
positive statements of a new approach to religious pluralism (ch. 9), as well as
taking stock of the main points of Christian reference (chs. 10 and 11). But
now we need to tackle the main difficulty, which is, without doubt, 'chris-
tological dogma'.
It needs to be said at the outset that we are entering the terrain of hy-
potheses and 'proposals for reconsideration', not that of confirmed theses or
resounding declarations. Within the strict limits of one lesson in this course I
cannot claim to do more than introduce readers - individual or collective - to
this concern and invite them to investigate it further for themselves over time.
Furthermore, as we shall see, perhaps several generations will have to pass be-
fore Christianity finds satisfactory answers to these 'eternal questions'. Mean-
while, we have to live, believe, and act in what is urgent, leaving what 'can
wait' to mature.
Using the accepted methodology in this chapter, let us start (SEE) with a
concise posing of the problem, followed by an evocation of the negative effects
it has produced in history, as unearthed by the 'hermeneutics of suspicion'.
Next (JUDGE), we shall try to see where the problem comes from: not from
Jesus but from the development of christological dogma within the Church. We
shall then study the present state of the question and some current proposals.
We conclude by deducing the criteria for our own praxis and action we can put
forward (ACT).

12.1 Discussing the topic

12.1.1 SEE

12.1.1.1 The nucleus of the problem

Christianity claims that its founder, Jesus of Nazareth, is 'very God', the Sec-
ond Person of the Blessed Trinity, who has taken flesh in humankind to teach
us the truth and bring us to salvation. If this is true, the Christian religion is
'the only religion founded by God himself in person', come to earth expressly
to establish 'the' religion, and so Christianity is the absolute religion, undenia-
154 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

bly superior, the one and only, to which the whole human race should adhere
This is the effect of the dogmatic affirmation that Jesus is the Second Person of
the Trinity, incarnate in humankind And this dogmatic affirmation about Jesus
is the very nucleus of Christianity, which has kept it virtually throughout the
two millennia of its history in a clear understanding of exclusivism, an under-
standing that only in the last forty years has evolved into inclusivism, and
which is now refusing to give way to acceptance of a pluralist paradigm '

12 112 The problem in history

As we saw in the first two chapters of this course, the effects of this dogmatic
nucleus have not been confined to the purely theoretic or speculative sphere,
their social and political implications have rather been considerable - and cer-
tainly unfortunate The Christian Churches have, always and everywhere, been
recognized in the world for their proud consciousness of being the one true
religion, for their claim to universality and world domination, and by a degree
of inbuilt attitude of contempt for other religions This historical projection of
negative effects stemming from theoretical affirmations is not something
unique to Christianity but is found in many religions, so, although many nega-
tive events or aspects were due more to legalistic judgments by persons in-
vested with authority in religions, they were often validated and legitimated by
appealing to official doctrines of these religions The Vedic teachings concern-
ing the caste system, for example, were used in Hindu India to justify treating
millions of people as pariahs with no human dignity In some Islamic coun-
tries, certain inhuman forms of punishment were justified through appeal to the
Qur'an In the Christian world, some clearly lamentable historical situations
were justified by applying the christological dogma of the incarnation think of
anti-Semitism, exploitation of the Third World at the hands of the First, the
subordination of women, the very superiority of Christianity and its spirit of
expansion and conquest, the absolutizing of ecclesiastical authority and the
reduction of the body of the faithful to passivity

12 1 1 3 The hermeneutics of suspicion applied to christological faith

Many observers would hold that all these pages from history we can bring to
mind provide sufficient grounds for taking a fresh look at christological dogma
and reconsidering its basis and its real meaning, as well as for making a more
critical analysis of the part played by actual institutional, corporate, economic,
cultural, and other interests of Christians themselves in the construction of this
christological dogmatics A blind, 'fideist', unquestioned and unquestionable
faith, removed from all rationality, closed to all discussion of christological
dogma, is not a faith that can 'give an account of itself to men and women of
today

I refer here, once again, to pluralism as a paradigm to take the place of exclusivism
and inclusivism, as is required, not to the simple pluralism or plurality of religions
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 155

The more mature attitude is to accept serenely a historical judgment on these

negative effects that have in fact been produced in our history, and honestly to
accept what 'ideological' elements might have crept in to the development of
christological faith - and above all in the way it has been invoked and utilized
throughout history.2 We can accept that many of the protagonists of this history
were men and women of good will, but this does not exempt us from recogniz-
ing the real existence of human responsibilities, even if these apply not so
much to personal actions but to social, institutional, or mental constructs. Let
us recall those words of Reinhold Bernhard: 'In this criminal history of Chris-
tianity, the responsibility falls, precisely, on the sum total of theoretical ele-
ments that have made such abuse of power possible.3 In the 'criminal history of
Christianity, that history of wars, of conquests, persecutions, penalties, con-
demnations, enslavement . . . the responsibility falls - he says - on the 'theo-
retical elements', on theology, in other words. It may not bear the sole respon-
sibility, but perhaps it bears the bulk. A bad theology may be responsible for
the worst crimes in the history of Christianity. Faced with the mere suspicion
of this, all Christians, and all theologians, are obliged to re-examine theological
doctrines.
Furthermore, we all know Jesus' words that confirm this to us: a good
doctrine cannot produce bad fruits, nor can it derive from bad seed (cf. Matt.
7.17-20). If history can produce examples of vicious practices going on under
cover of some theological justification, we must reconsider that theology and
re-examine the process of its elaboration, in order to detect possible deficien-
cies both in its construction and in the assessment of its conclusions.

12.1.2 JUDGE

12.1.2.1 The problem does not stem from Jesus

The first thing we observe is that this problem of christological dogma cer-
tainly does not derive from Jesus but from the Christ of faith constructed by
Christian dogmatics.4 As we saw in lesson 10, Jesus' approach was completely
different: he never stated of himself what the institution that refers back to him
has stated of him. And virtually everything the Church has said about Jesus
was said in the belief that Jesus knew it and came to witness to it. The Church
has spent practically all its life believing that the words John put in his mouth
were historical, that they asserted his identity with the Father, his consciously
proclaimed divinity, his being 'the way, the truth, and the light', and so forth.

2
We need to recall all that was said on the subject in lesson (chapter) 5.
R. Bernhardt, Der Absolutheitanspruch des Christentums. Von der Aufklarung bis zur
Pluralistischen Religionstheologie, Giitersloh: Vanderhoek & Ruprecht, 1990. (Here
Sp. trans., 2000, pp. 315-6).
On this point the necessary distinction between the historical Jesus and the Christ of
faith is taken as known.
156 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

Today we are certain that Jesus never thought that He was never Christ-
centered, but God-centered and Kingdom-centered5 Jesus never preached
chnstological dogmatics but another message
But the Jesus 'messenger' of the Good News was later himself
changed into the Christian 'message'. The all-powerful Christ, Pantocrator,
substitute for Jupiter in the Roman Pantheon, was gradually turned into the
message of the Christian Church and displaced Jesus' subversive message,
which allowed the Church to take on the role of official religion of the empire
that had executed its founder What Diez Alegria calls 'the great betrayal'
came about 6 Jesus was placed on the pinnacle of the Temple of the Empire,
blessing it and legitimating it, and requiring the religious unity of the whole
human race on account of its uniqueness
So how did chnstological dogma come into being9

1212 2 The actual construction of chnstological dogma

It is common experience that any ordinary Christian, with no special critical
instruction, will read the Synoptic Gospels believing that chnstological dogma
is clearly set out in them The fact is that our minds have already 'invested' the
gospel texts with a particular interpretation, this means that when we return to
them, we inevitably understand them from this interpretation, without realizing
the distance existing between the interpretation through which we see them and
what the texts actually say
For instance, if we read the Synoptic Gospels - the texts closest to the
actual history of Jesus - in a critical spirit, we will find, in the first place, that
they never speak of the 'Son of God' as the second person of the Blessed Tnn-
lty, the doctrine of the Trinity was worked out much later
When the Synoptics speak of 'Son of God' they do not mean 'God the
Son' (Second Person of the Trinity),7 as we spontaneously take for granted, but
are referring to a pre-tnnitanan concept of 'Son of God', a figure of speech
analogous to that applied to so many other personages in history 'Son of God'
as a concept or expression in fact belongs not just to the Gospels or to Judaism
but is common to religions of antiquity In this sense, 'Son of God' was applied
to those who, through the qualities of their lives or deeds, carry with them a
special - or very special - religious significance for society, a transparency or
an appealing closeness to divinity The heroes, the 'saints', and others were

5
Cf lesson 10
J M Diez Alegria, 'La gran traicion', in Rebajas teologicas de otoho, Bilbao
Desclee, 1980, ch 7, also at servicioskoinoma org/relat/271 htm
The Persons of the Trinity are God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit,
there is a necessary distinction between 'God the Son' (Second Person of the Trinity)
and 'Son of God', an expression pre-dating the development of the doctrine of the
Trinity and referring not to this 'Second Person of the Trinity' but to a 'special
relationship' with God on the part of the person referred to
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 157

thus considered 'Sons of God' in the true sense of excellence, with no implicit
reference to a 'divine generation', even though there are plenty of legends that
attributed divine sonship in this same sense to important figures in society, who
could also be considered as sons of a virgin mother. All this is a phenomenon
common to the religious world of antiquity, and today is widely known to be
such.8
The New Testament contains many pointers to the fact that, in many of
the places and commonly at the stages in which its texts were drawn up, the
prevailing line on the relationship of Jesus to God was the 'adoptionist' one: in
the Letter to the Philippians (2.6-11), Jesus is seen as being 'adopted' as Son
of God, by God the Father. Jesus would have been an entirely normal human
being 'according to the flesh' before the resurrection, but 'declared to be Son
of God with power' (Rom. 1.4) after the resurrection. This is clear from the
earliest layers in the gestation process of the New Testament.
It was in the later and final layers in this process that the idea of Jesus'
divinity arose, in a form that made it anterior to, pre-existing his human exis-
tence. In fact, during Jesus' life, neither he nor the disciples showed any ink-
ling of this viewpoint. This came later, within the post-paschal community,
when Christians began to reflect on Jesus, as an attempt to give voice to the
religious experience they were going through. The Gospels are known to have
been written, in a sense, from back to front. The first thing to be recorded was
the last, the resurrection; later came Jesus' death, and his passion after that. His
life, preaching, and liberating actions were recalled at a still later stage. The
infancy narratives were the last to be written, and they were composed with a
different sort of purpose and in a different literary genre.
There are various stages visible in this process as it came to be ex-
pressed in the New Testament writings. Mark went back to the start of Jesus'
public life, and so his Gospel begins with the end of John the Baptist's minis-
try; he tells us that Jesus began to preach after John was arrested (1.14). Mat-
thew, writing later, now includes a 'genealogy' of Jesus (clearly theological,
not historical: 1.1-17), in which he goes as far back as Abraham. Luke, writing
at more or less the same date as Matthew, but for gentiles, composes another
genealogy (3.23-38), in which he goes even farther back, to Adam himself.
Finally, John the Evangelist, writing much later, probably around the year 100,
in the prologue to his Gospepl, which takes the place of a genealogy, goes back
to the 'beginning' of time, where he places the (eternal) pre-existence of the
Word (John l.lff). It is in John's writings, and in the prologues to the Letters
to the Colossians and Ephesians, that this pre-existence comes to be eternal.
In this way, then, as time passed, the New Testament communities developed
their thinking and projected the origin of the Christ of their faith farther and

With special reference to the Old Testament, see H. Haag, '"Son of God' in the
World of the Old Testament", Concilium 173 (1982).
 158 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

farther back in time.9 Nevertheless, the arrangement and expression of this

process in this way is our work: the reality was an often uneasy co-existence
among the considerable varieties of christologies and ecclesiologies throughout
the New Testament period, which does not entitle us to say that this period -
already some time after Jesus' death - saw the emergence of a common doc-
trine either on the Trinity, or on the divine sonship of Jesus, or on many other
major topics.
The spectacular development of these aspects was to come much later:
specifically, in the fourth and fifth centuries. We have already, in the previous
chapter, looked at the tremendous convulsion undergone by the Church as it
entered the Constantinian era and became the official religion of the Roman
Empire. Against this backdrop, we can now concentrate on what happened at
the so-called christological councils (Nicaea and Chalcedonia in the main) and
on an analysis of their significance.
As we have seen, after almost three centuries of generally discreet and
at times clandestine propagation within the Roman Empire, with periods of
toleration alternating with periods of persecution, and following the last perse-
cution - under Diocletian - the Christian Church was to undergo a giddying
transformation that it could never have imagined. Hardly had it emerged from
clandestinity and been tolerated - thanks to the Edict of Milan, which on prin-
ciple was no more than an edict of toleration - Emperor Constantine took the
initiative and summoned the bishops to what was to be the 'Council of Nicaea'.
The bishops had never met in council since the very origin of the Church; there
was absolutely no tradition of this. There was still no ecclesiastical 'central
authority' that could 'call a council'. Nor was there in fact any ecclesiastical
authority to do the calling. It was Constantine who called the council, in his
own interests and for his own ends, and he took care from the start to make the
bishops realize clearly that they were obeying the emperor, as employees of the
State. The emperor summoned, the emperor paid, the (luxury) imperial coach
service collected the bishops and delivered them at state expense. In Nicaea the
bishops were guests of the emperor, who invited them, wined and dined them,
controlled them. . . . Eusebius, as we saw in the preceding chapter, viewed the
banquet offered by Constantine to the bishops in his imperial palace, protected
by the drawn swords of soldiers of the Roman army, as a complete symbol of
the coining of the Kingdom of God on earth.10
Today, Constantine's political genius is beyond doubt. At a time when
the Roman Empire was already clearly in decay, he realized that the Christian
Church could provide a most effective force for cohesion in a largely frag-
mented and decayed society. With a massive display of investment and effort,
he took the initiative, in order to make the Church effectively an instrument in
the service of his government's policy.

9
L. Boff, Jesucristo el libemdor, Santander: Sal Terrae, 1980. pp. 172ff.
10
Eusebius, Vita Constantini, 3, 14.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 159

There is no space here to go into this story in detail. Suffice to refer to the most
known and salient elements relating to our central theme: the construction of
christological dogma at the councils of Nicaea and Constantinople. At Nicaea,
the emperor not only summoned the bishops and set out the themes they were
to study and debate in the council hall but put forward and pushed for approval
of the decisions he wanted. At times the debate was not theological or scrip-
tural, or even pastoral, but overtly political: a battle was being waged between
those who obeyed and took the emperor's side and those who dared to dissent.
The debate turned into a power-struggle between factions supporting and op-
posing the civil authority. During the course of the debates, theological reason-
ing and arguments were likely to occupy about the same time as cheers for the
emperor.11 Constantine finally imposed his views on bishops who had no visi-
ble head, who were unsettled, who were carrying on a 'council' they had not
called and hardly understood, unable to control the situation, knowing and feel-
ing themselves to be state officials, as overwhelmingly entertained as they
were morally pressured. There are two important points to note here: first, it
was the emperor, Constantine, who presided over, directed, pressured, and
sanctioned a council that worked out a christological dogma that was also a
political instrument the empire needed; second, the president of this council, its
effective head, was not only an emperor but also a non-Christian.12
The weakness of the Church increased when Constantius succeeded
Constantine. Pressure on it increased even as did critical voices from bishops
denouncing such a situation.13 Constantius managed to move the bishops' de-
bating chamber to his own palace, and there would surprise the bishops in their
discussions, hiding behind the curtains to spy on them and breaking into the
room shouting. 'What I wish has to be the law of the Church!'14 This is just
one telling example of the moral pressure being exerted on the bishops.
Today there is no denying the historical fact that the christological
councils were largely the emperor's work, not only as regards material factors
in the way they were called, presided over, and directed, but also as regards the
objectives he was pursuing and which he effectively gained through them.15
When Constantine set out to change the classic public official religion of the
11
'It is not surprising that, at that time and in councils where points of high theology
were seemingly being discussed, hurrahs to the emperor should be heard like
arguments . . .' J. L. Segundo, El dogma que libera, Santander: Sal Terrae, 1989, p.
224.
12
He was to be baptized 'only on his deathbed in the year 337'. Segundo, ibid., p. 222.
As in the case of Hilary of Poitiers against the emperor Constantius {Contra
Constantium Imperatorem, 4-5, PG 10, 580-1); but also St Ambrose with regard to
Theodosius. . .
14
R. Velasco, La Iglesia de Jestis, Estella: Verbo Divino, 1992, p. 121.
15
J. Sobrino, Lafe en Jesucristo, San Salvador: UCA, 1999, p. 583 (Eng. trans. Christ
the Liberator); J. Moingt, L'homme qui venait de Dieu, Paris; Cerf, 1993 (here Sp.
trans., 1995, vol. l,p. 146).
160 J O S E M A R I A VIGIL

Roman Empire to Christianity, he was undoubtedly hoping that Christianity

would take on the function of legitimizing the empire, supplying a moral sanc-
tion for its policies and power structures, perhaps even for the divinization of
his person This last could not be done directly by Christianity, but perhaps it
could do it indirectly Christian monotheism provided a magnificent foundation
for efforts at holding the empire together, 16 and the proclamation of Christ's
divinity undoubtedly notched up the authority of those who held positions of
authority in the 'Christian empire' This was seen as 'a representation of the
Kingdom of God And just as this had a single father, so the empire has a sin-
gle sovereign, the emperor And the emperor's mission is to bring God's plan
into being on earth, as God's "lieutenant" In this way a form of monotheism
that included the imperial monarchy was consecrated ' 17 The new statements
about Christ served indirectly as statements about civil and religious authority
The political outcome of the council was that the Christian emperor was given
the attributes of God's viceroy on earth, 18 of 'God's chosen instrument', of 'ex-
ternal bishop', of 'universal bishop', of 'thirteenth apostle' 19 And from this the
Church also derived benefits it inherited and shared in the religious attributes
now bestowed on the emperor, and when emperors disappeared with the fall of
the Roman Empire, the popes would be left as unrivalled heirs to the tradition
of the cult of the emperor 20 The vertical Monophysite chnstology that was de-
veloped 'appeared to exalt the greatness and divinity of Jesus but in reality did
no more than project our own longings, desires, or fantasies of power and pre-
eminence on to him' 21
Besides this, there was no lack of debatable aspects attributable to the
bishops themselves 'theological rivalries (between the chnstology of Alexan-
dria and that of Antioch), political ecclesiastical antagonisms (between the pa-
triarchates of Alexandria and Constantinople), and, on many occasions, per
sonal initiatives on the part of some churchmen, such as the clamorous manipu-
lation of the Council of Ephesus in 431 by Cyril of Alexandria and his defini-
tion of the divine motherhood of Mary before the arrival of the council Fathers
from Antioch, who made up the opposing school of thought at the council ' 22

S Dianich, La Iglesia en miswn, Salamanca, Sigueme, 1988, p 208

7
Velasco, op cit,p 125 Cf E Peterson, Der Monoteismus als pohtisches Problem,
Leipzig Hegner 1935
18
J Hick, The Metaphor of God Incarnate, London, SCM Press, 22005, p 45
19
Velasco, ibid , p 123
H Portelli, Gramsci et la question rehgieuse, Pans PUF, 1974 (here Port trans ,
1982, p 53)
21
A Torres Queiruga, La revelacion de Dws en la reahzacion del hombre, Madrid,
Cnstiandad, 1987, p 86 He adds, 'The truth is that this concept was deeply false to the
data of scripture'
22
H Kung, Christ sein, Munich Pfeiffer, 1974, Eng trans On Being a Christian,
London Collins, New York Harper & Row, 1977 (here Sp trans , 1977, p 584)
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 161

Following Cyril's moves, the new conciliar definition on the divine mother-
hood was enthusiastically welcomed by the people, in the city of the ancient
'Great Mother', the original virgin-goddess Artemisa, Diana . . . . Kiing recalls.
Clearly, Cyril was well aware of this context of 'pre-Christian popular religios-
ity'. But was his scheming on behalf of the new dogma to mark a step forward
in the maturation of the faith of the People of God, or was it to produce mysti-
fication of and departure from true faith based on Jesus of Nazareth? The histo-
rian Ramon Teja comes to this lapidary conclusion: 'For the Alexandrine bish-
ops dogmatic questions were just an instrument for gaining the upper hand
over those from Constantinople.'24
In any case, after many vicissitudes, the final formula of the Council of
Constantinople (451), expressed in concepts totally alien to the New Testament
and traditional New Testament Christian faith, corrects and complements, as to
the humanity of Christ, the formula of christological faith pronounced at Ni-
caea. This is the final form of words:

one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only-begotten, acknowledged in

two natures which undergo no confusion, no change, no division, no
separation; at no point was the difference between the natures taken
away through the union, but rather the property of both natures is pre-
served and comes together into a single person and a single subsistent
being; he is not parted or divided into two persons, but is one and the
same only-begotten Son, God, Word, Lord Jesus Christ, just as the
prophets taught from the beginning about him, and as the Lord Jesus
Christ himself instructed us, and as the creed of the fathers handed it
down to us.25

The times were so polemical - and perhaps the formulation arrived at was so
unfortunate pedagogically, and not only for the people - that the decision was
taken to 'set it in stone', forbidding any alteration of its structure, the least
change of wording, or - still less - any 'translation' into a different conceptual
mould.26 This is what in the end produced an outcome that was to last for cen-

Cyril's far-reaching and massive manipulation at this council is beyond doubt and
profusely documented, as is the fact that he usually behaved like this in church affairs
in which his high rank in the hierarchy enabled him to intervene, and was widely know
for doing so. Cf. R. Teja, Emperadores, obispos, monjes y mujeres. Madrid: Trotta
1999, 123-134, 173-194, with an extensive bibliography. The "hermeneutics of
suspicion" does not fall merely on Cyril, but more generally on the political actions of
the bishops in these councils.
24
R. Teja, ibid., p. 124.
25
DS 302.
The same council stated: 'Since we have formulated these things with all possible
accuracy and attention, the sacred and universal synod decreed that no one is permitted
162 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

tunes a stereotyped, rigid formula, held to be untouchable and sacred, any de-
viation from which, however minimal, automatically brought the accusation of
heresy and - dunng many hundreds of years in the history of the Church -
condemnation and execution by the Inquisition This makes it likely that pre-
sent-day readers will find some of its terminology familiar, because it recalls
catechism definitions learned by heart in childhood Jesus, Son of God, Second
Person of the Blessed Trinity, with two natures (human and divine, without
'confusion or division') but in one sole person (the divine) This is the final
summary formulation of christological faith worked out by the chnstological
councils of the fourth and fifth centuries
At this point, it needs to be stressed that, by a curious phenomenon,
perhaps owing to its the peculiar historical origins, as set out above, this for-
mula is, without doubt, beyond comparison with any other, the most sacrahzed
verbal expression Christianity has held to in the whole of its history (and for
many still holds to) No other formulation has been considered so directly and
rigidly literal, leaving so little room for recourse to metaphor, interpretation, or
're-reading'
At the present stage in the history of Christianity, theology has for two
hundred years - despite the fears and resistance of the institution - taken up the
challenges of modern histonco-cntical rationality The foundational Christian
texts (mainly the scriptures) have been studied at every level of their composi-
tion, examined for their influences and for their weaknesses, reconsidered and
re-interpreted, without any unanimity of criteria being reached in many cases,
or even much convergent harmony among interpretations, and without these
difficulties creating too many problems On the other hand, the formulas of
christological dogma remain - in dogma, in theology, and in the common im-
agery of Christians - untouchable, rigid, inflexible, subjected to no analysis or
reconsideration, let alone any possible remterpretation They might be said to
stand as an 'enclave of fundamentalism' at the heart of Christianity, even of the
most 'advanced and progressive' Christianity Nevertheless, this situation has
begun to change, though only very recently, and this is what we turn to next
It is now becoming obvious to historians and theologians that we can-
not further delay introducing a 'coefficient of consideration' into our appraisal
of the chnstological councils in the light of the conditions that affected them so
fundamentally We cannot fully and uncritically allow certain formulations the
status of dogmatic citizenship simply because they proceed from something we
have - perhaps too readily - called an 'ecumenical council' without the antiq-
uity of the tradition of inviolability of these formulas getting in our way
Among historians and theologians there is the birth of a growing consensus on

to produce, or even to write down or compose, any other creed or to think or teach
otherwise' Cf Moignt, op czf(hereSp trans , vol l,p 146)
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 163

the need critically to 'reconsider' the true meaning and even the very validity
of this chnstological construction27
The question is double-sided, at least it has a historical side and a
theological/epistemological one
Historically, it is a matter of trying to elucidate how far the chns-
tological councils, with all their problematical aspects - merely alluded to here
- met the minimum social conditions of legitimacy, peace, and stability for
being able to take properly thought-out and truly ecclesial decisions, to what
extent they enjoyed the minimal conditions of freedom to make it possible for
them to be able to reflect free from political pressure, both m the sense of pres-
sure applied by the emperor and in that of the demands that the requirements
for transforming Christianity into the official religion of the empire were pro-
jecting on to the church institution28
Theologically/epistemologically, the question is more complex To
what extent was the Church equipped with sufficient theological and biblical
knowledge of the documentary and traditional sources of Christian faith - not
of course 'as we have today', but at least a knowledge we might describe as
free from basic misunderstandings, from decisive errors, or from inadmissible
gaps'? What led the bishops to know or believe they knew what they dared to
assert so categorically9 How far are the outcomes of these councils, in their
form and content, a reflection of the actual historical event the Church was liv-
ing through its transformation into state religion of the Roman Empire1?29 To
what extent should their products be reconsidered and re-read from the present-
day standpoint of faith, from a viewpoint so abysmally distant from the situa-
tion in which the improvised 'council Fathers' of that first 'council' were
forced to operate7
The Patristic period - and this is the other side of the coin - was one of great
theological freedom and creativity, however much it may have been condi-

This is - to avoid any misunderstanding - proposing no more than the exercise of

what is a constant dimension in the Church its ongoing duty to reconsider the validity
of its language as an apt instrument for handing on the faith to its contemporaries in the
changing conditions of times and cultures Cf GS 44
Jon Sobnno found it necessary to sum up the historical context of the Council of
Chalcedon before embarking on a study of its content He concludes by saying 'in the
midst of this turbulence the most important concihar dogmatic definition about Christ
was proclaimed' La fe en Jesucnsto, op cit, p 537 Teja likewise states 'The
bishops' stay in Ephesus took place in an atmosphere of continual pressures, tumults,
and revolts' op cit, p 179
'A historical event of such magnitude has not failed to have repercussions on the
document produced by this council, as to its form, it speaks in the name of and with the
authority of the universal Church, imposes its definitions and decisions on all the
Churches, giving them a sacred character by launching anathemas at those who oppose
them, likewise, as to its content, it confers the supreme honors of divinity on the
founder of Christianity ' Moignt, op cit,p 114
164 J O S E M A R I A VIGIL

tioned by the cultural limitations of the time This raises the question of
whether we today, so far removed in terms of knowledge and the now well es-
tablished conclusions of the histonco-cntical sciences, and living in a truly dif-
ferent world, do not have the right - and even the duty - to contribute to the
faith of the Church through our own contribution toward the lasting renewal of
the language of faith in Christ subject to the demands and possibilities of the
new conditions in which we live now And this brings us to the next point

12 1 2 3 A recent proposal for reopening the question

As we have seen, this point of christological dogma produces a special sort of
reverential fear in theologians There is no other dogmatic area in the Christian
faith that has not been revised and reconsidered from various viewpoints,
where christological dogma is at stake, however, theological fruitfulness has
clearly been repressed 30 Let us, nevertheless, consider a theological proposal
for christological revision that has received a great deal of attention, worked
out by the theological leader in the paradigm of pluralism applied to theology
of religions, John Hick (whom I have quoted already)
In 1977 a volume of essays titled The Myth of God Incarnate?1 a col-
lective work by seven British authors, some Anglican, some from other de-
nominations, all eminent, unleashed the greatest theological controversy in
Great Britain since the publication of Honest to God thirteen years earlier
There was uproar in the General Synod of the Church of England, articles were
published over many weeks in the British press, thundering sermons and pro-
nouncements were delivered by clerics, there were calls for the Anglicans who
had taken part in the publication of the book to renounce their orders, and so
on The book sold 30,000 copies in its first eight months, but a response ap-
peared within three weeks of its publication, in the form of The Truth of God
Incarnate?1 and from then on a heated theological debate gathered momen-
tum 33 The book was also published in the US and made a considerable impact
there The thesis of the 1977 book was this very simple one 'that Jesus himself
did not teach that he was God incarnate, and that this momentous idea is a

This does not mean that over the course of the past two hundred years this field has
not been tackled by academic researchers in theology and exegesis What is being said
here is that it has always been withheld - and still is - from the mass of the faithful,
maintaining a great abyss between what experts deal with in their researches and what
preachers and catechists teach in their communities
31
J Hick (ed), The Myth of God Incarnate, London, SCM Press, Philadelphia, PA
Westminster Press, 1977
32
M Green (ed ), The Truth of God Incarnate, London Hodder & Stoughton, 1977
33
G Carey, God Incarnate, 1977, D MacDonald, The Myth/Truth of God Incarnate,
1979, M Goulder, Incarnation and Myth The Debate Continued, 1979, A E Harvey,
God Incarnate Story and Belief, 1981, T V Morns, The Logic of God Incarnate,
1986, R Crawford, The Saga of God Incarnate, 1988, etc
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 165

creation of the Church'. This in itself was nothing new - far from it: scholars
on both sides of the Atlantic had long examined it and accepted it; what was
new was that members of the theological establishment were proclaiming this
thesis in public and that they reckoned that the doctrine of the incarnation
should be openly reconsidered instead of going on being viewed as sacrosanct
and untouchable.
The first book, though the Anglican ecclesiastical establishment re-
acted against it with emotive rhetoric, was warmly welcomed by many both
inside and outside the Churches. These welcomed the fact that theologians
were now showing themselves capable of speaking openly about the researches
carried out into the historical Jesus and Christian origins. They were also in-
dignant, but indignant rather that the Church should for decades have been en-
couraging them to go on thinking, for example, that the historical Jesus had
said, 'The Father and I are one' (John 10.30) and, 'Whoever has seen me has
seen the Father' (John 14.9), instead of informing them of the consensus
among scholars that these words were rather those of someone writing some
sixty years later, who, giving voice to a theology that had been developed in
his community, put these famous words into Jesus' mouth. They were indig-
nant that the Churches should have treated them as being incapable of under-
standing the results of biblical and theological researches, and not as intelligent
adults.35
There is no need to point out that the Churches, en bloc, took the oppo-
sition side in the debate, promoting a closed reaffirmation, with no room for
questioning, of the traditional dogma, while steering clear of any possibly up-
setting questions. Eighteen years after the first book that unleashed the debate,
John Hick published another,36 more mature and serene - as he himself claims.
This builds on and clarifies his position in the light of critiques made, many of
them by critics who have remained good friends of his. When, then, is Hick's
final proposal in this debate?
Hick approaches the evolution of how the community of Jesus' fol-
lowers thought about him from a historical perspective. There is broad agree-
ment among exegetes on the fact that Jesus never claimed the attribute of
divinity for himself and absolutely never put himself forward as God incarnate.
Until a hundred years ago (and still widely today in uneducated circles) it was
regarded as certain that belief in Jesus as God made man was based on his own
explicit teaching: T and the Father are one', 'he whoehas seen me has seen the
Father', and so on. Today 'it would be hard to find a New Testament student

Hick, The Metaphor, op. cit., p. 2.

Ibid., p. 3.
Hick, The Metaphor.
 166 JOSE M A R I A VIGIL

who would be prepared to defend the four occurrences of "I am" found in John,
or most other usages, as possibly attributable to the historical Jesus. '3?
It is worth pausing to reflect on the magnitude of this change. At least
from the fifth century to the nineteenth, Christians believed that Jesus pro-
claimed himself God the Son, Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, living a
human life. This belief formed a central tenet of the faith of all these genera-
tions of Christians. But modern historical scientific research has destroyed the
basis for this belief. In periods as recent as the sixteenth century in Protestant
countries and the seventeenth in Catholic ones, anyone putting forward such a
theory would have been executed for heresy. The results of nineteenth- and
twentieth-century research would have been viewed as demonic by the leaders
of the post-Nicaea or post-Chalcedon Church, as they would by Thomas Aqui-
nas and other medieval theologians, or by Luther and other Reformers, and by
any ordinary Christian until a very few generations ago, and still today by the
great mass of Christian men and women unacquainted with modern biblical
studies. It is just this ignorance - which seems not to concern their pastors -
that makes it difficult to discuss these questions in an open or calmly reflective
manner, Hick says.
Hick studies the use of the expression 'Son of God' in the Jewish
world in which Jesus lived and from which the New Testament was later to
spring. This language of divine sonship enjoyed widespread and varied use
throughout the ancient world and was familiar to Jesus' contemporaries. In
fact, Hick claims, it would have been surprising if this widespread honorific
divinization of outstanding religious figures had not been applied to Jesus, if
the Hebrew metaphor 'son of God' had not been used of him. On this point
Hick relies on Giza Vermes: 'The expression "Son of God" was always under-
stood metaphorically in Jewish circles. In Judaic sources its usage never im-
plied a sharing by the person so designated in the divine nature. It can be sup-
posed in all certainty that, if the milieu in which Christian theology developed
had been Hebrew and not Greek, the doctrine of the incarnation would never
have been elaborated as in fact it was'. 38
With regard to Paul, Hick thinks his texts can be understood in various
ways. His language is exhortative and rhetorical, not precise in conceptual
terms. He is not writing systematic theology but simply preaching to the com-
munities. 'He speaks of Jesus as the Lord Jesus Christ, and as the Son of God;

A. Thatcher, Truly a Person, Truly God, London: SPCK, 1990, p. 77. 'These sayings
placed in the mouth of Jesus rather reflect the theology of the community at the end of
the first century': J. Hick, God Has Many Names, London: SCM Press; Philadelphia,
PA: Westminster Press, 1982, p. 73. 'After D. F. Strauss and F. C. Bauer, the Gospel of
John can no longer be taken by anyone as a source of authentic words of Jesus': Hick,
ibid.
38
G. Vermes, Jesus and the World of Judaism, Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press, 1983,
p. 72.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 167

and in his last letter, to the Colossians - if this is indeed by Paul (many schol-
ars doubt it) - his language moves in the direction of deification But the ques-
tion is, of course what did this language mean to the writer and his readers in
the first century1? The central imagery Paul uses, that of "father and son", inevi-
tably suggests the subordination of the son to the father And in Paul's writ-
ings God and God's Son cannot be said to be co-equal, as the Persons of the
Holy Trinity were later declared to be The notion of Jesus as God's Son is in-
deed pre-trimtanan '39
In any case, Hick sees the point at which this process became inflexi-
ble as being the councils of Nicaea and Chalcedon When it emerged from the
catacombs and sought to occupy the space left by the official religion of the
empire, Christianity found itself under pressure to engage urgently with the
culture of the time It had to explain its beliefs as much to the dominant culture,
Greek in origin, as to itself It also had to achieve a single all-embracing state-
ment of expressions of the Christian faith, without which it could not keep the
empire of which it was becoming the state religion united Constantme sum-
moned the Council of Nicaea 'with the aim of restoring concordance in the
Church and in the empire' 40 'And it was here that the Church first officially
adopted from Greek culture the non-biblical concept of ousia, declaring that
Jesus, as God the Son incarnate, was homoousws toi patri, of the same sub-
stance as the Father The original biblical metaphors were henceforth relegated
for theological purposes to the level of popular language awaiting interpreta-
tion whilst for official purposes a philosophical definition took their place A
metaphorical son of God had become the metaphysical God the Son, second
person of the Trinity ' 41
This brings us to the core of Hick's thinking the basic error - he says
- consisted in religious metaphor coming to be regarded as literal metaphys-
ics,42 in what was poetry being taken for prose, and in a Hebrew metaphor be-
ing interpreted as though it were Greek metaphysics Hick goes on to stress
that the formulation put forward was unfortunate because it was not viable,
which, in his view, can be proved by the fact that all attempts made by theolo-
gians to interpret it and explain it have been philosophically impossible and
theologically heretical This is why he proposes returning to understanding
'Son of God' as biblical metaphor, which would then indeed enable it to re-
cover its full force of meaning and expression
Closely linked to the doctrine of the incarnation is that of atonement
The Second Person of the Trinity becomes man to take up the mission of re-
deeming the human race from the state of sin it found itself in, as a result of the

Hick, The Metaphor, p 43 Logically, the problem is more complex, but we cannot
develop the point more fully here
J Pehkan, Jesus Through the Centuries, London Yale University Press, 1985, p 52
41
Hick, The Metaphor, pp 44-5
42
Ibid, see ch 10, 'Divine Incarnation as Metaphor', pp 99-111
168 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

Fall of the first human couple in original s i n . . . . Hick regards 'in this narrower
sense the idea of atonement... a deceit; although of course the broader sense,
in which atonement simply means salvation, is vitally important. . . . One could
easily think that the notion of atonement, in its narrower sense, had largely died
out among thoughtful Christians.'43
A view developed according to which the central justification for the
incarnation was the purpose of ransoming humankind from the power of the
Devil, under which it had remained since the sin of Adam. The way many an-
cient authors spoke of this captivity of the human race under the Devil's do-
minion, and of the battle Christ had to undertake to set us free, is so lively and
detailed that today it seems 'reminiscent of fairy-story themes'.44 Now it seems
to most of us that attacking this idea is like doing battle with 'an extinct mon-
ser'.45 Furthermore, the idea of an actual Fall, which produced a universal
fallen state and blame transmitted by generation, is something that educated
Christians at least find completely impossible to believe in. 'For if we believe
that there never was a human fall from an original paradisal state, why risk
confusing ourselves and confusing others by speaking as if there were?'4
This theology of atonment was considerably purified in its re-
formulation by St Anselm, who spoke no longer of the ransom of human be-
ings by God to free them from the power of the Devil to which they had been
subject but of the theology of 'satisfaction': the original sin had been an infi-
nite offense (on account of the dignity of the One offended), and its reparation
required an equally infinite satisfaction, and this was precisely the purpose of
Christ's 'mission', a mission that logically only he, in his simultaneous quality
of God and human being, could carry out. Jesus Christ was the only possible
Savior of fallen humanity - and it should be remembered that in this world
view, humanity was the central and virtually only protagonist in existence: the
cosmos with its unending and extremely complex evolutionary formation
meant nothing; it was a sort of unnecessary 'add-on' to the world of what ex-
isted. Humankind was the focus-point, taking up the whole stage, its 'Fall' was
the cosmic drama itself, and so the only possible Savior, and only Savior in
fact, came to be the Savior of the World, the fulcrum of history, of the world,
and of life.
While the theology of ransom (before St Anselm) had drawn its sote-
riological model from the structures dominant in the society of its time, that is,
from the sociologically significant fact of slavery, the later theology of re-
demption (St Anselm's) is in effect a fundamentally juridical model - a 'substi-
tutive penal conception' - in accordance with the new reception of Roman law
in the society of the High Middle Ages. Unfortunately, today, when we are in

Ibid., p. 113.
Ibid., p. 114.
Ibid., p. 115.
Ibid., p. 116.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 169

the third millennium, most of the prayers and rites in general of the liturgy, the
sacramentary, the 'divine office' . . . of all the official prayer of the Roman
Church, for example, is still infested with this medieval vision, from which it
has not been ransomed. This means that present-day Christianity, when it prays
through the liturgy, finds itself submerged in a medieval juridical-theological
world view of ransom, of redemption, of payment due for sin, and so on,
shifted seven centuries back and all expressed in terms of substance, nature,
hypostasis, and the like, which are dredged up from even further back. The of-
ficial liturgical, theological, and spiritual language of the Church has not been
revised, on account of the same fundamentalist taboo of fear of 'congealed'
dogmatic formulas. The result is that, by presupposing a social order that dis-
appeared long ago, this language is today shorn of meaning, even to the extent
of being incomprehensible to us, 'and in my view, it would be better com-
pletely to abandon its use in our contemporary theologies and liturgies', says
Hick.47
Naturally, readers are recommended to delve wider and deeper into
this theological position, which invites us to revise our Christological dogma
along lines indicated by the pluralist theological approach, of which Hick is
simply one of the most outstanding exponents.48

12.1.3 Conclusion: ACT

It is time to draw some conclusions from all that has been said,49 and let us de-
duce some working principles:

12.1.3.1 Serious (unacceptable?) deficiencies

The orthodoxy of christological dogma, as it was historically formulated, and
above all as it was later used as a controlling criterion of unity, suffers from
grave deficiencies, of the which the main two are:
(a) The 'Christ of dogma' as envisaged is a Christ who has lost all connec-
tion with the historical Jesus, with his life, his cause, his preaching,50 a
Christ without the Kingdom, without what was his central cause, the
absolute for Jesus of Nazareth.

4/
Ibid., p. 118.
48
Hick himself points out that the dogma of the incarnation is questioned by a great
number of highly esteemed theologians': ibid., p. 3.
Which should be seen in relationship with what was said in the previous chapter,
under 'A theological audit of the Constantinian revolution'.
50
Which can be seen even in the Creed composed there: it goes straight from the
incarnation to the death and resurrection; the actual life, word, message, cause,
preaching, history. . . of Jesus of Nazareth are not relevant to this christological dogma.
170 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

(b) The Christ of dogma has become a 'personalist reduction' of the King-
dom of God,5i thereby avoiding the Kingdom as such and Jesus' mes-
sage, as well as his history and the history he is capable of unleashing

12 1 32 The 'other' Christianity

The Christianity of the Christ of dogma is 'another Christianity',52 meaning a
Christianity different from that of the Good News of the Kingdom of God and
the following of Jesus It is a Christianity that reduces Christ to a metaphysical
theory capable of legitimating the structure of 'Christendom',53 self-evidently
playing a major role both in the 'state religion' into which Christianity was
changed under the Roman Empire and m its participation in the imperialist ex-
pansions by various nations of the 'Christian' West into the rest of the world A
chnstological dogma elaborated 'in a period of total eclipse of the Kingdom in
the Church'54 and of eclipse of its eschatological nature, cannot be wholly cor-
rect, owing to an absolute lack of basic conditions55 The Christianity of the
Christ of dogma has in its history produced too many bad fruits, which cannot
come from a good tree We need to be clear-sighted in our analysis and coura-
geous in our acceptance of the fact this is a deficient and distorted Christian-
ity,56 and it has to be subjected to the judgment of the Christianity of the Good
News of the Kingdom and of the following of Jesus

12 1 3 3 Believing in Jesus and believing like Jesus

As the gospel itself stresses, it is much more important to 'follow Jesus', mean-
ing 'to live and struggle for Jesus' cause', that to give intellectual assent in
faith to the metaphysical theoretical statements that go to make up so-called
chnstological dogma Furthermore this orthodoxy without that praxis counts

51
J Sobnno, Cnstologw desde America Latvia, Mexico City CRT, 1977, p xni
idem, La fe en Jesucnsto, op cit, p 603 This 'personalization of the Kingdom' is, in
Sobnno's words, one of the 'ways of devaluing, cancelling out and even distorting the
Kingdom of God'
I am not here considering whether it is substantially, ontologically, or historically, or
only apparently 'other' This could a be a subject for more leisurely discussion with
the censor
'Christendom' is used in the sense of the religious/political union of the Church with
the social system of institutional power
5
The phrase is from Teofilo Cabestrero
55
Furthermore contemporary observers also recognized the limitations of that period
in the Church St Jerome said, 'Since the Church came to be under the Christian
emperors its power and wealth have indeed increased but its moral force has
diminished' Vita S Malchi, 1, PL 23, 55B
56
That the Christianity of the period underwent a radical transformation that removed
and diverted it from the way followed by Jesus is a recurring theme in most of the
mystics and reformers of later periods Today it is our most challenging discovery Cf
D O'Murchu, Reclaiming Spirituality, New York Crossroad, 1998, p 30
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 171

for nothing, that praxis, even without this orthodoxy, saves The important
thing is not 'believing in Jesus', which is easy to do, but 'believing like Je-
sus' 57 facing up to history in a similar or proportional manner to how Jesus
did, which never counted intellectual adherence to abstract dogmatic state-
ments among its requirements

12 1 3 4 Expendable Hellenism
We need to take more systematic account of the markedly Hellenistic nature of
the culture in which the christological dogma of Nicaea and Chalcedon was
developed While recognizing and admiring the courage that the Church
showed in the attempt to translate the Christian faith into the terms of the
dominant culture of the time, we also need to recognize the major extent to
which it was conditioned and led into error by that attempt, and equally we
must to some degree accept the hollowness and expendabihty of its formulas in
entirely different cultural contexts The categories employed, the concerns felt,
the questions answered - all these largely form part of Western culture, which
can now be dispensed with by those who are not Western, 58 or by those who at
least aspire to a transcultural outlook 59 Just as those generations of Christians
were creative and worked out their own reformulation of the faith in accor-
dance with the alien surrounding culture in which they happened to live, so our
generation today has the duty not to feel itself encased in certain formulas,
however venerable they may be, and to engage its creative faithfulness too,
instead of feeling itself obliged to perform hermeneutical balancing-acts for the
sake of seeming to be granting a life extension to the formulas of a bygone
age 60
However absolute the priority given to Hellenism may have been for
many centuries in defining Christian orthodoxy, today it appears entirely in-
adequate for defining it, and even counter-productive for expressing it entirely
(inasmuch as, without being heavily corrected, it distracts attention from the
essence of Christianity), as well as unnecessary for all those Christian men and
women whose culture has not the least affinity with Greek culture as it affects

J M Vigil, 'Believe as Jesus Did The Spirituality of the Kingdom', RELaT 191
servicioskoinoma org/relat/191e htm
58
'We can no longer theologize with impunity following the metaphysical way of
thinking' C Geffre, Le Chnstianisme au risque de Vinterpretation, Pans Cerf, 1983
(here Sp trans , 1984, p 30)
According to F Wilfred, the question of the uniqueness of Chnst betrays a 'Western
preoccupation' Cf J Dupuis, Vers une theologie chretienne du plurahsme rehgieux,
Pans Cerf, 1997 (here It trans , 1997, p 268)
F Marin-Sola, La evolucwn homogenea del dogma catolico, Madrid-Valencia,
1963 This is perhaps the most emblematic exposition of the classic conservative
position that seeks to demonstrate (rather than to believe) that the evolution of the
Christian faith contains no leaps, no breaks, no denial of the past, no 'changes of
paradigm', no abandonment of unsustainable declarations
172 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

these dogmatic formulations - such as, for example, a philosophy incompatible

with ancient Greek philosophy, or a 'post-metaphysical' culture

12 1 3 5 Reinterpreting understanding of the incarnation

61
The 'theologoumenon', metaphor, myth, symbol of the incarnation of the
Second Person of the Trinity in Jesus has shown itself to be an immensely po-
tent and universally influential symbol We are not dealing here with one point,
one element alongside others in Christianity, but with a fundamental dimension
that changes everything in it Nevertheless, all religious symbols become prob-
lematical when they are understood in an excessively physical and exact man-
ner, beyond the flexibility proper to a religious symbol The symbol of the in-
carnation has had unforeseen elements introduced into it that have diverted it
toward distorted understandings An understanding of the 'mystery' of the in-
carnation that includes bestowing on Christianity a degree of absoluteness and
uniqueness vis-a-vis all other religions is something that goes beyond the ac-
tual content of the mystery this symbol conveys A theoretical development of
understanding of the incarnation that leans, consciously or unconsciously, to-
ward granting pre-eminence or privileged choice to a race, nation, or culture, or
even to a religion, is a theoretical construct that runs counter to other elements
of the divme mystery and, in any case, goes beyond what revelation states
when it is read through an updated hermeneutic 62 Today we know that revela-
tion cannot give us an answer to these questions, simply because it had no
means of posing them And all that been said furthermore throughout our his-
tory has to be seen in its context today and, in due measure, re-examined and
re-interpreted
There is, therefore, now a need for a period of 'deconstruction' of
these dogmatic formulations, 63 accepting that they fall within the common
condition of religious language, always in need of hermeneutical remterpreta-

This is not to dismiss its specific qualification

62
'The magistenum is not superior to the word of God, but rather its servant It teaches
only what has been handed on to it' Vatican II, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine
Revelation, Dei Verbum, 10 'It is a commonplace in current theology that the content
of dogma cannot say more than, cannot exceed the content of the reality of Christ as
accessible to us in scripture' K Rahner, Theological Investigations IV (here Sp trans ,
p 383), J Sobnno, Cristologia, op cit, p 3
The idea is from Joseph Moingt 'the "deconstruction" of this theology of the
incarnate Word' L homme qui venait , op cit, 1, p 10 This author's personal
trajectory is fascinating and eloquent having spent many years working on his thesis
De Verbo incarnato (chnstology as it was called and presented before Vatican II), was
forced to abandon its publication in order to spend several decades re-working his
whole chnstological vision, subsequently reflected in this book, in which he explains it
in terms of personal witness
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 173

tion, without excluding revision of dogma.64 In any case. Congar's proposal -

in the context of ecumenical recovery - to begin a period of 're-reception' of
the 'symbolic writings', of conciliar or pontifical decrees, of the normative
writings, that is, for the faith of each of the Churches, their sustenance
throughout their history, seems most apposite now. Each Church or denomina-
tion should 're-accept' its own normative writings, in order to 're-situate them
in totality and in the balance of the witness of scripture'.65 Nicene-
Chalcedonian christological dogma would fall fully within the remit of this 're-
reception' postulated by Congar.
There is equally a need to avoid extreme positions that see only nega-
tive elements in dogmatic formulations that have, in practice, produced histori-
cally negative effects. These should not blind us to the positive role, meaning,
and praxis they have also given rise to historically. The symbol of the incarna-
tion has inspired conduct and action diametrically opposed to the already-
mentioned attitudes of domination, conquest, pre-eminence, privilege, intoler-
ance, and the like. The incarnation of God has turned out to be, as we have
seen, a symbol of extraordinary potency for inspiring 'incarnationaP behaviour
in the shape of abasement, humility, solidarity, poverty, 'kenosis'. . . ,66
The symbols in themselves, then, are plurivalent, dependent on the use
we make of them, or on the widest frames of reference in which they are set.
They cannot be canonized or condemned in the abstract. They cannot be ban-
ished simply on account of the harmful actions they may have engendered.
Like a good wine in an old bottle, they have to be decanted, ransomed from
those contexts (theological, cultural, mental) that allowed their perverse use, so
as to be read through categories or elements (logically belonging to present-day
culture, or at least compatible with it) that allow and ensure their positive ap-
plication. Perhaps this decanting may or should cause them to lose their form,
their outdated or unnecessary, or even dangerous, cultural elements, in the
process. What matters is not the vessel, but the wine. But if our attachment to
old, now outdated, forms makes us insist on keeping the wine in old bottles,
many of our contemporaries will probably go on rejecting the wine from the
distaste the bottle still arouses in them from historical associations still present

'We should not discount the possibility of re-formulating the dogma. We have to
accept a change in its formulation if we are to be faithful to the permanent value of a
statement of faith': Geffre, Le Christianisme, op. cit. (here Sp. trans., p. 97).
65
Y. Congar, Diversites et communion. Paris: Cerf, 1982, p. 244.
66
See the chapter on 'Incarnation' in Casaldaliga- Vigil, The Spirituality of Liberation,
op. cit. From this standpoint and from the spirit that breathes in it, this marvellous
symbol would never have been 'perverted'. This goes to prove what has been said on
religious symbols having a capacity to work for the worst and the best. It all depends
on the tint of the lens through which they are looked at. This being so, the good and
bad effects of a symbol should remind us permanently that we are dealing with a
symbol, which can be interpreted - and also manipulated - rather than with a physical-
metaphysical reality, which cannot be manipulated.
174 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

in their collective memory (if not in the actual present situation, as still hap-
pens with so many symbols)
Neither should the mere fact that they have proved positive or effica-
cious cause symbols be sacralized However positive they may have proved,
they remain symbols, metaphors that mediate a truth that lies beyond the mate-
rial expression formed by a particular set of words, a truth that can discovered
and transmitted only if it is faithful to the symbolic code in which it has been
expressed, and not if it is sacralized or reified by being converted into meta-
physic
Metaphor is not metaphysics It is simply a metaphor But it is wholly
a metaphor and nothing less than a metaphor It is the form in which a truth
perhaps inaccessible by other means is expressed Only those who fail to grasp
the expressive excellence of poetic language, or the 'ontological vehemence' of
metaphoric strategy, in the words of Paul Ricoeur,67 will despise metaphors as
'mere metaphors'
At the present time, there is no way of availing ourselves of a full
christological re-working, a complete and satisfactory fresh expression of the
whole of christological dogma We are just beginning to reflect on the basis of
some confirmed suspicions and the break with some old certainties We need to
find 'new answers' to the ongoing challenge of 'And you, who do you say that
I am'?'68 The answer previously given to this question, in the form of words
used, has proved narrow and its meaningfulness has deteriorated Perhaps sev-
eral generations have to come and go before we can fashion or be sure we have
found a new answer In fact, 'The situation raises complex and delicate ques-
tions, which require study in the light of Christian Tradition and the Church's
official teaching, in order to provide the missionaries of today and tomorrow
with new approaches to the non-Christian religions ,69
In any case, as we proceed on our way, it is clear that we can shed all
those theoretical suppositions and all the 'perverse ideological implications'
that have made the old understanding of christological dogma impact harm-
fully on history As Jesus would do, we can and should engage in dialogue
with other religions, on a footing of fraternal equality, as sons and daughters of
the God of all religions, ridding ourselves of the desire to be 'the one true relig-
ion', offering the way we live and our experience in all love and all humility,
avid m our turn to discover what the Spirit of God is working in all peoples and
all religions, so that we can enrich ourselves too with this

With regard to John Hick, his later book (The Metaphor ) strives to demonstrate
the extraordinary power of the metaphor of the incarnation, once detached from
metaphysics, the expressive value of the metaphor appears in all its beauty and power
68
P Knitter, Introducing Theologies of Religions, Maryknoll, NY Orbis, 2002, p 150
69
Evangehi Nuntiandi 53
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 175

12.2 Related texts

• I recommend chapters 3 and 4 of John Hick (ed.), The Metaphor of

God Incarnate. Christology in a Pluralistic Age, London: SCM Press,
1977, new ed. 1993.

• Download the free digital book Getting the Poor down from the Cross,
at www.eatwot.org/TheologicalCommission) produced by the Interna-
tional Theological Commission of EATWOT, a collection of reactions
by more than 40 theologians to the 'Notification' by the Vatican's
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith concerning Jon Sobrino's
two-volume work of christology, and compare some of its attitudes to
what has been discussed in this chapter.

12.3 Questions for reflection and discussion

• How was the mystery of the incarnation explained to us? Reconstruct it

as a group.
• Do we remember the questions and answers our childhood catechism
used to explain christological dogma? (Two natures, one person .. .)
• St Anselm saw God as having to become incarnate because only
through the satisfaction made by Jesus - which, because he was God,
was of infinite value - could the human race be pardoned; otherwise,
the relationship between us and God would remain broken. First, did
we know that this view of the redemption was a theological one par-
ticular to St Anselm of Canterbury (eleventh century)? Was it pre-
sented to us as a theological opinion or as an indisputable dogmatic
truth? What does the image of God it puts forward suggest to us?
• Comment on this sentence by Paul Knitter: 'Catholics, like Christians
in general, are coming to realize that for something to be true it does
not have to be absolute'. (Knitter, No Other Name?, p. 219)
• Beyond the institutional identity of the Church, which it has had for
twenty centuries, it is possible to enquire into the identity of Christian-
ity itself: Is Christianity one or are there several? Was the Christianity
of the rebel slaves the same as that of their 'Christian' masters and
owners? (Distinguish between the deep or theologal identity and the
juridical or institutional identity of the Church.) Was the Christianity
of a chaplain in the official army the same as that of a guerrilla fighter
committed to the struggle? Is that of a chaplain attached to the board of
directors of a multinational banking corporation the same as that of a
militant Christian belonging to a People's Party? Is that of a Christian
absentee landlord the same as that of a peasant acting in the 'Landless
Movement' in Brazil, who 'occupies' an unproductive ranch? Is that of
176 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

George W. Bush the same as that of Pedro Casaldaliga? What gives a

religion its identity? What gives Christianity its identity?
The basic error, Hick says, is 'to take metaphor as metaphysics, and
poetry as prose'. Comment.
12: Excursus

The Development of Christological Dogma

If a picture is worth a thousand words, perhaps too an overall sketch, presented
in then most pictorial form possible, of the process by which christological
dogma made its appearance and developed in its early stages, may be worth
more than many abstract words of judgment on it. So let us attempt such a
presentation of its development. The reconstruction is mine, but the materials
used to make it are taken from others, principally from Roger Haight.l
Bear in mind all that was said in lesson (chapter) 8, on the new under-
standing of the concept of revelation, as a major premiss with which to relate
what will be set out in the first part here, so as to deduce from the whole, in
due course, the reflections and open questions presented in the final part of this
excursus.

Two Observations

The so-called christological councils, in the fourth and fifth centuries, saw the
bishops engaged in heated debate on the most subtle questions relating to the
highest theological mysteries:
• whether Jesus of Nazareth is by nature truly human or whether he also
shares in the divine nature; if he shares in both natures; if he has one
will or two, one personality or two;
• whether he was first an ordinary human being who was 'adopted' by
God - as some New Testament texts seem to suppose - or whether he
was God himself from the first moment of his natural being;
• whether in this latter case he pre-existed his life on earth, and whether
the being that pre-existed and then became flesh in him was God him-
self or an intermediate divine being;
• whether - if he was actually God himself - he was the God accepted
by Judaic monotheism or a separate, second God;
• whether the so-called Logos or Word was God himself or an extension
emanating from God, and whether this Word was eternal like God the
Father or proceeded from him in time, and whether this procession
took the form of a creation or a begetting, that is, whether the Word
had been begotten or was rather unbegotten, whether he was subordi-
nated to the Father or of equal rank.. .2

1
R. Haight, Jesus, Symbol of God, Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1999.
Questions relating to the third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, are left out of
account here.
178 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

Inevitably, all this raises the question of how those council Fathers, and the
Christian theologians and writers of the time, came to know so many and such
detailed maters Where did they get the information on which to base such
statements, and where did others get theirs on which to state the opposite"? We
have already seen that at some councils theological or scriptural discussions
were interspersed with cheers for the emperor, and that quite a few theological
stands taken were no more than political taking of sides for or against the em-
peror, we have also discussed the rivalries, fears, pressures, bribes, and so on
affecting the bishops taking part in these theological controversies, which were
as lively in monasteries, parishes, and even streets and marketplaces as they
were in the council chamber Leaving these non-theological considerations
aside, though, what bases did their theological arguments appeal to, what foun-
dations did they rest on7
Without any doubt, we have to reply that they appealed to and rested
on the authority of scripture All the groups involved in the debate quoted
scriptural texts, taken from here and there, often single verses in isolation,
sometimes just words,3 making use of them like weapons hurled at their adver-
sary, on the basis of a divine authority attributed at the time to such texts In
the 'theological methodology' of the period, scripture was used 'as a represen-
tative, quasi-descriptive source of information, dealing with facts or objective
data concerning the transcendent divine reality ' 3

Two Observations

Well, then there is a serious problem here 'The doctrine of Nicaea relies on
scripture, but it uses it in a way that is unacceptable today ' 4 Nowadays, not
only do we not make use of scripture in this way, but it seems obvious to us
that this is not the correct way of doing so We now have at our disposal a
whole battery of different forms of critique enabling us to advance the episte-
mology of theoretical knowledge, and these reject this hermeneutical method-
ology as absolutely inadequate If we accept the epistemological axiom that
'conclusions are no better than the arguments that support them', we shall have
to conclude that we need to undertake a re-evaluation of the theological propo-
sitions of both those who emerged the victors and those who proved to be the
losers in the concihar and extra-conciliar debates that produced chnstological
dogma

3
Stripped not only of their literary context (the rest of the text) but also of their literary
pre-history, of their process of composition, of the social, economic, cultural, and
religious context in which they were developed taken simply as interchangeable
bricks that could as well be used in any other building, or as irrational, disposable
weapons valid only for the argument from authority - the weakest of all arguments, as
Aristotle said
4
Haight, Jesus Symbol p 279
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 179

But then again we need to go back farther and ask ourselves: What process
brought into being these scriptural texts produced, quoted, and contested with
such fervor and blind adherence on the part of one or other contestant party to
the discussions, providing the base and information they needed to develop the
christological dogma that has since remained an immovable dogma of faith
down succeeding centuries? In other words: we are going back to asking the
same question we asked a moment ago of the council Fathers of the fourth and
fifth centuries, but this time applied to the scriptural texts on which these same
council Fathers relied. The question is: How did these texts come to know what
they state? Where did they get their information from? How did it come into
being? On what basis? Is it true that these scriptural texts contain 'objective
information on the transcendent reality of God'?
We are speaking of certain texts produced barely two centuries before
the period in which christological dogma was developed, through a process of
elaboration that is now reasonably well known. So how did these texts, which
form the base and ultimate foundation for the development of christological
dogma, come into being? Let us look into this.

How did the christological reflection in the New Testament come into be-
ing?

It is beyond debate today that the life situation in which the oral traditions that
later gave rise to the New Testament arose was the paschal experience of the
communities, particularly in the liturgical setting, and specifically in that of the
Eucharist, which seems to have come into practice almost immediately after
Jesus' death.
The communities did not start out from zero: they had their culture,
with its categories, words, influences, needs, traditions. . . . All these were
brought into play in their liturgy. The communities used the language at their
disposal, in which they had to 'put into words' their experience of Jesus raised,
so as to express 'the basic convictions of the life of worship in the commu-
nity' .5 The cultic veneration of Jesus in the earliest Christian communities is
the principal context in which the christological 'titles' and concepts were em-
ployed.6 The language used and the thought-patterns adopted were, then, not
the 'normal' ones but a language of love and a logic of adoration.7

5
R. T. France, 'Development in New Testament Christology', Themelios 18 (1992), 7.
L. W. Hurtado, One God, One Lord: Early Christian Devotion and Ancient Jewish
Monotheism, Philadelphia: Fortress, 1988, p. 13.
Kristner Stendhal called it 'language of lovers', and this has generally been taken up
by authors. Cf. R. Bernhardt, Der Absolutheitanspruch des Christentums. Von der
Aufkldrung bis zur Pluralistischen Religionstheologie, Giitersloh: Vanderhoek &
Ruprecht, 1990. (Here Sp. trans., 2000, p. 317).
180 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

The development of christological thinking in the communities did not come

about starting from Jesus' teaching and sayings, as if it were a 'logical and ra-
tional development' of the message of the risen Jesus, but was very uneven,
varying with the different communities and their differing contexts.
Bearing in mind that the Jesus movement had, within a few years of
his death, spread among various peoples, and that new communities were
formed, we can imagine how development of christological reflection took on
a life of its own in each community. Each one had its own culture, within
which it made Jesus its own. Each one had a specific set of problems, which
gave rise to particular questions and concerns in relation to its setting. Each
one had its own religious tradition, which brought a distinct language to bear
on interpreting Jesus. Different communities confronted one another over vari-
ous aspects of Jesus' person and message. Ultimately, Jesus was interpreted in
the light of the context of the specific tradition and language of each of the dif-
ferent communities to which he was preached, thereby giving rise to the need
for different conceptions concerning his person, different christologies.8
We should not forget that though we speak of communication of ideas
and experiences among the first communities and those of early centuries, we
are dealing with a minimal, very restricted level of communication - not like in
our time, or in that of the invention of printing, or even what would be think-
able in any semi-literate society. 'It is very doubtful that many Christian com-
munities could have possessed all the books of the Old Testament. Nor can
those of the New Testament be supposed to have been available to them either:
Luke (like Papias and Justin)) does not appear to know the Pauline epistles,
while the Romans confiscated the Latin translation of these letters in the Afri-
can community of Scili in the year 180 - a community that did not possess the
Gospels for certain. . .'.9 We should be careful not to lose sight of the actual
environment in the which the process we are describing unfolded.
The resulting differences appear in the actual texture of the New Tes-
tament texts we now have, and it is strange how students of them could have
remained blind to this diversity for so many centuries. It is now usual to iden-
tify five very distinctly different christologies: that of 'Jesus as the last Adam'
(whose most emblematic texts are Rom. 5.12-21 and 1 Cor. 15.21-3, 45-9);
that of 'Jesus Christ as Son of God' (Mark 1.1, 11; 9.7; 14.61; 15.39); that of
'Jesus empowered by the Spirit' in Luke (4.18-19; 11.14-23); that of 'Jesus
Christ as the wisdom of God' (Phi. 6.11, Col. 1.15-20; Matt. 11.25-30); and
that of 'Jesus Christ as Logos or Word of God' or Johannine christology, in
John the Evangelist.10

* Haight, op. dr., p. 182.

9
M. Hengel, cited in A. Torres Queiruga, La revelation de Dios en la realization del
hombre, Madrid; Cristiandad, 1987, p. 423.
10
Haight, ibid., pp. 152ff.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 181

If we are to follow the course of the development of christological dogma,

which is pretty well established today, the fourth and fifth of these christolo-
gies will prove to be the most relevant.
The christology of Jesus Christ interpreted as wisdom of God, the
fourth, is based on the texts that present the Wisdom of God in the First Testa-
ment as a personified figure (Prov. 8.22-31). The possibility of the idea of the
pre-existence of Christ derives from Jewish symbolisms and speculations about
divine agents at work in the world.11 This christology applies to Jesus expres-
sions taken from the language of personified Wisdom. So he becomes, 'the
firstborn of all creatures' ('The Lord created me at the beginning of his work';
Prov. 8.22); 'before the ages, in the beginning he created me' (Ecclus. 24.9). . .
. 'All things came into being through him' has correspondences in numerous
Old Testament texts that speak of how things were created with/in/by Wisdom
(Prov. 3.19; Wis. 8.4; Ps. 104.24, etc.). All in all, it is clear that in this wisdom
christology 'it is erroneous to interpret this wisdom language as though we
were dealing with direct descriptive language that narrates the story of a divine
being who came down to earth and then became Jesus'.12
It is, however, Johannine christology that most influenced the devel-
opment of christological dogma. Jesus Christ is there represented as the Logos
or Word of God, made flesh. Its emblematic text is the first verse of John's
Gospel: 'In the beginning was the Word . . .', a Word that seems to be distinct
from God, since he was 'with God'. Yet he shares in the nature of God, since
he 'was God', and without this meaning that there were two Gods.
A complementary view of the process that gave rise to the christology
that was to be reflected in the New Testament can be provided by following the
traces of the actual composition of the gospel texts. We are by now well aware
that the Gospels, in the form in which they have come down to us, were not
written by eye-witnesses basing themselves on first-hand knowledge of Jesus.13
After Jesus' death there was nothing written about him. The disciples, re-
inspired by the paschal experience, witnessed to their faith and celebrated it,
telling stories of what Jesus had said and done in this evangelizing and liturgi-
cal context. In the early years everything was handed on by word of mouth.
Then the years passed and the Lord did not come again. The life of the com-
munity, the Christian liturgy, and the ministry of preaching soon felt the need
to rely on definite texts, and the first written thematic units appeared. The
process of how they were written is more or less well known today in its basic
features, and in it we can properly distinguish what we know from what we do

11
B. Byrne, 'Christ's Pre-Existence in Pauline Soteriology', Theological Studies 58
(1977), 312-3.
12
Haight, ibid., p. 172.
E. P. Sanders, The Historical Figure of Jesus, London: Penguin, 1993 (here Sp.
trans., 2001, p. 87).
182 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

not know, as from what we can conjecture or deduce.14 The earliest material,
written in small thematic units, was used, re-used, changed in context . . . and
normally re-drafted in the light of new aims being pursued by several genera-
tions of Christians, who not only handed on and revised this material but also
added new items to it. E. P. Sanders has clearly explained this 'finding of mate-
rials', which today could seem like 'fraud or lack of honestly' but is no more
than a quick way of expressing a process that they saw quite differently:

The Christians believed that Jesus had ascended into heaven and that
they could address him in prayer. He sometimes answered them. They
attributed these answers to 'the Lord'. We should like to know: Which
Lord, the Jesus of before the crucifixion or the risen Lord, who dwells in
the heavens? The Christians thought that, in any case, he was the same
Lord. In Paul's letter there is only one clear example of the Lord's an-
swer being heard in prayer, even though this must have happened many
times: '. . . he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is
made perfect in weakness'" (2 Cor. 12.9). This phrase did not in fact end
up in any Gospel, but it might well have done, and we have to suppose
that in many similar cases such sayings of 'the Lord Jesus' found their
way into the Gospels. Some early Christians thought that the glorified
Lord, the Spirit of the risen Christ, who was still Jesus of Nazareth
raised from the dead, communicated very freely with them, and they
passed on these words they heard as words of the Lord, of Jesus, words
that in the continued development of the texts could undoubtedly be put
into different contexts and attributed indiscriminately to the Spirit of the
risen Christ or to Jesus of Nazareth. We have to accept that the early
Christians created some of the material, meaning that they heard it in
prayer.15

One of the Gospels, however, deserves our particular attention, so let us look at
it.

The peculiarity of the fourth Gospel

Today we know that, while the historical Jesus is closer to the Synoptics than
to the Gospel of John, even the Synoptics are written with a large theological
component. With John, however, this component becomes absolutely domi-
nant. In the Synoptics we find mainly short sayings of Jesus; the only 'dis-
courses' they contain are made up of series of these sayings. The other main
literary form is the parable, and its central axis is the expression, 'the Kingdom
of God is like': the parables are similes.

Sanders, ch. 6, contains an excellent exposition of this process.

Sanders, op. at., p. 86.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 183

In John on he other hand, there are long and involved metaphorical discourses
in which what is noticeable is the absence of the word 'like'. There are no
similes. Rather, there are identifications: T am', the Jesus of the fourth Gospel
characteristically states. Jesus 'is' the vine; he is not 'like' the vine. He is the
true vine, and other vines are not true. Jesus is the 'bread' (6.35), meaning the
only real bread; everything else that calls itself bread is a substitute. The true
water, that which Jesus gives, quenches thirst for ever, something that actual
physical water does not do, because it is not true water . . . (4.13).
This means that the fourth Gospel resides on another level, or in an-
other world. In it, the real world is another world, that of Jesus, while the actual
visible world of history is a despicable fantasy that can be ignored. The logic
and epistemology of this Gospel are unlike those that normally operate in our
world. The fact is - the writer tells us - that Jesus will come to his disciples
(4.13), just as the Spirit will come to them (4.15) and teach them all things.
'The author of the Gospel makes it plain that he has been listening to the Spirit
of Truth, who has come to him, a Spirit that could also be called Jesus. John's
opinion of Jesus is trans-historical: the limits of ordinary history were insuffi-
cient, and Jesus, or the Spirit (not clearly distinguished), continued teaching
after the crucifixion,'16 undoubtedly also in prayer and the liturgy. It is from
this whole complex pattern that the fourth Gospel is woven.
Sanders concludes that: 'All Christians would have agreed with this up
to a point. The Lord, as we have seen earlier, was still speaking to them in vi-
sions and during prayer. We may suppose that some of these messages ended
up in the Synoptic Gospels. But the writer of John's Gospel went further: he
wrote a Gospel based on this premiss. According to his own words, his work
contains many teachings from the Holy Spirit, or from Jesus, who 'came' to the
writer after the crucifixion and resurrection and told him truths that his disci-
ples had not heard.'17
The fourth Gospel represent a daring - most daring - theological step
forward, in that it presents its meditations on the person and actions of Jesus as
though Jesus were telling them himself,18 while its sources lie specifically in
and spring from not only the evangelizing and liturgical contexts we have dis-
cussed, but also from the particular prayer life of the author (whether this be an
individual or a community or a group of communities) of this Gospel - without
dwelling here on the evidently multiple and intense influences of the philoso-
phical and religious currents of the age.
By now it is absolutely clear that the fourth Gospel is not simply giv-
ing us the historical Jesus, or his historical message. The fourth Gospel is a
masterpiece of theological reflection; it is daring, very sui generis, of great
value; at the same time, it has many limitations (particularities), and it cannot

16
Ibid., p. 95.
17
Ibid.
18
Ibid., p. 94.
184 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

be evaluated correctly without taking all these considerations into account It is

certainly 'mythic' to understand the fourth Gospel as a 'revelation' come down
from heaven, bringing us direct quasi-descriptive information on the divinity,
as it was effectively viewed for a millennium and a half, following the specific
time of the 'fixation of the canon'19 (a non-concihar, unofficial, quasi-
anonymous, virtually spontaneous, badly resourced, and ill-considered proc-
ess,20 which cannot concern us here) With its 'canonization', this text made a
complete hermeneutical leap and came to be seen as God's word, and since
that moment - closing our eyes to all we know today about its composition,
which remained unknown for thirteen hundred years - we have thought we are
believing in God when we accept this text as coming directly from God
We now need to pass on to the content of this fourth Gospel It pro-
vides the best illustration of the christology of the Word, one of the most influ-
ential elements in the gestation of christological imagery

The christology of the Logos

Through having existed from the beginning, the Logos was the agent of divine
creation How'? There are parallels in the Hebrew scriptures 'By the word of
the Lord the heavens were made' (Ps 33 6), the Lord 'made all things by [his]
word' (Wis 911) And of course there are close parallels in Greek philosophy
- in Philo's commentary on the creation account in Genesis, for example It
appears that, for Philo, the Logos is not yet a distinct being or a real being who
acts as God's intermediary, but a simple metaphor to illustrate God's reachmg-
out to the world21 Yet, in John's prologue this rhetorical figure of the personi-
fication of the Word seems to have moved to being individualized as a real be-
ing, has been 'hypostatized' What is this phenomenon'? Let us allow Haight to
explain it, since we are following him closely in this account

The prologue of John's gospel, which seems to be the most straigh-

forthward statement of Jesus being divine, has to be read according to
its genre as poetic, figurative language In the Greco-Roman world of
polytheism, the monotheism of Jews and early Chnstians was self-

It was not a moment, but a long process, which began in local Churches and did not
begin to be unified until the fourth century
20
Recall the complaint made by W Marxsen if apostohcity was the basic criterion in
the fixing of the canon, modern critical research shows that probably 'not one of the
New Testament writings is really apostolic in origin Even Paul in this sense can be an
apostle only at one remove, since he did not know the earthly Jesus ' Introduction to
the New Testament (Eng trans ), Philadephia Fortress, 1968 (here Sp trans , 1983, p
282)
21
J D G Dunn, Christology in the Making A New Testament Inquiry into the On
gins of the Doctrine of the Incarnation, Philadephia Westminster, 1980, pp 220-30
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 185

conscious, and the transcendence of God carefully guarded. Young

suggests that Jesus was not a case dissimilar from other messengers of
God on the cosmic or ontological map: servants, prophets, angels,
kings. Jesus was never a rival to the one God of Abraham.22 Jesus was
not Yahweh; Jesus was not the Father, who was pre-eminently the one
transcendent God. The question of Jesus' relation to God, then, was
clearly not settled by Johannine christology but remained a problem
until the fourth century.
And yet Jesus was experienced as divine. At some time during the first
century, probably early in the formation of a Christian community, Je-
sus became the center and object of Christian cult, and an object of
worship. In John's Gospel, the author has Thomas say to the resur-
rected Jesus, 'My Lord and my God!' (20.28). In John's Gospel, an
exalted Son of God christology is combined with a wisdom and Word
christology to express belief in a Jesus who is in some sense divine.
But this leaves the question of how this divine Jesus is related to the
transcendent God of monotheistic faith. How is this development? And
how did it unfold?
From a historical perspective one can understand the genesis of the
problem of Jesus' relation to God by the hypostatization of symbolic
language about God, in this case the symbols 'wisdom' and 'Word'.
Hypostatization generally means making an idea or a concept into a
real thing. In its broad sense, the term 'hypostasis' means the individu-
ality of a something: a hypostasis is an individual instantiation within a
class or species. To hypostasize is to interpret a concept as an existing
being, to concretize or materialize an idea. It is to reify, in which proc-
ess reification means to construe the object of a figure as a reality.
By contrast, the symbols Wisdom, Word, and Spirit, which are found
in the Jewish scriptures and refer to God, are not hypostatizations but
personifications. Personification is a figure of speech in which the
symbol is consciously or deliberately treated or spoken of as a person.
Proverbs 8 contains a clearly intended personification of God's intelli-
gence or wisdom, as a pre-existent person and agent of God. As a fig-
ure of speech, it does not intend that wisdom is a distinct or discrete
entity or being.
A major development occurred when a personification became trans-
formed into a hypostatization, that is, when what was a figure of
speech became not as a figure of speech but as referring to 'a real be-
ing' . Wisdom is no longer a linguistic symbol referring obliquely to an
attribute of God, but a real being; Logos is no longer a figure of speech
but a distinct being.

F. Young, The Making of the Creeds, London: SCM, 2002, p. 34.

186 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

Despite its parallelism to the christology of Wisdom, authorities generally rec-

ognize that the writer of the prologue to John is 'the first to conceive clearly
the personal pre-existence of the Word-Son and to present it as a basic part of
his message'.23 The prologue to the fourth Gospel is the fullest and clearest
statement of the incarnational christology of the New Testament. It is 'the first
incamational christology in three stages' (pre-existence, human existence, and
glorious existence). As was said earlier, it was the specific cultural conditions
of the Johannine community that enabled this theology to develop, in the shape
of 'speculations about heavenly beings'.24 The logic of this christology is 'an
imaginative extrapolation of wisdom language'. It uses the language of myth,
of 'reflexive mythology' (Elisabeth Schiissler Fiorenza) or of a lively religious
imagination that, in an act of imaginative projection on to the beginning, cre-
ates an account that expresses the religious significance of Jesus. The state-
ments on the 'cosmic and extra-terrestrial existence and activity of the Word
are poetical and imaginative in the deepest sense. They are ways of expressing
the significance and position of Christ in the personal life of the Christian
community' .26

A qualitative shift

A qualitative shift has taken place here. When the Word or Wisdom is a per-
sonification (a figure of speech referring metaphorically to God himself), it
makes obvious sense to state that God's wisdom or word becomes present in
Jesus. But when they come to be a 'hypostatization', that is, an actual being,
distinct from God the Father, then the statement being made is quite a different
one. This language of hypostatization is perilously close to the thinking of
polytheistic culture. Could Jesus have been the incarnation of a 'second God?
Justin Martyr would refer to the Logos as 'a second God',27 as would Origen.
The qualitative shift consisted, as John Hick noted, in coming to un-
derstand what was poetry (the rhetorical personification of an attribute of God)
as prose, as literal speech (the attribute of God ceases to be rhetorically 'per-
sonified' and becomes 'hypostasized', considered as an actual being apart from
God). What had been a Hebrew metaphor came to be understood as though it
were Greek metaphysics, in all its ontological literalness. The poetic Word be-
came an ontological Logos. Indeed, a qualitative shift, and a more than qualita-
tive one: substantial, ontic . . .
This simple change of literary key (from poetry to prose) unexpectedly intro-
duced, by way of hypostatization, a new divine personage and gave rise to the

Dunn, op. cit., p. 249.

Haight, op. cit., p. 176.
Ibid.
R. Kysar, John, the Maverick Gospel, Philadelphia: John Knox, 1976, p. 30.
J. N. D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines, London: A. & C. Black, 1977, p. 148.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 187

major problem of relating this new being to the one God of Judeo-Christian
monotheism. In some sense, the whole theological debate of the first four cen-
turies - up to the Council of Chalcedonia - could be said to have been over
nothing other than reconciling the statement of Jesus' divine nature (identified
with this new and strange being, the Logos) with monotheism. The doctrine of
the Trinity was to be the outcome of this laborious reconciliation: the virtually
impossible statement of Jesus' divine nature within a monotheistic religion
would finally be resolved by shifting the problem on to the inner life of God,
introducing an internal tripartite differentiation into this.
Why this break with the Old Testament's clear and plain doctrine of
absolute monotheism in favor of a complicated compromise involving the af-
firmation of Jesus' divine nature? Mainly for two reasons: first, on account of
the powerful inspiration and fascinating beauty of the text of John's prologue;
second, because of the power invested in Johannine christology through the
adoption of the statute of 'scripture', with the formation of the canon. What
was a theological reflection made by a Christian community shifted to being an
inspired, revealed text, God's work, God's word. From that 'moment' on, the
text became sacralized and, in fundamentalist fashion, has been interpreted lit-
erally as the Word of God, indisputable and un-interpretable, absolutely sure in
its first direct meaning, with no appeal to its contextual sense or precedence
possible, without any concession to consideration of the rhetorical resources it
contained, a text interpreted as effectively descriptive language that provides us
with direct information about the divine transcendent world. . . . Given this
type of appreciation, the text has come to be the central reference-point of a
christology of the pre-existing Word made flesh in Jesus, leaving aside the se-
rious problem of its original literary genre being a ritual, metaphorical, cross-
over formula between the christology of Wisdom and the christology of Son of
God, a crossover that leaps over itself, further transcending its metaphorical
character and ending in hypostatization.
In essence, this basic, or minimalist, description provides us with at
least a summary of the main outline of the process that explains the enabling
conditions for reaching the final outcome of what we know as christological
dogma, with its close correlative link to the doctrine of the Trinity, the frame-
work in which the said christological dogma is fixed. There are of course many
more precisions and detailed notes to be made, but those prepared to under-
stand will have to make do with this, for reasons of space. Perhaps we may
now not arrive at conclusions - for which there is also insufficient evidence -
but simply set out suggestions for re-statements, revisions, and fresh ap-
proaches.
188 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

Some reflections

How should we read christology today ?

What does this chnstology mean at the present time, and how should we inter-
pret i\P In itself, this christology 'is' really not a problem it is there, it is a
positive entity, it is an inestimable treasure in the Christian spiritual symbolic
heritage The problem lies in how we deal with it, how we apply it to our-
selves And the greatest difficulty comes about when it is interpreted and un-
derstood literally We know that a piece of lyric poetry cannot be taken liter-
ally By analogy, the sublime poetry of the Word should be read as what it is a
poem and hymn of praise, a language of love and faith Read in this way, this
poetic chnstology lifts the human spirit 'imbues christology with the power of
sacredness, retrieves the powerful statement of Christian faith that it is God
whom we meet in Jesus, in the flesh, so that God is truly revealed in him '

Incorrect understanding of scripture

We have seen that the mam cause of disagreement in those chnstological de-
bates of the fourth and fifth centuries was the authority of scripture What had
been the liturgical reflection of a Chnstian community, a reflection undoubt-
edly gifted with outstanding brilliance and power of expression, was classified
as scripture and so changed its epistemological status It came to be taken as a
sacred text, a text that ceased to be human and became divme, it ceased to ex-
press the inspired reflection of a Christian community and turned into a word
coming direct from God, fallen from heaven, a word providing direct informa-
tion about God, God giving out information about himself for our benefit
Johannine chnstology in particular seems to have acquired this status
as revelation for an additional reason we have already touched on John's
community placed solemn statements about his divine identity in Jesus' own
mouth In this way, a wisdom christology combined with that of Son of God,
pre-existing Word, was turned into substance of faith in Jesus he himself in
person would have unveiled the mystery of the incarnation and of his divine
identity and confided them to us He had to be believed There was no room
left for doubt His words could not even be 'interpreted' Faced with words
clad in such absolute, divine (and Jesuanic) authority, human reasoning had
nothing left to do bar renounce itself and accept blindly
This error of thinking that the pre-existence of the Word and its incar-
nation m Jesus had been expressly and directly revealed by Jesus of Nazareth
has lasted in all the Christian Churches for over a millennium and a half The
Protestant Churches realized this barely two centuries ago, and the Catholic
Church just fifty years ago, without this affecting the fact that even today the
vast majority of Christians, Catholic and Protestant, still hold to this error
The process appears to be this the Christian community reflects freely
on its faith These reflections later come to be canonized as scripture, and, con-
sequently, impose themselves as having divine sanction The Church then finds
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 189

itself hostage to its own community reflection, which becomes petrified and
prevents any critical revision and any growth. 28
It would seem that we believe 'in God' something that in reality God
never told us: it is we who said it, we who attributed it to God, and we who
now say that we have to believe God and cannot think in any other way be-
cause it is actually God who has revealed it to us. 29 We believe ourselves to be
making an act of faith, of faith in God, but is actually an act of faith in our-
selves; 30 we are believing (in ourselves) something we ourselves said, and we
do not wish to look into or analyze the origin of truth because we prefer to
leave things as they are and not upset the institutional religious mentality that
shelters us and gives us meaning. It would be very burdensome - maybe trau-
matic - to change direction. We want to go on believing what we have devised
because we need to, because this is what it was devised for: to be able to live
under a sacred protective blanket thrown down from on high, accepted and en-
joyed with no objection from the religion community. 31
The question is clear: what is at stake here - once again - is how we
understand revelation (as examined at length in chapter 8). We have to hope
that a less fundamentalist conception of revelation will spread through the un-
derstanding of the Christian people - one that will take note of the process by
which the elements that make it up were formed and that give due appreciation
to these elements, but without sacralizing them and without allowing them to
be turned into a crushing slab impeding any other view or taking the Christian
community hostage to the very human elements it introduced, which make up
the human substrate of he process of revelation. As long as this non-
fundamentalist understanding of revelation does not spread and take hold of
Christianity, we shall still be left with the problem of obsolete formulas, in
their original form, being denied any hermeneutical updating, leaving theologi-
ans with no escape other than the - useless - one of performing interpretative

This situation is found in many other areas of ecclesial affairs: ministries, sacra-
ments, rules, customs, and so on, which the Church created, but which in time came to
be mistakenly attributed to Jesus, as if he personally had established them, and which
the Church now says it has no authority to alter, thereby becoming hostage to its own
actions. Cf. H. Haag, Nur wer sich dndert, bleibt sich treu, Freiburg: Herder, 2000;
idem, Upstairs, Downstairs: Did Jesus Want a Two-class Church?, New York: Cross-
road, 1997.
29
Ultimately, believing in revelation, Torres Queiruga says, 'would mean accepting
something as word of God because someone has said that God told him so that he
could tell others'. A. Torres Queiruga (ed.), Diez palabras clave en religion, Estella:
VerboDivino, 1992, p. 180.
30
This is something I should dare to call a 'fiducial first petition': we believe ourselves
believing we are believing Another.
M. Corbi, in A. Robles, Repensando la religion, de la creencia al conocimiento, San
Jose, Costa Rica: EUNA, 2001, p. 17.
190 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

mental juggling acts in an attempt to find remnants of freedom within this

global kidnap that has left them hostages to their own fundamentalism
We have to insist on this point of 'revelation', because if you press to-
day's theologians they will, after a discussion of discernment applied to the
reasons that support the need for reopening both the theology of religious plu-
ralism (abandonment of inclusivism) and chnstology, in the end, once all their
doubts have been resolved dredge up the final reason, or the only real rea-
son, that prevents them from crossing their Rubicon, 'an appeal, often indirect
and a-cntical, to the authority of Tradition or the Bible' 33 It is scripture that
says so - they say, without taking a critical stance on how this biblical asser-
tion came into being, seeing it, because it is biblical, as an autonomous source
of unquestioned credibility In the end, this is the final reason, or the only real
reason for resisting This confirms what we have already seen since revelation
is the beginning or basis of theology, the touchstone for renewal of theology is
a re-examination of the way we view revelation Only a theology of revelation
stripped of fundamentalism will allow a real advance in all the other branches
of the theological and religious human universe

The error of literal interpretation and the role of theology

Specialists say it openly and frankly 'Referring to the Word or Wisdom as a
"real being" in the Christian context is, to say the very least, ambiguous and
equivocal What this "hypostatization" signifies amounts to a huge problem'
Nevertheless, the entire Church over a millennium and a half, and the vast ma-
jority of Christians still today, understand christological dogma and salvation
history in its entirety in this mythic form creation, original sm, overthrow of
God's plan, re-working of the plan, 'sending' or mission of the Word, incarna-
tion in Jesus, redeeming death as expiatory sacrifice St Ignatius imagined
'the three divme persons', literally, meeting to decide which of them should
'go' to the world, take flesh, die, and so redeem human beings - human beings
whom many of the best theologians of the second to fourth centuries had
thought to be physically 'in the power of the devil' as a result of a supposed
original sin that had contaminated all future human beings for all time This
literal understanding of the hypostatization and the myth, which we now see as

With all due respect and admiration, some of the interpretations by Jacques Dupuis
are, in my humble opinion, juggling acts he tries, with a real waste of ingenuity, to
find the most unimaginable traces on which to build new interpretations that might
harmonize the most classical opinions with the daily weight of evidence pressing upon
us Haight himself, undoubtedly more liberal and liberated, still makes great play with
a similar acrobatic ability in his interpretation of the Council of Nicaea (op cit, p
460), for example, to salvage, using excessive subtlety, what seems to be beyond res
cue If such attempts were correct, it would seem to suggest that only geniuses could
hold on to their faith
33
P Knitter, 'Hans Kung's Theological Rubicon', in L Swidler (ed ), Toward a Uni-
versal Theology of Religion, Maryknoll, NY, Orbis, 1988, p 227
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 191

an error, has been the dominant and virtually the only understanding in the his-
tory of the Church for hundreds and hundreds of years, and it is today still that
of the vast majority of Christians. The prayers in the Roman Missal make a
point of reminding us of it practically every day, without the competent au-
thorities being in the slightest concerned by this degree of fundamentalism and
backwardness in one of the main focal points for generating Christian con-
sciousness and spirituality.
There is therefore a pressing need for reinterpretation and for helping
the Christian people to move beyond literal interpretations, as there is for re-
turning to the original meanings and revindicating metaphor, which has always
shown itself to possess such strong power and fruitfulness. This is the role of
theology, but of true theology, meaning free and gratuitous theology, not that
of bureaucrats who do theology looking up to ask what can be said and what
cannot be said to serve the interests of the institution. Theologians have to be-
come 'little children' like those in the Gospels, or like the boy in Andersen's
story, who was brave enough to say that the emperor was naked, just as most
thinking people actually saw him to be. The institution does not want real the-
ology, only justifying ideology. . . . This is why it is so difficult to achieve
renovation of the theological mentality of the Christian people at a time like
this, when so many bureaucrats are occupying the seats at the ministry of the-
ology.

The lesson of the plurality of christologies in the New Testament

It is vital to accept the fact of a plurality of christologies present in the New
Testament. These christologies are not equal, cannot be reduced one to another,
are sometimes noticeably divergent, and even seen to contradict each other in
some respects. And yet they are all upheld, none is seen as disqualifying oth-
ers, and all can be proclaimed simultaneously. Why is this? Simply because
'christologies are symbolic affirmations concerning transcendent aspects of
Jesus Christ, conceived from different viewpoints, without any of them ade-
quately containing its object'.
From his consideration of the plurality of christologies in the New Tes-
tament, Haight deduces that the criterion for the appropriateness of one chris-
tology cannot be another christology. The nature of pluralism consists in hold-
ing differences together in unity, or in unity among differences. In this concep-
tion of the pluralism reflected in the New Testament, we cannot lay hands on
one christology and elevate it into a norm for the others. The reason for this is
that the pluralism of the New Testament christologies resides in their very di-
versity, and there is no inherent reason in any of them for preferring it to the
others. On what basis could one argue, for example, that John's christology is
the normative one, so that Luke's, which differs from John's on major points,
comes to be seen as heterodox? But then neither does Luke disqualify John. As
a result, the process of judging the orthodoxy of a christology cannot be re-
192 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

duced to comparing their external differences in such a way that the descrip-
tion, language, and structure of belief objectively put forward by one christol-
ogy comes to be the measure of another This is the significance of the plural-
ism of New Testament christologies, and there is no getting away from it 34
The Church and faith in Jesus have survived with all of them,35 and all
of them have made their contribution and mutually complemented one another
Why should one be imposed and the others marginalized7

More specific questions for the theology of religious pluralism

This whole area of debate surrounding the construction of christological dogma
has direct repercussions on decisive concerns in the theology of religious plu-
ralism Here too, we are not seeking to tease out firm and definite 'conclusions'
but rather suspicions, suggestions for fresh approaches, revisions, and new vi-
sions
• Are the concihar debates at Nicaea and Chalcedon valid from the strict
point of view of their process of argumentation,36 once we have dis-
covered them to have been held on the basis of such an accumulation
of misunderstandings and erroneous interpretations, and taking a New
Testament understood as 'direct descriptive language' as the founda-
tion for arguments put forward from a mythic and literal view of reve-
lation, seeing it as the sum of separable verses that can be thrown
about at will9
• If New Testament exegesis has now made us capable of interpreting it
in a non-literal manner, can it be that the Nicene and Constantinopoli-
tan creeds are more sacred than scripture itself and do not allow the
christological dogma they profess to be subjected to hermeneutical
analysis and to be recovered through a non-literal interpretation (that
would redeem the metaphor while reducing the metaphysic)9 We have
to denounce and combat any enclave of fundamentalism, even if it is
embedded m the very heart of Christianity
• Just as theology seems not yet to have drawn the consequences from
the data unearthed by the new quest for the historical Jesus,37 it can
also be said that neither have theology of revelation and chnstology

34
Knitter, ibid
Torres Queiruga holds that speaking of the scripture, the gospel, the kerygma, is an
abstraction because what we have are scnptures, gospels, kerygmas La revelacwn,
op cit, p 424 'The conscientious and historical thrust of philology emphasizes plural
ity as characteristic of early Christian preaching' K Rahner and K Lehmann,
'Kerygma and Dogma', in Mystenum Salutis I, Madrid, 1980, 741, ibid, p 425
36
That is, leaving aside the massive reservations concerning its legitimacy its lack of
freedom, the political influence on it, the questionable activities of some of the leading
council Fathers, and so on
37
Cf R Aguirre, RELaT 306
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 193

brought their approaches up to date or drawn fresh conclusions from

all we have now come to know about the actual manner in which the
Old Testament was composed or the more recent elaboration of the
New Testament.
Now that we are fully launched into the break supposed by the change
of epoch we are experiencing, perhaps we should give a greater hear-
ing to the voices postulating a new attitude to Jesus. The answers given
in times so distant from our own - distant both in time and in culture -
are no longer valid, and our generation has the right and the duty to re-
spond freely and respectfully to Jesus' question: 'And you, who do you
say that I am?' It is not a matter of approaching Jesus on the basis of
an inherited Christian answer, but of approaching Jesus (or any other
religious proposal) and answering his question on the basis of our un-
derstanding. Which means: in the opposite way from that which we are
institutionally obliged to follow in Christianity today.
Knowing the manner in which scripture was formed, and with a better
theological grasp of its deep meaning, so far removed from the primi-
tive and mythic understanding of what was held to be a physically and
almost strictly divine 're-velation', would this not be the time to give a
new name to what we call 'revelation', 38 given that this word comes
from a mythic understanding and is unavoidably compromised with an
association of ideas that always prompts a return to this harmful under-
standing? 39 And would it not also be time to change the name of the
virtue called 'faith'? In reality, it is no longer convincing to maintain
that interpersonal human faith is the human structure or experience
most like or parallel to our relationship to what we call God, 40 nor
would what is at stake in our fundamental wager in the face of exis-
tence or intuition of meaning resemble 'interpersonal faith'.
Is it possible to consider the mandate to freeze the formula of Constan-
tinople as still applicable - as in fact it is, for other reasons, generally
accepted as being - or should we think the reverse is true: that what
applies now is the pressing need to re-read this formulation and re-

Just as I have pleaded for doing away with the category of 'chosen', so I suggest the
possible abandonment of that of 'revealed' and its replacement with something more
adequate and eloquent.
Where symbols, names, and metaphors are concerned, it is not enough to change
their names within the status quaestionis, as the scholastics did; we need instead to
replace such symbols, names, and metaphors, because symbols generally affect people
in their deep or unconscious make-up, besides the fact that on a conscious level they
can be changed or even rejected. If they are not replaced, if they go on being used, our
minds and psyches return, when we least expect it, to the structures and meanings they
have always expressed.
F Sebastian, Antropologia y teologia de lafe cristiana, Salamanca: Sigueme, 1972.
194 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

formulate it so as to make it intelligible to those who do not accept

Hellenic Greek philosophy (which hardly anyone accepts now)'?41 Who
will take on the task of reminding the Christian Churches that they are
being unfaithful to the gospel if they do not do everything they can to
make the Good News intelligible7
• What will be the effect on a renewed Christianity of a restored and
theologically re-created Jesus of Nazareth, released from the meta-
physical fastness in which the ontological categories of Greek philoso-
phical culture have kept him locked away7 Will he be a Jesus who gets
on well with the 'other names' by which human beings have also been
saved throughout the length and breadth of history742 Will he be a Je-
sus capable of praying sincerely with men and women of every race,
tongue, and nation (and religion)7 Will he be a Jesus who invites us his
disciples to gather with believers of other religions to give thanks to
the 'God of all names' for his many-sided manifestation, instead of try-
ing to convert them to our religion7
• If, as Christian Duquoc says, chnstologies are 'transitory constructions
that utilize contingent conceptual instruments',4 can this not be ap-
plied, in some way and some measure, to the chnstologies the early
Christian communities developed in their reflection on the risen Jesus 7
The fact that these chnstologies were then included in the Christian
scriptures in no way detracts from their proper aspect of community
chnstological human reflection, sharing in the limitations and contin-
gency applicable to all chnstology
• What consequences will such a restoration of Jesus and corresponding
revision of chnstology have for theology of religions and theology of
religious pluralism7 Is it not possible to envisage the disappearance of
most of the theoretical difficulties Christianity is currently finding in
accepting its basic equality with the other world religions7
As has been said earlier, we shall perhaps take several generations to respond
to all the interrogatives we are faced with Meanwhile, our generation - and
above all our theologians, men and women - are obliged to reflect on them, out

'Rahner, observing that the truth of a dictum transcends its formulation, made this
declaration in 1954 "In this way, we have not only the right but the duty to understand
this definition, at the same time, as an arrival point and as a beginning'" J Moingt,
L homme qui venait de Dieu, Pans, Cerf, 1993 (here Sp trans , 1995, vol 1, p 181)
'The formula of Chalcedon should be taken more as a beginning than as an end' K
Rahner, 'Present-day Problems in chnstology', m Theological Investigations I (here
Sp trans, 1967,pp 167ff)
42
P Knitter, Jesus and the Other Names, Maryknoll, NY Orbis, 2001
43
In Mesiamsmo de Jesus y discrecion de Dios Ensayo sobre los limites de la
cnstologfa, Madrid, 1985, p 11
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 195

loud, with responsibility matched with audacity, with sincerity and freedom in
equal measure.
 Chapter 13

The Golden Rule

Following the two previous chapters - ecclesiological and christological as-
pects, logically needed to establish theoretical dialogue with the dominant clas-
sical dogmatic theological tradition - the next chapters (or lessons) will intro-
duce a different sort of aspect, related more to the modern age and actual life.
But first, and as a colophon to the current dialogue, we need to tackle this
equally central and totally 'non-dogmatic' subject, which will shift the system-
atic-theological polemic to other, far more accessible, ground and give us back
a bit of peace and serenity in the midst of so much doubt. But beware: the
'golden rule', simple and basic as it is, is no less revolutionary for that.

13.1 Discussing the topic

13.1.1 SEE
Religious pluralism has an inevitable theoretical or theological dimension.
While, as we have seen, most religions have arisen in exclusivism, the - now
inevitable - perception of religious pluralism faces each religion with the need
for a theoretical understanding of the meaning and saving efficacy of others.
And, logically, their only route to this understanding is through the theoretical
conception each has of itself. This is the sense in which we say that interrelig-
ious dialogue (or even a simple understanding of religious pluralism) has this
inevitable theoretical dimension: it is not just a practical matter of simple 'ac-
tual human relationships'.
This theoretical or theological dimension is one of the greatest prob-
lems facing religious pluralism. Religions - some to a greater extent, some to a
lesser, but ultimately all of them - have seemingly insuperable difficulties
when it comes to the field of theory. In the religious sphere, theory takes on a
whole raft of added difficulties compared to other spheres, such as those of
science or politics. These added difficulties facing theory in religion include
'dogmas'; 'revealed' truth; 'faith'; 'the magisterium'; the 'deposit' of faith;
fidelity to 'tradition'; the 'impossibility of reforming defined truths'; the 'abso-
lute nature' of the religion itself; the mandate to spread 'the' truth and convert
others; apostolic zeal in combating error; 'fundamentalism', and so on.1
The theoretical or theological field in the world of religions is like ground
strewn with obstacles, both for 'normal' religious reflection and for interrelig-

Although some of these concepts have a typically Christian and even Catholic refer-
ence, they obviously refer to situations also found in other religions, even if with dif-
ferent names and to differing degrees.
198 JOSE M A R I A VIGIL

IOUS dialogue Religions have a hard road to travel ahead of them on a first,
internal level, if they are to understand religious plurality (what Panikkar calls
'intra-dialogue'), and on a second, external level, in order to carry on
interreligious dialogue with other religions
The 'monotheistic' religions in particular have special theoretical diffi-
culties with interreligious dialogue 2 Christianity certainly has 3 And Catholi-
cism has even more, because its own internal theological debate provides them
it has its history of dogmas and heresies, of the ecumenical councils, 4 of the
Inquisition, of dissidents, of those persecuted, condemned, and executed on
theological grounds, from the fourth century 5 to the present day 6 In wider
terms, many religions carry with them a weighty history of intolerance and
dogmatism, which is hardly the best baggage for conveying sincere acceptance
of pluralism
Faced, then, with this unflattering panorama, it is essential to set one's
sights above the narrow field of theory and to appreciate that theory is not eve-
rything, and that these same religions also carry aspects of their life and actions
capable of unblocking these theoretical problems and impasses within their
vast patrimony of belief I am referring to the ethical dimension, universally
present in all religions, as indeed it has to be If theory provides a hard and
thorny terrain for dialogue among religions, ethics provides a far more accessi-
ble ground for dialogue and even for common agreement and joint action
For centuries - millennia, even - Christianity, with its propensity to m-
tellectuahsm as heir to Greek culture, has put theory ahead of practice, dogma
above ethics, doctrine before life, orthodoxy in place of orthopraxis We need
to reflect on this mistaken mode of procedure, which, as we shall see, goes
against what the original religions traditions themselves declare For centuries,
we have 'put the cart before the horse', and it is now high time we reversed this
order of precedence
The way to try to shed light on this serious problem of intellectual or theoreti-
cal obstacles in the way of religious pluralism is though the lens of the ethical

2
It is generally held that the monotheistic religions, such as Christianity, Islam, and
Judaism, with their requirement for absolute truth, will have extreme difficulty in deal
ing with the plurality of religions ' Mathew Jayant, 'De la plurahdad al pluralismo',
Seleccwnes de teologia 163 (Sept 2002), 175
3
Christianity, on account of the incarnation (and also of the Trinity) is a religion in
which doctrine has greater importance than in others See Bernard Meunier, Torque
llegaron los dogmas 7 ', Seleccwnes de teologia 164 (Dec 2002), 311 Also at RELaT,
servicioskoinoma org/relat/320 htm
4
All the councils of the Catholic Church, except for the first and last, as we have seen,
pronounced anathemas
5
Pnscilhan was possibly the first heretic put to death by the Christian Church, in the
year 380
6
It is said that over 500 theologians were brought to book during the pontificate of
Juan Paul II
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 199

dimension of religions. This may perhaps open up ways of overcoming them,

or at least of reducing their significance.

13.1.2 JUDGE
Let us start this process by selecting one ethical element in religions for the
special charm it has. This is the so-called 'golden rule'.
Any of us can read one of the Christian Gospels and see that it figures
this so-called rule in the 'epigraphs' with which the translator or commentator
has sub-divided the biblical texts. The name 'golden rule' evokes the fact that,
despite its simplicity, the rule nevertheless reaches down to a very deep ethical
level and is uniquely valuable among all rules - 'golden': 'for this is the law
and the prophets' (Matt. 7.12).
Most Christians, however, are unaware that this is a 'rule' that is in
some way above Christianity, not specific to it. Not just because it is a com-
mon-sense rule, belonging to basic ethics, or what some would call 'natural
ethics', but because it is explicitly set out, with minimal variants, in most of the
great religions. Let us look at some examples:
• In happiness and in suffering we should refrain from inflicting on oth-
ers what we should not like them to inflict on us (Mahavira, Yogashas-
tra, 2.20; Jainism);
• Do not wound others with what makes you suffer (Buddha, Sutta Pi-
taka, Udanavagga 5.18; Buddhism);
• What you would not want others to do to you, do not do to others
(Confucius, Analecta, 15.23; Confucianism);
• Do not do to others that which, if they did to you, would cause you
pain (Mahabharata, 5.15, 17; Hunduism);
• The good character is the one that holds back so as not to do to others
what would not be good for it (Dadistan-i-Denik, 49.5; Zoroastrian-
ism);
• What is detestable to you, do not do to your neighbor. This is the
whole law. The rest is commentary (Hillel, Talmud bab, Shabbat 31a;
Judaism);
• Do to others as you would have them do to you (Jesus, Gospel of Luke,
6.31); And what you hate, do not do to anyone (Tobit, 4.15) (Christian-
ity);
• Do not wish on others what you would not wish on yourself
(Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas, 148; Baha'f);
• Truly, God orders justice and good works (Qur'an, 16.92); Not one of
you is a believer until he desires for his brother what he desires for
himself (Sunnah) (Islam).

This golden rule is, then, inscribed in the sacred writings of the main world
religions. It is a 'revealed' rule, taking this revelation as applying in its own
200 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

way in each case. We can, in any case, assume that no one religion would
claim to have its own, exclusive, revelation of this golden rule - because,
among other reasons, it is also testified to by the philosophers, who go by hu-
man reason alone. So Thales of Miletus (600 BC) recounts that, having ques-
tioned himself on the first rule for living well, replied, 'Do not do the evil you
see in others'. Pythagoras (580 BC) provides a similar formula: 'Do not do
what you hate in others'. Socrates (400 BC) expresses this in more positive
form: 'Treat others in the same way as you would have then treat you'; and
again 'What irritates you in the conduct of others toward you, do not do to
them (Nikokles, 61).7 Immanuel Kant's 'categorical imperative' can be viewed
as a rationalized and secularized updating of this golden rule: 'Act in such a
way that this maximum of your will can prevail at all times as the principle of a
universal legislation'.8 And again: 'Act in such a way that you use humanity,
both in your own person and in that of any other, always as an objective and
never as a mere means'.9
From all this we can conclude that this rule, universally grasped by
reason alone, has been confirmed and consecrated by the religions as being
'golden' - meaning valid, central, first, indispensable, and the summing-up of
the whole of human and religious duties.
Given the existence of this human consensus, both philosophical and
religious and so widespread, we can surely ask whether it would be not only
possible but also suitable to make this golden rule the sure foundation of inter-
religious dialogue? Does it not provide religions with a common ground, ac-
cepted by all of them, on which to build wider and deeper common agree-
ments?

13.1.2.1 Biblical foundations

If we now look for antecedents, foundations, and further applications of this
golden rule within our specific Christian tradition, we should be able to dis-
cover what this precious rule means for us.

(a) 'To know the Lord is to do justice'

This is the summary expression of a way of thinking and a petition characteris-
tic of the biblical prophets. They repeat it ad nauseam. To take a typical text:

Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness,

and his upper rooms by injustice;
who makes his neighbors work for nothing,
and does not give them their wages;

7
Cf. Leonardo Boff, Jesucristo el Liberador, Santander: Sal Terrae 1980, p. 98.
8
Immanuel Kant, Kritik der praktischen Vernunft, A 54, in Werke, vol. IV,
Frankfurt/Darmstad, 1956, p. 140.
Kant, Grundlegund zur Metaphysik der Sitten, BA 66f in Werke, vol. IV, p. 67.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 201

who says, 'I will build myself a spacious house

with large upper rooms,'
and who cuts out windows for it,
paneling it with cedar, and painting it with vermilion.
Are you a king
because you compete in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness?
Then it was well with him.
He judged the cause of the poor and the needy;
then it was well
Is this not to know me?
says the Lord. (Jer. 22.13-16).

'Knowing me consists in doing justice' is the summary message of this pas-

sage.10 For us who have inherited Greek culture in the West, the great tempta-
tion is to reduce this prophetic Semitic thinking to our Hellenic categories, in-
troducing concepts such as 'cause' and 'effect': doing justice is the 'effect' of
knowing the Lord, who would be the 'cause'. In this way, knowing the Lord is
always knowing the Lord, and doing justice is always doing justice: what we
are doing is merely introducing a causal nexus between the two elements. But
the Bible also knew the concept of 'cause' and does not use it here. For the
prophets - and to some extent for the whole Bible - 'knowing' is not an intel-
lectual act that has ethical consequences but comes about in the very ethical
practice of love and justice. Those who practice love and justice truly 'know'
the Lord, and they are knowing the Lord in the very act of this practice, even
though they do not know God in the Greek sense - know how to define God,
that is, or know how to express God's nature, or know how to formulate a doc-
trine about God using 'clear and distinct concepts'.
In the biblical mentality, then, the golden rule is 'to do justice and
love', and this is what makes it 'knowing God'. Such a universal principle is
clearly a sure and strong foundation on which to build a theology of religious
pluralism and also to set in train an interreligious dialogue without borders.

(b) Justice as true observance

In the Old Testament, this theme is linked to the preceding one. Because the
prophets believe that knowing the Lord is doing justice, this also gives them a
very jaundiced view of observance. They have been described as 'anti-

1U
Many other texts could be cited: Judg. 2.16-16; 3.10; 4.10; 10.2-3. 1 Sam. 8.7-22;
9.17; 13.14. Hos. 8.13; 6.6; 4.1b-2; 2.21-2; 10.12; 12.17. Jer. 6.18-21; 4.4-7, 11-15, 21-
2; 21.12; 9.23. Isa. 1.11-17; 1.23; 3.14-15; 10.1-2; 11.1-9; 32,17-18; 58.2, 6-10. Ps,
82.2-4; 9.10-13; 10.14-15; 33.5; 37.21; 40.18; 62.11; 72.4; 76.10; 89.11. Amos 5.21-5;
5.7-17. Micah 6.6-8, 9-12.
202 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

observance'. Their dilemma is: observance or love-justice? Their words are

lapidary and even disconcerting, as in this passage from Amos:

I hate, I despise your festivals,

and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals
I will not look upon.
Take away from me the noise of your songs;
I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an everflowing stream. (Amos 5.21^4)

Here too it is easy to say that the prophets are not 'against observance as such'
but only against observance carried on in conditions of injustice. This would
make the thinking of the prophets accord easily with our mentality, and obser-
vance could go on forming the central plank in our religious world-view. But
the prophets are not concerned with 'observance as such', because they are not
Greek. What they are showing is that privileged access to God not only does
not come through the intellectual, doctrinal, dogmatic way of orthodoxy, as
alluded to in the previous paragraph, but that it consists in the practice of wor-
ship, in the practice of love and justice. For the prophets, so to speak, the
golden rule brings us closer to God than observance itself.
If this is so, then an alliance among religions to struggle for justice be-
comes by this very fact experience of God, which can be made plain as interre-
ligious experience, which will undoubtedly become the platform that provides
the best conditions in which to carry on interreligious dialogue.

(c) Jesus confirms these prophetic guidelines

Having already dealt with this specific aspect of Jesus in lesson 10, all
we need to do here is remind ourselves of what was said there and expand on
certain points. There we said that Jesus clearly showed himself to be Kingdom-
of-God-centered, macro-ecumenical, theo-practic, anti-observance, non-
ecclesiocentric, beyond the religious sphere. . . . Through this attitude, Jesus
proclaimed the golden rule: see Matthew 7.12 and Luke 6.31.
There are many other gospel passages, of all different kinds, that paral-
lel and buttress the same viewpoint:
• Matthew 25.32ff: those who 'knew' God and effectively related to God
are those who showed mercy to the needy. They knew God because
they did justice, even though they 'did not know' they were relating to
God. Their positive relationship to God was practical, not intellectual
or theoretical. The 'parable of the atheists', as this parable of Jesus'
has come to be called, turns out to be another way of presenting the
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 203

golden rule. This parable also sums up 'the Law and the prophets'. Its
ethical imperative takes the place of all need for observance and ortho-
doxy.
• Luke 10.25-37 teaches the same lesson through a more extreme case,
in a manner that might be called anti-clerical, anti-observance, anti-
institution. The person put forward as an example is deliberately not a
member of the People of God, not someone who knows the Law; fur-
thermore, he is a schismatic heretic, heterodox, a Samaritan. It is a fact
that for Jews of the time Samaritans were the prototype of heterodoxy.
And it is one of these whom Jesus' parable sets above the Levite and
even the priest. What gives him this precedence over them? Not his in-
tellectual, theological, theoretical, dogmatic knowledge, in all of which
he was clearly inferior, but the fact he 'showed mercy', treated a
stranger as a neighbor. This passage and many others in the gospels
that place foreigners above the 'chosen people' are clearly all variant
versions of the evangelical golden rule.
• In his conversation with the Samaritan woman (who, in the Jewish
mentality of the time, was to be doubly avoided, as a woman and as an
unbeliever), Jesus shows himself to be above the irreconcilable reli-
gious-theological debate that separated the Jews from the Samaritans
(John 4.7-30). Each regarded the other as heretical, heterodox, schis-
matic, cut off from God, as people and tribes to be avoided. But Jesus
does not avoid the Samaritan woman; on the contrary, he goes up to
her, engages her in friendly conversation, and tells her that 'the hour is
coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the
Father in spirit and in truth' (v. 23). Once again, Jesus adopts the ar-
guments of the prophets on knowledge of the Lord as doing justice and
the primacy of practical love over observance.

For the sake of brevity I shall not comment on many other gospel texts, such as
Matthew 5.23-4: leave your offering and be reconciled to your brother; Mat-
thew 9.11-13: I want mercy, not sacrifices; Matthew 23.23^1: they forget what
matters most, justice and mercy. . . .
Ethelbert Stauffer went so far as to say, 'The pepiphany of the human-
ity of God culminates in Jesus' profession of the golden rule of human char-
ity.'11 The humanity of God reached its full manifestation in Jesus when he
adopted this universal perception of the centrality of love and justice as the
means of access to God - and thereby, we might add, of dialogue among all
who seek God, of interreligious dialogue.

11
Die Botschft Jesu damals und heute, Berne/Munich, 1959, p. 59.
204 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

(d) The rest of the New Testament emphasizes the same point
First, we should recognize that the golden rule appears, without the name but
fully recognizable, in other places in the New Testament, such as Galatians
5.14: 'The whole law is summed up in a single commandment, "You shall love
your neighbor as yourself" (the 'as yourself, here, brings the commandment
to love back to the golden rule).
The Letter of James is the New Testament text best known for its insis-
tence on the need for works above the need for faith: James 2.14-18. However,
it is the First Letter of John that most clearly sets out the relationship between
knowledge of God and love. John insists on denial of 'direct' access to God: it
is only through loving one another that we can draw close to God. 'No one has
ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is per-
fected in us' (4.12); 'those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have
seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen' (4.20). Furthermore, parallel-
ing what the prophets stated, that 'to know the Lord is to do justice', John tells
us that loving one another is equivalent to knowing God: 'Beloved, let us love
one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and
knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love' (4.7-
8).

13.1.2.2 Theological Interpretation

Let us attempt a theological interpretation of these biblical elements that re-
volve around the golden rule. What does this golden rule of human wisdom,
sanctioned by all the great religions, signify and imply for us?

The clear primacy of orthopraxis over orthodoxy

(prtho = right, correct; praxis = practice, action; doxia - opinion, teaching).
It is much more important to have good practice than good teaching: though,
obviously, it is best for both to be good, the two elements are not axiologically
equal.
Despite the proliferation of theoretical disquisitions and legalistic
complications found in virtually all religions, the golden rule they all share tes-
tifies to the prevalence of orthopraxis over orthodoxy. This prevalence is most
apparent not in the juridical or doctrinal institutional apparatus of religions, but
in their saints and mystics. It is just this that has led to so many of them being
accused by the institutions.
It was liberation theology - both Christian and non-Christian - that in
our days once again brought this pre-eminence of orthopraxis to the fore, and
this was received with mistrust and rejection by the religious establishments.
This insight, though, has allowed this theology to dialogue both with modern
thought (which is so markedly influenced by the philosophy of praxis) and
with liberating religions, thereby opening up a new phase of ecumenism, liber-
ating ecumenism.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 205

As already stated, religions - and Christianity most obviously - have in their

history very often laid the principal stress on orthodoxy, and they have devoted
ferocious energies to doing so, sometimes even unheard-of violence. Interrelig-
ious dialogue has known something similar: the first approach has spontane-
ously been doctrinal, theoretical, confrontationally dogmatic, whereas today we
believe that the first sharing should be communion on a practical level, a 'life
dialogue', collaboration in defense of life, the working of love and the promo-
tion of justice. This is not to despise theoretical or doctrinal elements: it is sim-
ply a request to restore to the place where they belong.
Love is more important than faith and than religion. True religion is
love.

The golden rule is the (natural and supernatural) revelation of a new means of
access to God.
The form of communion that has traditionally been seen as privileged - by
Christians, for example - in coming to know God has been, in the first place,
the sacrament as part of worship, and then a juridical-doctrinal one (belonging
to the true faith, to the faith of the Church, to the correct faith, to the body of
worshipers and the sacramental community). If one fitted into this, then one
was in possession of virtually complete communion with God. If such people
turned out to be unjust or exploitative, they were then recognized as being in-
consistent but still seen as being in the truth and in communion with the God
who saves. On the other hand, those who did not accept a dogma were heretics,
set outside religion, excluded from communion with God and, therefore, from
any possibility of salvation, without it being seen as worthwhile to examine
their lives for possible signs of love and justice. What ensured communion
with God was orthodoxy. Orthopraxis was recognized simply as a consequence
derived from this, congruent with orthodoxy but secondary in character.
By restoring orthopraxis to its proper place (and not treating it as
axiologically symmetric with orthodoxy or observance), we give credit to the
golden rule set out by Jesus, not only when he stated it literally but also in the
way he proclaimed it in so many other aspects of his life (as made plain
above). The golden rule, which Christians have traditionally regarded as
somewhat obscure and irrelevant, is properly considered and understood, a
theologically revolutionary principle: 'The great religious revolution brought
about by Jesus consists in having opened a way for human beings to draw close
to God other than through the sacred: the secular way of relating to others, the
ethical relationship of service to one's neighbor, carried even to self-sacrifice.
[. . .] He opened it through his own person, accepting payment with his own
life for the blasphemy of having deprived cultic worship of its monopoly on
salvation.'12

Joseph Moingt, El hombre que vema de Dios, Bilbao: Desclee, 1995, vol. 2, p. 154.
206 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

We have to recognize that historic Christianity forgot this religious revolution

carried out by Jesus and returned to the classical categories and practices of
juridical, ontological, and observance-centered religions doctrine, orthodoxy,
worship, institutional practice

Equivalence between the golden rule and the option for the poor
What does 'opting for the poor' mean if not opting for 'victims of injustice"?3
And what does opting for victims of injustice mean if not doing to others what
we should like them to do to us if we were in their situation7 The golden rule is
itself an adequate foundation for the option for the poor there is no need for
specious or recondite arguments on which to base it
This enables us to see that the option for the poor too is present - more
or less clearly perceived - in all religions They all speak of love, of mercy, of
care for the poor In all of them, the poor take center stage At various periods
in history, this centrahty of the poor can be blacked out, forgotten, or simply
turned into paternalism or charitable aid-giving

Beyond religion or before it?

If the golden rule is a 'least' rule and at the same time the 'greatest' common
rule religions understand as being in God, then clearly the question of religion
itself does not come into it God has no favorites when it comes to religions
The golden rule, which has to be preserved as both least and greatest, is not
concerned with belonging or fidelity to one's own religion as a prime media-
tion of salvation The most important thing is not religion but love, justice, and
how we act ethically in relation to these Religion is a means in the service of
something greater than oneself It should not be absolutized Religion's impor-
tance belongs on a later, derived, subsequent level The golden rule of all relig-
ions demonstrates that the religions themselves must not quarrel among them-
selves, nor try to conquer the world, nor to impose their teaching or their iden-
tity on the whole planet 'do not treat others as ' On the contrary, the
golden rule requires of religions an ethic that is both least and greatest in their
relations with other religions 'do not treat believers of another faith ', 'do
not treat other religions ' This brings us to the third part of our methodo-
logical approach how to act

13.1.3 ACT

The clarifying points made above have set us on the road of different opera-
tional consequences Let us divide these into two first, ethics as mterrehgious
dialogue, second, the ethics of mterrehgious dialogue

13
J M Vigil, 'La opcion por los pbres es opcion por la justicia, y no es preferencial
Para un reencuadramiento teolologo-sistematico de la opcion por los pobres'
Theologica Xavenana 149 (Jan -Mar 204), 151-66 Bogota Universidad Javenana
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 207

(a) Ethics as interreligious dialogue

If all religions accept the golden rule, it will be possible to reach an agreement
in the ethical field, a common practice, a 'dialogue in practice'. And this will
also be a saving dialogue for the human race, since it will be a collaboration
that makes the salvation of the weakest, of those most exposed to the misfor-
tunes of life, its core concern. The urgent task for this interreligious dialogue
based on the golden rule consists in working out a concrete program of achiev-
ing the minimal requirements the ethic of the golden rule postulates.
If the golden rule requires us to treat others as we should like to be
treated ourselves, the religions that regard it as a revealed golden rule should
put it into practice not only within their own communities but also outside
them, and within communities in which various religions co-exist, and - no
less - in relation to the entire world, which forms the largest interreligious
community. If religions are at the service of humankind and believe in this
golden rule, they should sit down to discuss how they can join forces in facing
up to how they 'treat all the brothers and sisters who are suffering in the same
way as we should like to be treated'. Religions should engage in dialogue, not
primarily, though, abut theology and religious teachings, but about human be-
ings and the situation of suffering into which the world is plunged, in order to
comply with the ethical minimum required by the golden rule.
Ethics itself, the commitment in favor of the most disadvantaged,
should be the first interreligious dialogue, the first agreement among religions.
It will not constitute the whole discussion, since there will still be theoretical
aspects to talk over, not to mention actually resolving doctrinal and dogmatic
differences. It will be a partial dialogue, but it (on orthopraxis) will be 'the bet-
ter part', and it is certainly the most urgent.
The other part - the theoretical or doctrinal part - 'can wait'. Religions
have had three or four thousand years of living apart, cut off each in its own
enclosed world; it was not until the second half of the twentieth century that
contacts and mutual understanding among religions intensified, in a process
that has really only just begun. How can we claim to be resolving the distances
and logical incompatibilities among systems of belief that have always been
isolated, among which the first bridges are still to be built? As was said in re-
gard to the Christological aspects, it may take several generations before we
have satisfactory answers to the theological questions religious pluralism is
asking.
It is nevertheless an urgent priority to embark on the sharing and dia-
logue among religions that can lead to the golden rule they all profess and pro-
claim being put into effect by all religions together: not only are this sharing
and dialogue urgent; they are also possible. This will be through the 'life dia-
logue' that many proclaim as the first that has to take place among the commu-
nities that make up the different religions. This is not a new idea or just a theo-
retical proposal: the life dialogue is a reality in many places with interreligious
208 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

communities all over the world - religious communities acting in concert to

resolve common problems of water supply, of provisions, of housing, of wel-
coming migrants, and so forth. Individuals and communities from different
faiths are showing that it is possible to work together for justice because they
believe in the God of life and the golden rule that sets love of neighbor, espe-
cially of the most victimized and needy, above all else. The power structures of
organized religion often mistrust this 'life dialogue' and impose restrictions on
it - forbidding joint prayer, or common liturgies, or reading texts from sacred
books other than one's own at services, making people wait till theologians
have debated the dogmatic aspects, and so on - but the experience of 'life dia-
logue' is a reality, and it is an experience more and more people are sharing
every day. I shall return to this subject of 'life dialogue' in the final chapter.

(b) Ethics applied to interreligious dialogue itself

Religious dialogue itself should be introduced n the spirit of the golden rule.
There is a 'minimum ethic' that should also be applied to the dialogue process.
Every religious person and every religious institution should make the golden
rule their own in the field of their own relations with other religions: 'Do not
treat other religions in a manner in which you would not want them to treat you
and your religion'.
Would we want another religion to describe ours as a religion 'in a se-
riously defective state of salvation'? Or to regard us as 'useless human endeav-
ors' to grasp God, as opposed to itself, supposedly the one way 'God comes to
meet human beings'? Would we want to hear the jealous preaching of another
religion seeking our 'conversion so as to avoid our eternal damnation'? How
would we feel about a religion that publicly proclaimed its conviction that it
alone is the true one, while all others - with all their mediations, mediators,
scriptures - are false, useless, deficient, or destined to disappear?
John Hick says, 'We should follow the golden rule, allowing the reli-
gious experience of other traditions the same presumption of cognitive veracity
that we rightly claim for our own religion.'14 Allowing other religions the same
presumption of truth and validity we claim for ours . . . . It could not be better
expressed.
Speaking of Christianity, let us recall that its history has notably failed
to apply the golden rule. As we saw in chapter 11, the Christian Church, which
had been persecuted under the Roman Empire, turned almost without noticing
into a Church that persecuted other religions. Later on, its conviction of being
the one true religion led it to impose persecution within its own ranks also,
with the Inquisition, witch-hunts, burning of heretics, rejection of democracy
and modern freedoms, censorship, silencing of dissident theologians. . . .
Minimal consideration given to the golden rule would have freed it from in-

John Hick, God Has Many Names, Philaldephia, Pa: Westminster Press, 1982, p. 24.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 209

dulging in these methods of violence and persecution against both other relig-
ions and its own members.
The principle of the golden rule requires religions to give up their tra-
ditional attitudes of exclusivism, of intolerance, of contempt for others. Even it
the doctrinal convictions of one religion insist on its being the only true one,
the golden rule would still go on laying down the imperative of not treating the
others as no human being would wish to be treated. Even those who are in 're-
ligious error' should still be treated with all respect, helped in all their material
needs, listened to and encouraged to continue to follow their conscience and
practice their religion.
It is worth recalling now the crisis produced in the Catholic Church by
the Second Vatican Council in accepting the principle of religious freedom
with the Declaration Dignitatis Humanae: shocked conservative theologians
trotted out the old argument that 'only truth has rights; error has no rights'.
This is the fundamentalist approach: if we alone are in the truth and the rest are
mistaken, then we alone have right on our side, and the world has to be as we
see it, and we have the right to ensure our religion is imposed and that society
adopts the usages and laws of our religion (and our culture), while other people
and other religions (and cultures) have no rights, because they are in error. And
this is simply a grave - though frequent - betrayal of the minimal ethic of the
golden rule.
The prevalence of an ethic of respect for others, of listening to them, of
tolerating cultural and religious diversity, minority religions, plurality, cultural
and religious human rights, and the like constitute a minimal ethic that we have
to make ours, both from secular human ethical consciousness and from the re-
ligious consciousness of the great religions, which, as we have seen, support
this minimal ethics through their 'golden rule'. This chapter has dealt with the
'minimal' ethics. In chapter 22 we shall try to take this solid basis to its ulti-
mate extent, to world-wide application.

13.2 Related texts

• When one acquires an infinitesimal quantity of Love, one forgets being

Muslim, Magus, Christian or infidel. - Ibn Arabi

• I found Love above idolatry and religion. I found Love beyond doubt
and reality. - Ibn Arabi

• If you find that in the depths of yourself what incites you to god is your
love of God and your love for the human beings whom God loves; if
you believe that evil consists in cutting yourself off from people, since
God loves them as God loves you, and you will lose your love of God
if you do harm to those whom God loves, that is, all human beings . . .
210 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

then you are a disciple of Jesus, whatever religion you profess. -

Kamill Husayn

• What matters is not for a person to tell his faith, but what that faith
makes of that person. - Ibn Hazm (Cordoba, 994-1064)

13.3 Questions for group discussion and action

• Will the religions reach theological or doctrinal agreement? Is such a

thing possible?
• In our Christian upbringing, what importance was given to the 'golden
rule'? Speak from your own experience.
• Why have we called this golden rule the 'ethical minimum' ?
• Does it strike me as 'likely' that God should have revealed himself to
just one people (ours) and left the rest - throughout the whole of hu-
man history - to evolve culturally with 'religions that cannot truly
reach God', and that God should be asking us to persuade them to
abandon their religion and convert to ours? Is it 'likely'? Is it believ-
able? Is it 'goodly'? Does it strike me as an attitude worthy of God?
• Does error have rights? Do those who are mistaken have rights? Does
anyone have the right to practice any religion, even a religion 'that is
not the true one'? Does anyone have the right to be wrong? Why?
• What would be the effects on Christian interreligious dialogue of each
of the four points discussed under 'Biblical foundations' in this lesson?
Chapter 14

A Different Model of Truth

In this second part of the course (JUDGE), we have approached the subject
from the main branches of classical theology (revelation, christology, ecclesi-
ology). In the last lesson we examined a new aspect, that of ethics. Now we
need to address a question on a different plane, the 'question of truth'. This
theme is not properly theological or religious but rather philosophical, that is to
say, what we call 'epistemology' (the theory of science) or 'gnoseology' (the
theory of knowing), used consciously or unconsciously in all of our theological
statements.

14.1 Discussing the topic

To deal with the theme of religious pluralism in depth it is not enough to de-
velop reflections on the basis of religious tradition, nor is it sufficient to con-
trast them with the traditions of one or more religions. There are issues that go
beyond arguments that the religious traditions themselves might offer, because
they depend on other areas of human knowledge. It is like when we project a
film or a video: apart from the treatment of the image and color in the original
filming and production there is a different problem, which lies not in the pic-
ture itself, nor even in the script, but which does affect the viewing: this is the
screen on to which we project, which must be white and flat and also clean. If
these conditions, entirely foreign to the picture itself, are not met, then the
viewing will be distorted.
The theological debate on religious pluralism is bound to be carried out
on a screen - that of our 'model of truth', according to which we do our think-
ing and develop our knowledge. This comes within the purvey of what phi-
losophy calls epistemological, criteriological, and gnoseological aspects, mean-
ing the implicit conditions under which we produce our truth, the rules by
which we develop the inferences of our arguments, and the criteria of truth by
which we guide ourselves when we create knowledge. These criteria are often
unconscious, so only a philosophical or anthropological-cultural interpretation
can bring them to light. This reflection will tell us whether our screen's surface
is uneven, or whether it is stained by a color that will artificially color our
learning too, or whether it has spots that can be spoiling or even distorting the
truth that we think we are seeing clearly.

14.1.1SEE
Many of us have had the childhood experience of receiving religious instruc-
tion based on the conviction that our religion was 'the true one' and all others
212 JOSE M A R I A VIGIL

were 'false' It is not as though this was said to us explicitly and insistently and
heavy-handedly, like so many other teachings No, it was a proposal that was
almost indirect and that did not have to be direct because it was 'in the air' It
was a taken for granted by everyone Once we had accepted the truth of our
religion, no more needed saying it was understood that we rejected all others
as, logically, false
'Logically' - but what logic made us hold all religions other than 'the
true one' to be false*? It was that model of truth that was in our cultural back-
ground That model proposed to us, as though it were the truth, that if one re-
ligion was the true one, then the others 'necessarily' had to be false Nobody
questioned it because it was in effect a part of our 'cultural presuppositions' It
was on the common screen upon which we were projecting our thoughts, even
if we were not conscious that we were using a screen outside ourselves but
common to our collective culture
To start from reality (SEE), but from the deepest reality, we need to
analyze this model of truth that has been in vogue, not just during our child-
hood, but during a much longer time Let us take a look

14] 1 1 The Old Model of Truth

The dominant model of truth in the West did not originate yesterday It goes
back to the times of ancient Greece Aristotle 1 (fourth century BC) could be
claimed as its father The axiomatic First Principles 2 by which knowledge is
governed in the West, and which can be found in any textbook of philosophy,
can be traced back to him Aristotle believed he had discovered that the first of
these principles, which seems to be self-evident, and which, if we deny it, will
impede us from taking any further steps in the development of knowledge, is
the principle of non-contradiction, which says this it cannot be that something
is and is not at the same time and in the same respect 3 In graphic terms of two
statements, one that affirms something and the other that negates it, one is true
and the other false Both cannot be true 4 Truth is one, it cannot be two (con-
tradictory) It is either one or the other 5
This is this, because it is not that I am I because I am not you You are
you because you are not me The truth of things is separate, defined, like things
in themselves, which are external to each other Thus the knowledge of the
truth consists in recognizing these frontiers, in setting limits, in separating, in

I take Aristotle as symbolic, because it was he who left us the most developed theory
of knowledge, but we cannot overlook the enormous influence exerted by the Platonic
model of truth Greek philosophy as a whole is the true father of this model
2
By 'axioms', in philosophy, we understand those fundamental principles that seem so
evident that they cannot be proved, which constitute the basis of all thought
3
Aristotle, Metaphysic, 1005b 35ff
Although both could be false but we won't go there
5
See P Knitter, No Other Name ?, p 217, whom I follow closely here
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 213

distinguishing between one truth and another, in 'de-fining', marking the sepa-
ration between what is and what is not, what is one thing and not another. Eve-
rything is governed by this criterion of non-contradiction: 'one or the other, but
not both'. Truth is one, exclusive; it excludes other truths; it is well defined,
with very precise limits. This leads us to search for a 'clear and distinct' truth,6
a truth that is instantly recognizable and beyond doubt.
This concept of truth, which proceeds by definitions, by dissolving
ambiguities, by excluding that which is not, lends truth a marked character of
uniqueness and absoluteness. Truth is one, only one. It is unique and therefore
absolute. The full and true truth is not relative, does not 'depend on'. It is 'ab-
solute', self-sufficient, overwhelmingly certain, incontrovertible. That which is
true is - where it applies - the unique and absolute truth.
In modern times inclusion has been added to exclusion. A truth may be
true, not only because it excludes all other alternatives, but also because it is
bound to include them. Basically, this inclusion is still exclusion. That is: this
truth is certain and absolute because its alternatives in fact are not true alterna-
tives; they cannot exist apart from it but are included in it. They are not really
'other truths', but the same truth. Inclusion leaves no room for otherness, but
rather absorbs it: outside of truth A, there is really no truth B, because we dis-
cover that truth B exists within truth A; truth B is nothing more than an appar-
ently different form of the same truth. Through inclusion, truth B is in fact ne-
gated (excluded), even if through being absorbed rather than purely destruc-
tively negated.
This model of truth we have tried to describe simply on the basis of
Aristotle's axiom of non-contradiction is a model that has served the West all
too well. It has given rise to unimaginably precise schools of logic, as well as
implacable metaphysical systems, and has made possible an impeccable scien-
tific methodology, along with a powerful technology, which have without
doubt enriched humanity. A good share of Western hegemony - and the im-
perium it has exercised over the rest of the world - can perhaps be explained
by referring to this model of truth or knowledge that has characterized the West
so markedly.
These characteristics of the Western truth model have applied even
more acutely - if possible - in the religious field: religious truth, more than any
other, claims to be unique and absolute and, on principle, excludes all other
religious truth. It is beyond doubt and everlasting, unchangeable. We can dis-
cover new aspects of it, but we cannot discover that it is not what it was, or that
it was not what it is. There is no historicity or evolution in the truth, but rather
it enjoys a metaphysical permanence by virtue of the perfect uniqueness and
absoluteness it enjoys.

6
The expression is much later, by Descartes (1596-1650), father of modern
rationalism, who attempted to begin anew to construct a philosophy that is entirely
rational, without cracks.
214 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

Christianity is all too well known for its Western character. Despite the fact
that its origins are Semitic, not Greek, so in this sense it would have been more
Eastern than Western, it soon took root in Western culture, in Greek culture. In
the resulting mixture the Western thought proved stronger, so much so that it
became one of the foundations upon which Europe was constructed, as well as
one of the essential components of the West in general.
Christianity identified totally with this Greek model of truth as one
more element in its identification with Greek culture and philosophy. In spite
of the classical church axiom that philosophy is the 'handmaid of theology',
there is room for asking oneself whether Greek philosophy did not in fact end
up, behind the scenes, as the mistress and dominatrix of Christian theology,
'holding the skillet by the handle', so to speak, because it established the crite-
rion or model of truth. By welcoming it during the first centuries, then through
its reception in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the Christian Church
adopted Aristotelian philosophy, identified itself with it, and proclaimed it the
'perennial philosophy'. Even in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries there
were movements to 'restore' scholasticism and neo-scholasticism. And still
now, in the twenty-first century, the Christian church, principally Catholicism,
cannot be said to have disengaged itself formally from its Aristotelian-Thomist
matrix.
This model of absolute truth and exclusion not only continues as the
unconscious philosophical background against which Christianity has operated
(the screen upon which the picture is projected), but it has been systematized
theologically, with the result that it has ended up shaping Christianity itself.
Catholicism in particular is by definition the religion of dogmas of faith, of
anathemas, of definitions, and of the Inquisition that watches over the 'purity'
of the faith in order to 'keep the deposit of faith intact'. The concept of fixed
doctrines and their interpretations has been proclaimed and underlined ad nau-
seam. Christianity is the religion famous the world over for its unlimited claims
to the universal, immutable, eternal absolute truth!
We can see this even in a theologian of the status of Karl Rahner (d.
1984). He affirmed that human liberty, confronted with multiple options and
truths, feels impelled to make decisions on the basis of definitive and absolute
values. Human beings want to make an absolute commitment in their lives, and
that requires knowing a truth that is also clearly defined and absolute. Christi-
anity responds to this desire and need, as being 'the only one among the relig-
ions that truly has the courage to demand absolute adherence to it.' Christianity
'has from the beginning attributed a universal mission to itself. It does not see
itself as an external, relative, or particular form of religion, but rather as the
only justified relationship between human beings and God, because it was es-
tablished by God for all human beings'. 'It considers every human being, of
whatever race or culture, as a subject called to receive its message'. It 'has be-
come a universal religion in the march of that European history thanks to
which it has managed to bring about in modern times a world-wide unity of
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 215

humankind in a single history'. 'Consequently we can say that Christianity is

the only religion that really has made itself into a truly universal religion. It has
both temporal and spatial universality.'7

14.1.2 JUDGE
During recent centuries the classical model of truth that underlies the Western
tradition has been subjected to strong criticism. The Enlightenment and the
advent of modernity represent a break with that medieval scholastic order in
which Christianity felt so much at home. The Enlightenment might be said to
be the discovery of, and entry into, the world of freedom and history, leaving
behind the world of necessity and nature. Humanity discovered itself as be-
longing to the world of liberty and creativity, and not to the order of mere na-
ture, obeying immutable laws. The order of the human world is not a 'natural'
order already given, to which it has to submit, but rather a historical order,
which therefore belongs to the order of freedom, an order that does not come as
a given (which does not exist), but which rather has to be created.
The Enlightenment also smashed into pieces the certainty that had sur-
rounded the world of human knowledge. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), through
his analysis of knowledge, established its complexity and relativity, while it
had previously been held to be related directly and infallibly to reality
(adaequatio rei et intel-lectus). The distance between noumenon and phenome-
non, the analysis of a priori categories of knowledge, the 'end of the dogmatic
dream', the definitive loss of epistemological and gnoseological ingenuous-
ness, would all in their way mark an irreversible step forward for humankind.
Modern historicist thinking discovers that everything is historical and
evolving, that everything is in motion, that nothing is enclosed in its own defi-
nition, that everything that exists constitutes a knot of relationships, that every-
thing is related to everything else. Biology and the history of evolution rein-
force the conviction that nature, which in the distant past had been understood
as a world of types and species that had been established by the Creator from
eternity, is rather a world in evolution and without frontiers. It is frequently,
and in many aspects, more a chaos than a cosmos. Modern sciences such as the
new physics, with its principle of the random nature of matter, clearly establish
the limitations and relativity of all knowledge. Science advances today not so
much by sure understanding of causes, as via the most likely hypotheses.
In the religious field the crisis of the classical model of truth has also
been profound. The conflict between the Churches and modern thought has
been - and still is - age-old. The Enlightenment's criticism of pre-modern
faith, the conflict between faith and reason, the desertion by science and intel-
lectuals - are all too well known. They do not belong just to the past but are
still a present reality.

K. Rahner, 'The Essence of Christianity', in Sacramentum Mundi, vol. 2, 35-6.

Available (in Spanish) at servicioskoinonia.org./relat/329.htm.
216 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

One of the principal causes of the crisis in the Catholic Church, for example, is
the discomfort that so many of its adherents feel toward the dogmatic and
quasi-infallible style with which its hierarchs (priests, bishops, pope) have
conducted themselves. They have dictated conscience-binding rules in all
fields of human endeavor based on a theology and a concept of truth that is
declaredly authoritarian, unchangeable, dogmatic, indisputable, inspired or as-
sisted directly by the Holy Spirit in their formulation by an ecclesiastical mag-
isterium that has nothing participative or democratic about it. This presents a
'top-down' model of truth that many of today's men and women, who have
reached the critical adulthood of the modern age, feel they cannot accept. This
then produces a silent exodus from the Church by the back door. Most of those
who leave avoid discussion and do not want confrontation: they are simply
leaving, often without having any clear counter-arguments. They rather have 'a
feeling' or 'profound conviction' of being in another world, in another 'para-
digm', miles away culturally and philosophically from those who continue to
handle truth as if it belonged to 'the exact sciences', 'clear and distinct', per-
fectly manageable and defensible against anyone who thinks differently or
simply doubts. This shift in models of truth (a true 'change of paradigm') is not
easy to identify in intra-church conflicts but - more frequently than it might
seem - is what is at the bottom of such conflicts.

14.1.2.1 A Different Model of Truth

Making a big leap, and without trying to justify precisely how it came about,
we could say that the new model that has been spreading throughout the West
and the rest of the world in recent times is not a truth based on the exclusion or
inclusion of others. Rather, it is characterized by its capacity to relate itself to
other truths, and it grows and is enriched through this multiple relationship. It
is truth based not on exclusion or on inclusion, but on relationships.8
No truth can stand alone, isolated, complete and perfect in itself. Nei-
ther can it be understood as untouchable and enthroned on a pinnacle of abso-
luteness. Truth, by its very nature, has need of another truth; it is completed
and enriched through relating to others. If a truth cannot enter into a relation-
ship with other truths, it must be questioned and its quality must be in doubt.
Returning to the personal example: I am I, not because I am not you, but be-
cause I relate to you; I am I because I exist for you and am part of you, and
vice-versa. I cannot come to be myself and constitute my personal uniqueness
except in relation to a You. A truth that refuses to be related to others is a truth
that cannot 'veri-fy' itself. A truth consolidates and proves itself, not by tri-
umphing over others through destroying them by excluding them or taking
their place by including them, but because it gives and enriches itself in rela-
tion to others. As it interacts with them it finds its own place in the universal

Knitter, ibid.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 217

multi-network. W. C. Smith encapsulates it in his assertion that 'in all ultimate

matters truth lies not in an either-or but in a both-and'.9
In the old model the subject required absolute, exclusive (excluding or
including the others) certainty to be able to make a religious option. Nowadays,
'Catholics, like other Christians in general, are coming to see that for some-
thing to be true it does not have to be absolute. 10This advance seems impossi-
ble to some more conservative spirits, but it is a reality that is growing and ad-
vancing.
Many believers with a 'modern' outlook prefer to accept that the truth
is humbler and 'relational', that today one cannot claim absolute certainty - the
undisputable and indubitable point from which to mount a triumphalist chal-
lenge against the rest. Rather, it is better and more truthful to accept the limited
condition of human beings, along with their likewise limited capacity for com-
prehending mystery; that it is more beautiful to share with all men and women
of good will the risk and adventure of this marvelous pilgrimage that is human
life, instead of imagining a false reality.'11

14.1.2.2 Various Interpretations

The intention here is not to solve an epistemological or gnoseological problem,
since this is still a course in theology. But, even without claiming to solve the
problem, we still need to touch on some of the principal paths down which
modern theological thought has gone in trying to orient its tentative solutions,
making use of interdisciplinary studies, and especially of philosophy.

Interpretation on the Kantian model: philosophical gnoseology.

One of the methods in interpreting the plurality of religions makes use of Im-
manuel Kant's contribution to the critique of knowledge.12 Authors who follow
this line distinguish between God, or the Mystery, in itself and the Mystery in
relation to human beings as perceived from within different actual human cul-
tural situations. The divine Mystery is perceived in these different cultural
situations by means of different expressions or figures, created when the pres-
ence of the Mystery interacts with human situations.
In Kant's terms, we might distinguish between, on the one hand, the sin-
gular divine inoumenon\ the Mystery in itself, which transcends human
thought and language, and, on the other, the plurality of 'phenomena', the the-
ist and non-theist descriptions of it that the different religions produce. Relig-
ion is thus a complex totality of the forms of religious experience, with its own

9
W. C. Smith, Faith of Other Men, New York: Mentor, 1965, p. 17.
10
Knitter, ibid., p. 219.
The modern quip that says, 'There is no certainty, it's simply a state of mind', is not
lacking a certain dose of truth.
12
J. Hick has been one of the major proponents of Kant's line of reasoning. Cf. God
has Many Names, Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1980, pp. 53-4.
218 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

symbols and myths, its theological systems, liturgy, art, ethics and life styles,
scriptures and traditions - all elements that interact with each other and rein-
force each other as parts of the whole These varying wholes constitute the
various 'answers' given by human beings from within different cultures and
ways of life to that infinite and transcendent reality that we call Mystery, or
God, or whatever
The divine Mystery the different religions refer to is the same, and it
lies beyond our concepts and even our capacity to conceptualize it Now, each
one of us experiences the mystery of the divine within those cultural condition-
ings typical of our religious collectivity and our own personality This means
that we must distinguish carefully between the Mystery in itself, on the one
hand, and the representations we human beings make of it, which we often tend
to confuse with it

The Cultural Dimension of Religious Experience

At this point in history we are familiar - through philosophy, cultural anthro-
pology, and many other disciplines - with the processes that make up every
human experience, processes in which the conceptual and linguistic structures
within which the human experience takes place play a part There is no such
thing as a pure spiritual experience that exists outside of the human world and
uncontarmnated Rather, it is always incarnate, bearing in its flesh and bones
the marks of the culture and language of the matrix within which it takes place
Our mind is constantly active, and nothing that happens inside us at a con-
scious level escapes being processed by our own capacities and by the way we
arrive at our concepts This has been investigated by the philosophy of lan-
guage, cognitive psychology, and the sociology of knowledge Now it can be
applied to religious experience
None of us undergoes a religious experience from 'zero' We do it as a
part of the tradition into which we were born and raised and within whose
'common understanding' we live This tradition, its history, its doctrinal and
spiritual heritage, its sacred writings, and devotional practices all make up a
kind of filter or lens that is installed in each one of us and leads us to perceive
the religious experience within a common model This model is ample and,
while it permits diversification, is nevertheless at the same time specific and
determining Every element of this religious experience, however personal and
non-transferable it may appear to us, contains a high proportion of elements
that derive from our common religious patrimony and bear all the marks of the
cultural world (philosophical, social, linguistic, and symbolic) that the human
collective to which the individual undergoing the experience belongs
Here it is worth recalling the Anstotelian-Thomist principle 'quidquid
recipitur, ad modum recipientis recipituf, 'that which is received is received
according to the nature of the recipient' So religious experience and knowl-

13
1 am using the word here in the positive sense given it in cultural anthropology
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 219

edge, insofar as they are 'received', are received by actual human beings ac-
cording to their nature and capacity to receive; that is, in their own conceptual
and cultural categories, since they are produced and inserted within their
framework of values and circumscribed always by the limitations proper to
their culture and their individuality.
Religions, then, do not exist 'up in the air', in some intellectual strato-
sphere or in pure spirit, but have a large component of human culture specific
to each religion.

We are all of us are spontaneously exclusivist

We have suggested this earlier, and it should be addressed here again for its
relevance to models of truth.
We could say that exclusiveness is a human 'original sin'. All of us are
born in it. Turned in upon themselves, the human beings that come into this
world are, as Aristotle said, Hamquam tabula rasa\ like a tablet with nothing
written on it, and capable only of starting from experience of themselves.
There is no other starting point. For that reason they form the center of them-
selves as well as of their perception of the universe. Whatever happens to them
will be incorporated into their discovery experience by relating it to the center
of the universe that they constitute - not out of selfishness, but out of a 'natu-
ral' self-centeredness. This is how they come 'factory-made'; they were con-
ceived and made like that and come with that limitation and that need.
There will have to be long and complicated processes - educational
processes - before they develop a vision that makes them discover that other
'centers' exist, and that they are not the only center, much less the center. Even
then, they will tend to dominate other centers and subsume them into them-
selves. As they mature, they may perhaps reach another stage of understanding,
in which they will be capable of accepting the independent existence of other
centers and centering themselves around these other centers they have discov-
ered. All of this is, without stretching the expression, 'natural law', a spontane-
ous mechanism.
The same applies, in parallel, in the process of acquiring religious un-
derstanding. Most of us were born into a religion and originally saw this as the
religion, the only one that existed, the only true one, or at least the only signifi-
cant one for us. Only later did we discover that other religions in fact existed.
Then the spontaneous reaction was, first, to exclude them, or, at a more ad-
vanced stage, to include them. Now we are living in a new phase of the
world, in which those 'other religions' have necessarily become neighbors and
interact continually with ours. Many of us have reacted spontaneously with

Knitter says, 'we are all inclusivists': Introducing Theologies of Religions, Mary-
knoll, NY: Orbis, 2002, p. 216.1 believe this is true at this time in history, but that it is
nothing more than an advanced form of our spontaneous exclusiveness, which virtually
comes with our religious genes.
220 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

inclusiveness - 'spontaneous' reactions, not 'sinful', or even 'ill-intentioned'

ones We might say that they could not have been anything else They are per-
haps just what we might have expected, given our limited experience and
knowledge of religious pluralism in the real world
We are fortunate to be able to speak this way We are the first genera-
tion in the history of humankind to arrive at the point from which we can re-
gard religious attitudes with such a degree of detachment and objectivity
All this has a direct bearing on the question of truth under discussion
here Apart from the influence exercised by the Greek model of truth, to whit
the spontaneous tendency toward self-centeredness and the exclusion of all
religious truth not subsumed in our center, it sheds a lot of light on our capacity
for understanding other religious truths We should not be shocked at this dis-
covery of the excluding and including tendencies of our religion in ourselves
They are not characteristics peculiar to us, or even to our religion, but mecha-
nisms inherent in the majority of religions They represent the fruits of a model
of truth from which we are fortunately freeing ourselves An attitude of humil-
ity, tolerance, and welcome of non-exclusion and non-condemnation should be
a lesson learned from careful and penitent observation of our history

The theology of religions in the post-modern age

It is worth noting that the basic concepts that we are dealing with in our course
- exclusivism, inclusivism, pluralism - are of recent origin, since the theology
of religions is itself very young, appearing only after 1960 But they are not
recent enough to date from the age of 'post-modernism', which is even more
recent Books and articles about the theology of religions usually make no ref-
erence to this cultural movement It is only in the latest book by Paul Knitter
that we find the introduction of a fourth model or paradigm of the theology of
religions, which he calls 'The Acceptance Model',16 and which he presents as
related to post-modern culture
Knitter states that it is the youngest model, and that it was born in the
post-modern culture it of which it forms part The earlier models attempt to
eliminate, absorb, or overcome the differences among religions The post-
modern 'acceptance model', on the contrary, seeks to emphasize and value
those differences they all have the right to exist, and to destroy them would
signify destroying an immense richness that belongs to humankind and would
constitute an act of homogenizing imperialism
Underlying all this stands the criticism that post-modernism makes of
modernity It accuses it of having an excessive confidence in reason, of over-
valuing what it supposes to be universal values, of claiming to have the com-
plete explanation, of trusting too rashly in the human capacity for intervening

We have already stated that inclusion is, in a certain sense, a form of exclusion 'A
conquest through an embrace' in the words of Hans Kung
16
Knitter, Introducing Theologies of Religion, pp 177ff
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 221

in history to attain its ideals and Utopias. Post-modernism bases this criticism in
its rejection of 'mega-narratives', those great explanations that claim to provide
a reason or meaning universally valid for human life. These mega-narratives
are harmful, according to post-modernism, be they historical (liberation, for
example), related to economics (like capitalism), or of a political nature (such
as democracy). They are dangerous because, by claiming to be universally
valid, what they do is impose one culture on another. In the post-modern view
there should be no truths that claim to be universal. On the contrary, truths, like
flowers, ought to grow in thousands of ways, each in its own soil.
Authors representative of this model, such as George Lindbeck, em-
phasize that religions cannot be compared with each other. Each one is itself,
and they cannot be compared or 'translated', nor can bridges be built between
them. What must be done is respect the differences and let all live and grow in
freedom, just like the flowers.
This seems to be the first time this model has been advanced, and it is
too early to decide whether it is a new model or just the most extreme point
that could be reached by some form of pluralist paradigm, a ne plus ultra that
would consist in some kind of indifference, or relativism - and an abandon-
ment in advance of any attempt at 'unitive dialogue'. In any case, there it is,
and it is probably more widespread than we think.

14.1.3 ACT
The ultimate concern of the theology of liberation is always, 'What should we
do?' Let us turn to that now. Let us come to earth by drawing some working
conclusions from what has been said so far.

14.1.3.1 Abandoning the old model of truth

One of the first working conclusions should be to disqualify the way of being
religious based on the Greek-scholastic, inflexibly dogmatic model. We must
open our minds to the historical and evolutionary, multi-related and holistic,
nature of the world. We must turn away from those dregs of exclusivism and
inclusivism lurking deep in our consciousness. We must renounce the stagna-
tion of those who believe that they 'have the truth' and have it written down,
set down, codified and canonized as though it were inscribed on stone, eter-
nally unchangeable and infallible. We need to strip ourselves of those claims
and, obviously without moving from them to the other extreme of relativism or
indifferentism, open ourselves up to the beautiful adventure that is the search
for truth, feeling ourselves sisters and brothers with all other men and women
and peoples who share our exciting interest in all humanity's open-ended pil-
grimage toward an ever greater Truth. As we stand elbow to elbow, hand in
hand with all those who seek the truth, we relate to them not from the academic
222 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

chair, nor from the pulpit, but as brothers and sisters who wish to share and
also learn 17
This changing our model of proof represents a real conversion, a genu-
ine 'change of paradigm' I chose to title this chapter 'A Different Model of
Truth' and not simply 'The Question of Truth' to indicate that we are suggest-
ing a real change in our model of truth,18 a new way of knowing

14 1 3 2 A sincere and serene acceptance of relativeness

All of this implies a conversion, as has been said We have to accept the rela-
tional and relative aspects of the truth,19 that truth we now see as relevant be-
cause of its capacity to relate, and not for its supposed ability to exclude other
truths We do not seek a truth that will be 'ours' or 'unique' because it elimi-
nates other truths either by disqualifying or absorbing them Rather we seek to
discover in what way our truth relates positively to all other truths, how the
truth of others is not alien to us and has never been formerly ours (by absorp-
tion or inclusion)
Leaving behind the security in which we - above all we Christians, and
specifically Catholics - were brought up can confuse many of us and remains a
very sensitive point for our faith For that reason this theme must always be
presented with sound teaching methods and with much tact and thoughtfulness
Sacred elements of our faith, which were our props and which we re-
garded as having absolute value for all humankind, are being interpreted today
by many theologians from a different point of view This is not a matter of at-
tempting to undermine the absolute character of the commitment these sacred
elements demand of us but, simply, of discovering that we should not deduce
an exclusive or inclusive truth from them with regard to other religions 20
We have already alluded to the critical rethinking of knowledge that
the modern philosophy of the Enlightenment had proposed, often opposed by
Christianity Nonetheless, with the passage of time a healthily secularizing
process managed to prevail and was eventually accepted by the Christian
Churches too Life in a sacrahzed world where everything spoke to us of the
presence of a provident God may have been very reassuring and given us great
security, but today we recognize that God wants us to be responsible adults and

This has grave consequences for our Christian 'mission', for 'missionary action'
specifically We shall cover this topic in Lesson 21
18
One part of that change of model of truth is what is meant by the common
expression 'the de-Hellemzation of Christianity'
19
Watch the distinction between relatedness and relativism
'Being aware of an insuperable religious pluralism invites us to re-discover the
singularity of Christian truth and to understand better that it can demand an absolute
commitment of the believer, without thereby becoming an exclusive or inclusive truth
in relation to any other truth of a religious or cultural nature ' C Geffre, Preface to J
C BASSET, El dialogo interrehgwso, Bilbao Desclee, 1999, p 12
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 223

respects 'the autonomy of earthly realities' In this way things happen 'etsi
Deus non daretur', as though there were no God, and we accept that we have
to get used to living under that presupposition of seculanty
In parallel, we might now say that, as another stage or consequence of
the same process, we are discovering that we must live 'etsi rehgiones absolu-
tae non darentur,' as though there were no absolute religions, understanding
'absolute' in the classical sense of absoluteness Perhaps it is precisely God
who does not wish to allow us that security we long for, who does not want us
to live in possession of an absolute, total, and unique truth that ex-
cludes/includes all other religious truths in the world, but rather to live accept-
ing a truth that, while it continues to merit our absolute commitment, is never-
theless still a sister truth to the truth of other religions 21 That religion whose
traditions and creeds we considered literally historical, and whose dogmas we
thought of also as a literal expression of an eternal and unchangeable truth, has
had its day With the end of the 'dogmatic dream' that Kant proclaimed, we
now have to accept that we have reached the 'end of the dogmatic religious
dream' 22 Nowadays we are so conscious of the plurality, the relativeness,23
and the multiple forms of figurative meaning through which by religious truth
is conveyed, of the legitimate plurality of interpretations, of the necessary
complementarity of truths, of the continuing evolution of human beings, of the
ever-unfinished nature of the religious quest that we have to recognize that
also in this matter 'we are no longer in an epoch of changes, but in a change of
epoch' And even that we are not in the change of epoch any longer the
change has already taken place, we are in the already new, different epoch
This is a view that will 'disappoint' those still anchored in the world
view of conservative Christianity But it can enthuse those who have a youthful
spirit, who will find this new situation the setting for new calls from the ever-
surprising God to take on our own freedom and responsibility
This clashes with official teaching, which is always obsessed with rela-
tivism Fifteen years ago the taboo was 'Marxism', an accusation made against
anyone who was involved in liberation and the option for the poor Today the
new taboo is 'relativism', and where anything looks like a new model of truth
21
Without implying an outright equality, as if we agreed a priori that 'all religions are
equal'
Which, referring to Christianity, is not something contemporary, but rather of the last
few centuries, if we think of the re reading carried out of biblical interpretation in
particular and the greater part of theology as well The time has now come for carrying
out this re reading in the field of the theology of religions, and to undertake a new re-
reading of the whole realm of religion, based on what we have often called a
'pluralistic paradigm' of religion
23
'Interventions by the magistenum can no longer be as clear and irrevocable as they
have claimed to be We have to admit the relativity of any formulation regarding
the absolute nature of God' R Coffy, archbishop of Albi Onentierung 40 (Zurich,
1976), 63-6
224 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

or a new interpretation of Christianity removed from all claims to absolute and

unquestioned superiority over the other world religions, past and to come, it is
condemned as 'relativism' by present-day inquisitors. Obsessive fear of relativ-
ism makes them see it where it does not exist, where there is simply an effort to
overcome pretensions to absolute superiority. True, we have to avoid extreme
relativism, but it is also true that we should not do so by absolutizing what is
relative. On this point clear thinking is needed, to avoid being tripped up by a
false distinction between recognizing as relative what truly is relative, on the
one hand, and falling into unbridled relativism, on the other. Nor should we
forget that absolutism is, when all is said and done, no closer to the truth than
relativism, even though it may seem to be or be imagined to be so.

14.1.3.3 Freedom from self

The old model of a fixed and unchangeable truth affects the Catholic Church
much more than might appear. Christian tradition owes a lot to a procedure that
is classic in many religions: a doctrine is developed or a custom established,
and then, to endorse it and lend it more authority, it is attributed to God and
considered sacred or divine and therefore unreformable and untouchable. In
that way the Church ends up being its own prisoner, bound by its own writings,
which it says it dare not change because it regards them as 'of divine law', or
as originating from Jesus himself. In reality they are just doctrines, rulings,
sacramental rites, customs, and the like created by the Church itself and there-
fore subject to its own authority and will.
This is especially true in the case of teaching that is considered 'dog-
matic'. If it has been declared as such, those who are bound by the classical
model of truth consider that turns it into a truth that is somehow absolute, tran-
scendent, metaphysical, and eternal, which therefore has to be understood liter-
ally, without any possibility of being reinterpreted, much less changed. This is
a fundamentalist attitude.
Curiously, this attitude is held to apply much more strongly to church
'dogmas' than to the Bible itself. At this stage in history the entire Bible has
undergone a critical re-reading, while many church dogmas, which belong to a
lower category than the Bible, are considered untouchable, and critical analysis
of them, let alone their reinterpretation, is strictly prohibited.
Herbert Haag, a Catholic theologian who died in 2001, made great ef-
forts in his final years to point out this paradoxical situation in which the
Church becomes its own prisoner, especially through this petrifying model of
truth that attributes to God or to Jesus - and so judges unchangeable and un-
touchable - something that in reality it can change itself if it decides to do so.24
The model of truth has repercussions, logically, not only for interrelig-
ious dialogue, but also for the internal life of each religion.

H. Haag, Nur wer sich andert bleibt sich treu, Freiburg: Herder 1998.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 225

14.1.3.4 Theology 'in dialogue': for several generations

The theology of religions is not only a theology for dialogue, but it must also
be a theology of dialogue and even a theology in dialogue. It is for dialogue
because it permits us to have an internal dialogue with ourselves, to put our
own house in order before our sister interlocutor religions come to visit us. Our
internal dialogue makes it possible for us to clear up many matters that would
turn out to be unbearable and unacceptable to our partners in dialogue, matters
that will fall of their own weight with a simple internal re-working. The inter-
nal dialogue not only cleanses us from those elements that would cause unnec-
essary suffering for our interlocutors, but it also changes the very structure of
our religious world view, freeing those rigid elements that have never been
confronted in dialogue, and disposing us to discussion.
It is a theology of dialogue because in a second phase, which consists
of concrete bilateral and even multi-lateral interreligious dialogue, it will un-
doubtedly furnish new viewpoints, new elements, and constructive critical per-
spectives. Seeing our religious thoughts read through someone else's eyes will
allow us to discover points of view to which our own eyes have always been
blind. Those contributions to the dialogue and the experience of discussing our
own religion will doubtless furnish material that can then be worked into a the-
ology of dialogue.
But it will also be theology in dialogue?5 on the road, which does not
think it has all the solutions yet, nor completely satisfactory answers, but is
disposed to work patiently on reconstructing everything, working toward the
widest-ranging dialogue possible. It will be a humble and patient theology,
knowing it would be pretentious to claim that it knows where the road will end.
It will understand that its task is not the work of one person or one generation.
This kind of theology will, evidently, have to be based on a new model of
truth.

To conclude: this change of model, this 'conversion' to a different model of

truth, will show us that a 'different way of being Christian is possible'. In the
face of the pessimists, defeatists, and fearful we want to demonstrate that it is
possible to leave behind absolutism and fixed ideas without falling into relativ-
ism; that accepting this other model does not mean that our commitment is less
absolute, even though it does make it more human and more interactive. We
are not resigning from anything, and we are not becoming skeptics or relativ-
ists. We are simply renouncing absolutism and exclusion/inclusion.

'We are beginning to speak not only of a theology of dialogue but also of a theology
in dialogue: entering a realm of encounter that takes us toward a Fullness we still do
not know.' X. Melloni, La globalitzacio en un dialeg multidisciplinar, Barcelona:
Cristianisme i Justicia, 2001, p. 42.
226 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

14.2 Related Texts

• 'Truth is one; the wise call it different things.' Hindu saying. Rig-Veda
1.164.46.

• 'The Eternal is one, but it has many names.' Rig-Veda. Motto of

Ramakrishna.

• 'The God of all names.' Pedro Casaldaliga, Misa de los Quilombos.

• 'God has many names', title of the well know book by John Hick.

• 'Cognita sunt in cognoscente secundum modum cognoscentis' (Things

are known by the knower according to the nature of the knower.' St
Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica II-II., q.I, a.2.

• 'Verum (true) cannot be identified with unum (one).' Raymond Pani-

kar.

• 'Do not shout that all religions are empty, because there is a perfume I
all of them without which they would not kindle the faith of their be-
lievers.' Rumi.

• 'No one can boast of having arrived at the Truth without being treated
as a heretic by a thousand honest persons.' Yunayd.

14.3 Questions for discussion

• What do we mean when we talk about models of truth?

• A model of truth is like a screen on which we project our thoughts and
our images. Comment on this image that occurs in the text.
• One of the branches of science is called 'epistemology' (the study of
science).
• Another is called 'gnoseology' (the study of knowledge). Can anyone
here explain these terms and their meaning more fully?
• How might we as a group, with each person contributing some
element, describe the 'model of truth' that was part of our culture when
we as children were taught the faith? Give concrete examples.
• The history of religions, including Christianity, is full of cases of in-
transigence, even of the execution of heretics, or rather of those ac-
cused of heresy. Of course there were lots of different interests behind
these acts of violence. But, can we say of those who carried out such
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 227

acts (censors, inquisitors, executioners . . .) that they, too, were victims

of a 'model of truth' that led them into these practices? In what sense?
Give concrete examples of rigid concepts of truth held in our religion,
even now.
Think of concrete examples of situations we ourselves have witnessed
where it is possible to see how religious expressions grow out of our
culture.
What is the difference between absolutism, relativity, and relativism?
Chapter 15

All Religions Are True

This and the next lesson bring us to the high point of our journey, the summit
of our course This lesson provides the most important and wide-reaching out-
come of what we have discussed in the preceding chapters, and its title might
stand as the theme of our whole course

15.1 Discussing the topic

15.1.1 SEE

15111 All religions have been exclusivist

Before spelling out the general proposal made in this lesson, let us cast a
glance at the context in which we are introducing it Note that we are dealing
with a context hostile to this proposal World history bears testimony to the
fact that religions virtually all affirm the contrary of what is proposed here
It is a striking fact that every known religion considers itself the relig-
ion, the true religion, as opposed to all others, which it sees 'false' or perhaps
not even as religions at all, but rather as substitutes for religion, beliefs,1 super-
stitions, magical thinking, or cultural religious traditions
Religions regard themselves - each in much the same way - as a direct
and unique work of God This belief in divine origin and being the only real
religion, the only one beloved of God, the only one that God established for the
salvation of the world, gives each religion a claim to absolute, divine un-
matched truth This truth can lead human beings to fight and die for their relig-
ion, in its defense, for its expansion, or in order to carry out its laws Religions
are practically the only thing capable of convincing individuals to offer up their
lives as martyrs You can only offer up your life if you have the absolute cer-
tainty that you are offering it up for the highest truth and with the maximum
guarantee (of salvation, that is)
Because they are convinced that they are the 'true religion' (some
more than others), the religions have embarked in history on the adventure of

1
This is how the Doctrinal Declaration Dominus lesus, dated 16 June 2000, considers
non-Christian Religions 'For this reason, the distinction between theological faith and
belief'in the other religions, must be. firmly held If faith is the acceptance in grace of
revealed truth, which "makes it possible to penetrate the mystery in a way that allows
us to understand it coherently", then belief, in the other religions, is that sum of
experience and thought that constitutes the human treasury of wisdom and religious
aspiration, which man in his search for truth has conceived and acted upon in his
relationship to God and the Absolute' (no 7)
230 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

saving the rest of humanity that 'lay in the shadow of death' They do this by
carrying out missionary campaigns to 'convert' people and 'save their souls'
They have also carried out crusades against other religions, which they consid-
ered to be God's enemies They have eradicated indigenous religions, torching
their sacred books and persecuting those who practiced the religion in their
attempts to wipe them out by any means possible
At other times, above all in the modern age, one religion sees the oth-
ers as merely sharing in its own truth That religion then tries to include the
others in itself They are nothing more than sharers in or extensions of the one
true religion This is the case with the 'inclusivism', which is, as we have seen,
an attenuated form of exclusivism Other religions do not really have an exis-
tence of their own, as they merely share in the saving property and truth of the
one true religion

15112 Not only Christianity

We Christians may think that we are the only ones who go through these ex-
periences, but this is not the case
In the Krishna religion it is thought that their god is 'the same one that
the Christians, Buddhists, and Muslims worship It is just that the believers of
these religions don't know the true God's name, which is Krishna ' 2
As it says in the Qur'an, Islam is the only true, complete, definitive,
and universal religion 3 Among the Muslims the phenomenon of inclusivism
exists, since the other religions are considered to be partakers of Islam's saving
reality4 'The Muslim inherits a tradition that, since the Qur'an, makes Islam
the "religion of human nature" m the sense of what one tradition of the Prophet
affirms "every newborn baby is born a Muslim by nature, it is their parents
who convert them into Jews or Christians" This represents a deep conviction
in all Muslims of all times, a conviction that is reinforced by modern Islam's
rationalist tendencies "Islam, religion of reason" is a statement alluding to the
simplicity of its dogma and the sobriety of its worship ' 5
New Age thinks that the Christ of the Christians is only one of the
many personalities in which divine energy has been incarnate Buddha,
Krishna, Muhammad are other incarnations of divine energy 6
In Japanese Shinto it is said that 'all roads lead to Fuji', just as in
many parts of Christianity it is said that 'all roads lead to Rome'

2
A Beltran, 'In Latin America, why are the Sects Gaining Ground'7, Misiones
Extranjeras (Mar -June 2001), 177
3
Qur'an 3 19, 110, 5 3, 9 33, 61 9, 48 28 Cf R Caspar, Para una vision cristtana
del Mam, Santander Sal Terrae, 1995, p 25
Cf J -LBlandpain, 'La fe cnstiana al encuentro del Islam', Selecciones de Teologia
160(2001), 313
5
Caspar, p 35
6
Ibid
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 231

The sutra of the Lotus flower is the most important sutra in Mahayana Bud-
dhism, which teaches that Buddhism is the only way (even though it may take
on different forms) by which all creatures can arrive at salvation The sutra of
the Sublime Lotus teaches that all creatures have the nature of Buddha in them,
and that all that exists and happens is mysteriously related7
If we were better acquainted with other religions we should probably
be able to supply many more facts to support these claims Every religion be-
lieves itself to be the center of the world,8 the only centre, a creation of God
(not a human product),9 the unique work of God (not just another religion
among many), the chosen community (privileged among all others), charged
with the honor and responsibility of being called to save the world It is for this
reason that religions have historically preferred to live in isolation, uncontarm-
nated, closed off from all alien influences, rejecting everything foreign to them,
or claiming as their own what they cannot reject They remain the only ones,
either by excluding or including the others
Why does this happen1? Why is this history common to all religions'?
What can we make of this claim made by the religions9

15.1.2 JUDGE
First, it would seem that the common claim to be 'the true religion' actually
discredits this common claim from the start Because if all claim to be the only
true one, it is only logical to conclude that they are all mistaken (or at least all
except one, which then would in fact be the true one) That is to say, we feel a
strong suspicion about this claim by the religions from the outset Listening
to just one religion, we might possibly accept its claim to be the true one, hear-
ing many religions with the same claim, our suspicions about the truthfulness
of their claim become much stronger
One initial response to this suspicion is to ask whether this claim to su-
periority and exclusiveness might not in fact be a spontaneous and natural
mechanism in religion As has been stated, exclusivism is a natural and sponta-
neous mechanism because, among other things, it results from the very struc-
ture of human knowledge, which is compelled to start with itself as the center
of its own experience of reality What happens at the level of the individual
7
Various, Rehgioes, Vol 1, Sao Paulo Editora Mundo e Missao, 1999, p 21
8
'Each religion has the impression of being at the center of the world of meaning, with
all the other faiths distributed at around the edges ' J Hick, God has Many Names,
Philadelphia Westminster Press, 1980, p 119
9
'Revelation forms a part of every religion's self understanding, it thus views itself as
a divine creation, not merely human', C M Edsmann, 'Offenbarung V, Die Religion
in Gescfuchte und Gegenwart 4, Tubingen (1960), 1597
All religions consider themselves in some way chosen' A Torres Queiruga, El
dialogo de las religiones, Santander Sal Terrae, 1992, p 19
This is also a 'hermeneutic of suspicion', though different from the mainly social-
economic political one in lesson 5
232 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

also happens in a parallel way at the level of human groups, of society, of cul-
ture, and of religion If this is the case, the religions' claim to uniqueness ought
to be regarded with a certain amount of good will and understanding, without
necessarily ascribing the value of objectivity to each individual claim, but see-
ing it rather as a natural mechanism, as an explainable optical illusion, to be
understood as a language of self-affirmation, not as a statement of a truly abso-
lute nature
Another answer that points the same way relates to the 'model of truth'
studied in the last lesson Most religions, no doubt simply because of this spon-
taneous mechanism by which they come to believe themselves unique and irre-
placeable, adopt the bipolar scheme of 'true/false, good/bad' A religion must
be true or false, good or bad, and only one can be true and good, so the rest
must be false and bad This model of truth holds the religions captive within
this extreme bipolar scale (true/false), so that this is the only scale on which
they can evaluate themselves or others Becoming conscious of this situation
also leads us to discredit the rigidity with which the religions judge each other,
and it opens the way for us to proceed to our basic proposal
Having eliminated these obstacles, and taking all the points we have
discussed so far in this course as preparatory premises, we can now make the
central statement that gives this lesson its title all religions are true
The basis for this statement has to be sought in a new concept of reve-
lation, along the lines laid out in the eighth lesson of this course, which we pick
up again All religions are a quest for God by human beings And, furthermore,
God is on a quest for all of humanity, all peoples God seeks to communicate
with them as much as possible, with as much intensity as possible For that rea-
son revelation is present in all religions 12 The religious history of each of the
peoples represents a process of revelation in which, inevitably, truth and holi-
ness are present And, 'If truth and holiness exist in the religions, then that sig-
nifies without question that the women and men who practice them are saved
in and by them, not simply by their individual merits, or - still less - on the
fringe of these religions or despite them God is revealing the divine self and
bringing about salvation in each and every one of the religions so that no one
has ever been denied the offer of God's loving presence '13'If God is revealed
to all, then all religions are revealed, and therefore, in the same measure,

12
A Torres Queiruga, La revelacwn de Dios en la reahzacion del hombre, Madrid
Cnstiandad, 1987, p 32
Idem, Del terror de Isaac al Abba de Jesus Hacia una nueva imagen de Dios
Estella Verbo Divino, 2000, p 295 'God is really present in al humans and reveals
himself to them, in spite of all the deformities God reveals himself to them above all in
the experiences mediated by their religious traditions' idem, La revelacwn de Dios,
op cit, p 150
14
Ibid, p 296
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 233

We could call this truth that exists in all religions 'absolute ,15 a truth in itself,
not linked in some metaphysical way to the truth of some other religion. Relig-
ions are valid in themselves
These theological facts can be completed with that other principle
stated in the ninth chapter: 'There are no chosen'. There we gave the underpin-
ning for it. It is impossible to go on thinking that God's his saving intentions
could have been carried out with just one religion, that God could have raised
that one up and left all the rest of humanity, through all its long history (how
many millions of years?), abandoned to its fate, in the shadows of ignorance,
the victims of 'invented' religions and religious superstition. Now we have
learned that speaking of choice in that way, which we believed to be true and
'ours', is common to all religions and is that spontaneous mechanism referred
to, which belongs to a kind of a confessional , self-assertive language that we
now know how to reinterpret.
For that reason, if there is no 'chosen' religion, while there is revela-
tion, truth, and holiness in all human religions, then all religions are true.
This statement, which may seem 'provocative' to some,16 while others
may be frightened17 or moved to reject it,18 is really a simple consequence of
one of the most basic principles of all religion: the universality of God's love.
God loves us, loves us infinitely, without any limitations, one and all. God
loves all men and women, all peoples, all cultures . . . and all religions, without
discriminating against any persons, peoples, or religion.19
Furthermore, this way of looking at things fits better with the present
mentality, which imposes on us an absolute imperative to reject all ethnocen-
trism, which is a dimension that never fails to lurk behind all the religions'
claims to be exclusive and absolute.
Note, though, that this is not to say that all religions are perfect, that all
of them are made up of pure truth and free from all error. This subject will re-
ceive a fuller treatment in the next lesson.

To be more specific and explicit about the principle that all religions are true, it
might be well to draw a conclusion in the words of others:
• Edward Schillebeeckx says, 'There is more religious truth in all the
religions taken together than in one single religion. This holds true for
Christianity as well. There are true, good, beautiful - surprisingly so -
aspects of the many forms (found among human beings) of alliance

15
Idem, El dialogo de las religiones, p. 30.
16
Ibid., p. 29.
17
'Stating that all are true is the same as saying that all are false': International
Theological Commission, El cristianismo y las religiones, Vatican City: Libreria
Editrice Vaticana, Library, 1996, no. 13.
Torres Queiruga, Del terror, p. 296.
19
Cf. Acts 10.34.
234 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

and understandings with God, forms not found in the specific experi-
ence of Christianity 20
• Or in the words of Jacques Dupuis 'There is more truth and grace in
the broad dynamic of the history of relations between God and human-
kind than in the tradition available to Christians 2i
• Or, again, in those of Claude Geffre 'If the different religious tradi-
tions have their place within God's saving project, that means that
there is more "religious" truth in all the religions taken together than in
any one religion in particular, including Christianity itself '22

It goes without saying that this way of thinking about and accepting religious
pluralism is very different from (maybe in some aspects diametncally opposed
to) that which was commonly accepted in Christianity only forty years ago, and
which is still current in many religions and in more than a few sectors of Chris-
tianity.

All of these new approaches make us ask new questions That is logical be-
cause they threaten convictions and ideas that we carry around inside us, which
are deeply shaken when we start rethinking these fundamental truths Some of
these questions that need more investigation are

a) What, then, is religion seen from an anthropological point of view, or

from a combination of anthropology and theology7 When we thought
that there was only one true religion, brought to earth directly by God,
there was no need to ask questions about how anthropology defined it
But as we discover that all the religions of all peoples represent a
search for God and share in the truth, the question takes on a different
torm We now ask how we can understand the living history of a relig-
ion with the help of anthropology, or interpret it with the help of theol-
ogy, all from a perspective that is neither exclusivist nor inclusivist
b) How are religions and truth related7 Are the many religions all simply
different manifestations of one single Truth7 Is only one or are several
true7 Are all of them equal7 Are they different but complementary7
Are they all converging on the same goal7

There have been, and are, different theories about the matter With regard to b)
above, we could take the Hindu legend of the Elephant and the Blind Men,
which appears in our Related Texts in the version of the sufi Rumi, as a start-

20
E Schillebeeckx, Human Beings the Story of God, here quoted from Port trans
(1994) in A Teixeira, O dialogo inter rehgioso come afirmagao de Vida, Sao Paulo
Pualinas, 1997, p 144
J Dupuis, Verso una Teologia, p 521
22
C Geffre, 'O lugar das rehgioes no piano da Salvacao', in Teixeira, op cit, p 121
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 235

ing point There is also a poster on this theme in the series of posters on reli-
gious pluralism published by Servicios Koinonia A Bahai text (The Same
Light in Different Lamps) in Related Texts could also serve the same purpose

15.1.3 ACT
A first theoretical and practical result of the foregoing is the rethinking of the
ideas about absoluteness and uniqueness held by religions This insistence on
absolute answers has been a sort of security-blanket in which the human spirit
has clad religion, and religion has answered it in ways not lacking imagination
and good will We human beings have, from ancient times, felt the need of an
absolute point of reference for composing human consciousness, a point that
would furnish total certainty, and religions have given this point the holy name
'God' Human knowledge, especially in the West,23 has lacked the capacity for
systematic understanding of the basic fact that being true does not imply being
'unique', or 'perfect', or 'absolute' Setting out modern theological thinking on
the matter, the International Commission on Theology lays out clarifications
made today concerning the classic positions of exclusivism

a) The historical-cultural context classical culture (one certain and un-

changeable truth),
b) eschatological-apocalyptic mentality (final prophet and definitive reve-
lation),
c) minority attitude (language of survival, one and only Savior)24.

Today we are able to rethink our concept of absoluteness and to moderate our
demands in relation to it As Paul Knitter says (see the previous lesson),
'Catholics, like Christians in general, are coming to understand that for some-
thing to be true it does not necessarily have to be absolute',25 The concepts of
absoluteness and uniqueness are evolving and coming under review26

A second result is the idea that religions complement each other Religions in
classical times - and most of them still today - religions have adopted an ex-
treme bipolar evaluation of each other, 1 e religions could only be either the
true one or one of the false ones Clearly, if all religions are true, this old
scheme can no longer apply The scheme now suited to the new way of seeing

As we have already said, according to the Indian theologian Felix Wilfred, the
question of absoluteness betrays a typically Western idea Cf Dupuis Verso una
teologia, p 268
4
El cnstianismo y las rehgiones, no 20
25
P Knitter, No other name 9, p 219
26
'Every religion is unique, and through this uniqueness, religions enrich each other
mutually' Declaration of the Thirteenth Annual Reunion of the Indian Theological
Association (31 Dec 1989) In Dupuis, Verso una teologia, pp 268-9
236 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

things is no longer true/false, or good/bad, but rather true/truer, or good/better

Truth and revelation are present in all religions, so we can find something posi-
tive in all of them and learn from all of them
This points to an obvious consequence truths are not opposed to or
taken away from one another, but added, convergent, and complementary to
each other Religions complement each other and have to do so They are not -
and should not be seen as - disjunctive truths (either one or the other) but as
complementary truths (one and others, all called to complement each other)
A further step complementarity comes about not just because all relig-
ions are true, but also because no religion is perfect and beyond perfecting, as
if it has understood everything and has nothing to learn 'We cannot claim that
one religion has all the truth there is, nor can we pigeon-hole God into a deter-
mined religion We must "let God be God", beyond our categories and defini-
tions Because the more we give up wanting to possess God, the more we find
the true God The true God never "fits our measurements" No one except God
possesses the whole truth '27
This is difficult to accept for those who still have an absolutized con-
cept of their religion - as we all had not long ago We were told that the entire
truth had been revealed to us, even though we might not have been conscious
of it and needed to go on developing it, but starting from what was ours, since
we had the whole truth and did not need any truth 'from outside' That claim
was, without doubt, out of place Now, with more justification, we dare to say
that God holds - that God is - the entire truth, but that no one religion can have
it exclusively
The words of the Kuna chief Iguanabiginia shed light on this thought
'God did not create only one people on this earth For that reason when one
people says, "What I know about God is better and more correct", that people
does not know God but is thinking of God as something unimportant When,
then, will we know God better7 Never in hatred or rejection When all of us
come together on the basis of the differences between our peoples, then, little
by little, we shall know God ' (See the complete quote in Section II, Related
Texts)
Or, put more concretely 'The Christian doctrine of the Trinity needs
the Islamic insistence on monotheism The impersonal emptiness of Buddhism
needs the Christian experience of the divine Thou The Christian teaching on
the difference between what is absolute and what finite needs the Hindu vision
of the oneness of Brahma and atman The prophetic-practical content of the
Judeo-Chnstian tradition needs the oriental emphasis on contemplation and
acting without pursuing efficacy These contrasting polarities do not cancel

11
A Peteiro Freire, bishop of Tanger, m'Vida Nueva' (Madrid) 2308 (Dec 2001), 50
28
Dupuis juggles to distinguish between a possible quantitative fullness different from
a qualitative fullness of truth, the latter exclusive to Christianity Cf Verso una
teologia pp 336ff
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 237

each other out, just as day does not eliminate night and vice-versa. It is for this
reason that religions ought to bear witness to each other, in their diversity, in
order to arrive at their fullest possibilities.29 Sincerely admitting this comple-
mentary character means, obviously, a radical change in the way religions view
each other, from an exclusivist or inclusivist stance, or from contempt or mu-
tual ignorance.
This complementing is not really a new teaching; it is no novelty. It is
borne out in the history of religions and, for Christianity specifically, is there at
its very roots. Present-day biblical scholarship sees the role Moses played in
the origins of the Bible as that of the re-reading and blending of existing tradi-
tions. The God whom Moses invokes is 'the God of the Fathers', who were
scattered religious traditions about the patriarchs. The Bible emphasizes the
influence of the Midianites in the new experience described by Moses. Ca-
zelles and Van der Born suggest that, 'it seems Moses does not distinguish be-
tween his God and that of the Midianites'. In addition, Moses is immersed in
the cultural and religious world of the Ancient Near-East. 'While not agreeing
with some exaggerated ideas proposed by the history of religion school, which
attempted to picture Yahvism as simply derived from its Near-Eastern sur-
roundings, neither can I accept the widespread cliche of the entirely secondary
nature of the traditions regarding the creation story in the Bible.'30

This evolution of Israel's religion, which came into being through a

process of enrichment and development of previously scattered and
disconnected traditions, gives us insight into what has happened in
other religions: all of them were forged from disparate and eclectic ma-
terials. In reality all religions are the result of a slow bringing together
of different traditions around an original nucleus that gave them coher-
ence. With the passage of time, the scope is widened and deepened, re-
sulting in a synthesis that glues together elements that were originally
dispersed. In this way the earlier traditions were neither lost nor di-
luted, but rather they came together in a wider whole, and they con-
tributed aspects that in their moment enriched the religious experience
of many persons and generations.'31

An enormous number of things in the Old Testament which nowadays

we call (without making careful distinctions) 'the word of God' were
things Israel learned from neighboring peoples and religions. Thus
these latter were the means God chose for revealing those things to Is-
rael. Israel learned them and many times enriched them and gave them
new shades of meaning, or even improved on them. But, they did re-

zy
Knitter, No Other Name?, p. 221.
30
Torres Queiruga, La revelation, pp. 65-6.
J. Melloni, El uno en lo multiple, Santander: Sal Terrae: Santander, 2003, p. 62.
238 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

ceive them from other religions And only through them did it receive
them from God. 32

That is the actual process by which the word of God was conceived and ap-
peared in human history, specifically among Christians, came about by inte-
grating, incorporating, and reformulating ideas and truths that had already been
'received' in other religious traditions Since the beginning the biblical tradi-
tion has represented, to a greater extent than we usually admit, an exercise in
syncretism and complementarity, taking on religious truths that other religious
traditions have created or taken into themselves While it is true that it was an
active reception, 33 nevertheless it still was syncretism and complementarity
Sociologically speaking, 'Christianity is certainly a religion, but in re-
ality it is ancient paganism More exactly, it is the combination of Hebrew,
Greek, Latin, Celtic, Gothic and modern religions converted more or less suc-
cessfully to Christ ' 34 The obelisk set right in the center of the Piazza of St Pe-
ter's in Rome had been an Egyptian religious monument and is thus a real
symbol of syncretism
'History shows that the human and religious traditions of the world
have come into being, as a rule, as a result of reciprocal intermingling, influ-
ences, and fertilizations Most religions known today are the result of such
cross-fertilizations (Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, e t c ) The great religious
teachers have never started from nothing, but from within some religious
movement, purifying and penetrating it with their own prophetic gifts' 35 In
recent history Christianity itself has had to recognize how it has re-floated and
recovered many of its great current values thanks to other religions As an ex-
ample, there is the undeniable influence Hinduism has been having on Western
Christianity in recent decades 36 We can also agree with Gonzalez Faus that,
'The passion for justice and the option for the poor that today identify the best
of Christianity, are immensely Christian But it would also be difficult to deny
that, speaking historically, today's Christianity learned and recuperated them
from that "religion" that was Marxism, however outdated and discredited we

J I Gonzalez Faus, in Agenda latinoamencana, 2003

33
'In Old Testament writings there is a lot of which it might be said this is a Canaamte
myth, this is Egyptian wisdom literature, that is Hellenist philosophy But it is always
clarified, retouched, put into a new context and therefore modified according to biblical
faith ' G Lohfink, Dws necesita la Iglesia7, Madrid San Pablo, 1999, p 52
34
R Panmkar, 'The Relation of Christians to their Non-Christian Surroundings', in
Christian Revelation and the World Religions, ed J Neuner, London Burns & Oates,
1967, quoted by Knitter in No Other Name ?, p 22
Panmkar, II dialogo intrarehgioso, Assist Cittadella, 2001, pp 33,46, 158
36
The writings of Fr Anthony de Mello, reprinted in many editions, are the best known
examples
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 239

consider it today. This is how God has guided, and continues to guide, his peo-
ple's history.' 37
If besides having the theological foundation already mentioned, this
complementarity is found historically at the very root of the Judeo-Christian
religion and of the other great religions in history, how can we not overcome
the recent tradition of alienating and distancing ourselves that led many relig-
ions, including our own, to believe that we had nothing to learn from others?
The complementary nature of religions, along with a positive attitude toward
them on our part, making us open to recognizing their values and enriching
ourselves from them, is a new requirement of our total conversion and the
practice of inter-religious dialogue.

15.1.4 'Inreligionation' and interreligiousness

Andres Torres Queiruga has suggested the term 'inreligionation', and its use is
spreading. It has received a general acceptance, reflecting the effectiveness
with which it expresses a reality. It seems strange to us and at first it may
sound unattractive, but when it is explained it gains general acceptance. Torres
proposes it as parallel to the term 'inculturation'. This, in turn, is a concept that
originates with cultural anthropology where it refers to a dimension the Church
has become increasingly conscious of during the last few decades. 38 The dis-
tinction between faith and culture has become common currency within Chris-
tianity by now, along with a clear statement that the gospel and the faith are
supra-cultural and not linked with any particular culture, so that, when they are
accepted in human societies or communities of another culture, the gospel and
the faith have to be 'inculturated', translated, and interpreted from within the
new culture.
Something parallel or analogous can and should happen in the case of
faith. Religion, like culture, is always a life happening and an 'interpreted' ex-
perience. It is not as though the subject lives the experience, on the one hand,
and then talks about it in words and concepts (that belong to a culture) on the
other hand. No: what really happens is that living the experience itself consti-
tutes an interpretation and cannot come about without being mediated through
the religious categories and concepts of the experiencing subject. There is no
such thing as a purely religious experience that existed prior to, or on the mar-
gin of, all religion or culture. The subject's culture and religion necessarily
form part of his or her religious experience.
This means that when a new religious idea is presented to a person, it
will be received by that person in and through his or her religious sensibility. It
will have to be translated and interpreted from within the religious categories

Gonzalez Faus, op. cit.

38
For the Latin American Catholic Church the Fourth General Conference of CELAM,
held in 1992 in Santo Domingo, marked the high point of official acceptance of the
concept of inculturation.
240 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

of the person (or community) that is doing the receiving. It will be 'inreligion-
ated'.
This is not a theoretical problem. It is very real, present, and continu-
ally happening. At this stage of globalization in the widest sense, all of the re-
ligions have come into contact with each other and cannot escape living in
permanent contact. The isolation in which they lived for millennia has been
completely superseded in many parts of the planet. This mutual presence, this
permanent mutual visibility, and this continual life in common offer and even
enforce a mutual sharing. What is happening is a crossover process, an ongoing
mutual fertilization. For several decades Western Christians have been influ-
enced by oriental religions, especially by Hinduism. The same thing can be
said, the other way round, of all the great world religions. All this is a phe-
nomenon of mutual 'inreligionation' on a global level.
When Christians believe they have found elements of the Hindu relig-
ion that help and enrich their personal relationship with God, they do not have
to give up being Christians. They can incorporate those elements, understood
from their own Christian sensibility, into their entire Christian life. Very likely
they will modify them and accommodate them as they receive them, but at the
same time they will inevitably see their Christian faith as a whole affected. If
Hindus, in their contact with Christianity perceive Christ as a fullness of reve-
lation that can lead their religious life to a certain growth, they can accept
Christ (received, without doubt, from within their oriental sensibility, so differ-
ent from the European), but they do not have to give up all the elements of
truth that constitute their Hindu religious experience: their acceptance of Christ
will remain inculturated in their Hindu religion.
So it is not a matter of giving up one religion and being converted to
another but of staying on principle in one's own religion while incorporating
elements and outlooks that enrich one's religious life. There may be some ele-
ments that prove incompatible and will require a decision, but that will be an
exception and not the general rule.
Of course these are new ideas, born out of an experience that is also
new in its magnitude, and that therefore 'a minimum of realism demands of us,
beyond the foreseeable future, to be watching the development of this experi-
ence, learning lessons from it without insisting on preconceived outcomes.' 39
Time will tell. Meantime it is for us to observe and interpret, with open minds
and well-disposed hearts, without prejudices or condemnations.
In any case, today there is a consciousness of the fact that it is no longer possi-
ble for us to live our own religion in isolation, as though shut away in a light-
house that protects us from any influence of other religions. Quite the contrary,
as the Indian Society of Theology declares, 'in a pluralistic society authentic
religion necessarily implies a relationship with other religions. In a few words,

Torres Queiruga, El didlogo, p. 35.

 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 241

to be religious is to be interreligious'. In other words, 'To be deeply religious

today means being broadly religious',41 which is to say, being open to receive
the contributions and experiences that other religions can contribute. What is
more, we suspect that living and knowing one religion without getting to know
other religions can only lead to an incomplete living of one's own religion. It is
only through learning to know other religions that we arrive at a better under-
standing of our own,42 even before enriching it. As F. M. Muller says in words
that have become a slogan, 'They who know one, know none.'43

15.1.5 Ecumenism on the March

Ecumenism44 is on the march, it is alive, it is active day and night, directly and
indirectly, not only where people are conscious of it but even where it is un-
known or where people believe that they are safe from it. It is on the march and
no one can stop it. The world is becoming unified, is being interrelated; it dis-
cusses, discovers, perceives, experiences, interchanges. Meanwhile the relig-
ions draw nearer to each other, intuit, guess, await, dialogue, and converge.
And, as always, God is not alien to the divine activity.
In conclusion, a passage from Torres Queiruga, which supports all this:

If we look at actual developments, it is not hard to see that in the

deeper current of history a real ecumenism with incalculable effects is
moving forward. Today, all of the religions have come into contact,
and it is clear that this cannot happen without profound changes. Chris-
tianity's intuitions are really and truly present in the other religions,
just as theirs are in Christianity. Is it possible to conceive of Christian-
ity in its present form without its contact with Hinduism or Buddhism,
or its age-old coexistence with Islam? Is it possible to think - remem-
ber Gandhi - that the sacralization of the caste system has not been

K. Pathil (ed), Religious Pluralism. An Indian Perspective, Delhi: ISPCK, 1991, p.

348
41
Knitter 'Religiones, misticismo y liberacion. Dialogo entre la teologia de liberacion
y la teologia de las religiones', in Vigil-Tomita-Barros (eds), Por los muchos caminos
de Dios - II, Quito: Abya Yala, 2004, p. 92.
42
'No one can know his own language well without knowing at least the rudiments of
another. In the same way it is difficult for someone, excepting the true mystics, really
to understand his or her own religion without having a notion that other religious
universes exist. If the vital truths have only one way of being expressed for us, then we
will tend to think that our concepts define reality in a universally valid way.' Pannikar,
// dialogo intrareligioso, p. 10.
43
'They who know one, know none', Introduction to the Science of Religions, London,
1873, p. 16. The phrase seems to originate with Goethe, who applied it to the study of
languages.
44
We use the word in its universal etymological sense, not in the reduced sense of
'ecumenism among Christians'.
242 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

deeply eroded by Christian affirmation that all are equal before God9
Is it possible for anybody to imagine - even given current constraints -
that the understanding of the Koran will continue to follow fundamen-
talist literalism once Islamic theologians have begun to come into con-
tact with Christian critical study of the Bible7'45

Questions could be multiplied What they seek to suggest is obvious that what
is being produced is a real expansion of the universal values present in every
'specific revelation',46 without that being bad or avoidable, because 'all relig-
ions are true', and because we live in the era of inclusive globalization

15.2 Related Texts

• The witness of Raymund Llull (1233-1315)

There is a sure way not to get to God, and that is joining a religion

• The witness ofGhandi (1917-84)

I say to the Hindus that their lives will be imperfect unless they re-
spectfully study the life of Jesus (Mahatma Ghandi, Freiheit ohne
Gewalt,ed K Klostermeier, Cologne, 1968, p 118

• The witness oflbn Arabi (1165-1240)

My heart has become a receptacle for all religious forms a meadow of
gazelles and a cloister of Christian monks, a temple of idols and Kaaba
of Pilgrims, the tablets of Jewish law and pages of the Koran

• The witness of Sufi Mystics

See 'The Sufi Mystics and Religious Pluralism' in Agenda Latino-
americana, 2004, pp 154-5, also at <latinomen-
cana org/2003/textos/castellano/SufiesCompleto htm>

• The Elephant and the Blind Men

The elephant was inside a dark house, some Indian people had taken it
there to show it off Several people came in to see it, one at a time in
the dark Since no one could see it with their eyes, the people each
tried to touch it in the darkness with the palm of their hands One per-
son's hand came upon its trunk and he said, 'This creature is like the

4
Another example Can anyone think that the Latin American Christian Churches'
theology of liberation and option for the poor have remained something particular to
these Churches7 Or, has it been that for quite some time this religious experience has
gone beyond the boundaries of Christianity and its influence has been felt in the most
diverse world religions7
4
Torres Queiruga, El dialogo, p 37
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 243

reeds that grow beside the river.' Another, whose hand touched the ear
thought it was like a fan. Another, taking hold of a foot, declared, 'My
opinion is that the elephant is shaped like a pillar.' Yet another passed
his hand over the back and said, 'Truly, this elephant is like a throne.'
Thus they each created their own version of the elephant according to
the part of it they touched. Their versions were different according to
the part touched and interpreted: one called it A, another Z. If each
person had carried a lighted candle to lighten the room, the differences
between their versions would have disappeared. The eye of sensory
perception is just like the palm of our hand - the palm of the hand is
not big enough to take in the entire object that it touches. - Rumi

The Same Light in Different Lamps

In all parts of the world nations have honored one or another of God's
Spokespersons and have followed their teachings. They reverence
Christ, Buddha, Zoroaster, Krishna, and other high prophets as their
greatest guides. But they have not thought about them as related to one
another. They look upon them as rivals competing for the world's rev-
erence. They imagine that when you accept the revelation of one, it is
necessary to deny the revelations of the others.
The great religions are not really rivals but they complement each
other like the notes of a divine symphony. Each one plays an important
role in the great drama of human evolution and the march toward a
common destiny of world-wide unity, harmony, universal peace and
spiritual development.
All of the Messengers have been Spokespersons and channels of the
invisible Divinity. All reflect the same light of God. They are not at
war, struggling against each other. Rather they have come to us with a
common mission - to bring about progressively the civilization of hu-
mankind and the spiritualization of the soul, and to lead all of human-
ity toward a glorious common destiny which will culminate in world-
wide unity, concord, and peace. They are different lamps in which the
same divine light shines. In other words, since God is one, God's relig-
ion is one, and all of God's Messengers have taught in different phases
of our evolution.

George Townshend, The Promise of All Ages, London: George Ronald,

1961, p. 69.

That People do not know God

Baba created this earth, God created this land, these mountains. God is
very great, immense. God does not let himself be captured by one sin-
gle people; one people cannot understand all his ways, cannot under-
244 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

stand him completely. That is why God created many peoples on this
earth. Baba did not create just one single people. Nana did not create
just one single people on this earth. That is why when one people say,
'What we know about God is better and more exact', that people do
not know God, are far from his message, and believe in something
really not important.
We Kuna say that God is way up there. And it is true, it is a truth. I
don't know what our black friends would say, but they say the truth. It
is the same with other peoples that Baba left on this earth. We cannot
say exactly what God is, we will never understand God altogether.
So then, when shall we get to understand God better? Never by hating
or rejecting. When we all come together in the middle of all our differ-
ences, then, little by little, we shall come to know God. - Kuna sahila
Horacio Mendez Iguanabiginial

15.3 Questions for reflection and discussion

• What impression does this lesson make on us in general? Has anyone

felt confusion, or that truths we have always thought were solid are be-
ing shaken? Which truths? Why do we feel this way? What should we
think of this?
• Did we know that other religions are inclusivist too? Can we give any
details about other religions (or their adherents) that we know?
• If we were in a discussion with persons of another faith and we needed
to bear witness to our faith, how would we do it? What would we say?
Could we explain its major teachings? General discussion on the sub-
ject.
• Would we be capable of telling them that our religion is the true one
and theirs is not? What would we say about the truth of Christianity
truth and the truth of other religions?
• Were we aware of the fact that in the Bible itself, as in Christianity,
there are many elements taken from other religions?
• What things should change in our lives if this led us to believe that all
religions are true? What about us would change? What would change
about our mission and missionary activities?
• All religions are true. . . . All? Even one that somebody living in my
neighborhood might start some day? Even a satanic sect founded with
evil intent? What do we really mean when we say that all religions are
true?
• Are they all equally true? What is the meaning of 'asymmetrical plu-
ralism'?
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 245

What do we understand by 'proselytism' ? What is the main difference

between proselytism and discipleship? Is proselytism sinful? And dis-
cipleship not? Under what conditions?
Suppose that contact with Hinduism convinces a Christian that it is a
good thing, fits his/her personality and seems compatible with the
Christian faith, what should that person do? Renounce Christianity?
Renounce Hinduism? Keep up a 'dual allegiance'? Become a Christian
Hindu or a Hindu Christian? What would 'inreligionation' imply in
this case?
Liberation Theology broke down all barriers between religions. There
is now an Islamic liberation theology, a Hindu version, and others. Of-
ten not called that, perhaps but not without acknowledging its source.
Was liberation theology something Catholic or Protestant, or rather
'Christian', or - simply - deeply humanist? In what sense? Can there
be a religion that is insensitive to the option for the poor? Why? What
does this tell us about the theme 'all religions are true'?
Chapter 16

All Religions are True....and False

The proposition in the last lesson that 'all religions are equal' might seem very
optimistic compared with the age-old conviction that there was only one true
religion (ours). But since optimism should be realistic, this lesson completes
the previous one: 'All religions are true... and at the same time false'. This
brings us to the high point of the course. The following chapters will in a way
deal with consequences and applications - the way down from the summit.

16.1 Discussing the topic

16.1.1 SEE

16.1.1.1 Religions have not been holy

Many objections could be raised against what was discussed at length about
religions in the last lesson by appealing to historical evidence. History has been
very kind to religions. On the other hand 'the history of religions is now being
critical of religions'1. There is no better cure for the innocent optimism about
religions than their own history. Sp let us cast a glance at that history once
more, so as to 'start from reality', in line with our customary method of 'See,
Judge, Act'.
Readers should review the earlier lessons of this course, which contain
a rapid survey of the intolerant behavior of the religions, unconcerned as they
have been in dialogue. Nevertheless, this lack of dialogue on the part of the
religions has not been their only or their principal sin. We can say, in general
terms, that the history of religions is woven out of equal parts of good and bad,
of grace and sin.
Looking at the most salient evils of mankind, wars, tells us that no war
affecting a Christian nation has not been supported and blessed by religions.2
They have supported wars and they have done so most frequently as one more
element in egoistic self-affirmation (cultural, racial, economic, and political)
by the nations involved in them. They have clothed their arguments in theology
and justified them by appealing to revelation. But these have only served to
cover up the ideology they were hiding behind, i.e. the selfish will to power on
the part of each nation. Religions, putting themselves above the purely human
sphere, attempted to give the wars divine sanction.

W. Pannenberg, Erwagungen zu einer Theologie der Religionsgeschichte, p 288. He

cites the famous words of Schiller, repeated by Hegel, 'World history is judgment on
the world'.
2
J. Hick, God Has Many Names, pp. 54ff.
248 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

Invasions, conquests, 'crusades', colonization, neo-colonization, and empire

building have been carried out in history not by unbelieving peoples without
religion (have such peoples ever existed?), but by religious peoples whose re-
ligions have invested them with the most potent of weapons: legitimacy and
mystique, divine command, transcendent mission, promise of eternal glory af-
ter death, obligation of conscience, threats of guilt, or even excommunication
and condemnation. Who but religions have up to the present been in possession
of the most powerful weapons fro truly motivating human beings?
The history of humankind, in its good and its bad, is a religious his-
tory. Religion has the leading role in history and has become co-responsible for
both its successes and gross errors - and the latter have hardly been insignifi-
cant. Religions have not always supported justice and defended the poor.
Rather they have often blessed wars against the poor and given ideological
sanction to the forces that have impoverished them. Down to our own time,
religions have opposed liberation movements, popular movements and revolu-
tions, and movements for independence from large power centers, and have
been against 'modern freedoms', against the hegemony of reason, against the
progress of science, and against democracy.
It is of course true that there has always, but especially recently, been a
religious presence on the opposite side: with the poor, with oppressed minori-
ties, with occupied countries, with revolutions, with popular movements, sup-
porting national independence movements, movements for freedom, and de-
mocracy. But this - still the 'other face of religions', their prophetic dimension,
which is like an iceberg in that only a small part of it is visible - has always
been exceptional in relation to institutional religion. Sociologically, it is a fact
of history that institutional religion is, by its nature, an agent of hard-line con-
servatism, of opposition to progress, defending the establishment, and serving
as an instrument that power uses in its own service.
History's judgment is there, condemning all these sinful aspects of the
religions. In this area religions have not been true, but false, very false.

16.1.1.2 Religions have not been infallible

Objectivity requires us to state that not all the negative sides to the history of
religions have actually been 'sins' committed by the religions. Many negative
aspects have simply resulted from the limitations of the religions or the socie-
ties, limitations inherent in human beings at every stage of their evolution and
progress.
Religion, like the human beings who practice it, is subject to the cul-
ture and inculturation of every era, to human wishful thinking, human errors,
the risk of confusing fantasy with reality, the dynamic of social institutions,
and resistance to human advancement. All this - which could be cataloged and
detailed almost ad infinitum - has caused religions to fall headlong into errors,
into situations where they have banked on error - involuntarily or uncon-
sciously - while at times proclaiming it loudly and 'in the name of God' to be
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 249

the absolute truth to the point of condemning, or even of waging war or com-
mitting murder in its name One word will serve as testimony to this Inquisi-
tion
Religions have committed an endless string of material and scientific
errors At this point we might be tempted to draw up an interminable catalogue
of them, from the most solemn and showy to the strangest and even ridiculous
All this is simply the result (as we have seen) of the fact that the relig-
ions have been installed in their own societies, in this limited world struggling
to move forward, it is the result of the historicity of human society, rather than
a reflection of handed-down divine inspirations Assertions of providence
('God guides his people', 'the Holy Spirit guides God's Church', 'God will not
allow his representatives to be mistaken' and so on) are not much use The
autonomy of 'earthly realities' and of the march of history - autonomy that can
no longer be doubted - causes things to happen 'as if there were no God', or as
if God kept completely silent If religions have committed mistakes during the
course of history, if they have often not hit on the truth, if they have taken an
official, formal stand on the side of error and falsehood, God has not jumped in
to remedy the situation History stands there as a demonstration of this fact
Concretely, as far as 'theology of religions' is concerned - meaning
the concept that religions have had of themselves and of their relationship with
others - the traditional exclusivist attitude 'was created in a period of substan-
tial ignorance with respect to humanity's religious life Recently, though, this
attitude has come under pressure for a radical re-think, due to the appearance
of a much deeper and broader understanding ' 3 Christians in particular have
spent almost two millennia in the exclusivist error without God doing anything
about it - and other peoples have paid dearly for it
Still in the 'See' phase, and as if setting sail for 'Judge', we can appeal
once more to the 'hermeneutic of suspicion' Can this tree that has born so
many fruits of suffering and pain in history be a good tree9 Can religions that
have defended errors 'infallibly' while taking the side of selfishness, of power
and error, solemnly committing their whole authority to doing so, be truly ab-
solute or absolutely true9
In practice, the suspicion is logically purely methodological, because it
is not really a suspicion4 but rather confirmed evidence There are more than
enough proofs and testimonies by the victims for us to go on talking about
'suspicion' Therefore, rather than 'suspect' a 'non-truth' already confirmed,

3
Hick, ibid, p 29
4
Referring to the Church and the Bible, Renan said, 'One single error proves that the
Church is not infallible One weak point proves that a book is not inspired In a divine
book all is truth and, therefore there cannot be a single contradiction An inspired
book is a miracle For that reason it ought to appear in unique conditions, different
from any other book ' E Renan, Souvenirs d enfance et de jeunesse p 160, quoted by
A Torres Queiruga, La revelacwn , p 83
250 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

what we want to do is ask ourselves what it means This takes us into the sec-
ond part

16.1.2 JUDGE

16 1 2 1 Relativity
Religions should be seen to be relative, not absolute That is to say, it is impos-
sible to picture a religion that is absolute in the sense that it possesses the
whole truth, that all it has is truth, and that it has never as an institution com-
mitted serious sins and has never presented errors, obvious today as such, as
'sure doctrine' or even 'revelation' It is also clear that not only is there no
such a religion, but that there cannot be Why 7 There are many reasons
In the first place, religions are works that are at least as human as they
are divine In our human world there is nothing that is purely divine And eve-
rything human is limited, fallible, perfectible, and ambiguous The divine and
truthful aspects that give value to religions 'when they develop within the limi-
tations of a historic community, can never be taken in an absolute sense' What
has to be taken into account is the 'sum total' of each religion That sum 'must
not conceal the evidence that all human progress also includes a certain debit,
that every clear vision brings a cost in the form of partial blindness, that every
gam is accompanied by some loss' 5 As the human realities they are, as human
mediations involving limitations and weaknesses, no religions is perfect
In effect, each religion means a single perspective, a particular form of
approaching the mystery and reacting to it, with the result that in each religion
there are riches and sensibilities that the others do not possess In the same way
all religions, without exception, have to accept that they have their own blind-
spots, caused by the limits of their own circumstances 6

16 I 22 Ambiguities
So, religions are ambiguous realities, they have a double face They are 'the
best and the worst of humanity', like every human being who is at the same
time wise and demented {sapiens et demens in Latin) 'Religion', says Ray-
mund Pannikar, 'does not necessarily have a positive value Religion repre-
sents the best and the worst in human beings, precisely because it deals with
the ultimate questions 7 To express it more forcefully, in accepted language
'Religion is at one and the same time divine and demonic' 8

Torres Queiruga, La revelacwn, p 386

6
Torres Queiruga, 'El dialogo de las religions en el mundo actual,' in J Gomis (ed ),
El Vaticano III, Barcelona Herder El Ciervo, 2001, p 74
7
R Pannikar, II dialogo intrarehgioso, Assisi Cittadella, 2000, p 11
8
Idem, 'El escandalo de las rehgiones', in F Torradeflot (ed), Dialogo entre
rehgwnes Textos fundamentales, Madrid Trotta, 2002, p 175
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 251

There is no religion in which everything is pure, a religion that is wholly pure

religion.
'Concretely, every religion is a mixture of faith, superstition, and in-
credulity.'9 Albert Samuel has demonstrated the extent to which even the most
serious religions contain forms considered inferior, such as animism.10 Pastoral
workers understand perfectly well how devotional practices - not only in the
so-called religion of the masses, but at all social levels - faith and love are
mingled with fear, selfishness, magical thinking and superstition. It is well
known that even developed, cultured, and urbane sectors of society, practices
such as horoscopes, tarot cards, consulting fortune tellers, witchcraft, and the
like are more generalized than we might believe.
Those who stay calm and sincere accept the fact that the frontiers be-
tween the true and the false, the good and the bad, the innocent and the sinful
also run right through religion itself.

16.1.2.3 Asymmetrical Pluralism

Neither stating that all religions are true, nor making the complementary state-
ment that all religions also have their false features, is intended to make abso-
lute and leveling affirmations about all religions to the same extent. All of
them are true and at the same time false, but not to the same degree or in the
same form. There is no 'symmetry' that makes them all equal. Nor does such a
symmetry exist within each religion. One religion, as we have seen, has a clear
vision and a special sensibility on determined issues, and others for other is-
sues. Some have weaknesses and blind spots in the face of certain issues, and
others in the face of other issues. That is what is meant by 'asymmetrical plu-
ralism' .
The fact that religions are imperfect, and not all in the same way, is
another basis for the necessary complementarity of religions, dealt with in the
previous lesson. Because they are not perfect, none of them can say, T know
everything about God'. Because pluralism is asymmetrical none of them can
say, T know better than the others'.11 That is why all can learn. Between two
religions, which one has the truth? Both of them. Which can teach which? Both
can learn from the other. 'There is no room for exclusivist claims or for a pri-
ori self-proclaimed confidence in one's own excellence. Fraternal sharing is
the only thing that makes sense, leading in every case to an a posteriori con-
clusion reached as a result of research and comparison, of discussion and dia-

9
H. Kiing, On Being a Christian (here Sp. trans., 1977, p.108).
10
Les religions aujourd'hui, Paris: Editions Ouvrieres, 1992. Even the dates of the
great Jewish, Christian, and Islamic festivals coincide fundamentally with the changes
of season, solstices, equinoxes, and the lunar cycle. Festivals that are celebrated in
these religions are also present in animism.
11
1 refer to the words of the Kuna Saila Horacio Mendez, quoted extensively in the last
lesson. Cf. Agenda Latinoamericana 2003, back cover.
252 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

logue with the others This, furthermore, is what really happens when someone
embraces one religion and not another' 12
Reality shows that in the different components and dimensions of re-
ligions there is not an equal degree of progress toward God The differences
between what is achieved in one religion and brought about in another are of-
ten simply those of cultural context, so we should all be cautious and respectful
of broad and legitimate pluralism But there are times when the differences
have serious religious consequences That is why pluralism is conceived of as
asymmetrical, not as a sort of egalitarian leveling
More has already been said above on the origin of this adjective
'asymmetrical' A mere ten or fifteen years ago some theologians did not ac-
cept the pluralist position because for them pluralism was synonymous with a
radical equalizing of all religions, with indifference and relativism In those
days a calm and mature pluralism respectful of differences did not seem possi-
ble For that reason they thought of themselves as inclusivists, albeit they did
qualify this seeing themselves as supporters of an 'open inclusivism' As we all
know, the theology of religions is of recent origin and is visibly still maturing
With the passage of the years these theologians have been obliged to progress 13
and feel frankly uncomfortable with inclusivism, however open this inclusiv-
ism is considered They have taken a leap and have advanced as far as accept-
ing pluralism, except that they specify this 'asymmetric' touch in order to fend
off the old accusation of relativism and indifferentism Nowadays, however, it
is becoming, day by day, less necessary to define shades of meaning, because
now almost nobody thinks of pluralism, without any further specification, as
synonymous with egalitarian or indifferentist radicalism As has already been
said, 'an egalitarian pluralism would be unreal, lacking realism All realistic
pluralism is asymmetrical, while the contrary cannot be said to hold '

16.1.3 A C T

This brings us to the moment for working conclusions

A Torres Queiruga, Del terror de Isaac al Abba de Jesus, Estella Verbo Divino,
2000, p 297
13
'Theology has been working on these questions for some time There is still a
way to go We need to develop new categories that will us to establish greater
clarity Even though some of our theologians have advanced considerably, we still
do not think of mentioning inclusivism For lack of a better category, and calling on
all to join in the common search, I still prefer the expression 'asymmetrical pluralism',
since it seems that while - beyond inclusivism - it respects plurality, it avoids the
(pluralist) danger of relativism, as if all roads were equal and it were not necessary to
be perpetually in exodus toward a greater profundity and purity in our confession and
practice of the mystery ' A Torres Queiruga, El dialogo de las rehgwnes, p 73
14
Cf The seventh chapter, where we spoke of pluralism
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 253

16.1.3.1 Renounce Absolutisms

This conclusion has been drawn several times before in our course, and here it
is simply reinforced with other supports.
For persons who have had some experience of renewing their theologi-
cal outlook, this renunciation of absolutism presents no problems. But the ma-
jority position is the opposite: Christians - to take the most familiar camp -
often feel upset at first when this theme is mentioned. They have always lived
with an unconscious feeling of having the Truth, an absolute truth in compari-
son with which other truths were false or silly. So, when theological reflection
leads them to see that reality is not as absolute as they supposed (based no
doubt on what they had been taught when they were children), their first sensa-
tion is anxiety, as though they are floating in empty space.
This happens to us Christians and most of all to us Catholics. Jose
Maria Diez Alegria, with his relaxed and humorous style, relates that 'during
the First Vatican Council there were three different tendencies with regard to
the question of infallibility. One was that of the extreme infallibilists, who
wanted a definition on the lines of, 'the Pope is infallible,' period. One of
these, the journalist W. G. Ward, said that for him the ideal would be to find a
dogmatic definition on his breakfast table every day. From a historical and dis-
passionate point of view, they can be said to be animals....'15
This not simply a joke. We are almost a century-and-a-half removed
from Vatican I, at which the infallibilists triumphed over a minority segment of
bishops better trained in theology, who debated and vehemently opposed the
definition. The outcome was a definition nuanced in its formulation,16 but the
impression the common people got was an understanding of infallibility plain
and simple, without nuances or a critical understanding. Christian Catholic
people have lived on a feeling of security, of absolute truth, of blind confidence
in their ecclesiastical leaders that is incompatible with the modern mentality.
So, when we 'modernize' our outlook, we are really entering into a different
paradigm, and we cannot do that without noticing the upheaval. But this should
not mean we turn back; but that we take accept the inner turmoil as a new
stimulus for the personal study and reflection each of us embarks on.

16.1.3.2 Every religion is a map, not the actual territory

These well-chosen words by Paul Knitter can describe a working attitude for
us: accept that religions are maps of the territory, but not the actual territory.17.
As has been said: religions, with their different forms of religious ex-
perience, their own myths and symbols, their theological systems, their cultural
influences, their political transformations in history, their liturgies and arts,
their ethics and life styles, their sacred scriptures and traditions, represent the

Diez Alegria, Rebajas teologicas de otono, Bilbao: Desclee, 1980, p. 53.

Cf. the specific chapter of the book mentioned in the previous note.
P. Knitter, No Other name?, p. 220.
254 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

various human answers to the same Mystery, in the context of the different cul-
tures and forms of human life, to the same divine, infinite, and transcendent
reality. Since God accepts these efforts at search and discovery and shows him-
self to them, that is why all these religions are true, have Truth in themselves,
rejoice in the presence of the Mystery. And the fact that all these attempts are
human is the reason why all religions are also, in their own degree, 'false', that
is to say, deficient, subject to error and sin, to mirages and fantasy, to their own
peculiarity and idiosyncrasy.
Knitter's image 18 seems very suggestive, and as an image it is 'worth
more than a thousand words'.

16.1.3.3 The Beam in our own Eye

Another working conclusion that can be drawn from all this is about under-
standing and humility. It is too easy for us to judge other religions without due
understanding: their sacred writings seem strange, or fairy stories, or unbeliev-
able; their rites seem like 'superstitions' to us; their religious practices too vul-
gar. The position of women in some other religion seems intolerable to us;
their connivance in some types of injustice unforgivable. Some of us even find
these features proof that they are not 'the true religion'.
At this point in our course that shouldn't be happening to any of us.
Rather, the conclusion we draw is that we should be thoroughly understanding
and should see an interpretation of another religion, especially if it is negative,
as invalid if it is not backed up by those who are living out the religion. Inter-
pretations of a religion made by people who do not know it from within are not
valid. Many such negative interpretations contain a lot of misunderstanding
and even calumny, even if there is be no bad intention. 'The golden rule of any
hermeneutic is that the thing being interpreted can be recognized in the inter-
pretation. In other words, every interpretation from outside a tradition must
coincide, at least in appearance, with an internal interpretation, that is to say,
from the point of view of the believer'. 19 An interpretation of a religion made
from the outside ought to be validated by the acceptance of those who are be-
ing interpreted, those who live the religion from within.
As long as we do not have that stamp of approval that those who prac-
tice the religion can give us, we should not consider our interpretations from
the outside as fully valid, and we ought to suspend judgment. Also, we ought to
look at ourselves, to see whether we have a beam in our own eye.
In this sense it is a good exercise to listen to the opinions that other re-
ligions, or the society in which we live, have of our religion, from a non-
religious but simply secular point of view. Even though such opinions would
probably not be valid for religious dialogue, owing to the fact that they have

Hick refers to this: God has Many Names, pp. 53-54.

Pannikar, II dialogo intrareligioso, p. 101.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 255

not been confronted with our opinions from within, they certainly would have
value for our own self-examination, conversion, and purification.
It would not be strange if we professed ourselves scandalized by the
position women occupy in some religions, while at the same time we ourselves
are not conscious of the scandal caused to so many women and men by the lack
of equality and discrimination with which women are treated in a majority of
the Christian Churches. We might be scandalized by the apparent justification
of the caste system in the Hindu religion, while not noticing that Christianity
tolerated slavery for many centuries and that members of the ecclesiastical hi-
erarchy itself were slave owners.
Humility and understanding would not only help the dialogue along,
but they would also help us to live in truth.

16.2 Related Texts

• 'I maintain that all religions are true but imperfect, in that they are rep-
resented by human beings and bear the seal of the imperfections and
weaknesses of human beings.' - Ghandi

• 'All religions are true. Proselytism is a sin.'

The first part of the sentence was originally an emphatic pronounce-
ment by Torres Queiruga. The two phrases together form the motto on
a poster issued by Servicios Koinonia (servicioskoinonia.org/posters).

• 'A person who is truly of God is beyond religion.' - Rumi (1207-1273)

16.3 Questions for reflection and discussion

• What did we think of this topic? Do we have any objections? What

elements of it would we emphasize as most important?
• Have we felt unease, distress or uncertainty at any point as we went
through the course? Could anyone who had such feelings describe
them? Could the others describe their experience too? Any comments?
• If all religions are true and false..., does the mission of evangelization
have any point? What is its point?
Chapter 17

Latin-American Macro-ecumenism
A course on the theology of religious pluralism produced in Latin America
should include a treatment of Latin-American macro-ecumenism. It was the
form the 'theology of religious pluralism' took 'avant la lettre', before the the-
ology of religious pluralism was developed around the the world, including in
Latin America. So this chapter provides a look at what this micro-ecumenism
has been, with an update on it and a projection for its future.

17.1. Discussing the topic

I have tried to pitch the language here midway between theology and spiritual-
ity. Remember: this is not a 'universal' description but an attempt to reflect the
Latin-American point of view, which may be very different from a simply
Western one or a European one in general - or Roman in particular.

17.1.1 God's macro-ecumenism

All theologies and spiritualities ultimately derive not from some theologian's
brilliant and original idea but from the experience of God undergone in a
community at a specific time and place. The deepest source of Latin-American
macro-ecumenism is also the experience the Christians of the continent have
had of God. Latin America's macro-ecumenism is based on God's own macro-
ecumenism. So, ultimately, what is at stake here is an image and an experience
of God.
We might begin by saying that our religious experience already con-
tains experience of God's macro-ecumenism. God is macro-ecumenical. God is
not racist, not linked to any particular ethnic group or culture. God is not given
to anybody in an exclusive or a privileged way.

17.1.1.1 God present in all peoples and persons

Today we are irreversibly conscious of God's Spirit being present throughout
the length and breadth of history, in all peoples, in all cultures and religions.
We feel easier with the idea that God has been present among all peoples since
the beginning, before the actual arrival of the missionaries of any religion,1 and
even if these had never arrived. God is present and active in the heart of each
culture, which is always a flash of God's light. God is present and alive in the
heart of all human beings, even those who - often through no fault of their own

Conclusions of the Third General Assembly of the Conference of Latin-American

Bishops, held at Puebla in Mexico in 1979 (Puebla), n. 201.
258 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

and even with the best of intentions - ignore this presence or even deny it
God carries out the work of salvation by ways known only to God, 3 far beyond
the narrow limits of institutional Christianity and other established religions, 4
and we rejoice in this and do not resent the Father-Lord's generosity to the
workers in all vineyards and at all hours 5
God does not choose one human group to communicate exclusively
through them to all others God loves and chooses all peoples and is in touch
with all of them by making use of all the religions God does not go out to seek
an encounter with one people, while simply allowing the rest to search With
God there is no distinction between persons or nations, no preferential option
for any people, even though many ethnic groups, at the start of their religious
development, have regarded themselves as the object of such discriminatory
privilege Nor does God marginalize or forget any part of the human race or
leave any single person with a serious deficit in their salvation account' We
believe in the equal dignity of all human dealings with God, without seeing
some as 'faith' and others as religious beliefs or simple devotion, or the virtues
of some as 'supernatural virtues', while others have only moral values
We ask to be forgiven for all the times in our lives when we have acted
in pride and as though we were a chosen and privileged group, despising other
groups and faiths while believing we are called to save them

17112 God as macro-ecumenical mystery

Throughout the ups and downs of history, Christians within the sphere of
Western civilizations have associated the idea of God too closely with one cul-
ture That culture was a mixture of various dominant ones Greek, Latin, and
Saxon In recent times a more informed reflection and better judgment among
Christians has led us back to a clearer picture of the macro-ecumenical face of
God God is not tied to any particular race, culture, or gender God has no over-
lord or agent or lieutenant, is not White or Western or masculine as, we must
humbly recognize, we Christians have witnessed and proclaimed There is no
Christian God as such, distinct from a Hindu, Jewish, or Muslim God God
does not even have a name, being 'the God of all names'

2
Puebla, n 208
3
GS 22 'My ways are not your ways ' (Isa 55,8)
Let us recall once more the words of H R Schlette, 'Because it is the most universal,
the ordinary way to salvation is through the non Christian religions' Here Ital trans ,
Le rehgioni come tenia delta teologia (1968), pp 85-6
5
'Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me7 Or are you envious
because I am generous9' Matt 20 15
Vatican Council II had a crucial importance for Catholics on this point See especially
its decrees LG, GS, UR, DH, NA and AG
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 259

All the qualifying adjectives and descriptions of God originate with us; 7 they
are our responsibility, as they express our limitations. God is way beyond any-
thing we can say, confess, or preach. God is a Mystery that cannot be grasped,
understood or described. No formulas, creeds, dogmatic systems, or sacred
writings can rightly describe God, much less enclose God in an adequate, com-
plete, perfect formulation. Nor is any formulation 'definitive', irreplaceable, or
beyond re-reading. Humanity continues in its search for the Greater God, while
God continues in self-sacrifice and self-giving, unpredictable and often the
God of surprises.
This makes us smile at the theological disputes of the past, so full of
condemnations and anathemas, and at the missionary zeal of those who de-
spised, persecuted, and even prohibited the religions of other peoples, or made
great efforts (as generous as they were mistaken) to replace the religions of
other peoples with their own. Contemplating the 'ineffable' Mystery of God,
we come to recognize our mistaken illusions and ask the forgiveness of those
peoples whose religions we Christians have persecuted and enslaved. We hum-
bly ask to be accepted in a new religious world community made up of all peo-
ples. We are ready to open ourselves to the shafts of God's light that shine out
in the experience of all the world's religions, at the same time offering to share
our own spiritual riches with them.
We are macro-ecumenical in God's image and likeness. This experi-
ence of God, of a God who is not tied by any exclusivity or privilege to any
ghetto, and who acts and saves in the whole universe and the whole of history,
broadens our vision and makes our behavior less self-centered. No longer can
we regard the world or focus on our own lives from the exclusive viewpoint of
one race or culture, nation or Church. We recognize ourselves to be citizens of
the world, pilgrims passing through history, responsible for the universality of
the cosmos, brothers and sisters of all creatures.
God's ecumenism prevents us from regarding mediators such as our
Church or our religion as the only ones possible. Our belonging to a Church
does not exhaust or give adequate expression to our fundamental affiliation,
our 'social religious setting', 8 which is no longer the small world of our par-
ticular confession but - in God's image and likeness - the broad macro ecu-

7
In scholastic language this would be 'quoad nos'.
8
We say it this way here by parallelism with the concept of 'social position': 'That
position one has opted for, from which and for which theoretical interpretations and
practical plans are made, the position that shapes the praxis in hand and to which our
personal praxis is molded and subordinated.' (I. Ellacuria, 'El autentico lugar social de
la Iglesia', in Various, Desajios cristianos, Madrid: Mision Abierta, 1988, p. 78; and at
servicioskoinonia.org/relat/124.htm). In the same way, we can speak of a 'religious
position', meaning the religious space for which we have opted, and to which in the
final analysis we feel we belong, and from which we do our evaluating and project
planning.
260 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

memcal world, the universe of the religions, humanity seeking after God To-
day more than ever being religious means being so interreligiously and macro-
ecumenically9

17.1.2 The macro-ecumenism of the Christian mission

The new experience of God we on our continent have had through the re-
discovery of Jesus has also made us appreciate the macro-ecumenical nature of
the mission of Christians I mean the fundamental mission of every Christian,
beyond any particular vocation or charism This mission consists in 'living and
struggling for Jesus' cause, for the Kingdom', a mission that is macro-
ecumenical to the greatest degree That is because the Kingdom is life, truth,
justice, peace, kindness and love among all women and all men and all peo-
ples, and communion between them and nature and them and God The mis-
sion we Christians feel called to is living and struggling for that Utopia
Really, this mission of ours is not any different from that of every hu-
man being 10 Our task as Christians is simply that incumbent on us as human
beings On principle, we Christians do not have our own special, distinct, re-
served mission that can be carried out initiates only Our calling coincides with
humanity's, because our dream coincides with God's dream
Being Christians as we are, we do not have a sense of belonging to a
faction, a philosophical or theological m-group, or a sect that cuts us off from
wider concerns and outlooks Our causes are the great causes of the human
race, the causes and dreams of all peoples, the causes and dreams of God
For this reason, whenever women or men, in whatever circumstances
or situations, under whatever flag, work for the great causes of the Kingdom
(love, justice, human solidarity, freedom, and life) they are fulfilling the mean-
ing of their lives They are doing God's will, struggling for Jesus' cause Con-
trariwise, not all who call themselves Christian and fight on behalf of their
Churches are doing God's will This is precisely the end-time measure by
which God will judge human beings (Matt 25 3Iff), a criterion that is totally
macro-ecumenical, not confessional, not ecclesiastical, not even 'religious'

1712 1 Common to all human beings

Even though we live out this 'great Christian mission' that we see as common
to all human beings, we still do so in the light of our own Christian faith tradi-
tion We have always treasured our own religious usage, just as all the other
religions have done And like them too, we have over-emphasized its value

9
Declaration of the Indian Theological Association, no 36, cf K Pathil (ed),
Religious Pluralism, An Indian Perspective, Delhi ISPCK, 1991, p 348
Because the kingdom is nothing other than 'the destiny of the human race , in Albert
Nolan' fine phrase 'Kingdom' is the name we give it, knowing that it is nothing less
than mankind's best Utopia, 'God's dream', as the Assembly of the People of God put
it
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 261

when we have treated many elements of it as absolute though they were really
relative, or when we have thought of ourselves as the very center of the reli-
gious universe. Now we see the light of our faith as 'superior' because it comes
from above, but that does not make it superior to others on principle - only one
more light among the many by which God enlightens human beings. Its superi-
ority needs to be analyzed a posteriori in comparison with other lights using a
strong dose of realism and objectivity. Macro-ecumenically, we value all the
lights that lighten all human beings who come into this world.

17.1.2.2 In relation to others

Because Christian mission coincides with human mission, we are at home in
any open human society. We do not need to live in separate societies, or in
Christian societies on the Christendom model, because what matters to us is
not saying 'Lord, Lord' but supporting God's project. We feel ourselves called
to cooperate with all who seek truth and love, even though they are not Chris-
tians or even believers. We rejoice at whatever good is being hatched in the
world, and we do not consider anything human foreign to us or irrelevant to the
eye attentive to the presence of salvation. The world, society, and history are
our living environment as citizens of the world and responsible for society with
its projects and its hopes. We can and should cooperate with everybody with-
out chauvinist aspirations or black-and-white lenses.
However, we do not cease to have a specific Christian identity, but it is
an added accidental difference that, far from separating us from the world,
sends us back into it. Our principal reference point is not our Christian identity
or any other differentiating confessional reference. It is the 'great human mis-
sion', the shared call to construct Utopia, to be fighters for the great causes.
Unlike at other times when we Christians measured everything outside
us by the rule of our own values, today we appreciate what is not Christian,
recognizing its intrinsic worth, for itself. We do not call people 'anonymous
Christians', nor do we speak of the 'sown Word' or 'seeds of the Gospel' or
'evangelical preparation'. It does not matter whether people are Christian or
not, but whether they are citizens of the Kingdom. Their values count not for
the degree to which they share in ours, but to the degree they do in those of
God, the source of all good.

17.1.2.3 Conflict in Christian mission

We also, nevertheless, find ourselves involved in conflict and opposition.
There are those who oppose the good of the human community in favor of their
own selfish and oppressive interests. At times we find ourselves under attack,
at others we must put up a fight and take a stand. Sometimes we are persecuted
because of our faith, and sometimes we feel the need to stand up and criticize
our own Church or religion. Conflict makes up part of the stories of our lives.
262 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

Here, our macro-ecumenical attitude leads us to jump over chauvinist bounda-

ries between 'us and them', obliging us to judge our solidarity or opposition in
terms of the Utopia of the Kingdom. Here again, being Kingdom-centered is
the measure of everything. We feel ourselves more closely united to those who,
even if they are not of our religion, make no reference to Christ, or have no
explicit faith in God, fight for their Utopia (the Kingdom, in Christian biblical
language) and thereby work for justice, stand at the side of the poor and seek
their complete liberation, than we do to those who, perhaps with the name of
Christ the King on their lips, take a position on the side of injustice and oppres-
sion and oppose the poor.
If our passion is really the coming of the Kingdom and we look at
things ecumenically with this in mind, we shall feel more closely related to
those who carry out the will of Jesus, even without knowing him, than to those
who - perhaps even in Jesus' name - work against his will.
This may seem outrageous, but it is true. It is true to the gospel. Jesus
himself felt this greater closeness. He identified himself more with the Samari-
tan than with the priest or the Levite, more with the liberation of the poor than
with worship in the temple (Luke 10.25ff.), more with humble sinners than
with the self-satisfied Pharisees (Luke 5.11-32; Matt. 21.31-2), more with
those who do God's will than with those who call him 'Lord, Lord'(Matt.
7.21), more with those who feed the hungry even though they do not know him
(Jesus) (Matt. 25.3Iff.) than with those who work miracles in his name (Matt.
7.22), more with the son who said 'no' but carried out his father's will than
with the one who said 'yes' but did not do so (Matt. 21.28-32).
We know many instances from history when the truth of the Kingdom
was closer to those whom Christians - and even the Church itself - were per-
secuting than to the persecutors. When the Native Americans were invaded,
expelled from their lands, and massacred or enslaved, God's justice was on
their side and not on that of those who brandished the cross or the pope's 're-
quirement' (that they submit to the colonizers). During the Spanish civil war,
which the Church saw as a 'crusade', some died with the name of Christ on
their lips and in their heart, but they also connived with the army that fought
against those who actually defended the cause of popular sovereignty, constitu-
tional order, and democracy and condemned the evils of capitalism, the causes
in which the Utopia of the Kingdom Jesus proclaimed were then embodied.
Modern revolutionary movements in support of human rights have had
to be anticlerical and persecute the Churches, because these had taken a stand
on the side of monarchies and oligarchies, in support of privilege and ancien
regime. During the long upward climb of world socialism, the Church has in-
variably been on the side of capitalism, thus placing the economic freedom of
the powerful above justice and dignity for the poor. Finally, in the peoples'
revolutions in Latin America, the institutional Catholic Church constituted one
of the major obstacles the liberation movements of the poor were unable to
overcome. In these and many other important turning points of history, as well
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 263

as in ongoing conflicts, the macro-ecumenical view places us in solidarity with

love and justice, the freedom and well-being of the poor, and leads us into con-
frontation with those who oppose them, even if they belong to the same Church
or religion that we do. Macro-ecumenism is on a different wavelength, not fa-
natically defending our Church or religion at any price out of esprit de corps,
over and above the causes to which our very Church owes its existence.

17.1.3 Macro-ecumenical attitudes

This typically Latin-American macro-ecumenism gives us a variety of spiritual
attitudes that solidify and confirm it in us, and which, taken together make it
characteristic. The main attitudes are these:

• Contemplation. This is the deepest source of our macro-ecumenism. It

enables us to see God in history, in life, in all peoples (including those
who do not know Christ), 11 in the struggles of the poor and the actions
of so many generous activists, even though these proclaim themselves
far from confessing God or any known Church or religion. Here, our
macro-ecumenism makes it possible for us to recognize the hidden
presence of the Kingdom of God, of God's salvation perpetually at
work.
• Soteriological optimism. This means believing in effect that God de-
sires the salvation of all human beings, even if they do not come to
know the whole truth (cf. 1 Tim. 2.4), and that this desire of God's is
effective. Macro-ecumenism makes us optimists because we believe
that all our human failures and even our religious conflicts are 'child's
play' to God, our loving and understanding Father and Mother, always
ready to forgive and welcome us. We believe that God will grant all
human beings, including those who seem most closed to God's grace, a
generous chance of salvation, even if by 'ways known only to God'. 12
For many people, their actual death may constitute the sacrament of
their salvation. 13

1
'A missionary is either a contemplative or mystic or an inauthentic missionary. The
true evangelist is permeated by a faith in the actual presence of the Trinity in every fold
of history's cloth, in spite of its being blurred by human perverseness. In the highly
socialized forms of Aztec life, in the community works of Brazil's indigenous peoples,
or in the highly-developed sense of equality that is present in most of the indigenous
tribes in Brazil, the missionary discerns sacraments of Trinitarian community and
footprints of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit present in our world.' L. Boff, Nova
evangelizaqao. Perspectiva dos oprimidos, Petropolis: Vozes, 1990, pp. 80-81.
12
GS22;LG16;AG7.
L. Boros, Mysterium Mortis, here Sp. trans., El hombre y su ultima option (1972)
(Eng. trans. The Moment of Truth, London & New York, 1968).
264 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

Dialogue with the world This means permanent contact with it Noth-
ing that is human is foreign to us 'The joys and hopes, the grief and
anguish of the people of our time, especially of those who are poor, or
afflicted ' (GS 1), are ours too This leads us to be constantly study-
ing the signs of the times 14
Positive openness As a matter of principle we feel predisposed to ac-
cept and appreciate the value of the work and efforts by our brothers
and sisters, the militants and the masses, instead of doubting or reject-
ing them 15 We know that our message responds to the deepest desire
of human hearts, 16 and that there is only one final vocation for all of us
humans - the divine call 17
Collaboration with all who struggle, in whatever form, for the univer-
sal cause that is the Utopia of the Kingdom All who are not against the
Kingdom are with us Everyone who fights for a good cause joins in
the struggle for the Kingdom and deserves our support I 8 We will not
try to impede the good that any group is doing just because it is not
ours (Mark 9 3 8 ^ 0 )
Detachment from institutions Our absolute is the Kingdom, not its in-
struments, not even our institutions We are not 'ecclesiocrats' or func-
tionaries with special interests We do not seek our own benefit and we
do not place any other institution or instrument at the center of things
We care only that good triumph, even if at the cost of our own lives 19

17.2 Related Texts

'The cause of Jesus is the cause of the Kingdom Justice, liberty, hu-
man solidarity, love, mercy, reconciliation, peace, forgiveness, close-
ness to God all make up the cause that Jesus struggled for and for
which he was persecuted, imprisoned, tormented, and condemned to
death

14
GS 4, 44, 62, AG 11, ChD 16, 30
15
The spirituality of Vatican II, which attempted to apply the 'medicine of mercy',
furnished a model for dialogue with and positive opening to the world 'The ancient
story of the Samaritan was the model for the Council's spirituality', as Paul VI said cf
Concilw VaticanoII, Madrid BAC, 1965, p 816
16
GS21
17
GS 22
18
GS 43, 93, 16, 92, 57, 90, 77, 78, UR 12, AG 12, AA 14
19
For more on this topic, a critical evaluation of Latin American macro-ecumenism,
with a study of its limits and its future prospects, see the article by J M Vigil,
'Macroecumenismo teologia latinoamencana de las religiones', in VIGIL-TOMITA-
BARROS, Hacia una teologia cnstiana y latinoamencana del plurahsmo rehgioso,
second volume of the series Along the Many Paths of God, «Por los muchos caminos
de Dios», Quito Abya Yala 2004, pp 73-90
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 265

'So that his cause would go forward Jesus rose from the dead and will
always be at the side of those who struggle for it. The anti-cause is
made up of legalism instead of justice, discrimination and division in-
stead of human solidarity, laws instead of liberty, hatred of enemies in
place of love, hardness of heart instead of mercy and compassion, paci-
fication instead of peace, submission instead of reconciliation, venge-
ance instead of pardon and alienation from God instead of closeness.
Those who are for this anti-cause are against Jesus.
For this reason, whenever human beings, in any hemisphere and under
any banner, work tirelessly for the triumph of this cause, they are car-
rying forward the project of Jesus Christ. Contrariwise, it is not always
the case that where there is explicit Christianity goodness, liberation,
justice, and human solidarity are also automatically there. On the other
hand, wherever human solidarity, justice, liberation, and goodness are,
there Christianity is truly incarnated and people are living the gospel,
perhaps even anonymously or under another banner.'

'To be a Christian is to fight for the cause of Jesus.'

Leonardo Boff, Testigos de Dios en el corazon del mundo, Madrid:
JTVR, 1977.

The People of God are many peoples. 'All those persons, communities,
and peoples who take on this dream/project of God, are God's people.
No religion or Church can claim to be this people exclusively. But
those who refuse to take upon themselves that dream of God and
God's people, and instead serve the gods of capitalism, imperialism,
corruption, and institutionalized violence do exclude themselves from
God's people. It is due to this idolatrous religion in our America, as in
all the Third World, that there are increasing numbers of poor and that
they are increasingly impoverished. On our continent, after so much
condemnation and religious arrogance, we want to proclaim the "truth
of the majorities", lived out above all in the indigenous and Afro-
American religions and in many Christian confessions. We Christian
women and men who are present in this encounter feel ourselves
deeply called to conversion. Publicly, in the name of millions of sisters
and brothers who feel as we do, and perhaps to make up for the official
omission by our Churches, we ask pardon of the Indigenous and Afro-
American peoples of our homeland, who have so often been con-
demned as idolaters and for centuries subjected to genocide and domi-
nation.'
God has A Dream. Declaration of the Assembly of the People of God,
Quito, September 1992. (Complete text in Spanish available in Agenda
266 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

Latinoamericana, 2003, p. 192. Also at latinoameri-

cana.org/2003/textos/castellanos/APD.htm.)

17.3 Questions for Group Discussion

• Recall the etymological meaning of 'ecumenism'.

• What have we learned about 'Latin-American macro-ecumenism' ?
• What difference can we establish between ecumenism and macro-
ecumenism?
• Referring to ecumenism among Christians, what impression do we
have of our present situation? Are we progressing? Going backwards?
Stuck? Why? Comment on your answer.
• What information de we have about dialogue among religions? Is it
happening at all? Progressing? Going backwards?
• Refer to the text God has a Dream from the Assembly of the People of
God in 1992 (above) and discuss it in groups.
• When we say that God is macro-ecumenical, is that something that can
appropriately be applied to God? In what sense?
• 'The great Christian mission, that is, the fundamental mission of all
Christians, is essentially the same as that of all human beings'. Com-
ment. Does Christianity not have something specifically different?
Does being a Christian not mean being 'something more' or 'some-
thing different? If that difference really exists, what kind of difference
is it - essential, substantial, ontological, or of understanding? Basi-
cally, what is really at stake in this debate?
• -Complete what has been presented in this chapter with two more sec-
tions: 'The macro-ecumenism of Jesus' and 'The macro-ecumenism of
the Church'. For developing the themes, or simply to comment on the
subject, refer to Chapters 10 and 11 of this course respectively.
• In former times Catholics were, for example, prohibited to collaborate
with 'the communists', converse with Protestants, take communion at
Evangelical services or even take part in the rites of any other religion.
Have things changed? What is our opinion? Tell of actual instances of
this problem.
• Comment on the spiritual attitudes derived from Latin-American
macro-ecumenism (sub-heading C). Add others from the many possi-
ble you would like to add to the list.
Chapter 18
A New Axial Age: Widening Horizons
In this lesson we set out to widen horizons. So far our reflections have been
developed within the realm of religions, especially Christianity. Now we must
expand our vision and see that the horizon is really much broader. That will
give us a better basis for understanding how limited and relative our own re-
flections have been.

18.1 Discussing the topic

The credibility of persons or institutions derives not only from the intrinsic
strength of their theoretical arguments taken separately but also from their lives
and social and historical situation. That is why we are especially wary of
financial promises by someone who is bankrupt, or protestations of fidelity by
someone known to be unfaithful. So far in this course we have used theoretical
arguments provided by the religions. But in addition to those theoretical
arguments, we want to inquire into the real situation and history of the
religions in order to discover possible motives of a different nature, beyond the
theoretical ones. What is religion like at present, if we take broad view of
history?

18.1.1 Religions in crisis

'The crisis of religion in Western countries belonging to the Christian tradition
is widely recognized. This actual situation raises problems for people
attempting to carry on their religious life under present social and cultural
conditions.'1
Religions, and specifically Christianity, are in crisis. They face a
dilemma that has its roots in a situation that has developed during the last
several centuries. In our day this situation has simply exploded, making it
much more obvious than ever.
This crisis is not limited only to the institutions themselves. Individual
members who are making an honest attempt to live out their faith feel
uncomfortable and dissatisfied, with a deep feeling that something is seriously
wrong. Johann-Baptist Metz has spoken of a 'crisis of God' (Gotteskrise) to
show that it is affecting the very roots of religiosity. Martin Buber speaks of

J. Martin Velasco, Metamorfosis de lo sagrado y futuro del cristianismo,

SantandenSal Terrae, 1999. Also in RELat 256: servicioskoinonia.org/relat/256.htm. I
recommend a complete reading of this work, which I follow closely here.
268 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

the 'eclipse of God'. Hans Kiing considers it an 'epochal crisis'2. So it is not

just an isolated phenomenon, an incidental matter, or a specific aspect that is in
crisis; it is the whole religious edifice, structure, culture that is in an
unprecedented crisis.3
One of the first identifiable features of this crisis is what we might call
the process of secularization. This refers to the waning importance and
relevance of the religious element in our society and culture. Religion, which
stood at the top of the scale of society's accepted values, is gradually being
replaced by science with its markedly different way of reasoning. The social
space that religion occupies is becoming more limited, being reduced at present
to church attendance and specifically religious gatherings. It is thus limited to
the personal choice of each individual and restricted in its scope to affairs of
conscience, which minimizes its influence in social matters.
But this crisis brought on by secularization goes much deeper than
social activities. It is also affecting the religious institutions themselves. In
effect, a growing number of church members are distancing themselves from
the official orthodoxy ruling in the Church they belong to, as well as from
'official' religious practices. At the same time, they do not follow the official
morality of their Churches or even regard it as normative. An ever-growing
majority of them who still claim to be believers no longer think of themselves
as belonging to a religious body or bound by its rules. Religious institutions are
less and less able to control their members' beliefs and behavior, which means
that 'the imposition of ethical norms is being replaced by the interpretation
individual members give to their particular religious traditions, thereby
producing an a la carte religion'.
In addition to this there are two opposing tendencies in play. On the
one hand, there is unbelief, a fairly modern phenomenon that is nevertheless on
the rise. It is generally described as post-Christian unbelief, in the sense that
the God being rejected is the Christian God. On the other hand there is an
explosion of 'new religious movements', of many kinds and all flourishing.
This produces a combination of waning and even vanishing religious
observance with the practice of 'wild' and unstoppable new practices.
Obviously the whole situation is a complex one, and these conflicting facts can
produce the most varied diagnoses. While some see religion disappearing from
the scene and people falling into atheism and nihilism, others see a 'return of
the sacred' in an age of undeniable religious effervescence. Under these
circumstances the point of view from which we observe the reality becomes
crucial. Official religious institutions are certainly in no position to offer us the

2
J.-A. Pagola, 'Testigos del misterio de Dios en la noche', Sal Terrae (Jan. 2000), pp.
27-2.
'The present crisis of Christianity is unprecedented': Jean Delumeau, 'Une crise
inedite', Le Monde, 5 June 1979.
4
J. Martin Velasco, ibid.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 269

best perspective Perhaps that is why their versions are so consistently negative
and even aggressive.

18.1.2 Diagnosis
Those who study religious phenomena (anthropologists, sociologists, and
theologians), appear recently to have reached some generally agreed
conclusions They can be summed up as follows
• Religion is not on its death bed It is not about to disappear, as some
people prematurely proclaimed some time ago 5 Religious observance
in some form is here to stay
• The crisis we are witnessing is a very grave one affecting the
traditional historical religions For some time now these have lost their
bearings and largely lost touch with reality They are incapable of
communicating effectively with the modern outlook of their members
They find themselves in a permanent state of breakdown and
helplessness, and it is not clear what the outcome will be
• We have seen a rapid rise in the number of new religious movements,
clearly demonstrating that people's spiritual potential is still alive and
well, a potential that, with the traditional religions seemingly outdated,
is struggling to find a - still incoherent - creative response to the
spiritual hunger of people who might also be described as atheists or
unbelievers

18.1.3 This distinction between religion and spirituality

Given this state of affairs, there is an urgent need to re-establish the conceptual
distinction between things religious, or religion, and things spiritual, or
spirituality 6 They are not the same thing Spirituality is much broader than
religion It is not a mere by-product of religion, a state of mind that religion
induces in its members, as it was traditionally held to be Just the opposite
religion is only one of the ways that an all-embracing, deeply rooted
spirituality can be expressed Spirituality is present in all human beings,
regardless of whether they affiliate themselves with a religion or not

5
'During the final decades of the nineteenth century and the first of the twentieth,
rationalists, positivists, and Marxists made countless predictions about the end of
Christianity, even giving dates But it is they who came to an end and disappeared from
history, while Christianity, with all its problems, continues to offer hope to many and
food for thought to all' Martin Velasco, ibid See also D Bosh, La transformazwne
della missione, Brescia Quenmana, 2000, pp 65-8
6
'Defining the difference between religion and spirituality is one of the most urgent
tasks for our times' D O Murchu, Rehacer la vida religwsa, Madrid Publicaciones
Claretianas, 2001, p 48 Also at servicioskomoma org/bibhoteca
270 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

David Hay claims that 'two out of every three adults have a personal
spirituality, but fewer than one out of ten bother to attend church regularly ' 7 It
is not spirituality that is in crisis at present On the contrary, spirituality is alive
and healthy, occupying new areas in new ways where its old expressions are
being discarded The crisis affects only certain types of religious expression,
especially traditional religious institutions
Spirituality is, and always has been, more important for human beings
than religion It is a dimension that has sprung from the growing accumulation
of knowledge and insights gained by the study of cultures, anthropology, and
religion over the course of our long and laborious history

18.1.4 A hypothesis: the metamorphosis of Christianity

After employing such terms as 'de-Chnstiamzation' and 'de-sacrahzation' in
the past, scholars are now turning to another group of terms, such as change,
transformation, mutation, metamorphosis 8 Clearly, far from being destroyed,
banished, or extinguished, the religious and the sacred remain very much alive
This does not imply that the crisis is unimportant or secondary, that it is just
some surface details or certain minor points that are in crisis Not at all
Religion's dilemma impacts its every aspect, form and thought It is religion
itself that is being challenged to become something different
The catchphrase, 'we are not in an age of changes, we are in a change
of ages', became very popular a few years back This amounts to another way
of putting the old theory that if enough quantitative changes take place, they
finally produce a qualitative change Many changes together would bring
perception of a change of age What would this 'change of ages' or 'qualitative
change' mean in the case of religion9 Terms such as 'mutation' or even
'metamorphosis' are attempts at answering that question A 'genetic mutation'
is not exactly a minor event for a living being but one that affects its whole
being, 'genetically modified' In the case of metamorphosis, we can take the
example of a caterpillar It may suffer many alterations in the course of its life
cycle it can grow, become diseased, or even lose a body part But all these are
nothing compared with the process known as metamorphosis, through which it
ends up transformed into a butterfly It is still the same living creature, yet in
another sense it is a different being It has undergone a total reconstruction, a
massive biological transformation, a complete reconstruction from the depths
of its being Juan Martin Velasco makes use of this image of metamorphosis to
describe how scholars of religions view the crisis in which contemporary
religion and religious matters find themselves
A religion is a set of channels embracing beliefs, practices, groups of
credal expressions, rules and ethical behaviors, attitudes, and forms of

7
'Religion Lacking Spirit', The Tablet 2 Mar 1996, pp 292-3
Martin Velasco uses this specific term in his article referred to, and I shall follow his
suggested hypothesis
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 271

organization, which takes on a specific configuration within a given society or

culture. The various religions are different configurations of these channels
between human beings and the sacred, with which these groups have provided
themselves throughout their long histories, as an instinctive, inevitable
expression of their spiritual lives.
These systems of channels - not just isolated channels - are what have become
progressively more unacceptable during the last centuries. Most of these
mediating devices and systems are facing growing rejection by an ever-
increasing segment of the population. It is not a matter of how many channels
there are, but of the systems into which they are organized, which seem to have
lost their usefulness as they are configured at present and to be in need of a
change of direction in their significance, a transposition on to another level of
meaning, or a 'metamorphosis' through which they can be re-born as a new
kind of creature. 'When this takes place, not only some religious channels
change; the very world view surrounding these channels also changes, bringing
about a transformation in the meaning they have as a whole for human
beings.'9
The new religious movements that are springing up have 'their own
system of channels, which range from models borrowed from esoteric
movements, theosophy, and mysticism to spiritual practices from here and
there: physical and mental exercises, meditation and relaxation techniques,
special diets and alternative medicine. Where there is strong lay leadership, the
movements show an ethical concern focused, beyond prescribed actions, on
actions based on love and solidarity with others. What matters is not so much
changing the conduits as transforming their meaning and their place within the
realm of the sacred. No longer are the channels conceived of as orders received
from previous divine interventions, alien and external to their recipients. They
now express an inherent individual need for transcendence and enable people
to fulfill this through their own story, show it in their culture, and express it in
their society.'10
It is only recently that the scholars of religion have begun to discover
this new way of interpreting what religions are going through, and there is no
case for thinking we have produced an accurate diagnosis of an epoch-making
phenomenon, whose full content we do not know, nor how long it might last,
and which be only in its early stages.

18.1.5 This is not the first time

The history of religions is only one aspect of the wider development of the
historical shapes taken by human beings' experience of the spiritual dimension
in their encounter with the sacred. This has been a continual process, without
question, but only a few of the many phases of transformation that have taken

9
Ibid.
272 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

place can truly be called metamorphoses of the religious element in human

history. One such phase is that which has come to be called (following Karl
Jaspers) the 'axial age' or 'pivotal age',11 a stage in human history that we are
now repeatedly looking back to. So what was this 'axial age'?
In the field of piety and Christian theology it has been common to refer
to Christ as the center of time, to say that all history journeys toward him and
proceeds from him. He was the 'pivot of time', dividing a 'before' from an
'after'.12 But this is an assertion of faith, valid in the sphere of Christian faith,
but not in the sphere of science. The philosophy of history has concerned itself
with discovering what this 'pivot of time' (if it exists) might be, based on
empirical evidence that is scientifically defensible, rather than on someone's
personal belief. 'This pivot would be located at that point in history that would
have given rise to all that humanity was capable of achieving since then, the
point that would have had the most determining influence in the shaping of
human kind'.13 Jaspers places it 'in the period around 500 BC, in the spiritual
process that took place between 800 and 200 BC. It is there that we find the
line that most deeply divides history. Human beings, such as we know them
today, came to be what they are. In short, we can call it the 'axial age'. 4
It was a period when three separate regions of the planet (the West,
India, and China), at the same time but independently of each other, went
through a process of spiritual growth that represents a gigantic step forward in
the gestation of human beings as we know them today. During that period
Confucius and Lao-tse lived in China, where numerous schools of philosophy
came into being. In India it was the age of the Upanishads and Buddha, with all
the philosophical possibilities they brought with them. In Iran Zarathustra put
forward a challenging view of the world as a struggle between good and evil. A
series of prophets appeared in Palestine, from Elijah to Second Isaiah, via
Jeremiah and First Isaiah. Greece produced Homer, the philosophers
Parmenides, Heraclitus, and Plato, along with the tragedians, Thucydides, and
Archimedes. All that the presence of so many great figures implied happened
over just a few centuries, virtually simultaneously in China, India, and the
West, without any of these regions being aware of what was happening in the
others.
It was the age when humans began to reflect on themselves.
Consciousness became conscious, and thought became its own object. Spiritual
struggles took place as people attempted to convince each other by
communicating their thoughts, convictions, and experiences. It was in this age

K. Jaspers, The Origin and Goal of History, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press,
1953. [The translation uses the term 'axial age', but 'pivotal' seems more accessible.
Trans.]
12
This is what all the great Christian thinkers, from Augustine to Hegel, have said.
13
Jaspers, op. cit., p. 1.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 273

that the basic categories we still use in our thinking today first appeared, and
that the foundations were laid for the world religions according to which
people still live.
The age of myths came to an end at this time. Greek, Indian, and Chinese
philosophers, along with the prophets, were definitely un-makers of myths.
Reasoning and experience illuminated by reason rebelled against their
irrationality (logos against mythos). The transcendence of the one God was
raised above non-existent demons and above the mythic idea of the gods.
Religion became ethical. Myths were turned into parables, something quite
different from what they had been before.
'Philosophers appeared on the scene for the first time. What later
became known as reason and personality were first conceived of during the
axial age. We could rightly call this basic change in humanity as a whole its
spiritualization. The process became a conscious one. Human existence
became an object of contemplation, as history}5
This 'axial age' hypothesis, to which only a few years ago nobody paid
any attention, is now widely accepted as a necessary term of reference in the
religious history of humankind.'16

18.1.6 The metamorphosis of religion in the axial time

The major religions that continue until this day had their beginning during this
time. The axial age marked a watershed for religions,17 producing the passage
from pre-axial religion to post-axial religion.
The pre-axial religions were cosmic religions, closely woven together
with nature and race. They were religions of an ethnic group, a tribe, or even a
clan. Their purpose was conservative: to maintain order and promote tribal
unity within a common outlook, and to claim the loyalty of its members.
Likewise they helped human beings to stay in harmony with nature in the face
of the threat of chaos, to call down the blessings of the gods on the tribe, make
sure that the seasons stayed in their proper order, and ward off natural disasters
and the anger of the gods. Basically, their function was to conserve life, not to
change it.
The religions that arose at this axial juncture were religions of
salvation or liberation, with a clearly soteriological structure. All the post-axial
religions accept that normal human life is imperfect, limited, and

15
Ibid., pp. 3-5.
The first to speak of an 'axial age', according to Jaspers, were P. E. von Lasaulx
(1856), and V. von Strauss (1870). In modern times the subject has been discussed by:
A. C. Bouquet (1941), G. F .Moore (1948), E. Voegelin (1954), L. Mumford (1957), J.
B. Cobb (1968), G. Fohrer (1972), B. I. Schwartz (1975), S. N. Eisenstadt (1982), and
John Hick (1989), among others.
J. Hick, An Interpretation of Religion: Human Responses to the Transcendent, New
Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1989, p. 22.1 follow him closely in this matter.
 274 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

unsatisfactory. They blame this unsatisfactory state on a primeval fall, on an

inherent propensity toward evil or sin, or some other particular vision. They
reject this limitation of human life, contrasting it with something very different
that lies in the future: pictured as God's reign in Judaism, as eternal salvation
won through atonement in Christianity, as Paradise in Islam, and so on. 'All
post-axial faith is built around salvation'.18
For pre-axial religions human beings did not exist as individuals with
their own dignity and the possibility of a personal relationship with the
divinity. In post-axial religions the worth of an individual is no longer rooted in
identification with a community, but develops through a personal opening to
transcendence. Human beings become beings personally capable of being
saved.
Pre-axial religions did not offer the hope of a radically new, different,
and better life, be that in this life or in an afterlife yet to come. The great God
was creator but not savior or liberator. The purpose of the pre-axial religious
system was to preserve the balance between good and evil and fend off all
possible dangers, but it lacked a vision of transforming the human situation. It
lacked the sense of a higher reality that would make a limitlessly better future
possible. Post-axial religions, on the other hand, always offer liberation,
salvation, and radical change.
'So the axial age was a uniquely important period of time. With certain
qualifications, we can say that it was during this time that all of the great
religious options, representing the major ways of conceiving of ultimate
reality, found their identities and took definitive shape. Since then nothing has
happened in the religious life of humanity that can be compared to it.'19
It should be clear that we are talking not about an event that took place
all at once but of a long-term process taking shape over several centuries,
together with its expectations, reverses, and cross-currents. But the overall
effect is as described here.

18.1.7 Are we in a new axial age?

This is the great question that we need to ask, as many students of the history
of religion from then to now are asking. Is the landmark crisis that religions in
the West are experiencing a symptom of a historical experience comparable to
the mutation or metamorphosis that religion underwent during the so-called
axial age? More and more theologians and religious experts are beginning to
embrace the hypothesis that we are indeed entering into a new axial age from
which religion will emerge so altered as to be barely recognizable. Perhaps that
is why many people think traditional religion is disappearing, while it is
becoming clear to everybody that, in any case, the historical churches and their
counterparts are finding it almost impossible to adjust to present and future

n
Ibid, p. 33.
19
Ibid., p. 31.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 275

conditions The traditional 'historical face' of the religions would seem to be

irrevocably exhausted20 And yet, in the midst of this crisis of religion that we
have been describing, there is an outburst of religious zeal that could possibly
be the sign, the beginning, or the strengthening of this 'new axial age' 21

• Juan Martin Velasco holds that the axial age is 'a prototypical
example of metamorphosis of the sacred' 22 'The religious mutation the
axial age brings about represents an illustration of what
"metamorphosis of the sacred" means for us, and the hypothesis put
forward here for interpreting the changes we see taking place in the
religious sphere consists in seeing the transformations affecting
religion from the onset of modernity to their culmination, for Western
societies, in the second half of the twentieth century as having a
significance similar to that of the axial age - destined, that is, to have
repercussions comparable to those unleashed by the earlier period on
the future of Christianity and the world religions '
This writer's dry manner (he is one of the best-known
phenomenologists of religion in the Spanish-speaking world) should
not allow us to lose sight of the overwhelming importance of what is at
stake If the re-shaping of religious thinking taking place today is in
any way comparable to that undergone in the axial age in terms of
breadth and depth, then we have to say that all of our proposals
(including those made in this course on the theology of religions)
should be parenthetical in a sense, as provisional as a house of cards in
earthquake country Our traditional definitions, presuppositions, and
world view, as well as the channels religious systems as a whole
represent for us, together with the 'horizon' against which these
channels stand out - all these are in the process of change, of mutation,
of metamorphosis We therefore have to be additionally cautious,
extremely prudent, and consciously humble rather than adopt an
arrogant stance, claiming to be in possession of the whole truth
We live in a stormy and dizzying world that, in slow motion but
relentlessly, is altering the way we experience and think about our faith

20
Several decades ago Michel de Certeaux asked himself, 'Is it possible that the
current forms of Christianity are announcing not its demise, but the end of one of its
patterns and the beginning of another7' See Le chnstanisme eclate, Pans Seuil, 1974,
p 75, quoted by R Luneau, in Nem todos os caminhos levam a Roma, Petropohs
Vozes, 1999, p 25
21
There are many authors who support interpreting the present crisis as a new axial
age Here I present the testimony of just three of them See also R Pannikar, El
mundanal srfencw, Barcelona Ediciones Martinez Roca, 1999, p 24, R M Nogues,
'El futuro del cristiamsmo', Seleccwnes de teologia 162 (June 2002), 126
22
Martin Velasco, ibid
276 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

in the new axial age on which we are embarking. What does this mean
for our discussions of exclusiveness and inclusiveness? Should the
realization that we are in a new axial age be the best argument for
pluralism, not only in relation to what we call the (post-axial) 'world
religions' but also in relation to recognizing the basic validity of every
honest and sincerely 'truth-seeking' religious expression? In any case,
the situation exposes the short-sightedness of those who, bound by
their own faith traditions, seek to pontificate on solutions and dogmas
'valid for all times and places'.

Carlos Palacio holds23 that 'there is a surprising similarity between the

significant features of that extraordinary time of upheaval and what
seems to be the main thrust of the present crisis, a crisis of meaning
affecting not only individuals but society as a whole. People of our
time no longer know how to relate either to the universe or to
transcendence.'24
The theology of secularization was one of the first attempts at
interpreting the religious crisis in the modern Western world - an
attempt that proved to be very optimistic. At first glance it seemed to
be no more than a fair recognition of the rightful autonomy of earthly
realities. However, the dizzying evolution of societies during the last
two decades, along with the 'return of the sacred' and the unleashing
of 'wild religion', showed that explanation to be inadequate. Another
interpretation was that, 'We are embarking on a new stage in the
religious history of humankind. The established faiths, especially in
their historic structures and institutions, are giving way to faith
movements better adapted to the culture of modernity. The sacred is
finding new expressions, but religion is not dying out and still less is
transcendence being denied.'25
If the hypothesis of a new axial age were true, it would awaken in us a
sense or consciousness of optimism and hope: we would understand
that the crisis, in spite of its apparent signs to the contrary, is really an
opportunity 'of growth', a qualitative leap forward. This would enable
us to respect - without sharing them - the nervousness and pessimism
of those - especially in institutional religious positions - who foresee
only the weakening and collapse of religion, or the loss of a world that

23
Carlos Palacio, 'Novos paradigmas ou fim de uma era teologica?', in Teologia
aberta ao futuro, Sao Paulo: SOTER, 1997, pp. 77-98. Also (in Portuguese and
Spanish) in idem, '^Nuevos paradigmas o fin de una era teologica?':
servicioskoinonia.org/relat/227.htm.
24
Ibid., p. 82.
25
Ibid., p. 88.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 277

does not accept the absolute truth, of which their tradition is the sole
depository.

Brother Wayne Teasdale,26 Christian monk and experienced member

of the Parliament of World Religions, says, 'The radical changes that
are taking place everywhere are forcing us to embark on what we
might call a "second axial age". Like the first, this second one will lay
the foundations for a new global culture.'
In Teasdale's view, the second half of the twentieth century produced
events that will affect our lives and civilization for centuries to come
and have implications for this new axial period. For him the Second
Vatican Council was one of these events, and the convocation of the
Parliament of Religions in 1993, while it did not have such radical
significance, will still help us move toward this new age. A new world-
wide sacred community is in process of taking shape, and this will
require us to develop the skills needed to form part of it. These include
dialogue, sustainable economic and social orders, capacity for conflict
resolution, a world-wide ethics, a universal spirituality, willingness to
share, transparency, and trust. We shall need to be respectful and
willing to listen attentively to others, to ourselves and to Earth itself.
The second axial age will also involve changing from our exclusively
humanity-centered culture to an earth-centered and cosmos-centered
one.
'Such a radical and significant evolution [or metamorphosis] toward a
world culture reconciled with Earth necessarily includes an active role
for the religions. Just as there will not be peace in the world until the
religions are at peace, so we shall not arrive at a new approach to life,
to culture, and a new form of co-existence between humanity and
nature without the support of faith-based groups responding to the
urgent need \ 27
Like the first, the second axial age will have consequences that are not
limited to the religious sphere. It will have a similar effect on humanity
itself, at the deepest levels of its consciousness and in the way it relates
to nature, to Earth and to the cosmos. Given the extraordinary reach of
this process, the need for mutual acceptance and understanding among
religious bodies - which is what adopting a pluralist position in our
theology of religions ultimately means - automatically follows in the
light of the epic changes taking place. Only those wrapped up in their
own little universe and bound by the strictures of their particular faith
tradition can today opt for stances of exclusion inclusion. When we

'Sacred Community at the Dawn of the Second Axial Age', in J. Beversluis (ed.),
Sourcebook of the World's Religions, California: New World Library, 2000, p. 239.
21
Ibid., p. 240.
278 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

open our eyes to the unlimited possibilities all around us, we realize
that, in spite of our hesitation and misgiving, we are all in fact being
sucked up into a whirlwind of change that it is going to deposit us in a
new world where plurality and pluralism will form its very framework
Faced with this experience, trivial theoretical objections carry no
weight

18.1.8 The past: Recovering the spiritual history of the human race
Our human species has trod the earth for maybe almost four-and-a-half million
years, 28 the last half of that time on two legs 29 Three hundred thousand years
ago we discovered fire30 in what was undoubtedly a critical episode for the
awakening of our spiritual consciousness Anthropologists and archeologists
tell us that seventy thousand years ago we began to show signs of distinctly
spiritual actions and values, even though traces of religious behavior show up
throughout the last half-million years 3 1
Anthropologists such as Joaquim Wach, B Mahnowski, Joseph
Campbell, and Mircea Ehade do not start out by investigating existing religious
beliefs, but rather they study the remnants of the oldest traditions, which they
believe are still reflected in the rituals and customs of recent centuries and
decades 32
Creation itself is basically spiritual, and has been since it began,
evidencing a divine force of co-creative power in a variety of ways From the
very start of their evolution, human beings felt themselves a part of this
spiritual universe, equipped as they were to make that commitment We
humans have been praying and worshiping in an intentional and organized way
for last seventy thousand years - long before organized religious systems were
ever dreamed of During the larger part of the Paleolithic era (between 40,000
and 10,000 BC) we were involved in a complex and very creative form of
spiritual expression related to the Mother Goddess 33
The deeper scholars of human pre-history dig, they find not illiteracy,
lack of culture, or man-eating savagery (as our image of ourselves projected

I am closely following here data presented by D O Murchu in Reclaiming

Spirituality A new spiritual framework for today's world, New York Crossroad, 1997,
p 31 The numbers are continually changing, always moving towards earlier dates On
10 July 2002 the major world media carried the news of the discovery in Chad of a
cranium 7 million years old, that of the earliest humanoid on record
29
The age generally attributed to homo erectus
30
The dates are still quite uncertain Some assign the date 600,000 BC to the discovery
of fire, Swimme and Berry take it back to a million and a half years ago
31
Archaeologists report that one of the main criteria for identifying sites as definitely
human is discovery of religious symbols in the burial sites J Hick, God has Many
Names, London SCM Press & Philadelphia, PA The Westminster Press, 1982, p 24
32
O Murchu, Ibid, p 36
33
Ibid, p 53
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 279

unthinkingly on them might suggest) They find spiritual beings organized into
communities, adapted to the world at that stage in the evolutionary process 34
At the core of this vital culture there was an ability to grow and develop in
harmony with evolving nature, in a telluric and cosmic community of inter-
relation and inter-dependence between human beings and nature During the
greater part of the time we have lived on earth, our species has been belonged
to a planet rather to a nation We have existed in close union with Planet Earth
as our cosmic home, and there is growing evidence that we have felt very much
'at home' on the planet The rejection of nature and the world so prevalent in
recent times was unknown during the greater part of our evolving history 35 For
tens of thousands of years we co-existed harmoniously with Earth, and our
existence was intimately bound up with hers 'Primitive' human beings looked
upon our planet as everybody's natural dwelling place, and no isolated group
claimed exclusive property rights to it People did not feel the urge to conquer
the world Earth was to them a living being, the incarnation of the Great
Goddess herself, who nurtured and fed her creatures out of her remarkable
fertility and endless plenty It would have been unthinkable for any of them to
want to rise up against the breast that fed them
What probably strike us most are the intricate artwork and creativeness
of spirit that developed around the figure of Mother Earth, who held mankind's
collective devotion for some thirty-five thousand years (from 40,000 to 5000
BC) The weightiest evidence of this period is made up of a large number of
surviving art objects from the Ice Age,36 which began about 25,000 BC and
began to decline at the start of the Agricultural Revolution around 8000 BC
There is much evidence for worship of the goddess during the first stage of the
Paleolithic Period, from 40,000 to 10,000 BC The religious and spiritual
significance of this cult, though questioned for a long time, is now generally
accepted Most present day experts take a receptive and open approach,
recognizing tacitly or expressly how complex and profound the cult was One
of the best known specialists, Leroi-Gourhan, suggests that a better
understanding of ancient mythology is essential for arriving at an adequate
interpretation, which could then produce a sort of cosmological synthesis that
would demonstrate a highly developed holistic, intuitive, and spiritual
consciousness in the people of that time 37 Many of the values that energetic
groups of the prophetic avant-garde are working to restore today incorporate
the same archetypical values that humans lived by - more or less explicitly -
then, when the divinity they worshipped was feminine38

i4
Ibid, p 67
35
Ibid, p 58
36
We have only known about this art since 150 years ago Lascaux, in France, is the
place best known for the deposits
37
O Murchu D , Rehacer la vida rehgiosa, p 81
38
O Murchu gives a thorough description of these values Ibid
280 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

In most Christian milieus mentioning a female god worshipped by

human beings for so many thousands of years smacks of a relapse into the
paganism and primitive superstitions of a not-yet-civilized world. This stems
from ignorance or from closed minds. Even Christians who try to keep an open
mind are hindered in mind and spirit because in all their schooling, from
primary to university, they never had this view presented to them. To this
very day the language of our faith and spirituality is couched in predominantly
masculine terms.

18.1.9 Questions
Why do theology and spirituality make no mention of these things or refer to
any of these situations? Why does our sacred literature, biblical or theological,
pay absolutely no attention to our long and much-studied past? Why do so
many works of Christian spirituality deal only with our experiences in the
Christian churches as though God never existed before Christianity or outside
our little biblical Judeo-Christian world? We shall pick up these questions
later. For the moment, they are simply set down.
Are we perchance simply idealizing the past, a past as remote as
wrapped in the mist of distance? It is certainly hard to discuss that past and
what many recent studies are turning up and trying to share with us. Readers
should keep an open mind on these matters, most of which are still unknown to
most people, as well as being capable of arousing a fear of the unfamiliar in
virtually all of us, because of the novelty of their concepts and the prejudices
related to these matters in which we have, unconsciously, been brought up. But
in any case, and to show impartiality, it will be helpful to emphasize that not
everything in that past was necessarily good.
Toward 8000 BC, so only ten thousand years - a relatively 'short time'
- ago, a major change took place in the history our ancestors. The Agricultural
Revolution began, initiating an era that would last until the beginnings of the
Industrial Revolution around 1600 AD. Paleolithic times seem to have enjoyed
a favorable climate that produced plentiful vegetation and food crops. Its
spiritual focus on the prodigiously prolific great Mother Earth led humanity
was led to discover a better way of obtaining food than simple gathering,
through cultivating it. A basic division of labor led to a type of land
distribution that, in turn, created feelings of ownership and competition.
Rivalry began between tribes, converting the land into a measure of social
standing and power. The prototype City-State came into being, a concept and a
social entity involving exploitation - quite unknown till then in the history of
mankind.
Then began a dark era when the harmony between humans and nature
was ruptured, undermining the whole panoply of values that had grown up
around the feminine figure of the great Mother God. Then hunger for power

Ibid., p. 79.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 281

and for dominating others, for exploiting the very earth and other humans too,
began.

Birth of patriarchy
From that time on social relations have been determined by values of
dominance and conquest - the supreme masculine values that remain unbowed
today. Thus 'in order to buttress this questionable ethic, male patriarchs
thought up religion, promoting the image of an all-powerful masculine God
who could match the supreme male conqueror of the Earth. Could the
beginnings of organized religion be more crafty or spurious? Subconsciously -
or maybe consciously - this was an attempt to win divine power itself! Is
religion a spontaneous self-revelation of a loving God, or a crucial weapon in
the imposition of patriarchal dominance?'40 The reflections of Diarmuid 6
Murchu, which I am in the process of perusing, are very bold and may even
seem disrespectful, but they provide a graphic expression of the best of
present-day anthropological critique of religion, which we, using the
'hermeneutics of suspicion' already advocated; need to take note of here, even
if only in the form of questions.
Effectively, as stated above and generally accepted, the greater part of
our history has been ruled by the influence of the feminine pole as the main
organizing force of union and interaction between human beings and nature. It
was the Great Mother God that ruled over the cosmic harmony that endured for
so long. Only toward the end of our history (in a mere ten thousand years!) has
the feminine prevalence disappeared, to be replaced by patriarchy as a social
construct in human society.

Social and religious constructs

With the coming of the Agricultural Revolution, human beings began to create
a picture of God - 'in their own image and likeness' - as Supreme Patriarchal
Father, designed to fit the needs of the new patriarchal and exploitative
agricultural society. Human beings began to aspire to be like God. A religious
ideology had been invented that allowed some human beings to dominate
others - as God presumably did. Thus the vicious circle that turned human
beings in on themselves was complete, with God made part of the circle.
This state of things was most intensely embodied in the migrations of
nomadic groups first encountered around 4500 BC. They included the Kurgans
of eastern Europe, the Arians in India, the Akhaioi in Greece, and a short time
later the Hebrews in Canaan (Palestine), documented in the Bible. Led by
warriors and powerful priests, they sought to conquer and subjugate other
peoples in the name of a masculine conquering God whom they aimed to
represent and serve. The figure of the victorious chief on horseback became a
symbol adopted in religion and politics for many centuries afterward.

Ibid. p. 72.
282 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

The beginnings of organized religions

It was not until the final stages of the Agrarian Revolution that what we
recognize as organized religions appeared on the scene - those we now know
as world religions We can trace evidences of Hinduism as far back as the
middle of the third millennium BC, giving it an approximate age of 4,500 years
and making it the oldest of the world religions Before that time worship rituals
and spiritual traditions had come into use among most of the human groups,
but formally organized religions as we know them did not exist
We have already spoken of the axial age as the context in which they
came into being, so we take that as a given Let us simply add that these
organized religions had definite identities, based on the ideas about God they
worked with By this time mankind had developed the art of writing, which
helped the religious groups to record their traditions in a more fixed form All
of them used texts from their respective scriptures41 to justify and sacralize
their vision Their premise and conviction were that God had inspired the
writings, and that these contained God's actual words, as they had been
spoken The problem with organizing religions in this way is that they rest on
the supposition that God speaks, thinks, and acts in the same way we do, thus
reducing the divinity to an entity that we are able to comprehend and control
Small wonder, then, that for ages and ages we have looked to the deity to give
a stamp of approval to things such as slavery, the subjugation of women,42
apartheid, conquest of other nations, the exploitation of other human beings,
wars of aggression, and so on 43
Well organized, with controlling hierarchies, depositories of God's
word and champions of orthodoxy - despite every effort they make to identify
themselves with the divinity, they cannot shake off their own human greed,
institutional interests, and an inevitable dark side composed of fear, escapism,
legalism, domination, and subservience to oppressive and idolatrous structures
Their victims throughout history have been multitudes, but most of them were
forced to bow to their omnipresent power It is only in modern times, when
society has advanced and matured, with victims rebelling and a growing
consciousness of religion's shortcomings, accentuated by this 'second axial
age', that religious bodies have entered into a crisis with no visible solutions
So we have closed the circle and come back to the current state of the
world religions, after having taken a quick tour through the pre-history of
humankind, which we had not looked at before We can hope this makes the
aim of this chapter a little clearer

In some cases, during thefirststage, we are dealing with 'oral texts'

The advent of formal religions, added to that of the patnarchate, has had mainly
negative consequences for women Women get the worst of things in all the great
religions At the present the religion under which women have the greatest difficulty in
being accepted seems to be Islam
43
O Murchu, ibid , p 76 I am here following his lead
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 283

Religions and spirituality

Let us first return to the distinction already made between religion and
spirituality. Spirituality is earlier than religion and goes much wider and
deeper. Earlier, because religions started 'yesterday', while spirituality has
always been a part of human make-up. Wider, since religion is only one form
of spirituality, a form that exists at determined points in history in the form of a
response to the specific needs of humankind's development. Deeper, because
religions are methods or means to an end, while spirituality is an intrinsic part
or feature of human beings that expresses itself through these means or
channels.
That said, we can draw a conclusion: the sphere of religions is a very
limited one. It is not that 'sphere of the deepest and widest reality' that we
imagined when we still confused religion with the world of the spirit, 'the map
with the territory'.44
Relating this more closely to our subject matter, we can say: the classic
theology of religions, the theology of religious pluralism, and inter-religious
dialogue are all very important, but with a limited bearing. When all is said and
done, they amount to a very small world. If we are not careful, we shall restrict
everything to 'among religions', in a conversation between conduits that can
try to confuse themselves with the absolute for which they seek to serve as
channels.
From the standpoint that takes in all of human history, a 'dialogue
among religions', or even more, a theology 'of religions' must needs fall short.
We must not think of integral pluralism only 'with regard to religions'. It
requires an attitude of openness toward all the responses of human beings to
the divine, in the times prior to formalized religions, as well as the responses of
the religion that will follow after the formal religions. A genuine pluralist
attitude for today ought to lead us to dialogue with and acceptance of not only
the religious groups that arose in the axial age, but also those that existed
previous to it and those that might emerge as 'deutero-axial'. These all
represent spiritual and religious quests and answers that human beings have
raised, are raising, and without doubt will raise in the future, in very creative
ways.
With the aid of this all-encompassing picture of human history, the
theology of religions widens its area of interest. No longer can we be satisfied
with answers formulated on the basis of theological categories taken from the
religions, from within their presuppositions and limitations. The wider picture
raises more penetrating questions, while the old ones seem shallow or simply
fade away.

I refer to a poster on which Knitter's words appear: 'Religions are maps, not the
territory itself: servicioskoinonia.org/posters.
284 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

Spirituality versus religion

This would be a good place to pick up the other question that we left pending
earlier. Why are classical theology and spirituality so silent about all this
religious macro-history and pre-history of humanity? Why is their field of
vision limited to the Judeo-Christian lighthouse, as though God, too, were
encased in that mini-world and unable to speak about anything other than the
saga extending from Abraham to Jesus, or to act in any other way, as though all
the rest of human history contained no other spiritual references, or any useful
theological categories, or any traces of God's presence?
To answer the question: this enclosure of our theology into a box is
only the outcome of the very enclosure we have undergone inside the self-
deified lighthouse of the religions. They have raised themselves into the
privileged and only setting in which God acts, as though justified by a sort of
eternal pre-existence that made them the supreme embodiment of wisdom, an
authentic and direct channel of divine revelation, the only means of making
God's revelation available to us, and the essential dimension of any kind of
religious practice or contact with the divine.
It is these self-imposed limitations and lack of understanding that
cause bad feelings between the organized religions and the spiritual
effervescence of today's world. Sincere people everywhere are experiencing a
hunger for spirituality - not for religion or religions - and are trying a thousand
ways of finding it. The sad fact is that a lot of such seekers are misunderstood
and rejected by official representatives of religion, who in practice are unable
to comprehend what is happening in the real world. For that very reason the
religious bodies often become real stumbling blocks in the way of the spiritual
growth of individuals or societies
After this broadening of our horizons, we should be able to broaden the
horizon of our pluralist approach, because God (the Great Mother God?) did
not wait for the organized religions to appear on the stage for the last act of
human history. He/She has been active in the cosmos since the beginning,
lavishing works of co-creativity during thousands of millions of years and
receiving a response from the human race - especially over the last seventy
thousand years, so from long before organized religions made their entrance -
of equally co-creative participation. 'The evidence we are uncovering today
makes it clear that the response from our early ancestors was as genuine,
comparatively speaking, in its time as ours is in our time.'45
We need, then, to shift from the area of religion to that of spirituality.
What really matters for us humans is not religion but spirituality. The main
pluralist approach we need to adopt is not only toward the great religions but
must embrace both great and small, as well as all the other kinds of responses
human beings make to God's ever-ongoing co-creating action. 'Contrary to the
opinion of religious experts, spirituality, not religion, is the primordial source

6 Murchu, Ibid., p. 78.

 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 285

of our quest for meaning, and it also provides a far more coherent path to a
comprehensive experience of divine revelation. So it follows that one of the
main prophetic tasks for spirituality in the present age - as in all others - is to
show religion its own dark side. Religion is not, and never has been, the
principal source of spirituality. Religion is not, and has never set out to be, the
single or even main channel of God's revelation to human beings. Religion is
much more a human creation than a divine. History and anthropology both
witness to the fact that religion in all its forms is so closely connected with the
patriarchal drive to divide and conquer that it really is not at home outside this
specific environment. It is built into a blown-up view of reality that leads us to
imbue it with a primordial significance, to view it as eternal, when in reality it
only appeared on the scene about 4,500 years ago. We have to deconstruct this
inflated image of religion, or at least cut it down to size, so we can concentrate
on recovering the true account of our evolutionary development as earth
dwellers. That means our dealing with, and relating to, God the co-creator who
is at the heart of spirituality, but not necessarily of religion.'46

Jesus in this new axial age

For myself, I should like to conclude all these 'dangerous' thoughts and
theories by connecting them directly with Jesus of Nazareth. This is not to seek
a 'Christian' answer, (that of Christianity), but to make our own the reply Jesus
might give today, a possible Jesus-type answer. We often assume an identity
between Jesus and Christianity that does not exist. We so blithely take on the
assumptions Christianity - like all other organized religions - has made about
itself, in the sense of justifying itself on the basis of the person of Jesus, that
we too generally take statements made about or by Christianity as being about
or by Jesus. Let us shake off our sloth and our fear of telling ourselves the
truth: this is simply not so. The meaning of Jesus lies way beyond what the
Church is or what organized religion is.47
We generally take for granted that Jesus 'came' to 'found a religion',
and so we close our eyes to the undeniable historical truth that Jesus never
thought about a Church or a new religion. It was others - people, social
groupings and situations - who created Christianity in his name, a religion that,
while it has played its role as such, has done so at the cost of disguising the
truth about Jesus and his project. What he proposed was a Utopia of universal
dimensions, beyond churches and even religions, which he called 'malkuta
Yahweh, the reign of God. This merits comparison with the greatest Utopias of
history, with the most far-reaching visions that speak to us of abundant life for
each person, for society, for earth and for the cosmos.

Remember the distinction made earlier in lessons 10 and 12 between the historical
Jesus of Nazareth, who has no problem with pluralism, and the Christ of faith, who
cannot be reconciled with it.
286 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

A large part of humanity clearly regards Jesus as the source of deep inspiration
that surpasses the weak and shortsighted vision of the religion that traces its
origins to him. Jesus is somewhere else, among the ranks of all the women and
men who throughout history have struggled to promote the complete
fulfillment of human beings, together with the universe, through an encounter
with God. Jesus never said he wanted a new religion, nor a reformed one, but
something - the Kingdom - that is 'in' but also 'beyond all religions'.
Jesus himself told us all this from the beginning, but it got buried
under the construction of the Christian religion (which kept Jesus covered over
too for so long a time). Today it takes on new relevance and importance with
the prospect of a new axial age, in which religions may be approaching the end
of their historical age, and when an epoch-making transformation, a global
metamorphosis, in which Jesus' message appears tailor-made for the moment,
is just over the horizon. It is the entire world, mankind and all created beings,
that yearn for this new era when religions will overcome their defects in search
of a macro-pluralism that recognizes no religious boundaries.

Lessons to learn
• All of this 'broadening our outlook' or overall view forms a part of the
general epistemological revolution that human knowledge, including
our religious experience, is going through. Nowadays human beings
are reflecting on themselves, on the possibilities of their own
understanding, on nature and what conditions their religious
experience, on how far their own sense of existence itself is a human
construct. All of this 'science of meaning' is forcing us on to a 'second
degree' of knowledge, where we lose our unquestioning innocence.
• All this may inspire fear and confusion in more than one reader. It may
even seem outlandish to a lot of us. It is natural to resist the very
thought of these theories if they have never been put to us before, even
in the form of doubts. Never matter. We are not being forced to agree
with them. It is more sensible to 'suspend judgment', give ourselves
some time to think things through, and let them percolate through our
subconscious, allow them to raise doubts and questions in our minds
and leaven the mass of things that we 'knew for sure'. It is probable
that the speed with which we are acquiring new kinds of knowledge at
present will bring us to the moment when, as we look them over once
more, these theories will seem more likely to be true. This same thing
happens in society: society needs time to absorb the radical changes in
contemporary thinking. We need more time. It may take generations...
• As human beings, we are children of our times. Only a few exceptional
geniuses think originally or are 'inspired' (succeed in understanding
what might be within the grasp of us all). The rest of us, for however
creative and different we think (or feel) we are, remain within the
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 287

limits set by how far our society in general has progressed. World-
wide advances sweep over us and threaten to overwhelm us. For that
reason it is a good thing to get acquainted with them, and at least try to
understand them.
• It is clear that the subject of the theology of religions and interreligious
dialogue forms part of a broader and much deeper process than a
simple change of paradigm (although changing a paradigm is itself no
simple task). It amounts to more than just a theoretical advance in
theology, or to a new stage in religious and theological renewal, like so
many others.
• All of our theological constructs, however gravely and seriously we
take them, however dogmatically certain we are, even to the point of
anathematizing those who do not believe us, are still no more than
provincial opinions, inscribed within conditioning circumstances far
beyond us. They are 'child's play'.

18.2 Suggested Activities

• Do a group theoretical study and make a practical approach to 'new

religious groups'. After studying their main features with the help of
written sources, try to arrange a dialogue with some of them. Draw up
a list of conclusions and results.
• Have several members of the group who are able to investigate the
features and practices of spirituality in primitive societies make a
presentation on the subject. Try to identify any groups that practice
ancestral religious rituals and traditions in the country where you live.
• Personally read one of the classic works by the best historians of
religion, such as Mircea Eliade.
• Exchange views on the audacious topic of 'Jesus beyond religions'. If
we really were living in a new axial era and moving toward a new
world-wide form of religious expression, what would be a proper stand
to take in the debate going on in the theology of religions?
PART III: ACT
Chapter 19

The Death and Resurrection of Mission

We now come to a key issue, one of the most sensitive points for the Christian
Churches in terms of the consequences the new theology of religions or theol-
ogy of religious pluralism - mission. The mission must not suffer, it must lose
nothing of its status, its urgency, its motivation - this is probably the first de-
mand Christian institutions will make of this new theology.
Taking as a basis the discussion of the previous chapters, we are now in
a position to discuss in detail this delicate subject, which also takes us forward
into the realm of operational conclusions (ACT) of our course.

19.1 Discussing the topic

19.1.1 A distinction: the "great mission" and "missionary mission"

The word "mission" has two major senses, as well as subsidiary meanings. One
is "task", "activity", "assignment". The other is the sense of "sending, going
forth, going to another place to carry out there a task entrusted to one".
In the last few centuries the word "mission" has referred to the sending
of "missionaries" to the frontiers of the Church to preach the Gospel to non-
believers to convert them and incorporate them into the Church. In this techni-
cal sense, the word appears mainly after the start of European expansion.1 This
meaning brings us up against the missionary mission carried out in the
Church's "missions", by "missionaries".
In recent decades, in addition to this meaning, there has been a redis-
covery of the meaning that refers to the Church as a whole: the mission of the
Church, its task, its core activity, its, the aim to which its existence and action
should be directed. This mission is not "missionary", but "the Church's great
mission", the "global mission", the "Christian mission" as such, the mission
the Church has to carry out, not only in the missions but also in the very body
of the Church itself, everywhere, and a mission for all Christians.
This chapter will deal with mission in the specific sense of missionary
mission, also called technically the mission ad gentes (i.e. to the "Gentiles", to
non-Christians). Nonetheless this missionary mission cannot be disconnected
from the way the Church thinks of the global mission. Therefore I want to start
by looking at ways of thinking of the Church's global mission.

P. Suess, Evangelizar a partir dos projetos historicos dos outros, Sao Paulo Paulus,
1995, p. 103.
292 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

19.1.2 The great mission of the Church: various interpretations

The nature of a religion can be deduced from the way it understands its mis-
sion, its core activity, its aim. We can say to religions: "Tell me what you want
and I'll tell you who you are." The heart of a religion is the sense, the under-
standing, it has of its own mission. In this sense it is obvious that within the
same institution, under the same religious label, there are many different relig-
ions. Christianity is one in theory, but there are many Christianities, or types of
Christianity. The same name covers very different, and even contradictory,
versions of Christianity.2
I am going to attempt a general classification of five main types of
Christianity, in terms of their reading, or interpretation of the (great) Christian
mission, because in each case the conceptualization of the "missionary mis-
sion" will vary correspondingly. Let us begin.

• There is a theoretical or doctrinal Christianity. In this God is under-

stood as Truth which came to reveal itself, and our faith response im-
plies above all intellectual acceptance of the truths revealed and depos-
ited in the Church: the core of the Christian mission is to live "in the
faith of the Church"; not to become separated from it through heresy or
unorthodoxy is the main concern. For this type of Christianity (very
frequent in history), the missionary mission consists in passing on to
others the revealed truths, the truth of the faith. And the most impor-
tant activity is "preaching the Gospel", "bringing all human beings to
knowledge of the Truth".
• There is a moral Christianity that understands a human being's life on
earth as a moral test that God has subjected us to, that operates be-
tween sin and forgiveness and brings us to a final reward or punish-
ment in function of the merits or sins we have accumulated. In this
type of Christianity the mission consists of passing the moral test, win-
ning eternal salvation. There is no historical activity in the strict sense.
This world is simply an "opportunity to earn" salvation. In this type of
Christianity (also very frequent in history), the missionary mission
consists in making non-Christians aware of their danger of damnation
and preaching God's Law to them to bring them to salvation.
• There is a spiritual Christianity that places salvation on a separate,
higher (meta-physical) plane, mediated sacramentally. Salvation is su-
per-natural and takes place in the "life of grace"; we take part in it
through worship and the 'spiritual life" (prayer and the Church's sac-
raments) that therefore become the central element of the global Chris-
tian mission. In this Christianity the missionary mission consists in go-
ing to non-Christians to make them sharers in the life of grace through

2
Alfredo Fierro, Teoria de los cristianismos, Estella: Verbo Divino, 1982.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 293

their incorporation into the Church, in which they can receive the sac-
raments, the channels of grace.
• There is a Church-centered Christianity in which the Christian Church
is the principal means instituted by God to make salvation available, so
that the principal mission of its members is to build it and give it en-
ergy. In turn, the missionary mission consists in implanting the Church
among non-Christian peoples and, logically, securing the conversion of
the non-Christians, to incorporate them into the Church, which is their
only possibility of salvation.
• There is another type of Christianity that understands itself in terms of
an historical interpretation or reading of reality, conceived as a "his-
tory of salvation" and simultaneously as the "salvation of history". In
this version God has a plan for history in which human beings form a
family, a Utopian "dream" (the Kingdom!), and has offered it to human
beings as a Utopia, giving it to them as their task in history. For this
type of Christianity, this is "the great Christian mission" and, within
that, the "missionary mission" consists in going out to the other peo-
ples to collaborate in the construction of God's great project, a project
they too are building - possibly with other names and other mediations
- and which is always the priority, so that the great task is sharing mu-
tually in this joint building of God's project in history.

This is one way of classifying and subdividing the types or models of Christi-
anity so summarily presented here.3 It is important to realize that in the reality
of history a particular version of Christianity may have features of various
models at the same time; the distinctions are simply a methodological proce-
dure to aid understanding.
For each of these types of Christianity I have indicated how the great
Christian mission is understood, and the understanding of the missionary mis-
sion. It is clear that the second is always in a relation of dependence on the
first, and is almost part of it.
And so it turns out that there is neither a single model of Christianity
nor a single model of mission. In history there have been, and there are also
today, many different models of both Christianity and the Christian missionary
mission.
And just as there are models of Christianity (including some of those
listed above) that seem today to lack any basis and should be abandoned, so too
the missionary mission deriving from them should also be considered outdated
and similarly abandoned.

3
It is developed a little more in J.M. Vigil, "i Cambio de paradigma en la teologia de
la liberation?", Alternativas 8 Managua (June 1997) pp 27-46, and in RELaT 177.
294 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

I shall now leave what I have called the "great mission of the Church" and
concentrate on the missionary mission, the mission activity carried out by indi-
viduals or communities among non-Christians

19.1.3 A critical review of the missionary mission: historical fact and its
theoretical basis

19 1 3 1 Review of historical fact

Mission has a history that emerges from any cntical analysis with a balance of
shadows and doubts Before attempting a discernment on the validity of mis-
sion today, it is important to evaluate also what mission has been in the past
The most striking general fact that appears when we look at the history
of mission is the violence connected with the process of evangelization It is
true that today Christianity is numerically the world's biggest religion, with
1,800 million adherents, approximately 30% of the human race This figure
and this percentage were not attainted without a very great effort of expansion
and evangelization, in different waves or cycles throughout history
But what leaps out in any critical review is the enormous quantity of
violence connected with this evangelization, from its very beginning This ap-
pears first at the moment when Christianity became a mass phenomenon in
society, in the 4th century Christianity is recognized socially, first as a tolerated
religion (313), then it is imposed as an obligatory religion (380), a state relig-
ion, the religion of a state that will persecute all other religions (390) The so-
ciety of the Roman Empire, which had its own religion, became Christian, not
through a free, patient, voluntary evangelization, but through the coercive force
of the empire,4 with the consent of Christianity, which had become the official
religion
Even today it is horrifying to think that a religion that for all most all
of its first three centuries was persecuted, turned in a few years into a religion
that persecuted This happened, not first in 390 with the Edict of Theodosius -
which banned throughout the empire, as crimes of lese-majeste, any non-
Chnstian worship, of whatever religion - but much earlier, a few decades after
313, with the persecution of the Jews 5
A big leap forward in history takes us to the period of the principle cu-
jus regio ejus religio, according to which the nation was obliged to follow the
monarch in the faith he or she adopted This was the period of the eternal "wars

Apart from the social advantages associated at the tune in converting to the new state
religion Christianity Cf R Velasco La Iglesia de Jesus Estella Verbo Divino, 1992,
pp 118ff
"Under Emperor Theodosius II burnings of synagogues became so frequent that the
majority of this Emperor's edicts are about the protection of Jewish synagogues and
houses " Gerhard Lohfink 6 Necesita Dws la Iglesia ?, Madrid San Pablo 1999 p
321
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 295

of religion" that devastated Europe because of the classification of religious

ideology as a public rather than a private matter, with the result that a religious
dissident (perhaps simply a non-believer) was automatically considered a po-
litical dissident, an enemy The suffocating weight of this social organization
of Christianity had to be thrown of by the natural law theories of a society
seeking liberation from the yoke of the religious institutions with their power-
ful influence Society had to bring about this liberation for itself, finding no
understanding, "against the Church", because the Church preferred its social
power to the freedom and purity of a voluntary faith The lack of lucidity of the
evangehzers (missionaries ad intra) led them to become champions of the bat-
tle against freedoms, against science, against the Enlightenment, against human
rights
I shall not describe the centuries in which the "purity of the faith" was
preserved in the face of heresies or other Christian denominations through the
enormous violence of the Inquisition and its countless victims
A particularly relevant chapter of the history of mission was that which
saw the unholy alliance between conquest and evangelization during the 15th to
18th centuries, the period of the first European expansion to Africa, Asia (be-
gun by Portugal) and America (begun by Spain) The unfading glory of excep-
tional prophetic missionaries cannot make up for the shameful period of history
in which mission in particular, and the churches in general, gave to the annihi-
lating conquest,6 in addition entrusting and subjecting the infant Church to the
Patronate of the conquering states 7 The commemoration of the recent Fifth
Centenary in 1992 created a sharp awareness of the need for a new discernment
about the missionary methods used by Christianity in that period
Another great chapter in the history of mission was opened by the new
burst of European colonialism directed at Africa8 and Asia from the 19th cen-
tury onwards 9 The missionaries followed the routes and used the support of

6
M Leon Portilla, El reverse de la conquista, Mexico Editorial Joaquin Mortiz, 1964,
191990, pp 21ff
Overall in many respects, evangelization and conquest formed part of a single his-
torical enterprise Cf, Riolando Azzi ,"Metodo Missionano e Pratica de Conversao na
Colomzacao", in P Suess (ed), Queimada e semeadura, Sao Paulo Vozes, 1988, pp
89-105
8
King Leopold of the Belgians said in 1861 "The sea washes our coastline, the world
lies at our feet Steam and electricity have eliminated distance Any land without an
owner anywhere on the surface of the globe, above all in Africa, should be turned into
the field of our operations and our success," Verapaz 59 (June 2003), p 49
9
At the Congress of Berlin in 1885 the European powers (France, England, Belgium,
Portugal and Germany) divided Africa between them into "zones of influence" Article
6 recognizes the freedom to preach under the protection of the colonial powers The
colonizers wanted the missionaries to be of their nationality When a territory changed
hands, the old missionaries were replaced by missionaries of the same nationahn as
296 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

the colonial metropolitan powers, and the powers supported the missionaries as
a force for their moral legitimacy and cultural expansion, 10 ever since, the
word "mission" has been sullied in countries where evangelization coincided
with colonization According to Rutti,11 the whole modern missionary enter-
prise has been so poisoned by its original connection with Western colonialism
that it is irredeemable and a completely new image has to be found for today
Speaking at a consultation in Kuala Lumpur in February 1971 Emento Nacpil
described mission as "a symbol of the universality of Western imperialism
among the emerging generations of the Third World ' 2 The present structure of
modern mission is dead The first thing to be done is to give it a decent burial
In the present system the most missionary service a missionary can perform in
Asia today is to go back home " Also in 1971, the Kenyan John Gatu, speaking
to the American Reformed Church in Milwaukee (correct name) , suggested a
moratorium on Western missionary activity in Africa 13
This handful of references to the contradictions involved in missionary
mission is another trigger for our "hermeneutics of suspicion" 14 Can a good
tree produce rotten fruit'? How is it possible that the missionary spirit, the zeal
for evangelization, should have produced this history of violence and error17
What is the source of this permanent feature in a history of two thousand years
of missionary activity7 Is it the personal or collective faithlessness of mission-
aries, in other words, a "sin of some sons and daughters of the Church" (indi-
vidual personal cases) or a "sin of the Church itself (in its doctrine, its struc-
ture, its historical practice)7
Guided by our hermeneutical suspicion, we shall look for elements of
theory that may have been the cause of these evils, malign roots of the tree of
evangelizing mission

19 1 3 2 Review of theoretical principles

In human history theory and practice cannot be separated Facts are never
value-free, nor can actions be immune to the influence of theory On the one
hand, every idea, every theory, even the most clearly idealistic, has a practical
impact, through direct action, by implication, or by omission Ideas make the
world go round they set it in motion or halt it, block and paralyze it for centu-

the new owner Cf Jean Comby, La Histona de la Iglesia Estella Verbo Divmo,
6
1995,p 152
10
See Related Readings for this chapter, the text referring to the Chamber of Com
merce of Le Havre
Zur Theologie der Mission, Munich Kaiser Verlag, 1972
Whom Does the Missionary Serve and What Does He Do 9, in Missionary Service in
Asia Today Hong Kong Chinese Christian Literature Council, 1971, pp 76-80
For these and other testimonies, see D Bosch, La transformazione delta misswne,
Brescia Quenniana, 2000, p 715
See Chapter 5 of our course
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 297

ries, or make it change, revolutionize it. It has been well said that "there is
nothing more practical than a good theory" because it makes action possible,
generates it, lights its path, gives it power and, in uniting with it, produces
something new. And conversely, every activity, even the most value-free, con-
tains elements of theory, again directly or indirectly, by implication or omis-
sion.
Behind these twenty centuries of evangelization there is also a history
of missionary ideas, though, curiously, missiology did not develop as a disci-
pline until the 20th century. Nevertheless, and no less powerfully for all that
they may have been unconscious, it was impossible that underlying every mis-
sionary attitude there was not a "theology" that caused or justified it.
This section will present a critical catalog of some of the main theo-
logical ideas - as it were, the basis for mission in dogmatic theology - that
were the driving ideas, the main justifications or legitimations, underlying the
historical missionary practice analyzed in the last section.

19.1.3.3 The universal saving will of God

The concept of the universal saving will of God is obviously not a theological
error, but a fundamental truth; but what may be an error is the particular way it
was understood in practice. The New Testament maxim, "God desires every-
one to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim 2.4),15 was
in practice understood as meaning: "God desires everyone to be saved and
come to the knowledge of our truth." Because the Truth belongs to us, and
therefore God wants our truth to be preached, proclaimed, spread and accepted
by all. And anyone who does not accept it is opposing the will of God and is an
enemy of God." The universality of God's saving will was almost always un-
derstood in terms of a universality defined on the basis of a Western Christian
particularity.
Even today we are still not clear about the distinction between saving
Truth and the Western Judeo-Christian forms in which the truth has been ex-
pressed,16 and in previous periods this was even more the case. Because of this,
the conviction that God desires everyone to come to the knowledge of (our)
truth has been a very dangerous weapon in the hands of the West in the past
twenty centuries. An incorrect understanding of this statement about God's
universal saving will, interpreted as an undoubted backing for our Truth,
caused - and continues to cause - great damage to the human race. It has west-
ernized the world. It has crushed cultures and peoples in the name of this sup-

See the Related Reading for this Lesson referring to the "Mass for the evangelization
of peoples".
And there may be a long way still to go. "In the Santo Domingo conference of Latin
American bishops (1992) it became clear that accepting the challenge of inculturation
will continue to be a lengthy process," (P. Suess, Evangelizar a partir..., p. 111).
298 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

posed divine missionary will It has made the world uniform in various ways -
economically, commercially, culturally, under Western-Christian domination

1913 4 "We are the new Chosen People"

I am not thinking here of any metaphorical content this statement may have as
"biblical theology", but of its interpretation as a straightforward affirmation,
neither symbohc nor metaphorical, but literal and absolute, which is the way it
has historically been preached, sensed and understood by Christians 17
This is one of the theoretical convictions underlying the missionary
practice full of violence that we have just discussed It is probably one of the
theoretical elements that has done most damage to Christianity as such by cre-
ating the basis - unconscious above all - for the arrogant and domineering atti-
tude, the contempt for all other religions, that is almost universally held against
Christianity
Even if we apply to ourselves the same reminders the Old Testament
constantly gives the Jewish people not to think that they were chosen for their
own merits, the awareness of being "the chosen ones" cannot but radically un-
dermine the possibility of an equal relationship between the chosen and the not
chosen The chosen people is the one that has been preferred by God, it is
closer to God, the sole depositary of revealed truth, the people that bears wit-
ness to God for the others, the one that has been given the task of saving all
humanity and therefore invested with a messianic , saving mission - for the
sake of the world
This aspect has a direct connection with Chnstology the other relig-
ions were founded by human beings, the Christian religion was founded by
God in person, in the person of his Son And this "direct thread ol connection
with God himself through Jesus" has all too frequently produced the explosive
short-circuit of the appropriation of the "authority of God almighty" by Church
authorities, and this has led to the most appalling aberrations in the history of
the Church 18 Not only Church authorities, but also ordinary Christians, have
been led by this conviction to call on God or his protective mediations - the
Virgin of the Rosary against the Turks, the Virgin of Victories against the
Amerindians, Saint James the "slayer of the Moors" - to intervene against their
enemies
This two thousand-year old error has of course has wide currency
among ordinary Christians , and is still influential Fortunately, however, it is
now in crisis There are theologians who have abandoned the classical apolo-
getical justification of this principal, and are beginning to propose openly that
it should be abandoned 19

This subject was mentioned in Chapter 9

18
For examples see the Readings for Chapter 5 on Alexander VI and Nicholas V
Cf A Torres Queiruga, "El dialogo de rehgiones en el mundo actual", en Gomis
(ed ),El Conciho Vaticano III, Barcelona Herder-El Ciervo 2001, p 70
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 299

19.1.3.5 Jesus' missionary mandate

Among scholars it is now more than two hundred years since the gospels began
to be subjected to critical study and seen in a different light. But among the
majority of Christians, until no more than a few decades ago - and often even
today among less educated people - in general the gospels were interpreted lit-
erally. Everything the gospels presented as said by Jesus was believed to have
been said historically by him, and by a Jesus aware that he was the eternal Son
of God.
This encouraged a very linear, simple and direct model of interpreta-
tion: God has revealed his will to us in Jesus, Jesus tells it to us, we believe it
and obey it. From us we move directly to God, who is in Jesus. God himself is
telling us everything the gospels say Jesus said.
Mission formed part of the same model: the missionary mission was
believed to come directly from God, who, in Jesus, had passed it on to us with
his "missionary mandate", understood literally as historical truth. Jesus (and
God in him) was the origin and basis of mission. God himself had vested it
with all his authority, making it the extension of his saving action. Through
Jesus' "missionary mandate", mission enjoyed the strongest possible backing,
with no room for any doubt or limitation.
This very simple model, with its direct link to God, acted as the basis
for mission for generations, providing an incomparable security and absolute-
ness, with the all the resulting problems referred to in the two previous theo-
logical sections.
This position hit a crisis some time ago,20 and this crisis is now reach-
ing Christians in general. Today it is no longer possible to read the gospels in
the same way as we read a historical account or a newspaper report. Today it is
no longer possible to go to the missions believing that one is carrying out a
literal historical mandate of Jesus. Today there is a general consensus among
exegetes that the end of Mark's gospel is influenced by the concerns and
doubts of the first Christian communities.21 There is also general agreement
that theology (and spirituality) have still not understood the challenge pre-
sented to them by the results of the various waves of critical historical studies
about Jesus.22
To think simply that God brought his revelation to the world through Jesus and
through Jesus gives Christians as a task until the end of history to convert the

"There is scarcely a single competent New Testament scholar who is prepared to

defend the view that the four instances of the absolute use of T am' in John, or indeed
most of the other uses, can be historically attributed to Jesus," Adrian Thatcher, Truly a
Person, Truly a God, London: SPCK, 1990, p. 77.
F. Teixeira, F., Teologia de las religiones, Quito: Abya Yala, 2005, pp 19ff.
22
"In my opinion, Christological and ecclesiological discussion has not yet engaged
with the results of these new biblical studies,"R. Aguirre, "El Jesus historico a la luz de
la exegesis reciente", in RELaT 306.
300 J O S E M A R I A VIGIL

world to Christianity has all the features of a classical "grand narrative" It has
the power to inspire heroic souls and produce heroic gestures, but today it can
no longer be accepted by a Christian who has thought critically about his or her
faith, the sort of Christian a missionary should presumably be 23 In a literal in-
terpretation, such as was current for so many centuries, this can no longer be
accepted in good conscience as a theological justification for mission

19 1 3 6 The need to belong to the Church (exclusivism)

The idea of the need to belong to the Church to be saved is known, in the tech-
nical language of the theology of religions, as the doctrine of "exclusivism",
and the slogan that best epitomizes it is Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus, "Outside
the Church no salvation" It dominated Church thinking until about fifty years
ago, with more or less strictness according to the period sometimes it has been
understood literally and without exception, 25 and in other cases, especially in
the 20 th century, it was maintained formally,26 but given interpretations that
softened it 2 7
It is impossible to maintain that this tremendous error was a mere tra-
dition, or the opinion of a particular school, it was a clear, conscious, taught
doctrine, regarded as a "well known Catholic dogma", 28 and an "infallible
teaching" The Church officially committed its authority on this point, and
this doctrine of the necessity of the Church for the salvation of human beings
can be said to have been behind most missionary activity during the two
thousand years of Christianity's existence The majority of missionaries

It is horrifying to find that even quite recently manuals of missiology could be writ-
ten that make direct use of the "missionary mandate" and biblical references taken in a
complete literal and historical sense, as words supposedly uttered by the historical Je-
sus, or biblical quotations isolated from their context and taken as statements of an
absolute truth independent of time and space and without any critical historical inter-
pretation See, for example, Paulo De Coppi, For uma Igreja toda misswnaria Breve
curso de misswlogia, Sao Paulo Paulus, 1994
24
This has been dealt with in Chapters 6 and 7, and will not be discussed again here
The apogee of inflexibility must have been the Council of Florence, mentioned in
Chapter 3
26
A clear case is the letter from the Pope to Cardinal Cushing, Archbishop of Boston,
in 1949 about the rigid interpretation of the doctrine by Fr Leonard Feeney who in the
end, tragically, was excommunicated and placed outside the Church, precisely for
insisting that "Outside the Church there is no salvation "
27
There were references to those who belonged to the Church through "baptism of
desire", even if this desire was not explicit or even conscious
As Pius IX referred to it in Quomodo conficiamur moerore (1863) Various other
Popes referred to it in similar terms
"That infallible statement that teaches us that 'outside the Church there is no
salvation'", from the previously mentioned letter from the Holy Office to the
archbishop of Boston, American Ecclesiastical Review 127 (1952), pp 308-315 The
Latin original can be found in DS 3866 3872
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 301

throughout history have felt called to missionary work and have been sustained
in their often heroic efforts by the conviction that they were bringing salvation
to those to whom they preached, since without belonging to the Church it was
impossible to be saved
Make no mistake' This error isn't about some stray, marginal,
peripheral point, but about something absolutely central, the "business of the
salvation of humanity", its "eternal salvation" Just imagine what that might
mean to "missionary zeal for the salvation of souls", for Christians burning
with missionary charity
The prospect became more and more depressing From the time of the
so-called "discoveries" of "new worlds", the Church, which a few decades
earlier thought it had preached the Gospel to the whole world, discovered that
it was a small part of the human race, and that the majority of human beings
lay "in darkness and in gloom" (Ps 107 10) and are heading for eternal
damnation30 The argument - and the image of masses of men and women
plunging down to hell - stoked missionary zeal for centuries '
The "factor" of "eternal salvation" or its correlate, "avoiding
damnation" is clearly not a normal "datum" that can be mixed with ordinary
human realities It is really so different that when it is accepted and linked to
historical situations it produces a clear imbalance This is shown vividly by the
case of Fr Antonio Vieira, preaching to the African slaves in Brazil "Your
slavery is no misfortune, but a great miracle, because your ancestors are in hell
for all eternity, while you will be saved thanks to slavery "32
To free a non-Christian from hell is so precious an act - as "infinite",
indeed, as hell is "eternal" - that it unbalances all human reasoning the
enslavement of Africans could justly be considered good and miraculous - so
Vieira thought - if it saved them from hell By a similar thought process, it can
be seen as legitimate to conquer lands inhabited by other peoples, and "reduce"
them to the Catholic faith, if this brought them the infinitely greater good of
eternal salvation 33 For the same reason it is legitimate to baptize thousands of
pagans, practically without preparation or adequate understanding 34 If the

"Not a single drop of grace falls on the pagans," insisted the Jansemst Saint Cyran,
in a sort of heady sacred horror Cf Angel Santos, Teologia sistematica de la miswn,
Estella VerboDivmo, 1991, p 255
As it did the "apostolic zeal" for the mission ad intra
32
Antonio Vieira, "Sermao decimo quarto" (1633), in Sermdes, vol 4, tomo 11, n° 6,
Porto Lello&Irmao, 1959, p 301
See the quotation from Pope Alexander VI in Related Readings at the end of this
chapter
34
Francis Xavier, full of zeal for the salvation of the Asians who did not know Christ
and who - m his theology - were bound for eternal damnation, embarked on a
missionary Project full of zeal and urgency "In one month I baptized more than 10,000
people " {Cartas y escntos, Madrid Editorial Catolica, 1953, p 172) In the same text
he describes the content of his summary baptismal rite Apparently in a second stage he
302 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

Church is the privileged, unique, means of eternal salvation, the way is open
for all manner of unbalanced arguments.
Whenever doubt arose about whether the Church was necessary for
salvation, the identity of mission ran into a crisis. "If people can be saved
without missions, what's the point of missions?" was a recurring refrain in the
history of the Church down to the time of the Second Vatican Council, as
recently as 40 years ago. The reason is that most Christian missionary activity
was based on the error of exclusivism. Fortunately this error has now been
dismantled in Christianity, both Catholic and Protestant.

19.1.3.7 The negative view of religious pluralism

The negative understanding of religious pluralism is another great error used to
justify the classical missionary mission. Classically, Christians used to think
that religious pluralism was bad, contrary to God's will. It did not come from
God, but from his "enemy...who sowed tares during the night", and therefore
had to be combated by missionary efforts to convert the adherents of other
religions - and this was so important that almost any method was allowed. The
task of mission was complemented by that of ensuring that the sheep gathered
into the fold stayed there, by means of vigilance and violence (censorship and
the Inquisition).
Religious pluralism was simply a fact; it had no right to exist, and was
not God's will. It was evil and so had to be fought. The fight against this
undesirable pluralism, the desire to ensure that "from the rising of the sun to its
setting there should be offered throughout the world to your divine majesty the
one sacrifice",35 was one of the theological foundations of mission.
Today, fortunately, this theological error is on its way out, as is,
correspondingly, this type of classical mission hostile to religious pluralism.
This chapter has reviewed five theological components of the
justification for this historical model of missionary activity on which historical
discernment passes a negative judgment. For reasons of space, others will not
be discussed here, such as:
• the desire to bring to the whole world the universal redemption
achieved by the death of Jesus;
• the sense of the so-called "absolute character of Christianity"
• the conviction that "Christ alone saves";
• a mistaken view of the "glory of God".

changed his missionary approach. In a different part of the world, Toribio Motolinia
reports that by 1536 the religious of New Spain (Mexico) had baptized five million
indigenous people...
35
Cf the "Mass for the evangelization of peoples", included in the Related Readings
section.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 303

It will be obvious that these are premises that are undergoing a crisis, even if
some people intemperately and blindly proclaim the absolute validity of
mission, "as we've always done it", as though nothing has changed. When
parts of the foundations give way or vanish, the structure they supported may
collapse. This is what is happening today: not mission, but a type of mission,
no longer has any foundation or meaning; it may and should disappear.
I would like to end this section with some words of Reinholdt
Bernhardt, with whom I agree: "In this criminal history of Christianity,
responsibility rests, precisely, on the set of theoretical premises that made such
arrogance possible."36 The ideas, the theology of mission, were, consciously or
unconsciously, the triggers of those practices that discernment tells us today
were mistaken; they were the diseased roots that made the missionary tree
produce rotten fruit. And if theology was to blame, it is theology that now has
to cure these roots, so that the tree can produce sound fruit.
After this review of the history of mission, both in its practice and its
theory, we are in a position to ask the key questions:
• Is mission necessary?
• What sort of mission is valid today?

19.1.4 Is missionary mission necessary?

This question can be answered on three different levels.

19.1.4.1 It is NOT necessary for the salvation of the recipients

As late as 1949, the Catholic Church's "Holy Office" still officially regarded as
"infallible" the statement that "there is no salvation outside the Church",37 but
simultaneously it applied to it the previously mentioned interpretations that
made salvation outside the Church a distinct possibility. Of course, this
salvation outside the Church was regarded as an exception, as an abnormality
within God's plan. Today, when realize that this salvation outside the Church
is the "ordinary mode of salvation", we have to state bluntly that it is not, and
never was, true that there was no salvation outside the Church and that it is not,
and never was, true that missionary mission was necessary for the salvation of
non-Christians.
While having the highest regard and admiration for the faith and
missionary heroism of so many men and women who dedicated the best part of
their lives to evangelization on the basis of this theological opinion, we have to
recognize that it was not correct and that historically it was not beneficial. The
missionary mission that believes that that the salvation of others depends on
this mission has to be abandoned, because it adopts a theological position that
severely distorts the Christian message.

H. Bernhardt, La pretension de absolutez del cristianismo, Bilbao: Desclee, 2000, pp

315-316.
37
Letter from the Holy Office to the Archbishop of Boston. See above, note 29.
304 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

19 1 4 2 It IS NOT necessary for the recipients to reach the fullness of salva-

tion
This point refers to the theological positions that accept theoretically that there
is salvation outside the Church but in practice reduce it to an unacceptable
minimum, claiming that the religion of non-Christians is no more than a
"preparation for the Gospel", a "natural religion", something destined to be
brought to fullness by Christianity, but in reality its relation to salvation is
"seriously defective" Theoretically they admit that mission would not make
the difference between receiving salvation or not, but in practice they argue
that it does for receiving salvation worthy of the name, full salvation
At this point in time we have to insist that, where salvation is
concerned, God is no respecter of persons or of nations, that God accepts and
welcomes "in any nation anyone who does what is right" (Acts 10 35), and that
in questions of salvation there are no "peoples chosen to be saviors" of other
"peoples chosen to be left in a serious defective relation to salvation" In
relation to salvation, no-one is essentially inferior to anyone else
Of this second case, too, I would say that missionary mission that
thinks it is bringing the fullness of salvation to recipients suffering from a
severe lack of possibilities of salvation has also adopted a theological position
that severely distorts the Christian message

19 1 4 3 It IS necessary if all religions - including Christianity - are to reach

the fullness ofsahation and the fullness of their self-understanding
The reason for this is the infiniteness of the Mystery of God and its boundless
nches. and in the superabundance of its manifestations Although on his side
God reveals and gives himself completely, on our side no religion is capable of
accepting him and receiving him adequately On the other hand, God has
manifested himself in many different ways to so many peoples that it is
inconceivable that one religion could accumulate m itself all that all the other
religions have been able to perceive of him It is inconceivable that in practice
one religion encompasses all the mystery of God and has nothing to learn from
the others38
According to those theoretical principles, missionary mission (any
missionary mission, including a mission we might receive from other religions)
makes sense and is necessary for the fullness of salvation, of the missionaries
as much as of the recipients, from both religions This argument justifies, not
only classical mission (the sending of missionaries of one religion to
communities of another), but also inter-religious dialogue (which can be a
genuine interchange of the different "fullnesses of salvation" of each religion,
without missionaries or "missioned', but through a genuine exchange through
religious dialogue between representatives of the two religions Perhaps we
have reached a period in which, rather than sending missionaries to a different

Though it is a theoretical possibility

 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 305

religion, what we should do is attempt establish an inter-religious dialogue

between the two religions, an exchange of religious gifts and experiences. The
task is no longer to go out to save or make up the salvational deficits of
anyone, but to offer and receive, to share and enrich each other mutually with
the religious experiences of either side.
This means that mission continues to make sense, continues to be valid
and even necessary, but with the proviso that it must be a new type of
mission.39 There is a type of mission that no longer makes sense and must die,
to rise again in a new type of mission. Maybe some people will find old
mission unrecognizable in the features of the new type. Others will discuss
whether it is really the same and if there is real continuity between them. What
I think is crucially important is that the new type should be the only type of
mission practiced now and in the immediate future.

19.1.5 So what mission today?

• A mission that accepts sincerely and wholeheartedly that there is
salvation outside the Church, that there is much salvation outside the
Church, and that this is an autonomous salvation, independent of the
Church, in the hands of God alone.
• A mission whose consciousness is based on new theological
foundations, that bears a message totally reconstructed on a new basis.
This mission must abandon the exclusivism and inclusivism that
underpinned the whole structure of the old understanding of
Christianity. The only acceptable missionary activity today is one
based on a pluralist theology.
• A mission that does not think it is going to somewhere that is a
"soteriological vacuum", somewhere passed over by the hand of God,
to peoples left out of God's affection, not chosen, given a lower
priority than other peoples, or simply abandoned to their "beliefs" in a
severe "salvation deficit". This mission must be convinced that the
history of salvation is not coterminous with its religion and does not
leave anywhere there are human beings untouched by its grace. It must
be able to contemplate the presence of the history of salvation in these
peoples, as something that has always been there, in fullness.
• A mission that does not think that it is performing its task in a "Gospel
vacuum", without Good News brought by God to the recipients of the
mission "long ago, in many and various ways",40 and still being
brought today. This mission must try to listen to the Good News of
these peoples, ask them to proclaim to the missionaries the Good News
these peoples have for them, and receive it reverently and fruitfully. It

39
This new type of mission will be discussed in more detail later.
40
Hebl:l.
306 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

must value God's revelation to other religions, and specifically to these

peoples to whom it has been sent It must not treat the Holy Scriptures
of these peoples as very venerable "religious literature", but as the
authentic Word of God, of the One who speaks and breathes where he
wills and m the way he wills
A mission that takes the greatest care to differentiate between faith,
religion and culture, in order not to confuse them or attack them, even
unwittingly It must try to get to know, as well as possible, the culture
of these peoples, to adopt it and make it its own, translating itself into
their cultures and translating into their culture the religion and faith it
desires to share It must not impose an "outside culture" either as the
Gospel or as religion
A mission that does not seek to convert others, not as an ultimate goal
and not as any sort of goal l It must accept that, as things are today,
conversion will be the exception and also that conversion is possible in
either direction It should set a rule not to expect more conversions to
Christianity than from Christianity It must accept that the only
conversion to be sought, ultimately, is the conversion of all to God and
to his will, and that all reach him "along God's many paths" 42
A mission that has one of its motivations a sincere desire to meet, get
to know and welcome the religion of others and to incarnate itself in
it 43 to accept and discover with delight the capacity of the other
religion to mediate in the very relationship with the mystery of God

41
" In the age of the missions, which coincided with the conquest of the world by the
West, the Church's missionary vocation took the polarized form of converting non-
Chnstians In the age of ecumenism and inter-rehgious dialogue, however, the same
vocation must focus on bearing witness to the Kingdom that constantly goes beyond
the visible boundaries of the Church" (Claude Geffre, "Para un cnstiamsmo mundial",
Selecciones de Teologia 151/38 (1999), p 213), Id, La mission comme dialogue de
salut, quoted by F Teixeira, Teologia das religwes, Sao Paulo Paulinas, 1995, p 226)
See also Teixeira, p 227, note 442
42
A relevant example is that of Swami Vivekananda in his address to the World Par-
liament of Religions "Do I perhaps want Christians to become Hindus7 Good heavens,
no'" Perhaps I want Hindus and Buddhists to become Christians7 God forbid' The
Christian must not become a Buddhist or a Hindu, nor the Hindu or Buddhist become a
Christian Each should assimilate the others and at the same time preserve his or her
own individuality, and grow " In J H Barrows, The World s Parliament of Religions,
vol I, Chicago Chicago Publishing Co , 1983, p 170
43
This is being called "inreligionation", by analogy with "inculturation" Cf A Torres
Queiruga, A , Cnstiamsmo y rehgiones «Inrehgionacion» y cnstiamsmo asimetnco",
Sal Terrae 997 (Jan 1997), pp 3-19, (RELaT 241)
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 307

This mission accepts that its goal is "mutual enrichment and

communion in the spirit with members of other faiths".
• A mission that does not set out to bestow its gift vertically, in a top-
down way, paternalistically, from stronger to weaker, from colonizer
to colonized, from cultured to uncultured, from rich institution to poor
community, from possessors of salvation to those without it - but
engages in a horizontal give-and-take, between equals, between
religions of equal status, able to receive as well as to give, in a
relationship in which neither party has the huge prejudices born of self-
sufficiency that make dialogue impossible. 45
• A mission that does not take as a priority the service of religion and it
institutions or churches, but that of Life (which includes religion but
goes beyond it). This mission does not so much seek to create Church
as to build the Kingdom in the world and history. The principal form
of missionary mission continues to be carrying out the great mission of
religions: the Utopia of the Kingdom, which starts with the care and
development of life. In this form, missionary mission will take its place
within and in direct relation to the great mission of religions.
• A mission in which the proclamation of Jesus Christ is only half the
process, while the other half consists of the reception of the
proclamation which the other religion has to make to us Christians to
share its riches.
• A mission resolved to incarnate itself in other cultures and religions.

Is this an impossible dream? No more than the Gospel dream. Some people
will say that this is Utopian and impossible. My answer is: no more so than the
Gospel! My sense is that this model of mission is what the Gospel is asking of
us today, from the historical and theological perspective we have reached.
It is true that moving towards this type of mission would mean a
dangerous conversion: the abandonment of all proselytism, giving up a belief
in strength, abandoning massive missionary activity, going for quality and

J. Dupuis, "Dialogo inter-religioso", en Diciondrio de Teologia Fundamental, Sao

Paulo: Vozes/Santuario, 1994, pp 232-234.
"When one party to the dialogue insists - however courteously and delicately - that
they possess the last and binding word, it is a dialogue that can only end like that
between cat and mouse," P. Knitter, "La teologia de las religones en el pensamiento
catolico", Concilium 203 (Feb 1986), p.128. "If Christianity is the definitive truth, the
absolute revelation of God to humanity", there is only one course left for other
religions, to convert to Christianity. It really is a dialogue between an elephant and a
mouse," Henri Maurier, "Theologie des religions non chretiennes", Lumen Vitae 31
(1976), p. 89.
308 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

risking a fall in numbers 46 Perhaps, for a while at least, the correct attitude is
the one suggested by Bonhoeffer
"Our Church, which for all these years has fought only for its own
survival, as if it were its own objective, is unable to be a bearer of the
reconciling and redeeming word to human beings and the world Words from
another age must thus fall silent, and our Christianity must consist in just two
things, praying and doing justice " 47

19.2 Related Texts

• Non-Christians in a gravely deficient situation

"With the coming of the Saviour Jesus Christ, God has willed that the
Church founded by him be the instrument for the salvation of all
humanity (cf Acts 17 30-31) This truth of faith does not lessen the
sincere respect which the Church has for the religions of the world, but at
the same time, it rules out, in a radical way, that mentality of
mdifferentism "characterized by a religious relativism which leads to the
belief that 'one rehgion is as good as another'" If it is true that the
followers of other religions can receive divine grace, it is also certain that
objectively speaking they are in a gravely deficient situation in
comparison with those who, in the Church, have the fullness of the means
of salvation In inter-religious dialogue as well, the mission ad gentes
'today as always retains its full force and necessity' Indeed, the Church,
guided by chanty and respect for freedom, must be primarily committed
to proclaiming to all people the truth definitively revealed by the Lord,
and to announcing the necessity of conversion to Jesus Christ and of
adherence to the Church through Baptism and the other sacraments, in
order to participate fully m communion with God, the Father, Son and
Holy Spirit" (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration
Dominus Iesus, August 6, 2000)

• Alexander VI authorizes and orders simultaneously the conquest and

mission

46
The numerical strength of the Christian churches in existence today is due largely to
the fact that, during the centuries in which Christendom took shape, there was a sys
tematic negation of basic rights to freedom of conscience and religion The statistical
inflation of the numbers of Catholics is facilitated by the custom (reinforced by canon
law) of baptizing children as early as possible This means that a fall in the number of
Christians is not a fundamental problem The problem is raising the quality Cf XIX
Madrid Theological Congress (9-12 Sept 1999) "El cnstiamsmo ante el siglo XXI"
7
Cf Letters and Papers from Prison ( Enlarged Edition), London SCM Press, 1971, p
300
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 309

The inhabitants of the aforesaid islands and lands believe in a creator

God in heaven, and seem very suited to embrace the Catholic faith
and absorb good customs... Moreover, it is said that these lands are
full of gold, perfumes and many other precious objects of varying
value and type... You [he is addressing the Spanish monarchs] intend
to subject to your rule the aforesaid islands and lands with all their
inhabitants, and reduce them to the Catholic faith. With the authority
of almighty God, given to Us through Peter, and as vicar of Jesus
Christ, with the plenitude of apostolic authority, full knowledge and
generosity, grant and assign in perpetuity (to you and your heirs) all
these lands, with their dominions, cities, castles, districts and towns,
jurisdictions and all their possessions, and we constitute and consider
you masters of them, with full and complete authority", Alexander VI
to the Catholic King and Queen of Spain in the Bull Inter Coetera of
4 May 1493, Bullarium Romanum V, pp 36ff.

Nicholas V and the pagans

"With regard to the kingdoms, counties, dukedoms, principalities and
other dominions, lands, districts and estates in the possession of the...
Saracens, pagans, infidels and enemies of Christ, ...by our apostolic
authority we grant you the full and free right to invade, conquer and
subjugate them and reduce them to perpetual servitude, with all their
inhabitants" (Brief, Divino amore communiti of Nicholas V to Alfonso,
King of Portugal, 16 June 1542).

Slavery is not a misfortune

"Your slavery is not a misfortune; rather, it is a great miracle because
your ancestors are in hell for all eternity, but you have been saved
thanks to slavery" (Antonio Vieira, "Sermao decimo quarto" (1633),
Sermoes, vol. 4, tomo 11, n° 6, Porto: Lello & Irmao, 1959, p. 301.

The Chamber of Commerce of he Havre and the missionaries

"The Chamber of Commerce of Le Havre,...
Whereas, while the French have shown a deplorable lack of haste in
establishing themselves in these distant lands to set up trade and
industry, our missionaries, in contrast, do not hesitate to emigrate even
to the least civilized countries, where they inculcate respect for their
moral teachings, whatever religion they belong to...
Whereas these missionaries are at the same time true propagators of
the idea of France in these countries, where, moreover, they provide
valuable help to our commercial and diplomatic representatives, and it
is undeniable that these representatives of our civilization have made
France known and loved for centuries...
 310 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

Whereas at the present time there are still French religious educating
the upper classes of Japan, China and Siam, where they are almost the
only representatives of our tongue, and the teaching of the English
language dominates and is near to completely replacing French...
Whereas in the case of some of these missionaries, since their
congregations have been dissolved, this element of French influence
will disappear from these countries...
Whereas...the aim of these associations is to bring the idea of France,
either to the colonies or to foreign countries, where their moral activity
collaborates with the civilizing action of governments...
Issues the following resolution:
That the government allow the congregations of all orders and all
religions to recruit novices in France to be assigned by French
colonialism to become propagators throughout the world of the idea of
France and of French moral and commercial influence" (Jean Comby,
La historia de la Iglesia, Estella: Verbo Divino, 1992, p. 152).

• Mass for the evangelization of peoples

Mass approved in 1787 for all missions
Opening prayer 0 God, who desires that all men may be saved and
come to a knowledge of the truth, send, we pray, workers into your
harvest and grant that they may preach your word with complete
confidence, so that it may spread and be accepted, and all peoples may
come to know you as the one true God, and the One you sent, your Son
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer over the offerings: Lord, look on the face of your Christ, who
gave himself up to death to redeem us all, and grant that through his
mediation your name may be glorified among the nations from East to
West, and that throughout the world the same sacrifice may be offered
to your divine Majesty. Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after communion: Lord, strengthened by the banquet of our
redemption, we pray you that, through this aid to eternal salvation, the
true faith may grow constantly throughout the world. Through Jesus
Christ our Lord.

19.3 Suggested activities

• Contact a missionary or a missionary community and ask them about

their inspiration.
• Spend some time reading the prayers from the "Mass for the
evangelization of peoples" and make a theological commentary, e.g.
• Are they exclusivist, inclusivist or pluralist?
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 311

Do they contain any value judgement (positive, negative,

implicit or explicit) on other religions?
Comment on these expressions: "your harvest", "all peoples
may come to know you as the one true God", "the One you
sent, your Son", "who gave himself up to death to redeem us
all", "that throughout the world the same sacrifice may be
offered to your divine Majesty", "the banquet of our
redemption".
Remember the slogan on a well known poster from Koinonia
Services (servicioskoinonia.org/posters): "All religions are
true. Proselytism is a sin." State the differences and similarities
between mission and proselytism.
Chapter 20

Globalization and Religions

The new situation of the world, globalized, as it is usually called, has been pre-
sent in our previous discussion, but, in view of the current importance of this
perspective, we need to deal with it explicitly. Where is the current process of
globalization taking religions? What will the next stages of this process be?
And what is the appropriate role of religions in it? This chapter will bring to-
gether the two topics of religions and globalization.

20.1 Discussing the topic

20.1.1 Globalization old and new

It is well known that the fashionable term "globalization" is ambiguous. While
it is generally used in the all-embracing sense of "world integration", it is use-
ful to remember its original meaning, which is simply the name today's neolib-
eralism has given to its own process of capital expansion since the end of the
Cold War. This "globalization" is a euphemism for something less noble - the
process of winning markets, gaining control of outlying markets, accumulation
and concentration of wealth, "Americanization" or the imposition of American,
or more generally First World, cultural patterns.1 "World integration", on the
other hand, is a much broader and older phenomenon, which refers to the proc-
ess of the unification and concentration of the world into increasingly wide
social systems, which are acquiring planetary dimensions.
It is not too much to say that this process of intensification of social re-
lations, and the expansion of their reach, is something that had been occurring
throughout human history, but it was only in recent centuries that it gradually
began to encompass the whole of the planet. The first great surge towards a
real planetary globalization took place in the 15th and 16th centuries, when the
invention of new, faster means of transport - in this case the caravel - created
the conditions for the expansion of European capitalism to Africa, Asia and
America by oceanic navigation. There was a new surge in the 19th century with
the expansion of European colonialism to Africa and Asia.
Not until the 20th century, however, did the power of new technologies
in industry, transport, and especially communications, accelerate the unifica-
tion of the world exponentially. Within this long, continuous process, it is only
in the last fifteen years that we can identify what neoliberals call "globaliza-
tion", which is no more than one dimension of the larger process, related to the

John Galtung, "La llaman globalization... pero es norteamericanizacidn", Agenda

Latinoamericana, 2002, p. 169.
 314 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

planetary unification of financial capital, now able to travel instantly from one
side of the world to another as a result of electronic communication. This cen-
tral phenomenon has many other consequences in its orbit.
In sociological terms globalization is the transformation of human so-
ciability: human groups that had always lived in separate societies that knew
nothing of each other are caught up in this process that places them in a rela-
tion and makes them affect each other, with the appearance of new "social
networks", increasingly strong and extensive. We increasingly have the im-
pression that we all now live, not only on the same planet, but really in "one
world", in one global, globalized society.
The economic aspects of this process - seen especially through the
prism of neoliberal globalization - are more familiar. But does globalization in
the wider sense of world integration include other aspects? Specifically what
effects does this process of integration have on religion and religions? This will
be the subject of this chapter.

20.1.1.1 Globalization forces religions to live together

In the 20th century, especially in the second half, the world was radically trans-
formed, and placed religions in a totally different setting. A good way of seeing
the change is to compare the USA in 1893, the year of the first World Parlia-
ment of Religions, with the USA today.

No adherent of the Zoroastrian religion could take part in the Parlia-

ment of Religions of 1893, yet today there are 10,000 followers of Zo-
roaster in the United States. In that Parliament Muslims had to be rep-
resented by a single delegate - a convert from Anglicanism - while to-
day in Chicago alone there are 250,000, and in the United States Mus-
lims are more numerous than Episcopalians, Presbyterians or Jews.
Again, there was only one Jain delegate participating in the 1893 Par-
liament, whereas Jainism has 70,000 adherents in the United States to-
day. The Hindu delegation to the 1893 Parliament was an exotic attrac-
tion that created a press sensation, while today there are more than a
million Hindus in the United States, 100,000 in Greater Chicago alone.
A Buddhist like Anagarika Dharmapala, with his traditional religious
dress, stood out, but the USA today has more than four million Bud-
dhists, 155,000 of them in Chicago, there are 28 Buddhist organiza-
tions covering all branches of Buddhism, and the biggest Buddhist city
in the world is not in Asia, but in the United States, Los Angeles.2
"The United States has become the most religiously diverse nation on

2
Figures from a report in Chicago Tribune Magazine, August 29, 1993.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 315

earth."3 "Every religion known to humanity exists in America -more

than two hundred of them."4

In the USA, because of its status as the "center" of present-day world society,
all movements from the "periphery" are represented. What happens there is
what happens more or less everywhere. The unification of all the world's so-
cieties as a result of globalization means that, as in the USA, the world's relig-
ions have come into contact with each other once and for all, mass, intense and
inevitable contact.5 They can no longer ignore each other. They can't avoid
seeing each other every day. And, like it or not, they are forces to "socialize",
to live alongside each other, to compare themselves with each other, to con-
front each other, to affect each other.

20.1.1.2 Globalization creates an "intra-dialogue" among religions

This confrontation between religions doesn't take place in the abstract, nor be-
tween the institutional authorities of each religion, but above all in the hearts of
the followers of each religion as they find themselves confronted by the pres-
ence of the other religions. From time immemorial until what seems like only
yesterday, each religion has presented itself to its followers as the "only" true
religion, and even as the only religion in existence. In the world of isolated re-
ligions, this claim was accepted by the "faithful", knowing, as they did, hardly
any other religion. Now, in this forced socializing into which globalization
forces religions, believers are discovering that their religion is not the only one.
They know people of other religions and find them as full of love and faith as
followers of their own religion, and begin to wonder how their own can be the
"only true religion". In other words, this coexistence of religions on a mass
scale - a new historical phenomenon - sets off a process of revision and rein-
terpretation of the very meaning of each religion, of what makes them unique
and how they relate to others, and this process takes place first and foremost in
the hearts of the believers, which is why it is generally called "intra-dialogue".6
Before dialogue between religions there is a dialogue within religions.
Before the interreligious dialogue there is the "intradialog",7 this dialogue with

Diana L. Eck, A New Religious America. How a "Christian Country" Has Become
the World's Most Religiously Diverse Nation, New York: HarperCollins, 2001, p. 4.
Wayne Teasdale, The Mystic Heart, Novato, California: New World Library, 1999, p.
16.
Torres Queiruga, El didlogo de las religiones, Santander: Sal Terrae, 1992, p. 37; La
revelacion de Dios en la realizacion del hombre, Madrid: Cristiandad, 1987, p. 390.
6
Perhaps not yet a dialogue between religions, "interreligious", but the individual be-
liever's, or the faith community's, dialogue with themselves, within their own religion,
an "intra-dialogue". This internal dialogue, review or questioning is the best
preparation for interreligious dialogue in the strict sense.
7
R. Panikkar, // didlogo intrareligioso, Citadella Editrice, Assisi 1998, 115.
316 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

herself or himself in which the believer calls into question, and crisis, their own
beliefs, accepting the possibility of a new understanding, a reinterpretation, and
even a change or conversion. Affected by their new form of proximity, relig-
ions are constantly and silently changing in the hearts of their adherents, even
before their authorities decide changes, reinterpretations or get round to orga-
nizing conversations labeled "interreligious dialogue". What is involved in this
transformation of religions deep in the hearts of their faithful?
In discussions of religions, the remark of Max Miiller's quoted previ-
ously, "If you only know one, you don't know any,"8 has become famous.
Midler seems to have taken the idea from Goethe, who was talking about the
study of languages: only someone who knows another language in addition to
their native language really knows what a language is. If you only know your
own language, you don't really know what a language is because you don't
become aware of its structures, its peculiarities, its accidental and arbitrary fea-
tures. In the same way, only a person who knows another religion realizes what
religion is in its essence, how it depends on culture, its characteristic features,
even its limitations. No religion seems the same once we have got to know one
or more other religions. When we are familiar with several, it is as though we
had discovered what there is the back rooms of each of them, what you don't
see unless you've grown up in them.
It isn't just travel or sharing the same space as other religions that en-
courages contact between religions today. The media force us to socialize "vir-
tually", as it were, with other religions. Intercultural studies, programs about
religions near and far, familiar or exotic, are a very common feature of educa-
tional television, frequently based on good anthropological, cultural and socio-
logical research. So popularized has religion become today as a topic of study
that "religious innocence", what used to be called "simple faith", is now almost
impossible. It is reasonable to assume that anyone today with an average level
of culture has begun within themselves, to a greater or lesser degree, "intrare-
ligious dialogue" and that this must be a factor slowly but radically transform-
ing the way religions understand themselves.

20.1.1.3 The "' detraditionalization" of societies

Analysts today use this term as one of the keys to an explanation of what is
happening today in this time of globalization. Jose Maria Mardones explains it
as follows:

"We have all become to some extent anthropologists, that is, students
and observers of customs that differ from the norm. We have become
aware that there exist other ways of giving meaning to life, of behav-
ing, of valuing things..., that there are other cultures [and religions].
This realization of the existence of diversity turns round and becomes a

F. M. Miiller, Introduction to the Science of Religions, London 1873, p. 16

 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 317

reflex examination of my own culture [and religion], and I see it as one

among others, with a set of traditions, a view of the world and human
beings, of good and evil. I start to look in a reflex way at my own
traditions: I understand that traditions are traditions, something that not
everyone knew until recently. The consequences are enormous, and
felt every day by parents, teachers and catechists: we can no longer
present traditions as obvious, as guaranteed because accepted in the
past. We have to argue or justify some traditions as against others; we
have to persuade and convince, not just present "truths". In this way
we have entered a post-traditional social order, in which we realize that
we live in inherited clusters of meaning called traditions."9

Where the analysts say "traditions", we can also read "religions", because that
is what religions are, traditions passed down.
In other words, until now, during the whole history of humanity, soci-
ety has passed on "truths", from parents to children, from teachers to disciples,
from adults to children, unquestionable truths that no-one doubted, truths that
provided the meaning of life and the world and society, acting as the great
frame of reference for human life and the identity of human beings, something
given and handed down from generation to generation through religion. Today,
as a result of the phenomenon we are calling "detraditionalization", which has
so many causes, this continuity stretching back to our ancestors is breaking
down. Our present generation is witnessing this historic break. The human
race's perspective has changed, and where before we saw metaphysical truths,
capable of guaranteeing and giving an absolute basis to the meaning of life,
today we see mere "traditions", meanings for human life that we realize to be
"human constructions". The tragic aspect of this change in attitude is that, once
a "meaning" is discovered to be a "human construction", it ceases to be a
meaning, or at least it becomes a meaning of a different sort.
The rising generations, and to some extent society as a whole, are los-
ing - we are losing - metaphysical or ontological naivety. We no longer spon-
taneously inhabit a meaning with the same naturalness and naivety with which
every human being in past centuries lived under one definition of meaning for
her or his life. The present generation is beginning not to take for granted that
that there is one ontologically unquestionable meaning; they are beginning to
realize that, to a large extent, we have created meanings, and have passed them
down from generation to generation as though they were reality itself and be-
yond question. Today we have become aware that to a large extent this reality
is a construct of social imagination and made up of traditions. Reality has bro-
ken free from traditions and ontology.
The rising generations have come into an environment in which they no longer
inherit unquestionable truths, indeed they no longer feel able to accept them.

J. M. Mardones, Neoliberalismo y religion, Estella: 1998, Verbo Divino, pp 61-62.

318 J O S E M A R I A VIGIL

The cultural structure in which they are being educated requires them to de-
mand justifications for traditions (religion included), which they understand,
with the full weight of the evidence, as a human construction And the adult
generation, which received the traditions as absolute truth, is now living in a
new intellectual ethos in which it requires itself to examine critically these
truths once regarded as absolutes
This is the most radical epistemological change in religion produced at
a deep level by globalization The consequences are so serious that it is really
no surprise that some scholars argue that we are in a new "axial age" This
analysis would also explain the violent fundamentalist movements that appeal
blindly to the ancient traditions, precisely because the present crisis of meaning
has meant a crisis for identities (of individuals, groups, societies and religions)
and generated a level of uncertainty that is unbearable without an equally pro-
found level of interpretation
As noted earlier, religions are also "traditions", which, as a result of
globalization, which are being "detraditionalized" in an unstoppable process of
the creation of a new "social awareness", 10 emerging and sweeping all before it
across the world

20 1 1 4 Syncretism, interpenetrahon, interspintuahty

In these days of globalization and inevitable interreligious dialogue, it is com-
mon to hear this piece of advice "We must engage in dialogue, but keep our
religious identity intact " It's easy to say this, or dream it, but more difficult to
do it, and history doesn't seem to have taken the path into which we would like
to channel the future People say "Dialogue shouldn't threaten the identity of
any religion, and we shouldn't be trying to move towards a single world relig-
ion " But will it be possible to keep identities intact 7 Where are we headed 7
First we must pay attention to an argument from history History has
been a continual interaction of syncretisms It is only the brevity of our periods
of observation that makes think differently All religions are syncretic,11
including Christianity, 12and the bible 13

1U
John Hick, The Metaphor of God Incarnate, London SCM Press, 1993, pp 8, 9
"this new global consciousness" "this new public awareness"
11
"Historical experience shows that human and religious traditions have general grown
out reciprocal influences, interactions and fertilization In reality, most of the religions
established today are the result of such mutual fertilization (Hinduism, Buddhism, Is-
lam, etc ) After all, the great religious geniuses have created or founded new forms of
religiosity, not by starting from zero, but by combining various currents and renewing
them with their own prophetic gifts" ( R Panikkar, // dialogo interrehgioso, Assisi
Citadella, 2001, pp 33, 46, 158 Original edition Raimon Panikkar, The intrarehgious
dialogue, New York, N Y Pauhst Press, 1999
"Christianity is, sociologically speaking, certainly one religion, it is the ancient pa-
ganism, ort to be more precise, the complex Hebrew, Graeco, Latin, Celtic, Gothic,
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 319

If syncretism has been the norm throughout history, even in distant ages when
religions lived apart and out of contact, what gives us the right to think that this
won't be the case, above all in our age of globalization, m which religions have
to live at close quarters all the time9 The concern of religions to keep their pre-
sent religious identity intact is understandable, but it is in contradiction with
their own history, since each religion contains within itself the sedimented
strata of countless outside religious influences
This historical argument can be supported by a theological one We
accept that
If all religions are revealed, they should all be open to the possibility of
being complemented and enriched by a revelation of God received through the
religions of other peoples This book has presented a range of arguments in
favor of this natural "complementarity" of religions when considered from a
pluralist perspective
While this path is feared by most religions as institutions, the idea of
finding a "general religion", common to all, a sort of highest common denomi-
nator, "interspirituality", 14 or "essential spirituality",15 expresses a common
search in this age of globalization A stream of publications is currently appear-
ing to satisfy the spiritual appetite of so many people who feel the call of this
"interspirituality", but feel it as a call from beyond what are today's formal
religions, many of which are in crisis
Speaking of Christianity, Panikkar suggests that "The Western-Christian
tradition seems to be exhausted, I might almost say effete, when it tries to ex-
press the Christian message in a meaningful way for our times Only by cross-
fertihzation and mutual fecundation may the present state of affairs be over-
come, only by stepping over present cultural and philosophical boundaries can

modern religion converted to Christ with more or less success," P Knitter, No Other
Name?, New York Orbis, 1985, p 222
13
"An infinite number of things in the Old Testament that we describe today (without
many fine distinctions) as 'the word of God' were learned by Israel from the neighbor-
ing peoples and religions, which were thus the path chosen by God to reveal this to
Israel In learning them Israel often enriched them, nuanced them and often improved
them But it received them from other religions, and only through those religions did it
receive them from God," Jose Ignacio Gonzalez Faus, Agenda Latinoamericana, 2003
"Interspirituality and intermysticism are the terms I have coined to designate the
increasingly familiar phenomenon of cross-religious sharing of interior resources , the
spiritual treasures of each religion," Wayne Teasdale, The Mystic Heart Discovering a
Universal Spirituality in the World's Religions, with a foreword by the Dalai Lama,
Novato, California New World Library, 1999, p 10 Teasdale's book presents itself as
a manual of this "interspirituality"
5
For a succinct description of the principles elements of a "universal spirituality", see
Teasdale, 'Sacred Community at the Dawn of the Second Axial Age", m J Beversluis
(ed) Sourcebook of the World's Religions, Novato, California New World Library,
2000, pp 241-243
320 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

Christian life again become creative and dynamic " It is a commonplace to-
day to refer to the huge influence of Hinduism on Christianity and other West-
ern religions, especially as regards prayer and the inner life
Globalization is challenging religions, placing them in a situation that
favors syncretism and interpenetration, threatening the integrity of their dis-
tinctive identity but at the same time offering them new opportunities for en-
richment and revitalization Some people even claim that "interspirituahty" is
the religion of the third millennium 17

20 1 1 5 Towards an interrehgious theology ?

Globalization in our wider sense of increasing world integration also has spe-
cific effects on theology and challenges for it
Logically enough, theology has always been developed within a spe-
cific faith community and used the dialectical resources available within that
community Theology was formulated within the community with the members
of that community in mind Outside the community theology had nothing to
say
In the age of globalization, each faith community, each religion, no
longer behaves like a closed community, but as part of a wider community of
meanings and social life When a theologian deals with internal issues belong-
ing to their particular tradition, and is therefore addressing readers from their
own religion, it is logical for
them to use the dialectical resources specific to that tradition On the
other hand, if he or she wants to address civil society, society as such, which
includes many people who are followers of other religions, their theology can
no longer be one formulated exclusively withm the confines of their own de-
nomination A theologian may have a denominational affiliation, but a theol-
ogy that is to speak to society and the world at large must be a theology that
has meaning for a multirehgious audience If it does not, the theologian is not
really doing theology in the plun-religious world of today, but in a mono-
rehgious world that no longer exists
The English-speaking theologians of pluralism argue in favor of what
they call "world theology", which could also be called "globalized theology"
The two champions of this interrehgious theology are Wilfred Cantwell Smith
and Leonard Swidler 18
The issue, however, is still in debate, and no final conclusion has been
reached These are the mam positions

16
Cited by P Knitter, No Other Name \ p 223
17
W Teasdale, The Mystic Heart, pp 10, 26
18
W C Smith, Towards a World Theology Faith and Comparative History of
Religion, Philadelphia Westminster Press, 1981, New York Orbis Books, 1989, L
Swidler, Toward a Universal Theology of Religion, New York 1987
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 321

• One group insist that the theology of religions cannot be other than
denominational,19
• Others suggest that, in addition to denominational theology, a supra-
denommational theology is conceivable, an attempt to understand the
phenomenon of religions through an engagement with them that - as
far as possible - abstracts from one's own denominational assump-
20
tions,
• The theologians who discover the pluralist position realize immedi-
ately that it is a new paradigm that would force them to "rewrite" every
chapter of theology, because a new paradigm of this sort is not an ob-
ject of study for theology, a field, a branch, a bit of the matter of theol-
ogy, but a new light, a cross-cutting challenge that affects the whole
theological universe In this sense, just as in each denominational the-
ology there is a need to rewrite every chapter, it is possible to envisage
creating an interreligious pluralist theology, one that tries to construct a
theology acceptable to the various religions, not necessarily by mixing
traditions, but by staying at a deeper level of analysis, less specific,
from a plun-rehgious perspective
In any case, it should be clear that this is not a unified theology to replace all
the others, just as the "ideal" of a unified religion replacing all the separate re-
ligions has been rejected,21 so the same model of a "global theology" is not our
22
aim
EATWOT has devoted the latest volume of its series Along the Many Paths of
God, to this subject23
20 1 1 6 The role of religions in the search for a global ethics
Finally, the most serious, and also the best known, challenge posed to religions
by globalization is the urgent need for a global ethics And let us say it again -
a global ethics is not a unified religion, fabricated out of a mixture of existing
religions Quite simply, "A world ethics seeks to enhance everything that is
common to all religions over and above all the differences "24
A world that feels increasingly unified by a global economy, a global technol-
ogy and a global system of communications cannot live m genuine harmony

For example, F Teixeira, Teologia de las rehgwnes, ppl2 13 Also M Dhavamony,

Teologia de las rehgwnes, pp 8-9
20
Geffre, in the preface to Basset, El dialogo interrehgioso, Bilbao Desclee, 1999, p 10
21
"A single world religion is, I would think, never hkely, and not a consummation to
be desired," John Hick, God Has Many Names, p 77
A Torres Queiruga, El dialogo de las rehgwnes, p 37, R Panikkar, L incontro
indispensabile Dialogo delle religwni, Milan Jaca Book, 2001, p 31
Vigil, J M (ed ), 6 Hacia una teologia interrehgwsa 7, Quito Abya Yala 2008
24
Hans Kung, Hacia una etica mundial, Madrid Trotta, 1993, p 10
322 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

without a common ethics, that is, a world ethics If anyone ought to feel chal-
lenged by this crying need of the present world, it is religions, since by their
very nature they have a direct relationship with ethics And our experience of
the last few years has emphasized this urgency even more strongly, if that were
possible, because the "clash of civilizations" that has been identified has turned
out to be a clash of religions On top of the scandalous division of the world
into poor and rich, we now have (in addition, I emphasize) the cultural divi-
sion, exemplified currently in acute form between Christianity and Islam Both
the war on terror and the war of economic oppression have religious underpin-
nings A world caught up in a war that is in a way religious brings shame upon
religions, because it exposes their failure
Gandhi was the first to say, "There will never be peace in the world
without peace between religions, and there will not be peace between religions
without dialogue between religions "25 So interrehgious dialogue is urgent, but
not to spin theological theories, but first and foremost to bring about peace and
the unity of the human race And to get to that point, the first step is to find a
common basis, a common ethics accepted worldwide
Every religion has, by its very nature, an ethical dimension implied in
its tenets That is why dialogue between religions has to include a dialogue be-
tween these ethical extensions of the religions, to find a common basis Earlier,
m Chapter 13, we discussed the "Golden Rule", the basic common ethics that
all religions already seem to have in common, even down to the literal word-
ing It is necessary and urgent - no delay can be tolerated - for religions to sit
round the table and work this ethics out
No-one can do it better than they,26 because no-one gets so deep into
the human heart, and no-one is better able to mobilize the deep-rooted energies
of the multitudes of the human race who respond to the religious dimension
There can be no doubt that one of the most beautiful and effective commit-
ments we can make to world peace, each of us in his or her own religion, is to
resolve to promote the idea and a reality, a dialogue between religions on the
subject of a world ethics

20.2 Related reading

• Declaration on the role of religion in the promotion of a culture of

peace (UNESCO Catalonia, December 1994 - extract)
Our faith communities have the responsibility to encourage behavior
inspired by wisdom, compassion, eagerness to share, charity, solidarity
and love, behavior that will lead all in the paths of freedom and re-
sponsibility

Teasdale, Sacred Community, p 238 In our day, perhaps, this idea is probable better
known through the work of Hans Kung
Hans Kung, Projeto de etica mundial, Sao Paulo 32001,p 91
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 323

We must always remember that our religions must not identify with
public, economic or social powers, but must stay free so as to work for
justice and peace. We must not forget that denominationally-based po-
litical regimes can do serious damage to religious values and to soci-
ety. We must distinguish between religious fervor and fanaticism.
We must favor peace by combating tendencies, whether individual or
communal, to assume, and even to teach, that some people are inher-
ently superior to others. We salute and encourage all who seek peace
through non-violent means. We repudiate murders committed in the
name of religion.
We shall promote dialogue and harmony between religions and within
them, recognizing and respecting the search for truth in religions other
than our own. We shall dialogue with all, collaborating in sincerity and
friendship with those who share life's pilgrimage with us.

Asociacion UNESCO para el Dialogo Interreligioso, Didlogo entre

religiones. Textos fundamentales, Madrid: Trotta, 2002, pp 48-49.
Chapter 21

Many Poor, Many Religions

World Liberation and Religions
This chapter brings together the topic of the plurality of religions and that of
liberation or, in other words, explicitly relates religious pluralism to liberation
theology. The term "liberation theology" refers not just to "a theology", but to
an attitude, a spirit, a spirituality, a way of being. It refers especially to the
people, the groups, the communities, the social movements, who feel inspired
by this spirit and sometimes recognize themselves in the interpretation offered
by liberation theology, but certainly are committed to the historical process of
liberation. In the last forty years, in Latin America especially, Christians have
played a notable part in these movements, have been caught up by this spirit
and created the possibility for the rise of liberation theology. For liberation
theology, the theology of religious pluralism represents a new paradigm,
though not an alternative or a replacement, but rather an addition, an enrich-
ment.

21.1 Discussing the topic

The first severe crisis experienced by liberation theology and the liberation
movements, after their golden years and the age of the martyrs in the 1970s and
1980s, was the collapse of the Eastern European socialist bloc. This repre-
sented the victory of neoliberalism and its "economic globalization" at a world
level. What were the implications of this crisis for liberation theology and the
Latin American liberation movements in general?
For the first time they were confronted by the world situation as a
whole. Previously the liberation movements and even liberation theology were
local or regional, with a field of vision that included the nation, even the conti-
nent, but no more. Their strategy certainly included a vision of world libera-
tion, but it was based on the famous "domino theory": different countries
would free themselves from capitalist domination individually, join the social-
ist bloc and as a bloc help with the liberation of the other countries, and as a
result the capitalist system would one day be overthrown. This vision was
summed up in a Latin American slogan of the 1980s: "If Nicaragua has tri-
umphed, El Salvador will triumph, Guatemala will follow, Honduras...." This
was the world vision of the Latin American liberation movements, looking at
the world "diachronically" (through time, even though this time was almost
supra-historical), but not "synchronically" (considering all world processes as a
whole).
326 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

The crisis of the 1990s shattered that strategic vision. Nicaragua went back on
its revolution, as did El Salvador. Guatemala did not take the expected step
forward - and the fallen dominoes were stood upright again.
In fact, the activists soon realized that the "cycle of national libera-
tions" (one at a time, in that geopolitical framework of the cold war confronta-
tion between capitalism and socialism) had ended. A new "historic cycle" was
beginning, one which, sketchily at first, was beginning to acquire its definition
in relation to the new phenomenon of globalization. The individuality of coun-
tries, their independence and sovereignty, their quota of autonomy, were all
beginning to be diluted. Apart from patriotic feelings, the "sovereignty" of in-
dividual nations in terms of geopolitics and geo-economics was melting away.
We were entering a different world, no longer a world of countries or blocs,
but a "global system" in which no one country is really independent or entirely
sovereign. Frontiers and passports continued to exist, but a lot of their real
meaning was fading away. The liberation movements, and their theology, were
obliged to reformulate not only their theology but also their interpretation of
themselves, and of liberation. The new reality they had to face was globaliza-
tion.
Many people panicked. There was a crisis, confusion. It was painful to
adjust our vision to the new dazzling scene. Quite a few people threw in the
towel and gave up. Some people abandoned their principles and accepted the
"change of paradigm", to fit in with the trend; the poor had been defeated, and
they were now going to book seats on the victor's chariot. In one way or an-
other we all felt this temptation. But many stood firm: on a closer look, none of
the structural transformations beginning to take place in the world, however
disconcerting they might appear, were powerful enough to discredit the Uto-
pias. What's more, the crisis helped us to strip these Utopias, to remove cloth-
ing designed for an earlier climate, and to discover that their naked beauty was
even more attractive and compelling in a world that had been unified by glob-
alization but humiliated by neoliberalism.
Liberation now had to open up to a world perspective. The liberation
we had always sought, was no longer conceivable or desirable for one country,
then a second, then a third - but for a unified world, for a "world system", or a
"world as a system", as some sociologists call it. We no longer inhabited dif-
ferent countries, but one and the same world.
In Latin America we had been too enclosed in our separate Latin
American liberation - passionately, of course. Now we had to move from a
"wider patriotism" to "world patriotism".1
Liberation and globalization. The crossing of these two strands is still
in progress. The new variety is not yet established, and needs more time, but it
has been clear for some time now that combining them is no problem. The
globalization perspective in no way makes obsolete the ideals and activism

This was the slogan and theme of the Agenda latinoamericana for 2000.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 327

associated with liberation, on the contrary, it situates them in a wider and more
ambitious world, indeed one that is closer to liberation's own Utopia Global-
ization is no problem for the world view of liberation, on the contrary, it is al-
most its natural extension Liberation, by virtue of its own dynamic, has to be
global ("international", they used to say), and is now rediscovering its own in-
herent global vocation All the premises, arguments and projections that in-
spired us in the historic struggle for liberation in the pervious period remain
intact, and are even enhanced, whether in ethics and philosophy or in religion
This point does not need to be labored, it is familiar, work in progress
We can take a step forward

21.1.1 Liberation and religious pluralism

Though less noisy and dramatic in its arrival, a second crisis affected liberation
theology and the Christian liberation movements, their encounter with the plu-
rality of religions Although this plurality of religions has existed for five thou-
sand years, we all know that the visibility of religious pluralism is something
new, and has become an important fact only in the last few years, perhaps in
the first decade of the new millennium
Factors such as the attack on the Twin Towers in New York in Sep-
tember 2001 ('nine - eleven', as it has been labeled) and the crisis of interna-
tional terrorism have helped to place religions centre-stage in world events
Samuel Huntington's book had already attracted the attention of many thinkers
to the world's cultural diversity, nine-eleven did that for religions, especially
Islam In turn, British and American pluralist theology significantly widened
its public 2 The truth is that it was not until this first decade of the third millen-
nium that Latin American liberation theology, and many others of us, began to
hear of, and realize the importance of, religious pluralism It is only now that
we are beginning to react
This, then, has been a second great shock for liberation theology and
the Christian liberation movements since their golden age As a shock, it was
also a crisis In what sense7
Liberation theology and the Christian liberation movements found
themselves once more in a new world Previously, they had thought of the
world as a whole as opaque to religions Religions were invisible in it Uncon-
sciously, we had thought of the world as though there were no religious differ-
ences, or as if they were irrelevant to liberation In our consideration of the
world the variable "religion" did not figure, and when it did appear it was in

Cardinal Raztinger said that this theology had been developed since the 1950s, but
that "now it has occupied the centre of Christian consciousness" and "today occupies
the place occupied in the previous decade by liberation theology Indeed, in many ways
it combines with it and tries to give it a new and relevant form " Cf Ratzinger et al, Fe
y teologia en America Latina, Bogota CELAM, 1997, p 17
 328 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

second or third place. Today it is obvious that this was extremely naive, and we
are abandoning this approach.
We have discovered that we were very provincial: we pictured the
world in our own image and likeness, unconscious of the great difficulty repre-
sented for world citizens, and for the world's poor in particular, by religious
pluralism. We realized that we were provincial because we discovered that all
our analysis used categories that are not universal - as we had unconsciously
assumed - but belong to one culture and religion, that of the Christian West.
When we left our little world and entered the wide world of the poor, we real-
ized that we don't speak the same language, we don't have the same culture
and that, in fact, we are separated by religions. What appeared in Latin Amer-
ica to be a magnificent achievement, the theology and spirituality of liberation,
turned out to be, in the wider world, "the luxury of Christian elite", in other
words, something that most of the world doesn't understand, because it is for-
mulated in a language and categories that only a world "elite", the Christian
poor, that is, a small part of the world's poor, can understand. Aloysius Pieris
gave a stark warning about this:

The irruption of the Third World that cries out for liberation is at the
same time the irruption of the non-Christian world. The majority of
God's poor perceives their basic concern and symbolizes their struggle
for liberation in the language of non-Christian religions and cultures.
Consequently a theology that does not address (or does not speak
through) this non-Christian multitude (and to its religions) is a luxury
enjoyed by a Christian minority.3

ust as liberation has had to adjust - as a result of the first crisis - to the scale
f globalization, now it is grappling with the challenge of opening up and scal-
lg up to deal with the plurality of religions. It must cease to be conceived in
•rms of one religion, and in a cultural or religious language only intelligible to
le religion. It will have to be reborn and find a new place in the recently dis-
>vered new world of religious pluralism.4
But there is more. The plurality of religions has to be confronted by
>eration not just for tactical reasons or aims, but because it has to do directly
th liberation itself. The questions that have to be asked are: Do religions lib-
ite or oppress? Are they able to mobilize energies for liberation? Does
sration have anything to do with religion? This is our next topic.

oysius Pieris, "The Place of Non-Christian Religions and Cultures in the Evolution
liird World Theology, Virginia Fabela y Sergio Torres (eds.), Irruption of the
1 World: Challenge to Theology, Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1983, p. 113.
: point has been made in previous chapters that the challenge is not so much plu-
n as such, but the sincere (i.e, not inclusivejacceptance of this plurality, in other
>, acceptance of the "pluralist paradigm".
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 329

21.1.2 Many poor, many religions, only one world

This slogan sums up what is involved in the meeting of the movement for
world liberation and the religions The first point it makes is that this is the first
time that the "many religions" have become visible in the liberation movement
At the beginning concern for liberation was primarily economic That
doesn't mean everything was reduced to economics, but simply that move-
ments inevitably start with material needs, poverty Later the field of vision
was widened by the appearance of the so-called "emerging subjects" - indige-
nous people, African Americans, women - who forced the movement to widen
its concept of liberation to include the dimensions of culture, ethnicity and
gender - not that the liberation movement had previously downplayed these
dimensions, rather, it couldn't see them, until time and greater maturity lifted
the veil Well, the most recent dimension to be included and taken into account
in this liberation movement has been religious pluralism5 This means that for
the concept of liberation it is not just the fact that there are "many poor" that is
relevant, but also the fact that there are "many religions"
Secondly, I am not saying just that religions are now relevant to world
liberation, but that they are supremely relevant, of the greatest importance Af-
ter post-modernism had deprived the ideas of hope and progress of their vital
energy, and the West was affected by an "exhaustion of Utopias" in the crisis of
the 1990s,6 it has become clearer that religion now has a unique power among
the mass of world humanity People are motivated in the last resort by convic-
tions and values that come, not from ideologies or theories, but from religions
Religions give people the broadest sense of the meaning of life and history, the
place to which they belong at the deepest level, the strength to commit them-
selves and fight for causes and Utopias, even to the point of giving their lives,
hope in the face of the most disastrous failures Huntington says that at this
point in world history religions is the greatest social force 7 And it is to an even
greater extent among the world's poor societies The most important source of
strength that enables the poor to survive is religion
It is an interesting irony that, in the history of liberation movements,
we have moved from a period in which some groups treated religion with con-

5
To be more precise, none of these newly discovered dimensions can be treated as an
"add-on" to liberation, they are new perspectives that make us rethink the whole vision
of liberation, the whole of liberation theology, and some have a greater impact than
others
6
J Beckford speaks of the "exhaustion of Utopias in the post modern period" ( Ecolo
gie et religion dans les societes industrielles avancees", D Hervieu Leger (ed), Rehg
ion et ecologie, Pans Cerf, 1993, pp 242ff, quoted by J M Mardones, 6A donde va la
religion 9, Santander Sal Terrae, 1996, p 96
7
Quoted by Leonardo Boff, "Choque o dialogo", an article dated 9 May 2003, on Leo-
nardo Boffs page on the Koinoma website Servicios Koinonia
servicioskomoma org/boff
330 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

tempt, as a left-over from the past, harmful, backward, something to be fought

or left to die out on its own - to a very different attitude today.
But this relevance of religions, the decisive influence on the life of
humanity, is ambiguous. It is not only positive; it is sometimes also negative.
Religions can unite human groups, but they can also separate them, isolate
them or set them against each other. They can wake up the broad mass of a
population, and they can alienate it. They can provide light and perspective or
relapse into fuelling obsessions and irrational fundamentalists. They can in-
volve them in the creation of a new world, or can lull them into passivity and
inertia as the "opium of the people", as Marx alleged. In other words, they are
capable of great good and great harm: they can trigger the best and the worst
energies of humanity.
While they are a source of energy, it is also true to say that they are a
brake, and that at this point in history, when all religions have come into con-
tact with all the others, they are still at sea, they still haven't reacted adequately
or rediscovered what there mission is for today. While it is true that religions
can unite the poor, the truth is that today, as a rule, they are still dividing them.
That is why liberation movements regard religions as a worry, a new objective,
a task, a responsibility.
In practice, it is the poor that are their main audience and constituency.
And almost all religions, in one way or another, have a special "preference" for
the poor. Many poor, many religions. But does this always imply the presence
of a liberating God or a religion that sets people free? Often enough, no. Far
too often religions look at the poor as "objects", objects of their love, their
kindness, their generosity, their charity - but are not able to see that they are
"subjects", people with their own ideas. They prefer the poor as docile people,
without courage, incapable of shaping their own history, without voices of their
own, obedient, pawns in someone else's game.
In this sense, is it too much to say that many religions still have to dis-
cover the poor as active in history? Do many still have to opt for the poor, not
as objects of aid, but as movers and shapers of history, opt for the poor having
their leadership role, their voice, their history? Do many religions still have to
discover that their worship can only be offered to a God of human beings,
whose glory consist in the poor living?8 Could it be that religions still have to
discover their liberating mission and their prophetic mission for today? And
could it be that they will have to do this together, supporting each other, be-
cause from now on the liberation of the poor can no longer be the task of one
religion, even in its "own" country?
At this point in history it is clear that part of the task of liberating the
world (liberating the poor is liberating the world) is helping religions to mature

"Gloria Dei, homo vivens" ("The glory of God is that human beings should live,"
said St Hilary de Poitiers. Gloria Dei, vivens pauper ("The glory of God is that the
poor should live.", was Archbishop Romero's slant on the idea.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 331

and to get themselves in tune with our age, to discover their own essence and
mission in relation to world liberation as the most important issue they have to
face, and helping them to act. In other words, the task of liberation includes the
liberation of religions, the task of freeing them from everything that makes it
difficult for them to be liberating in their turn.
This task of setting religions free must begin with the so-called, "intra-
dialogue", which has been discussed in previous chapters. This is the revision,
reinterpretation and reformulation of the whole symbolic heritage of each relig-
ion in terms of the new pluralist paradigm; the alternatives, exclusivism or in-
clusivism, lead to rivalry or dependence.
The task of liberating religions also includes interreligious dialogue.
This is not the sort of dialogue between religions that ends up as a substitute
for developing a "mission for conversion", but a dialogue carried out in real
life, with our hands, with action, trying to change history, uniting the poor, de-
fending life.9
This interreligious dialogue will also have room for the official dia-
logue between religions, that is, the dialogue between the representatives of the
religious institutions, institutions that are only one aspect of the religions as a
whole. But the main dialogue is the one that is conducted by the communities
themselves, with their activity, the theological analysis produced within them,
and whatever interreligious activity the liberation movements manage to gen-
erate. The institutional dialogue will only move forward under pressure from
the march of history; we should not forget that the institutional dimension of
religions will be the one that most firmly opposes interreligious cooperation
and dialogue.
Religions need to discover that, in the context of the "metamorphosis
of religion" currently under way,10 and in our inevitably globalized human con-
text, what increasingly stands out as the core meaning of the religious dimen-
sion is humanization, humanization of people and social structures. Everything
seems to be leading religions to focus on their humanizing role. There is no
more important task for religions at this point in history than to rediscover this
humanizing mission and give it new force and depth.
Nor is this a specific feature of some religions; it is a universal, cross-
cutting challenge for all of them, a shared task of renewal.
The best dialogue is the one that is conducted in the lived practice of
dialogue for the liberation of the poor. The best practical form of dialogue con-
sists in making the world better, fighting for the liberation of the poor, uniting
for this cause. The rest, the theory, the doctrines can - and should - be left for
later.
I venture to suggest that the greatest service religions can give to the
world and the poor is to UNITE. Religions of the world, unite!

9
These forms of dialogue will be discussed in the next chapter.
10
This concept was used in Chapter 19.
332 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

This doesn't mean a merger, still less forming a worldwide super-religion.1'

But what is necessary is a different form of interreligious union: mechanisms
or structures have to be created to facilitate worldwide contact and communica-
tion between religions, and perhaps those that already exist have to be
strengthened. This process of the organization of religions throughout the
world is part of the process of the worldwide liberation of the poor and of the
world. Anything done to promote this promotes the liberation of the poor.
Theology has a particularly important role here, but needs new meth-
ods and new directions. The new theology of religion, or the theology of reli-
gious pluralism, isn't a new speculation to entertain or occupy restless minds.
Nor is it just an inevitable result of the encounter between religions. It is also a
part, a dimension of the very process of the maturation of religions and socie-
ties. The theology of religions, or of religious pluralism, that is currently being
developed, can be interpreted as a "theological stage" of this historic struggle
for the liberation of humanity. We don't do the theology of religions out of
speculative interest, but out of practical concern, motivated by a spirit of lib-
eration: "not to understand the world but to change it".12 There is nothing more
practical than a good theory: a mature, coherent theory generates historical ac-
tion. Activity without a theoretical component ("blind" activity) is unable to
achieve an all-round transformation of history. Ideas make the world go round;
reinterpretations first change hearts and minds, and finally change hands and
feet. Doing theology of religions, encouraging interreligious dialogue, defend-
ing pluralism, all these are activities in an organized campaign to change minds
and hearts, to take history forward. They are a campaign for liberation and can
be understood and motivated by this spirituality of liberation.
For liberation theology today the theology of religions, or of religious
pluralism, is a new topic that has to be analyzed. Just as it moved from eco-
nomics and structures to culture, ethnicity and a gender perspective, now it has
to expand its commitment to include religious pluralism.
The liberation theology we are familiar with in the West is fundamen-
tally a Christian liberation theology. It isn't Catholic or Protestant, but ecu-
menical, Christian: on this point there has never been a problem from the be-
ginning, and fortunately we have held fast to this fraternal ecumenism. Never-
theless this ecumenism hasn't developed to meet the challenge of the global-
ized world. As has been mentioned in earlier chapters, liberation theology an-
ticipated the end of Christian ecumenism when it created its own vision of
"macro-ecumenism". Now, this macro-ecumenism has also to come to terms
with the interreligious dimension, the dimension of pluralism in the great relig-
ions, the world religions.

"A single world religion is, I would think, never likely, and not a consummation to
be desired," John Hick, God Has Many Names, Philadelphia: The Westminster Press,
1982, p. 77.
12
To adapt Marx's famous eleventh thesis against Feuerbach.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 333

An interreligious liberation theology has to be created that can be shared by the

poor of this earth and their allies in hope, that goes beyond the boundaries of
whatever religion any individual professes. The "God known by all names",
the liberator of all peoples, has to speak a language that is accessible to all the
poor, whatever their religion. The Good News of God's love for the poor must
reach all of them without distinction of religion, and must call them to the same
liberating task, now unified by globalization, over and above religious differ-
ences. Poor of the world, unite! Religions of the world, unite!

21.2 Related readings

• "In the modern world, religion is a central force, maybe "the" central
force that mobilizes people... What count sin the last analysis is not po-
litical ideology or economic interests, but faith convictions, family,
blood and doctrine. These are the things that people fight for and are
willing to give their lives for," (Samuel Huntington: see note 7).
Chapter 22

The Practice of Dialogue

This final unit of our course completes the third part of our Latin American
method, ACT. Given religious pluralism, what can and should we do? In this
unit we shall review various possibilities of action, and the inner attitudes that
should accompany this action.

22.1 Discussing the topic

22.1.1 The first step is intradialog

The first step, the preliminary to any dialogue, is what we have called on vari-
ous occasions "intradialog". Before we "dialogue" with any religion, we need
to "dialogue" with ourselves, to examine our attitude to dialogue, the possibil-
ity of it, the need for it, the reasons for it - and go on to examine our own reli-
gious faith, relocate it, if necessary change our paradigm (is it exclusivism,
inclusivism, pluralism?), open up to this "total reformulation of Christianity
and its theology" implied by accepting the challenge of pluralism.
Only a prior "intradialog" will remove the obstacles to dialogue that
we all carry within ourselves - the sense of exclusivism, the typical arrogance
of those who think they have nothing to learn, the conviction that other relig-
ions do not have a similar validity to ours, entrenching ourselves in the splen-
did isolation of our own religion, theological prejudices - and make us open to
engaging in a mature way in a dialogue about specifics.
So what attitudes does this intradialog require?

22.1.2 Attitudes to think about

The most important attitude is that of those of us who approach the issue of
pluralism as a problem for our faith (and not out of mere intellectual curiosity),
and those who enter into dialogue, not as form of charity (to help others), but in
a quest for faith: they enter into dialogue not only to help others but also to find
help, and with a willingness to be helped.
Religious dialogue has to be a real dialogue, not a fiction or a formal-
ity. Dialogue is only real when the participants have an attitude of seekers,
open to whatever truth may appear in the course of the dialogue and surprise
them. When someone is taking part in a dialogue with prior conditions, with
some unshakable "truths" affirmed a priori and treated as over and above any-
thing that the dialogue may produce, they are not really in dialogue.
336 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

"When you start an interreligious dialogue, don't think in advance about what
you're supposed to believe,", says Raymond Panikkar.l You have to be pre-
pared to change your faith in the light of the truth that will be shown to you in
the course of the dialogue. This dialogue forms part of your personal journey in
search of your own faith, and that search is always, by its very nature, sincere,
ready to embrace truth wherever it may be found. And the same holds for dia-
logue when conducted at community level.
"To be real, interreligious dialogue must be accompanied by an intra-
religious dialogue, that is, it must start by me questioning myself and recogniz-
ing the relativity of my beliefs (which is not the same as relativism), accepting
the risk of a change, a conversion, an upsetting of my traditional models.
Quaestio mihi factus sum' I have become an issue for myself,' said the great
African, Augustine. You cannot enter the field of an interreligious dialogue
without this sort of self-critical attitude."2
Some people are afraid of interreligious (or intra-religious) dialogue
and place conditions on it, and indicate the truths that have to be upheld what-
ever happens. For example, the document Dialogue and Proclamation from the
Pontifical Council For Inter-Religious Dialogue, while it is one of the most
progressive documents on the subject produced by the Catholic Church, still
makes its fears clear, and sets them up as prior conditions for dialogue, in the
dialogue, says that "belief that in Jesus Christ, the only mediator between God
and man (cf. 1 Tim 2.4-6), the fullness of revelation has been given" to us
(para. 48) must be protected. And of course the Christian identity of those who
take part in dialogue must be kept "intact" (para 49). And anyway this is a dia-
logue that is the first stage of mission, and the second part is the proclamation
deriving from the "duty, by command of the Lord Jesus, so that men may be-
lieve and be saved". The message to be proclaimed "is indeed a necessary one.
It is unique and irreplaceable" (para 66, quoting Evangelii Nuntiandi). It is ob-
vious that a dialogue hedged with these conditions bears little resemblance to a
real dialogue, and a great resemblance to a missionary procedure, a fiction
serving undeclared interests, the appearance of dialogue as a strategy for em-
barking on a unilateral proclamation without seeming to.
The search for truth has to take priority over one's own belonging to
any religious tradition (including Christianity). If the dialogue is genuinely a
search for truth, we have to be prepared to embrace truth wherever we find it,
even if it means abandoning our previous convictions, 3 even if we find that
the foundations of our faith are shaken and we have to we have to rebuilt the

1
// dialogo intrareligioso, Assisi: Citadella Editrice, 2nd ed.,2001, p. 12. Translation
from the author's Spanish.
2
Panikkar, p. 115.
3
"During this new period of religious history, Christianity must, I believe, move em-
phatically from the confessional to the truth-seeking stance in dialogue," John Hick,
God Has Many Names, Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1982, p. 126.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 337

whole edifice of our religious faith,4 or even pass some time "exposed to the
elements".
Things are like this because the believer is a person, and because the
challenge of religious pluralism, for those with eyes to see it, affects every-
one's individual faith. It is not just a "theological" topic; it is an existential
challenge that returns a person to the starting-point of his or her search for
faith, as at the moment they started their personal adventure of faith, and the
moment of conversion, or in moving to an adult personal faith. Many believers,
especially faith "professionals", priests, religious, pastoral workers, often run
out of steam in their personal faith journey: they stop searching, the stop feel-
ing challenged by pluralism, they no longer have religious doubts - they've
learned all the answers and distribute them to others like bureaucrats immune
to all crises of faith. For these people the topic of religious pluralism is just
another new "theology", a new theory to talk about and not a challenge to faith
and religion. This section is not about them.
For their part, "official interreligious dialogs", between religious insti-
tutions, are not really dialogs in the full sense of the term. They are something
else: processes, negotiations, formalities, joint research, political pacts. True
dialogue takes place between people, not between institutions. Official dialogs
are governed by all the caveats generated by institutional logic. That's why,
although religious institutions have to "dialogue" - and let's hope they get
round to it as soon as possible - for the ordinary believer this official dialogue
is not the only or most important one.5 What is more urgent is the dialogue the
believer or the Christian community has to conduct internally (the intradialog);
what is more important is the dialogue that the communities of different reli-
gious traditions can conduct between each other, and the dialogue the theologi-
ans have to have to open up paths towards understanding, new formulations
and new paradigms. The interreligious dialogue that will help religions is not
that which will be conducted by the institutions and their representatives (al-
though that is necessary and even useful). First and foremost it is the People of
God, the Peoples of God, that have to dialogue internally and with each other.
"God has the right to dialogue with God" - through his Peoples (Pedro
Casaldaliga).
Other observers, other seekers for spirituality, who have noted the deep
changes that have taken place in our time, hold out little hope for interreligious

It is useful to recall Paul Tillich's intuition, towards the end of his life, that the whole
of theology had to be reconstructed on the basis of dialogue with other religions.
5
"It should be obvious that the dialogue between religions is not confined to the pre-
cincts of 'religious' institutions. Nor is a special area of competence reserved to the so-
called theologians or religious leaders, still less to the 'experts' or 'academics'. Exclud-
ing religion from the public forum is as lethal as giving political power to the clergy,"
R. Panikkar, L'incontro indispensabile: Dialogo delle religioni, Milan: Jaca Book,
2001, p. 50. Translation from the author's Spanish.
338 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

dialogue, because it carries on shutting spirituality up in the inadequate catego-

ries and limited vision of formal religions 6 If it is true that we are in a "second
axial age",7 a religious dialogue that does not take on board that religions
themselves face the challenge of extinction really is "too little too late"
What are we to say to these worried seekers'? We tell them that we
share their concern It is true that interreligious dialogue will not be "the" solu-
tion to the problem that is overwhelming religions today Of course, this sort of
dialogue will help them to reduce the centuries they have to catch up if they
wish to be of use to human beings today, and that is good, but the challenge
posed to religions by the current mutation or metamorphosis in human con-
sciousness, is a different issue, on another level No amount of interreligious
dialogue will bridge that gap for them No amount of interreligious dialogue
will bridge that gap for them they will have to deal with it To some extent it is
true that what will take the world forward is not religious dialogue alone, but
raising religion to the level of spirituality in the Johannme sense (Jn 4 23) But,
whatever view one takes, the right course is to deal with both issues, knowing
that they are independent and that neither will solve the problems of the other

22.1.3 Forms of interreligious dialogue

The classification of forms of dialogue given by the document Dialogue and
Mission (1984), paras 28-35,8 has become a standard reference for Catholics
The forms listed there are the following

a) "the dialogue of life, in which people [from different religions] strive

to live in a spirit of openness and good neighborhness, sharing their
joys and sorrows, their human problems and preoccupations,
b) "the dialogue of action, in which religious communities from different
traditions collaborate for the all-round development and liberation of
the people,
c) "The dialogue of theological exchange, where specialists seek to
deepen their understanding of their respective religious heritages, and
to appreciate each other's spiritual values,
d) "The dialogue of religious experience, where persons, rooted in their
own religious traditions, share their spiritual riches, for instance with
regard to prayer and contemplation, faith and ways of searching for
God or the Absolute "

Diarmuid O'Murchu, Reclaiming Spirituality, New York Crossroads, 1997, p 30

7
See Chapter 19
8
These were repeated in the document quoted earlier, Dialogue and Proclamation
(1991), para 42 For the full text (and title) of Dialogue and Mission, see The Attitude
of the Church towards the Followers of Other Religions Reflections and Orientations
on Dialogue and Mission, AAS 75 [1984], pp 816-828
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 339

Some other make a similar classification, but with different terminology. Dia-
logue can be divided into four levels:

a) the existential level: presence and witness;

b) the mystical level: prayer and contemplation;
c) the ethical level: liberation and human promotion;
d) the theological level: enrichment and application of religious heri-
tages.9

In both classifications, what is being talked about is four modalities, not four
stages in the same journey. In each place or situation one form of dialogue may
be possible or appropriate, and it may be wise not to try any of the other forms,
and leave them for later. Obviously, in many cases theological dialogue will
not be the first stage. In each case the form can be that suggested by specific
local conditions.
To these four types of modalities of dialogue, I would add the previ-
ously mentioned modality of "intradialog" or "preparation for dialogue", and
the "official dialogue" engaged in by the institutions of each religion, which
ought not to replace or restrict any of the other forms of interreligious dialogue.
Do not forget that in this field, as in many others, all believers are free
to use their own initiative to start any activity, contact, relationship, activity or
project - the more believers that are active and engaged in this dialogue, the
sooner we will move this world in the direction of attitudes of peace and con-
ciliation. We are all invited to join in.

22.2 Some practical suggestions

22.2.1 For an attitude of religious pluralism

• I should first live out religious dialogue within myself and within my
own community, as an attitude of willingness to listen and learn from
other religions, be willing to find out about them, abandon any attitude
of a priori dogmatism, critically accept complaints against our relig-
ion, recognize its limits and sins, and accept the possibility of revising
my "traditional" models. What I am doing is practicing a religious dia-
logue within myself, within my community, an "intra-dialogue", as
Panikkar calls it.
• In my community (parish, base community, study group, congrega-
tion), I could study the topic of religious pluralism. I could organize a
short course, a workshop, a series of discussions, even a series of pub-
lic talks. I could study macro-ecumenism and religious dialogue. I

Roberlei Panasiewicz, Didlogo e revelagao. Rumo ao encontro inter-religioso, Belo

Horizonte: editora C/Arte, 1999, p. 54.
340 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

could check what materials are available on dialogue and religious plu-
ralism and see what we might read or study.
• I should be able to pray in a church of another denomination and say a
prayer from another religion.
• I could choose a religion (a great one or a minor one) that I am not fa-
miliar with and concentrate my reading for a few months on becoming
familiar with it in my mind and my heart. I could contact people of this
religion, create a relationship of dialogue or work (some joint activity)
and develop a friendship with them.
• I could cultivate an attitude of respect and veneration towards other
religions and never again think of them as "salvation vacuums". We
could remove from our working dictionaries words and concepts such
as "paganism" and "natural religion". We could make an effort to
eradicate from amongst us (including in our personal prayer and in li-
turgical prayer) any ways of speaking that ignore the existence of other
religions, other ways of seeing God, other expressions of the meaning
of human life. Make a move to feel myself a member of a universal
human community, one that is open, allows for religious pluralism and
welcomes it, which wants all human beings to be in communion with
God but without destroying all those ways in which God and humans
have communicated down the millennia.
• We could contemplate God increasingly as "the God of all names", the
God who sought to meet all peoples and is in contact with all humans
though the religions of the peoples.
• I could convert to universal Love and the universal Father-Mother
God, accepting my identity as a son or daughter of God and brother or
sister of all my human brothers and sisters, above and beyond any
identity I have as a follower of a specific religion.
• I could understand my Mission (Christian or in any other religion) as
service of the Utopia of God's project, what (we) Christians call "the
reign of God".
• I could take a positive attitude to all religions. I could sincerely accept
their multiplicity, not as a regrettable "pluralism of fact", but as a plu-
ralism positively willed by God, a "pluralism of right", of divine right.
• I can become convinced that that all religions are "true", have their
Truth, are ways by which God comes to meet us, and that all of them
are also human, and therefore limited and relative, incomplete and with
historic sins that limit them.
• I could reject any zeal for making converts. I could want Hindus to be
good Hindus, Muslims, good Muslims, Christians good Christians -
and that every woman and man should be holy in the religious path on
which God has come to meet them. I could develop a deep respect for
those who say sincerely that they cannot find God.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 341

22.2.2 To practice religious dialogue

• Make a list of the other faith communities present in our neighbor-
hood, in our city, in neighboring cities;
• Get my community or parish to take an initiative and "go out to meet",
and go visit a community or institution of another religion.
• Once in a while go into a place of worship of a different religion and
take part in one of their celebrations;
• Recognize in practice that there are other Sacred Books: get to know
them, read them, welcome them, meditate on them, include them in our
worship;
• In early January visit the other branches of the Christian family and try
to celebrate together the "week of prayer for Christian unity";
• Establish relationships (as an individual, as a group, as a community)
with people, groups, organizations, etc. of other religions. Try to see
that these relationships are set up and are positive in all the circles in
which I move.
• In my religious community, organize a campaign for interreligious dia-
logue: put the proposal first to the relevant authorities or committees,
jointly plan visits, dialogs, round tables, social activities to raise funds
for needy groups. Try to lead up to one interreligious celebration,
which in the future might become regular.
• Choose religious pluralism as a study topic in my religious commu-
nity;
• Join ecumenical or multi-religious committees, bodies or initiatives
and once on them be a firm advocate of dialogue and acceptance of
pluralism. Make a connection with international interreligious dialogue
and cooperation initiatives;
• Get the topic taken up by the leadership group of the human commu-
nity I belong to - neighborhood, educational institution, community
centre, base community, parish, friendship group - and encourage
them to include relevant activities in the program;
• Take out a subscription as an individual or group to some periodical
that deals with the topic of dialogue and pluralism, with a level or slant
that best suits me or the group;
• Practice "inreligionation": make a serious effort to get to know the re-
ligious experience of other religions, try to reproduce in ourselves a
deep familiarity, through experience, of another religion, chiefly the
one that is closest to our own environment or, alternatively, one of the
great religions of Asia.
• Set up a "dialogue of life" between communities of different religions:
a dialogue that consists in carrying out together activities to defend
life, to improve the quality of life in your locality, to do something for
the neediest people in our human community irrespective of religion.
342 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

22.2.3 To work systematically for peace

• Think about the new world situation in which, on top of an increase in
traditional injustices, there is now a heightened sense of cultural and
religious tensions;
• Make connections with organizations in our city or region concerned
with work for peace;
• Take part in campaigns and join institutions opposed to torture, work-
ing for the defense of human rights, for the defense of nature, to reduce
the impact of climate change, for trade justice;
• Organize a week of reflection-and-action for peace in my community,
group or neighborhood.
• Be firmly and openly against any imperialist attitude and be an active
campaigner for the democratization of the world, always ready to de-
fend those who are excluded, discriminated or victims of any form of
injustice.
• Do not disconnect the topic of interreligious dialogue from the topic of
peace and justice, and make the option for the God of the poor the
compass to guide us in the dialogue.

Here add your own suggestions and those of your community...

Epilogue
The plurality of religions, in a world hurtling towards unification faster than
ever before in the history of humanity, confronts all of us - believers and non-
believers alike - with one of the most urgent and decisive tasks of our day.
There is no longer any room for mutual ignorance or disinterested distance.
Contact with others is continuous and it is inevitable that we will see our con-
trasts. As Karl Jaspers said of "limit-situations," we can't change them; but
what we do have in our hands is the ability to modify and reconfigure our own
attitudes. The future will depend, in fact, on how we are able to confront this
challenge. And this opportunity.
One look at our world is enough to tell us what is at stake, and it is
nothing less than our understanding of everything religious. Not only is the
specific truth of our own religion questioned - we know that ours is not the
"only" religion and we've already been taught many a lesson about exclusivity,
ethnocentrism, and pretension to privilege - but so is the truth of religion itself,
threatened by its own diversity, disparities, and contradictions. Our very ability
to coexist is at stake, for it can be difficult to live next to people who - even
though they relate to the same Mystery that creates and envelops us all - do so
through ideas, hopes, or religious practices that are very different from our
own. We might even fear for survival itself, in a world that sees the horror of
armed conflict every day and where what is religious - what is called to be a
presence of peace and harmony - too often turns to dust and sword. As Hans
Kung reminds us, "there will be no peace among nations if there is no peace
among religions."
These long and somewhat solemn initial reflections are meant to set
the stage and be an entryway into a book that has not only taken the challenge
seriously, but has done so with intelligence and heart - with that cordial, warm
intelligence that is so much a part of genuine theological reflection.
In fact, cordiality is immediately evident in this book that is a generous
opening up to the "other" and to "otherness." It flees from all semblances of
privilege and eschews any sign of imposition. A firm sympathy and clear op-
tion for a pluralist perspective starts there. Inspired by but not limited to the
ideas of John Hick, Jose Maria Vigil advocates a vision of religion that recon-
nects all people and cultures to God without favoritist choices or arbitrary
privileges. He does this with a historic realism that aims to see each religion as
growing on its own out of a common divine root, while, of course, not denying
the influence and inter-influence, assistance and critique, communion and col-
laboration that may exist among the different traditions.
Thus, Christianity can be confessed with joy and lived with commit-
ment, with no need to cling to proclamations of uniqueness or pretensions of
exclusivity. Everything that can be discovered in Christianity - thanks espe-
cially to the words, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth - is dis-
344 JOSE MARIA VIGIL

covered as hope and liberation or lived with depth, determination, and high
ideals. It is not considered an exclusive possession, but rather a gift to be
shared, without denying the wealth of others or closing oneself to the possibil-
ity of being enriched by them. The generosity received from "inreligionation"
serves as a mediating force that allows communion with others without re-
nouncing what is one's own or denying what is not.
Clearly, this cordiality requires the author to be very aware of the theo-
retical revolution implied by such a pure attitude of the heart and all of its con-
sequences. Truly, today's reality challenges theology to rethink in depth all of
its fundamental premises, with all the adventure and risk inherent in entering,
like the Portuguese sailor, in uncharted seas.
It is not enough - though it is necessary and the author does so - to re-
view the history of the problem and the history of Christianity itself, with all of
its magnificent lights and terrible shadows. What we must do now is to think
anew, basing ourselves on updated hermeneutics and paying attention to the
many and varied calls of different religions. These are concepts as serious and
as critical as those of revelation and religious truth. We must reconsider the
idea of mission, starting at its very roots, with all of the reshaping of mental
frameworks and practices that this implies. The figure of Christ himself, so
decisively central for Christian specificity, is calling out to be framed within a
fundamental theocentrism that does justice to the saving presence of God in
other religions. A simple glance at the index will show the reader the depth and
breadth of the treatment of the subject.
What is amazing, and what is perhaps the greatest merit of the book, is
that in spite its breadth and complexity, the author has achieved a clear, step by
step presentation, full of nuances, with absolutely no hurried simplifications.
Information is presented gradually along each step of this journey of reflection
in an attempt to provide an intelligible expression and cordial resonance to
questions that are sometimes very subtle. Anyone who has read any of Jose
Maria's previous books would expect no less. His pedagogical skill opens up
the entire spectrum of possibilities here.
It is not mere rhetoric, therefore, when the book is presented as a "sys-
tematic course on popular theology" - though I should clarify immediately that
it is "popular" because of its clarity, practicality, and realism, not for lack of
depth or sufficient information. Jose Maria's knowledge of the bibliography on
this subject will surprise specialists (and from Spain, I must add that he pays
more attention than we usually do to English language publications, which are
so rich on the subject.) Finally, if you consider the fact that he is offering an
anthology of texts available at the readers' pace, while also offering guidelines
for group work, you will see that the result is a real instrument of authentic,
critical, and reflective formation. In other words, this is a book that, without
compromising in rigor, is accessible not only to the theologian, but also to the
average non-specialized reader. Because of that, it can also be used as a study
guide for ordinary pastoral formation groups.
 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM 345

Evangelical parresia, or frankness, is certainly present in this intentional peda-

gogical style. That is to say that in a time of heavy theological silence, freedom
of expression becomes very necessary in order to make faith credible and to
nourish a truly incarnated hope. This book has, in this sense, the special fresh-
ness of so many other calls that come out of Latin America. The winds of lib-
eration continue to blow toward old Europe, carried by freedom, commitment,
and the energy born from living contact with elemental needs, with the cry of
poverty and oppression. The reality of flesh and blood experience does not tol-
erate empty words or official fears; it demands the right to evangelical free-
dom, to follow the one who did not hide his light under a bushel or cloak his
message to the human city in ambiguities.
The presentation in this book is clear and courageous. It knows that
theological revolution implies going down paths that have only slightly, and
sometimes never, been traveled. Yet because of this, it stays open and on the
path. This is not a work that is trying to appear conclusive and finished. It is an
open investigation, ready to dialogue, and aware of the provisional nature of its
proposals. This will be more than clear upon reading.
I have personally had the privilege of participating in some of the col-
legial dialogue around Jose Maria's honest and determined engagement with
some of the difficulties that assail us when we look out over the unfathomable
expanse of God's salvation at work in human history. Especially, when we
gather together - astonished and grateful - for God's decisive manifestation in
Christ, all the while knowing that this doesn't mean we can't recognize that
same boundless presence in other figures who have elevated, and continue to
elevate, the awareness and religious life of humanity. In a letter he wrote to me,
Jose Maria said, "I think we are all very conscious of the 'movement of per-
spectives' in which we are immersed. It's like when you travel and see how the
scenery stretches and curves and shrinks... and new unknown sights unfold
before our astonished eyes... The humility of knowing that we cannot entrench
ourselves in closed, undisputable, ready-made positions...is essential. For me it
truly is."
I know very well that epilogues lend themselves to friendly rhetoric
and exaltation. But I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that it is not easy
to find a book like this one that Jose Maria Vigil has brought to us from his
adopted place in the Americas, one that opens up so many theoretical perspec-
tives and has such a deep impact on the commitments of real life.

Andres TORRES QUEIRUGA

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This book offers a theology of religious pluralism. It was conceived and
developed in Latin America from the perspective of liberation theology.
One of the issues at play in the liberation of humanity is the world's
ability to accept religious pluralism, and Latin American theology does
not want to be silent on this topic. Born out of Latin American spiritua-
lity, this theology of religious pluralism is a liberating theology. It may
be the first Latin American book that seeks to express something com-
plete and systematic on this topic from the perspective of this continent
and that of liberation theology.
Jose Maria Vigil, Panama City, Panama, is a theologian and psycholo-
gist. Currently he is coordinator of the International Theological Com-
mission of EATWOT (www.eatwot.org/TheologicalCommission), chief
editor of the Latin American Agenda (latinoamericana.org), publis-
hed since 1992 in 17 countries and 6 languages, and coordinator of
www.servicioskoinonia.org, a website on Liberation Theology and Plu-
ralistic Theology. He is author of various books and articles and edited
(with Luiza Tomita and Marcelo Barros) Along the many paths of God
(LIT Verlag 2008).

978-3-8258-1519-6

LIT
www.lit-verlag.de