Who has the Exclusive Claims to Absolute Truth?
The Christian Post (Singapore) published recently an article by a Protestant theologian which includes this passage: the missionary document of the Second Vatican Council of the Roman Catholic Church, Nostra Aetate: "The Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions." This does not yet mean that these religions are "vehicles" of salvation. They are, to use the term coined by the early Fathers of the Church, merely a "preparation for the Gospel". In some sense the nuggets of truth found in these religions loosen the soil of the hearts of pagans and make them receptive to the Gospel. But salvation is found only in Jesus Christ, "for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
Is this the current belief of the majority of the Christian community? I fear there are people of other faith communities who have the same view as stated by these Christians. When we refer to one another as pagans and have similar exclusive claims to absolute truth then it becomes a stumbling block to dialogue and interfaith relations that we have to contend with. It is time for all of us to critically evaluate such truth claims honestly and with integrity in our pluralistic society.
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Any claims to exclusive absolute truth that a) cannot be explored or validated outside the structure of that faith, b) in a society that recognises that not everyone has the same cultural, religious, political, philosophical views, are at best arrogant and at worst deliberate incitements to strife (e.g., Senior Pastor Rony Tan).
European societies spent nearly a thousand years fighting inter-religious wars of one sort or another, until now (with a few exceptions) people have learned to be at least tolerant if not respectful of differences with others.
That experience of multi-religious peaceful coexistence without self-segregation is relatively new to South and Southeast Asia; "cuius regio, eius religio" seems more the historical norm here.
As the region becomes more tightly integrated into the web of international trade, culture and mobility, that will have little choice but to change. Those who resist change most strongly will feel the greatest discomfort, and, history shows, cause the greatest pain and trouble for others.
That should worry all of us — religious, atheist or in between.
Having exclusive belief is not something to be fearful of in all religions that claim exclusivity.
I think it only turn into something to be feared when exclusive claim is coupled with violence in their assertion.
In the same way, nothing fearful for you to say that it is fearful to have exclusivity at all. But if you assert it with violence, physically afflicting others who disagree with you, then that sort of exclusive assertion becomes fearful.
There are really only 3 options in a pluralistic society:
1) All religions are wrong. They are just transmitted ancient wisdom derived from observation about humans, and have nothing to do with metaphysic or the ultimate reality.
2) All religions are exclusively true to the followers. In each religious community, the other religion is inferior.
3) All religions are limited in expression on reality and hence inconclusive. So each community cannot think the other religion as inferior but to admit the fact that all religions are inadequate to give full account of the reality. We may also say that it can be that perhaps all religions are true and give full account of reality, but due to human's limitations, we cannot grasp it entirely. (Yet we also cannot be certain that all religions are true and capable to give full account of reality as true) Hence we cannot make definitive conclusion to know which is better. We can continue to practice our religion but without the thought that the other religion is inferior or our own is superior.
Perhaps, at best one who abhor exclusivity can chose 3. To say that there all are the same given all are exclusive is to acknowledge a world with its existence as self-contradicting. In such a world, each exclusive claim cancels out the other, and hence that simply means all religions are false.
Let me clarify my use of the word fear. I am not afraid. What I should have written is simply the word know.
It is not just a question of violence in the physical sense but violence in the form of abuse, ridicule, demeaning and demonising. It is the belief that God or the Divine Being is only in my camp and Satan is working among others.
I resonate with your third option. Recognizing human limitations it is a claim that we make when we make a choice of religion. The one that we make is regarded to be better than the others for us who have chosen. We live with that understanding and the truth will only appear later.
Meanwhile we respect those who make different choices. We are even prepared to accept the advice of the Archbishop of Canterbury who wrote that it is alright to have a desire to share when we have the desire to learn. It is this mutuality that we need to cultivate with people in other faith communities - sharing and learning from one another in our common search for truth.
Hi Yap,
Thank you for the clarification. I am also tend towards the third option.
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