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Philosophy of Religion - John Hick

The document provides an introduction to John Hick's theology. It discusses how Hick departed from evangelism but still sought to understand how religious knowledge is obtained. It also explains that Hick viewed faith as a way of knowing analogous to other forms of knowledge. Hick expressed revelation in terms of personal religious experience rather than miracles described in religious texts. Finally, encountering different religions in Birmingham led Hick to believe that Christianity is not superior but one option among many that represent diverse human responses to the same ultimate reality.

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CJ Olores
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358 views1 page

Philosophy of Religion - John Hick

The document provides an introduction to John Hick's theology. It discusses how Hick departed from evangelism but still sought to understand how religious knowledge is obtained. It also explains that Hick viewed faith as a way of knowing analogous to other forms of knowledge. Hick expressed revelation in terms of personal religious experience rather than miracles described in religious texts. Finally, encountering different religions in Birmingham led Hick to believe that Christianity is not superior but one option among many that represent diverse human responses to the same ultimate reality.

Uploaded by

CJ Olores
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Eusebio, Franchesca Paula M.

Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy 4-1

Introduction to John Hick’s Theology

As Christians, we have a belief in our religion that some rational minds may doubt
that it would be true because of insufficient evidences or explanations of how it came to
happen. Yet, we still stick to our faith, saying this as a Christian myself, where our faith
means blindly walking while God guides us through the path we chose to take. Hick on
the other hand, also had these doubts. Hick departed from evangelism while still
resuming to work out how we come to know what we know now in the religion and
further analysis of it.

Apart from my description of faith, Hick also developed a philosophical


description of it whereas ‘faith is a way of knowing things analogous to more ordinary
ways in which we know things’ which gives a more rational thinking into its description
which will be tackled later in this paper.1 As for revelations, instead of submitting to the
revelations and miracles offered by the bible and the church such as the six-day creation
of the world, the predestination of many to heaven or hell, the virgin birth of Jesus,
healing the sick, etc., Hick would rather express revelation in terms of personal religious
experience of the divine so that Christians may still proclaim that they have experienced
God themselves.2 He was not anti-religion like other rational thinkers of the world, in
fact, he is a defender, mostly of Christianity, against charges from positivists that deny
the credibility of theism and the metaphysical.3 The last philosophical insight that Hick
developed for the defense of Christianity was the he reinstated an ancient and
unorthodox answer to the problem of evil from one of the books that he has written,
actually affirming eternal life and that od will eventually bring all people into it. 4

Tackling the large multi-faith community of Birmingham City, many religions


resided there, Hick encountered many structures of worship and belief that is both
similar and different to that of Christianity and that was the first time he encountered
pluralism. He made more works discussing it and had come to believe that Christianity
is not the superior religion, rather as an option among many available in the world today.
Grabbing it and putting all religions into consideration, Hick’s point then is that all the
major religions represent diverse human responses to the same ultimate, transcendent
reality.5

1 Chris Sinkinson. John Hick: An Introduction to His Theology. RTSF, 1995, p. 6


2 Ibid., p. 6-7
3 Ibid., p. 7

4 Ibid.

5 Ibid., p. 8

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